Fang Yang departed with a thoroughly disgruntled expression, but that was a separate matter.
Li Fan returned to the Tianxuan Mirror, ignoring the strange looks from others.
Purification techniques...
Such techniques did indeed exist within the Myriad Immortals Alliance.
Generally, cultivators only practiced them when they needed to maintain mental and physical purity to meet the requirements for cultivating other techniques.
They offered no substantial improvement to one’s cultivation realm or combat power.
Consequently, they were largely ignored, and their prices were low.
Li Fan began searching for one suitable for himself.
Suddenly, his gaze settled on a technique called Purple Firmament True Thunder Purification.
Purple Firmament True Thunder, purges all things, repels all evil...
With words like "Purple Firmament" and "Thunder" in its name, it was hard for Li Fan not to associate it with the Purple Firmament Thunder Invocation Art of the Purple Firmament Sect from the Fallen Immortal Realm.
The technique cost just over forty thousand contribution points. Li Fan didn't hesitate and purchased it.
After reading it, he compared it to the Purple Firmament Soul Observation Art he had already learned.
There were indeed similarities. But it was clearly far less profound than the Purple Firmament Thunder Invocation Art. At best, it could be considered a weakened version.
That makes sense. After all, Senior Brother Zhang's method involved Purple Firmament Divine Lightning. That sounds a level above Purple Firmament True Thunder.
To resolve my concerns, perhaps a multi-pronged approach is best.
Ideally, I would purchase rare natural treasures through the Tianxuan Mirror, use them in conjunction with the Purple Firmament Sect's methods, and cultivate for a time on Jieli Mountain in Great Xuan.
The natural treasures are easy enough; I have plenty of contribution points. But the Fallen Immortal Realm... Senior Brother Zhang's legendary winning streak remains unbroken to this day.
Thinking of this, Li Fan felt a wave of helplessness.
I can only do things one step at a time.
If all else fails, I'll wait until I break through to the Golden Core realm and subdue him by force, then see if I can obtain the Purple Firmament Thunder Invocation Art.
Until this hidden danger is removed, my mind cannot be at peace.
Until then, I must carefully lie low within Tianxuan.
Li Fan sighed inwardly. While continuing his cultivation, he began preparing for his future escape route.
His true self would definitely need to flee the Congyun Sea before Crimson Flame arrived to scorch the sea.
He couldn't go to Yuandao Province, and Jiushan Province was too chaotic.
Of the three provinces adjacent to Congyun Sea, Shilin Province became the most suitable destination.
Li Fan began quietly gathering information about Shilin Province within the Tianxuan Mirror.
***
In Anchor Year 21, shortly after Li Fan went into hiding, the two Spirit Transformation Eminences, Lan Cang and Hao Xuan, clashed as scheduled on the edge of the Congyun Sea.
The sky tore open, a beam of starlight fell, and they were subsequently transported away.
Zhang Zhiliang has indeed taken action.
Upon learning this news, Li Fan's avatar paused its cultivation of the Creation Forge Technique.
He traveled alone to Yuandao Province, intending to witness the scene of Lan Yu's fall.
To avoid a repeat of the "What are you anticipating?" incident, the avatar strictly controlled its thoughts throughout the journey.
Upon arriving at Zhuoling City in Yuandao Province, it rented a courtyard house, locked the gates, and never set foot outside.
While cultivating, it waited for the death phenomena to occur.
Half a month later, as Li Fan’s avatar drew upon the power of his internal reserves to temper his body, an unexpected pang gripped his heart.
A wave of inexplicable sorrow surged through him, accompanied by echoes of astonished cries rising and falling across the city.
He touched his cheek and found tears streaming uncontrollably.
Slowly, he stepped outside and lifted his gaze to the sky.
Above the vast firmament, a small Daoist child in flowing blue robes smiled gently down at the world.
The child gradually grew into an adult, then aged steadily before their eyes.
Finally, the image of Immortal Venerable Lan Yu, who had ruled Yuandao Province for over three thousand years, appeared before the people.
And then... he withered, like a leaf falling in autumn.
Heavy rain began to cascade from the heavens.
On the earth below, the mournful howls of wild beasts resonated through the wilderness.
Countless mortals, unable to contain their grief, wept alongside the sky itself.
This is...
Li Fan’s avatar stood in the rain, allowing the downpour to drench him.
He contemplated the emotions of the living beings in heaven and earth.
Or rather, the emotions passively generated by the living beings who were infected by the will of heaven and earth.
Is heaven and earth grieving?
Grieving for what? The fall of a mere Dao Unity cultivator like Lan Yu?
Li Fan shook his head inwardly.
No.
After Zhang Haobo achieved Dao Unity, he was slain by Ink Death. At that time, heaven and earth were delighted.
“Fortunate to receive heaven's punishment...”
Staring at the lingering phenomenon in the sky, Li Fan suddenly gained a flash of insight.
What it grieves is that yet another practitioner of the old methodology has departed from this world.
Perhaps, what it grieves even more is that this Dao Unity Immortal Venerable, who lived for countless years and built his entire cultivation foundation upon the old methodology, should have been a steadfast adherent of the old ways...
Yet, on the verge of death, for the sake of attaining eternal life, he decided to defy the principles of heaven and earth...
Has yet another cultivator who had endured for millennia turned to the opposing side?
The Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher is indeed domineering.
Li Fan’s avatar stood motionless beneath the celestial phenomena.
Quietly, he immersed himself in contemplation.
A long time passed before the phenomena finally dispersed.
The sky returned to calm, and a wave of heat surged within the avatar’s body, instantly evaporating the rainwater from his clothes.
He took one last look at the heavens, then quietly returned to the Congyun Sea.
***
Li Fan’s true self and avatar secluded themselves, detached from the world. Yet the affairs of the world did not pause; they continued relentlessly.
After the chubby Ye Feipeng suffered grievous wounds at Zhang Zhiliang’s hands, the Deepsea Pearl enveloped him, plunging him into a profound slumber on the seabed.
Yet whenever the azure winds threatened to form a stormflood, Ye Feipeng’s eyes would abruptly open.
His gaze was hollow and vacant, yet it did not hinder his movements. Bathed in a faint blue light, he would arrive at the heart of the raging stormflood.
Just as he had devoured the first strand of azure light, his mouth would open wide, voraciously consuming all the energy swirling within the stormflood.
The stormflood would vanish without a trace, and Ye Feipeng, sated, would return to the depths to continue his slumber.
By Anchor Year 20, the hilt of the Heaven-Scorning Sword had escaped Azure Wind’s cage after launching a desperate strike.
Its whereabouts remained unknown. Azure Wind also vanished without a trace.
The remaining azure light strands formed the last stormfloods in the Congyun Sea.
Originally, these storms would have persisted until Anchor Year 24 before fading entirely.
But in this lifetime, as Ye Feipeng unconsciously devoured them, the stormfloods that had long plagued Congyun Sea had completely disappeared by Anchor Year 22.
Having consumed as much of Azure Wind's energy as he could, the intensity of Ye Feipeng's aura had far surpassed that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Limits and bottlenecks seemed nonexistent. Though he had yet to reach the Golden Core realm, his strength continued to rise without pause.
From the perspective of heaven and earth, Li Fan could even perceive a monstrous phantom flickering behind him—part whale, part Peng—emitting ancient, melodious cries.
Is this why you insisted on protecting Ye Feipeng at all costs?
To the point where you abandoned even the other half of your chance to escape?
Do you have that much faith in him?
This was a level of treatment even Zhang Haobo had never received in the previous life.
Li Fan fixed his gaze on Ye Feipeng.
Within his dantian, alongside the Dao Foundation built from the True Intent of Azure Wind, rested a blue pearl he knew intimately, serene amid the azure gales.
The blue glow within Ye Feipeng’s chest had already fused entirely with the Curio, the Deepsea Pearl.
Two Dao Foundations, each built from a different Curio... How is this even possible?