Riding upon the purple firmament, body swift as lightning...
What an outstanding escape technique.
After thoroughly studying the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning Evasion art, a spark of joy flickered through Li Fan’s heart.
But almost immediately, a hint of regret followed.
What a pity... without the True Intent of divine thunder from the Purple Firmament Thunder Invocation Art, its full potential can’t be realized. The speed of this technique will be greatly diminished.
Used alone, he estimated he could draw out at most half of its true speed.
Even so, it was already far superior to the standard escape arts sold through the Tianxuan Mirror.
Gaining such a secret technique from defeating Zhang Qianmo had been an unexpected windfall.
Normally, killing someone within the Fallen Immortal Realm yielded no benefits—otherwise, exploring it would be easy: simply form hunting parties.
Such gains only occurred when the slain cultivator’s obsession was directly tied to their downfall.
Zhang Qianmo... was he seeking someone to defeat him? Li Fan couldn’t help but wonder.
If not for the Blue Flame phantom spirit, which allowed him to drastically extend his stay in the Fallen Immortal Realm, he never could have exhausted Senior Brother Zhang to death.
The idea of activating the Blue Flame phantom spirit’s absolute-rationality state to prolong his presence in the Fallen Immortal Realm came from Chen Ying of the Medicine Hall.
In order to improve his own exploration efficiency, Chen Ying had refined Frostwill Severance Pills using Blueblood Coral.
After the coral was tinged with a trace of the Blue Flame phantom spirit’s icy aura, the resulting pills unexpectedly became far more potent.
At the time, Li Fan theorized that directly activating the phantom spirit’s special state might replicate or even surpass the effect of consuming Frostwill Severance Pills.
This experiment had confirmed his speculation perfectly.
The reason he had avoided using the Blue Flame phantom spirit in previous explorations was due to a deep-rooted concern.
He had cultivated the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra for a hundred lifetimes, until it became as natural as breathing.
Though it had never undergone a true breakthrough, it granted Li Fan an awareness of his own mental state far beyond that of ordinary cultivators.
This time, within the Fallen Immortal Realm, he had remained in that special state for nearly thirty consecutive days.
When he finally withdrew from it, he could clearly sense the corrosive power that icy force had left behind, lingering in his body amid his exhaustion.
Since witnessing entities like the Heavenly Physician and "It" from Yuandao Province, Li Fan had always maintained a degree of wariness toward the superpowerhouses of this world.
The same applied to Blue Flame, which he had visualized.
Unlike other techniques, the Nether Spirit Illusion Art and its advanced version, the Intent Spirit Illusion Art, belonged to a special category of summoning techniques.
That cold, rational power didn't originate from the techniques themselves but from the visualized phantom spirits.
This was a fundamental difference.
Moreover, this Blue Flame phantom spirit might have a corresponding physical entity in the real world.
Naturally, Li Fan couldn't place his complete trust in it.
Exceptional power came with commensurate drawbacks; this was only to be expected.
It was best to use it only occasionally as a surprise tactic, perhaps with the Xuanhuang Heart Clarification Sutra mitigating the side effects.
But if used indiscriminately without restraint, it was entirely possible that one would unknowingly have one's mind altered by it. The inexplicable corrosion he sensed was the best proof.
Moreover, while the Blue Flame phantom spirit could greatly increase one's time in the Fallen Immortal Realm, its drawbacks were equally glaring.
The Fallen Immortal Realm was a world derived from consciousness.
Someone who could suppress consciousness fluctuations to an extreme degree would undoubtedly be seen as a terrifying aberration in the eyes of the realm's natives.
The fact Zhang Qianmo immediately recognized that Li Fan was not his junior brother, followed by his guarded demeanor, proved this point.
It was only suitable for decisive strikes after confirming a course of action, not for routine exploration.
Regardless, with the aid of the Blue Flame phantom spirit, Li Fan had ultimately resolved the obstruction that was Zhang Qianmo.
This left Li Fan, who had long been trapped in Ningyuan City, eagerly anticipating his next entry into the Fallen Immortal Realm.
After all, the Fallen Immortal Realm was even larger than the Xuanhuang World. To remain confined to one place, unable to witness its profound mysteries and wonders, would be a true pity.
With this matter that had been bothering him for a long time finally resolved, Li Fan felt a wave of relief.
After destroying all traces of his underwater cultivation site, Li Fan was about to return to Myriad Immortals Island when he suddenly received a message from Zhang Zhiliang, summoning him to the Strategy Array Hall.
After a moment's contemplation, Li Fan did not delay.
Transforming the Vine of Shared Hatred in his dantian into the Seven-Apertures Exquisite Heart, he headed straight for the Strategy Array Hall.
Entering the slanted metal structure, Li Fan navigated to Zhang Zhiliang's location with familiar ease.
The man stood as still as ever, seemingly unchanged from before.
Yet, a faint but persistent sense of danger simmered within Li Fan, something he was feeling for the first time in Zhang Zhiliang's presence.
It seems...
The moment the thought surfaced, Li Fan suppressed it with the Xuanhuang Heart Clarification Sutra.
"Greetings, Master!" He bowed respectfully, his mind clear of distractions.
Zhang Zhiliang glanced at Li Fan and nodded. "Your progress seems satisfactory. With the right opportunity, breaking through to the Golden Core realm should come naturally."
Then, shifting topics abruptly, he asked, "You have received three Consciousness Jade Slips from me. How is your study of the most recent one proceeding?"
Li Fan reported his progress truthfully.
Zhang Zhiliang tossed him a Knowledge Appraisal Sphere, gesturing for him to take the test.
As his divine sense entered the sphere, a barrage of array-related challenges surged toward him.
Li Fan answered them one by one.
Compared to the test Zhang Zhiliang had given him in his previous life, the difficulty of this examination was significantly greater.
Yet after nearly a decade of studying arrays, Li Fan was no longer a clueless novice.
After the assessment concluded, Zhang Zhiliang observed the glowing dots on the Knowledge Appraisal Sphere and revealed a trace of satisfaction.
"Not bad. Though lacking in initiative, your foundations are solid. One can see you have poured considerable effort into the path of arrays."
Li Fan bowed his head in response. "You flatter me, Master. Knowing my own dullness, I could only compensate through diligence."
Zhang Zhiliang chuckled. "To grasp the teachings I imparted to such a level in just a few years, your aptitude is far from poor!
"Do not undervalue yourself!"
Zhang Zhiliang delivered his verdict.
Of course, had he known the actual amount of time Li Fan had spent studying, he wouldn’t have thought that way.
Fortunately, he had no idea.
"Not lacking in talent, and capable of such diligent devotion." Zhang Zhiliang studied Li Fan once more before speaking. "Two years from now, there will be an exclusive training program in Tianyu Province for the most promising young array masters from all provinces of the Myriad Immortals Alliance.
"The Congyun Sea has been allotted three slots.
"I intend to offer one of them to you.
"Are you willing to participate?"