The automatic protection mechanism of Return to Truth existed like a heavy anchor, mooring Li Fan steadily within the ocean of his thoughts.
It prevented him from being stirred by the intensely realistic illusions, ensuring his mental state would not impact his physical body.
Simultaneously, Li Fan remained vigilant, staring fixedly at the charging progress of Return to Truth.
Once the progress dropped, Li Fan intended to activate Return to Truth immediately and return to the anchor point.
Thus, fully mentally prepared, Li Fan quietly awaited the changes that the Intent Horse would bring next.
The speed at which wounds appeared grew faster and faster.
But Li Fan held firm to his original decision.
No matter how many injuries appeared on his body, even as he grew increasingly weak from taking severe damage, he simply watched the charging progress before his eyes, unmoving.
A long time passed. Perhaps because these injuries failed to intimidate Li Fan, a new change occurred.
The corpse of the Intent Horse spontaneously combusted into flame.
At the same time, Li Fan felt an unbearable scorching heat ravaging his body.
"Argh..." He couldn't help but let out a low groan.
He even saw his own body slowly turning to ashes within the flames.
Fake, it's all fake...
The charging progress of Return to Truth remained completely still, indicating there was no lethal danger at all. Everything was simply an extremely realistic hallucination.
Li Fan held firmly to this belief in his heart.
Amidst the leaping, dancing flames, Li Fan endured indescribable agony.
Only after a long, indeterminate length of time did his suffering finally begin to subside.
When the Intent Horse corpse on the ground was completely burned to ashes, the hallucinations tormenting Li Fan ultimately vanished.
Upon re-examining himself in the mirror, he found that his human appearance had been restored.
Moreover, Li Fan felt as if he had grown somewhat stronger, not in terms of his physique or cultivation, but in his soul.
Li Fan carefully examined the changes within himself.
Divine sense can be compared to a person's muscles. It can be trained and cultivated, continuously strengthened through effort.
Whereas the soul is like a person's skeleton, fixed from birth. Only special means, such as breakthroughs in cultivation realms or the effects of certain rare natural treasures, can strengthen it. Ordinary methods simply cannot influence it.
And now, I can clearly feel that my “skeleton” has grown by one size.
This sense of growing stronger was something Li Fan hadn’t felt in a very long time.
Not even breaking through to a higher cultivation stage could compare. If anything came close, it would be the leap of advancing an entire cultivation realm, such as drawing qi into the body for the first time or establishing his Dao Foundation.
After a few tests, Li Fan found that although his cultivation level itself hadn’t advanced, his divine sense had strengthened noticeably, and his thoughts flowed much more smoothly than before.
The Intent Horse truly is a remarkable treasure.
Strange as its method of use might be, the results are undeniably excellent.
Any fear he’d felt toward it had completely vanished, replaced by an involuntary surge of greed.
Mind Ape and Intent Horse...
Mind Apes were once cultivators. If my guess is correct, then Intent Horses must also have been transformed from cultivators.
Remembering how the Intent Horse’s corpse had taken on his exact appearance, a sudden realization struck him.
I have Return to Truth as a cheat, which is why I passed this trial so easily. But if someone’s will isn’t firm enough... and they truly die...
That Intent Horse must have perished in exactly that way.
Zhang Zhiliang’s intentions were now obvious: this was both a reward and a test.
If one couldn’t even survive the Intent Horse’s trial, then they were utterly unqualified to represent the Congyun Sea in Tianyu Province or inherit Zhang Zhiliang’s legacy. Their deaths would not be mourned.
Tsk, tsk. After advancing to Spirit Transformation, Zhang Zhiliang’s mindset has really shifted.
Back when I was only a Qi Refinement cultivator, Zhang Zhiliang had shown me special favor and taught me the Unlimited Art.
But now...
With that thought, Li Fan couldn’t help feeling a touch of emotion.
He then sent a message to Zhang Zhiliang to report his success.
Zhang Zhiliang was somewhat surprised that Li Fan had digested the Intent Horse so quickly.
"Oh? It seems your will is even more resilient than I imagined.
"Excellent! Among the three, you are the first to succeed.
"You deserve a reward!"
With that, Zhang Zhiliang sent an object over through the Tianxuan Mirror.
The item was a white, glowing cube, none other than the Array Crown that Li Fan had coveted for so long.
Upon receiving it, Li Fan couldn't contain his joy. "Thank you for showing me such great favor, Master."
"This Array Crown is yours now. It contains over a hundred different arrays layered within. In your spare time, you can dismantle and study them.
"If you can independently construct a thirty-layer Array Crown, you can truly call yourself an array master," Zhang Zhiliang instructed.
"The Intent Horse’s soul enhancement effect isn't limited to the immediate moment. For a long time afterward, it will continue to nourish your soul.
"During this period, you should focus on secluded cultivation and avoid conflicts with others to maximize its effects.
"Heh, perhaps you've already realized—all Intent Horses were previously cultivators in life. The one I gave you was a Golden Core cultivator.
"If you can fully absorb it, doubling your soul strength shouldn't be a problem."
Li Fan hadn't expected such additional benefits and hurried to express his gratitude again.
However, Zhang Zhiliang had already ended the communication and didn't reply further.
A Golden Core cultivator...
Once fallen, even they cannot escape becoming nourishment for others. Li Fan shook his head inwardly.
Li Fan suddenly recalled the smiling-faced fruit he had seen long ago on Tai'an Island.
Back then, the smiling-faced fruit phenomenon had only affected a mortal island. If cultivators were transformed into smiling-faced fruits instead... would the resulting fruits possess even greater effects?
Both cases involve humans turning into beneficial exotic objects.
The smiling-faced fruit, the Mind Ape, the Intent Horse... Could there be a connection among them?
Li Fan couldn’t shake the feeling that some hidden secret tied all these events together. The sensation it gave him was strange; out of place, yet oddly familiar.
As he contemplated this, the blue crystal within his mind flickered, and scenes from his past began resurfacing one after another.
At last, Li Fan understood where that sense of familiarity came from.
The Oddities of sect ruins?
He wasn’t completely certain.
The smiling-faced fruit, Mind Ape, and Intent Horse all went against the established rules of cultivation and logic, yet operated with their own coherent, systematic patterns. Precisely the sort of rules those ancient Oddities were based on.
They say Oddities only appear within sect ruins. If these phenomena are truly related... what would that imply?
His thoughts drifted to the time after Fuzi’s azure ox-drawn cart had manifested, when he was summoned to the Heavenly Mechanism Hall for investigation.
In front of the enormous map of the Congyun Sea, that sickly cultivator had murmured:
“Another case has appeared?”
A suspicion began to take shape in Li Fan’s heart.