When I’m at the Dao Unity realm, I should at least have some capacity to resist the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher, right? Li Fan thought to himself.
He organized his thoughts, suppressing the idle fancies in his heart, and began cultivating the Arcana True Spirit Transformation technique.
The true spirit of a man is like the flower of a tree. A thousand trees, ten thousand blossoms, construct wonder within the arcane.
Profound and unfathomable, shifting with a hundred transformations at will.
Li Fan first read through the entire text once, then closed his eyes to begin his cultivation.
Not long after, he opened his eyes, frowning slightly.
When he first read through the Arcana True Spirit Transformation technique, he had been captivated by its contents, his heart surging with excitement.
However, when he actually tried to cultivate it, he discovered that this technique was far too obscure and difficult to comprehend.
It felt even more challenging than his first attempt at cultivating the Thousand Mechanisms Jade Cosmos Scripture.
But, upon reflection, this was only natural.
A technique that involved transforming the very essence of life—if Li Fan could master it with ease, he would probably start doubting its efficacy.
After a moment of contemplation, Li Fan retrieved a Dao Comprehension Pill from his storage ring.
This black and white pill appeared unremarkable, yet its effects were said to rival the Assisted Cultivation Mode of the Tianxuan Mirror.
His avatar, Lin Fan, had acquired this pill when traveling to Jiushan Province to purchase techniques.
Due to scarce supply, there was a limit to the quantity each person could purchase, and he only had six of them in total.
He had been reluctant to use them before, but now seemed the perfect opportunity.
The effects of a Dao Comprehension Pill lasts roughly one month. I hope six months will be enough to understand the fundamentals of the Arcana True Spirit Transformation technique. Li Fan thought to himself as he swallowed the pill.
He then activated the Tianxuan Mirror's epiphanic state boost.
Under the combined effects of both, Li Fan felt as if the interior of the Tianxuan Mirror had grown brighter.
With the slightest stirring of his thoughts, the text of the Arcana True Spirit Transformation, which he had just read once, instantly materialized in its entirety within his mind.
Every single character, every phrase, was spontaneously compared and cross-referenced with similar passages from the secret texts and ancient records he had studied in the past.
This was what was called “understanding one thing to comprehend its kind.”
In just a few breaths, more text surfaced in Li Fan's mind, expanding the chapter to dozens of times its former length.
Between the lines, densely packed annotations formed from his accumulated experience now filled the spaces.
Next to the obscure, incomprehensible text of the technique were numerous shifting characters.
This was Li Fan's deduction and contemplation at work.
Li Fan's true self was like a general giving commands from the center of an army, observing how his comprehension of the technique evolved within his mind.
His thoughts were crystal clear; everything was under his control.
It gave Li Fan the fleeting, illusory sensation of holding the Pearl of Wisdom in his grasp, capable of calculating all under heaven.
The profound Arcana True Spirit Transformation now seemed far less inscrutable in Li Fan's eyes.
He even had spare mental capacity to ponder his next plans.
***
Just as Li Fan's true self was diligently cultivating, Han Yi finally strode out of the black stele, brimming with vigor and pride.
"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist. One look tells me you’ve reaped a substantial harvest this time!" Li Fan was the first to open his eyes, a smile on his face.
"Haha, you flatter me, you flatter me," Han Yi replied. Though he tried to rein in his expression somewhat, the delight on his face was impossible to conceal.
"However, once you leave the headquarters of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, Fellow Daoist, you should still be careful. Nowadays, all the cultivators in the world know you possess a Dao Unity technique..." Li Fan kindly reminded him.
Upon hearing this, Han Yi's expression immediately turned serious.
He cupped his hands toward Li Fan and said, "Fellow Daoist, rest assured. I naturally understand this principle."
At that moment, Ximen Yue's voice chimed in simultaneously: "To say such a thing shows that Fellow Daoist Xiao Fan is someone worth befriending!"
Han Yi also nodded, deeply agreeing.
Li Fan simply gave a light, dismissive laugh and did not respond to the comment. Instead, he asked, "I wonder what plans you two have for the future?"
Ximen Yue scratched his head. "I don't really have any long-term plans. My current thought is to stay in Tianquan City for now and finish cultivating my technique before deciding anything else."
"And you, Fellow Daoist Xiao Fan?" he asked in return.
Li Fan glanced at Han Yi beside him and smiled. "Earlier, I heard Fellow Daoist Han mention that he obtained a wondrous treasure like the Heavenly Capital Feather Transformation Pill from Lan Yu's legacy treasure. That piqued my curiosity about Yuandao Province.
"Since I have nothing pressing at the moment, I plan to go to Yuandao Province and try my luck. Who knows, I might even stumble upon a bargain."
Ximen Yue couldn't help but look surprised. "Immortal Venerable Lan Yu fell so long ago. I'm afraid this so-called legacy treasure must have been picked clean by now?"
Hearing this, Han Yi couldn't resist speaking up. "Actually, no. It's strange. Although it's been eight years since the Immortal Venerable's fall, new Lan Yu Treasure Boxes still appear from time to time within Yuandao Province. And it doesn't seem like someone's prank; the boxes contain treasures of considerable value.
"So if Fellow Daoist Xiao Fan truly wishes to try his luck, it wouldn't be a futile effort."
"There's such a strange phenomenon?" Ximen Yue stroked his chin, looking rather puzzled.
Li Fan, meanwhile, smiled at Han Yi. "I don't seek fortune as great as yours, Fellow Daoist Han. For me, finding just one Lan Yu Treasure Box would be a tremendous stroke of luck."
Han Yi quickly said, "You need not be so modest, Fellow Daoist. In my opinion, your luck is far from ordinary..."
He stopped mid-sentence, his expression turning somewhat awkward.
Li Fan's mind stirred slightly, but he did not press the matter.
Instead, he actively shifted the topic. "And what about you, Fellow Daoist Han?"
Han Yi hesitated for a moment before answering. "Tianyu Province is fine, but it is not a place where I should linger.
"I..." He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if lost in thought.
After a few breaths, he answered resolutely, "I must still return to Yuandao Province."
Li Fan and Ximen Yue exchanged a glance upon hearing this, both wearing somewhat inscrutable expressions.
Nevertheless, the two of them maintained their tacit understanding and did not press the matter.
Ximen Yue looked at Li Fan and Han Yi and teased, “Well then, looks like you two can keep each other company on the journey.”
Li Fan gave a slight nod, while Han Yi responded, “Naturally.”
Just as the three of them were chatting, their black-robed guide finally stirred from his statue-like state.
“Alright, since everything is settled, we shouldn't dally any longer. I'll escort you out.”
The three immediately ceased their casual talk and followed the black-robed cultivator back the way they came.
As they transformed back into beams of light and shot downward toward the exit, Li Fan keenly noticed that over a hundred young cultivators had gathered on one of the floating landmasses beneath the Enforcer Hall for some reason. Some of them even looked to be in their teens.
This group clearly wasn't part of the Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters staff.
Li Fan couldn't help but ask the black-robed cultivator, "Senior, what is that place?"
The black-robed cultivator obviously understood what Li Fan was asking about and answered casually, "That is the Museum of Divine Treasures.
"It houses historical objects of commemorative value."