But then, as Li Fan sought the answer to refining his heart, a flash of inspiration struck him.
His mind turned perfectly clear, and he began observing with cold detachment, analyzing rationally as a bystander.
Is this my natural instinct?
Faced with such a desperate situation, some might choose to risk entering the White Mist, seeking a sliver of life in this desperate situation.
Some might choose the path of ”better you die than me,” striking first with treacherous means to eliminate the others.
Some would rather die than raise a hand against their companions.
As for me, my subconscious response is to first hide and lie low, quietly wait for others to finish their slaughter, and then reap the rewards.
This is the optimal strategic choice based on the current circumstances, and it's also related to my experiences up to now.
Each person's choice is different. In my view, it's a matter of inherent nature; there is no superior or inferior choice.
This is what is called a person's fundamental nature.
Refine the heart, refine the heart...
Li Fan was lost in thought for a long while, muttering to himself.
He forgot the perilous tide of demonic sounds raging outside the outpost, as well as the dire situation of nearly exhausted resources within the outpost.
As if entranced, his spirit grew completely immersed, to the point where even several small-scale assaults of the demonic sounds failed to affect him.
Li Fan lost all sense of passing time, absorbed in this state of comprehension.
Soon, it was the fiftieth day after the great tide erupted.
Leng Yingyi still had not returned. To prolong their lives as much as possible, everyone decided to abandon most areas of Outpost 01-11 after discussion. Only some basic structures remained in use. This way, they could reduce the consumption rate of the Black Death Talismans by nearly half.
The living space had shrunk considerably, but against the prospect of living a little longer, squeezing together hardly seemed worth complaining about.
What had changed was something else: a quiet wariness had grown between the members of this previously close-knit group.
On the surface, everyone remained polite and courteous, but only they themselves knew what was truly going through their minds. Undercurrents of hidden killing intent swirled beneath every exchange.
When Li Fan noticed the atmosphere around him beginning to curdle, his body's instincts sent up a warning, drawing him slowly back to clarity from his daze.
A brief sweep of his gaze was all it took. He understood exactly what kind of situation they were in.
From ancient times to the present, this particular play had been staged countless times—people trapped together in desperate circumstances, turning on one another to survive. It was nothing new.
And yet, understanding his predicament, Li Fan felt a killing intent rising within himself.
This was no stray thought, no outside influence. It was his own heart's desire. The Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra could do nothing against it.
Li Fan sat with the thoughts welling up inside him and examined them carefully.
To seek life is human instinct. To kill for survival is to follow one's heart's desire.
Follow the heart's desire, follow the heart's desire...
Suddenly, Li Fan froze for a moment, his mind silently repeating this phrase over and over.
After a long time, a strange light flashed in his eyes.
Heart refinement, heart refinement. If one is always in favorable circumstances, how can the heart be refined?
To refine the Dao Heart, one likely needs to temper it through adversity.
Adversity, opposition...
It was like a bolt of lightning splitting through fog. In that instant, Li Fan understood something.
To attain eternal life, one must defy the principles of heaven and earth.
And to refine the Dao Heart... One must defy one's own fundamental intentions.
Perhaps all along, I have been cultivating incorrectly.
Li Fan's eyes slowly grew bright.
Following one's whims, crushing all distracting thoughts... at best, that only remains at the level of the Heart Clarification Sutra.
To truly cultivate the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra, one must temper one’s fundamental nature.
Oppose one's own instinctive choices?
Thinking this, Li Fan felt a sudden clarity, the knot in his heart dissolving completely.
The operation of the Heart Refinement Sutra instantly sped up.
It seems my haphazard guess was correct after all.
Inversely refining the Dao Heart.
This cultivation method is truly quite peculiar.
Take this crisis at Outpost 01-11 as an example. If I want to use it to refine my heart, I cannot act according to my instinctive thoughts.
It's best to do the opposite.
The greater the divergence from one's nature, the more the inner torment, and the more pronounced the cultivation effect of the Heart Refinement Sutra becomes.
Then the best choice should be...
Li Fan's thoughts raced, and in an instant, he had a hypothesis.
The increasingly unimpeded operation of the Heart Refinement Sutra also confirmed his speculation.
However, is doing this worth it?
The Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra, in Return to Truth's evaluation, is ranked above even the Cloudwater Dream Illusion Art...
After a moment of contemplation, Li Fan made his decision.
Not long after, within the Council Hall of Outpost 01-11, Li Fan gathered everyone and posed the question on his mind.
"The feasibility of returning to the Eternal Immortal Fortress? Master Li, why do you ask this?" asked He Chen, a soldier of the Qingxuan Garrison, somewhat puzzled.
However, he immediately realized something—Li Fan likely intended to send someone else to seek help.
His expression turned somewhat grim, but he answered truthfully nonetheless: "In recent days, the demonic sound tide has not shown any signs of weakening; in fact, it seems to be growing more intense.
"With our current strength, if we try to force our way through the White Mist during the demonic sound tide, I'm afraid..."
He Chen shook his head repeatedly.
Another Nascent Soul cultivator from the Martial Hall named Kong Yu directly rejected the idea: "Absolutely not!"
"I know Fellow Daoist Leng's capabilities. If even he failed to get help, we certainly have no chance of success. It's better to wait until the demonic sound tide weakens before making a decision."
The others also chimed in with their opinions.
"Let's wait a little longer. Captain Leng might return at any moment."
"That's right, Master Li. It's best not to make a hasty decision. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. Although our outpost is short-handed now, we can still barely look out for each other. If we split up again and encounter any sudden situations, I'm afraid we simply won't have the strength to cope!"
The cultivators assisting with array construction at the outpost, even those with Nascent Soul cultivation, all addressed Li Fan as "Master."
Although Li Fan had always vehemently insisted his skill in the array path was average and he didn't deserve the title of Master, he couldn't change how these people addressed him.
Over time, he could only tacitly accept it.
Now, seeing all the cultivators hold an opposing view, Li Fan thought to himself: Actually, I agree with you all. Unfortunately, I need to conduct an experiment.
I can only go against the grain.
However, he didn't argue with them. He simply waited until everyone had quieted down, then fixed them with a solemn gaze.
Only when the cultivators began to avoid his eyes did Li Fan finally speak slowly: "Everyone, let's speak plainly. Before the demonic sound tide, it would take only two or three days to make a normal round trip from Outpost 01-11 to the Eternal Immortal Fortress.
“Now, even with the sound tide making every step a struggle, if all goes smoothly, the round trip should take no more than ten days or so.
“If someone does not return for a long time, the only likely result is that something has gone wrong. The odds of survival are slim.
“We cultivators struggle against the heavens for our fates. Life and death are commonplace; there's no need to shy away from that truth.
“In fact, Captain Leng gave me specific instructions before he departed.”
This was not something Li Fan fabricated; it was the truth.
Several cultivators from the Qingxuan Garrison present had witnessed it.
Thus, after Li Fan's words, a shadow of gloom flickered in their eyes.
The hall fell into a heavy silence, with no one offering a rebuttal.
Li Fan then continued, "Now, the supplies within the outpost are nearly exhausted, and there's no sign of the demonic sound tide abating. An unavoidable question lies before us: what do we do when the supplies are completely gone?
"Perhaps we won't even last that long.
"Seeing the stock of Black Death Talismans dwindle, some among us may already be struggling to suppress their killing intent, fighting for that last shred of hope to survive."
Seeing Li Fan so bluntly expose the dark thoughts in everyone's hearts, one cultivator could no longer remain seated and immediately spoke up.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Master Li, please rest assured. For us of the Qingxuan Garrison, duty outweighs life itself."
"Exactly! Master Li, since we were ordered to ensure your safety, we will see it through. If anyone else wishes to harm you, they'll have to step over our corpses first!"
The Golden Core cultivators who were part of the Qingxuan Garrison declared righteously.
The other cultivators from the Martial Hall and Heavenly Mechanism Hall within the outpost grew visibly tense at this scene.
"Master Li—"
Just as someone was about to speak, Li Fan raised a hand to cut them off.
With a faint smile, Li Fan stated frankly, "There's no need for such declarations. Even ants cling to life, let alone us cultivators.
"To reach our level of cultivation, who among us hasn't faced countless dangers and hardships?"
"The desire to survive is not wrong. But..."
Li Fan paused slightly, drawing the attention of every cultivator.
His expression turned solemn, filled with conviction. "We are all brothers and sisters of the Myriad Immortals Alliance. If we die in battle against the Five Elders Council, it would be a worthy death, leaving no regrets.
"Yet, to perish killing each other? I fear I would die with eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.
"To prevent such a fate, I believe we should venture to the Eternal Immortal Fortress once more to seek rescue, before our supplies run out.
"As our Qingxuan Garrison brothers have said, this sudden demonic sound tide is unnaturally intense. The Eternal Immortal Fortress is likely overwhelmed, dealing with its own troubles. We cannot expect them to send aid.
"In desperate straits, sitting idle and waiting for death is inferior to gambling everything on one bold attempt."
Li Fan's words rang out with force, yet the cultivators present all wore strange, conflicted expressions.
The logic was clear to everyone, but Leng Yingyi, the strongest cultivator in Outpost 01-11, had likely already met misfortune within this demonic sound tide.
Who could guarantee they could accomplish what even Leng Yingyi could not?
Remaining in the outpost meant clinging to life, surviving a little longer.
Stepping outside to face the White Mist and the sound tide would likely mean immediate death and the dissipation of one's cultivation.
You, Li Fan, speak with such high-minded righteousness, but aren't you really just trying to goad us into throwing our lives away?
Surely you wouldn't personally take the risk and go yourself?
Every cultivator present thought the same.
However, it wasn't yet time to tear off all pretenses. They exchanged glances, and it was Kong Yu who cleared his throat lightly, preparing to try persuasion once more.
Yet Li Fan's next words made them all shoot to their feet in shock.
"Captain Leng has likely perished in the demonic sound tide while protecting my safety.
"This has weighed heavily on my heart.
"I know this mission to seek aid is an extremely dangerous one. If any more of you were to fall because of me, I would be too ashamed to face you.
"Therefore, I have decided—"
Li Fan suppressed his discomfort and spoke the words that went against his very Dao Heart.
"—to go alone to the Eternal Immortal Fortress to seek help.
"If I do not die, I will surely find a path to survival for all of you!"
Li Fan declared with iron resolve, his expression resolute.
Kong Yu, He Chen, and the others had never imagined this young array master would make such a decision.
They stared at each other, doubting their own hearing.
But seeing the firmness in Li Fan's eyes and face, their doubts vanished, replaced by sheer astonishment.
In truth, as the array master constructing the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array, Li Fan might possess only Golden Core cultivation, yet his status within Outpost 01-11 was the highest.
Every other cultivator present—whether from the Qingxuan Garrison, the Martial Hall, or other departments—had been sent here to assist Li Fan in building the Soul-Locking Array.
If he had insisted, using the reasoning that "the construction of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array cannot be delayed; my death would inevitably hinder the entire project's progress," and forced the group to send more cultivators on the rescue mission, then in all likelihood, nine times out of ten, everyone would have had to yield.
But now, not only did he not do that, he instead voluntarily took on this near-suicidal task himself, to secure a chance of survival for everyone.
To disregard his own life and death, to be selfless for others... Could such a person truly exist in this world?
Even the ancient Sages were no greater than this, were they?
Having been around him for so long, how had they failed to see this?!
Truly, only in moments of life and death does a person's true nature reveal itself.
Recalling their own petty, vile thoughts, they couldn't help but feel ashamed.
Chastened, their persuasions this time were utterly sincere.
"Master Li, why must it come to this! Though the situation is dire, it has not yet reached the point where you must stake your life!"
"Indeed, Master, please reconsider. Facing both the demonic sounds and the White Mist simultaneously is far too dangerous! The odds of survival are slim!"
Facing their clamoring dissuasions, Li Fan said with unwavering determination, "My mind is made up. Say no more.
“You've all spent years in the Roaring Abyss. You know better than anyone how to survive the demonic sounds and the White Mist. If you truly want to help, then share everything you know. Give me a better chance of coming back alive.”
Li Fan spoke with a carefree, almost detached air.
The group made a show of restrained persuasion for a while longer, but seeing they truly could not change Li Fan's will, they could only sigh in resignation.
Along with another wave of secret relief in their hearts, they poured out all their hard-won survival experience from the Roaring Abyss.
Li Fan listened with rapt attention, committing every word to memory.
He then gathered supplies sufficient for a single person to survive twenty days within the White Mist.
And finally, beneath the reluctant gazes of the crowd, he set foot upon the road leading to the Eternal Immortal Fortress, alone.
It was worth mentioning that, perhaps moved by Li Fan's righteous cause, He Chen of the Qingxuan Garrison decided to accompany him on his journey.
However, after lavishing praise upon the other's noble intent, Li Fan still declined his kind offer.
Under He Chen's gaze, now filled with admiration and emotion, Li Fan fastened the Black Death Talisman and identified the location of the Severed Hand Immortal City. Then, he transformed into a streak of light and plunged into the boundless White Mist.
The other cultivators within Outpost 01-11 watched Li Fan's vanishing figure with a complex mixture of expressions.
"To think that in today's cultivation world, a person of such lofty virtue and integrity still exists. It truly puts the rest of us to shame."
"I have wasted my 348 years of life. Only today have I met such a person. What a profound regret it is."
"If Master Li does not die, from this day forward, I will follow his lead without question."
After a moment of silence, they all voiced their heartfelt admiration.
"Hmph!"
Only He Chen cast a look of utter disdain at the group, flicked his sleeve, and strode away.
The expressions of the others held varying degrees of awkwardness.
They scattered like birds and beasts.