“I have no real interest in immortal cultivation.” The memory of Xiao Heng’s tone as he said those words was still vivid in Li Fan’s mind.
How long had it been since then? How had he managed to purge the miasma from his body and break through to the Qi Refinement realm so quickly?
For a moment, Li Fan was filled with shock and disbelief.
He re-read Xiao Heng’s letter several times, then went out to make inquiries. Eventually, he had no choice but to reluctantly concede that it was the truth.
It turned out that although Li Fan had confidently assured him that the rumors of smuggled mortals were targeted at the Tianbao Pavilion, Xiao Heng still felt uneasy when he reached home, tossing sleeplessly through the night.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw terrifying visions of an Immortal Master descending from the heavens and slaughtering everyone from the Li World.
For several days, Xiao Heng lived in this state of constant fear.
After much anguish and reflection, he finally made a decision.
To sleep peacefully, and more importantly, to become a cultivator so he would no longer have to live in constant anxiety, he began earnestly practicing the Xuanhuang Heart Clarification Sutra.
Unexpectedly, once Xiao Heng focused his mind, his progress was astonishingly rapid. With the aid of medicine, it took him less than a month to completely purge the miasma from his body on his own.
After that, he felt the spiritual qi of heaven and earth behave like a living thing, playfully swirling and lingering around him. He was utterly captivated by this phenomenon, and his mind was completely immersed. In what felt like a state of deep, restful sleep, he successfully drew qi into his body.
At first, he wasn’t entirely sure he had truly become one of the legendary Immortal Masters. But when he attempted to be intimate with a maid in his household, he suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart, and he instinctively killed her with a single palm strike.
Immortals and mortals were eternally divided. At that moment, Xiao Heng finally confirmed that he was indeed a cultivator.
Although he had reached the Qi Refinement realm, Xiao Heng was still completely at a loss about what to do next. So he sought an audience with the Immortal Master stationed at Liuli Island.
Unfortunately, at that time, He Zhenghao was occupied with maintaining the Body Purification Spirit Pool array and could not leave.
Xiao Heng had no choice but to return home and wait patiently.
It was only after Li Fan emerged from the spirit pool and He Zhenghao finally had time to spare that Xiao Heng managed to meet him.
After hearing Xiao Heng’s account and carefully examining him, He Zhenghao confirmed that Xiao Heng was telling the truth.
At first, he was overjoyed. Then he suddenly slapped his thigh, and regret filled his face. After a moment, he collected himself and eagerly prepared to take Xiao Heng to Myriad Immortals Island.
Xiao Heng requested permission to bid farewell to his friends, which He Zhenghao naturally granted. After that, Xiao Heng said his goodbyes to everyone from the Li World and departed gracefully.
As for Li Fan, Xiao Heng had originally intended to visit him in person. But he knew Li Fan was deeply committed to cultivation and had taken over three years to purify his body.
Not long ago, Xiao Heng had explicitly stated to Li Fan that he had no interest in immortality. Yet now, in the blink of an eye, he had become a Qi Refinement cultivator!
Xiao Heng truly didn’t know how to face Li Fan. Worried that his success might upset him, he decided to leave a letter instead, entrusting someone to deliver it.
Xiao Heng expressed profound gratitude for Li Fan’s repeated assistance, promising to wait for him on Myriad Immortals Island and repay his kindness in the future.
Big Brother,
I owe everything I’ve achieved to your protection.
I’ve heard the news that you’ve successfully purged your miasma. I trust it won’t be long before you break through to Qi Refinement.
I’ll go on ahead and wait for your arrival on Myriad Immortals Island.
When we meet again, if there’s anything you need from me, I won’t dare refuse, even if it costs me my life.
With deepest respect, I bow to you once more.
Heng
Li Fan set down Xiao Heng’s letter and slowly exhaled.
So this was what a true heaven-defying genius was like?
Without any guidance, he had fumbled his way into the Qi Refinement realm by pure accident. He could even sense the spiritual qi of heaven and earth greeting him with affection.
Though Li Fan had long known that the level of talent among cultivators varied wildly, and he was well aware of his own modest aptitude, the realization that such a prodigy had been so close at hand was... a tough pill to swallow.
It seemed Xiao Heng’s concerns weren’t entirely unfounded. If he had suddenly appeared before Li Fan, who had just succeeded in expelling his miasma, Li Fan’s mental state might indeed have been thrown off balance.
Li Fan gave a bitter smile.
But it would have been just that, a moment of imbalance.
Li Fan knew with absolute clarity that he had never been relying on his natural talent. His real foundation was the countless opportunities to start over, granted to him by Return to Truth.
With Return to Truth in hand, he had the confidence to surpass any genius, no matter how brilliant. The process just took longer and required lifetime after lifetime of planning.
The Heart Refinement Sutra operated, and Li Fan’s turbulent thoughts gradually stilled.
He opened the Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method He Zhenghao had given him and began to read it carefully.
According to the book, in ancient times, the concept of spirit roots existed.
Back then, only mortals who possessed spirit roots could practice cultivation.
There were the common spirit roots of five elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth—as well as variant attributes like Thunder, Wind, and Darkness.
Those with a single spirit root cultivated very quickly in the early stages. By specializing in a technique corresponding to their attribute, they could easily achieve mastery.
Those with multiple spirit roots cultivated more slowly, as they had to balance their progress in all attributes. Most of them spent great effort on cultivation with little to show for it. Yet, if a peerless genius who could master all attributes of their multiple roots emerged, their strength would often far surpass a single-root cultivator of the same realm.
But these were all tales of a bygone era.
The ancient cultivation world emphasized harmony between heaven and man.
Spirit roots were a gift from the heavens. Only those fortunate few favored by heaven could perceive the laws of the world, earn the qualification to seek the Dao, and ascend to immortality.
But the number of ordinary mortals was vast, and those with spirit roots were but a small minority. The overwhelming majority could only gaze upon the path of cultivation from afar, unable to ever reach it.
How unjust was that?
Fortunately, in those ancient times, an Immortal Venerable came to preach the Dao!
The Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method recounted how the Immortal Venerable manifested his Dharma Body, projected onto heaven and earth, to reveal a way forward for the mortals who had long sought eternal life in vain.
The Immortal Venerable declared: Why must I beg heaven if I wish to become immortal? If heaven will not give, I shall take it myself!
Submit to heaven and remain mortal. Defy heaven and become immortal!
A mere mortal, audaciously seeking eternal life, need not seek harmony between heaven and man. They need only wrest it from heaven itself!
Thus, the Immortal Venerable laid out his doctrine with absolute clarity, explaining his path to the masses.
This was the cultivation path followed by the present-day cultivation world.
The path of immortality was thus:
Draw upon the spirit of heaven and earth to harness its qi;
Borrow the Curios of heaven and earth to build a Dao Foundation;
Peer into the laws of heaven and earth to refine a Golden Core;
Seize the essence of heaven and earth to form a Nascent Soul;
Extract the marrow of heaven and earth to obtain its spirit;
Sacrifice the soul of heaven and earth to unify one’s body with the Dao;
Defy the principles of heaven and earth to attain eternal life!
...
Thud.
The Five Spirits Qi Sensing Method fell to the floor.
Li Fan’s hands trembled as he picked it up, unable to conceal the shock reverberating through his soul.
The cultivation methodology of this world was completely different from what he had imagined. One might even say it was somewhat horrifying.
No wonder he’d felt something strange about this world’s cultivators ever since encountering them.
The Heavenly Dao of this world seemed to harbor a deep malice toward those who practiced immortal techniques.
Whether it was the law that forbade multiple cultivators from practicing the same immortal technique, or the bizarre phenomenon where a cultivator’s death lit up the sky for thousands of li like some kind of broadcast, or even the eerie Immortal-Mortal Miasma within ordinary mortals—a substance extremely harmful to cultivators—all of it pointed toward one conclusion.
Now, after stepping into the world of cultivation himself, Li Fan finally understood the truth.
“Defy the principles of heaven and earth to attain eternal life,” Li Fan murmured softly, releasing a long, heavy breath.