"Of course, if you don't believe me and insist on testing the might of the Immortal Ruins, I won't stop you.
"After all, good advice is wasted on those destined for the grave. Our coalition won’t collapse without your assistance anyway." Li Fan spoke with utter indifference.
The three were, after all, elites chosen by the Empire, and all possessed extraordinary mental fortitude. After a moment, the pallor slowly faded from their faces.
Li Chenfeng replied, "Senior, this matter is of immense importance. We truly cannot decide on our own..."
Li Fan said briskly, "I'll give you two months. Two months from now, return here and give me a definitive answer."
Li Chenfeng gave a bitter smile but could only agree.
"Since this involves our coalition's secrets, a small measure is necessary for precaution." Li Fan looked at the three and flicked his finger.
Li Chenfeng felt a surge of cold energy enter his body and instantly conceal itself, becoming untraceable.
Yet they dared not protest, only nodding to show their understanding.
Before leaving, Li Fan retrieved one hundred standard high-grade spirit stones from his storage ring and handed them to the three from the Empire.
"This is our coalition's custom. A first meeting should come with a gesture of goodwill. Though ten thousand contribution points probably aren't much to you."
Li Fan's gaze shifted beyond the secret chamber to the several final-stage Qi Refinement realm cultivators still in slumber.
"Foundation Establishment Master. Hmph, not a bad method. While the 'oil' you can squeeze from each Qi Refinement cultivator is limited, grains of sand can form a tower. Once the numbers grow, it becomes a rather considerable sum."
Zhu Shaotang wore an awkward expression, unsure how to respond.
"But no lie can remain concealed forever. Once you join the coalition in the future, you should stop.
"If you want contribution points, the coalition will assist you."
Li Fan's arrival was sudden, and his departure equally swift.
With those final words, he shot skyward and vanished from the trio's sight, leaving only a deathly silence within the secret chamber.
"What's the use of contribution points anyway?" Xiao Jin said dejectedly after a long while. "Without leaving the Xuanhuang World, establishing a separate Dao lineage is simply impossible."
Zhu Shaotang looked at Li Chenfeng and asked, "Master Li, what do you think? How much of what that man said was true, and how much was false?"
As technique thieves infiltrating the Xuanhuang World, they maintained a high degree of suspicion toward everything. They certainly wouldn't fully trust the words of a cultivator who had arrived before them out of nowhere.
Li Chenfeng pondered for a moment before replying, "It should be true. His cultivation is unfathomable. With the Divine Beast Armor, I can theoretically contend with a Golden Core cultivator. Yet he effortlessly toyed with me, and I was utterly powerless to resist.
"And that technique that plunged people into illusions..."
A flicker of fear passed through Li Chenfeng's eyes.
"If he truly harbored malicious intent, we..." Li Chenfeng shook his head and fell silent.
He left the rest unspoken.
"In that case, we must relay this message as soon as possible," Zhu Shaotang said.
"Mm. I will personally return to the Empire to explain this matter. Of course, the final outcome depends on the decisions of the think tank and the Imperatrix." Li Chenfeng declared resolutely.
"Ah, the sacrifices of generations, all for a mission that is fundamentally impossible to complete.
"I fear once the news spreads, the Empire will face another great purge."
Zhu Shaotang sighed softly.
Li Chenfeng did not reply, but the gloom in his eyes could not be suppressed.
Not daring to delay, he activated the Divine Beast Armor and flew swiftly in a certain direction.
Li Chenfeng halted over a certain stretch of sea, then plunged downward sharply, disappearing into the deep ocean.
Through the Divine Beast Armor's form-shifting ability, he transformed into something resembling a deep-sea monstrosity.
He changed directions again and repeated this several times until he was beyond the Congyun Sea, deep in Shilin Province.
Within the ruins of a mountain valley, his figure finally vanished.
Formless Killing Mechanism lost its lock on him, and Li Fan smiled slightly.
Quite cautious indeed. A pity that it’s utterly useless.
Now that he knew the location of the entrance passage to the Empire, Li Fan withdrew his attention from the matter for the time being.
He did not return to Myriad Immortals Island immediately. Instead, he went back under the sea, excavated a hidden chamber, and performed a ritual.
Li Fan was about to embark on his first exploration of the Fallen Immortal Realm in this lifetime.
After Returning to Truth, I wonder if the scenes I encounter in the Fallen Immortal Realm will differ from my previous life.
Will I return to Ningyuan City and meet Senior Brother Zhang? Or will I appear at the Beast Taming Sect, or somewhere else entirely?
Thinking this, Li Fan uttered, "Blessed be Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang," and his vision gradually blurred.
"Junior Brother, Junior Brother?"
Li Fan opened his eyes, his heart stirring.
Before him was the concerned face of Senior Brother Zhang.
Zhang Qianmo...
Now that he knew of Zhang Qianmo's future achievements, Li Fan saw his senior brother in an entirely different light.
"Have I grown even more handsome? Why does your gaze feel so strange, Junior Brother?" Zhang Qianmo stroked his chin, asking with a laugh.
Li Fan reined in his thoughts and, just as he had tried before, began chatting idly with Senior Brother Zhang.
When Zhang Qianmo once again spoke of his three great vows, Li Fan did not fall into stunned silence as he had in his previous life.
Instead, he clapped his hands and sighed in admiration. "If I met any other Foundation Establishment cultivator who dared to boast so grandly, I would surely strike them dead with a bolt of divine thunder on the spot.
"But hearing these words from you, Senior Brother Zhang, I actually find it somewhat fitting for some reason!"
Zhang Qianmo laughed heartily, patting Li Fan's shoulder. "Since when did you learn to flatter others like that, Junior Brother? But I like what you said!"
Li Fan continued chatting with Senior Brother Zhang, seamlessly mixing in more praise without changing his expression.
After a while, Li Fan casually asked, "By the way, Senior Brother, if one day all these wishes of yours truly came to pass, what then?"
Zhang Qianmo was momentarily stunned.
After thinking seriously for a moment, he replied, "History often repeats itself. It is also common for dead ashes to rekindle.
"Take the eradication of demons and heretics, for example. Even if I truly accomplished it at some point, there's no guarantee they wouldn't reappear in the world later.
"Given my nature, I'd most likely leave behind a Vow Dharma Body to serve as an eternal enforcer of my will."
Li Fan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Senior Brother, what is a Vow Dharma Body?"
Zhang Qianmo smiled. "Just an impractical fantasy. You can think of it as one’s body transforming into a law of heaven and earth, enduring forever.
“If triggered by specific conditions, the Dharma Body will manifest in the world.
“For example, if after the extinction of demons, a great demon were to reappear, the Dharma Body born from the vow to ‘exterminate demons’ would manifest and destroy it.
“In this way, one can ensure that the vow remains unbroken for ten thousand generations, enduring eternally.
“Junior Brother, what do you think of this method of mine? Zhang Qianmo asked.
“Senior Brother, you truly are a heaven-sent prodigy!” Li Fan praised wholeheartedly.