"We acquired the questions for the Alliance’s entrance examination from them with such ease, and it seems they possess access to even more highly classified information."
The Five Elders Council cultivator gradually lowered his voice, clearly sinking into deep contemplation.
After a long moment, he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at “Zhou Qing’ang.”
“Although there were some minor flaws, overall, you have rendered a great service by establishing contact with the organization behind He Zhenghao.”
He flicked his wrist and tossed over a storage ring.
“Inside is the Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Devouring Grand Art you requested, along with several Dao Comprehension Pills.
“In addition, there are spirit stones equivalent to fifty thousand contribution points. Consider it your reward for this mission.”
Li Fan caught the ring and swept it with his divine sense. A look of delight immediately spread across his face.
“Fifty thousand contribution points? Since when has the boss been so generous?”
The cultivator snorted. “Merit is always rewarded. From now on, while continuing your covert duties, you must maintain your relationship with He Zhenghao.
“If possible, try to extract information about the mysterious organization behind him.
“Of course, do not push too hard if it proves impossible. Simply preserving this channel of exchanging spirit stones for secrets is already valuable enough.”
Li Fan nodded repeatedly.
“Good. You may return now.
“You’ve been meeting the boss rather frequently these days. For the time being, don’t contact us to avoid arousing suspicion.
“If any special circumstances arise, you will be contacted.”
After issuing a few more detailed instructions, the cultivator departed Youlan Island first.
Only then did Li Fan’s avatar make his unhurried return.
Back on Tai’an Island, Li Fan’s true self had already been waiting.
Five million and fifty thousand contribution points. Three bottles of Dao Comprehension Pills. The Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Devouring Grand Art...
Not a bad harvest.
Combining the contents of the storage rings from both his true self and avatar, Li Fan gave a faint nod of satisfaction.
With this many contribution points, it will be far easier to execute my plans.
He spared the mountain of spirit stones only a passing glance.
Upon reaching a certain threshold of wealth, any additional amount became little more than a string of numbers.
Moreover, for someone like Li Fan, who could repeatedly employ Return to Truth and begin anew, the more cycles he experienced, the more information he accumulated, and the easier it became to acquire contribution points.
His attention soon turned to the Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Devouring Grand Art.
For safety’s sake, it was his avatar, Zhou Qing’ang, who examined the jade slip first.
Its style differed markedly from the techniques available for redemption within the Myriad Immortal Alliance’s Tianxuan Mirror.
Rather than being concise and direct, focusing plainly on cultivation essentials, it was filled with obscure, archaic phrasing. The text was dense and cryptic, making it difficult to comprehend.
A distinctly ancient style...
Fortunately, Li Fan had already cultivated several techniques passed down from the ancient era. Even so, it still took him the better part of a day to fully parse its contents.
The Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Devouring Grand Art was not a primary cultivation method for advancing realms, nor was it simply a variation on how one absorbed spiritual qi.
Rather, it resembled a divine ability.
Its practitioner forcibly extracted power from earth veins and spirit veins, refining it into their own spiritual qi to fuel cultivation. At the same time, the operation of one’s primary technique was greatly accelerated.
Under normal circumstances, a cultivator could only absorb a limited amount of spiritual qi. Once that limit was reached, forcibly attempting to draw in more could result in bodily collapse.
But after cultivating the Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Devouring Grand Art, such limitations effectively disappeared. Any surplus energy absorbed would instead transform into fuel for the technique itself, driving it to operate faster and faster of its own accord.
The more one devoured, the faster the technique operated.
This process continued until a breakthrough in realm was achieved, at which point one could devour even more.
Thus the cycle repeated, escalating without end, until one truly possessed the power to swallow the heavens and devour the earth.
Of course, all of this depended on one crucial condition: that you were not discovered and beaten to death first.
Without a doubt, this parasitic path of cultivation was even more insidious than the Heavenly Venerable’s new methodology.
It could cause nearly irreversible damage to the world in a short time. Calling those who practiced this technique the enemy of all other cultivators would not be wrong.
However, as long as it could elevate his cultivation, being an enemy of the world meant nothing to Li Fan.
After carefully contemplating the technique, the Zhou Qing’ang avatar began operating the Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Devouring Grand Art.
In an instant, its eyes turned blood-red.
The world in its vision changed completely.
There were no longer distinctions between people, scenery, or objects—only the difference between what was delicious and what was not.
The avatar stared at its true self for a brief moment. Then its gaze slowly shifted downward, toward the foundations of Tai’an Island.
Beneath the island, an earthen-yellow vein pulsed quietly, stretching deep into the seabed and branching outward to connect with the greater earth.
It looked incomparably delicious.
The avatar gently pressed both palms against the ground.
A powerful suction force was generated.
...Hm?
According to the technique’s description, the earth vein’s power should have flowed into him effortlessly. Yet to Li Fan’s surprise, it did not move at all.
What’s going on?
He carefully reviewed the process and confirmed there had been no mistake. Then he tried again.
This time, he removed all restraint and increased the pulling force.
The earth vein trembled faintly, but it felt like a single, unified whole—immovable.
The avatar’s eyes burned an even deeper crimson.
A sumptuous feast lay before him, yet he could not take a single bite.
Irritation rising, it pushed the Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Devouring Grand Art to greater and greater intensity.
The earth vein resisted relentlessly.
Under the clash of forces, Tai’an Island began to tremble.
If this continued, the abnormal disturbance would surely attract attention.
But the avatar showed no sign of stopping.
It was only when the true self, who had been watching from the side, stepped in and struck Zhou Qing’ang unconscious that the trembling finally ceased.
This Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Devouring Grand Art is rather sinister...
Li Fan frowned.
The consciousness of his true self and avatar were originally one and the same. Logically, such a loss of control should never have occurred.
Yet just now, under the influence of that overwhelming urge to feed, his awareness had split.
When the avatar looked at his true self, it had even entertained a fleeting thought of devouring him.
At first, it had still been manageable.
But once its feeding was obstructed and the craving left unsatisfied, the avatar had fallen completely under the technique’s sway.
It clearly understood the consequences of forcibly drawing upon Tai’an Island’s earth vein, yet it simply could not stop.
No wonder its original creator failed to restrain himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. He simply couldn’t.
He felt a trace of pity.
Not for that long-dead cultivator, but because this secret art could not be safely used for his own purposes.
With the Mountain-Sitting Art, something like Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Devouring is just icing on the cake.
Besides, I could always have someone else cultivate this method and harvest the results.
After a moment’s thought, he temporarily set the matter aside.
His gaze pierced through layers of earth and seawater, settling on the earth vein below Tai’an Island.
Back then, the Mountain River Grand Array linked all the world’s earth veins together. Though it has long since been replaced by the Heavenly Vitality Transformation Array, its structure remains.
Devouring heaven and earth is no longer as simple as it was in ancient times.
A peerless and vicious art from millennia past... reduced by the march of time to something nearly unusable.
No wonder the Five Elders Council handed it over so readily to an insignificant Foundation Establishment spy.
Li Fan shook his head lightly.
Then, as if dismissing the matter entirely, he turned away.