The "Han Wuyou" who had visited Sikong Yi was, naturally, Li Fan's avatar.
It had taken considerable effort: feigning a desire to split forty percent of the contribution points, personally disposing of the cultivator who practiced the same technique as Sikong Yi, offering counsel, and jointly exploring Cloudwater Palace together.
The ultimate goal was to plant a single suggestion in Sikong Yi's mind: to make him volunteer of his own accord, and thereby trigger the mission to transport the white jade figurine after completing the Heavenly Physician's first task.
Judging by Sikong Yi's recent return trip to Cloudwater Palace, the scheme had likely succeeded.
In this lifetime, Li Fan intended to instigate a conflict between Old Man Fisher, Fuzi, and the Heavenly Physician. But all his planning rested on one essential prerequisite: someone had to deliver the Heavenly Physician's statue into Cloudwater Palace. Only then would Fuzi sense the Heavenly Physician's presence within the palace and come driving his ox-cart across the sea.
Such a dangerous task was not something Li Fan could undertake personally. The Heavenly Physician's four arts of observation, listening, inquiry, and palpation were truly terrifying. Even a prepared avatar might not deceive him.
So Sikong Yi, who had originally submitted the Cloudwater Model and received one hundred thousand contribution points, became the natural and logical choice.
Li Fan had not been certain, however, whether Sikong Yi had received the same request from the Heavenly Physician in his past life. To ensure events proceeded along the intended course, he had orchestrated the visit from "Han Wuyou."
Even if Sikong Yi or the Heavenly Physician harbored suspicions about this Han Wuyou, who had appeared from nowhere, the man was already dead, having perished somewhere in the Oddity-ridden depths of Cloudwater Palace.
Li Fan was confident that even the Heavenly Physician would find it difficult to investigate further. And in the Heavenly Physician's eyes, Sikong Yi was likely nothing more than a greedy cultivator blinded by profit, trying to latch onto a powerful patron. He might not even bother.
Altogether, the scheme was seamless. It left no trace and offered no path back to Li Fan.
This was a plan that only became possible after living through countless simulation cycles, experiencing a vast range of possible futures, and accumulating an extraordinary depth of information. No one else could have replicated it. Even a powerhouse like the Heavenly Physician had, without realizing it, been drawn into the invisible web Li Fan had woven.
To manipulate and direct the actions of a powerhouse beyond Dao Unity according to one's own design—the significance of that was profound.
The gloom that had long settled over Li Fan's heart finally began to lift.
No matter how transcendent your cultivation, you still fall into my trap.
Even so, he did not let this momentary victory loosen his grip on his judgment. He understood clearly that this success had been built upon a foundation of accumulated future knowledge, and that foundation was now spent. What lay ahead were unknowns. He would need to proceed with care, one step at a time.
Better to abandon a move than force it.
The Heavenly Physician is in position. The next step is to inform Old Man Fisher about the Heaven-Scorning Sword being trapped within Cloudwater Palace when Fuzi manifests in the world in Anchor Year 16. That will also require a proxy.
The right candidate came to him at once.
Han Yi.
Li Fan paused to sense the lock placed on him through Formless Killing Mechanism. Over a year had passed, and the man still hadn't returned to the Xuanhuang World from the vortex at the seabed. Whatever fortuitous encounter had found him down there, it seemed the gains had been considerable.
No matter. He can't escape my grasp.
Li Fan held his gaze on Cloudwater Palace a moment longer as it stood tall against the heavens, then gathered his thoughts and quietly departed.
***
Embodiment Island.
Ye Feipeng had been feeling quite pleased with himself lately.
Some time ago, the Immortal Master who had brought them all to the island, and then seemingly forgotten about them, had suddenly reappeared. For the first time, he had begun inspecting the cultivation progress of every child on the island.
Those who had cultivated diligently and progressed beyond expectations were rewarded with spirit stones and elixirs. Those who had been lazy, or whose cultivation had stagnated, were punished by being made to fight the Villain Puppet for three days and three nights.
It was called a fight. In reality, it was a one-sided beating.
"Villain Puppet" was the children's private name for the seemingly dull and simple-minded puppet.
At first, they had assumed it would be easy to handle.
After cultivating for some time, a few of the bolder children had decided to challenge it. The first to make the attempt was Sun Erlang. He was exceptionally talented, naturally gifted in martial combat, and already at the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm in less than half a year. Combined with his innate aptitude for fighting, he could draw out two hundred percent of his strength in actual combat. In ordinary sparring among the island's children, almost no one could withstand a single move from him.
Confidence swelling, he stepped forward before the assembled children and became the first to challenge the Tian Yang puppet.
The result was predictable.
Tian Yang remembered Li Fan's instructions precisely: beat them within an inch of their lives, but never kill them or damage their cultivation foundation. Operating well within those limits, he gave Sun Erlang a thorough education in the treachery of the world and the art of playing the pig to catch the tiger.
He made himself appear only slightly stronger than Sun Erlang, as though with just a little more effort, Sun Erlang could turn the tide. With that impression firmly planted, Tian Yang kept luring him into one attack after another. And each time, at the decisive moment, Sun Erlang would fall just short.
The fiercely competitive Sun Erlang fought until he collapsed from sheer exhaustion and lost consciousness before the battle could end.
The following day, after waking up, Sun Erlang gained some insight. He went into seclusion for seven days and seven nights and broke through directly to the late-stage Qi Refinement realm.
Thrilled, he went straight back to reclaim his honor and challenged Tian Yang again.
He still fell just short.
By then, all the children on the island could see what was happening. This seemingly honest, simple puppet was deliberately toying with them.
Furious, Sun Erlang was beaten unconscious a second time.
In the days that followed, no matter what level of cultivation the children displayed when they fought it, the puppet would use only enough force to stay slightly stronger than them. Some children raged and cursed Tian Yang as a great villain. Others began to understand, gradually, that the Tian Yang puppet was simply the perfect training partner, and started seeking it out for duels at every opportunity.
Ye Feipeng was naturally among them.
Fighting wasn't really his preference, but as the island's only practitioner of all three methods, he absolutely refused to let himself fall behind the others. Unfortunately, his talent wasn't top-tier. Early on, he had managed to maintain an edge through the dual cultivation of body and qi. But as the others advanced through the cultivation realms, his performances against Tian Yang were slowly being matched by his peers.
He was just beginning to grow anxious when the Immortal Master arrived.
Alongside the distribution of rewards and punishments, the Immortal Master gave Ye Feipeng particular attention. After examining his cultivation progress and conducting a thorough inspection of his body, the Immortal Master determined that the Sea-Calming Sword Art he was currently practicing might not be the most suitable technique for him. He dissolved Ye Feipeng's cultivation technique and bestowed a new one in its place: Dragon Roams The Seas.