What is happening?
As his mind reeled with shock, Li Fan’s Water Mirror Art shattered violently.
His thoughts were a chaotic storm, plunging him into momentary confusion.
After a few moments, Li Fan slowly regained his composure.
Could there be a problem with this Thousand Mechanisms Jade Cosmos Scripture?
His first thought was that the technique itself was the problem.
Perhaps this so-called “Discernment of Mechanisms” was no longer applicable in the cultivation world after the Great Reformation.
After all, Li Fan was currently inside Tai’an Island’s protection array. And Tai’an Island was located in the central region of the Congyun Sea, firmly within the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s sphere of influence.
It had been perfectly safe before. How could an imminent catastrophe strike just because he had gone into seclusion?
Yet, sensing the thick aura of death surrounding him, Li Fan found it impossible to dismiss the feeling so easily.
As the unease in his heart grew steadily stronger, Li Fan made a decisive choice: whether the warning was real or false, he would seek refuge on Myriad Immortals Island first.
He immediately activated the teleportation array to travel there.
But a moment later, his heart sank. The teleportation array was completely unresponsive!
Li Fan’s expression darkened.
He retrieved the communication spirit talisman He Zhenghao had given to him and attempted to contact him.
He channeled spiritual qi into it. But again, there was no reaction!
The situation was becoming clear: something strange and sinister was indeed happening.
Staying on Tai’an Island was a death sentence, and there was no way he would just wait passively for his life to end.
Li Fan summoned the Taiyan Boat and brought out the Congyun Sea Atlas , preparing to pilot the flying boat himself.
The spirit stones that powered the Taiyan Boat were nearly depleted. Fortunately, during his earlier shopping spree, the Essential Kit for the Solitary Cultivator he purchased had included a substantial supply of spirit stones.
Li Fan estimated that the journey from Tai’an Island to Myriad Immortals Island would take two to three months by air. The spirit stones would be more than sufficient.
Abandoning any pretense of his duty as the island’s guardian, Li Fan immediately powered up the flying boat and prepared for departure.
Just as the Taiyan Boat was about to cross the threshold of the island protection array, Li Fan suddenly sensed boundless killing mechanisms encompassing the world outside.
Sharp swords seemed to permeate every inch of heaven and earth.
Li Fan’s heart skipped a beat, and he halted the Taiyan Boat instantly.
A primal instinct screamed that stepping beyond this array meant certain death.
Squinting, Li Fan studied the calm sea. However, he was unable to pinpoint the source of the danger.
Ultimately, he chose not to risk it.
He stored the Taiyan Boat away and decided to question the island’s mortals about recent events.
But when his divine sense swept across the entire island, he received another shock: a full third of the island’s population had vanished.
Those who remained were all sallow and emaciated, as if they hadn’t eaten a proper meal in ages.
Knowing something momentous must have occurred during his seclusion, Li Fan’s face was grim as he flew to the residence of the Tai’an Island Master.
Since taking on the role of acting guardian, Li Fan had focused solely on his closed-door cultivation, paying little attention to the island’s mundane affairs. Thus, he had only met this Island Master a handful of times.
The moment the Island Master saw Li Fan, he dropped to his knees, wailing and kowtowing desperately.
“Immortal Master, have mercy! Immortal Master, please, save us!” The Island Master wept bitterly, his forehead starting to bleed from the force of his kowtows.
“What happened? Speak. Now!” Li Fan’s face was utterly dark.
“Reporting to the Immortal Master, life has become truly unbearable! The heavens haven’t sent rain for a full half-year. The island’s freshwater and food are almost entirely depleted. If this continues, everyone will starve to death!” the Island Master sobbed, continuing to weep and kowtow.
“Half a year without rain?” Li Fan recalled the words Zhang Haobo had spoken to him years ago.
So the drought has come after all. But why did the Tianxuan Mirror say no major upheavals would occur when I consulted it earlier? Could a drought of this scale truly be beneath the Tianxuan Mirror’s notice?
The Island Master continued his tearful wails. “The fish in the nearby waters have all been caught. The weather is unbearably hot. Not a single fishing crew that ventured into the deep sea has returned alive. Everyone is truly on the verge of starvation! Immortal Master, have mercy, save us!”
Annoyed by the man’s shouting, Li Fan glanced at him. Though somewhat thinner, the man’s body was still layered with fat.
Fury erupted within Li Fan. “Half the mortals on this island have starved to death, yet you don’t seem to have lost weight.”
The Island Master’s face paled. He opened his mouth to offer an excuse.
But Li Fan’s divine sense had already swept through the kitchen of the Island Master’s residence. What he saw there stoked his rage to its peak.
Without waiting for the Island Master to speak, Li Fan backhanded him, striking with such force that the man was pulverized into a bloody pulp.
“Abusing your position of power to fatten yourself while others starve? You deserve death many times over!” Li Fan snorted coldly.
Borrowing the power of the great array, he projected his voice across the entire island.
“The Island Master has been executed! The remaining officials are to report to the Island Master’s residence immediately!”
A short time later, several mortals arrived before Li Fan, trembling with fear.
Seeing that they, too, bore the gaunt look of hunger, Li Fan suppressed his killing intent.
Through their tearful, choked sobs, Li Fan finally learned what had transpired on the island during his year in seclusion.
The drought had begun half a year ago.
At first, when many days passed without rain, no one paid it much mind.
It wasn’t until two full months had gone by without a single drop that panic truly began to set in across the island.
The island did possess a source of freshwater, but as the rainless days stretched on, it had gradually dwindled to nothing.
Food could initially be sustained by catching fish from the nearby waters. But as the weather grew hotter and hotter, the fish vanished from the shores. Fishing boats that ventured further out never returned. Tai’an Island was plunged into famine.
In just one month, a third of the island’s population had perished. Countless tragedies had unfolded.
Those who remained were merely clinging to life, surviving by a thread.
Had Li Fan emerged from seclusion any later, he might not have found a single living soul left.
Faced with this reality, Li Fan could not simply stand by and watch them die.
When he had left Great Xuan years ago, a few cabins of the Taiyan Boat had been filled with gold, silver, and treasures, and the rest was stocked full of grain.
It was simply a safeguard, born from his habitual caution as he ventured into the unfamiliar cultivation world.
He never expected that it would finally serve its purpose nearly a decade later.
The Taiyan Boat was equipped with a dust-purification array, so none of the grain had spoiled.
Li Fan now willed the Taiyan Boat to expand to its full size and ordered the island’s mortals to unload a portion of the grain for emergency relief.
When the people saw the food the Immortal Master had brought, they fell to their knees emotionally, kowtowing repeatedly.
Li Fan paid them no mind, allowing them their moment of relief and celebration.
If rationed carefully, the grain within the Taiyan Boat should be enough to sustain the remaining islanders for several months.
The most critical issue now was solving the freshwater problem.
Once they had water, they could survive.
Li Fan made his way to the island’s primary freshwater source, which was a medium-sized lake.
Guards had long been posted around its perimeter, keeping ordinary folk at a distance.
After so long without rain, the lake had shrunk drastically. It now dwindled to a mere tenth of its original size, teetering on the brink of complete desiccation.
When they constructed the island protection array, no one anticipated they’d face a water shortage... Li Fan shook his head ruefully, the guardian token of Tai’an Island heavy in his hand. It seems I’ll have to construct a new array to purify seawater.