She also mentioned that someone as deeply sentimental as Li Fan was exceedingly rare in the current cultivation world, which was why she made a special effort to extend the invitation.
Li Fan glanced at her name.
Song Weiyu. It seemed to be a female cultivator.
Should he go or not?
It was a Golden Core cultivator’s cave dwelling, and the expedition was led by a Nascent Soul powerhouse. It seemed safe enough.
But after some thought, Li Fan politely declined.
All he wanted were He Zhenghao's remains. If Song Weiyu completed the task successfully, she would bring them back anyway. There was no need for him to take unnecessary risks.
And if there truly was some incredible opportunity within that cave dwelling, he could always investigate thoroughly and seize it in his next life.
Seeing Li Fan’s refusal, Song Weiyu did not bother him further.
With all matters settled, Li Fan began cultivating the Cloudwater Dream Illusion Art.
He was deeply invested in his pawn, Zhang Haobo.
To ensure Zhang Haobo didn't deviate from the growth path Li Fan had meticulously designed for him, Li Fan needed to reshape his consciousness periodically through dream manipulation.
It was manageable while Zhang Haobo remained a mortal. But once Zhang Haobo broke through to the Qi Refinement realm, influencing his thoughts would become far more difficult.
Therefore, what Li Fan needed to do now was advance to the second level of the Cloudwater Dream Illusion Art.
This technique was rather unique. It comprised seven levels, none directly corresponding to cultivation realms like Qi Refinement or Foundation Establishment.
Its progression depended solely on the strength of one's divine sense and the intricacy of the dreamscapes one could construct. The higher the level achieved, the more potent the influence of the illusions.
Theoretically, a mortal with sufficiently powerful mental strength could ensnare even Golden Core or Nascent Soul experts within their dreamscapes.
But since a cultivator's realm typically dictated the strength of their divine sense, such a scenario was virtually impossible.
***
Three months later, on Liuli Island, aboard the Canghai.
Zhang Haobo stood at the bow, the wind whipping past him as he scanned the waters. His brow was furrowed, as if he were searching for something specific.
Suddenly, he spotted a familiar-looking reef ahead. His spirits surged, and he immediately dove into the sea.
The crew around him cried out in alarm.
Zhang Haobo navigated the murky underwater environment, diving deeper.
Soon, he reached the seabed.
An ordinary mortal would have long since succumbed to the immense pressure, their bodies rupturing.
But after three months of cultivation, Zhang Haobo had purged most of the Immortal-Mortal Miasma from his system.
Furthermore, his physique had strengthened tremendously, and he was nearing a breakthrough to the Qi Refinement realm.
Coupled with having spent most of his life at sea, he felt no fear whatsoever.
Zhang Haobo swam across the seabed, his eyes suddenly locking onto something.
He accelerated sharply, heading toward a skeleton half-buried in the sediment.
Digging the remains out of the silt, he found a book nestled against the skeleton's chest: Sea-Calming Sword Art .
So it wasn't a dream. I truly have regressed. Zhang Haobo mused inwardly, his fingers tracing the book's cover.
Though he'd already convinced himself he was a regressor, the concept remained utterly fantastical.
As the memories from his previous life gradually faded, doubt had begun to creep in.
Fortunately, perhaps because he was on the verge of breaking through to the Qi Refinement realm, some of the forgotten details had gradually resurfaced in his memory, including the location where he had originally salvaged this very Sea-Calming Sword Art .
So, taking advantage of this voyage, he had come here to verify things; to see whether he had truly been reborn, or if it had all just been an unnervingly vivid dreamscape.
Now, with the appearance of this skeleton and the Sea-Calming Sword Art , he was finally certain: he truly had been reborn.
Zhang Haobo’s gaze gradually hardened, and he tucked the book into his robes.
I can't delay any longer. I must raise my cultivation level as quickly as possible. Only then can I prevent that catastrophe.
The Qi Refinement realm is far from enough. My words would carry no weight; no one would believe me.
At the very least, I need to reach Foundation Establishment, or even Golden Core...
With this in mind, Zhang Haobo slowly swam back to the surface and climbed aboard the Cangyuan once more.
The crew members watched their serious captain, none daring to ask questions.
Some time ago, something in their captain had inexplicably changed.
The man who once joked with everyone was gone; Zhang Haobo had grown increasingly stern and silent. At the same time, his presence and authority seemed to swell with each passing day.
He was starting to resemble the Immortal Masters on the island.
Whenever they stood before him, they couldn’t help but feel tense and afraid.
***
High above the Cangyuan, Li Fan watched Zhang Haobo from a distance, concealed from sight.
Activating the Heaven-Swapping Art, he observed Zhang Haobo's fate thread.
As expected, his fate seems to have undergone a strange alteration.
The change was minuscule, but since Li Fan himself had orchestrated this shift, he was naturally paying exceptionally close attention. Thus, he managed to detect it.
Li Fan carefully contemplated the subtle differences before and after, gaining a measure of understanding.
On the path of cultivation, it's often one step ahead, every step ahead.
In his previous life, Zhang Haobo didn't set foot on the path of cultivation until he was middle-aged, and only by chance. Though his providence was remarkable, and he reached Foundation Establishment in just over a decade, it was already his limit.
That was his destined fate.
But in this life, thanks to my intervention, he began cultivating over a decade earlier.
Once fate changes course, its momentum becomes self-sustaining. It's like standing in a favorable wind—the strong grow stronger... [1]
Li Fan pondered quietly, his eyes growing brighter.
To personally witness the before and after of a single person's shift in fate was, for Li Fan, a tremendous opportunity in itself.
If not for Return to Truth, which allowed him to compare the fates of two lifetimes, Li Fan would be nothing but an ant under the workings of the Heavenly Dao, struggling bitterly like the vast multitude of living beings.
How could he possibly know his own fate, let alone anyone else's?
In his previous life, he had to become one with the vast sea to catch a glimpse of heaven and earth’s killing mechanisms.
Similarly, only by living through two lifetimes could one truly understand the shifts of fate.
In this moment of epiphany, Li Fan couldn't help but let out a low, soft chuckle.
Perhaps you really will bring me a pleasant surprise.
I truly look forward to your performance, Zhang Haobo.
***
Li Fan was in high spirits as he flew toward Liuli Island. Three months had passed, and his avatar, Lin Fan, was still deep in contemplation of the Interlocking Chains of Life and Death.
He had not deactivated the Assisted Cultivation Mode this entire time, spending contribution points like water; nearly two thousand points had already vanished.
Fortunately, his avatar had a reserve of one hundred thousand contribution points to draw from, so it could afford such lavish expenditure.
I wonder what kind of divine abilities my avatar will have once it emerges from seclusion?
Lost in such thoughts, Li Fan arrived at Liuli Island's protective array. Just as he was about to return to Myriad Immortals Island via the teleportation array, he noticed that Yuwen Xing's expression was grave, and his face was etched with worry.
"Fellow Daoist Yuwen, has something happened?" Li Fan inquired politely.
Yuwen Xing appeared to be deep in thought and did not react immediately.
"Fellow Daoist Yuwen?" Li Fan had to repeat himself.
Only then did Yuwen Xing snap out of his reverie.
He looked at Li Fan and sighed. "There's been a disaster. The cave-dwelling exploration team led by Eminence Gou Xuan has been completely wiped out. Not even Eminence Gou Xuan himself managed to escape."
1. 站在风口 (zhàn zài fēng kǒu): "Standing at the wind's mouth/vent." This is a famous Chinese business metaphor, (风口) meaning "to be in a trend-favorable position" or "to be where the energy/opportunity is gathering." ☜