Chapter 256: Chapter 486-490: The Cycle of Heaven's Arrangement (6.5k+ words)
The "Han Wuyou" who previously visited Sikong Yi was naturally Li Fan's clone.
After some effort, he pretended to want to share forty percent of the contribution points, helped resolve the cultivation issues for fellow practitioners, and strategized together to explore the Cloud, Water, and Sky Palace.
The ultimate goal was to implant suggestions into Sikong Yi's mind.
Let him complete the first task for the heavenly healer and then take the initiative to trigger the task of transporting the white jade statue.
Judging by Sikong Yi's recent round trips to the Cloud, Water, and Sky Palace, Li Fan's calculations seemed to have succeeded.
In this world, he intended to instigate a battle between the Fisherman Old Man, Master, and the heavenly healer.
But all these plans had a big premise: someone needed to deliver the heavenly healer's statue inside the Cloud, Water, and Sky Palace.
Only then would the Master sense the heavenly healer's presence, drive the ox cart, and come across the sea.
Such a dangerous task naturally wasn't something Li Fan would personally handle.
The heavenly healer's four techniques of "Observation, Listening, Questioning, and Pulse-Taking" were truly terrifying.
Even a clone that was on guard might not be able to deceive the heavenly healer.
Sikong Yi, who had originally handed over the Cloud Water Chart and gained a hundred thousand contribution points, became the best candidate for the task.
However, Li Fan wasn't sure if Sikong Yi, at that time, had received the heavenly healer's request to help transport the statue, just like himself.
To ensure that things proceeded as planned, the scene of "Han Wuyou" visiting was arranged.
Even if Sikong Yi or the heavenly healer had suspicions about the inexplicable appearance of Han Wuyou, he had already died within the mysterious Cloud, Water, and Sky Palace.
Believing that even the heavenly healer, if he wanted to investigate, might not be able to do so satisfactorily.
Moreover, in the eyes of the heavenly healer, Sikong Yi at most was just a greedy cultivator blinded by interests, seeking to cling to a powerful thigh.
There might not be any intention to investigate.
Overall, Li Fan's plan was seamless, leaving no traces and eliminating the possibility of being discovered.
It could be considered perfect.
This was a calculation that could only be accomplished after experiencing several lifetimes, undergoing various possibilities, and acquiring a wealth of information.
It couldn't be replicated by others.
Even a formidable figure like the heavenly healer fell into the invisible net woven by Li Fan, unaware though to a mild extent.
Although it was a minor achievement, the fact that "manipulating and guiding powerful beings along the intended direction" was significant in itself.
Li Fan's lingering depression disappeared in an instant. He felt that the long-standing shadow pressing on him had finally dissipated.
"Even if your cultivation reaches the heavens, you are still under my control!"
While his emotions were surging, Li Fan wasn't overwhelmed by the temporary success.
He deeply understood that this small victory was built on the premise of collecting enough possibilities.
Now, the advantage was exhausted.
He needed to face various unknowns, proceed with caution, and be careful at every step.
"It's better to give up than to force it."
"The heavenly healer is already in position. The next step is to inform the Fisherman Old Man about the incident of the Heavenly Shackle Sword being trapped in the Cloud, Water, and Sky Palace when he appears in the mortal realm after 16 years."
"This matter also requires finding a proxy."
In an instant, Li Fan already thought of a suitable candidate.
"Han Yi..."
Li Fan sensed a locked-on killing intent. More than a year had passed, and this person still hadn't returned from the Sea Eye to the Xuanhuang Realm.
It seemed that he might have gained a lot from this adventure.
"No matter, he can't escape my grasp."
Li Fan gazed at the Cloud, Water, and Sky Palace standing in the sky for a moment, collected his thoughts, and quietly returned.
...
Body Transformation Island.
Lately, Ye Feipeng was extremely pleased.
Some time ago, the immortal teacher who had brought them to this island, who had been ignoring them, unexpectedly reappeared.
Moreover, he unprecedentedly checked the progress of the children's cultivation on the island.
Those who diligently practiced beyond expectations received rewards in the form of spirit stones and pills.
Those who were slack in cultivation, whose progress stagnated, were punished by battling the "Evil Puppet" for three days and three nights.
Although it was called a battle, it was, in reality, a one-sided beating.
"Evil Puppet" was what the children on the island privately called that seemingly silly puppet.
Chapter 486: The Cycle of Heaven's Arrangement
Originally, they thought that this puppet would be easy to deal with.
After practicing for a while, some children were eager to try and took the initiative to challenge it.
The first one to take the lead was Sun Erlang, gifted and proficient in various martial arts.
In less than half a year, he had progressed from an ordinary person to the middle stage of Qi refining.
Combined with his proficiency in martial arts, he could exert 200% of his combat power in actual fights.
In normal sparring, almost no one on the island was his match.
Therefore, with a gradually expanding mentality, Sun Erlang, in front of everyone, took the initiative to challenge the Sun Yang puppet.
The result was predictable.
Sun Yang remembered Li Fan's instructions: as long as it didn't kill or harm the foundation of spiritual cultivation, beat him mercilessly.
While being very restrained in his actions, Sun Yang deeply let Sun Erlang feel the danger and the deception of playing dumb.
It seemed that he was only slightly stronger than Sun Erlang, and with a little more effort, he could defeat him.
Sun Yang continuously induced Sun Erlang to launch attacks time and time again.
But every time, unfortunately, he missed at the critical moment.
Sun Erlang, with a strong sense of competitiveness, continued to fight until he was exhausted and fainted, and the battle ended.
The next day, Sun Erlang, after waking up, had some insights.
After seven days and seven nights of closed-door cultivation, he directly broke through to the later stage of Qi refining.
Excited, he decided to regain face and challenged Sun Yang again.
The result...
It was still just a bit short!
Now the children on the island realized that something was wrong.
This seemingly honest puppet was actually deliberately playing with them!
In anger, Sun Erlang was beaten unconscious again.
In the days that followed, no matter how the children demonstrated their cultivation levels in battles with it, the puppet only used slightly superior strength.
Some children were furious, calling Sun Yang a big villain.
Some children vaguely understood that the Sun Yang puppet was simply the perfect practice target.
They began to continuously seek battles with Sun Yang.
Ye Feipeng was naturally one of them.
In fact, he didn't want to fight, but as the only practitioner of the "Three Laws Same Cultivation" on the island, Ye Feipeng would never allow himself to be weaker than others.
Unfortunately, his talent wasn't top-notch. Initially, he could rely on the dual cultivation of his body and cultivation to gain an advantage.
But as others' realms gradually improved, Ye Feipeng's performance in battles with Sun Yang was slowly caught up by others.
Just when he was getting a little anxious, the immortal teacher arrived.
While making distinctions between rewards and punishments, Ye Feipeng still received special treatment.
After checking his progress and conducting a comprehensive examination of his body, the immortal teacher felt that the "Divine Sword of the Boundless Sea" he was currently cultivating might not be very suitable.
So, he removed his cultivation and bestowed upon him a new technique, the "Dragon Roaming the Vast Sea Technique."
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 487: All Paths Originate from the Same Source
The cultivation of the "Dragon Roaming the Vast Sea Technique" by Ye Feipeng indeed went more smoothly than the "Divine Sword of the Boundless Sea."
On the second day of switching to this technique, he successfully broke through to the middle stage of Qi refining.
Coupled with the pills given to him by the immortal teacher, it activated a hidden power within his body.
After strengthening his physique, even Sun Erlang in the later stage of Qi refining was not Ye Feipeng's opponent in actual combat.
With a stable identity as the "Child King" on the island, Ye Feipeng finally felt a bit relieved.
At the same time, he understood a truth: to cultivate faster, besides one's own talent and effort, it was more important to please that immortal teacher.
From the casual words of the immortal teacher, Ye Feipeng learned that he seemed to attach great importance to the progress of refining the "Beast God Bead."
So, while practicing, Ye Feipeng always carried the Beast God Bead with him and carefully pondered its mysteries.
One day, after falling asleep with the Beast God Bead in his arms, he seemed to have a dream.
In the dream, he saw a terrifying nine-headed bird hovering in the sky.
Its huge body almost occupied the entire sky.
Each of the nine heads was devouring something.
With Ye Feipeng's current experience, he recognized the struggling and twisted remnants of a dragon, an entire intact mountain range, the branches of a deep gray giant tree...
The surroundings were filled with desperate and painful wails, and the world was immersed in a bloody scene.
The young mind of Ye Feipeng was deeply shocked by this apocalyptic scene.
Standing still, unable to move.
At this moment, one of the heads of the bird in the sky seemed to notice his presence.
Its eyeballs turned slightly, casting a gaze down at him like it was regarding its food.
Being stared at by this ferocious giant beast, fear instantly occupied Ye Feipeng's mind.
Under the shadow of the nine-headed bird, in the next moment, he seemed to be about to be swallowed by it.
At this moment, Ye Feipeng heard a clear and distant cry in his ears.
As if it came from the deep sea, yet seemed to originate from the sky.
The cry was full of intimidation and anger.
His eyes turned bloodshot, and Ye Feipeng's frozen body suddenly returned to normal.
Attracted by this inexplicable cry, the nine heads in the sky all turned towards him.
Ye Feipeng woke up from the nightmare.
Gasping for breath violently, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, recalling the scenes he had just seen in his dream.
"That nine-headed bird should be the exotic beast sealed in the Beast God Bead."
"But what was that cry I heard later?"
Ye Feipeng's young face was full of confusion.
But he was very clear that whatever could attract the attention of the nine-headed bird must be extremely unusual.
Without mentioning it to anyone else, Ye Feipeng just kept this matter firmly in his heart.
In the following days, Ye Feipeng found that when he practiced the "Furnace of Creation Technique," he became even more proficient.
The internal power that used to require cautious manipulation to unlock a few points could now be easily activated by him.
Even some side effects like dizziness, surging blood and qi within a short period, he could directly ignore.
The strength of his physical body increased at a rate that made even Ye Feipeng, himself, afraid. While rejoicing in his heart, he couldn't help but feel a bit of fear for the unknown.
Therefore, in sparring with his companions, he didn't exert his full strength.
Like the Sun Yang puppet, he just defeated his opponents with just the right amount of force.
In this way, some more time passed.
One day, the immortal teacher visited the Body Transformation Island again.
After the usual inspection of everyone's progress and singling out the particularly negligent Xiao Heng for focused reprimands and punishments, the immortal teacher took Ye Feipeng alone to a secret chamber for examination.
During the long silence, Ye Feipeng felt a bit nervous.
In the end, he couldn't hold back and told the immortal teacher about the scenes in his dream and the recent changes in his body.
After pondering for a moment, the immortal teacher decided to conduct a comprehensive examination on him.
So, Ye Feipeng fell into a deep sleep.
After he woke up, he found himself feeling a bit weak.
The immortal teacher, being thoughtful, handed him a pill.
After swallowing it, Ye Feipeng felt much more energetic.
"You were too impatient, and for a moment, you were tainted by the hostility of the nine-headed bird," the immortal teacher said in his extremely cold voice.
Ye Feipeng was startled, but upon hearing the immortal teacher's next words, he felt somewhat relieved.
"Don't worry, I have already expelled it from your body."
"Thank you, Immortal Teacher," Ye Feipeng expressed his gratitude.
The immortal teacher waved his hand, "Although you were a bit reckless, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. You have awakened a trace of the thin ancestral bloodline within you."
"Ancestral bloodline?" Ye Feipeng was both surprised and delighted.
"Yes. Have you ever heard of the ancient exotic beast, Kunpeng?" Saying this, the immortal teacher pointed forward.
A giant monster with an appearance that alternated between a bird and a fish appeared in the sky.
After narrating the power of this Kunpeng exotic beast, the immortal teacher sighed, "I didn't expect that the power of such an ancient fierce beast would still exist within you."
"If you can harness this power, your cultivation speed might surpass those so-called geniuses by quite a bit."
Seeing the expression on Ye Feipeng's face, the immortal teacher added, "However, everything has its pros and cons. Rapidly improving strength can also have a considerable impact on your character. If you can't control it, it might be a curse rather than a blessing."
Ye Feipeng quickly assured, "Immortal Teacher, rest assured. I will definitely remember your teachings and cultivate diligently without arrogance, step by step."
The immortal teacher nodded slowly, seeming quite satisfied with his response.
After receiving a storage ring containing spiritual stones and magical tools as a reward, Ye Feipeng left excitedly.
Watching Ye Feipeng's jubilant figure, Li Fan revealed a somewhat ambiguous expression.
"I didn't expect this kid's awakening of the Kunpeng bloodline to be faster than I anticipated."
"The Nine-headed Divine Bird..."
Li Fan extended his right hand.
A strand of blood-red aura lingered on his fingertips, not dissipating for a long time.
Upon careful listening, faint cries and wails seemed to emanate from it.
Li Fan absorbed this red aura, closed his eyes, and pondered carefully.
After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes.
In that moment, a strange red color appeared in his pupils.
Li Fan looked at the stone stool in the secret room.
However, in an instant, the originally hard stone surface turned charred black under Li Fan's gaze.
"It seems that the aura of the Kunpeng bloodline has stirred the separation of the Nine-headed Bird's beast soul from the Beast God Bead."
"It seems to originate from the innate divine power of this Nine-headed Bird. Unfortunately, the aura is too weak, and I can only sense this much."
The eerie red glow in his eyes disappeared, and Li Fan felt a slight regret.
"Although Senior Zhang's grand wish Dharma body is present, the power of monster beasts cannot be used."
"But there are still advantages to it. The mystical abilities of monster beasts might not be useless for cultivators."
"The great Dao has the same origin, but the paths are different."
"For example, Han Yi's method of controlling destiny seems to come from the Vermillion Bird of Fate."
Li Fan contemplated silently.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 488 Learning from Kunpeng
Li Fan has experienced hundreds of lifetimes, mastering extraordinary abilities that ordinary cultivators can hardly imagine.
Chaos Character Mantra, Annihilation Sword, Overturning Palm, Dense Cloud Sword...
Every one of them is an existence capable of killing opponents across realms.
Li Fan doesn't pay much attention to the supernatural abilities of ordinary demonic beasts, but this nine-headed bird is an exception.
Li Fan has a premonition that the rank of this nine-headed fierce bird seems to surpass that of Kunpeng.
"Let's see what surprises this kid, Ye Feipeng, can bring me."
After testing the aura of the nine-headed bird, he took out a lump of Kunpeng essence from the storage ring.
At regular intervals, he extracts a trace of it from Ye Feipeng's body to contemplate.
Li Fan has made some progress in his study of Kunpeng's power.
Using the "Furnace of Myriad Transformations" technique, he still appears human externally. Only his stomach has quietly transformed into the structure of a Kunpeng exotic beast.
Feeling the wonderful use of the Kunpeng-shaped stomach for a moment, Li Fan smiled and took out several high-quality spiritual stones equivalent to one hundred contribution points each, swallowing them.
Almost instantly, these high-grade spiritual stones with extremely high spiritual energy content were absorbed by Li Fan.
The efficiency is several times higher than the methods of ordinary cultivators, although it doesn't match the madness of the "Devouring Heaven and Earth Grand Technique," it is still terrifying.
"No wonder Ye Feipeng's cultivation speed became faster and faster in the previous life. Such abilities are indeed not to be underestimated."
Activating the "Sit on the Mountain and Watch the Seas" technique, after all this spiritual energy is converted into his own spiritual power, to test the upper limit of the current "Kun Devour" divine ability, Li Fan took out a pile of top-grade spiritual stones.
One piece is equivalent to one thousand contribution points, and this stack is fifty to sixty thousand contribution points.
Li Fan spared no effort, blood flowing from his mouth as he swallowed. The pile of spiritual stones flowed into his stomach like a river.
"Boom!"
Pure spiritual energy burst out from his stomach.
Li Fan's expression changed slightly, vigorously activating his technique, trying to consume it.
However, the spiritual energy flowed like a violent mountain torrent, rolling endlessly.
Li Fan's attempts to consume it were truly insignificant.
Fortunately, practicing the "Furnace of Myriad Transformations," Li Fan's physique has been strengthened to a certain extent, and his meridians are not easily harmed by this huge surge of spiritual energy.
But letting it rampage in his body is not a solution.
To avoid attracting attention, Li Fan appeared next to Tianyang, turning the out-of-control spiritual energy into a blue Dense Cloud Sword, slashing towards the puppet's body.
Several consecutive sword strikes finally consumed the turbulent spiritual energy, calming it down slowly.
However, the seemingly powerful sword light, after striking Tianyang, left no trace at all.
Tianyang tilted his head, looking at his "senior brother" with some confusion.
He thought Li Fan wanted to spar with him and raised his fist.
"Hehe, little junior brother, don't misunderstand. Senior brother just had a little mishap in cultivation," Li Fan smiled and waved his hand, stopping Tianyang's movements.
Tianyang then showed a worried expression.
After comforting Tianyang for a while, Li Fan returned to the secret room.
"Although I have simulated the stomach of Kunpeng and obtained the shocking devouring speed, a cultivator's physique cannot be compared to that of ancient demonic beasts."
"It is not possible to promptly convert the absorbed energy into a strong source for oneself."
"However, if it is mutually verified with the 'Devouring Heaven and Earth Grand Technique'..."
Li Fan squinted his eyes and suddenly had an idea.
Improving the technique is not something that can be done overnight. A split of Daoist God's secret technique was separated to specifically deduce this matter.
Li Fan then tried the divine ability of "Peng Flight."
This time, there were no abnormal changes like the growth of bone wings; Li Fan just kept teleporting and moving within the confined space of the secret room.
The speed became faster and faster, almost turning into a phantom in the air.
Beyond the range recognizable by the naked eye.
After a while, Li Fan stopped the experiment, satisfied.
"Good, the 'Peng Flight' method, combined with the incomplete 'Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Escape,' the flying speed has increased by more than twice."
"In the future, as my research on the essence of Kunpeng deepens, it will become faster and faster."
Next, Li Fan did not experiment with the divine ability of "Startling Peng Transformation."
He maintains a respectful and distant attitude toward this divine ability that completely transforms into the appearance of a demonic beast.
Although its power is impressive, if it accidentally triggers Senior Brother Zhang's grand aspiration avatar, that would be truly regrettable.
In fact, among the many divine abilities displayed by Ye Feipeng in the previous life, what Li Fan was most concerned about was the one called "Bloodline Crossing."
From Ye Feipeng's later performance, this Bloodline Crossing not only changes a person's physique, gradually transforming them into a pure demonic beast, but it can also unconsciously alter a person's thoughts.
The transformation from "Demonic Beast" to "Holy Beast" in Ye Feipeng's words illustrates this point well.
It's not hard to imagine that if Ye Feipeng, influenced by Kunpeng's essence, were to see the demonic beast Kunpeng itself, he would undoubtedly show "loyalty" from the depths of his bloodline.
And what Li Fan currently lacks is this means of controlling people.
He is currently using information asymmetry to resort to threats and enticements.
Although the effect is good, there are inevitably times when things don't go as planned. It's not as reliable and reassuring as this kind of secret technique.
"It seems I'll have to wait until the essence of Kunpeng in Ye Feipeng's body becomes more pure to facilitate comprehension of 'Bloodline Crossing.'"
"Yes, it's time to purchase some blood-supplementing elixirs."
After handing over the remaining elixirs in the storage ring and the task of periodic blood extraction to Tianyang, Li Fan leisurely returned to Wanxian Island.
Instead of returning to Tianxuan Mirror, he went straight to Qianli Hall.
Almost two years have passed. The matter of instructing Jiao Xiuyuan to excavate the Little Medicine King Cauldron surprisingly has not been reported.
Li Fan found it a bit strange, so he personally went to the door.
Seeing Li Fan suddenly appear, Jiao Xiuyuan's expression was slightly stunned.
Then his eyes flickered, showing a hint of embarrassment on his face.
"Fellow Daoist Jiao, did you forget something?" Li Fan asked.
Jiao Xiuyuan laughed and quickly took out a chair from somewhere, inviting Li Fan to sit down.
"What's going on?" Seeing Jiao Xiuyuan's appearance, Li Fan already had an idea in his mind.
Not in a hurry, he just stared at Jiao Xiuyuan for a long time before asking.
Being scrutinized by Li Fan made Jiao Xiuyuan feel uneasy all over. He closed the shop door and lowered his voice, saying, "It's not that I'm deliberately avoiding you; it's really hard to talk about it!"
"With Fellow Daoist Jiao's abilities, is there anything in the Medicine King Sect ruins that can stump you?" Li Fan was somewhat incredulous.
"Thousands of years have passed, even if there are any restrictions, they should have been invalidated." Jiao Xiuyuan shook his head and said, "The key is, it was snatched by someone!"
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Li Fan became somewhat serious.
Another unknown variable has appeared.
"Just as I was about to confirm the location of the Little Medicine King Cauldron, people from the Wanxian Alliance Garrison suddenly appeared."
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 489 Ambushing the Wanxian Island
"They sealed off the ruins, expelled the cultivators inside, and even inspected their storage rings."
"As if there were some incredible treasures inside."
Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes sparkled as he whispered.
"Although I'm not afraid of them, it's better to avoid conflicts and leave peacefully."
Hearing this, Li Fan stroked his chin.
"The Garrison..."
As an elite armed organization only present in the internal states of Wanxian Alliance, it is indeed strange that they would seal and excavate the ruins of the Medicine King Sect.
Could it be that his statement "Tianxuan locks spirits, Xuanhuang unifies all" from the beginning attracted the cultivators of Wanxian Alliance to speculate about the future, leading to the incident where the Medicine King's true cauldron would return to the Xuanhuang Realm shortly?
"How does Fellow Jiao view this matter? Is it related to my previous speculation and the possible opportunities with the Little Medicine King Cauldron?" After thinking about it, Li Fan looked at Jiao Xiuyuan and asked.
Unexpectedly, Jiao Xiuyuan denied it.
"When I inquired after returning, it wasn't just the ruins of the Medicine King Sect. Ancient sect ruins such as the Tianjian Sect, Supreme Sect, and others, as long as the ancestral lands of these ancient sects were within the jurisdiction of our Wanxian Alliance, were all sealed by the Garrison's cultivators."
"They don't let anyone approach, but they themselves are digging around inside."
There was a hint of uneasiness in Jiao Xiuyuan's tone.
"I used a few puppets to infiltrate and found that they are more like looking for people than things!"
"Looking for people?" Li Fan couldn't help but be stunned. "How do you know?"
"The cultivators inside the ruins all had the 'Spirit Sensing Bead' in their hands. This kind of magical tool is extremely sensitive to the breath of life. Even if a cultivator is in a deep sleep with only a trace of vitality remaining, it can be sensed." Saying this, Jiao Xiuyuan couldn't help but scrutinize Li Fan.
Li Fan pondered, "Are you suggesting that they might be looking for ancient cultivators like me who fell into a deep sleep thousands of years ago?"
"There's a 90% chance of that." Jiao Xiuyuan asserted.
"That's strange..." Li Fan squinted slightly.
Wanxian Alliance wouldn't engage in meaningless activities.
Such a grand move obviously had a purpose.
"In other words, they are sure that there is such an ancient cultivator in a deep sleep, but they can't figure out his specific location."
"They only confirm that he is in the ruins of various ancient sects from the ancient times, so they are searching in this way."
"This person must be very important to Wanxian Alliance, and..."
"The reason Wanxian Alliance is looking for him must be related to my statement, 'Tianxuan locks spirits.'"
Li Fan contemplated for a while but couldn't come up with any clues.
"Fellow Jiao, did you really not dig out a Little Medicine King Cauldron?" He looked at Jiao Xiuyuan and suddenly asked.
Jiao Xiuyuan hesitated for a moment and smiled awkwardly, "I couldn't hide it from you, Fellow Daoist. It's true that there was not a bit of gain."
"It's just bad luck. I just dug out one, and the Garrison's cultivators came knocking on the door."
"Moreover, due to the impact of this incident, the prices of all items recently unearthed from sect ruins have skyrocketed."
"There are already many cultivators coming to inquire about that Little Medicine King Cauldron, so..."
Jiao Xiuyuan looked at Li Fan, his eyes filled with the words "you need to pay more."
Li Fan, on the other hand, waved his hand, "Since this thing is so popular, let it go. Fellow Jiao, you handle the sale!"
Without waiting for Li Fan to bargain, he directly gave up.
Upon hearing this, Jiao Xiuyuan was completely dumbfounded.
"Uh, Fellow Li Fan, aren't you going to reconsider..."
"A gentleman cherishes the beauty of adulthood, not robbing others of their preferences! It's just a bit of chance, and would I be lacking?" Li Fan casually refused Jiao Xiuyuan.
Looking at Jiao Xiuyuan's astonished expression, Li Fan said again, "It's just that Fellow Daoist mentioned that Wanxian Alliance is looking for ancient cultivators, and I'm quite interested."
"Maybe this person will be an old acquaintance of mine."
"I know Fellow Daoist is well-informed, so please inquire for me!" Li Fan's gaze was sharp as he looked at Jiao Xiuyuan.
"As for that Little Medicine King Cauldron, let's forget it. Fellow Daoist won't turn a blind eye to this matter again, right?"
Li Fan swept his gaze over the three characters "Qianli Tang" hanging outside the room and said in a deep voice.
"Rest assured, rest assured! I, Jiao Xiuyuan, won't ruin my reputation!" Jiao Xiuyuan, who knew he was in the wrong, repeatedly said.
"That's..."
Chapter 489 Assault on Wanxian Island
Just as Li Fan nodded, about to speak again, a sudden burst of commotion came from outside the room.
The two exchanged a glance, sensing an unusual atmosphere. They instinctively stopped their conversation and went outside.
On Wanxian Island, the towering statue of the Transcendent Daoist was emitting radiant light, piercing through the sky.
The island's protective array seemed to have been activated at some point.
Outside the protective light shield, a massive purple door stood erect.
Countless cultivators were continuously flying out from the door.
"The Five Elders' Association?"
Li Fan and Jiao Xiuyuan exclaimed simultaneously.
"Have they gone mad? Are they going to declare war on Wanxian Alliance?" Jiao Xiuyuan's tone was full of surprise.
Obviously, the Five Elders' Association's sneak attack this time was extremely secretive, even catching Jiao Xiuyuan, who had eyes and ears throughout the entire cultivation world, off guard.
What happened?
In this world, why did the Five Elders' Association take the initiative to provoke war?
Their target was not the Five Elements Grand Immortal Realm but Wanxian Island instead?
In an instant, Li Fan's thoughts turned urgently.
"Fellow Jiao, have the other state cities also been attacked by the Five Elders' Association?" After a moment, Li Fan asked in a deep voice.
"No. Only this Cloud Sea of Wanxian Island is the target of the Five Elders' Association this time." After a pause, Jiao Xiuyuan replied, still full of confusion.
Li Fan furrowed his brows slightly, feeling a bit at a loss.
The two fell silent successively, just looking up at the battle in the sky.
The two Nascent Soul cultivators on the island had been transferred to the Wanxian Alliance headquarters, and the island's defensive forces were obviously a bit lacking.
They dared not confront the enemy head-on and could only rely on the array to support them.
At the same time, they hoped for reinforcements from other places to arrive soon.
However, the Five Elders' Association obviously came prepared. Not only did the teleportation array lose its effect, but communication also seemed to be blocked and unable to transmit.
Wanxian Island gradually fell into a disadvantage, and the cultivators watching the battle on the island all had pale faces.
Accustomed to peace for a long time, they had never seen such a large-scale battle.
As time passed, unexpectedly, when the Five Elders' Association finally gained absolute advantage and broke through the protective array, they didn't choose to attack the island. Instead, they set up an array directly above Wanxian Island.
Threads of Dao patterns descended from the central array above, shooting towards the edges of the island.
"The Sky-Shifting Array?"
Li Fan and Jiao Xiuyuan exclaimed in unison once again.
"Is the Five Elders' Association planning to move the entire Wanxian Island together?"
The look of surprise and doubt in the eyes of the two intensified.
The array was set up in an instant, and the threads emitted a faint white light.
The ground of Wanxian Island began to shake violently.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 490 Unexpectedly Gaining Both Sides
The ground's shaking became more and more intense, making it nearly impossible to stand steadily.
Witnessing the vast Wanxian Island rising from the ground, it slowly flew towards the sky.
Some cultivators attempted to escape, breaking through the encirclement from the outside.
However, they all met the same fate.
As soon as they left Wanxian Island, they were pierced and killed by the radiance descending from the sky.
Continuous cries and screams of the cultivators echoed.
The surrounding space seemed to be completely sealed, and even the abnormal scenes of falling cultivators in the sky appeared twisted and distorted, stacked together.
The fierce attacks from the Five Elders' Association temporarily calmed the cultivators, who were previously running around like headless flies.
Because they found that as long as they stayed on Wanxian Island, it seemed that the Five Elders' Association had no intention of attacking them for the time being.
So, they could only tremble in fear, looking up at the purple door getting closer and closer.
"Is the Five Elders' Association making such a big fuss, could it be for me?" Li Fan, who witnessed this scene, couldn't help but associate it with the previous incidents where several YuanYing-stage cultivators came to capture him. Such thoughts involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
"That territory over there is not easy to get along with. Once caught, it will be that 'True Realm,' and lying is impossible. If others ask, won't the matter of crossing over and the truth be directly exposed?" Li Fan still had a clear understanding of his current strength; he probably couldn't resist the logic of the Transcendent Daoist.
"To go or not to go..." Li Fan hesitated for a moment.
After some contemplation, Li Fan decided to temporarily observe the situation.
After all, the situation had not yet deteriorated to the point of endangering his life.
The horizontal boundary line between water and sky, which was originally visible in the distance, had now disappeared from view.
Wanxian Island floated in mid-air, and the faces of the Five Elders' Association cultivators in the sky were clearly visible.
Just then, a sudden commotion came from the island.
For some unknown reason, a large group of cultivators appeared out of thin air.
The number of these cultivators was extremely large. In an instant, they all crowded together, making Wanxian Island seem a bit unable to accommodate them.
A burst of noise came from among them.
"What's going on? Where is this?"
"I remember I was cultivating in the Heavenly Mirror, how did I suddenly appear here?"
"Look! The Heavenly Mirror has actually turned into a piece of stone!"
Listening to their successive exclamations, Jiao Xiuyuan muttered to himself, "This is bad. Even the Heavenly Mirror has withdrawn its empowerment. It seems that we can't count on this reinforcement."
Only now did Li Fan react; these people were cultivators who had been cultivating in the Heavenly Mirror space on Wanxian Island.
At this moment, Wanxian Island was about to be captured by the Five Elders' Association, and for the sake of its own safety, the Heavenly Mirror canceled the so-called "empowerment."
The miraculous mirror on the island had turned into an ordinary stone.
The cultivators who awakened from their closed-door cultivation, looking at the enemies in the sky, finally realized their current situation.
"Fellow cultivators, I heard that the Five Elders' Association has something called a 'Soul Covenant.' Once signed, they will completely control our souls. Losing our freedom, we will be worse than dead by then!"
"Yes, they must want to capture us alive and then force us to sign the Soul Covenant!"
"Being controlled by others is worse than fighting to the death. With so many of us, there might be a glimmer of hope!"
After the shock, someone quickly raised their arms and shouted, rallying everyone to break through the blockade of the Five Elders' Association.
So-called strength in numbers.
With so many new reinforcements, the courage of the Wanxian Alliance cultivators on the island also increased.
Soon, led by one or two cultivators, they launched a charge to break through.
Li Fan, however, did not blindly follow suit. He looked at Jiao Xiuyuan, whose eyes were rolling, pulled his clothes, and asked through voice transmission, "Fellow Jiao, do you have a way to escape?"
Jiao Xiuyuan grinned, stretched out his palm, and made a "five" gesture.
"No problem! It's just five hundred thousand contribution points. I'll transfer it to you right away!" Li Fan nodded.
Jiao Xiuyuan's face turned black. "Is Master Li Fan's life only worth this much money?"
"Five hundred thousand contribution points! It's still because of our life-and-death friendship!"
Li Fan looked at Jiao Xiuyuan, giving a slight smile.
Without bargaining, he immediately completed a transaction of five hundred thousand.
"Brother, I'm not one to be blinded by money. Every action has its consequences, and even among close brothers, we still need to keep accounts clear," Jiao Xiuyuan explained.
Then, he whispered, "Currently, the only way to escape from Wanxian Island is through the ancient tree in the Clear Breeze Hall."
"Clear Breeze Hall..." Li Fan's eyes shimmered.
In the 113th era, he had once, through He Zhenghao, encountered Clear Breeze Hall, a hidden lending organization on Wanxian Island.
The ancient tree with a human face had left a deep impression on him.
The location of the ancient tree seemed to form its own space.
Moreover, it could instantly gather a significant amount of Spirit Mist Grass, apparently connecting to other spaces like the Tianxuan Mirror.
"Thanks for the guidance, Friend Jiao!"
Li Fan arched his hand and was about to leave.
Suddenly, he remembered something and turned back not long after.
Li Fan stared at Jiao Xiuyuan, making him uncomfortable.
"Friend Li Fan, if you're not escaping, why are you looking at me?" Jiao Xiuyuan was puzzled.
"Friend Jiao, I wonder, would you consider selling this body of yours?" Li Fan said in a mysterious tone.
Jiao Xiuyuan was startled, immediately stepping back and creating distance from Li Fan.
"You..." Jiao Xiuyuan looked at Li Fan with an incredulous gaze, as if seeing his true face for the first time.
Ignoring Jiao Xiuyuan's scattered thoughts, Li Fan said, "I've been awake for a while, and I've been staying in the territory of Wanxian League."
"Now, I have a simple understanding of the league as a whole. However, I've never had the chance to meet the Five Elders, who can stand on equal footing with the league."
"Information about them in Wanxian League is also scarce. I'm quite curious about the Five Elders."
Li Fan's gaze swept over Jiao Xiuyuan's puppet body.
"My main self naturally intends to escape. However, I also want to take this opportunity to see the scenery on the other side."
"Friend, do you have any methods that can temporarily allow me to control this puppet of yours?" Li Fan asked slowly.
Jiao Xiuyuan only realized Li Fan's intention.
After a moment of contemplation, he muttered softly, "You should have said it earlier, you scared me."
"As long as the price is right, it's not impossible."
Li Fan heard this and felt pleased.
"Great! Friend, name your price!"
Jiao Xiuyuan made a "five" gesture, not giving Li Fan a chance to misinterpret.
At the same time, he said, "Being possessed by someone is a first for me!"
"Fifty thousand contribution points, that can't be any less!"
"Fifty thousand, it's fifty thousand. I, Li Fan, am not a stingy person."
(End of this chapter)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone