Chapter 178: Joining the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance

The waxy layer of skin slowly dissolved, absorbed by the strange cultivator within the corpse. Faced with this bizarre sight, Zhang Qianmo did not immediately strike him down. Instead, he observed patiently, his interest piqued.

A moment later, Li Chen's body was completely absorbed by the Profound Yellow Heart Refining Spell. Li Fan revealed his true appearance, smiling slightly at Zhang Qianmo. He cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Senior Brother!"

Zhang Qianmo's eyes narrowed slightly, and the purple lightning mark on his forehead became prominent. "What exactly are you?" he questioned. "A demon? An extraterrestrial devil?" Facing Zhang Qianmo's interrogation, Li Fan's expression remained calm. "Senior Brother Zhang, have you forgotten me just because I've changed my skin?"

Before he even finished speaking, a blue light illuminated the heavens and earth. The Cloud Cluster Sword and the Heaven-Overturning Palm arrived one after another. Zhang Qianmo's face showed surprise.

His long halberd, like a roaring purple lightning dragon, clashed with the Cloud Cluster Sword. Blue and purple light devoured each other, but ultimately, the purple lightning prevailed.

"Excellent swordsmanship!" Zhang Qianmo praised. Then, facing the invisible palm technique descending from the sky, Zhang Qianmo neither dodged nor evaded, instead launching a punch towards the heavens.

Fist and palm collided. A tremendous burst of energy erupted, spreading outwards from their location. The shockwave swept over Ningyuan City below, completely transforming the already dilapidated city, with few mortals left alive, into utter ruins. Only the Life-Transforming Longevity Tree in the center, protected by a barrier, remained vibrant and full of life.

Zhang Qianmo was utterly indifferent to the lives and deaths of mortals. He simply looked at Li Fan, his expression grave. "Who exactly are you?" he questioned. "Why did you secretly infiltrate my Purple Cloud Sect? Your palm and sword techniques are vast and profound; you don't seem like an unorthodox rogue cultivator."

Li Fan avoided answering, instead retorting, "Senior Brother, what kind of technique is that? You're clearly only at the Foundation Establishment stage, yet you can condense a Golden Core within your body? And even cross a major realm to kill an enemy with such effortless ease?" Zhang Qianmo snorted coldly. Seeing that Li Fan had no intention of answering, his murderous intent grew stronger. He no longer held back.

His long halberd swept across the battlefield, and with every swing, purple heavenly lightning descended to assist him in repelling his foe. It was also Li Fan's first time encountering an opponent of comparable strength. He pushed his movement technique to its limit, and the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Swords formed a sword array, blocking the dragon-like halberd.

Amidst his attacks and dodges, the Cloud Cluster Sword and Heaven-Overturning Palm were occasionally interspersed. However, he rarely fought against others, and his repertoire of techniques was limited. In contrast, Zhang Qianmo's techniques and dao arts were endless.

The body born from the Golden Core seemed impervious to all techniques. Li Fan's attacks, when they occasionally landed on him, only caused minor injuries that quickly healed to their original state.

In contrast, Li Fan's divine sense avatar grew increasingly injured as successive bolts of purple lightning continuously struck him. The whispers in his ears began again, inevitably affecting his mind. With this imbalance,

After more than twenty rounds, Li Fan's divine sense avatar was ultimately cut in half by Zhang Qianmo's halberd. There was no blood; his body simply transformed into countless particles and dispersed with the wind. "This person's cultivation technique is mysterious, and both his sword and palm techniques contain infinite profoundness. He must come from a major sect. Yet, his actual combat skill is mediocre, even ridiculously weak."

"How strange," Zhang Qianmo muttered, shaking his head, his mind filled with bewilderment.

Inside the Heavenly Profound Mirror, Li Fan slowly regained consciousness. He felt none of the weakness Chen Ying had mentioned; in fact, he even felt a slight, subtle enhancement to his divine sense.

Recalling his experiences in the Immortal Extinction Realm, Li Fan fell into thought. "It must be because of the Profound Yellow Heart Refining Spell," he mused. "I just don't know why this Profound Yellow Heart Refining Spell has such an effect within the Immortal Extinction Realm. Normally, after dying while possessing another's identity, one would return directly to the real world. But I am able to devour and reorganize, forming a new divine sense avatar. This means I effectively have two lives within the Immortal Extinction Realm."

"I wonder if there's anyone else who can do this like me." "Although this first exploration yielded no other gains, my divine sense was somewhat strengthened." Slightly pleased and feeling no fatigue, Li Fan immediately prepared to perform the ritual again.

He wanted to see if he could re-enter the Immortal Extinction Realm. Unfortunately, there was no response.

Li Fan had no choice but to give up with regret. "According to Chen Ying, it usually takes three months to half a year to re-enter. That's a shame," he thought. "If only I could enter indefinitely, without restrictions..."

Shaking his head, he cast these unrealistic thoughts aside. He then checked the time.

Less than half a day had passed since he entered the Immortal Extinction Realm. "This time in the Immortal Extinction Realm, I witnessed the cultivation world before the Great Calamity descended and before the Immortal-Mortal Miasma appeared," he thought. "It also exposed some of my current issues. Although I possess divine abilities, my actual combat skill is somewhat lacking."

"Without relying on pre-arranged formations for ambushes, I can still fight ordinary Golden Core cultivators. But against true prodigies, I'd be stretched too thin," he mused. "However, this is less my problem and more a difference between the two eras. In Zhang Qianmo's era, sect disciples could freely study and practice various cultivation techniques and secret arts without restriction. They could also easily find fellow disciples to spar with."

"But nowadays, exchanging for cultivation techniques is extremely difficult. For slightly more powerful techniques, one either has to comprehend them oneself or join the Myriad Immortal Alliance and exchange for them with merit and contribution points. Moreover, it's incredibly difficult to find someone to spar with these days. The Heavenly Profound Mirror can simulate various scenarios, but there are no human combat simulations. This must be the Myriad Immortal Alliance's way of limiting the combat strength of ordinary cultivators. However, with the Immortal Extinction Realm, I can hone and improve my actual combat strength within it."

"Of course, what's more important is the improvement of my cultivation realm." Li Fan checked his contribution points: over 37,000. Enough to cultivate for a while in the Spirit Awakening state.

"First, I'll cultivate to the perfected Foundation Establishment stage." With that, Li Fan took out his Exquisite Glazed Pearl and entered seclusion to cultivate. Time flowed by, and he didn't know how much had passed.

Li Fan was awakened by a message from a communication talisman. It was He Zhenghao's communication talisman. Without immediately checking it, Li Fan first assessed the gains from his seclusion. He had cultivated with assistance for nearly two months, spending half of his contribution points.

His gains... Li Fan sighed. It was equivalent to three years of arduous cultivation in normal circumstances. However, he was still very far from the perfected Foundation Establishment stage.

Still, Li Fan knew he couldn't be impatient. For cultivators with ordinary talent, cultivating beyond the Foundation Establishment stage often requires decades to break through each minor realm. "I still need the Mountain-Sitting Art!" he sighed inwardly, then checked He Zhenghao's message.

"Fellow Daoist Li Fan! Good news, it's done!" the message read. "After my extremely diligent efforts in lobbying and negotiation, the position of formation repairman on Zhang Zhiliang's side has been secured!"