Chapter 308: Target Five Elements Heaven

Countless black particles surged, like a tide descending from the sky, eroding everything they encountered.

Within Congyun Sea, on Myriad Immortals Island, there was no power that could contend with Mo Sha, except for the mysterious Skyfiend Sword.

As the great black tide enveloped everything, Li Fan's thoughts raced.

“Why would Mo Sha's arrival in this life alarm the Skyfiend Sword in the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace?”

“When I first entered the cultivation world, there was only the Blazing Inferno Burning Sea, which presumably wouldn't affect the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace.”

“In my twelfth life, I sent the Celestial Physician's statue into the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace, which drew the Master. The two battled, and the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace was re-sealed. Thus, when Mo Sha brought about world destruction, it couldn't encounter the Skyfiend Sword.”

“In this life, fearing the Celestial Physician's shocking mind-reading abilities, I chose not to complete the Cloudwater Scroll mission. And Si Kongyi, the only one who knew the secret of the Cloudwater Scroll, was eliminated by me early on. So the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace remained suspended above Congyun Sea. Until Mo Sha descended…”

In an instant, Li Fan understood why the Skyfiend Sword and Mo Sha were battling here in this life.

A sharp gleam flickered in his eyes, his gaze seemingly piercing through the endless sea of ink, directly to where the two battled in the sky.

“Mo Sha, Skyfiend…”

“If I could witness their battle, it would be worth countless opportunities.”

As Li Fan pondered, the black particles had already reached him.

Showing no fear, Li Fan raised his right hand high, extending his arm towards the black particles. Watching his body disappear into the writhing blackness, Li Fan carefully perceived. There was no pain, not even the slightest sensation. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he might not even have noticed that a part of his body had vanished.

“Pure nothingness…” Li Fan's heart stirred slightly.

In an instant, the Grand Creation Furnace Art roared into operation. The power of his hidden core surged forth, rushing towards the area on his arm where the black particles were eroding. Li Fan attempted to use this pure power of life to counteract the power of void. It seemed to delay for a fleeting moment. Yet, it also felt like merely Li Fan's illusion. The surging blackness then consumed Li Fan's clone.

Tianyu Province, Universal Villa.

At this moment, Li Fan's true body, like his clone tens of thousands of miles away, raised his arms and closed his eyes in contemplation, seemingly sensing something. After a long while, he finally lowered his hands.

“The power of the hidden core is the power of life, the power of creation.”

“Mo Sha's power, on the other hand, is the power of obliteration, the power of turning into void.”

“As for the Skyfiend's power, it's more like the power of distortion, chaos, and destruction…”

“These might not be the true forms of their powers, but they are my direct insights.”

“Such insights are enough to achieve the Golden Core!”

He savored his recent enlightenment for a moment, then carefully stored it within the Dao-transforming crystal in his mind. Li Fan couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

The heavens and earth have laws; cultivators who glimpse them can achieve the Golden Core. If the various laws of the heavens and earth were likened to exquisite scroll paintings, then the process of cultivators "glimpsing the laws of heaven and earth" to form a Golden Core is like taking a transparent blank paper and painstakingly tracing the painting stroke by stroke. The result, while not comparable to the true artwork, is not difficult to make extremely similar. A cultivator's Golden Core method is still far inferior to the true laws of heaven and earth. But even by imitating it, one can reproduce some of its might.

“Originally, I planned to form my Golden Core using four methods: the Skyfiend method, the Vast Sea method, the Azure Flame method, and the Mo Sha method.”

“Now it seems, with my insights, I can go a step further.”

“The Skyfiend method and the Azure Flame method. Distortion and chaos, versus calm and rationality.”

“The Mo Sha method and the Hidden Core method. Creation and void.”

“The Vast Sea method… is essentially the method of water.”

“Solitary water is difficult to cultivate; if I can form a Golden Core with the Five Elements methods, it will generate endlessly.”

“More importantly, if this succeeds, it will greatly benefit my next step to achieving the Nascent Soul stage.”

As the saying goes, one who does not plan for eternity is insufficient to plan for a moment. After Li Fan successfully established his foundation with the Return to Truth method, he generally planned his future cultivation path.

In this world, the path of cultivation is not mysterious; its direction is already fixed. After glimpsing the laws of heaven and earth to refine a Golden Core, the next step is to seize the essence of heaven and earth to form a Nascent Soul. Having reviewed countless secrets and interacted with many Nascent Soul cultivators, Li Fan already knew that the so-called essence of heaven and earth referred to the various Blessed Lands and Grotto-heavens within the Xuanhuang World. The Xuanhuang World is vast, with countless Blessed Lands and Grotto-heavens: those that existed long ago and were later sealed; those newly born every moment; and those that reappear upon a cultivator's demise. These places thus become the means for Golden Core cultivators to achieve the Nascent Soul stage.

For Li Fan, his goal had already been set. It was precisely that which once caused a fierce battle between the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council…

The Grand Five Elements Grotto-heaven!

The stronger the Grotto-heaven a Nascent Soul cultivator plunders, the greater their power after forming their Nascent Soul. Among this Grand Five Elements Grotto-heaven, just the Wood-attribute Grotto-heaven alone received the Tianxuan Mirror's evaluation of "extremely vast in scale, exceedingly high in wood-attribute spiritual energy, and exceptionally rich in various spiritual plants and herbs." It's hard to imagine how precious the complete Grand Five Elements Grotto-heaven truly is. And how formidable would a Nascent Soul formed from it be. Furthermore, the Five Elements interact, generating and overcoming each other, evolving all things in heaven and earth. Using it as a foundation, coupled with the power of Return to Truth, might even bring about further transformations.

While seeking the Grand Five Elements Grotto-heaven would undoubtedly be extremely risky. For ordinary cultivators, it would be nothing but a pipe dream. But with the assistance of Return to Truth, countless opportunities for repeated attempts, and precognitive abilities, the Grand Five Elements Grotto-heaven would certainly be nothing more than a prize within Li Fan's grasp.

“To complete the Five Elements methods, I don't necessarily have to travel and observe them myself.”

“Within the Myriad Immortals Alliance, as long as you have enough contribution points, there's rarely anything you can't buy.”

“Moreover, these are merely the enlightenment insights of Golden Core cultivators on forming a Golden Core; they might not be that precious.”

Li Fan himself had earned a fortune from the Spirit Mist Grass incident, and later, when Jiao Xiuyuan sold the Small Xuanhuang Cauldron, he shared another 260,000 contribution points with Li Fan. This meant he had absolutely no worries about expenses.

With this in mind, Li Fan immediately searched the Tianxuan Mirror for Golden Core insights related to the Metal, Wood, Fire, and Earth methods.

The Five Elements methods are among the most common laws in the heavens and earth. Therefore, the results were surprisingly numerous. Prices also fluctuated based on their specific power, ranging from 50,000 to over 100,000. Li Fan reviewed them one by one, selecting suitable targets for himself.

It's worth noting that what recorded these Golden Core insights were not jade slips, but directly Golden Core fragments. It seemed they were the remnants of Golden Cores after cultivators' deaths, processed in some manner.

Li Fan merely sought to complete the Five Elements methods and didn't have high demands for the strength of the other four methods. Soon, he had selected the appropriate Golden Core fragments.