Chapter 347: One Step to Instantly Transform into a God

Xue Mu took out a scroll from his storage ring and handed it to Li Fan.

"This is a casual painting I made based on the scenes from my memory," he explained. "Although I've revised it hundreds of times, it still captures less than one ten-thousandth of its true essence. Even so, every time I calm down and redraw it, my body and mind feel purified and cleansed, and I benefit immensely. I hadn't realized it before, but now that I've mentioned it to you, fellow Daoist, it just occurred to me. My rapid progress recently might be due to frequently revisiting the scene I witnessed back then." Xue Mu said with an extremely solemn expression.

"A mortal achieving God Transformation..." Li Fan, curious, took the scroll and unrolled it.

In an instant, it was as if winds and clouds shifted before his eyes. A slender figure, dressed in white, stood with his back to the viewer, gazing up at the sky. The figure was so tiny, yet it seemed to stand in opposition to the entire world. In the sky, clouds ceaselessly rolled and transformed into various shapes. They piled up, layer upon layer, pressing down. Great winds danced, swirling the clouds like snow. White robes fluttered, but the slender figure remained unmoving, facing the overwhelming pressure from the sky. Instead of fear, his aura grew stronger with each moment, confronting the world's oppression.

Suddenly, he took a step forward. The white clouds instantly recoiled, falling into disarray. He stepped forward again. The clouds dissipated, the wind vanished, and the sky turned clear as if freshly washed. Then, extraordinary phenomena abruptly appeared between heaven and earth. Countless golden rays burst forth, accompanied by strange flowers continuously falling. Various auspicious mythical beasts flew from the horizon, emitting joyful cries. On the ground, a hundred flowers bloomed, as if spring had arrived in the blink of an eye. The slender figure seemed to let out a soft chuckle. Then, with hands clasped behind his back, he took another step forward. With that step, he ascended to the heavens. He merged with the vast sky and vanished.

Seeing Li Fan engrossed, Xue Mu said with a touch of shyness, "My skill is limited; this humble work has amused you, fellow Daoist. What I actually witnessed was tens of thousands of times more powerful than what I've painted. But even that was merely an imprint left on the God Transformation Stele. I truly can't imagine how grand the scene must have been when this mortal achieved God Transformation." Xue Mu said with emotion.

"Fellow Daoist Xue, your painting skill is impressive; it makes one feel as if they are truly there," Li Fan replied politely, yet his gaze never left the scroll in his hands, fixed intently on the white figure in the painting. He felt a slight disbelief in his heart. Although it was merely a copy of an imprint on a wall, and perhaps vastly different from the actual scene, the feeling emanating from the figure made Li Fan vaguely sense a familiarity.

"Mr. Bai?"

Li Fan had met this mysterious powerful figure several times in the Immortal Graveyard Realm. However, it was always a fleeting encounter, only catching a glimpse of a blurry figure. Precisely for this reason, upon seeing this copied painting, he recognized him instantly. At Mr. Bai's level of cultivation, what matters is the spirit, not the form. Once one had seen him, it was difficult to mistake him for anyone else. Moreover, Li Fan's intuition had always been very accurate. He was almost certain that the Mortal God Transformation Stele in Tianyun Province recorded the scene of Mr. Bai achieving God Transformation as a mortal and ascending to the heavens in a single step.

Li Fan suddenly recalled Xu Ke's confident declaration when he saw Mr. Bai display his might, slaying many strange beasts one after another: Mr. Bai had been merely a mortal not long ago. Mr. Bai himself had told him. "It seems Mr. Bai might not have been lying. Before parting ways with Xu Ke, he was indeed just a mortal. But with a sudden enlightenment, he became a God Transformation cultivator."

Although he had long heard about mortals achieving God Transformation through sudden enlightenment, legends were just legends after all. Yet, when the protagonist of such an anecdote turned out to be someone he knew, Li Fan found it somewhat difficult to accept for a moment. "What kind of talent does it take to achieve God Transformation in one day?" He thought back to his own arduous planning over hundreds of reincarnations for many years, only to be at the Mid-Core Formation stage now. Li Fan couldn't help but feel a bit lost. Even if it happened in ancient times, where the unity of heaven and man was emphasized and the potential for sudden enlightenment was exceptionally high, this still exceeded Li Fan's imagination. "This is truly... The gap between people is simply too vast."

However, Li Fan's mind was resilient; after a brief moment of daze, he recovered. He secretly shook his head, sighing with emotion for a moment. In his heart, he couldn't help but want to personally visit the Mortal God Transformation Stele and witness Mr. Bai's extraordinary bearing. At the same time, he grew increasingly expectant about his next experience in the Immortal Graveyard Realm.

Taking a deep breath, Li Fan put away the painting and returned it to Xue Mu. "Thank you, fellow Daoist. I have also benefited greatly from viewing your masterpiece today," Li Fan thanked him sincerely.

Xue Mu seemed a little flustered: "I don't deserve such praise. It was your reminder, fellow Daoist, that led me to visit the God Transformation Stele in the first place. If anything, I should be thanking you."

"You two youngsters are so saccharine, it makes my teeth ache. I can't tell if you're acting, or if you're *really* acting." Just as the two were politely deferring to each other, a rather sarcastic voice suddenly rang out. Li Fan looked over and saw that the speaker was none other than the chubby Huangfu Song he had previously met at the Cosmic Villa. Instead of getting angry, Li Fan replied with some surprise, "Oh, it's Senior Huangfu Song. I didn't expect you to still be alive? Earlier, Master Ji said there was no need to worry about the incident where Tantai Tao was attacked happening again, so I thought you had already been... Senior Huangfu truly has deep connections, this junior admires you." Li Fan said with a solemn expression.

Seeing Li Fan bring up his slip of the tongue again, Huangfu Song's face immediately turned liver-colored: "Kid, why are you talking nonsense again? The incident where Tantai Tao was attacked absolutely has nothing to do with me."

Li Fan quickly nodded, putting on a look that said, 'I understand, and I definitely won't spread it.' This made Huangfu Song almost laugh in exasperation: "Kid, your acting skills have truly reached perfection. I can't tell if you're pretending to be foolish or if you truly are." Xue Mu, meanwhile, watched the two of them blankly, not understanding what riddle they were playing.

Just then, Ji Hongdao's voice suddenly rang out. "Alright, Huangfu. You're an adult; why argue with a junior? Bring them over quickly; we're about to depart." Ji Hongdao still held some authority over Huangfu Song. Huangfu Song didn't dare to delay, letting out a cold snort as he seized Li Fan and Xue Mu with his left and right hands respectively. With a series of flashes and shifting light, he brought them onto a flying boat. Ji Hongdao was standing on the deck at the bow of the ship, waiting for them.

After being set down by Huangfu Song, Li Fan and Xue Mu quickly bowed to Ji Hongdao. Ji Hongdao merely nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on something ahead, though it was unclear what he was looking at.

"Master Ji, what is this flying boat for?" Li Fan asked boldly after a moment.

"The original plan was to take you to rendezvous with the other formation masters from the Strategy Array Hall in Tianyu Province and proceed to the Hidden Dragon Grotto-Heaven for array construction," Ji Hongdao said somewhat casually. "However, I suddenly received an assignment and need to rush to the Roaring Abyss. Something unexpected happened there, and they need extra hands, so I'm bringing you along as well."