Chapter 439: Resolving Misunderstandings Through Strategy

At this time, the Tianyang Puppet was still acting purely on instinct. It truly took Li Fan a great deal of effort to teach him how to use the Guili Fanyuan Formation to temper and strengthen himself. Fortunately, Tianyang was extremely obedient to Li Fan, his senior brother. Even the most clumsy student, through constant practice, would eventually learn. Seeing Tianyang's gradually skilled movements, Li Fan felt a wave of contentment.

“If someone comes to disturb you, junior brother, do not kill them. Capture and imprison them, and wait for me to return to deal with them,” Li Fan instructed. “If you encounter someone you cannot defeat, junior brother, do not overexert yourself. Silently slip away and meet up with me to discuss.” After giving Tianyang these instructions, Li Fan flew out and sealed the cave dwelling.

“The highest ostensible combat power in the Cloud Sea, after all, is just those few Soul Transformation Immortal Lords,” Li Fan mused. “Now that I have my junior brother Tianyang backing me, I can accomplish even more.” Overlooking the unnamed island below, Li Fan smiled faintly, “From now on, you shall be called Embodiment Island.”

“Once Tianyang completes his own repairs, I can also have him help refine mechanical puppets,” he thought. “Given sufficient materials, refining some puppets with Nascent Soul-level combat power shouldn't be difficult. Although mechanical puppets cannot compare to true Nascent Soul cultivators, they have the advantage of not fearing attrition and can overwhelm opponents with sheer numbers.” The more Li Fan thought about it, the more delighted he became.

After a while, his heart gradually calmed, and he took out Tianyang’s remains from his storage ring. He still received the prompt that it could be absorbed by Huanzhen, but the hunger sensation was no longer present. After some thought, Li Fan ultimately chose not to absorb it. “I’ve already obtained everything that could be gained from Tianyang’s remnant will. Absorbing it again would be of little significance. It’s better to keep it; perhaps it will come in handy someday.”

Cultivators in the Xuanhuang Realm must have a way to utilize Eternal Remnants. However, even in his previous life, when he reached permission level Thirty Derivatives, he had never found any relevant information. Speaking of Eternal Remnants, Li Fan couldn't help but recall the skull of the first cultivator infected by the Immortal-Mortal Miasma that he had seen in his previous life. “Perhaps it was precisely because an Eternal Remnant was attached to it that it was placed in the very center of the Museum of Divine Artifacts.”

His thoughts collected. Instead of returning to Myriad Immortals Island, Li Fan quietly made his way outside Glazed Island. He located the giant Glazed Fish, concealed his aura, and descended to the seabed. He didn't act immediately but waited for something. Minute by minute passed. When the time arrived at the exact point in his previous lives when Li Fan re-entered the cultivation world and used the Formless Killing Intent to slay the giant Glazed Fish, only then did Li Fan follow the same method, obtaining the Exquisite Glazed Pearl.

With ample Enlightenment Pills, the function of this Glazed Pearl had become dispensable. However, Li Fan didn't slay the giant Glazed Fish for this item. Instead, it was to ensure the attack on the Spirit Mist Grass Island and the subsequent series of chain events would occur. The reason he anchored his actions to the 8-year mark and didn't act sooner was to avoid the impact of deviations in the timeline.

Everything in the world is constantly in dynamic evolution, interconnected with each other. His early entry into the Xuanhuang Realm by a year was like a stone dropping into a pond, affecting numerous matters. Li Fan also couldn't guarantee that the experiences of his previous lives wouldn't change in this one. All he could do was minimize deviations as much as possible.

“Hyping up the Spirit Mist Grass incident is related to the Great War of Tianling State, Immortal Venerable Jicheng's bounty, and the appearance of the Tianxuan Spirit-Locking Formation,” he reminded himself. “There is no room for error. If worse comes to worst...” In an instant, the giant Glazed Fish's corpse was completely gone, and wisps of blood floated upwards. A hint of fierce light flashed in Li Fan's eyes.

After completing this task, Li Fan made another trip, collecting two Blue Blood Corals. Although that small amount of contribution points was negligible for the current Li Fan, this task allowed him to meet Chen Ying, a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Medicine Hall. This person would subsequently travel to the Five Elements Grand Grotto-heaven. By monitoring him with the Formless Killing Intent, Li Fan would know immediately when the Great War of Tianling State broke out, thus seizing the opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

Returning to the Heavenly Profound Mirror, Li Fan chose to submit the quest. At the same time, he asked the other party if they were refining the Ice Will Heartless Pill.

“Just by one main ingredient, you can deduce the pill I'm refining? Could it be that you, too, are skilled in this art?” As expected, his curiosity piqued, Chen Ying sent an inquiry.

“Haha, I don't understand alchemy. I merely possess some divination and calculation techniques,” Li Fan replied with a smile. “I intend to explore the Fallen Immortal Realm, and I vaguely felt that the pill you are refining might be of help. Hence my question.”

Chen Ying exclaimed in surprise, “Divination techniques are truly so profound and mysterious... Wait, could you be that ancient Heavenly Secret Sect cultivator who awoke from slumber?” At this moment, looking at Li Fan's name, Chen Ying remembered something and asked in astonishment.

“Haha, that would be me. But it's just an empty reputation; fellow Daoist needn't take it seriously!” Li Fan replied modestly.

Chen Ying, however, became thoroughly interested. He insisted on meeting Li Fan in person and offered to give Li Fan some Ice Will Heartless Pills for free. Li Fan feigned being unable to decline and agreed. The two agreed to meet at Chen Ying's residence on Myriad Immortals Island.

It was common knowledge that cultivators could purchase cave dwellings to reside in on Myriad Immortals Island. However, the price was considerable. None of the Cloud Sea cultivators Li Fan had befriended in his previous lives were so extravagant. Even Zhang Zhiliang hadn't splurged on a residence to truly enjoy. “It seems alchemy is more lucrative than formation arts,” Li Fan thought as he arrived before Chen Ying's cave dwelling.

Sensing Li Fan's arrival, a green door swung open. The dwelling, outwardly simple and small, revealed a world of its own upon entry. It was as if one had stepped into a valley, where continuous spiritual fields cultivated many different types of herbs and spiritual plants. The spiritual energy concentration within the valley wasn't particularly high, nor did Li Fan see anyone specifically in charge of tending to it. Yet all these spiritual plants and herbs were thriving remarkably well. Li Fan guessed it might be related to the layers of different-colored restrictions covering the spiritual fields above.

“Oh, fellow Daoist Li Fan, you're finally here!” Chen Ying's hearty laughter carried from afar. Li Fan looked over and saw him emerge from a patch of crops taller than himself. Disregarding his somewhat disheveled appearance, he flew directly towards Li Fan.

“Eight Profound Grass... but ordinary ones don't seem to grow this tall,” Li Fan thought. “I heard that while Chen Ying is skilled in alchemy, he's also exceptionally good at cultivating spiritual plants. Seeing it today, his reputation is truly well-deserved.” Li Fan's mind became active.

“Fellow Daoist Chen Ying, I've long admired you!” he said warmly, cupping his hands. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he stared intently at Chen Ying. Chen Ying immediately felt a bit bewildered, touching his own face. “What's wrong, fellow Daoist Li Fan?” he couldn't help but ask, seeing Li Fan's vigilant expression.

“From your appearance, fellow Daoist, I fear you will soon face a calamity of bloodshed!” Li Fan shook his head, his tone solemn.