Chapter 551: United Path Final Battle Begins

However, Li Fan knew of a method that could completely freeze it. After the Spirit Bloom became extinct, many previously top-secret techniques slowly began to circulate.

One such technique, known as the 'Flower Collection' (Huajian Ji), involved sealing the Spirit Bloom entirely within a painting. The original Flower Collection was not specifically created for the Spirit Bloom; instead, it was made with the intention of capturing all the flowers in the world. The author of the Flower Collection was Zhao Chong, a man who loved flowers immensely. He vowed to see every flower under heaven. Thus, he intended to record all earthly flowers using his painting brush and ink. Unfortunately, his talent for painting was rather mediocre. His paintings were starkly different from the real objects, like heaven and earth. It was, as he put it, "a desecration of real flowers."

After much deliberation, he found an alternative approach, conceiving this "painting" method of directly sealing real objects. Though it lacked the artistic flair of brush and ink, the results were incredibly lifelike and authentic. However, in the previous life, Zhao Chong's Flower Collection did not include the Spirit Bloom. This was because he had long heard of the Spirit Bloom's beauty and believed that the most beautiful flowers should be saved for last. So, he kept postponing the painting. It wasn't until after the Great Battle of Tianling Province, when Tianling's beauty was lost, that he deeply regretted it. He would lament his regret to anyone he met.

At this moment, Li Fan tucked the wooden box containing the Spirit Bloom into his embrace, continuing to pretend to browse the shop. Noticing the shopkeeper's unfriendly gaze, he reluctantly left.

After leaving the shop, Li Fan went to the Debate Tower in the city and rented a room. He then purchased three items from the Sky Profound Mirror: Ice Drop Dew, Resemblance Capture, and Thousand-Color Silk. Though none were particularly valuable, they nearly depleted all of Li Fan's contribution points.

He took out the seventeen-petaled Spirit Bloom and placed it on the Thousand-Color Silk. Then, he soaked it with Ice Drop Dew. As a chill began to emanate from the petals, he pressed down with the Resemblance Capture. Li Fan calmly followed the method Zhao Chong had described for creating the Flower Collection in his previous life. Hundreds of thousands of colorful lights emanated from the Thousand-Color Silk. The light passed through the Spirit Bloom and reflected onto the Resemblance Capture. Like a needle threading a line, it combined the frozen Spirit Bloom with the Thousand-Color Silk and Resemblance Capture.

The light gradually faded, and soon, a transparent "paper" as thin as a cicada's wing appeared in Li Fan's hand. Although it felt flat to the touch, what his eyes perceived was identical to a truly blooming flower. The scenes on all seventeen petals were clearly visible. He could even see the entire flower subtly trembling.

"That's it," Li Fan thought, breathing a sigh of relief. "The last step is to add a layer of spiritual protection on the outermost surface, to prevent malicious damage." He added, "No rush though."

Li Fan looked at the "painting" in his hand, knowing that it would soon become a unique existence in the entire Xuanhuang Realm. Its value would then become immeasurable. Wealth was secondary; the most important thing was its unique appeal. It would be enough to accomplish things that contribution points alone could not. Li Fan smiled faintly, admired it for a moment with satisfaction, and finally put it away carefully.

After leaving the Debate Tower, he lingered in Tianling City for another three days. On this day, shouts of surprise suddenly erupted throughout Tianling City. "Look at the sky!"

Li Fan looked up at the sound and finally witnessed the scene he had long awaited. A rolling black swamp, like dark clouds, covered the sky. It appeared endlessly powerful, yet in reality, it was already withered and lifeless.

At the same time, a passage of text appeared in Li Fan's mind:"Path-Integration cultivator Long Jiuyuan, cultivated for two hundred and eighty-six years, achieved his Dao foundation with the Crimson Dragon Molt, and formed his Golden Core with the Four Methods: Latent Potential, Soaring Dragon, Law-Breaking, and Deathmatch. He devoured the Hundred Abyss Grotto-Heaven to form his Nascent Soul, and drew upon the Celestial Spirit to manifest a thousand waters, transforming his essence. He sacrificed the soul of the Black Swamp, integrating his body with the Great Dao. In the land of Tianling Province, he was gravely wounded by cultivator Xu Huating. His body perished, his Dao vanished, returning to the heavens!"

"It really is him," Li Fan's eyes gleamed. With the demise of a Path-Integration cultivator, a great war was inevitable. Soon, the Myriad Immortals Alliance would issue a war preparedness announcement. At that time, the borders of all provinces would be sealed. He had to leave this turbulent area before then and return to the relatively peaceful Cloud Cluster Sea, away from the impending battle in Tianling Province.

While other cultivators stood stunned, Li Fan had already quietly stepped into a teleportation array. After Li Fan's figure completely vanished, a chorus of voices began to rise and fall within Tianling City.

"Long Jiuyuan? When did he achieve Path-Integration?""No! How did he die?!""And who is Xu Huating? He can actually kill a Path-Integration cultivator?""The most promising descendant of the Long family has fallen just like that. This is going to be quite a spectacle!"

The people of Tianling Province, recovering from their shock, let out incredulous exclamations. A massive storm was brewing, centered in Tianling Province, sweeping towards the entire Myriad Immortals Alliance.

Soon after, in the Cloud Cluster Sea, He Zhenghao had been nervously watching the prices of the materials he had previously acquired, his heart pounding and cold sweat breaking out even at slight fluctuations, when he suddenly heard the clear, mechanical voice of the Sky Profound Mirror.

"Effective immediately, the Myriad Immortals Alliance is entering Class B combat readiness. All protective formations in all provinces are to be fully activated. All cultivators are prohibited from cross-province travel. All members of the Alliance's system are to return to their provincial cities as soon as possible and await instructions. Any foreign cultivators found will be immediately executed, regardless of life or death."

The announcement repeated three times before stopping. He Zhenghao was first stunned, then his eyes widened, and he sprang to his feet in alarm. The Myriad Immortals Alliance was going to war with the Council of Five Elders?

Fear welled up in his heart. He Zhenghao was about to contact Gao Yuan to discuss countermeasures, but then he suddenly remembered something. His expression changed drastically, and he quickly lowered his head, looking at the prices of various materials on the small Sky Profound Mirror. The reactions of speculative merchants are always astonishingly keen.

While most cultivators in the Myriad Immortals Alliance were still in shock over the impending war, the prices of the materials Li Fan had previously ordered He Zhenghao to stockpile—Sky Restoration Pills, Standard Heavenly Stellar Armor, Divine Martial Thunder, Hundred-Battle Array Diagrams—had already begun to rise significantly. And not just those on the list. In the Sky Profound Mirror, anything related to survival or combat saw a general price increase. This was because they knew that the current stock of these materials absolutely could not withstand a rush of cultivators.

With war imminent, who could guarantee they wouldn't be sent to the battlefield? More protection and preparation meant a greater chance of survival. Compared to life, what were a few contribution points? Even if prices doubled, cultivators would dutifully pay. In a flash, He Zhenghao also understood.

"My Lord's abilities are truly unfathomable!" Watching the continuously skyrocketing prices of materials, He Zhenghao felt both joy and fear. His joy, naturally, came from the fact that the materials worth one hundred million contribution points he had hoarded had increased by one-third in such a short time. His fear was whether his opportunistic hoarding would lead to punishment from the Immortal Alliance.