Chapter 92: Li Fan and Lin Fan

After retrieving the spiritual sand, Li Fan left the cave and returned to the sea surface.

With all the materials ready, he was now prepared to begin refining his doppelganger. Naturally, this couldn't be done under the watchful eyes of the Myriad Immortals Alliance's Sky Xuan Mirror. Li Fan thought for a moment and continued flying west. There, on an uninhabited island, was a cave dwelling that Sikong Yi had once established. He had concealed it using techniques from the Heaven-Stealing and Sun-Shifting Sect, making it difficult for ordinary cultivators to detect. It was there that Sikong Yi had hidden to refine his own doppelganger. Given this, Li Fan decided to head to that same cave dwelling.

After flying for another two days, he was almost near the uninhabited island. However, Li Fan faintly sensed someone on the island. His heart tightened immediately, and he concealed his presence, stealthily approaching.

"Strange, it should be on this island." The voice drifting from afar sounded somewhat familiar. Li Fan looked closely and saw that the sneaky figure was none other than Jiao Xiuyuan. He scratched his head with his left hand while staring at a square object in his right hand. The item looked like a compass, but its patterns and symbols were much more intricate. A red light emanated from it, spreading outwards. It returned shortly after, emitting a "beep" sound.

"No way, I shouldn't have come to the wrong place. But why isn't this Spirit Disc working?" Jiao Xiuyuan was somewhat confused.

"What are you looking for..." Just then, Li Fan's voice suddenly rang out. Jiao Xiuyuan jumped in surprise and nearly dropped the Spirit Disc in his hand.

"Fellow Daoist Sikong?" He turned his head, looking at the figure that had suddenly appeared in front of him, concealed by a Concealment Talisman and unidentifiable, and asked tentatively.

"Before, you sent people to secretly follow us," Li Fan said coldly, his tone unfriendly. "Was it just so you could, in my absence, sneak into my cave dwelling?"

Jiao Xiuyuan chuckled awkwardly. "Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding." His eyes darted about, and he quickly asked, "May I ask where Fellow Daoist Baili is?"

Li Fan didn't answer. He directly took out the Azure Wood Purple Fire Array Diagram and enveloped Jiao Xiuyuan. Purple flames flickered, and Jiao Xiuyuan, amidst screams, turned into ashes. In the air, there was a smell similar to burnt wood.

"As expected, it's still a puppet." Li Fan wasn't surprised. He looked at the uninhabited island below and began circulating the Heaven-Stealing and Sun-Shifting Art. He vaguely sensed the presence of a hidden cave dwelling within the island's jungle. He flew over and stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary coconut tree. He lightly touched it, and as his aura confirmed its presence, Li Fan felt a pull. Releasing his resistance, he was able to enter the tree.

Though called a cave dwelling, it was actually very rudimentary. It could barely accommodate two people without feeling cramped. There was nothing valuable inside either. However, Li Fan was only borrowing the place, so he wasn't particular about it. He also wasn't worried about Jiao Xiuyuan's retaliation. After all, attempting to sneak into someone else's cave dwelling was a dishonorable act on his part. Furthermore, this place was extremely remote; even if Jiao Xiuyuan wanted to come for revenge, Li Fan would have long since refined his doppelganger and departed by the time he traveled all that distance.

Li Fan stopped thinking about these miscellaneous matters. He took out all the necessary materials, held his breath, focused his mind, and began the refining process. For this doppelganger refinement, Li Fan did not intend to put much effort into stripping away the destinies of other cultivators. Because in his plan, this doppelganger was merely meant to deceive and hide, attract public attention, and acquire the 100,000 contribution points. This doppelganger was also going to remain, quietly observing the Scarlet Flame Burning Sea event. Since it would ultimately face an unavoidable death, there was no need to be so particular.

The refining began. Li Fan took out a cluster of his own vital blood, using it as the core, and controlled the blood of myriad beasts and the flesh of a hundred animals, mixing and condensing them into a human shape. He then circulated his cultivation technique, sensing the various wandering destinies between heaven and earth. These wandering destinies mostly belonged to the animals and plants on the surrounding islands. Each one was very weak. But there were a great many of them. Li Fan carefully extracted a trace from each of these wandering destinies, gathering them together. As more destinies were extracted, Li Fan's manipulation became increasingly difficult. He knew he couldn't be too greedy; otherwise, if he lost control, it would cause a destiny backlash. When he felt that the number of destinies he could control had reached its limit, Li Fan stopped adding more. He infused this brand new blank destiny into the mass of flesh and blood in front of him. Immediately, a subtle hint of vitality faintly emerged from it.

The refining process was largely successful. Li Fan then successively added the remaining materials. Bones, organs, skin, hair... all slowly took shape. Then Li Fan adjusted the doppelganger's appearance. Neither too handsome nor too ugly. An ordinary, common face, the kind that would be hard to spot in a crowd. A moment later, a face with a blank expression appeared before him. Li Fan stared at it for a while and nodded in satisfaction.

Next was the final step. Li Fan concentrated and pointed at the doppelganger's head. "Sever!" He severed the doppelganger's destiny from its source. The doppelganger finally became an independent entity.

Li Fan and the doppelganger looked at each other. An additional body, an entirely new perspective. This feeling was somewhat peculiar. Controlling the doppelganger, he made it walk, lie down, stand, and remain upright. After a while, Li Fan slowly adapted. He took out clothes from his storage ring, and the doppelganger put them on. It bowed to the true body. "Greetings, Fellow Daoist!"

The true body smiled. "From now on, you shall be called Lin Fan!"

"Good."

The doppelganger, Lin Fan, was one minor realm lower than the true body, possessing only mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation. Furthermore, it had no cultivation technique, possessing only an empty realm. Since the doppelganger was now complete, the next step was to have him join the Myriad Immortals Alliance. There was no need for Li Fan to introduce him. Lin Fan took the storage ring containing the "Cloud Water Scroll" and flew all the way to the vicinity of Spirit Rhyme Island. Li Fan, meanwhile, quietly followed behind him to prevent any unforeseen circumstances. Fortunately, no sudden incidents occurred.

After successfully meeting the guardian of Spirit Rhyme Island, Lin Fan put forward his request to join the Myriad Immortals Alliance. The guardian naturally had no objections. Thus, after a familiar procedure, Lin Fan arrived on Myriad Immortals Island and activated his Sky Xuan Mirror space. Li Fan also returned to Myriad Immortals Island, but the two did not meet. Lin Fan then took out the "Cloud Water Scroll" and chose to complete the task worth 100,000 contribution points.

At the same time, Li Fan also focused his mind, sensing the situation on Lin Fan's side. This time, the Sky Xuan Mirror's silence was much longer than usual. It didn't respond for a long time. Li Fan thought something had gone wrong. Finally, the Sky Xuan Mirror's voice sounded again.

"Unable to verify the authenticity of the 'Cloud Water Scroll'. Please wait."

"The task publisher... requests to visit your space. Do you accept?"

Lin Fan was startled, then chose to accept. A moment later, an old man with white hair and a benevolent face appeared before Lin Fan. No trace of a cultivator's aura could be sensed from the old man; he was like a mortal.