Chapter 981: Longevity as a Beast of Burden

“Oh?” Li Fan looked up at Daoist Baihua.

This person’s words always had an unsettling way of surprising him.

“How is it different?”

Daoist Baihua slowly explained, “Perhaps Senior Envoy, you are the first to encounter the True Immortal statue again, or perhaps the first to cause it to revive. In any case, I believe you have already noticed that, compared to others, you possess a unique authority. This might be a sign of the True Immortal holding you in special regard.” Daoist Baihua tried every possible way to find reasons to explain.

Li Fan responded with a faint smile.

“Alright, the True Immortal’s intentions are not for us to fathom,” Li Fan declared righteously, ending their discussion about the True Immortal. “I am a grateful person. Since the True Immortal created me, no matter the final outcome, I will take it upon myself to restore the True Immortal’s lineage.”

“I still don’t know what you specialize in, fellow Daoist? Now that you’ve joined our Myriad Worlds Alliance, we can’t let your abilities go to waste,” Li Fan asked considerately. “Don’t worry, our alliance is currently in a dormant development phase, and I know your actual combat strength isn’t strong, so I won’t send you to the battlefield to fight.”

Seeing Li Fan’s smiling expression, an ominous premonition suddenly arose in Daoist Baihua’s heart, though he couldn't say why. Nevertheless, he braced himself and replied, “Now that I’ve transformed into a Glazed Body, I am most proficient in two things. First, soothing and repairing damage to spiritual consciousness and souls. However, this consumes my essence and can only be done occasionally.”

After bowing to the True Immortal statue, Daoist Baihua knew he was now connected to it, and Li Fan could sense his emotions through this connection. Therefore, Daoist Baihua dared not hide anything and honestly explained, “Second, I specialize in cultivating and nurturing spirit plants and herbs. I can not only make them more vibrant but also have a certain probability of helping them manifest spirits. However, I’ve observed that all the spiritual energy in this realm is absorbed by the central Spirit Wood, making spirit plants very rare.”

Li Fan nodded, “Indeed, the Spirit Wood Realm is quite barren.”

Daoist Baihua breathed a sigh of relief.

“But it doesn’t matter, our alliance has another base that can definitely meet your needs, Daoist Baihua,” Li Fan said with a slight smile.

The next moment, Daoist Baihua’s vision blurred. When she could see the scene clearly, her body trembled uncontrollably once more. A towering giant tree, much taller than the Spirit Wood in the Spirit Wood Realm, stood within her sight.

The giant tree did not drain all the nutrients from the world; instead, it formed miniature ecosystems around its roots and even on its branches. Countless plants, spirit plants, and spirit herbs filled the area, densely packed and stretching as far as the eye could see. Even with her divine sense, she couldn’t perceive their end in an instant. The extremely dense wood-attribute spiritual energy nearly choked Daoist Baihua. She had never witnessed such an astonishing sight, and in a trance, she thought she was in the legendary Immortal Realm!

“This… where is this?” After a long time, Daoist Baihua regained her composure. Not seeing Li Fan, she looked around and asked.

Li Fan’s voice boomed through the heavens, “This is the Spirit Wood Grotto-Heaven, one of the Myriad Worlds Alliance’s secret bases. I believe the abundance of spirit plants here will be sufficient for you to manage, fellow Daoist.”

Daoist Baihua opened her mouth, wanting to speak but stopping. With such rich wood-attribute spiritual energy, why would she need to manage anything? Even digging up a random plant would yield top-grade material! However, sensing the faint threat in the other party’s words, Daoist Baihua could only say bitterly, “Enough, it’s more than enough.”

“Haha, that’s good. Although the resources in this Grotto-Heaven are somewhat abundant, it has been abandoned for too long and is a bit chaotic. I’ll have to trouble you to put some effort into it. After all, it will serve as the logistics base for the alliance in the future, so we must be cautious,” Li Fan said earnestly.

Daoist Baihua looked at the boundless Grotto-Heaven and nodded numbly.

“To thoroughly tidy it up, even with my current abilities, it would take at least ten years, wouldn’t it?” Daoist Baihua sighed. “This Senior Envoy seems to be a ‘smiling tiger’.”

However, her main body was already bound by the True Immortal statue, and her Glazed Body was still under Li Fan’s control. She was the fish on the chopping block, so Daoist Baihua could only work diligently. Fortunately, she naturally enjoyed dealing with these spiritual objects. This Grotto-Heaven had not been disturbed by cultivators for countless years. All the spiritual objects were thriving, a truly pleasing sight.

As Daoist Baihua worked through the different areas, her mood gradually improved. She didn't know how much time had passed before her work was interrupted by a rumble from the sky.

Daoist Baihua looked up and saw a massive landmass suddenly appear, floating at the mid-section of the giant tree. It was like a dark cloud, obscuring the sky.

Li Fan’s voice came again: “Oh, and there are many more spirit plants in another base. I’ve moved them all here for you, so you don’t have to travel back and forth. If it’s convenient, perhaps you could transplant everything from there into this Grotto-Heaven.”

After speaking, Li Fan’s presence vanished again.

Daoist Baihua was stunned, then flew into the sky. Upon seeing the scene, she almost lost her breath. She saw that this continent was still covered in spirit herbs, stretching across mountains and plains.

And all of them were extremely ancient. “There are formations that categorize them, and all have been cultivated for at least several millennia. They are truly top-grade...” Daoist Baihua thought. “Did this Senior Envoy perhaps empty an ancient immortal sect? These will be even more troublesome to deal with. Will the project duration increase by another five years?”

Daoist Baihua’s heart was filled with helplessness.

Li Fan sensed Daoist Baihua within his wood-attribute Grotto-Heaven and nodded slightly. Although Daoist Baihua appeared to have fully submitted, she was, after all, an immortal cultivator who had been dormant in the outside world for an unknown number of years. Li Fan still couldn't fully trust her. Keeping her suppressed within his Grotto-Heaven while she helped manage the chaotic spirit plants there was truly killing two birds with one stone.

Since Li Fan had absorbed the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, his strength had further improved. The Five Elements Grotto-Heaven also continued to grow slowly, and the wood-attribute Grotto-Heaven, in particular, had entered a state of rampant growth. Daoist Baihua’s arrival was perfectly timed!

As for the continent full of spirit plants that Li Fan later moved, it was the Medicine King Sect’s secret realm, Immortality Valley! Since it was destined to be Li Fan’s property anyway, it was convenient to transfer it to the wood-attribute Grotto-Heaven and deal with it all at once.

“The return of the Medicine King Cauldron isn’t far off either,” Li Fan mused. “The problem of insufficient manpower for the Myriad Worlds Alliance will soon be alleviated.”

Li Fan’s gaze seemed to pierce through the small world’s barriers, reaching directly to the sky of the Xuanghuang Realm. The commotion caused by Daoist Baihua’s appearance gradually subsided.

A month later, Mo Rujun finally secretly contacted Li Fan.

“Brother Xingwang, the extraordinary treasure that can deduce formations has been found.”