It made sense when one thought about it.
Though these mechanism puppets had suppressed their combat strength to the Qi Condensation stage, their physical durability was inherently capable of withstanding the attacks of Nascent Soul cultivators.
How could mere Qi Condensation cultivators ever harm them?
After those thirty-odd Qi Condensation cultivators unleashed a barrage of flashy attacks, the seventeen puppets didn't feel a thing.
They couldn't breach their defense at all!
Conversely, with their lethality capped at the Qi Condensation stage, the puppets weren't nearly as terrifying either.
After a fierce clash, though the third expedition team was brutally thrashed, most of them managed to preserve their lives.
Only then did everyone finally come to their senses.
Master Tianyang's cave abode was simply not something insignificant Qi Condensation cultivators like them could covet.
The seventeen heavily armored mechanism puppets stood like door gods, barring every outsider from entry.
Li Fan reflected on it; even if he were to go, the result would likely be the same—he would find no advantage.
"I wonder how this cave abode's affair was eventually resolved in my previous life?" Li Fan mused secretly.
After he joined the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, he had never heard anyone mention Master Tianyang's cave abode.
Evidently, the cave abode had long since disappeared by then.
"Perhaps in the end, some great figure will step in to put an end to it," Li Fan surmised.
And so, the commotion stirred up by Master Tianyang's cave abode gradually subsided.
Faced with a treasure trove they could see but could not touch, everyone decisively chose to put it out of their minds.
Naturally, there were still shrewd opportunists who tried to lobby behind the scenes, attempting to rally a hundred or more Qi Condensation cultivators to mount another expedition.
Using human wave tactics, one group would pin down the seventeen puppets, while another drove straight inside to seek opportunities deep within the cave abode.
Yet...
Nobody paid them any mind.
Everyone was just a Qi Condensation cultivator; why should we risk our lives just for you to reap opportunities?
None was willing to be the sacrifice.
Thus, fewer and fewer cultivators kept Master Tianyang's cave abode in their thoughts.
And the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals seemed to have forgotten about it as well, never mentioning the matter again.
The Congyun Sea quieted down all at once.
Li Fan, for once, was able to calm his mind and focus peacefully on cultivation.
Time flowed, and in the blink of an eye, half a year passed, bringing Year 13 of Anchor.
On this day, Li Fan was reviewing the fruits of his half-year of dedicated cultivation.
He had studied the Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos and the Stealing Heaven Changing Sun Art side by side, cultivating them in tandem.
Both had reached the late Qi Condensation stage, and he could faintly sense the presence of a bottleneck.
Once he broke through this bottleneck, he could use a wonder of heaven and earth to establish his Dao Foundation and become a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
As for the Cloud Water Illusory Dream Technique, after breaking through to the third layer, progress slowed to a crawl, forcing him to set it aside temporarily.
The third layer of the Illusory Dream Technique could already influence Foundation Establishment cultivators to a certain degree.
The exact effect depended on the disparity in mental strength between Li Fan and his target.
As for the Shadow Following Art and the Nether Spirit Illusion Art, he had not had the time to cultivate them yet due to the short timeframe.
"It seems cultivating too many techniques isn't a good thing either. Perhaps I could consider fusing and streamlining them..."
"With my current understanding of cultivation arts, I naturally cannot do so."
"However, if I remain in the Spirit Enlightenment state for an extended period and study persistently, it might not be entirely impossible."
When Li Fan was in the early Qi Refining stage, the efficiency of Spirit Enlightenment in cultivating and comprehending had been thirty times the norm.
As his cultivation rose, the efficiency gradually diminished.
With the Lin Fan clone in the middle Qi Condensation stage, the combined boost of Spirit Enlightenment and the exquisite liuli pearl could be roughly estimated at twenty-seven times.
Backed by sufficient contribution points, Lin Fan could remain in this terrifying state indefinitely.
Ten years would equate to two hundred and seventy years of ceaseless, painstaking cultivation under normal conditions.
Li Fan felt that even though fusing and streamlining techniques might be difficult, it was definitely worth an attempt.
After all, he had more than enough opportunities for trial and error.
The clone Lin Fan remained in an epiphany.
The contribution points consumed had already exceeded six thousand.
Far from feeling pangs of regret, Li Fan was quite pleased.
The longer an epiphany lasted, the more formidable the divine ability comprehended would surely be.
Li Fan wished nothing more than for the clone to burn through all one hundred thousand contribution points.
Suddenly, Li Fan felt a stir in his heart.
The Formless Killing Intent that had stayed locked onto Zhang Haobo showed a faint sign of waning.
"Has Zhang Haobo finally broken through to the Qi Condensation stage?"
"Very good, faster than I expected."
"Perhaps he really can achieve the Golden Core stage within a dozen-odd years."
In less than a year, going from a mortal to a Qi Condensation cultivator.
After his destiny shifted, Zhang Haobo's cultivation speed was far faster than in the previous life.
The faster he cultivated and the greater his strength, the greater the storms he could stir up.
Although Zhang Haobo might not personally be able to take part in the battle against Crimson Flame, Li Fan, who had already gained an inkling of Life-and-Death Interlocking Chain, understood clearly: one must never underestimate the cascading chain reaction a Golden Core cultivator could trigger.
"Crimson Flame Burning the Sea in this lifetime is truly something to look forward to."
...
Three months later.
While in secluded cultivation, Li Fan received a transmission from Yuwen Xing.
"Fellow Daoist Li Fan, do you know that an extraordinary figure has emerged on our Liuli Island recently?"
Li Fan's eyes flickered.
"Oh? Pray tell."
"Hehe, take a look."
Yuwen Xing sent over an image.
In the projection, seventeen massive, dark-red puppets swung gigantic fists, locked in fierce battle with blue water swords hovering before them.
And surrounded at the center of the seventeen puppets was only a single person.
It was none other than Zhang Haobo!
Seven blue swords still hovered around him, circling ceaselessly in a protective stance.
Meanwhile, he controlled seventeen water swords simultaneously, fighting every single puppet at once.
Such combat was evidently an immense drain on mental faculties.
Before long, three puppets broke through the barrier of water swords and closed in on Zhang Haobo's flanks.
Of the seven protective blue swords, three instantly split off to confront the three puppets.
Zhang Haobo himself leaped backward, retreating through the air.
In the blink of an eye, amid the puppets' fury and frustration, he withdrew from the cave abode.
A moment later, Yuwen Xing's triumphant voice came through.
"How about that?"
"Are these seventeen puppets the ones from Master Tianyang's cave abode? Fighting seventeen puppets all alone—even if only for a brief moment, it's remarkably impressive. Who is this?" Li Fan feigned ignorance.
"Haha, this person is named Zhang Haobo. A little over a year ago, he was just an ordinary mortal.
"A few months ago, after breaking through to the Qi Condensation stage, he was introduced by me and joined our Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
"After hearing the rumors about Master Tianyang's cave abode, he headed there all by himself.
"At first, I didn't know what he was up to, but later I realized—
"he's using those seventeen mechanism puppets to train!
"In the beginning, they say he could only hold out for a few breaths. Later, he lasted longer and longer against the puppets.
"The recording I sent you is from over half a month ago.
"I wonder what the scene over there looks like right now."
Chapter 100