Tears and snot streamed down his face as his spherical body struggled to kowtow upon the ground.
He begged the immortal master to save his life.
Only then did Li Fan reveal himself.
*It seems that once an outsider intervenes, the rules become invalid. It only works if he wins the match entirely by his own power,*
Li Fan thought to himself.
Without wasting words on this round ball, he fixed his gaze on the creature, and an invisible force abruptly descended.
Even as it crushed the more than one hundred thousand constantly wailing consciousnesses in the creature's mind, turning them into nourishment for his mind, Li Fan also performed a liposuction operation on him.
After less than half a day, the survivor—who had returned to a normal physique, his consciousness now so powerful that it could almost rival an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator—slowly awoke.
"Jiang Nian'er, you residents of Fanyong Island occupied a heaven-blessed land, yet you spent your days without ambition, showing no regard for heaven's grace. Therefore, heaven brought down punishment, subjecting you to this catastrophe."
"Mindful that heaven cherishes all living things, and seeing your truly pitiful state, I intervened to save you."
Li Fan's voice boomed like thunder, and his divine sense poured directly into the man's mind, branding his words deep within like an imprint.
"Thank you, Immortal Master, for your benevolence! Thank you, Immortal Master, for your benevolence..."
Before long, the restored Jiang Nian'er wept profusely, knocking his head against the ground without stopping.
"I wish only to remain by the Immortal Master's side from now on, to serve you like a beast of burden, so that I may repay the grace of giving me a new life..."
Even as a collective consciousness of over a hundred thousand mortals, Jiang Nian'er, easily brainwashed by Li Fan, spoke with utter sincerity.
Li Fan did not accept the offer directly, saying sternly, "This was a catastrophe, but it is also a tremendous opportunity."
"You wish to be my disciple..."
"You are not yet qualified. For now, stay by my side and serve as a Dao attendant. We shall see your future conduct. If you satisfy me..." Li Fan said indifferently.
Jiang Nian'er kowtowed in gratitude once again, never daring to raise his head.
"He is your first test!"
Li Fan pointed at the Foundation Establishment cultivator who was immobilized nearby.
"The world's cultivators are divided into Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment..."
After briefly introducing the cultivation framework of the Xuanhuang Realm, Li Fan continued, "This man is a late Foundation Establishment cultivator."
"You must rely on your own strength to defeat him!"
"My patience is limited. I will only give you fifteen days."
Jiang Nian'er's body froze instantly.
Though he did not understand what kind of power the late Foundation Establishment stage entailed, he had seen immortal masters flying through the sky in the past.
With their might of soaring through the heavens, burrowing into the earth, and summoning wind and rain, how could a mere mortal like him possibly triumph?
What could he possibly accomplish in fifteen days?
Li Fan saw Jiang Nian'er's terror and smiled faintly. "Rest assured, I will not make you do something meaningless like throwing your life away."
Pointing lightly at Jiang Nian'er's glabella, Li Fan transmitted a Golden Core cultivation technique along with an introductory guide to a simple array.
"With what I have taught you, it will be enough for you to handle him."
"Of course, if you cannot digest much of this within fifteen days..."
"Then the lucky one will become him," Li Fan said with a smile, glancing at the unnamed Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Jiang Nian'er's heart tightened. He immediately sat cross-legged on the ground and began to comprehend the contents Li Fan had imparted.
"Absorb the spiritual essence of Heaven and Earth, to command its qi..."
Beginning with the most foundational cultivation knowledge, a brand-new world of immortal cultivation slowly unfolded before Jiang Nian'er's eyes.
Although the strength of his divine sense was now almost on par with that of a Nascent Soul cultivator, Jiang Nian'er was clearly not yet accustomed to utilizing such power.
He still read slowly, word by word, just like a mortal, seemingly terrified of missing any detail.
It was not until night fell that he was jolted awake.
Half a day had already passed?
At the thought of the fifteen-day deadline of death, immense invisible pressure surged into Jiang Nian'er's heart.
*No, this won't do. I have to be faster, even faster.*
It had to be said that Jiang Nian'er truly lived up to being the ultimate victor among over a hundred thousand people.
He soon learned not only to read ten lines at a glance, but also to split his focus between two tasks.
While studying the basics of the cultivation technique, he also began pondering the array.
Just like that, three days passed.
Li Fan sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy from Jiang Nian'er.
"Achieving Qi Condensation in three days... It seems his aptitude is only mediocre."
Because the dark, anomalous power had already eroded him, the immortal-mortal miasma on Jiang Nian'er was practically nonexistent.
Although he had been spared the step of dispelling the miasma within his body, completing the drawing of qi into the body in three days was certainly not bad aptitude.
However, Li Fan had seen far too many geniuses, so his standards were naturally high.
Aptitude was never what Li Fan cared about regarding Jiang Nian'er in the first place, so he paid it no heed.
Instead, he continued observing the man's choices.
Jiang Nian'er did not disappoint him. After successfully stepping into the Qi Condensation stage and practicing for a short time, he realized that in the remaining twelve days, he could not possibly advance further.
Thus, Jiang Nian'er poured nearly all of his remaining energy into studying the introductory array Li Fan had bestowed.
In terms of sheer power, the introductory array Li Fan had taught was more than enough to trap a Foundation Establishment cultivator to death.
Moreover, it had been specially simplified by him so that a Qi Condensation cultivator could use it.
"As long as you aren't too foolish and forget to accumulate the spiritual energy needed to sustain the array."
A faint, cryptic smile appeared on Li Fan's face.
In truth, who won or lost did not matter to him in the slightest.
Regardless, the victor would inherit the power of the anomaly, and neither could escape his grasp—both would be his to command.
What Li Fan truly wanted was to observe the specific changes that occurred when identity usurpation took place under the effect of the anomaly's rules.
*The rules of anomalies can actually be regarded as principles of Heaven and Earth.*
*They are merely principles born of transition during the process of world fusion, unrecognized by the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm.*
*Our kind of cultivators, harboring anomalies, will inevitably suffer heavenly retribution.*
*Yet when it comes to heavenly retribution...*
Li Fan shook his head slightly in his mind. He had never feared such a thing!
Fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye.
"The time is up. Begin."
On this day, Li Fan suddenly spoke, shattering the island's tranquility.
At the same time, he instantly released the restrictions on the Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator had remained conscious the entire time, hearing the conversations between Li Fan and Jiang Nian'er clearly.
*A petty Qi Condensation novice who has cultivated for barely a dozen days dares to think he can defeat me?*
*What a monstrous humiliation! It must be washed clean with your blood...*
His eyes turned blood-red. The moment he regained his freedom, he summoned his Foundation Establishment wonder.
A straight wooden staff manifested in the sky, locking onto Jiang Nian'er in an instant.
He was about to unleash an attack and crush him.
However...
His vision suddenly blurred, and the other party's figure vanished into thin air.
"What?" The Foundation Establishment cultivator was shocked.
Looking around, he discovered that at some point, he had appeared in a vast sea of bamboo.
His previous ordeal on the desolate island seemed like nothing more than an illusion.
Outside the array, Jiang Nian'er let out a sigh of relief even as he strained to maintain the Bamboo Sea Dragon-Trapping Array.
Chapter 1033