Zhang Haobo gave a bitter smile and was about to say something, but abruptly stopped himself.
A moment later, he spoke again. "May I know your esteemed name, Fellow Daoist? I, Zhang, will never forget the debt of saving my life today. I will certainly repay you generously in the future!"
Li Fan smiled without answering, merely cupping his hands. "If fate allows, you will know in time."
"Until we meet again!"
Before his voice had even faded, his figure transformed into a thin streak and sped away.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished from Zhang Haobo's sight.
Zhang Haobo narrowed his eyes slightly. *Such speed. That unknown divine ability was exceptionally formidable as well, leaving me entirely powerless to resist. So mysterious—who in the world could he be?*
After a moment, he sighed again and thought, *Alas, no matter how many secrets he holds, it makes no difference.*
Zhang Haobo looked up at the sky. *Heaven and Earth have already set in motion their murderous intent. The myriad living beings in the Congyun Sea, whether high or low in cultivation, whether flourishing or downcast, are already destined to perish.*
*That crimson figure incinerating the sea...*
*Even Soul Formation cultivators are terrifyingly powerful, but can one truly defeat That Being?*
Zhang Haobo fell into bewilderment.
Yet, after a moment, his gaze gradually grew resolute.
"No matter what, I must do everything in my power to stop It."
The aura about him solidified once more. Giving this ruin one last look, he took to the air and flew away.
Not long after Zhang Haobo departed, Li Fan's concealed figure reappeared.
"It seems he hasn't lost his fighting spirit after all. I was overly cautious." Li Fan nodded.
After some thought, he carefully returned to the original site of Master Tianyang's cave abode, hoping to see if any treasures had survived the battle just now.
However, after searching for a long time, nothing remained except freely flowing magma.
Silently lamenting the pity of it, Li Fan lingered no longer and set off for Wanxian Island.
*I wonder where that Tianyang puppet and that Soul Formation powerhouse went to fight, and who won in the end.*
*In my previous life, it must have been just like today: the Tianyang puppet emerged and drew a Soul Formation powerhouse, leaving behind nothing but ruins after a great clash.*
*This matter involves a level far too high. Even in my next life, I doubt I can profit from it.*
*Better to steer clear for now.*
*The ancient Path of Bodily Transformation—I wonder what kind of sect that was. I can look into it after returning.*
*Fortunately, this trip wasn't a total loss.*
Remembering the bone fragments in his storage ring, Li Fan found some measure of comfort.
*I just don't know whether I can reconstruct the Mountain-Sitting Art from them.*
With countless thoughts churning in his mind, Li Fan returned to Wanxian Island.
A world-shaking battle had taken place where Master Tianyang's cave abode had once stood.
Word had clearly already spread, and cultivators could be seen discussing it everywhere.
Yet no one knew what had actually happened, or how that colossal puppet had appeared.
Rumors and theories abounded.
Naturally, Li Fan was not about to volunteer any information.
Yet as he brushed past these endlessly conversing cultivators, a sudden realization struck him, and his steps halted.
*Judging by today's commotion, clashes between mighty cultivators cause terrifying destruction, easily devastating an entire sea area.*
*Such battles inevitably draw immense attention. Afterward, people ought to discuss them with great relish, bringing them up casually in conversation.*
*Moreover, the malice of this Heaven and Earth toward cultivators has always existed. Before the Crimson Flame incinerates the sea, all sorts of calamities must have occurred in the past. But...*
*Whether in my previous life or this one, cultivators almost never take the initiative to mention such things in conversation.*
During the years Li Fan spent cultivating in his previous life, he had interacted with many Qi Condensation cultivators. Yet none of them had ever mentioned any major disasters or calamities that had occurred in the Congyun Sea in the past.
This had created a blind spot in his thinking.
So much so that when Zhang Haobo warned him of an impending disaster, he had paid it little mind.
Because in Li Fan's experience, if disasters frequently struck a place, the locals would at least mention them occasionally in conversation, and they would warn outsiders.
Since none of the cultivators had ever said there were any calamities to watch out for, he assumed that even if some catastrophe did occur, it would not be anything truly monumental.
Therefore, in his past life, after casually asking the Heavenly Profound Mirror and receiving a negative answer, he had largely ignored it.
Looking back now: was the Crimson Flame incinerating the sea truly the first time the Congyun Sea had faced the murderous design of Heaven and Earth?
Hardly.
Everything progressed in stages.
Heaven and Earth bore malice toward cultivators.
As the number of cultivators in the Congyun Sea steadily grew and their cultivation levels climbed higher, murderous intent would be deployed to purge them.
At first, it should have been smaller calamities.
Only when the number of cultivators reached an absolute limit would the ultimate purging plan be unleashed:
An anima of Heaven and Earth would appear and annihilate all living beings.
Li Fan deduced this because the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals in the Congyun Sea had, after all, expanded to such a massive scale.
Would the murderous intent of Heaven and Earth deliberately practice forbearance, sitting idly by and doing nothing while cultivators grew stronger, only to strike with thunderous fury once it could endure them no longer?
Given Li Fan's comprehension of the murderous design of Heaven and Earth, that was clearly not how it worked.
The killing intent of Heaven and Earth persisted as long as cultivators existed.
In other words, throughout past ages, calamities must have occurred intermittently all along.
Then what caused all cultivators to remain completely silent about these disasters?
*Did they actively avoid mentioning them, or...*
*Have they been... forgotten?*
Li Fan immediately entered the Heavenly Profound Mirror and searched for keywords:
"Calamities in history causing severe casualties among cultivators."
The result sent a cold shiver down his spine.
None.
None.
None.
None.
...
No matter how Li Fan searched, the Heavenly Profound Mirror displayed no results whatsoever.
After a while, Li Fan calmed down, retrieved a communication talisman, and questioned Yuwen Xing.
The result chilled his heart.
At first, Yuwen Xing flatly denied it.
Only under Li Fan's repeated questioning did he say dazedly that something did seem to have happened in the past.
However, it wasn't important anyway, and he couldn't remember clearly anymore.
Li Fan went out and questioned several older cultivators.
They were astonished by why Li Fan would ask such a question, but their final answers were identical to Yuwen Xing's.
It seemed something had happened.
Yet they couldn't remember clearly.
...
Li Fan fell silent.
Couldn't remember clearly?
Could Foundation Establishment cultivators really be this forgetful?
Li Fan remembered when he had first arrived at Liuli Island and experienced his first wind calamity.
Even the mortals on the island had told him about the even larger wind calamity from over a decade earlier.
Were cultivators inferior to mortals?
Remembering disasters fostered vigilance, allowing people to survive calamities more easily in the future.
This was how things ought to be.
Yet now, this natural order had been inverted.
Chapter 104