Taking advantage of his time inside the egg, Li Fan began pondering how to crack the riddle of this Disaster of the Beast Taming Sect.
Since each scene in the Fallen Immortal Realm ultimately tested whether the experiencer of the illusion was qualified to serve as Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang, then in everything he did, he had to immerse himself in the role of Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang.
The smooth completion of Retrieving Longevity Fruits in Ningyuan indicated that the first act was a test of benevolence.
As for this second act...
"The relationship between spirit beasts and humankind? Or what measures to take when a great catastrophe descends?"
Memories of his past experiences in the Fallen Immortal Realm flashed through Li Fan's mind one after another.
Time slipped by quietly as Li Fan pondered.
Soon, the first ray of light broke into the pitch-black world, and Xu Ke's voice drifted in immediately afterward.
Practiced from experience, Li Fan squeezed out through the crack and devoured every scrap of the shattered eggshell.
"Hehe, little guy, you must be starving..." Xu Ke chuckled foolishly.
"Oh, right! I need to activate the True Beast Taming Art right away!" A moment later, Xu Ke slapped his forehead as he remembered.
Circulating his technique, he prepared to subdue the newly hatched Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird before him.
Yet to Xu Ke's utter astonishment, he actually failed!
"Boy, you think someone like you can be my master?"
Hearing the voice transmission that suddenly rang out, Xu Ke froze for a moment and warily scanned his surroundings. Seeing no suspicious figures, he looked at Li Fan in disbelief.
"Don't act unusual. Listen closely!" Li Fan said sternly.
"I am the heavenly destiny of Xuanhuang itself. Foreseeing that a great catastrophe is about to descend upon the world, I descended as an incarnation to counter the calamity..."
Li Fan spun a tale about being an incarnation of Xuanhuang's heavenly destiny sent to deliver all living beings from suffering, stunning Xu Ke into dazed wonder.
After Li Fan recounted Xu Ke's childhood experiences in meticulous detail, the young Xu Ke became utterly convinced.
"You mean Mr. Bai is also an incarnation of heavenly destiny, a calamity-bearer?" Xu Ke's eyes widened.
"Indeed," Li Fan said, lazily perching atop Xu Ke's head.
"This heaven-and-earth calamity will be unprecedentedly terrifying. Even if Xuanhuang's heavenly destiny takes the field in person, victory is by no means guaranteed. Therefore, it divided into two: one in the light, one in the dark. He took the first step, and calculating the time, he is probably already in the Longevity realm by now."
Xu Ke was completely bewildered. "Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core..."
"What is the Longevity realm?"
"Above Golden Core are four realms: Nascent Soul, Soul Formation, Dao Integration, and Longevity," Li Fan kindly filled in the basic common knowledge of the cultivation world.
"Th-that can't be right? Mr. Bai clearly said before that he was a mortal," Xu Ke stammered, still somewhat skeptical.
"Hmph, how could mortals like you imagine the cultivation speed of an incarnation of heavenly destiny? Reaching Soul Formation in a single stride is nothing more than child's play. However, operating in secret, I cannot be so conspicuous, or anomalies would inevitably be detected," Li Fan said with a hint of regret.
"Even so, my speed of cultivation is far beyond what you could ever match."
Before the words had even faded, Xu Ke sensed the aura on Li Fan suddenly shift.
"You... you broke through to the Qi Condensation stage already?" He stared in dumbfounded shock, now largely believing Li Fan's claims.
Li Fan didn't bother to say more to him, merely commanding, "Go fetch me something to eat. I'm hungry."
Xu Ke eagerly scampered off toward the mountain forests of the Beast Taming Sect, while Li Fan continued cultivating and circulating the Profound Bird clan's divine ability, Destiny Is Mine.
With so many previous cultivation experiences behind him, he was already thoroughly adept.
Furthermore, after refining the Spirit Wood Realm and gaining complete mastery over a realm's Heavenly Dao, Li Fan had developed his own unique insights into absorbing heavenly fortune and transforming it into heavenly destiny.
What was more, through his observations over this period, Li Fan found that the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm in this era was not yet filled with hatred and wariness toward cultivators like that of later generations.
The resistance to channeling the divine ability Falsifying the Heavenly Dao was practically negligible, posing almost no risk.
Had his newly hatched body not been so frail, Li Fan could have broken through straight to the Golden Core stage in a single breath.
Fortunately, the constitution of a spirit beast was remarkably robust; as long as there was plenty of food, maturing was only a matter of an instant.
Thus, Li Fan and Xu Ke prowled quietly through the mountain forests of the Beast Taming Sect, seizing and devouring any good things they came across.
The protective formations shielding spirit fields and precious herbs appeared utterly crude in Li Fan's eyes, breakable in the blink of an eye.
"Lord Profound Bird, haven't we eaten a bit too much?" While Li Fan ate to his heart's content, Xu Ke was scared out of his wits.
In less than a month, the two of them had completely plundered all the high-value treasures in the Beast Taming Sect's mountain forests.
By now, the sect had dimly sensed that something was amiss and dispatched several elders to investigate.
Fortunately, no flaws had been exposed yet.
Even so, young Xu Ke had never engaged in such misdeeds before, so he spent his days terrified and on edge, yet dared not voice any objection to stop Li Fan.
"Foolish. Did I not do all this to save the Xuanhuang Realm? What do these meager resources matter? As the saying goes, no merit surpasses aiding the rising dragon! Once the salvation of the world succeeds, the Beast Taming Sect will be the greatest contributor, rewarded tens of millions of times over!" Li Fan swiped at Xu Ke with a claw.
"R-really?" Xu Ke remained half-convinced, half-doubting.
Li Fan continued lurking in the Beast Taming Sect, using its resources to strengthen himself. His strength grew by leaps and bounds, and soon Nascent Soul was within sight.
During this time, the cultivator named Song Yang still coveted the Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird and attempted to tail them in secret.
However, Li Fan directly channeled his heavenly destiny divine ability, altering the man's fortune.
His twin-headed black snake spirit pet suddenly lost control and violently devoured Song Yang. Afterward, the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect joined forces and killed the black snake.
The only potential threat vanished just like that.
Time flowed on, and soon came the day Mr. Bai was scheduled to visit the Beast Taming Sect as a guest.
Li Fan resumed playing the prophet as usual.
"I have a premonition. Mr. Bai is coming," he suddenly sent a voice transmission that day.
"What? Mr. Bai is coming to the Beast Taming Sect? Is he coming to see me and Senior Brother Lu Ya?" Xu Ke jerked his head up, brimming with pleasant surprise.
"Hmph, pretty narcissistic for a little brat. Mr. Bai is running around saving the world; he doesn't have time to waste on a kid like you," Li Fan shot him down ruthlessly.
"All right," Xu Ke said, deflated.
Yet he soon perked up again, staring eagerly toward the sky, waiting for Mr. Bai's arrival.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes as well.
'It has only been a little over two months since my arrival. No matter how fast my strength grows, it is impossible for me to intervene in the coming battle... or rather, massacre.'
'So the crux of breaking the impasse should still lie in the subsequent journey to Mount Sacred Nanming. Still, perhaps I can do something here as well.'
Li Fan glanced down at Xu Ke beneath him, lost in thought.
Just like his previous experiences, half a day later, Mr. Bai arrived as expected.
Detecting the aura of an uninvited guest, the Guardian Azure Dragon of the Beast Taming Sect instantly manifested its form, blocking Mr. Bai's path.
Chapter 1078