"This is..."
"An anima of Heaven and Earth—Wind?"
Li Fan's mind was deeply shaken.
How similar this azure figure was to the Crimson Flame he had witnessed in his previous life!
Except the rhythmic cadence of the Great Dao emanating from it was clearly the condensation of the laws of wind.
Even through Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing, the intense, overwhelming attraction an anima of Heaven and Earth held for cultivators instantly began eroding Li Fan's mind.
Across an unknown distance of tens of thousands of li, Li Fan's viewing perspective warped.
Uncontrollably, his point of observation began shifting away from Zhang Haobo and toward Azure Wind.
Inside the Heavenly Profound Mirror, within Li Fan's sea of consciousness, the Blue Flame phantom spirit abruptly awoke.
It opened its eyes and gazed into the distance toward Azure Wind.
His body temperature plummeted in an instant, as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him, and the desire that had inflated countless times over slowly subsided.
His mind grew exceptionally detached and rational, allowing Li Fan to once again quietly observe the scene unfolding within this bizarre space.
After staring at Azure Wind for a long time, Li Fan shifted his gaze to the black hilt.
Baleful aura soared skyward, nearly condensing into physical substance and forming a twisting black layer over the hilt's surface.
Below the hilt, a short, shattered fragment of a sword blade could faintly be seen.
Like a living creature, this black hilt crashed and thrashed violently within the azure cage.
From time to time, it let out terrifying roars that sent tremors through the flickering azure light.
Yet no matter how it struggled, it could not break free of the azure cage.
Within that seemingly empty cage, Li Fan faintly sensed terrifying currents of azure air churning relentlessly.
The currents moved at a speed far exceeding the limits of his current perception.
Thus, at first glance, the interior of the cage appeared completely calm.
Yet judging from the occasional stray beams of azure light that drifted down across the Congyun Sea, the sheer might of the tempest surging inside that cage was beyond imagination.
The azure wind was like blades, relentlessly hacking at the hilt without a moment's pause, continually shredding and annihilating the black baleful matter.
Though this hilt of unknown origin was extraordinarily ferocious, under the protracted imprisonment and grinding of the azure wind, it was gradually wearing down.
*Who would have thought that the wind calamity ravaging the Congyun Sea was merely collateral damage caused by the struggle between an anima of Heaven and Earth and a sword hilt?*
*The might of Dao Integration is truly terrifying and awe-inspiring.*
*In my previous life, that wind calamity ceased to appear. Perhaps it was because this sword hilt was completely destroyed? Or...*
*What was the origin of this sword in the first place? Just a broken hilt could stand against an anima of Heaven and Earth at the Dao Integration stage for so long...*
*If it were whole, at the peak of its power, just how formidable would it have been?*
Thoughts flitted across Li Fan's mind.
Afterward, he shifted his gaze back to Zhang Haobo.
*A confrontation at the Dao Integration stage is something ordinary cultivators cannot possibly perceive.*
*What is more, they are concealed within this hidden space...*
*Zhang Haobo is exceptionally gifted, so perhaps he was able to comprehend the wind calamity and roughly perceive the location of this space.*
*Yet with only his Qi Condensation cultivation, it should have been utterly impossible for him to force his way in.*
*Unless...*
Within Li Fan's vision, a clear, deep blue light enveloped Zhang Haobo.
As if the covetous desire invoked by the anima of Heaven and Earth had no effect on him, Zhang Haobo did not look at the figure of Azure Wind at all.
Instead, his eyes were fixed on the cage in its hands.
He watched the struggle between the azure wind and the sword hilt within the cage.
Under the cover of that blue light, Azure Wind seemed entirely unable to see Zhang Haobo as well, completely ignoring his presence.
It allowed him to observe and comprehend at such close range.
*To act like this before the Dao Integration stage is truly licking blood from a blade's edge.*
*Then again, he indeed has something to rely upon.*
As that familiar blue light continued to swirl, Li Fan, like Zhang Haobo, observed the battle between the azure wind and the sword hilt.
At the same time, he calmly analyzed the situation.
*The currents of destiny shift, and Zhang Haobo's fortune keeps rising. Within this Congyun Sea, he already carries the flavor of a 'Child of Destiny.' Everything goes his way, and opportunities come of their own accord.*
*A pity...*
*Let us see how his story ends.*
*If I had relied on my own strength alone, even after reincarnating several lifetimes, I might not have discovered this hidden place. Yet right now, Zhang Haobo, blessed with great fortune, was able to find it with ease.*
*The Congyun Sea alone holds countless opportunities. Looking across the entire cultivation world, just how many secrets exist? Exploring them all on my own would be far too inefficient. But if I use these chosen prodigies as my eyes to seek out every one of these treasured places...*
*In the next life, I can claim everything of use for myself...*
*Splendid.*
Li Fan's thoughts gradually settled into stillness. He focused his entire mind alongside Zhang Haobo, comprehending the clash between sword and wind.
Such an opportunity was far too rare, and Li Fan was unwilling to squander it.
Time slipped quietly by.
For practitioners of the Dao, spending several years in a single bout of secluded cultivation was entirely normal.
After an unknown length of time, Li Fan was startled awake by a sudden burst of blue light from Zhang Haobo's body.
After a flurry of flashes, Zhang Haobo vanished in an instant, departing the mysterious space where Azure Wind and the sword hilt resided.
Like a shooting star, he plunged straight down, crashing into the depths of the ocean.
The aura churning relentlessly around him was intimately familiar to Li Fan.
It was the harbinger of reaching the pinnacle of Qi Condensation and breaking through into the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Hm?" Li Fan found it somewhat strange, because the wonder of heaven and earth Zhang Haobo was about to borrow to establish his foundation was different from what he had anticipated.
A crisp sword chime suddenly rang out.
It sounded like the first cry of an infant, and like the dawn's first ray of sunlight.
The moment this chaotic and nascent will was born, it began growing vigorously.
The ringing of the sword grew crisper, mounting higher and higher.
*Clang!*
The sword chime reached an apex of piercing sharpness, then abruptly vanished.
At the same time, in Zhang Haobo's dantian, a hazy, ever-shifting silhouette of a sword suddenly appeared.
In the dark seabed, the seawater around Zhang Haobo was instantly displaced, carving out a circular void free of water.
Like a mischievous and lively child stretching its limbs, that sword silhouette actually flew out from his dantian, darting and flipping about within the empty space around Zhang Haobo.
Li Fan saw clearly that this sword silhouette had no physical form. Instead, it was very much like the Blue Flame phantom spirit—a pure manifestation of consciousness.
"Is this... sword intent?"
Li Fan was somewhat astonished.
He had not expected Zhang Haobo to comprehend sword intent in such a short time merely by observing the sword hilt.
One had to realize that although Li Fan had gained insights of his own, he was nowhere near such an exaggerated level.
Li Fan could not help but lament that the differences in human talent were truly vast.
Yet he also felt a surge of pleasant surprise.
Zhang Haobo using this sword intent as a wonder to construct his Dao Foundation proved precisely that Master Yin's theory—that "everything between heaven and earth can be regarded as an unformed wonder"—was correct.
If sword intent could do it, then [True Reversion] naturally could as well.
Furthermore, witnessing the process of Zhang Haobo establishing his foundation using intangible sword intent provided Li Fan with considerable inspiration.
Even so, building a foundation with [True Reversion] was countless times more difficult than doing so with sword intent.
To achieve that goal, Li Fan still had quite a long way to go.
Chapter 117