"A Spirit-Attuned Treasure Physique? It is indeed quite an extraordinary constitution. But..."
Moments later, Li Fan frowned. "With True Reversion in my grasp, what I possess is over a hundred times more formidable than any Spirit-Attuned Treasure Physique."
"Furthermore, in my previous life, Yin Yuzhen and I engaged in nothing more than a transaction. Neither of us owed the other anything, and whatever karma we shared reached its end."
"Why would it stir my spiritual intuition to the point of a warning?"
In all his years of cultivation, Li Fan had experienced such inexplicable stirrings from deep within only a handful of times.
For a cultivator, an impulse of this kind was either a forewarning of impending danger or tied to some serendipitous opportunity.
Profound and mysterious, it could not simply be ignored.
After pondering a while longer, Li Fan had an inkling. "Could it be related to the cultivator who took Yin Yueting away?"
"Interesting. It won't hurt to pay him a visit."
Li Fan checked his current contribution points.
The twenty thousand points promised by Gong Boyu had already been credited, and adding what he had accumulated from previous missions, he had a total of 23,510 points.
Thereupon, Li Fan purchased two wonders of Man from the Heavenly Profound Mirror: one low-grade and one mid-grade.
Together, they cost him 8,200 contribution points.
As before, he left Wanxian Island and flew to an uninhabited stretch of sea.
First, he brought out the low-grade wonder of Man and touched it with his hand.
"Chargeable item detected: Bamboo of Reluctance."
"Commence charging?"
Li Fan selected yes.
The Bamboo of Reluctance vanished from his hand, and the prompt from True Reversion appeared right on cue:
"Current anchor charging progress: 10%."
"Current number of anchors: 1."
"Current available anchors: 1."
Li Fan then brought out the other mid-grade wonder of Man: the Dejected Staff.
After charging it, the progress reached 20%.
With 8,200 contribution points gone in the blink of an eye, Li Fan stood empty-handed and pondered.
'When charging the second anchor, the first and second times used damaged Halt Steles, which each increased progress by 25%.'
'The third and fourth times likewise used two intact low-grade wonders of Man, each increasing progress by 30%.'
'Yet when unlocking the third anchor, each only adds 10% to the progress. Moreover, mid-grade and low-grade wonders of Man seem to make no difference to True Reversion. I wonder if wonders of Heaven or Earth would provide more charging progress.'
'Unlocking new anchors will certainly become more and more difficult in the future. And once an anchor is set, it cannot be changed.'
'I must be all the more cautious when using an anchor.'
With the experiment concluded, Li Fan set off toward Yelan Island.
Yelan Island lay to the north of Liuli Island. With no cultivators stationed there to guard it, there naturally was no teleportation formation installed.
He still needed to teleport to the nearest island, Liuli Island, before flying the rest of the way.
...
Yelan Island, Tianbao Pavilion.
Li Fan hovered midair, concealing his presence as he eavesdropped on the conversation between the two sisters.
The two sisters looked strikingly alike.
However, the younger sister, Yin Yuzhen, was nowhere near as mature as she had been when he met her in his previous life. Her face was full of youthfulness, even bordering on naive.
Her body had not yet filled out, leaving her rather frail.
On the other hand, while the older sister, Yin Yueting, was around the same age, her demeanor was far more composed.
At that moment, she was rummaging through a pile of scrap metal and junk inside the room, searching for something.
Meanwhile, Yin Yuzhen stood idly nearby watching, yawning from time to time.
Yin Yueting picked out a few small tripods, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and beamed with delight.
"These small tripods should have quite a history. The Wanhua Merchant Guild will definitely take them. We'll be able to make a handsome profit this time."
"Sister, when are we going to eat?" Yin Yuzhen, completely ignoring her sister's words, rubbed her belly and grumbled.
Yin Yueting sighed helplessly. "Little Sister, you need to learn how to appraise treasures too. If one day I'm no longer around and you're still so scatterbrained, what will you do?"
Yin Yuzhen giggled as she ran over, hugged Yin Yueting's arm, and shook it continuously. "That won't happen, Sister! It's not like you don't know my talent."
"Seeking good fortune and avoiding calamity! How amazing is that? Along with your Spirit-Attuned Treasure Physique, what hardship could ever stump the two of us!"
Lowering her voice, she added mysteriously, "Sister, that faint bad feeling I had earlier was completely gone when I woke up this morning."
"Instead, I feel like something wonderful is going to happen soon..."
Yin Yueting's eyes lit up as well. "Really?"
The two sisters whispered a few more words before breaking into playful laughter again.
...
'Seeking good fortune and avoiding calamity?' Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly at this unexpected piece of information.
'No wonder this girl acted so decisively in my previous life.'
'If a talent like this could embark upon the Dao path, its advantages would surpass even those of the Spirit-Attuned Treasure Physique.'
'A treasure physique attuned to the spirit, an affinity for seeking good fortune and avoiding calamity... all that's missing is peerless combat power.'
'Hehehe...'
As if struck by an idea, Li Fan let out a low chuckle.
Afterward, Li Fan settled down quietly in seclusion near Tianbao Pavilion, waiting for that cultivator to arrive.
The spiritual intuition in his heart, gradually settling into tranquility, further confirmed that his hunch was correct.
Of course, Li Fan was not idling away his time; he diligently and tirelessly studied the introductory formation jade slip gifted by Gong Boyu.
Days slipped by one after another.
Li Fan had waited here for nearly a month, yet that cultivator had still not made an appearance.
However, Li Fan was in no hurry.
On this day, Li Fan suddenly felt a stirring in his heart.
Activating Formless Killing Intent, his perspective instantly shifted to Zhang Haobo.
Having not observed him for over a year, he found that this "Child of Destiny's" face had grown even more resolute.
Within his eyes, an unfathomable deep sea seemed to reside.
Zhang Haobo hung suspended midair. Starlight-bright blue specks of light, interspersed with streaks of cyan radiance, converged from all directions.
He absorbed them in their entirety.
In an instant, the intensity of his aura surged by nearly half. Zhang Haobo had already stepped into late Foundation Establishment.
"In a mere six years, he vaulted from an ordinary mortal straight to late Foundation Establishment. When destiny and talent complement each other, the result is truly this miraculous."
"And clearly, this is still far from his limit."
Following his breakthrough, Zhang Haobo showed no intention of resting in the slightest.
Treading upon empty air, he flew toward the site of a minor wind calamity not far away.
Fierce winds raged, howling as they kicked up monstrous waves.
Zhang Haobo threw his head back and let out a long cry. The one hundred and eight Sea-Calming Swords merged into a single entity, transforming into blue light as he struck out with his sword.
The wind's momentum faltered.
Boundless water-attribute spiritual energy rolled in from the Congyun Sea below, rapidly replenishing Zhang Haobo's spent reserves.
In a flash, another burst of blue radiance surged forth to meet the roaring storm.
The wind's momentum faltered once more.
Just like that, between the howling gale and the vast sea, Zhang Haobo continuously wielded the giant blue sword against the wind calamity.
The blue light never ceased, while the wind gradually diminished.
Ultimately, this minor wind calamity—which would otherwise have raged for three or four more days before subsiding—was brought to an early end.
The blue brilliance suddenly shattered, dissolving into countless fine raindrops that dispersed between heaven and earth.
Zhang Haobo, cleaving the azure gale with his sword.
Chapter 127