Zhao Erbao felt a chill between his eyebrows as strands of frigid air burrowed into his mind like living things, then sank into his body and vanished without a trace.
A cold dread seized his heart, but then he heard the other say, "Rest assured, it is merely a wisp of cold qi. It will dissipate on its own after a few days, so there is no need to worry."
Zhao Erbao was close to tears. Who was he trying to fool? This was definitely some terrifying restrictive curse!
Remembering what he had just suffered in the illusion, he shuddered once more and hurried to pledge his loyalty. "Senior, rest assured! From now on, whatever you tell me to do, I will do! I will never disobey!"
Li Fan smiled faintly, offering no reply.
He had not lied. What he had just sent into Zhao Erbao's body was indeed only a strand of chill generated by the Blue Flame phantom spirit.
It had no actual effect; it was merely meant to intimidate.
Verbal threats from others were far less frightening than the suspicious demons lurking in one's own mind.
Of course, he could not rely entirely on Zhao Erbao being frightened; necessary countermeasures were still required.
The Formless Killing Intent had long since secretly locked onto him, so there was no fear of him fleeing.
After the stick, the carrot was also essential.
Li Fan said to Zhao Erbao, "I do not need you to do anything else. Just as before, make every effort to gather the antiquities of that unknown civilization. Every so often, I will inquire about your progress. Once the Dao charm has successfully coalesced, you may also join in comprehending it." With that, Li Fan handed over a one-way communication talisman.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Erbao was overjoyed. He hastily accepted the talisman and declared his loyalty once more.
"Let us go. It is time to meet that young lady with the Spirit-Attuned Treasure Physique," Li Fan said coldly.
After spending more than a day in travel, the two returned to Yelan Island.
It was already night. Inside Tianbao Pavilion, the two sisters were chatting in their room.
Li Fan appeared abruptly before them, Zhao Erbao in tow.
A faint sliver of killing intent leaked out, locking onto them.
In an indifferent voice, he asked, "Are you two willing to work for me?"
The sudden appearance of these figures gave the two sisters quite a fright. Just as they were about to scream at the top of their lungs, they realized they could not make a sound.
Immediately, they understood who the two figures before them were.
The legendary immortal masters.
The elder sister, Yin Yueting, turned as pale as paper, but she knew she had no choice.
Just as she was about to answer, she felt her younger sister nudge her right calf from behind. Her heart eased at once, and the words tumbled out: "Replying to the immortal masters, we are willing to attend upon your honors."
Li Fan shook his head inwardly, knowing the girl had gotten the wrong idea.
He signaled Zhao Erbao to explain.
Zhao Erbao put on the haughty air of an immortal master and recounted the whole affair from beginning to end.
"You are to mobilize the full strength of Tianbao Pavilion and work together with me, putting all your efforts into gathering antiquities."
Seeing that her special physique had already been exposed, Yin Yueting pressed her lips together and respectfully complied.
Yin Yuzhen, on the other hand, kept her head bowed while curiously stealing glances at Li Fan from time to time, showing no fear whatsoever.
Unfortunately, Li Fan had obscured his appearance, so she was destined to see nothing clearly.
Li Fan looked at the three people before him, each wearing a different expression, and gave his final instructions.
He said to Zhao Erbao, "No cultivators are stationed on Yelan Island. You will remain here to help Tianbao Pavilion expand and improve the efficiency of the search."
"Of course, proceed with caution. Do not draw the attention of other cultivators."
"If you are truly unlucky and encounter an enemy cultivator you cannot match, preserving your life comes first. I will come deal with it afterward."
Zhao Erbao's expression turned solemn. "Senior truly thinks of everything."
Li Fan added, "Though these two girls are mortals, you must not oppress them. The task of gathering antiquities still requires their utmost dedication."
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!" Zhao Erbao replied repeatedly.
A look of delight appeared on Yin Yueting's face. She quickly pulled her sister down to kowtow, promising that they would do everything within their power.
Li Fan nodded, then quietly departed and returned to Wanxian Island.
To Li Fan, collecting Dao charm was merely a minor interlude in his cultivation journey.
He had laid out the arrangements casually; he would simply see how the results turned out.
What concerned Li Fan far more was that, on two separate occasions, a subtle premonition from the unseen had guided him until he finally perceived the presence of supreme figures above Dao Integration.
Was it a coincidence, or was there some underlying inevitability?
If it was merely a coincidence, so be it.
Yet if it was not, the implications were terrifying to contemplate.
"The Longevity Heavenly Venerables do everything they can to conceal their traces, yet the unseen guidance of heaven and earth bends every effort to point toward Them."
"When gods clash, it is mortals who suffer."
"Still, the opportunities are real enough..."
Li Fan had never believed that this realm of heaven and earth would be entirely helpless against the Longevity Heavenly Venerables, who defied its natural order.
Even when slaughtering a chicken, the creature squawked twice before dying. How much more so for the Great Dao of heaven and earth?
"And yet, not every cultivator necessarily receives such guidance."
"Perhaps there is some secret hidden within this that I do not yet know."
***
After returning to Wanxian Island, Li Fan resumed studying formation jade slips.
Under the joint direction of Zhao Erbao and Yin Yueting, the work of gathering antiquities bearing Dao charm progressed in an orderly fashion.
Time slipped past.
In the blink of an eye, it was Year 19 of Anchor.
During this period, no major events took place in the Congyun Sea.
However, a curious matter did capture the attention of quite a few cultivators, becoming casual conversation during their idle moments.
The protagonist of the affair was none other than Zhang Haobo.
While resting between sessions of seclusion, Li Fan learned of the whole story from the discussions among the cultivators.
"This Zhang Haobo is truly something else now. Wherever a wind calamity appears, he rushes right over. His sword light sweeps across the sky, and more often than not, those wind calamities are forcefully shattered before they can even take proper shape."
"Indeed. I hear the mortals of the Congyun Sea who have suffered beneath the wind calamities have already begun setting up memorial tablets and burning incense to him."
"Zhang Haobo? I do have some impression of that name. Isn't he the one who used a dozen or so puppets to test his sword in some cave estate back then?"
"Now that you mention it, I remember. But back then, wasn't he only in the Qi Condensation stage? How did he become so formidable in just a few years?"
"Indeed, he has already reached late Foundation Establishment. That Wind-Severing Sword Art of his is astonishingly potent; ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators probably couldn't last more than a few exchanges against him."
"I only went into seclusion once, and he's already reached late Foundation Establishment? How on earth did he manage that?"
"He's a genius, after all—they can't be measured by common sense. From the looks of it, he's just using the wind calamities to hone his sword."
"All that talk of yours is old news. The latest report is that he is no longer severing the winds."
"Oh? What is he doing now?"
"You might not believe it when I say it, but right now, he is herding the wind!"
"Herding wind? What does that mean?"
The cultivators looked at one another, completely baffled.
"Heh, you all know what herding livestock is, right?"
"N-No way, surely that's impossible?" the cultivators gasped in disbelief.
*Herding wind?* A glint flickered in Li Fan's eyes.
*What is Zhang Haobo planning to do?*
Activating Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing, his perspective shifted at once.
Chapter 131