The little Daoist boy Qiushui let out a strange cry, his body bursting into countless fragments in an instant.
Yet he was not defeated so easily; instead, the countless fragments fell like rain, continuing to pour down squarely upon Tianyang.
Qiushui had displayed this move before Li Fan previously, but after its sublimation, this divine ability had grown far more formidable.
Channeling the boundless power of the Star Sea, torrential rain poured down endlessly.
Every raindrop contained the maximum lethality the Qiushui Sword could unleash.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Even with the combat awareness of the immortal puppet Progenitor bolstering him, shifting his form to dodge the vast majority of the sword rain's strikes, too many bursts of sword light erupted in that single moment.
Innumerable points of light still detonated violently across Tianyang's immortal body.
The force field around his surface trembled incessantly; the barrier capable of isolating even the power of True Immortal seal characters grew precarious under the relentless assault of infinite Supreme sword Qi.
Yet the expression on Tianyang's face remained as calm and breezy as ever, not shifting in the slightest despite falling into a disadvantage.
Between his brows, a vertical pupil suddenly split open.
This third eye gleamed with faint gold, an otherworldly gaze resembling an ancient desolate god. Wherever its vision fell, the torrential rain filling the sky froze midair.
Tianyang uttered an unconscious low growl, clasping his empty hands before his chest.
The countless raindrops of swords that Qiushui had become were forcibly fused together by Tianyang in an instant, coalescing into a sphere!
An invisible flame surged from Tianyang's palms, as if intent on incinerating the sphere of water completely!
The little Daoist boy Qiushui, battered and disheveled, materialized in true form from the water sphere and hurriedly cried out to Li Fan, "Great Master, save me!"
Li Fan had only intended to test Qiushui's actual combat prowess, not destroy this hard-won Supreme-level assistant. With a thought, Tianyang—just about to deliver the final killing blow—paused slightly and came to a halt.
At the same time, Li Fan sensed an extraordinarily profound, indescribable aura fade from Tianyang's body.
Tianyang silently returned to Li Fan's side, while the little Daoist boy Qiushui fell to his knees in gratitude, chanting, "Great Master is benevolent!"
Although Qiushui had lost to Tianyang, Li Fan was quite satisfied with the strength displayed throughout the battle.
If nothing else, that single move of sky-filling sword rain was something even Li Fan himself could not withstand head-on and could only evade.
And the reason Tianyang could win so easily, besides the insights gained from the puppet Progenitor and the Thousand-Eyed Desolate God, was decisively that wisp of invisible flame Tianyang revealed at the end.
Judging by the utter terror shown by the little Daoist boy Qiushui, this invisible flame possessed the genuine power to threaten his very existence.
This could not help but pique Li Fan's curiosity.
One had to know that after Qiushui connected to the boundless power of the Star Sea, even if Li Fan wanted to destroy the Qiushui Sword, he could only do so through the Form of Living Beings. No other divine ability or spell could inflict real harm upon it. Yet this invisible flame could accomplish what Li Fan could not...
Li Fan therefore questioned Tianyang.
To his surprise, Tianyang's answer was just two words: "I know not."
Li Fan frowned slightly, only learning after further inquiry that this invisible flame had been naturally unleashed after Tianyang entered a state of pure combat awareness. As for its underlying principles or how to cast it, Tianyang was completely oblivious.
That pure combat awareness originated from the legacy of the puppet Progenitor. Once activated, the mind was free of distractions, faintly communing with the Great Dao of heaven and earth, launching ceaseless, relentless attacks upon the target purely by instinct.
"Instinct..."
A conjecture faintly formed in Li Fan's mind: 'It must be inextricably tied to that Eternal Lingering Thought.'
'To think that this Eternal Lingering Thought can even be wielded as a divine ability to harm foes. As expected of an existence capable of resonating with the Great Dao.'
Li Fan pondered it carefully for a moment, feeling a tinge of regret.
Though he had long known the status of an Eternal Lingering Thought was exceedingly high, aside from Trueness actively absorbing them, he had yet to find a method to comprehend and apply it himself.
"Speaking of which, the seeds sown in this lifetime should be about ready to blossom, bear fruit, and be harvested."
Instructing Qiushui to continue learning from "Second Master" Tianyang, Li Fan flashed away, arriving within the Sermon Platform.
With a gentle wave of Li Fan's hand, the giant eye manifested by the simulated Heavenly disposition instantly projected the figures of Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi.
In this lifetime, upon realizing that the convictions of these two Sincere Seekers of the Dao were very likely the budding sprouts of an Eternal Lingering Thought, Li Fan had made numerous secret arrangements.
He sought to catalyze this sprout, perhaps even giving birth to a true Eternal Lingering Thought.
Thus, the two brothers—whose Daoist journeys were already fraught with misfortune, and who in past reincarnations had fought to the death over a mere Nascent Soul technique—met with an even more tragic fate in this lifetime.
Over these years, they had scurried about everywhere seeking techniques beyond Foundation Establishment.
It could not be said that they gained nothing.
Yet every single time they found anything of value in an immortal's cave, a great Nascent Soul cultivator would suddenly descend from the sky and snatch the spoils away right before their eyes.
If it had happened once or twice, the brothers Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi might have barely swallowed it.
But this same scenario had played out nearly ten consecutive times.
The sullen frustration pent up in Kou Hong's chest was nearly impossible to hold in any longer. Each time, he wanted to fight the intercepting Nascent Soul cultivator to the bitter end, only to be held back with all his might by the still-rational Dao Xuanzi.
Yet even a clay idol has its temper. After this occurred once more on the final occasion, Dao Xuanzi could endure it no longer either. The two brothers joined forces to launch a desperate, life-or-death strike against the Nascent Soul cultivator who had suddenly popped up.
The outcome was predictable.
The two brothers were thoroughly humiliated, yet the other party did not take their lives. Instead, he openly stated his name and sneered with utter disdain, "Two pieces of trash! From now on, every time I see you, I'll beat you!" With that, he strutted away.
Afterward, Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi sank into depression for a time.
Yet, true to their nature as Sincere Seekers of the Dao, they soon recovered from the blow. They even secretly swore to achieve success in their cultivation and seek vengeance against that Nascent Soul cultivator.
To this end, they even abandoned the principles they had always upheld, relinquishing their identities as rogue cultivators to join the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
From then on, they no longer needed to venture into ancient sect ruins to take risks. They simply took on commissioned tasks each day, slowly accumulating Alliance contribution points.
The two brothers pinched every penny and finally scraped together enough contribution points to exchange for a Golden Core technique.
The moment the technique's contents turned into golden light and flowed into their minds, both Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi wept bitter tears of joy.
Though they had barely stepped into the Golden Core realm, they were still far from their goal of successful revenge.
The two worked even harder, accepting commissioned tasks to earn contribution points.
However, the price of Nascent Soul techniques suddenly jumped a whole tier, easily demanding fifty to sixty thousand contribution points, leaving the two staring blankly, utterly helpless.
Especially if they wanted to avenge themselves, the Nascent Soul technique they practiced could not be too weak; otherwise, even if they reached the Nascent Soul realm, they might still be no match for their nemesis.
The powerful Nascent Soul techniques they had their eyes on cost nearly over a hundred thousand points. The exorbitant price was nearly despair-inducing.
At first, the two still quietly saved. But after some time, when they calculated their income and expenses, they realized it would take at least nearly fifty-six years before they could redeem a Nascent Soul technique.
And that was assuming nothing went wrong whatsoever.
Yet how could there be no mishaps in this world?
To earn contribution points faster, they had to take on tasks with a degree of danger. This meant that while carrying out tasks, they were very likely to be injured. Without having reached the Nascent Soul realm and lacking the power of a grotto-heaven to continually reshape their bodies, healing injuries was an extraordinarily costly endeavor.
To make matters worse, their luck had never been good.
During missions, three out of ten times they would run into various accidents. While never fatal, they were frequently severely injured each time. After deducting medical expenses, hardly any surplus remained. Were it not for the fact that these mishaps were all natural disasters, beast rampages, and the like, with no trace of cultivator involvement, the two would have suspected they had offended some almighty being who was toying with them.
Earning little would have been fine; saving a bit every day still offered a glimmer of hope.
Yet somehow, word of their astounding bad luck got out. The rumors grew increasingly absurd, until people even claimed they were afflicted with an eerie curse, and anyone who got close to them would meet with misfortune.
Gradually, fellow cultivators willing to travel and take on missions with them disappeared completely. Worse yet, to avoid being entangled in the so-called bizarre curse, mission posters often added a specific condition barring Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi from accepting their tasks.
Accumulating contribution points had turned into an utter pipe dream.
Even at this point, the two brothers still refused to give up on their ideal.
After discussing it, they went back to their old trade: exploring sect ruins.
In any case, the Heavenly Profound Mirror handled the recycling of expedition materials, so they didn't have to worry about being unable to offload their finds.
It had to be said that after advancing to the Golden Core realm, their strength had grown substantially. Backed by years of ruin exploration experience, their few outings yielded handsome rewards.
Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi were overjoyed, thinking their luck had finally turned.
However, what puzzled the brothers was that the recovery prices offered by the Heavenly Profound Mirror were often far below market rates. Deducting the cost of supplies needed for each expedition, they had not actually saved up that many contribution points.
Still, it was far better than slowly doing tasks as before.
The two brothers remained very optimistic.
Watching their contribution point balance tick up a little each day brought a quiet sense of happiness.
Finally, after successfully exploring several small ruins in succession without running into any great Nascent Soul cultivator swooping in to intercept them, they were only one step away from purchasing their desired Nascent Soul technique.
The two decided to strike while their luck held, making one last push to explore once more.
As long as they didn't return entirely empty-handed, they would hit their target.
For this final expedition, both were exceedingly careful.
A lifetime of misfortune seemed to have finally turned around at this moment.
Based on their prior exchange experience, this haul was worth at least thirty thousand contribution points. The brothers could truly turn their fortunes around in one stroke.
Suppressing their joy, Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi kept their faces impassive and hurried toward the nearest Floating Heavenly City.
In their heads, they envisioned the near future: successfully redeeming the Nascent Soul technique, finding a Nascent Soul grotto-heaven, advancing to the Nascent Soul realm, and triumphantly seeking their fiery revenge.
Everything went smoothly. When they entered the Heavenly Profound Mirror once more, sold all the ancient relics from the ruins in one go, and received thirty thousand contribution points, Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
Weeping tears of joy, they eagerly opened the technique exchange page to make their purchase.
However, the mechanical, icy voice of the Heavenly Profound Mirror then rang out beside the brothers' ears like a thunderclap.
"What do you mean, 'insufficient contribution points'?!"
"We clearly each had over seventy thousand points!" Kou Hong's eyes threatened to split, bloodshot as he panted heavily. His fists were clenched so tight his nails dug deep into his flesh without him realizing. He could only roar in disbelief.
"He has 73,246, and I have 78,355. We toiled and risked our lives over all these years to save them. It's impossible that they're gone..." Dao Xuanzi could still barely maintain his composure, citing the two figures and demanding a review from the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Yet the cold sweat streaming from his forehead and his increasingly pale face ultimately betrayed the panic in his heart.
The silence did not last long; the Heavenly Profound Mirror's reply arrived swiftly.
"Upon verification: Kou Hong currently holds 234 contribution points; Dao Xuanzi currently holds 264 contribution points.
"Details of point sources are as follows.
"No other records exist.
"Repeating..."
The cold voice echoed repeatedly in the brothers' ears like a death sentence.
Now, even Dao Xuanzi could no longer remain calm.
Distraught and soul-shaken, he stared at the records displayed by the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
He discovered that their contribution point data had somehow reverted to the very first day they joined the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
All the countless days of blood, sweat, and effort since then—all the accumulated contribution points—had vanished into nothingness?
Dao Xuanzi felt a wave of dizziness.
'Could all of this have been our hallucination?'
Yet Kou Hong's roar snapped him back to reality.
Their Golden Core cultivation was genuine.
Moreover, the thirty thousand contribution points from this latest haul were also real.
If so, how could their memories of the past few years be false?
"You swallowed our contribution points! Our hard-earned lifeblood!"
"Give it back!"
Even Dao Xuanzi's expression twisted into something savage.
The Heavenly Profound Mirror simply continued repeating its icy words.
The two finally broke down completely, even attacking the mirror realm interface.
After issuing several futile warnings, the Heavenly Profound Mirror expelled them directly.
The miserable plight of Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi naturally caught the attention of cultivators in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Yet no matter how tearfully they complained that the never-erring Heavenly Profound Mirror had somehow swallowed their saved contribution points...
compounded by their notoriety as the jinxed duo,
naturally, no one believed a word they said.
Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi wept tears of blood, only to find the people around them as indifferent as ever.
Having recognized reality, they finally ceased their crying and shouting.
Memories of all these years since joining the Alliance flashed through their minds one by one, like a dream.
"Let's go," Kou Hong said through gritted teeth.
Chapter 1379