"The Lesser Heavenly Profound Mirror—now this is a fine treasure."
Li Fan looked upon it with eager eyes.
"Back then, what He Zhenghao used to track the price trends of Spirit Mist Grass was most likely this very Lesser Heavenly Profound Mirror.
"The basic version isn't too expensive either, costing only five thousand contribution points.
"The higher-tier versions have absurd prices, though.
"The one with cultivation features costs fifty thousand contribution points, and one capable of fighting off enemies costs two hundred thousand contribution points.
"Those are only for looking at, nothing more.
"The Ten Thousand Immortals Formation Flags cost ten thousand contribution points.
"If bought together, the two come to thirteen thousand five hundred contribution points.
"Just enough.
"It is undeniably expensive, but well worth it."
Li Fan hesitated for a moment before parting with the massive sum to purchase both treasures.
Having seen the Lesser Heavenly Profound Mirror before, Li Fan did not pay it much attention for now, stowing it into his storage ring.
Instead, he closely examined the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation Flags.
A single half-person-tall banner, banded in black and yellow, bore the two characters "Ten Thousand Immortals."
This was the primary flag.
Touching it with his hand allowed him to perceive the presence of the remaining three hundred and sixty-four secondary flags.
Beyond deploying the complete set, the flags could be arranged in three variations: thirty-six, seventy-two, and one hundred and eight.
The fewer flags deployed, the lesser the array's power, but the deployment speed increased considerably, making it well-suited for self-defense while traveling.
Having already crossed the threshold into the study of formations, Li Fan naturally understood the power of this miniature Ten Thousand Immortals Array.
Pleased, he put it away and immediately set off without rest back to Mingyue Lake.
Over the course of more than twenty days, Su Xiaomei and the others had already thoroughly scouted the surroundings of Mingyue Lake.
It truly was just an ordinary great lake, devoid of any spiritual treasures nearby.
Li Fan chose a small island in the center of the lake and, using it as the focal point, systematically laid out the three hundred and sixty-four Ten Thousand Immortals Formation Flags.
With the primary flag in place, the miniature Ten Thousand Immortals Array was fully formed.
"I intend to enter seclusion here, which is why I have laid down this array. You must remember never to trespass, or death will be certain.
"While I am in seclusion, you may select suitable islands nearby to settle. If none satisfy you, you may also construct islands of your own.
"Once I emerge, I will expand the array's reach to cover a thirty-li radius. The islands you settle on need only be within that range."
...
After delivering his instructions, Li Fan fully activated the Ten Thousand Immortals Array.
All sight between the inside and outside of the formation was cut off.
Rather than entering seclusion on the island immediately, he dove into the water and reached the lakebed.
He located an enormous boulder on the bottom and hollowed it out.
Then, using an obscuration technique from the Stealing Heaven Changing Sun Art, he concealed the spot.
Only then did he step into the stone chamber to begin his seclusion.
The stone chamber was crude and empty.
Li Fan cared little about that.
Sitting cross-legged, he hovered midair.
His mind immersed itself entirely into the Vast Sea Pearl.
Nineteen years after arriving in the cultivation world in this life, Li Fan finally began Foundation Establishment.
"Borrowing the wonders of heaven and earth to construct the Dao Foundation.
"In the process of Foundation Establishment, a wonder of heaven and earth is indispensable. Yet the word 'borrow' is equally crucial.
"Borrowing, rather than wholly relying upon.
"While wonders of heaven and earth coalesce the laws of heaven and earth, a remnant of their own consciousness still lingers within them.
"When a cultivator establishes their foundation, they must transform the coalesced laws within the wonder of heaven and earth into their own Dao Foundation, all while preserving their own will complete and lucid."
Under Li Fan's control, the formless Root of Heaven and Earth attached itself to the Vast Sea Pearl within his dantian.
In an instant, countless scenes of memory surfaced in his mind.
They were the past experiences of the Congyun Sea.
Accompanying them were extreme emotions: fury, indignation, resentment.
The Congyun Sea's memories were far too vast, surging wave after wave like a relentless tide that would never cease.
If Li Fan were to rashly accept them, his current spiritual sense would be washed away by this colossal torrent of information, turning him into a mindless idiot stripped of his own will.
Thus, what Li Fan did was firmly guard his heart, paying them no heed.
Like a reef on the shore, let the wind howl and the waves crash, he remained steadfast and unmoving.
And the moment those negative emotions appeared, they were turned into fuel for the Xuanhuang Heart-Refining Incantation.
They had no effect on Li Fan whatsoever.
Though the Congyun Sea roared in fury, Li Fan remained unmoved by the eight winds.
Wisps of faint blue light were slowly drawn from the Vast Sea Pearl by the Root of Heaven and Earth.
A vast, illusory image of the open sea gradually manifested within Li Fan's dantian.
...
Mingyue Lake.
Su Xiaomei and the others were busily excavating their cave abodes.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, they looked around.
The sky was clear, yet waves inexplicably rose across Mingyue Lake without any wind.
The waters churned, the surging waves cresting higher and higher.
The eight-hundred-li Mingyue Lake began to boil at this very moment.
Monstrous waves struck, wreaking havoc across the lake.
The cave abodes that everyone had painstakingly begun to shape were easily submerged.
Helpless, everyone could only fly into the air to take refuge.
"What divine ability is Master comprehending now? He's only entering seclusion, yet it causes such a massive commotion!" Su Xiaomei blinked her large eyes, filled with curiosity.
The others could not answer, only gazing at the great lake below in stunned awe.
...
At the lake bottom.
As the phantom of the vast sea gradually solidified,
Li Fan's perspective slowly rose from his own body into the air.
Moreover, it rapidly expanded outwards, soon enveloping the entirety of Mingyue Lake.
Li Fan was very familiar with this feeling—it was identical to when he had become the sea itself in the past.
Yet why was this happening?
Li Fan felt somewhat puzzled.
The power of the Vast Sea Pearl was continuously drawn out by the Root of Heaven and Earth.
It was transitioning from substance to void.
His Dao Foundation was on the verge of forming.
Everything was going smoothly and perfectly.
Why, then, had he suddenly embodied Mingyue Lake?
Li Fan quieted his mind, feeling and contemplating attentively.
Only after a long while did understanding dawn upon him.
He felt somewhat caught between laughter and tears.
As it turned out, this abnormal scene was the doing of the Vast Sea Pearl.
Seeing that it was about to be refined into a cultivator's Dao Foundation, the Vast Sea Pearl had vaguely sensed Mingyue Lake surrounding it—an entity far weaker than itself.
*If even my grand Congyun Sea could not escape calamity, on what grounds does a puny Mingyue Lake get to thrive untouched?*
Thus, the Vast Sea Pearl mustered its last shred of power, intending to drag Mingyue Lake down with it.
This was naturally futile.
A cultivator could not use two wonders of heaven and earth simultaneously as their Dao Foundation.
Yet this spiteful act by the Vast Sea Pearl brought Li Fan an unexpected benefit.
...
The waters of Mingyue Lake churned violently, throwing up towering waves.
This phenomenon lasted for a full eighteen days.
Su Xiaomei and the others had already retreated to the lakeshore to set up a temporary camp, though they did not leave.
On this day, the surging, roaring waters suddenly grew tranquil without any warning.
Everyone exchanged glances, their attention focusing on the small island where Li Fan was establishing his foundation.
Covered by the array and veiled in profound light, the conditions inside remained obscured.
Before long, a figure soared into the sky from within, hovering high above.
With sleeves fluttering in the wind, his bearing was extraordinary.
It was none other than Li Fan, who had been in seclusion for so long.
He extended his left hand, looked down at Mingyue Lake below, and slowly closed his fingers.
It seemed as though nothing had happened.
"What is Master doing?" Su Xiaomei rested her chin on her hands, gazing forward in confusion.
The others shook their heads in silence.
They only knew that Li Fan would never do anything meaningless, so they all stared unblinkingly at the lake surface, terrified of missing the slightest detail.
A moment later, they understood the purpose behind Li Fan's earlier gesture.
An inexhaustible suction seemed to erupt from Li Fan's palm.
The waters of the eight-hundred-li Mingyue Lake rose from below, forming stream after stream of water dragons that flew incessantly toward his hand.
Countless white water dragons soared into the sky from every corner of Mingyue Lake with a thunderous roar, as if paying audience to their sovereign.
They flew straight toward Li Fan in the sky.
Above Mingyue Lake, one man stood alone.
Three million water dragons danced in the air, stirring up an endless mist.
Sunlight poured down, giving birth to a brilliant seven-colored rainbow.
Su Xiaomei and the others stared agape at this magnificent and resplendent spectacle.
They forgot how to think.
Meanwhile, the white water dragons flying into Li Fan's palm were compressed and gathered together, coalescing into a tiny water droplet.
The lake's water level dropped steadily, yet the droplet's size remained unchanged.
Only its color gradually shifted from white to a deep azure.
Water dragons took flight in swarms, and after nearly half a day, Mingyue Lake was completely dry.
Countless fish, shrimp, and crabs lay on the lakebed, struggling at death's door.
Looking at the water droplet in his hand, which bore a striking resemblance to the Vast Sea Pearl, a glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes.
"A place of Dao attainment..."
Although the Vast Sea Pearl's petty move before becoming his Dao Foundation had failed to turn Mingyue Lake into a second foundation,
under the influence of the laws contained within the pearl, the entire Mingyue Lake had unwittingly been assimilated.
And now, having established his Dao Foundation through the Vast Sea Pearl,
Li Fan could manipulate all of Mingyue Lake as effortlessly as moving his own limbs.
In the ancient cultivation world, when cultivators attained enlightenment, the aura of the laws that escaped them would sometimes influence and assimilate their surroundings.
Such affected regions often bore the cultivator's strong personal imprint.
They could even retain one of the cultivator's divine abilities out of thin air.
These regions were referred to as places of Dao attainment.
The current situation between Mingyue Lake and Li Fan was similar.
In truth, it went even further.
Li Fan had essentially refined Mingyue Lake with the aid of the Vast Sea Pearl.
Within Mingyue Lake, the lake was him, and he was the lake.
If he unleashed his full power here, his might would be on par with any Golden Core cultivator!
"Go!"
Li Fan crushed the water droplet in his hand.
Countless water drops burst and scattered.
Then, turning once again into flying water dragons, they let out long roars and plunged back into Mingyue Lake.
Mingyue Lake quickly refilled from its parched state.
Before long, it returned to its original vast, mist-covered expanse.
With a mere gesture, he could alter an eight-hundred-li body of water.
Yet Li Fan felt no joy in his heart.
Much like the Vast Sea Pearl had been previously, this was merely external power.
In the end, it was not his own true strength.
Amidst his contemplation, Li Fan opened the long-unseen [True Reversion] panel.
Name: Li Fan
Realm: Early Foundation Establishment
Physiological Age: 49/365↑
Psychological Age: 569/3560↑↑
Reversion Charging Progress: 200%
Anchor Charging Progress: 20%
Current Anchors: 1
Currently Usable Anchors: 1
Bound Items: Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos, Taiyan Boat, Step-Halting Broken Stele (Damaged)
Techniques: Xuanhuang Heart-Refining Incantation, Cloud Water Illusory Dream Technique, Stealing Heaven Changing Sun Art, Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos, Intent Spirit Illusion Art, Shadow Following Art
Divine Abilities: Life and Death Interlink, Formless Killing Intent, Insect Binding
...
His physiological age limit had finally broken past three hundred. Meanwhile, his psychological age limit had reached over thirty-six hundred years, and it continued to climb.
Li Fan sensed that the strength of his spiritual sense was several times greater than before.
The total volume of spiritual energy within his body was utterly incomparable to the past.
Li Fan began to ponder the path of cultivation ahead.
Having transformed into his Dao Foundation, the Vast Sea Pearl could no longer be mobilized at will as before.
It seemed to have turned into a treasure hoard sealed within his body.
He would need to continuously raise his own cultivation to tap into this treasure.
The higher his degree of mastery, the greater the efficacy he could unleash,
until he could eventually replicate the full power of the Vast Sea Pearl.
The entire cultivation of Foundation Establishment was precisely the process of truly converting the power of a wonder of heaven and earth into one's own strength.
Chapter 147