A Calamity Long Foreordained

“It seems that while the Mountain-Sitting Art cultivates at extraordinary speed, practicing it with great fanfare carries far too much risk. “I was lucky to escape with my life this time. “Next time, my luck might not hold.” Li Fan sighed, and his mind returned to the scene earlier, when even that black-robed Dao Integration cultivator had shown an expression of terror. “Devouring essence to return to life, attaining longevity? “To think that the mastermind behind the turmoil in Daoyuan Province was actually that deceased Immortal Venerable Blue Feather. “Is he trying to invert the principles of life and death?” Though he still did not know the specific details of Immortal Venerable Blue Feather's plan, from the black-robed cultivator’s scattered words alone, the terrifying nature of the Immortal Venerable was plain to see. He was callously using the lives of countless cultivators in Yuandao Province as the price to help himself attain the realm of longevity. Among those fallen cultivators, there was no shortage of Blue Feather’s own subordinates, relatives, and friends. “I don’t know whether Blue Feather’s scheme can still succeed now that the black-robed cultivator has discovered it. But regardless, Yuandao Province is no place to linger. I must leave at once.” He had already agreed with Su Xiaomei and the others beforehand to disperse and regroup in Shilin Province. Over the past seven years, with an immense abundance of contribution points, even the weakest Yin sisters had broken through to the late Qi Condensation stage, and they were equipped with protective magical artifacts. As long as they traveled with caution, ensuring their own safety shouldn't be a problem. Li Fan looked around. He had been teleported into a dense forest, with no idea of his exact location. He attempted to use a communication talisman to contact the others from Mingyue Palace, but could not get through. After a moment of contemplation, Li Fan decided to first find an inhabited place and determine where he was. Selecting a direction, he concealed his form and sped off through the air. However, halfway into flight, Li Fan came to an abrupt halt. Doubt and alarm showed on his face. “What is going on? Why hasn't the unease in my heart faded? If anything, it's growing stronger. “Has that black-robed Dao Integration cultivator still not given up his pursuit? “What deep grudge or bitter hatred could there be? “No, this feeling isn't the utter powerlessness and despair of facing a Dao Integration Immortal Venerable. “Is this crisis coming from someone else? “What on earth is happening?” His experiences across this lifetime flashed rapidly through his mind, but Li Fan could not fathom where this lethal danger originated. Stopping, Li Fan drew another necklace inlaid with a random teleportation array from his storage ring. Upon activation, the surrounding scenery shifted. Before he could even register his surroundings, he pulled out yet another necklace. Repeating this process five times, having teleported an unknown distance, Li Fan finally stopped, feeling somewhat dizzy. The ominous premonition in his heart finally subsided. It seemed he had temporarily shaken off this unknown foe. Looking around, Li Fan discovered that he was now standing on an open plain. On the distant horizon, continuous mountain ranges were faintly visible. There was a city not far away. Li Fan went forward and made inquiries, only then learning that he was already within the territory of Jiushan Province. This city was called Luofan City, a remote little settlement without any cultivating garrison. However, to the north of Luofan City lay a major metropolis known as Ronghua City. There would certainly be cultivators stationed there. For his own safety, Li Fan decided that before uncovering the source of this baffling peril, he would use Ronghua City's teleportation array to travel to Jiushan Sky City and lie low. Without further delay, Li Fan flew at top speed toward Ronghua City. Yet midway through his journey, Li Fan came to another sudden stop. Because that sense of impending crisis had abruptly resurfaced. And it was even more pressing than before. It felt as if it had materialized out of thin air right along the path ahead. “Did they take a teleportation array to Ronghua City? “Can they continuously track my location?” Li Fan pondered for a moment. He did not immediately choose True Reversion. Instead, he descended to the ground, retrieved materials one by one from his storage ring, and began laying down formations on the spot. “Judging from the fact that they still had to rely on a teleportation array, they shouldn't be at the Dao Integration realm. “If it's a Soul Formation cultivator, holding them off for a brief moment isn't entirely impossible. “At the very least, I must find out why they are pursuing me. “Otherwise, even if I start over, I will encounter this calamity again in the next life.” Having abandoned any thought of flight, Li Fan's mind grew remarkably calm. Formations were laid down one after another. [Magic-Bursting God-Startling Formation]. Could temporarily boost the power of his Dao technique moves by an entire tier. [Disorder Spirit-Severing Formation]. Disrupted the flow of spiritual energy around the opponent, diminishing their strength to a certain extent. [Five Elements Sword Qì]. Reversed spiritual energy into the power of the five elements, transforming into sword qi to harm the foe. [Soul-Shaking Spirit-Seizing]. Using the skeleton of an exotic beast as a medium, launching a divine sense shock attack. [Duplication Technique]. Once activated, the formation would memorize the current technique and replicate it in a strike. …… Finally, Li Fan gathered the last remnants of the Essence-Devouring White Mist in one spot. Beside it, he placed hundreds of [Explosion Talismans]. Each [Explosion Talisman] equaled the full-power strike of an ordinary peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. Though not overwhelmingly powerful on their own, their strength lay in their sheer numbers. He placed the white mist and the talismans into a separate storage ring, preparing to give this unknown enemy a little surprise. “It's a pity that with my current formation mastery, I'm still incapable of crafting an array coronet. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble. “In this cultivation world, below Dao Integration, anyone who can slay an enemy across one major realm through their own power is hailed as a genius. “Those who can cross two major realms to slay a foe are rare throughout eternity, peerless prodigies. “With the aid of formations, I count as roughly half a Golden Core cultivator. “Yet I wonder how many exchanges I can endure against this Soul Formation Immortal Lord.” With all preparations complete, Li Fan closed his eyes in contemplation, waiting sternly for the enemy. Before long, a fiery red light tore across the horizon, arriving in an instant. In a flash, it hovered directly above Li Fan's head. The man possessed a burly physique, with fiery red hair and a crimson beard bristling like halberds. Staring down disdainfully at Li Fan, his voice boomed like thunder: “Quite the runner, aren't you?! “Hand over the Small Medicine King Cauldrons, and I will spare your life!” …… The rolling roar echoed continuously in Li Fan's ears. Li Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, numerous thoughts flashing through his mind in a split second. “The Small Medicine King Cauldrons? “Pursuing me across multiple provinces... all for that? “Could they be some extraordinary treasure? “Yet nearly thirty-seven years have passed since I bought the two small cauldrons from Jiao Xiuyuan. “Those two small cauldrons had no practical use, and they've been sitting in a corner of my storage ring for so long that I almost forgot I even had them. “If they truly possessed some special value, why did they only draw pursuers after all this time?” Scenes from the past flashed rapidly across Li Fan's mind. …… “It is said that after the Immortal Venerables imparted the methods, and before the great catastrophe arrived, the Sect Master of the Medicine King Sect at the time, Liu Ruchen, had a faint premonition that heaven and earth would undergo a massive upheaval. “Thus, with an utterly unyielding attitude, Liu Ruchen led the entire Medicine King Sect, using the Medicine King Cauldron as a vessel to slice through the void and break through the realm boundaries to leave.” Jiao Xiuyuan had spoken with ease and confidence back then. …… Anchor Year 15. A fiery meteor illuminated the heavens, streaking across the night sky. Its destination was unknown. And every cultivator who witnessed this meteor felt an inexplicable swell of dread and sorrow in their hearts. …… “Good grief, do you know where that fiery meteor fell? The Abyss of Cangwu! “That wretched place is bottomless. No wonder nobody could find it for all these years.” Anchor Year 41: the star fell to Cangwu. Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi had wanted to seek their fortune there. …… “Last time, we went through all that trouble to rush to Cangwu Province. No sooner had our front feet arrived than news broke that the fiery meteor had already been found. “We didn't even catch a glimpse of what it looked like before we had to slink back in defeat.” Kou Hong had grumbled in frustration. …… Li Fan suddenly had an epiphany. “Could that fiery meteor have been the Medicine King Sect's Medicine King Cauldron? “The Medicine King Cauldron, which broke through the realm boundary to depart before the great catastrophe struck, has now mysteriously returned to the Xuanhuang Realm. “And the thirty-six Small Medicine King Cauldrons that nobody once cared about have, for some unknown reason, turned into treasures everyone is fighting over. “So this fatal calamity was tied to this all along!”