"Junior Brother? Junior Brother?"
Everything around him felt separated by a layer of viscous, transparent substance.
When the voice reached his ears, it sounded distorted and bizarre.
The speaker seemed to be waving a hand.
Yet when the image entered Li Fan's eyes, it appeared as though a ferocious beast was lunging into an attack.
Startled, Li Fan instinctively moved to retaliate.
However, he suddenly discovered that divine abilities such as the Congyun Sword and Heaven-Overturning Palm could not be deployed at all.
Cold sweat broke out across his skin.
Immediately after, words like "Fallen Immortal Realm," "ritual," and "first exploration" flashed into his mind.
Like surfacing abruptly from underwater, the surrounding scenes gradually grew clear and bright.
The light and sounds returned to normal.
"Junior Brother? What are you daydreaming about? Why have you been zoning out for so long?"
A young cultivator clad in a purple-and-white Daoist robe, with a purple lightning mark etched between his brows, was looking over at him.
"It's your first time leaving the mountain in eighteen years. Could you be dwelling on all those fun places Senior Brother told you about earlier?
"Don't worry. Once our business is taken care of, whether it's Red Dust Lane or Drunken Immortal Tower, Senior Brother will take you to experience them all!"
The young cultivator winked and grinned mischievously. Though he was the senior brother, he did not possess an ounce of solemnity.
Li Fan slowly gathered his wits.
"Purple Cloud Sect, Li Chen.
"Descending the mountain with Senior Brother Zhang Qianmo to Ningyuan City to collect the Longevity Fruit."
In an instant, several pieces of information surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
"Senior Brother is joking. Business comes first!" Li Fan replied nonchalantly, matching the demeanor of Li Chen from his memories.
"Ah, how boring!" Zhang Qianmo rolled his eyes and sighed.
Then he sprawled out lazily, paying no more attention to Li Fan.
Seizing the opportunity, Li Fan began observing his surroundings.
At the moment, he seemed to be resting atop a purple cloud.
This purple cloud appeared to be a flight dharma artifact, speeding through the high sky.
Around the cloud's perimeter, a defensive formation seemed to keep the astral winds at bay.
Sitting atop the purple cloud was quiet and comfortable.
"So this is the Fallen Immortal Realm..."
Li Fan sensed his surroundings carefully, a look of wonder in his eyes.
"A world manifested purely from a lingering thought before death? It is so real..."
Li Fan ran his hand over the purple cloud beneath him, feeling the pervasive spiritual energy in the air.
"If not for my previous memories, I would almost have thought I had transmigrated once more."
Only after a long while did Li Fan suppress the shock in his heart.
"My luck was decent for a first entry; I obtained an original identity."
Li Fan recalled the precautions Chen Ying had shared.
Upon entering the Fallen Immortal Realm, one might form a divine sense avatar to explore on one's own.
Alternatively, one might directly occupy the body of an indigenous creature within the Fallen Immortal Realm, acquiring their identity.
Both scenarios had pros and cons.
A divine sense avatar could exert one's original cultivation and divine abilities, but without an identity, one would be an outright outsider.
Knowing nothing of the surrounding situation, attempting to explore and obtain opportunities would be much harder.
Moreover, the rate at which a divine sense avatar was eroded was significantly faster.
On the other hand, possessing an original identity provided a "husk" as a buffer, drastically reducing the speed of erosion.
Consequently, one could remain in the Fallen Immortal Realm much longer.
Furthermore, one could easily participate in certain specific events.
The drawback was that the power one could exert was limited strictly to that of the occupied creature.
Additionally, one had to tread carefully so as not to be detected by those familiar with the individual.
Otherwise, it would be viewed as possession, inviting relentless pursuit and slaughter.
As Li Fan sifted through Li Chen's memories to adapt to this identity as quickly as possible, he monitored the consumption of his divine sense.
Sure enough, even with the physical husk as a buffer, Li Fan could clearly perceive that his divine sense was undergoing constant erosion.
Its intensity remained unchanged, but the overall quantity was slowly diminishing.
"Once divine sense is completely eroded away, one will be forced out of the Fallen Immortal Realm.
"At this rate, I can probably only hold out for half a month?"
Li Fan could not help but frown inwardly.
"No wonder Chen Ying said Golden Core cultivators can only barely operate here. And that is with an original identity.
"If I had descended directly as a divine sense avatar, I would probably only be able to stay in the Fallen Immortal Realm for seven or eight days or so.
"Oh well, I never expected much from this first exploration anyway. I'll just treat it as broadening my horizons."
With that in mind, Li Fan examined the background of Li Chen of the Purple Cloud Sect.
"I do not know what territory this is, but the Purple Cloud Sect is the largest immortal cultivation sect within a radius of ten thousand li.
"Both Li Chen and Zhang Qianmo are inner disciples of the Purple Cloud Sect, studying under a Nascent Soul True Monarch, Ling Yunzi.
"Their cultivated technique is the Purple Cloud Thunder-Commanding True Scripture. Strength: late Foundation Establishment."
Li Fan browsed his memories for the Purple Cloud Thunder-Commanding True Scripture, only to find a complete blank.
Although the cultivation was at the late Foundation Establishment stage, there was no trace of a wonder of heaven and earth inside the body.
The Great Calamity had not yet fallen; immortal arts could still be cultivated side by side.
Nor had the immortal-mortal miasma appeared.
"So it is set at this point in time..." According to Chen Ying, different regions within the Fallen Immortal Realm could be located at different time nodes.
The time span was extremely broad as well.
At Li Fan's current time node, the cultivation world was still relatively peaceful.
Seen this way, Li Fan's start this time was comparatively smooth.
His thoughts surging along the way, Li Fan rested on the purple cloud for the better part of a day.
Li Fan and Zhang Qianmo finally drew close to the destination of their journey: Ningyuan City.
Zhang Qianmo yawned and rolled to his feet.
"Junior Brother, let me discuss something with you." Grinning at Li Fan, Zhang Qianmo said, "I haven't seen my sweetheart Chixia for several years now. My heart is truly itching with impatience; I can't wait a moment longer!
"So..."
He winked at Li Fan.
"I'll leave a minor chore like collecting the Longevity Fruit to you."
He patted Li Fan on the shoulder, and without waiting for Li Fan's reply, transformed into a streak of purple light that escaped downward.
Parting ways was for the best anyway, lest he reveal any flaws.
It was just what Li Fan wanted. He controlled the Purple Cloud Flying Cloud and descended slowly.
"Which senior brother has arrived this time?" Before Li Fan had even touched down, he saw another streak of purple escaping light slowly approaching.
The technique aura radiating from the newcomer was remarkably similar to the Purple Cloud Thunder-Commanding True Scripture, though it was weaker by far more than a fraction.
When the figure halted, Li Fan looked over and saw a middle-aged man dressed in a grey Daoist robe, seemingly only at the late Qi Condensation stage.
Recognizing Li Fan once he saw his face clearly, the man cupped his hands. "So it is Senior Brother Li in person! Forgive me for not welcoming you from afar; I hope you can overlook my negligence!"
At that moment, information about this person flashed into Li Fan's mind.
Song Hesong, an outer sect disciple of the Purple Cloud Sect and manager of Ningyuan City.
"No need for pleasantries. Business comes first. Take me to collect the Longevity Fruit," Li Fan said coldly with an arrogant demeanor, following the mannerisms in Li Chen's memory.
Song Hesong took no offense; after all, the disparity in status between outer disciples and inner disciples was vast.
What was more, Li Fan was at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
The fact that Song Hesong could even call him "Senior Brother" was already thanks to his position as manager of Ningyuan City.
Not daring to dawdle, he guided Li Fan into Ningyuan City.
An invisible barrier seemed to envelop Ningyuan City.
Once Li Fan passed through it, his gaze focused intently on the sky above.
Chapter 174