Regardless, the plan of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had ultimately succeeded.
Not only had they slain several Dao Integration cultivators from the Five Elders Association, but they had also exposed the undercover spy, Immortal Venerable Ziqiong.
It could well be said that they had thoroughly vented their stifled rage.
Meanwhile, confronted with this bloody reality, the Five Elders Association had no choice but to swallow their bitter defeat.
A great battle in Tianling Province, an ambush in Tianyu Province.
Each side had lost one round.
The loss of Dao Integration powerhouses would take time to recover from.
With both the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and the Five Elders Association battered, it was foreseeable that a prolonged period of peace was on the horizon.
For the vast majority of cultivators, this was a blessing.
As the dark clouds of war gradually dispersed, the Small Medicine King Cauldron auction hosted by Jiao Xiuyuan finally took place toward the close of the 23rd year of the Anchor Era.
Li Fan did not go to join the spectacle.
Rumor had it, however, that the results left much to be desired.
Only four small cauldrons were sold in the first batch.
On average, each small cauldron sold for merely a hundred-odd thousand contribution points.
Evidently, people still harbored doubts about whether that flaming meteor falling from the heavens had truly been the authentic Medicine King Cauldron.
Even though Jiao Xiuyuan had heeded Li Fan's strategy and drummed up hype far and wide, the effect was meager.
After all, only a tiny minority of cultivators were willing to wager an enormous fortune in contribution points on a gamble for future wealth.
Refusing to let loose the hawk until the hare was spotted was the operating principle of most cultivators.
Despite this rocky start, Jiao Xiuyuan was not discouraged.
For one thing, he still had plenty of inventory left in hand.
For another, even if all the remaining cauldrons were sold at this price, he was guaranteed to turn a handsome profit without the slightest risk of loss.
"In doing business, I am not greedy. As long as there is profit to be made, it is fine."
Those were Jiao Xiuyuan's exact words.
Li Fan, of course, merely chuckled and offered no opinion.
Turning his attention back to his true body.
Having stayed quietly on the deserted island for more than a decade, the people from the Li Realm had grown into adulthood one after another.
Gradually, they were growing restless.
Su Xiaomei, in particular, would sneak out for strolls on her own from time to time.
Yet Ye Feipeng's inexplicable disappearance remained a dark cloud hanging over their hearts.
As a result, they did not dare venture too far from the island, fearing they might be noticed by cultivators from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and meet with misfortune.
Li Fan checked the cultivation bases of the group.
Su Xiaomei, Xiao Heng, and Zhang Haobo were all already at peak Foundation Establishment.
However, there still seemed to be some distance before they could break through to the Golden Core stage.
The Yin sisters did not possess exceptional cultivation talent; they were merely at peak Qi Condensation and had not yet achieved Foundation Establishment.
Su Changyu's progress was the slowest.
He had barely reached the middle Qi Condensation stage.
Yet his state of mind was consistently steady, neither anxious nor impetuous.
As for the comatose Ye Feipeng...
Li Fan found himself somewhat unable to see through him.
Over the past several years, beyond completely assimilating the wind calamity energy he had devoured, the chubby fellow had drifted unconsciously along the undercurrents of the Congyun Sea, roaming almost the entire sea territory.
And throughout this process, the intensity of Ye Feipeng's aura steadily grew.
Theoretically speaking, it had long since surpassed the limits of Foundation Establishment.
Li Fan estimated that if he erupted with full power, an ordinary Golden Core cultivator would certainly be no match for him.
It was as if the Congyun Sea were "nourishing" Ye Feipeng in this unique manner.
This sheer accumulation of "quantity" had already reached a point where it could bridge the chasm between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.
Meanwhile, the phantom of the colossal beast that occasionally surfaced behind Ye Feipeng seemed to grow increasingly vivid and robust.
It circled around him incessantly, letting out a prolonged cry from time to time.
It seemed poised to come to life at any moment.
Li Fan suddenly had a premonition.
Ye Feipeng was not far from awakening.
And so, time drifted quietly by.
In the blink of an eye, the 24th year of the Anchor Era arrived.
On this day, Li Fan, who was in secluded cultivation, suddenly received a notification from the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
In Sit and Debate the Dao, Zhang Qianmo had finally suffered his first defeat!
*Could it be that Wo Wudi finally grasped a method to defeat him?* Li Fan thought, feeling a stir of excitement.
Opening Sit and Debate the Dao, the result took Li Fan by surprise.
The one who had defeated Zhang Qianmo was not Wo Wudi, but someone else entirely.
A cultivator named Zhong Shentong.
Moreover, this Zhong Shentong was not a fictional persona, but a living cultivator who truly existed in the Xuanhuang Realm.
"Zhong Shentong..."
Li Fan felt disbelief.
He knew Senior Brother Zhang's capabilities intimately well.
In his purple core state, slaying Golden Core cultivators was as effortless as slaughtering chickens and butchering oxen.
How had this Zhong Shentong, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, managed to defeat Zhang Qianmo?
Carrying this question, Li Fan opened the combat replay.
Within the void space, Senior Brother Zhang stood with a cold expression, hands clasped behind his back.
Not far away, an elderly man in Daoist robes with snow-white hair and beard looked at him with a beaming smile.
"Young friend, pray grant me your instruction!"
The moment Zhong Shentong finished his polite greeting, his expression changed abruptly.
He pointed with his right hand, and a sky filled with azure light suddenly surged above Senior Brother Zhang's head.
Every ray of radiance was like an incomparably sharp flying sword, piercing relentlessly toward Zhang Qianmo.
Senior Brother Zhang let out a cold snort. Purple Cloud Divine Thunder materialized beside him, striking squarely against the incoming azure light.
Azure and purple clashed, annihilating each other into nothingness.
Zhong Shentong's fingers tapped repeatedly.
Blue, violet, crimson, scarlet...
In an instant, an endless flood of seven-colored rays surged forth in dazzling hues.
Like the ceaseless torrent of a river, the onslaught showed no sign of stopping.
Its density was so overwhelming that Zhang Qianmo could barely parry.
Most terrifying of all, whether this seven-colored radiance was a divine ability or a magical treasure remained unclear.
As if requiring no consumption whatsoever, it showed no sign of waning from the moment the attack began.
If anything, the bursts of light only became denser and more ferocious.
Gradually, wounds inevitably began to appear across Senior Brother Zhang's body.
Though they healed quickly on their own, he was still reduced to a battered state.
In contrast, Zhong Shentong remained thoroughly composed and relaxed from start to finish.
*This Seven-Colored Divine Light is truly extraordinary.*
*Could Zhong Shentong have defeated Senior Brother Zhang relying purely on this?* Li Fan analyzed as he watched.
*No. While the Seven-Colored Divine Light possesses astonishing destructive power, that is only within the same cultivation realm. If Senior Brother Zhang revealed his purple core form, it likely wouldn't even pierce his defense...*
Suddenly, Li Fan realized something, his expression growing solemn.
*So that's how it is...*
He fixed his gaze on Zhang Qianmo in the midst of battle.
Wounds blossomed across him like flowers, only to be healed an instant later by the power surging within his body.
As the battle wore on, this process repeated endlessly, seeming as though it would never stop.
However...
Foundation Establishment cultivators had their limits.
Even though the total volume of spiritual energy in Senior Brother Zhang's body far exceeded that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was still far from infinite.
When the battle dragged on to a day, two days, three days...
The original power within his body finally began to run dry.
Thus, Zhang Qianmo had no choice but to begin drawing upon the energy stored within his purple core.
Back when Li Fan was cultivating the Tribulation Body, he had guessed that the purple core inside Zhang Qianmo was the Purple Cloud Sect's means of containing and suppressing cultivation.
Now, it appeared to be precisely the case.
Chapter 264