The automatic protection of True Reversion acted like a heavy ship's anchor, holding Li Fan steady amidst the sea of his thoughts.
It prevented him from being swayed by the extremely vivid illusions and kept his agitated mind from reacting back upon his physical body.
At the same time, Li Fan did not let down his guard.
He stared intently at the charging numbers of True Reversion.
The moment the progress dropped, he intended to immediately trigger True Reversion and return to his anchor point.
Thus, fully prepared mentally, Li Fan quietly waited for whatever changes the Will Horse would bring next.
Wounds began to manifest at an accelerating pace.
Yet Li Fan held fast to his original heart.
No matter how many cuts and gashes appeared on his body, and even as he grew weaker from his seemingly grievous injuries, he merely watched the charging progress before him, unmoved.
A long time passed, and perhaps because these injuries failed to intimidate Li Fan, a new change occurred.
Flames ignited from the Will Horse's corpse.
At the same time, Li Fan felt an unbearable scorching heat descend upon him.
"Ah..."
He could not help letting out a low howl.
He even watched as his own body slowly turned to ash within the flames.
"It's fake, all of it is fake..."
True Reversion's charging progress had not budged.
That meant there was no mortal danger whatsoever.
Everything was merely an exceptionally vivid illusion.
Li Fan held firm to his conviction.
The roaring flames danced ceaselessly.
Li Fan endured and struggled through the unspeakable agony.
He did not know how much time had passed, but the lingering torment finally began to recede.
Once the Will Horse's corpse on the ground was reduced entirely to ash, the illusions clinging to Li Fan vanished at last.
Looking at himself in the mirror once more, his appearance had returned to that of a human.
Moreover, Li Fan sensed that he had grown somewhat stronger.
Not in his physical body or cultivation, but in his divine soul.
Li Fan carefully observed the changes within himself.
"If divine sense can be compared to a person's muscles, then it can be constantly strengthened through acquired practice and training.
"The divine soul, however, is like a person's skeleton, set in place from birth. Only special means—such as breaking through cultivation realms or the effects of rare natural treasures—can strengthen it.
"Ordinary methods cannot affect it at all.
"Yet right now, I feel as though my 'skeleton' has noticeably grown."
Li Fan had not experienced this kind of growth in strength for a long time.
Even the sensation of advancing through a minor cultivation realm could not compare to it.
If a comparison had to be drawn, only major breakthroughs—like successfully inducing Qi into his body or establishing his foundation back then—could rival it.
After running a few tests, Li Fan discovered that although his cultivation level had not risen, his divine sense strength had been affected, receiving a considerable boost.
The speed of his thoughts also seemed noticeably smoother.
"The Will Horse is truly a fine treasure!
"Even if the way it works is a bit bizarre, the results are genuinely impressive."
Any fear he had held toward it vanished without a trace, replaced by an inevitable greed.
"Mind Ape and Will Horse...
"The Mind Ape was formed from a cultivator. If I'm not mistaken, it seems this Will Horse was also formed from a cultivator."
Recalling the Will Horse's corpse earlier that had looked completely identical to him, a sudden hypothesis sprang to Li Fan's mind.
"I had True Reversion to cheat for me, which is why I could weather the Will Horse's effects so easily.
"But if someone's willpower wasn't resolute enough and they actually died from it...
"I'm afraid the previous Will Horse died in that exact manner.
"In that case, Zhang Zhiliang's intention is obvious.
"It was both a reward and a test.
"If one couldn't even pass the Will Horse's trial, it proved they had no qualifications to represent the Congyun Sea in Tianyu Province and inherit his supreme arts. If they died, they died.
"Tsk tsk. After advancing to Soul Formation, Zhang Zhiliang's mindset really is vastly different from before.
"Back when I only had Qi Condensation cultivation, I received special care from him and was taught the Infinite Method.
"And now..."
Thinking of this, Li Fan could not help feeling a sense of lament.
Afterward, he sent a report message to Zhang Zhiliang.
Zhang Zhiliang was somewhat surprised that Li Fan had assimilated the Will Horse so quickly.
"Hm? It seems your willpower is even more resilient than I imagined.
"Very good! Out of the three of you, you are the first to accomplish this.
"You deserve a reward!"
With that, Zhang Zhiliang sent an item over through the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
The object was a white, glowing cube—the very array coronet Li Fan had coveted for a long time.
Upon receiving it, Li Fan could not help feeling pleasantly surprised.
He said repeatedly, "Many thanks for your favor, Grandmaster!"
"This array coronet is yours. Over a hundred different formations are superimposed within it; when you have leisure, you can dismantle and study it," Zhang Zhiliang instructed.
"If you can construct a thirty-fold superimposed array coronet on your own, you will truly qualify as a formation master.
"The Will Horse's boosting effect on the divine soul is not merely fleeting. For a long period of time, it will continue to nourish your divine soul.
"During this period, you should dedicate yourself to quiet cultivation and avoid fighting with others.
"Bring its effects to their fullest.
"Heh heh, perhaps you've already noticed that the Will Horse was also a cultivator when alive.
"And the one I gave you was a Golden Core cultivator in life.
"If you can fully absorb its effects, doubling your divine soul's strength should pose no problem."
Li Fan had not expected such an added benefit and quickly expressed his thanks to Zhang Zhiliang once more.
Zhang Zhiliang, however, severed the transmission without another reply.
"A Golden Core cultivator...
"Once fallen, they still cannot escape the fate of becoming sustenance for another." Li Fan shook his head secretly.
He suddenly thought back to the human-faced smiling face fruits he had seen on Tai'an Island back then.
"Back then, the smiling face fruit seemed to affect only an island of mortals. If cultivators were turned into smiling face fruits, would even more potent fruits appear?
"In all these cases, humans turn into beneficial oddities—smiling face fruit, Mind Ape, Will Horse...
"I wonder if there is any connection between them."
Li Fan felt that some secret seemed to be hidden within this, giving him a strange feeling.
Incongruous, out of place.
And yet, somewhat familiar.
After pondering for a while, the blue crystal in his mind continuously gleamed, and scenes from his past experiences resurfaced one after another.
Li Fan finally realized where this sense of familiarity came from.
"Sect ruins... anomalies?"
Li Fan pondered for a moment, not entirely sure.
Yet this defiance of modern cultivation rules, this completely irrational, seemingly self-contained order—it ran in the exact same vein.
"It's said that anomalies only exist within sect ruins.
"If there truly is a connection between the two, what does that imply?"
Li Fan then remembered how, after the Master's green ox pulled the cart, he had gone to the Heavenly Secret Hall to undergo an investigation.
Before that massive map of the Congyun Sea, the sickly cultivator had murmured:
"Another case?"
Li Fan vaguely guessed something.
Chapter 269