Xue Mu still seemed somewhat dazed, his expression hesitant.
"This junior..."
Ji Hongdao's brow furrowed slightly. "Hm?"
Xue Mu's body trembled gently, and he hastily said, "I am willing to obey Senior's instructions."
Only then did Ji Hongdao nod slowly, though his gaze toward Xue Mu lacked the warmth he had previously shown Li Fan.
"The construction plans for the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formations across the various provinces will not officially begin for more than a year."
"Although some grotto-heavens have already begun laying down arrays, for the sake of fairness in the grand competition, I will still wait until the competition officially starts a year from now before applying to transfer you in."
"This is something I must make clear to you in advance."
As if remembering something, Ji Hongdao looked at Li Fan and added, "During this year, I won't place any restrictions on you."
"If there is anywhere you wish to go, simply go on your own."
"The Tianyu Four Provinces boast countless wondrous sights and spectacles. For us cultivators, viewing them will be of immense benefit to both your cultivation and your craft."
"Since arriving in Tianyu Province, you haven't had the chance to look around, have you? This period will be a good opportunity to explore thoroughly."
"Just be sure to return promptly once you receive my message," Ji Hongdao suggested with a smile.
Noticing Li Fan's hesitant expression as if he wanted to speak, Ji Hongdao chuckled and added, "No need to worry excessively. The sort of accident Tantai Tao and the others met with cannot possibly happen again now."
Li Fan's heart stirred, but he said nothing more.
"In that case, thank you, Senior!"
"All right, you two may take your leave! Spending so much time mingling with you juniors has made me a bit tired." Having finished his explanations, Ji Hongdao waved his hand to dismiss them.
Both Li Fan and Xue Mu bowed, then took their leave of the Cosmos Courtyard.
"Fellow Daoist... Li, what plans do you have for this coming year?" Xue Mu asked rather stiffly once they were out in Tianyu City.
"Haha, Fellow Daoist Xue, there is no need to be tense," Li Fan replied, looking at Xue Mu with an amiable smile. "A year's time can be considered long, or it can be considered short."
"If one enters secluded meditation, it passes in the blink of an eye. But if one travels, one could probably tour all of the Tianyu Four Provinces."
"Cultivation does not hinge on this single moment. On the contrary, such an opportunity is rare, so I intend to take Senior Ji's advice and tour the neighboring provinces."
"What about you, Fellow Daoist Xue? I sense that your aura is fluttering and unfixed—could you be on the verge of a breakthrough?" Li Fan turned the question back to him.
Xue Mu was taken aback. "Fellow Daoist has sharp eyes to have noticed that. To be frank, although the closed-door training these past days was arduous, I gained some insight from it. The bottleneck that originally kept me trapped in the Foundation Establishment stage naturally dissipated, and I can break through to the Golden Core stage at any moment."
"Then congratulations are truly in order, Fellow Daoist!" Li Fan appeared genuinely delighted.
Perhaps because they were both among the last survivors of the Congyun Sea, which naturally brought a sense of closeness, or perhaps because Xue Mu was clumsy at socializing and had kept things bottled up for too long after hardly speaking to anyone during the closed training, the floodgates suddenly opened, and he began pouring out his grievances to Li Fan.
"Alas, Fellow Daoist doesn't know the whole story. Had I still been back in the Congyun Sea, achieving the Golden Core in my forties would have left me thoroughly satisfied."
"However, after arriving in Tianyu Province and seeing countless prodigies, almost all of them formed their cores through two or even three methods."
"By comparison, I am naturally unwilling to settle for a mere single-method Golden Core."
"Yet I have only one year of free time. Trying to comprehend another core-formation method within a single year might be too difficult for me."
Saying this, a conflicted expression crept onto Xue Mu's face.
At this, a smile appeared on Li Fan's face.
"Haha, so that is what troubles you, Fellow Daoist."
"I know of a way that might help you through this predicament. Would you be willing to give it a try?"
Xue Mu was slightly stunned, then broke into immense joy. "Please enlighten me, Fellow Daoist!"
Li Fan did not keep him in suspense, saying slowly, "Do you know that in neighboring Tianyun Province, there is a wondrous sight known as the Mortal Transcending to Soul Formation Wall?"
"Mortal... Transcending to Soul Formation?" Xue Mu's eyes lit up, and he shook his head gently.
"That shadow wall recorded the scene of a mortal transcending to Soul Formation and ascending to the heavens in a single step in ancient times."
"Whenever the wondrous spectacle replays, it stirs the resonance of worldly laws and gives rise to countless astonishing phenomena."
"Nearly any cultivator below the Soul Formation stage can gain some insight from observing the Mortal Transcending to Soul Formation spectacle."
"Not long ago, a cultivator even comprehended the Grand Dao there and ultimately attained the Five-Method Golden Core realm!"
"I see that your aptitude and comprehension are both extraordinary, Fellow Daoist. Why not try your luck?"
Li Fan gazed at Xue Mu with bright, encouraging eyes.
Xue Mu was flushed with excitement. "There is actually such a wonder?"
"Heaven is truly helping me!"
"Tianyun Province—I'll head there right away!"
Murmuring under his breath with flushed cheeks, Xue Mu rushed straight toward the Dharma Transmission Plaza in Tianyu City.
After a few paces, he seemed to remember something, turned back, and asked with slight embarrassment, "Fellow Daoist Li Fan, why not come with me?"
Li Fan smiled and declined.
"I have other arrangements. Do not worry about me, Fellow Daoist—go ahead on your own!"
Hearing this, Xue Mu did not insist.
He bowed and said solemnly, "Regardless of whether this journey yields any gains, I will never forget your guidance today, Fellow Daoist."
*Heh, that single promise is enough,* Li Fan thought to himself.
Naturally, he would not say such a thing aloud.
The act still had to be played out.
Waving his hand nonchalantly, he said, "It was merely an offhand remark, Fellow Daoist. No need to take it to heart."
Judging by Xue Mu's expression, however, he had already etched Li Fan's "favor of a few words" deeply into his memory.
"These days, an honest fellow with decent aptitude like that is truly a rare sight," Li Fan murmured with a sigh as he watched Xue Mu's receding back.
"He barely counts as half a crop, but better than nothing."
After Xue Mu departed Tianyu City, Li Fan used the teleportation array to travel to Liangqu City on the border of Tianyu Province.
He had scouted beforehand; within Tianyu Province, this vicinity was relatively desolate and sparsely populated.
Concealing his figure, Li Fan flew at high speed hugging the ground for two days, finally locating a suitable hiding spot.
Beneath a canyon that looked like a thin thread of open sky, Li Fan carved out a secret chamber within the mountain as usual, then sealed the entrance completely.
His purpose in entering secluded cultivation out here was to escape the gaze of the Heavenly Profound Mirror so he could test the divine ability he had envisioned:
The Great Five Elements Oblivion Sword.
A long time later, Li Fan, having simulated it countless times in his mind, opened his eyes.
*Five Elements as the base,* he chanted silently.
His Golden Core power circulated, the five elements mutually generating one another as an immense, unending vortex of rotating force surged from his dantian.
*Heaven Fiend and Mo Sha as the edge.*
A flicker of madness flashed across his left eye, while a shadow of murky blackness surfaced in his right.
Before these two forces that annihilated all things, the rotating power of the five elements slowly converged.
Li Fan pointed gently toward the ground.
A beam of pitch-black light blossomed from his fingertip, shooting downward with blinding speed.
Chapter 323