Li Fan did not immediately move to rescue the young woman from her torment.
Instead, by sensing everything taking place within Lu Xuejing, he slowly explored the authority belonging to a master.
"Hmm... I can faintly perceive her surroundings. I can also speak directly into her mind and issue commands.
"Seen in this light, that communication talisman from earlier was superfluous and might have left a vulnerability.
"Better to take it back."
Unrushed, Li Fan drifted slowly to Lu Xuejing's side.
After prolonged agony, her delicate face had turned as pale as a sheet of paper. She was drenched in sweat, as though she had just been hauled out of the water, and her shapely figure showed faintly through her soaked, translucent clothing.
Li Fan pressed down with both hands to steady her violently trembling frame, sending his spiritual energy into her body to circulate through her meridians.
Her body seemed utterly undefended against him.
In the blink of an eye, Li Fan completed his probe.
Before him, the young woman held no secrets left to hide.
When he clearly saw the Foundation Establishment wonder in Lu Xuejing's dantian, Li Fan could not help but sigh in admiration.
It was a vast plain of snow, frozen for thousands of li.
One could even faintly make out miniature scenes of numerous cities and villages across it.
A piece of information immediately surfaced in his mind:
*Wonder of Earth: Winter Ice Crystal.*
*As expected of a top-tier second-generation immortal of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. Not only did she reach Foundation Establishment at twenty-three, but her Foundation Establishment wonder is a wonder of Earth perfectly suited to both her constitution and her cultivation technique.*
*Her starting point in life is something ordinary cultivators could never hope to attain even if they worked like beasts of burden for an entire lifetime.*
*A pity she is not too bright...*
Li Fan's eyes remained cold, devoid of the slightest tender pity for the fair sex.
He continued his inspection.
*Her body contains only pure spiritual energy, with no other foreign energy whatsoever. Nor are there any traces of formations or restrictions...*
*The source of this pain...*
*It feels as though the lowest-level parameters of her body were directly rewritten through her origin.*
*Without a master, she loses the very foundation sustaining her life.*
*Such methods are truly inconceivable.*
While he marveled inwardly, Lu Xuejing had already endured the torment for far too long. Her breath grew increasingly faint, and she looked ready to expire at any moment.
Hovering on the precipice of death, her struggles weakened further, and her pupils began to dilate.
"Master... save me," Lu Xuejing's voice suddenly echoed in Li Fan's mind.
At this moment, driven perhaps by an instinct for survival, she had finally surrendered completely to him.
Li Fan smiled faintly and gently stroked the crown of her head.
"Hah!"
Lu Xuejing's body arched violently as if air could finally flow freely into her lungs again, and she gasped in ragged breaths. At the same time, perhaps as an aftereffect of the prolonged agony, she slumped back down after a short while.
Her limbs began to twitch erratically.
Li Fan never lifted his hand.
Only after an unknown stretch of time did Lu Xuejing gradually settle down.
Having reached the absolute limit of her physical and mental endurance, she slipped into a heavy, stuporous sleep.
"She is far too young and naive. If she goes back like this, she will likely let something slip even when her life is at stake.
"She still needs some guidance."
Looking down at the unconscious Lu Xuejing, whose cheeks flushed with an unnatural crimson, Li Fan pulled back his right hand and gently tapped a finger between her brows.
Cloud Water Illusory Dream Technique, activate!
Following his breakthrough to the Golden Core stage, his divine consciousness had undergone a qualitative leap, making the dreams he wove far more vivid and real.
Through cycle after cycle of dreams, Li Fan assumed the mantle of master, accompanying and instructing Lu Xuejing on how to handle every conceivable scenario upon her return.
And amidst these dreams woven primarily from Lu Xuejing's own memories, Li Fan also gained a general understanding of her mother, Lu Xichan.
Extremely overbearing, possessing an intense need for control.
She had mapped out Lu Xuejing's path of cultivation from an early age.
Swamped with official duties, her true body could not constantly accompany her daughter, so she left behind only an avatar to oversee her.
Her word was law, and she shared zero emotional communication with her child.
*Had I not stepped in, she would have practically ruined the girl,*
Li Fan mused, shaking his head inwardly.
***
When the sun set once more, Lu Xuejing finally awoke from the endless illusory dreams.
The confusion in her eyes gradually cleared. The moment she caught sight of Li Fan, she called out instinctively, "Master..."
Yet she quickly realized what she had said.
A flicker of panic darted across her gaze, but her body had already developed an ingrained response. Coupled with the vivid memory of the agony that felt like plunging into Avici hell, Lu Xuejing could not summon the slightest courage to resist.
Hesitating for merely a split second, she turned over and dropped gracefully to her knees before Li Fan, pressing her forehead to the ground.
Without Li Fan's permission, she dared not move an inch.
"You may go. Bide your time, cultivate diligently, and await my orders," Li Fan finally spoke after a long silence.
"This servant understands." Lu Xuejing kowtowed once more with a crisp thud.
She then rose and flew away. There was no panic in her stride, and her face had already resumed its former haughty demeanor.
*With Lu Xuejing cooperating when the opportunity arises, my chances of entering the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven have grown considerably. Whether it succeeds will depend on how matters unfold.*
*Still, the preparations that must be made cannot be neglected.*
Watching Lu Xuejing's departing figure disappear, Li Fan transformed into a streak of light and returned to Tianyu City.
Before beginning his cultivation, Li Fan searched for information regarding Guan Xingxiu, the Garrison Court Commander of Tianyu Province.
When Ji Hongdao had uncharacteristically allowed him to leave earlier, he had told Li Fan that he no longer needed to worry about any more mishaps.
Even back then, Li Fan had an inkling that this commander's fate would not be good.
A quick check confirmed his suspicions.
First came dismissal and investigation.
A verdict was reached with extraordinary speed soon after: stripped of a major realm of cultivation and exiled to distant Lanlin Province in the south.
The punishment could hardly be called light.
Besides Guan Xingxiu, two other commanders had also received severe discipline.
Though not subjected to anything as cruel as having their cultivation stripped, they were nonetheless reassigned from their posts, losing any chance at the position of Garrison Court Commander-in-Chief.
*This is using thunderous means to demonstrate to those below their unwavering resolve regarding the construction of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation.*
*Whether you were framed or the mastermind of a conspiracy, anyone implicated gets eighty strokes of the rod without exception.*
*Using schemes and tricks to compete for the seat of Commander-in-Chief? Permissible.*
*Hindering the construction timeline of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation? Absolutely not.*
*...*
*With the unexpected withdrawal of the three frontrunners, the successor to the next Commander-in-Chief has basically become clear.*
*The one initially considered the least likely, who had hardly taken the contest to heart himself—a walkover victory, so to speak...*
*Lü Junyi from Tianyun Province.*
*Tianyun Province...*
Recalling that He Zhenghao was currently serving in the Tianyun Province Garrison Court, Li Fan wondered if he might reap any benefits from this, given how when one person ascends, even their fowls and dogs rise to heaven.
Chapter 328