The conversation between the two inside reached Xu Ke's ears, seeming to deliver an immense shock to his young mind.
His eyes went wide, his mouth hung slightly open, and words failed him.
While Li Fan was not so shaken by Di Sanmo's callous resolve in treating the sect's disciples like ants, what left him helpless was that the faint aura emanating from the white-bearded elder sent a shiver straight through the Profound Bird's soul.
Under the crushing pressure of an innate superior, the Profound Bird's thoughts seemed to freeze in an instant, its body trembling faintly by reflex, unable to make any other move.
From the Profound Bird's ancestral bloodline memories, Li Fan immediately realized what an exalted existence this Beast of Wisdom before him was among strange beasts.
Back in the desolate ancient era, before the strange beasts had grown in power as a whole, Di Sanmo had already served as the prophet of their kind, guiding their progress and growth with his peerless wisdom.
He was an eccentric. Though a strange beast, he always favored taking on human form.
Unlike many strange beasts that vehemently shunned contact with humans, he had reportedly roamed the human world for centuries, forging friendships with many mortals and cultivators alike.
He urged the strange beasts to be like humans—united and selfless.
He had even studied numerous human cultivation methods and subsequently modified the cultivation techniques of various beast races, greatly accelerating their cultivation speed.
That the strange beast races could rise from clinging to a remote corner to spreading across the entire world was undoubtedly thanks in large part to this Di Sanmo.
Yet that had happened untold ages ago.
Even so, the appearance of the elder before them was identical to what the Profound Bird's ancestors had witnessed.
Generation after generation of Profound Birds had passed, but Di Sanmo remained ever the same Di Sanmo.
A Beast of Wisdom, and a Beast of Longevity.
Because he had lived long enough and seen enough of the world, he possessed wisdom far beyond the reach of ordinary beings.
However, long ago, Di Sanmo had seemingly ceased showing himself.
He had vanished without a trace, his whereabouts unknown.
Who could have thought that he had quietly come to the Beast Taming Sect, the very place most hated by strange beasts?
By the looks of it, Di Sanmo held no small standing within the Beast Taming Sect, carrying himself as a leader.
The white-bearded elder exchanged a few more words with Lu Ya before turning his gaze toward the Profound Bird possessed by Li Fan.
Nodding slightly, Di Sanmo said with gratification, "To be able to accompany this child is also a fortune for your Profound Bird clan. Perhaps your lineage will endure longer than other branches.
"Though why does a little fellow like you look so malnourished...?
"Ah, so you were separated from your mother right after birth and lacked the nourishment of the maternal womb."
Di Sanmo stroked his long beard and plucked a single strand.
The white hair then radiated a lustrous white glow, and with a flick of his finger, he sent it straight into Li Fan's body.
The white light coursed everywhere, revitalizing everything in its path with boundless vigor.
The sensation of growing stronger by the moment was several times more intense than absorbing Xu Ke's radiant luck had been, so comfortable that Li Fan nearly let out a cry of delight.
After circulating through his body once, the white light still did not disperse, only dimming slightly, and began another cycle.
Bathed in this genial, warm vitality, Li Fan felt utterly relaxed and at ease, until a wave of drowsiness welled up in his mind.
Before falling into slumber, he only heard Lu Ya's surprised voice: "Senior, what are you doing...?"
Di Sanmo's gift was an immense tonic for the Profound Bird.
So much so that Li Fan's journey through the Fallen Immortal Realm, which was supposed to last over three months, ended right then and there in complete bewilderment.
When he regained consciousness, he had already returned to the Heavenly Profound Mirror in the real world.
Even though this trip had been exceedingly brief and similarly yielded no direct gains, Li Fan at least knew that when he entered again next time, the serialized story would likely resume from the moment he fell asleep.
With such a lengthy buildup, the final reward surely wouldn't be too shabby.
Moreover, Li Fan was immensely curious about what task Mr. Bai had assigned.
And what would become of Lu Ya, Xu Ke, and Di Sanmo in the end?
After replaying the experiences in the Fallen Immortal Realm once more in his mind and pondering them for a while, Li Fan saw that Ji Hongdao still had not sent a summons, so he devoted himself to cultivation once again.
Two months later, once *Wondrous Profound True Spirit Transformation* broke through to the Foundation Establishment realm, Ji Hongdao finally sent word.
Concise and without a single wasted word:
"Come see me at the Cosmos Courtyard within seven days."
Li Fan did not set off immediately, instead first contacting Xue Mu.
"Fellow Daoist Xue, where are you now? Have you received Master Ji's summons?"
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Xue Mu finally replied, "Fellow Daoist Li Fan, I'm currently in Tianchen Province. Old Man Yufu has reportedly been staying here lately, and compared to before, he seems interested in far more things. Three lucky souls in a row have already managed to obtain benefits from him, so I wanted to try my luck as well.
"Unfortunately, fortune was not on my side this time. By the time I arrived, he was nowhere to be found. I was thinking of looking around a bit more when Master Ji's message arrived."
Li Fan replied, "Opportunities cannot be forced. The mission to construct the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation concerns our future and cannot be delayed. You should return as soon as possible, Fellow Daoist. I'll wait for you in the city so we can go together."
Xue Mu's voice came back, clearly flattered. "Right, you're quite right, Fellow Daoist. I'll return right away."
In the heartland of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, interconnected teleportation formations covered the land, making travel swift.
In barely half a day, Xue Mu returned to Tianyu City.
"Let's go," Li Fan said with a nod, sizing up Xue Mu, who looked somewhat travel-worn yet had a vigor far surpassing before.
"Forgive me for keeping you waiting, Fellow Daoist," Xue Mu said, full of guilt.
"Don't mention it," Li Fan replied, waving a hand dismissively.
"You only broke through to the Golden Core realm a year ago, yet judging from your aura, it looks like you're not far from another breakthrough?" Li Fan observed Xue Mu for a moment, asking in surprise.
Xue Mu nodded. "Your eyes are sharp, Fellow Daoist. It's rather strange, really. I haven't spent much effort on cultivation lately; most of my time has been spent traveling the nearby provinces and visiting wonders of heaven and earth. I wasn't deliberately pursuing a rise in cultivation, yet amid those magnificent rhythms of heaven and earth, my cultivation made great strides without me even realizing it.
"On the other hand, when I cultivate on my own, the results aren't as good as I imagined."
He rubbed his head sheepishly. "I don't really know what's going on either."
Suddenly, he paused, saying with some uncertainty, "Could it be that the influence of the Mortal Transcending to Soul Formation Wall hasn't faded yet?"
"It has such miraculous effects? What did you see on that screen wall?" Taken aback by the answer, Li Fan couldn't help asking.
As they spoke, they had already arrived outside the Cosmos Courtyard.
Stepping inside one after the other, they were not met with an endless series of formations this time, arriving directly in a small courtyard with pleasant scenery.
Finding no one inside, Li Fan and Xue Mu took seats and continued their earlier topic.
Chapter 346