Seeing this, Li Fan merely smiled and offered no further explanation.
Huangfu Song had no intention of letting him off so easily, even though they had barely interacted previously. Yet that did not stop him from acting as if they were old friends, chattering on warmly about this and that as he tried to curry favor.
"Senior Huangfu, do you often have the chance to see Chief Lu?"
Li Fan had been responding half-heartedly, but seeing Huangfu Song rambling on endlessly, he could not help cutting in with a question.
Huangfu Song was taken aback. He answered somewhat awkwardly, "With Chief Lu's status..."
Before he could finish, Li Fan remarked pointedly, "In that case, a heaven-sent opportunity lies right before your eyes. Why hasn't Senior Huangfu seized this chance to perform well and make a good impression?"
Huangfu Song blinked, then snapped to awareness as if waking from a dream. Overjoyed, he exclaimed, "Young friend, you speak true! If I am fortunate enough to catch Chief Lu's eye, meteoric success will be right at hand!"
"Heh, it does no harm to say that before me. But in front of outsiders, you had better exercise caution," Li Fan cautioned once more.
"Understood, understood." Huangfu Song nodded repeatedly.
With that, he hurried off in search of "opportunities to perform."
Only then did Li Fan finally get some peace and quiet.
His ability to learn Chief Lu's itinerary in advance had naturally come from Lu Xuejing secretly tipping him off. Yet it went no further than that. He had not demanded that she do anything more.
It was not out of any sudden burst of benevolence on Li Fan's part, but because he was acutely aware that before a supreme expert of the realm like Chief Lu, the slightest abnormality could be detected. While Yufu's methods were indeed profound, whether they could truly evade detection by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' top powerhouse remained unknown.
When his own safety was at stake, Li Fan naturally had to be cautious to the extreme.
As for scheming or plotting, that was completely out of the question. With mere Golden Core cultivation, attempting to plot against a Dao Integration Immortal Venerable was nothing short of courting death. Li Fan would naturally never be foolish enough to go that far.
All he had done was create an opportunity for a "chance encounter" with Chief Lu. As for what would happen after meeting her, it was just as Li Fan had previously thought: success or failure rested entirely in the hands of fate.
...
Ever since Dongfang received word that Chief Lu would be arriving for an inspection, the working atmosphere throughout the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine underwent an abrupt shift.
From top to bottom, not a single idle person could be seen. Every cultivator hurried about with solemn expressions. Dongfang himself inspected the completed sections of the formation again and again, terrified that some oversight might occur.
The heavy, battle-ready atmosphere made the cultivators who had accompanied Huangfu Song as guests restless. Coupled with the sight of the customarily indolent Huangfu Song bustling about for once, none of them were fools; they immediately guessed that a prominent figure was coming to inspect. Consequently, they volunteered one after another to lend a hand.
Having gained a cohort of elite helpers for nothing, the gaunt man named Dongfang naturally would not refuse.
Within the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine, without special countermeasures, even cultivators could barely take a step. To this end, Dongfang urgently requisitioned a batch of Life-Bearing Beads so that Li Fan and the others could move freely.
"These were collected by Senior Dongfang Yao to be distributed to you all," said a delicate-featured boy of seven or eight in a black-and-white Daoist robe. He drew a white jade bottle from his robes, retrieved multi-colored, nebulous spheres from it, and handed them out to everyone.
"Swallow it down and seat it in your dantian. Then you will once again perceive the flow of spiritual energy." Though the boy appeared very young, he explained the usage and precautions for the Life-Bearing Beads with considerable poise.
Li Fan held the seven-colored Life-Bearing Bead in his hand, observing it for a moment without discerning anything unusual. He swallowed it in a single gulp.
As the Life-Bearing Bead entered his stomach, rays of variegated light surged from it, spreading throughout his body. Like a medicinal guide, it stirred the stagnant spiritual energy within him. The spiritual energy that had been suppressed by the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine instantly regained vitality. Though it was still a far cry from its full potential in the outside world, it was barely enough to support the demands of daily work.
"Rather than having lifted the suppression, it's more like a catalyst that boosts the reactivity of spiritual energy," Li Fan mused, sensing the foreign spiritual energy mixed with variegated colors within him. "Thereby partially offsetting the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine's deadening effect. If that's the case, if one were to ingest this Life-Bearing Bead in ordinary regions outside, wouldn't it..."
While he was pondering, he heard the boy before him continue, "The effects of the Life-Bearing Bead last thirty days. Everyone, you must be mindful of its expiration. There have been cultivators who grew so engrossed in their work that they forgot the duration. When the effect expired, their spiritual power vanished completely, and they plummeted from the sky and fell to their deaths. If you do not wish to use it anymore midway through, you can circulate your spiritual energy to spit out the remaining Life-Bearing Bead."
Hearing this, the cultivators nodded one after another.
"Oh, and one more thing. Before leaving this Spirit-Dissolving Ravine, you must either wait until the bead's effects have completely faded or spit it out directly. Under no circumstances forget this, or you run the risk of your spiritual energy bursting your body. Of course, if your physique is as formidable as Senior Dongfang Yao's and you fear no violent riot of spiritual energy, then pretend I said nothing."
Having covered every detail and said everything that needed saying, the boy bowed to everyone, then transformed before their eyes into a one-legged white bird and fluttered away.
With the help of the Life-Bearing Beads, the reinvigorated crowd immediately threw themselves into supporting the construction of the formation. Skilled and familiar with the work, they soon blended into the rhythm of the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine.
And so, a day passed.
As Li Fan was calibrating a formation unit, he suddenly sensed something. Halting his work, he looked up.
A streak of rainbow light vaulted across the sky, slashing through the deep red of the Ten-Thousand-Li Flame-Scorched Shoal as it headed straight for the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine below.
The placid teal river seemed to sense something; waves surged without wind, churning ceaselessly. The suppressive force rose sharply to another level. Caught off guard, the cultivators—who had relied on the Life-Bearing Beads just to move freely—stumbled as their spiritual power was thrown off balance, nearly plunging from the air.
Right then, Li Fan saw countless transparent patterns emanate from the rainbow light, expanding outward like a colossal screen that veiled the heavens, enveloping the entire Spirit-Dissolving Ravine in an instant.
"A formation?"
Li Fan looked up, eyes glinting.
The patterns shimmered, and a grand formation took shape in a breath. The churning teal river seemed heavily suppressed; not only did it immediately calm down, but the water level visibly sank slightly. The cultivators within the formation all felt their bodies and minds relax. The suppressive effects of the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine seemed to vanish in an instant.
Flanked by more than ten black-robed cultivators, Lu Xichan, clad in pure white, trod upon the rainbow light and descended before the crowd.
"Greetings, Chief!"
Dongfang Yao and Huangfu Song hurriedly flew forward and bowed respectfully.
Lu Xichan swept her gaze over the two of them, her countenance stern and cold.
"Let's go. Take me to see the progress of the formation's construction."
Chapter 375