"Fellow Daoist Li Fan, are you alright?"
Noticing that Li Fan's complexion had suddenly turned rather pale, Qi Buyi and the others inquired with concern.
Li Fan forced a faint smile. "Perhaps it is merely old age. I am not quite accustomed to such lively gatherings, and suddenly felt a bit unwell."
Gu Youguang felt somewhat contrite upon hearing this. "Had I known, I wouldn't have disturbed your rest, Fellow Daoist!"
Li Fan waved his hand slightly. "Brother Gu, think nothing of it. I will be fine once I return and rest for a while."
Xiang and Gu nodded repeatedly.
Before departing, Qi Buyi looked at Li Fan and suddenly asked, "Could you tell me... over the past few years, clearly knowing your lifespan was drawing to a close, how did you manage to maintain such an optimistic, fearless state of mind?"
Xiang Liu and Gu Youguang also cast curious glances toward him.
Li Fan paused his footsteps and said placidly, "Treat every day as your last, and do not fear death."
"That is all."
A peculiar gleam appeared in Qi Buyi's eyes, and she nodded slowly.
"Moving forward, before the Grand Competition concludes, I will arrange a slightly easier assignment for you—one that remains vital to the construction of the Spirit-Locking Formation."
"Consider it what you deserve."
After a moment, Qi Buyi spoke.
Not a trace of excitement showed on Li Fan's face. He merely said indifferently, "Then my thanks to Senior Qi."
He then bade farewell to everyone and returned to his rented courtyard at the Dao Discussion Tower.
Inside the quiet room, Li Fan sorted through the memories and experiences of his avatar that had abruptly reappeared in his mind.
At the same time, he recalled the countermeasures his true body had previously set in place.
Retrieving the blank jade slip from his storage ring, he found that the inscribed contents had indeed returned.
When his avatar, Xiao Fan, and Han Yi left the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters, they had decided to travel together to Yuandao Province.
At that time, Anchored Year 29 was approaching, and the incident of "Yuandao Province's Missing Decade" was imminent.
To test just how immense the influence of "It"—the entity coiled above Yuandao Province—truly was, Li Fan had inscribed this matter onto a jade slip using a cipher known only to himself.
For comparison, Li Fan had also carved the characters "Dao" and "Yuan" into two separate blank jade slips.
Just as Li Fan had anticipated.
Once time entered Anchored Year 29, Li Fan unknowingly lost all memory of Yuandao Province and everything related to it.
He had even forgotten the very existence of his avatar inside Yuandao Province.
It was not just his memories; the records in the jade slip had also become completely blank.
Only the two characters, "Yuan" and "Dao," carved separately, had remained intact.
"Cannot be recorded, cannot be remembered..." Li Fan's expression grew exceedingly solemn.
"Had I not forged an avatar, it would have been near impossible to detect any clue."
"Yet even so, fully aware that something amiss was taking place, I was still completely unable to recall anything regarding Yuandao Province."
"Until now, Anchored Year 39..."
"The vanished Yuandao Province has reappeared upon the earth."
"In fact, even though I now know what transpired with my avatar, the avatar itself remained entirely oblivious to it all..."
***
At the same time, in Yuandao Province.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao Fan, what is the matter?" Han Yi turned back to look at Xiao Fan, who had abruptly come to a halt, asking in some surprise.
At this moment, they were heading toward a Tiandu ruin.
Legend had it that in ancient times, Tiandu hung suspended high in the nine heavens, revered as the source of all Daoist arts and the foremost of all teachings.
Later, for unknown reasons, Tiandu fell to the earth, creating over a dozen ruins within the borders of present-day Yuandao Province.
Their destination on this trip was one of those ruins.
He had a premonition that a great opportunity might be waiting ahead.
Thinking of this, Han Yi glanced at Xiao Fan again.
*This person's fortune is obscure and difficult to decipher. According to the Heavenly Fortune Scripture, either his fortune is so overpowering that it exceeds what I can presently discern, or it is so feeble as to be virtually nonexistent.*
*He was able to obtain the Rebirth Longevity Fruit, which extends life by three hundred years, so it must certainly be the former. Perhaps on this journey, I can borrow his fortune for my own use.*
Han Yi thought to himself.
The *Heavenly Fortune Scripture* was the cultivation technique he practiced, created by an eccentric who observed the divine abilities of the ancient strange beast, the Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird.
It was also the reason why he had won the grand prize in fish picking and opened the Blue Feather Treasure Box to obtain the Tiandu Feathering Pill.
The *Heavenly Fortune Scripture* possessed many wondrous uses, but its core principle was the ability to control one's own fortune.
According to the scripture's teachings, a living being's fortune was not static; it constantly interacted with the outside world.
If one could not control one's fortune, it would be continuously whittled away in one instance of "good luck" after another.
By cultivating the *Heavenly Fortune Scripture*, one could normally rein in and store one's fortune, avoiding wasting it on unnecessary matters.
When a crucial moment arrived, all that accumulated fortune could be released in a single burst.
Thereby achieving a state where virtually whatever one wished for would come to pass.
Naturally, the side effects were unavoidable. Following such an eruption, a prolonged trough would inevitably follow.
During this period, one would suffer endless misfortune—to the point where even drinking cold water might get stuck between one's teeth.
The method to counter this was to find someone of immense fortune and stay by their side.
Borrowing fortune to dissolve misfortune.
Avatar Xiao Fan, however, had no way of knowing Han Yi's inner thoughts.
The instant the missing ten years were restored, the experiences shared from the true body during this period flooded into his mind.
Yet his physical senses had felt no passage of time whatsoever.
The sense of dislocation brought by this massive contradiction made the avatar feel thoroughly uncomfortable.
Still, he did not let it show before Han Yi.
Composed as ever, he flew up to catch up.
"It is nothing. I merely recalled a few past matters out of the blue." Having said that, the avatar looked up at the sky, his expression inscrutable.
"Oh? Fellow Daoist Xiao has been to Yuandao Province before?" Han Yi asked curiously.
"Heh, that was a very long time ago."
Engaged in casual banter, the two, each harboring their own secret motives, set off once more toward the Tiandu ruin.
***
Meanwhile, back with Li Fan's true body in Tianchen Province, after experiencing what the avatar had felt, he too fell deep in thought.
*Though "It" has temporarily vanished, its influence lingers. Reflected in the living beings of Yuandao Province, they are utterly unaware that ten years of their lives were swallowed whole.*
*Even after learning the established truth, the avatar could not perceive any abnormality on its own.*
*The power to distort cognition is formidable to such a degree.*
*That I was able to realize it so quickly does not mean I broke free of Its influence, but rather...*
*My cognition is grounded in my experience of having ten years swallowed during my twelfth life—not this current life.*
*Though Its power is mighty, it cannot pierce through time.*
At this thought, Li Fan exhaled a long breath of turbid air.
The slight shadow cast in his heart by "It" gradually dissipated.
*For now, it seems that as long as I erase the traces It left on me, there should be no major concern.*
Chapter 391