“I have no interest in cultivating immortality.”
In Li Fan's memory, the expression Xiao Heng wore when saying those words seemed as vivid as yesterday.
How long had it even been? How had Xiao Heng already purged the miasma from his body and broken straight through to the Qi Condensation stage?
For a time, Li Fan was filled with shock and bewilderment.
Li Fan read through the letter Xiao Heng had sent several times, then went out to make inquiries around the area. Only then did he grudgingly accept this reality.
It turned out that although Li Fan had solemnly reassured him that day that the stowaway rumors on the island were aimed at Tianbao Pavilion, Xiao Heng had still remained anxious and restless after returning home, unable to sleep.
Whenever he closed his eyes, he seemed to see horrifying scenes of an immortal master descending from the sky to slaughter everyone from the Li Realm.
For days on end, Xiao Heng was plagued by this.
Reflecting on his agony, Xiao Heng finally made up his mind.
To sleep in peace—and even more so to become an immortal cultivator so he would no longer have to live in fear every day—he began diligently cultivating the Xuanhuang Mind-Clearing Incantation.
To his surprise, once Xiao Heng settled his mind, his cultivation progress advanced by leaps and bounds.
Paired with medicine, in less than a month he had completely purged the miasma from his body on his own.
Afterward, he even felt the spiritual energy of heaven and earth drifting and swirling around him with intimate affection, as if it were alive.
Deeply captivated by this sight, his mind became immersed in it.
He felt as though he had merely taken a wonderful nap, yet he had successfully drawn qi into his body.
At first, he was not entirely certain whether he had truly become a legendary immortal master.
Yet when he tried to be intimate with a maidservant in his household, only to be struck by a sudden wave of palpitations and instinctively strike her dead with a single palm, Xiao Heng was finally certain: he had become an immortal cultivator.
Immortals and mortals had to be parted forever.
Though he was already a cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage, Xiao Heng was completely at a loss as to what to do next.
So he sought an audience with the guardian immortal master of Liuli Island.
Unfortunately, He Zhenghao was presiding over the Purifying Spirit Pool formation at the time and could not get away.
Xiao Heng had no choice but to return home and wait patiently.
Only after Li Fan emerged from the spirit pool and He Zhenghao finally became free did Xiao Heng at last meet with him.
Hearing Xiao Heng's story, He Zhenghao conducted a careful inspection and confirmed that Xiao Heng was telling the truth.
He was overjoyed at first, but then slapped his thigh hard, looking full of regret.
After a moment, he pulled himself together and could hardly wait to take Xiao Heng to Wanxian Island.
Xiao Heng asked to say goodbye to his friends, and He Zhenghao naturally agreed.
After that, Xiao Heng bid farewell to everyone from the Li Realm one by one, before departing into the distance.
As for Li Fan, Xiao Heng had originally wanted to visit.
Yet he also knew Li Fan had set his heart on cultivation and had spent over three years just to achieve body purification.
Meanwhile, not long ago, he had told Li Fan to his face that he had no interest in cultivating immortality. Now, in the blink of an eye, he was a Qi Condensation cultivator!
Xiao Heng genuinely did not know how to face Li Fan, and fearing he might provoke or upset him, he merely left a letter and had someone deliver it.
Xiao Heng was deeply grateful for Li Fan's repeated assistance, writing that he would wait for him on Wanxian Island and repay him when they met again.
“That your younger brother stands where he does today is entirely thanks to Brother's protection.
“I now hear Brother has successfully purged the miasma, and you will surely break through to Qi Condensation before long.
“Your younger brother takes the step ahead, and will respectfully await Brother's honored arrival on Wanxian Island.
“On the day we reunite, if Brother has any request, I will not decline even should it cost ten thousand deaths.
“Heng bows with head to the ground once more.”
...
Li Fan set Xiao Heng's letter down and slowly let out a breath.
Was this what they called a peerless genius?
Without any assistance, he had stumbled his way right into the Qi Condensation stage on his own.
He could even feel the spiritual energy of heaven and earth treating him with fond intimacy...
Though he had long known that the aptitudes of cultivators varied wildly, and Li Fan also knew his own talent was nothing exceptional, having this kind of genius right by his side...
...was truly a bitter pill to swallow.
It seemed Xiao Heng's worries were not unfounded. If he had actually appeared before me right after I had only just managed to purge the miasma, my mindset really might have been thrown off balance.
Li Fan gave a bitter smile.
Yet it was only a slight imbalance of mindset.
Li Fan knew clearly that his true reliance had never been talent, but the countless chances to start over granted to him by True Reversion.
With True Reversion in hand, no matter what kind of genius crossed his path, he was confident he could crush them underfoot.
The process might simply take a bit longer, requiring scheming lifetime after lifetime.
With the Heart-Refining Incantation circulating, Li Fan's turbulent thoughts gradually calmed.
He opened the Five Spirits Qi-Sensing Method given by He Zhenghao and began to read through it slowly and thoroughly.
According to the book, in ancient times, there was the concept of spirit roots.
Back then, only mortals who possessed spirit roots could cultivate.
There were ordinary Five Elements spirit roots—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—as well as mutated elemental spirit roots like Lightning, Wind, and Darkness.
Those with a single spirit root cultivated rapidly in the early stages, and by specializing in cultivation methods matching their attribute, they could easily cultivate to great completion.
Those with multiple spirit roots cultivated more slowly, as they had to balance every attribute; they easily squandered their energy to little effect. Yet if an exceptional genius arose who could master every facet even with multiple spirit roots, their power would often far surpass single-spirit-root cultivators of the same realm.
However, that was all ancient history.
In ancient times, the cultivation world emphasized harmony between humanity and heaven.
A spirit root was a gift from heaven, and only the fortunate souls blessed by heaven could perceive the laws of heaven and earth and possess the qualification to attain the Dao and ascend to immortality.
Yet mortals under heaven were so countless, while those possessing spirit roots were only a rare few after all.
For the vast majority of people, cultivating immortality was nothing more than an unattainable dream.
How unfair was that?
Fortunate it was that in ancient times, an Immortal Venerable imparted the Dao!
The Five Spirits Qi-Sensing Method recorded that the Immortal Venerable had manifested a celestial form towering like heaven and earth, imparting the path to longevity before countless mortals who harbored no hope of achieving immortality.
The Immortal Venerable declared: “If I desire to become an immortal, why must I beg heaven? If heaven will not grant it, I shall seize it myself!
“Comply with heaven and remain mortal; defy heaven and become immortal!
“A mere mortal aspiring to longevity has no need to seek harmony between humanity and heaven; all that is required is to contest against heaven!”
Thus, the Immortal Venerable laid bare the core truth, expounding his Dao to all.
It was also the path of cultivation that the present cultivation world followed.
The path of immortality was:
Draw the spirit of heaven and earth to master its qi;
Borrow the wonders of heaven and earth to build the Dao Foundation;
Pry into the laws of heaven and earth to forge the Golden Core;
Plunder the essence of heaven and earth to form the Nascent Soul;
Extract the marrow of heaven and earth to attain the divine spirit;
Sacrifice the soul of heaven and earth to unite oneself with the Dao;
Defy the principles of heaven and earth to attain longevity!
...
With a soft clatter, the Five Spirits Qi-Sensing Method slipped from his fingers and dropped to the floor.
Li Fan picked it up with trembling hands, unable to conceal the shock in his heart.
The method of immortal cultivation in this world was entirely different from what he had imagined.
One might even say...
...it was rather horrifying.
No wonder he had felt an odd sensation ever since he first came into contact with this world's cultivators.
The Heavenly Dao of this world seemed to harbor a deep, latent malice toward cultivators.
Whether it was the law that immortal arts could not be practiced together, or the broadcast-like phenomenon where a dead cultivator lit up thousands of li of sky, or the bizarre immortal-mortal miasma within mortal bodies that inflicted such severe harm on cultivators—all of them hinted at this truth.
Now, as Li Fan came into true contact with the cultivation world, the mystery was finally unveiled.
“Defy the principles of heaven and earth to attain longevity!” Li Fan murmured slowly in a low voice, letting out a long breath.
Chapter 42