At this moment, the Tianyang puppet was still acting purely on instinct.
Teaching him how to use the Guili Origin-Returning Array to temper and strengthen himself truly cost Li Fan a fair amount of effort.
Fortunately, Tianyang was completely obedient to Li Fan, his "senior brother."
No matter how clumsy the student, through continuous attempts, he still gradually learned.
Seeing Tianyang's movements grow increasingly adept, Li Fan felt a wave of gratification.
"If anyone comes to disturb you, Junior Brother, do not kill them. Capture and imprison them, and wait for me to return and deal with it."
"If you run into someone you can't beat, Junior Brother, don't try to act brave. Slip away quietly and meet up with me before we discuss what to do."
……
After giving Tianyang a few instructions, Li Fan flew out and sealed the cave abode.
"The highest combat power on the surface in the Congyun Sea is merely those few Soul Formation Immortal Lords."
"Now that I have Junior Brother Tianyang backing me up, there is far more I can do."
Overlooking the nameless island below, Li Fan smiled slightly. "From this day forth, you shall be named Shenhua Island."
"Once Tianyang completes his repairs, I can also have him help craft mechanism puppets."
"With no lack of materials, crafting puppets with Nascent Soul combat strength shouldn't be too difficult."
"Although mechanism puppets can't compare directly to real Nascent Soul cultivators, the advantage is that they don't fear attrition and can drown enemies in sheer numbers."
The more Li Fan thought about it, the happier he felt.
After a moment, his mood gradually settled, and he retrieved Tianyang's skeletal remains from his storage ring.
He still received the prompt that True Reversion could absorb it, but that sense of hunger was no longer present.
After some thought, Li Fan ultimately chose not to absorb it.
"Everything that could be obtained from Tianyang's lingering thought, I have already gotten in hand. Absorbing it again holds little meaning."
"Better to keep it; perhaps it will come in handy in the future."
The cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm definitely possessed methods to utilize Eternal Lingering Thoughts.
Yet even in his previous life, when he reached the authority rank of Yan Thirty, he had never found any relevant information.
Speaking of Eternal Lingering Thoughts, Li Fan couldn't help thinking of the skull of the first cultivator infected by the immortal-mortal miasma, which he had seen in his previous life.
"Perhaps it was precisely because an Eternal Lingering Thought adhered to it that it was displayed at the very center of the Museum of Divine Archives."
Pulling back his wandering thoughts.
Li Fan did not return to Wanxian Island, but instead quietly arrived outside Liuli Island.
Finding that giant liuli fish, Li Fan concealed his aura and descended to the sea floor.
He did not strike immediately, waiting for something instead.
Minute by minute passed, and when the exact juncture arrived where, in previous lives, Li Fan had returned to the cultivation world and used Formless Killing Intent to slay the giant liuli fish,
only then did Li Fan follow the same playbook, claiming the exquisite liuli pearl.
With an ample supply of Dao Comprehension Pills, the liuli pearl's usefulness had become dispensable.
Yet Li Fan had not slain the giant liuli fish for this item either.
Rather, it was to ensure that the raid on the Spirit Mist Grass island and the ensuing chain of events would still take place.
The reason he hadn't struck in Anchor Year 8 was precisely to avoid the repercussions caused by deviations in temporal milestones.
All things and phenomena in the world were perpetually in dynamic flux, interconnected with one another.
His entering the Xuanhuang Realm a year early was like a pebble tossed into a pond, rippling through countless affairs.
Li Fan could not guarantee that the experiences of his previous lives would remain unchanged in this life.
All he could do was reduce deviations as much as possible.
"The speculation scheme around Spirit Mist Grass is tied to the battle of Tianling Province, Immortal Venerable Jicheng's bounty, and the appearance of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation."
"Nothing can be allowed to go wrong."
"If worst comes to worst..."
In the blink of an eye, not a trace of bone or flesh remained of the giant liuli fish, with only wisps of blood floating upward.
A flash of fierce ruthlessness glinted in Li Fan's eyes.
Having done this, Li Fan made another trip and pocketed two stalks of blue-blood coral.
Although that tiny amount of contribution points was negligible to the current Li Fan, this mission would allow him to get acquainted with Chen Ying, a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Medicine Hall.
And this person would soon head to the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven.
As long as he monitored him with Formless Killing Intent, the moment the war in Tianling Province broke out, Li Fan would know immediately, thereby securing an opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
Returning to the Heavenly Profound Mirror, Li Fan submitted the mission.
At the same time, he inquired whether Chen Ying was refining the Heart-Severing Ice Intent Pill.
"Inferring the pill I wish to refine from just a single primary ingredient? Could it be Fellow Daoist is also adept in this Dao?"
Sure enough, his curiosity piqued, Chen Ying sent a reply inquiring.
"Heh heh, I know little of alchemy. I merely dabble in the arts of deduction and divination," Li Fan replied with a chuckle.
"I intend to explore the Fallen Immortal Realm, and faintly sensed that the pill you are refining might be of some help. Hence my inquiry."
Chen Ying exclaimed in wonder, "The art of deduction can actually be so wondrous and profound..."
"Wait, could you be that ancient Heavenly Mechanism Sect cultivator who woke from slumber?"
At that moment, seeing Li Fan's name, Chen Ying recalled something and asked in surprise.
"Heh heh, that is indeed this humble self. Merely an empty reputation, Fellow Daoist need not take it too seriously!" Li Fan said modestly.
Chen Ying, however, was thoroughly intrigued.
He insisted on meeting Li Fan in person,
and expressed willingness to give Li Fan some Heart-Severing Ice Intent Pills free of charge.
Feigning an inability to decline such hospitality, Li Fan had no choice but to agree.
The two arranged to meet on Wanxian Island at Chen Ying's residence.
It was well known that cultivators could purchase cave abodes to reside on Wanxian Island.
However, the prices were steep.
Among the Congyun Sea cultivators Li Fan had befriended across his past lives, not one lived so lavishly.
Even Zhang Zhiliang hadn't brought himself to purchase a residence to enjoy.
"It seems alchemy has far more financial promise than formations."
Thinking this, Li Fan arrived outside Chen Ying's cave abode.
Sensing Li Fan's arrival, a green door swung open with a rumble.
A residence that looked simple and compact from the outside turned out to be an entirely different world within.
It was as if stepping into a valley, where sprawling spirit fields grew many different kinds of herbs and spirit plants.
The concentration of spiritual energy in the valley wasn't particularly high, nor did Li Fan see anyone assigned to tend them.
Yet these spirit plants and herbs were all flourishing luxuriantly.
Li Fan guessed this was likely related to the layers of different-colored restrictions blanketing the spirit fields above.
"Aiya, Fellow Daoist Li Fan, you're finally here!" Chen Ying's hearty laughter carried over from afar.
Li Fan looked over and saw him emerge from a patch of crops taller than a person.
Paying no mind to his disheveled appearance, he flew straight toward Li Fan.
"Baxuan Grass... but the ordinary kind doesn't seem to grow this tall..."
"I've heard that while Chen Ying excels in alchemy, he is even more skilled in cultivating spirit plants. Seeing him today, his reputation is indeed well-deserved."
Li Fan's thoughts grew active.
"Fellow Daoist Chen Ying, long have I anticipated meeting you!" Cupping his hands, he greeted him warmly.
Suddenly, his expression changed, fixing an intense gaze on Chen Ying.
Chen Ying felt bewildered and touched his own face.
"What is it, Fellow Daoist Li Fan?"
Seeing Li Fan looking as though facing a formidable foe, he couldn't help asking.
"Observing Fellow Daoist's physiognomy, I fear a bloody disaster looms over you in the coming days!"
Li Fan shook his head, speaking in a grave tone.
Chapter 446