Judging from Li Fan's experiences across his past lives, any cultivator who attempted Dao Integration through the Crimson Flame during the Crimson Flame Burning Sea catastrophe ultimately met with certain death.
Mo Sha, possessed of the heaven-ordained destiny of world annihilation, was simply too terrifying.
A newly integrated cultivator had no power to resist before her whatsoever.
*Junior Brother Tianyang's actual combat prowess is probably inferior even to Zhang Zhiliang's in my last life. There's no point sending him to his death.*
*A puppet body differs from an ordinary mortal's flesh. Breaking through realms isn't the only way to boost its fighting capability.*
*The cost may be high, but once the Congyun Sea falls into ruin and I abscond with the funds, it will surely be enough for me.*
After a moment's contemplation, Li Fan ultimately abandoned the plan of having Tianyang risk Dao Integration, focusing instead on watching over him and acting as his protector.
Fifteen days later.
With all the resources inside the Guili Origin-Returning Array thoroughly depleted, Tianyang completed his final transformation.
His puppet body was rendered completely whole, and his cultivation stabilized at the Soul Formation perfection stage.
*When Junior Brother Tianyang fights, he relies almost entirely on brute force. I still need to find a way to temper him.*
Having finished his cultivation with nothing left to do, Tianyang stood up in silence and followed behind Li Fan.
Li Fan fetched the clothes he had prepared long ago from his storage ring and dressed him.
At the same time, he imparted the secret art Covering the Sky with One Hand to him.
"Junior Brother, from now on, you are to practice this secret art. Once you achieve mastery, you can accompany me in the field," Li Fan instructed.
Tianyang gave a dull nod and began to study it with utmost earnestness.
Possessing only vestigial instincts, the secret arts of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect were somewhat complex for him. Fortunately, with Li Fan's attentive guidance and Tianyang's single-minded focus, patient study would eventually see him master it.
While Tianyang was diligently improving himself at Li Fan's direction, Li Fan turned his attention toward Lingwu Island.
Taking time to make a trip to Lingwu Island, he soundlessly locked onto the island garrison with his Formless Killing Intent.
He then returned to the Heavenly Profound Mirror, quietly beginning to buy up Spirit Mist Grass while waiting patiently.
Soon came the day when the mutated dragon whale beast had assaulted Lingwu Island in his previous life.
Yet for some unknown reason, even as dusk settled and the sun dipped below the horizon, the dragon whale never showed itself.
A bad premonition instantly seized Li Fan's heart.
Matters unfolded just as he feared; another three days passed, and Lingwu Island remained entirely unscathed.
Li Fan was finally certain that arriving in the Xuanhuang Realm nearly a year early had inevitably introduced unforeseen variables.
Rather than acting rashly, Li Fan first thoroughly investigated the disappearance of that mutated dragon whale.
Such a beast—possessing strength comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, a nascent glimmer of sentience, and the ability to grow stronger through continuous devouring—should never have simply vanished into thin air without cause.
After searching for more than half a day, he turned up nothing.
Only by posting an anonymous bounty mission did Li Fan finally obtain an answer.
As it turned out, the mutated dragon whale had been slain not long ago by a Golden Core artifact refiner named Yue Zaisen.
Every valuable material across its entire body had been thoroughly stripped away by him.
The man even sent an inquiry asking whether Li Fan was looking for any specific part, offering to transfer it at a low price.
Li Fan feigned interest, asking a few questions and spending some money to purchase several segments of whale bone.
Once the transaction was complete, Li Fan struck up an idle chat, attempting to coax from him why his actions diverged from previous lives.
It was hardly any grand secret, and Yue Zaisen, completely unguarded, quickly let the information slip.
His spur-of-the-moment decision to scour the seabed of the Congyun Sea for materials had all been at the behest of his close friend, Mu Rong, who wanted him to forge a top-quality defensive magical artifact.
As for why Mu Rong, out of nowhere, had suddenly taken it into his head to prepare a defensive artifact, Yue Zaisen had not bothered to ask.
"Mu Rong..." Li Fan cut the communication, his expression shifting.
He was no stranger to that name.
They had even crossed paths.
The man was Chen Ying's assistant. In Li Fan's previous life, before Chen Ying departed for the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, she had left Mu Rong's contact details with Li Fan, telling him that if any issues arose, he could seek him out directly.
*Could it be that after seeing Chen Ying purchase so many life-preserving treasures, he developed a sense of impending crisis himself and took action accordingly?*
*Or perhaps Chen Ying said something to him...*
Li Fan felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.
In short, the dragon whale had not attacked Lingwu Island. If history were to be corrected back onto its intended trajectory, Li Fan would have to intervene personally.
*The risk is significant; it must be done without leaving a trace.* Li Fan did not rush into action, instead plotting meticulously in his mind.
*Disguise myself as a mutated beast and strike? Or borrow the strength of the Five Elders Association?*
*Both carry a high risk of exposure.*
*Perhaps I don't necessarily have to fixate on Spirit Mist Grass. Any herb or spirit plant that satisfies the conditions—a steady demand and growth restricted to specific regions—would suffice.*
*Let me search first to see if any similar alternatives exist.*
With a thought, Li Fan conducted a thorough search within the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
There were quite a few targets meeting the criteria. Li Fan applied further filters, focusing on those exhibiting abnormal price fluctuations recently.
Now, barely a handful of options remained.
Examining them one by one, Li Fan ultimately fixed his gaze upon a spiritual plant named Puxian True Leaf.
This herb had a fairly long growth cycle and was seldom used in everyday matters.
Its greatest utility lay in producing a kind of talisman called the Sagacious Truth-Discerning Talisman.
Back in the era before the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation came into existence, spies of the Five Elders Association had permeated every crevice.
The vast majority were like Zhou Qing'ang, mastering secret disguise arts capable of deceiving even the test of the White Jade Heart-Interrogation Platform.
Several centuries ago, when the Sagacious Truth-Discerning Talisman was first invented, it had rendered immense service, ferreting out countless spies of the Five Elders Association.
Consequently, an unspoken convention became established: before entering certain critical, confidential sites of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, one had to undergo verification by a Sagacious Truth-Discerning Talisman.
Later, the Five Elders Association learned from their mistakes and improved their spies' concealment methods, rendering the Sagacious Truth-Discerning Talisman largely obsolete.
Nonetheless, using the Sagacious Truth-Discerning Talisman had become ingrained as a habit.
Those from the Five Elders Association naturally would not publicly proclaim that the talismans had lost their efficacy, nor did anyone within the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals step forward to decree their decommissioning.
Moreover, a vested chain of interests had already formed behind the production and manufacturing of these talismans.
Driven by this combination of factors, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals still required a substantial quantity of Puxian True Leaves each year.
Yet for some unknown reason, the price of Puxian True Leaf, which had always remained steady, had recently begun an abnormal decline.
Li Fan frowned slightly.
He recalled that in his past life, the meteoric rise of Spirit Mist Grass had driven up the prices of other spiritual herbs across the market.
Puxian True Leaf, however, had been an exception.
Chapter 454