Who Severed the Immortal Path?

Before dawn, Ye Residence. The chubby Ye Feipeng was fast asleep, the corners of his mouth slightly curled upward as if he were dreaming of something delightful. He had no inkling that a dark silhouette had suddenly appeared at his bedside. With a gentle wave of the silhouette's hand, Ye Feipeng's head slumped aside, and he lost consciousness completely. Shaping his right hand into a claw, the shadowy figure rested it atop Ye Feipeng's head. A moment later, he slowly drew it back. A drop of blood so rich that it was red bordering on black hovered in his palm. Ye Feipeng, whose face had been ruddy and full of life, instantly withered as though struck by a grave illness. The drop of blood writhed like a living thing endowed with its own will, squirming continuously in his palm in an attempt to break free from the dark silhouette's grasp. Yet as the shadowy figure tightened his fingers, the space within which the essence blood could struggle grew smaller and smaller, until it was completely absorbed into his body. The figure stood motionless in the darkness for a long time. *Rip!* Two grotesque, bony wings suddenly tore through his back, spreading out from behind him. Wisps of flesh and blood coiled around the bone wings, hissing softly as they grew outward along the bone spurs, covering the stark white bone in the blink of an eye. The bony wings rapidly filled out. Yet beneath the moonlight, one could still clearly see the flesh writhing along the edges of the wings—a sight thoroughly sinister and demonic. "Kunpeng bloodline..." A low voice came from the dark silhouette. A moment later, he forcefully tore the wings from his back with his bare hands. There was no geyser of gushing blood. After squirming for a few moments at the wound, the active flesh and blood was expelled from his body by a pure, immense surge of vitality. In an instant, the dark figure was restored as if nothing had happened. "An ancient great demon certainly possesses remarkable tricks," he murmured with slight admiration as he looked at the severed wings, which were still twitching on the ground. This dark silhouette was naturally Li Fan. Upon arriving at the Great Li capital, the very first thing he did was extract some of the Kunpeng essence blood from Ye Feipeng's body. While storing most of the essence blood in his storage ring, he absorbed a small portion with his own physical body. This power was even more domineering than the exotic beast energy Li Fan had previously sensed from the Beast Soul Beads. If the energy of those exotic beasts could be described as an infection or grafting, then the power of the Kunpeng bloodline was outright consumption and complete assimilation. *No wonder in my previous life, Ye Feipeng's words, actions, and even thoughts became infinitely close to those of a true demon beast later on.* *That is the inevitable consequence of tapping into the power of the Kunpeng bloodline.* *However...* Li Fan smiled faintly. *Replicating it through the Creation Furnace Technique frees me from such concerns.* "Kun Devour, Peng Flight, Shocking Peng Transformation..." In a low whisper, Li Fan's silhouette warped and twisted continuously in the night, shifting now into a whale, now into a giant bird, now into a human body bearing wings of a peng. After a long while, Li Fan reverted to his original form. *The amount of Kunpeng essence blood used for comprehension was too small. For now, I have only grasped its form and cannot fully reproduce the Kunpeng's divine abilities.* *Still, it doesn't matter. I have a ready-made blood bank right here.* Li Fan looked down at Ye Feipeng, an amiably warm smile appearing on his face. Grabbing the chubby youth, he soared into the sky and vanished instantly into the night. The following day, utter turmoil broke out in the capital. Children had vanished without a trace from the estates of prominent nobles and officials such as the Su, Ye, and Han clans. The families joined forces and turned the capital upside down, yet they failed to find the slightest trace of the children. Panic spread, and rumors ran rampant. The affected families gathered in secret for discussion and concluded that aside from the legendary immortals, the only one capable of pulling this off was probably the Emperor of Great Li. Evidently, immortals would not stoop to such sneaking around. Thus, the only possibility was that the emperor had made a move. The nobles and high officials could not help recalling the various rumors they had heard before, and resentment inevitably festered in their hearts. And so, dark undercurrents surged through the capital. Yet Li Fan, the instigator behind it all, had long since departed the Li Realm. After returning to the Xuanhuang Realm, he did not pause for a second. He did not head to any region of the Xuanhuang Realm. Instead, passing through the Immortal Severing Passage, he returned to his homeland—Great Xuan. The Taiyan Boat sped forward riding the wind. Sixteen children, terrified and bewildered, huddled shivering in the cabin. Li Fan stood at the prow, gazing down at the lands below. Though also a complete pocket world, Great Xuan was more than ten times larger than the Li Realm. If even the Li Realm could produce cultivation talents like Su Xiaomei and Xiao Heng, there was no reason Great Xuan could not. His first stop was Hanguang City, the wealthiest city in Great Xuan. Sweeping his vast divine sense across the mortals below, Li Fan searched for suitable candidates. Before long, Li Fan furrowed his brows deeply. *What's this? Hardly any of their aptitudes are even better than mine was?* Shaking his head, he accelerated the Taiyan Boat toward the next city. The outcome disappointed Li Fan once more. Spending nearly half a month, Li Fan combed through almost the entire populace of Great Xuan. Yet those suitable for cultivation were shockingly few and far between. *It seems my own arduous path when embarking on the immortal journey back then might not have been a mere coincidence.* *Heaven... humanity...* Leaping high into the sky, Li Fan closed his eyes and sensed the aura of the Xuan Realm itself. *Human beings are the spirit of all things, endowed with the fortune of heaven and earth.* *Those favored by heaven and earth can attune themselves to it, cultivate in harmony with the Dao, and step onto the immortal path.* *That is how it ought to be.* *While the probability of being blessed by the providence of heaven and earth is infinitesimal, given Great Xuan's massive population base, theoretically there should be no small number of so-called geniuses.* *And yet...* Li Fan thought back to the pods of Realm-Rifting Whales lingering outside Great Xuan, striving to rip the entire Xuan Realm away from the Xuanhuang Realm completely. *Heaven and earth bestow no favor—who severed the path of immortality?* *Yet why is the Li Realm so unique?* Doubts welled in his mind. Li Fan could only sigh softly and temporarily set aside his original plan. He merely detoured near Mount Jieli to take away the two boys with extraordinary constitutions he had encountered back then. Then, he departed Great Xuan and returned to the cultivation world. "I knew it! There really are immortals in this world!" Sun Erlang paced back and forth, excitement written all over his face. Beside him, the burly, muscular Wang Xuanba wore a troubled frown, thoroughly uneasy. "Erlang, why do you think the immortal snatched us up? When can we go back? I miss home..." he whispered to Sun Erlang. "Have some ambition! If we don't master the ability to ride the clouds and mist, split mountains, and stride through the seas, how can you be willing to just go back like this?" Sun Erlang said in displeasure. Wang Xuanba opened his mouth to reply, only to see a figure abruptly materialize beside them. "Immortal Master!" Wang Xuanba jumped in fright and dropped to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly. "Immortal Master, please teach me cultivation!" Sun Erlang bowed deeply as well. Li Fan swept his gaze over the two without answering. He simply led them into the cabin where the sixteen children, including Su Changyu, were staying. They were all tiny children, spirited away by Li Fan without being able to say goodbye to their families. Lost in dread and helplessness, they were crying uncontrollably together. "Keep them quiet. Consider this your first test," Li Fan told Sun Erlang. "Remember: no laying a hand on anyone." With that, Li Fan vanished. Sun Erlang, who possessed martial prowess and prided himself on mastery of all weapons, found himself utterly stumped as he stared at the pack of snot-nosed brats before him.