"What are you mumbling over there, kid? You've been standing like a statue forever. Are you coming in or not?" Leaning against the wall, Li Chenfeng glanced at Han Yi with an impatient look.
"Coming, I'm coming!" Han Yi, startled out of his muttering, reluctantly handed over a storage ring.
"Two thousand low-grade spirit stones—they're all inside," Han Yi said, visibly aching over the cost.
"Fine, follow me." Having witnessed tens of millions of contribution points, Li Chenfeng's horizons had broadened dramatically, and he now looked down on a mere thousand or so points.
Still, meat is meat, no matter how small the mosquito. Curling his lip, Li Chenfeng put the storage ring away.
He led Han Yi all the way to the "Foundation Establishment Master."
Seeing the master of transcendent poise lecturing ahead, Han Yi's face filled with excitement.
Not daring to interrupt, he carefully found a spot to sit and listened intently to the master's teachings.
Though much of it left him in a fog, he remained extremely earnest, terrified of missing a single word.
After a lengthy discourse, Han Yi closed his eyes, just like the other students, and began attempting Foundation Establishment.
The people on the island had no idea that the moment Han Yi set foot on the shore, a gaze had crossed more than half of the Congyun Sea to settle on him.
*Fellow Daoist Han, I have waited for you for quite some time.*
Using the Heaven and Earth perspective locked onto Li Chenfeng, Li Fan watched Han Yi sitting cross-legged with closed eyes with keen interest.
*"Saved up for so long?"*
*"Once I break through to Foundation Establishment, my fate will be in my own hands, not heaven's?"*
Li Fan carefully turned over the meaning of Han Yi's words.
Recalling his bizarre past-life display of alternating between heaven-defying luck and utter mediocrity, a bold conjecture could not help but surface in Li Fan's mind.
*Could it be that Han Yi can actually control his own fortune? And once he establishes his foundation, his mastery over luck will undergo a qualitative leap?*
In a flash, Li Fan thought of his avatar in the Fallen Immortal Realm and the divine ability of the Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird.
*How could they be so alike? Fascinating!*
Li Fan fixed his gaze on Han Yi. Through the Heaven and Earth perspective, he saw a dusky black feather slowly taking shape at Han Yi's dantian.
*This is...*
No matter how Li Fan looked at it, this feather bore an uncanny resemblance to the ones that had once grown on his own body.
*Even his Foundation Establishment wonder is like this. There's no doubt about it—this truly cannot be separated from the Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird.*
Li Fan's thoughts stirred.
If his prior guess was correct, the Empire's founder was Xu Ke, and that Saint Teacher was none other than the qingluan bird from back then.
Yet what had always puzzled Li Fan was that according to Li Chenfeng's memories, there was never any trace of the Profound Bird in the Empire.
Theoretically, the Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird had a far closer bond with Xu Ke.
It made no sense that a qingluan bird picked up halfway would stay by his side all along, while the Profound Bird—his companion spirit beast—simply vanished.
If he could uncover the origin of Han Yi's peculiar ability, he might learn where the Profound Bird had gone all those years ago.
...
Time slipped by, and just as the Feather of the Profound Bird within Han Yi's dantian was about to finish solidifying—
"Hahaha! I succeeded!"
Beside Han Yi, a cultivator suddenly leaped up and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Focused with eyes shut, Han Yi was inevitably disturbed, and the image of the black feather began to unravel again.
He frowned slightly.
Once he finally managed to calm his mind and try condensing his Dao Foundation once more, another person in the courtyard broke through to Foundation Establishment. With his aura surging, he let out a long howl.
"Only today do I know who I truly am! Thank you, Master!"
The man roared with laughter, bowed deeply to Zhu Shaotang, and then soared away in high spirits.
Han Yi's brow furrowed tightly as his Dao Foundation fractured a bit further.
"A decade of toil bears fruit this day; henceforth, though the realm is vast, Nangong Qian shall tread where he may!" A scholar-like cultivator shook his head, recited a verse, and drifted away into the distance.
At Han Yi's dantian, the image of the black Feather of the Profound Bird shattered completely.
"Will you all give it a rest?!"
Spitting a mouthful of blood, Han Yi flew into a rage. He sprang to his feet and looked around, only to realize in dazed bewilderment that he was the only student left in the courtyard.
The Foundation Establishment Master looked at him with pitying eyes and consoled, "Do not lose heart, young man. Though you failed this time, I can see you are not far from success.
"I am certain you will succeed on your next attempt."
Hearing this, Han Yi was overcome by agitation and spat out yet another mouthful of blood.
The Foundation Establishment Master kindly offered a pill. "The path of cultivation cannot be forced. I think you should go back, nurse your injuries, and take care of your body first.
"Next time you come, I will only charge you a thousand contribution points!"
Han Yi parted his lips, words caught in his throat.
Though his heart was brimming with indignation, he was helpless before this Foundation Establishment Master whose strength far surpassed his own.
Swallowing the pill with a vengeance, Han Yi stumbled as he flew away from Foundation Establishment Island.
*His luck really has hit rock bottom, this Han Yi.*
*It seems the time has not yet come for his fortune to turn heaven-defying.*
Li Fan's eyes flickered slightly. He quietly slipped out of Wanxian Island and headed straight toward Han Yi, who was locked under his Formless Killing Intent.
He had decided to use a soul searching technique directly to see what secrets this Han Yi was hiding.
After leaving the island, Han Yi seemed utterly crushed.
Devoid of purpose and direction, he flew aimlessly and at random.
By the time he came to his senses, he had already arrived over an unfamiliar expanse of ocean.
"Damn it, it was just a tiny hair away again!"
"Damn this heaven!"
With no one around, Han Yi vented freely, angrily shaking his fist at the sky.
Right then, a huge wave abruptly surged across the previously tranquil sea, as though something was rising from the depths of the ocean floor.
Han Yi stared at the surface with a strange expression.
Glancing left and right, he plunged into the water.
Descending continuously, he went deep toward the seabed.
He eventually discovered the source of the disturbance.
Amidst the seabed ruins, a massive hole had appeared for reasons unknown.
Countless gallons of seawater were being sucked into the hole, churning into a gigantic whirlpool.
Han Yi stared at the vortex, his expression shifting repeatedly.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he was about to dive straight into the swirling chasm.
Just then...
"Insect Binding!"
A faint, almost imperceptible sound seemed to drift past his ear.
Immediately after, Han Yi was horrified to find that he had entirely lost control of his body, unable to move a single muscle!
A dark, indiscernible silhouette slowly appeared behind him.
An aura of extreme danger radiated from the figure, chilling Han Yi to the core.
Just as the silhouette's hand was about to descend upon Han Yi's head, several streaks of golden light shot down rapidly from the surface above!
Their target was not Han Yi, but the silhouette standing before him!
The golden light carried formidable power, forcing the silhouette to dart aside to evade it.
"Master Li, we've had such a hard time tracking you down!"
Four black-robed cultivators, their forms likewise concealed, suddenly emerged and surrounded the two of them.
Chapter 473