[This simulation has ended.]
…
Regaining consciousness, Li Fan remained somewhat at a loss for words.
His last life had been the shortest he had ever experienced since awakening the samsara of True Reversion.
It had been forced to an end after merely nine years.
He had harbored grand ambitions and made all sorts of plans.
Who would have guessed that the moment he entered the cultivation world, he would be hunted down for no apparent reason?
Even more absurd was that his pursuer actually belonged to the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Unaware of the other party's identity, he had actually tried to flee to He Zhenghao on Liuli Island for shelter.
As a result, he ended up cornered by two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Having traveled thousands of li with a clear objective, his pursuer had come solely to execute Li Fan.
Li Fan did not believe that asking the man why he was chasing him would yield an honest answer.
And facing two Foundation Establishment cultivators, Li Fan had zero chance of survival.
Thus, he decisively chose to start over.
…
Why did someone from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals hunt him down?
And so soon after he had entered the cultivation world?
Li Fan furrowed his brows, sinking into deep contemplation.
If he did not resolve this issue, all his future plans would be nothing more than empty talk.
The Congyun Sea was currently still under the control of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, and his pursuer had clearly been able to lock onto his location through some method.
Where had the problem arisen?
Could it be because he had brought Qian Hong's remains back to the cultivation world?
Or perhaps…
Li Fan examined and eliminated the items in his possession one by one.
Finally, he locked onto a target.
The Lesser Water Derivation Technique.
The more Li Fan pondered it, the more he realized this technique was the most suspicious.
After all, he currently had virtually no connection to the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Only this cultivation technique had been inherited from the alliance in his previous life.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes and weighed the matter carefully, a vague answer already forming in his mind.
"The alliance must maintain constant surveillance over the Lesser Water Derivation Technique, and indeed over every other technique as well. If they suddenly discover that a technique hasn't been exchanged by anyone, yet the number of its practitioners has increased by one, they will know it has been leaked."
"Regardless of how it leaked, the alliance would inevitably reclaim the technique. And as for the method of reclamation, it is naturally to simply kill the perpetrator."
"Why were they able to directly lock onto my location…?"
"Those who cultivate the exact same technique can form a mental resonance, sensing each other's whereabouts."
"For a mere Qi Condensation technique, they actually dispatched a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Judging by his tone when speaking to He Zhenghao, his cultivation is likely higher than He Zhenghao's. He is at least mid Foundation Establishment, and late Foundation Establishment isn't impossible either."
He could almost picture a scene in his mind.
Within the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, information on tens of thousands of cultivation techniques was arranged in sequence, dense and packed like a towering wall.
And before that wall, a pair of eyes watched with unwavering intensity.
Taking in every subtle fluctuation among these techniques.
If the count for a technique that had practitioners suddenly dropped to zero;
Or if a technique that had no practitioners suddenly gained one without being exchanged;
The owner of those eyes would make arrangements in a calm, unhurried manner.
"Protector… protector…"
"What a protector!"
Li Fan clapped in praise.
Looking at the options still floating before his eyes, Li Fan calmed his emotions and chose to retain his cultivation realm from his previous life.
In an instant, he returned to the Qi Condensation stage.
Without the slightest hesitation, Li Fan then circulated the Taishang Primordial Scripture, dissolving his late Qi Condensation cultivation from the Lesser Water Derivation Technique.
After that, he proceeded just as he had done in his previous life.
In the ninth year of the anchor, Li Fan reentered the cultivation world.
Passing through the Immortal Severing Formation, Li Fan waited in place for a long time.
Sure enough, his deduction was correct.
Without cultivating the Lesser Water Derivation Technique, he did not attract the pursuit of the alliance's protector.
Only then did Li Fan set off at an unhurried pace toward Liuli Island.
As he flew over the waters near Liuli Island, a certain image from his memory suddenly flashed across Li Fan's mind.
He immediately came to a halt and looked downward.
His gaze pierced through the barrier of the sea and reached into the oceanic depths.
Down there, schools of liuli fish dragged along corpses of mortals who had met misfortune across the ocean for various reasons, offering them up as tribute to an enormous golden liuli fish.
This golden liuli fish swayed its bloated body, gulping down the human corpses gathered by its subordinates one by one.
After chewing and spitting out bone fragments, it even wore an expression of slight dissatisfaction.
Staring with its massive eyes, it looked greedily toward the sea surface.
It seemed as though more, fresher mortals awaited up there.
…
Watching this scene, Li Fan let out a cold snort.
The Formless Killing Intent stirred at his command.
…
Deep beneath the sea, the liuli fish that had been clustering around their chieftain and attentively presenting food all froze in an instant.
The golden liuli fish grew displeased and was just about to discipline its lackeys when it suddenly realized that the schools of liuli fish around it had become abnormal.
Their eyes glowed with red light, and they stared in unison at the giant golden liuli fish.
Sensing danger, the golden liuli fish tried to flee.
But it was too late.
Countless liuli fish swarmed it in a frenzy, encircling it completely.
The golden liuli fish's form vanished amid the swarm.
Streams of golden blood slowly drifted to the surface of the sea.
…
Li Fan held a liuli pearl the size of a pigeon egg in his hand, examining it closely.
"Pity it's not a wonder of heaven and earth."
"Still, merely carrying it on one's person produces an effect similar to ingesting a liuli pill. This item is quite extraordinary in its own right."
Li Fan stowed it away with satisfaction and continued flying toward Liuli Island.
As he drew close to Liuli Island, Li Fan paused in midair and released his spiritual energy outward.
After only a brief moment, a voice called out from afar: "Which Fellow Daoist has come to my Liuli Island?"
Emerging alongside the voice was He Zhenghao's figure.
He Zhenghao possessed a Foundation Establishment cultivation, yet facing a late Qi Condensation cultivator who had arrived unannounced, he showed no arrogance, addressing him as Fellow Daoist just the same.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist He!" Li Fan cupped his hands.
"This humble one is Li Fan, an itinerant cultivator of the Congyun Sea. Cultivating to the late Qi Condensation stage has already been fraught with endless hardship, and I know full well that as an itinerant cultivator, Foundation Establishment is hopeless for me."
"Therefore, I wish to join the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals to seek a Foundation Establishment cultivation technique."
Li Fan paused, then added, "I have long heard of your reputation for being public-spirited and charitable, Fellow Daoist, which is why I have come to pay my respects."
"I hope you might introduce me. If this succeeds, Fan will certainly repay the favor!"
Hearing that Li Fan wanted to join the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, He Zhenghao was already somewhat stunned.
He had never expected that a pie falling from the sky would one day land right in his lap.
When Li Fan added that he would certainly repay the favor in the future, He Zhenghao grew even more overjoyed. "Aiya, what are you saying, Fellow Daoist? We cultivators all know that the path of cultivation is not easy; where we can help, we should. Rest assured, the matter of you joining the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals is fully on me!"
Li Fan smiled faintly. "Your reputation as the Timely Rain truly precedes you, Fellow Daoist. This one is full of admiration."
He Zhenghao was just about to explain that he had no such moniker as "Timely Rain," but on second thought, he felt the name was exceedingly fitting.
If it were to spread, it would be of immense benefit to his practice of the Mountain-Sitting Formula, so he did not deny it.
The two exchanged a knowing smile.
Chapter 63