Driven by the habitual strength of the body he possessed, Li Fan gave Xu Ke a swipe of his claw.
Soon after, a flood of memories naturally surfaced in his mind.
Ever since he and Xu Ke returned to the Beast Taming Sect from Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain, they had learned that both Di Sanmo and Senior Brother Lu Ya had left on business and vanished without a trace.
The promised mission reward naturally went unpaid, so Xu Ke had been constantly muttering about it.
Of course, in Li Fan's view, this was mostly Xu Ke's simple longing for Senior Brother Lu Ya. After all, both had been orphans at Xuantian Temple in Ningyuan City and had entered the Beast Taming Sect together. To say that Xu Ke and Lu Ya were kin who depended on each other for survival was hardly an exaggeration.
Paying no heed to Xu Ke's chatter, Li Fan closed his eyes, concentrated his spirit, and began circulating the Creation Furnace Technique.
It was truly worthy of being a perfected technique modified by Mr. Bai. Ever since he began cultivating it, not only had his physical body grown even more formidable, but his essence, qi, and spirit also surged day by day; even if he went without sleep or rest all day, he felt no fatigue. More importantly, his Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird bloodline seemed to grow increasingly pure.
Li Fan's originally glossy black feathers now occasionally shimmered with iridescent light under the sun, appearing exceptionally magnificent.
Xu Ke could not help reaching out to stroke him from time to time, though Li Fan naturally swatted his hand away without mercy.
The boost in ability brought by the bloodline's strengthening was all-encompassing.
He wielded the divine ability "Destiny Is Mine" with ever-greater ease. While helping nourish Xu Ke's fortune, it also nourished his own body in return. Now, Li Fan had reached the first crucial stage from his inherited memories: he could form a "Destiny Domain" over a certain radius around himself, allowing him to pursue good fortune and avert disaster while also using destiny to ward off enemies.
One had to realize that among the Heavenly Destiny Profound Bird flock, this was usually something only adult birds over a century old could achieve.
Yet from the moment Li Fan hatched until now, not even five years had passed; he was a fledgeling through and through.
To break the natural growth laws of demon beasts was proof enough of the extraordinary power of Mr. Bai's Creation Furnace Technique.
"After returning from the Fallen Immortal Realm, aside from the rewards gained by fulfilling an obsession, other things like cultivation techniques will all be forgotten. I wonder if that will change under the enhancement of the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation," Li Fan mused inwardly, contemplating the profundities of the Furnace Technique.
Even if he could not bring it back to reality, the various insights gained during the process of cultivating this profound creation art brought Li Fan immense benefit.
Thus, even though the events of the Fallen Immortal Realm had not progressed for the moment, he was not in the least bit anxious, immersing himself in cultivation day after day.
Time slipped by. On this day, Li Fan, who was deeply absorbed in his cultivation, suddenly jolted awake.
A sudden tremor welled up in his heart, and he looked up toward the firmament.
Although the sky was still clear for ten thousand miles, Li Fan saw an overwhelming killing intent that had nearly condensed into substance, roiling like dark clouds across the entire sky.
It brought a suffocating, terrifying dread to the heart.
"This is..."
"Dharmas cannot be cultivated concurrently," Li Fan realized with sudden understanding.
Soon, cries of shock rang out one after another across the Beast Taming Sect.
"What is going on?!"
"Beast Taming Art—thirty-six thousand four hundred and eighty-two practitioners?!"
"No matter how I circulate my technique, I can't gain any cultivation at all?!"
"This is ridiculous!"
...
The tribulation that dharmas cannot be cultivated concurrently was virtually devastating to the Beast Taming Sect, whose members basically cultivated only the single Beast Taming Art.
Almost anyone could foresee what extreme measures so many cultivators would resort to in order to grasp a slim chance of survival once they were trapped in their current realms and running out of lifespan.
Thus, the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect fell into extreme panic. In an instant, they drew away from each other, eyes filled with suspicion as they looked upon fellow disciples who had been like loving siblings not long before.
Out of the reason and conscience they still retained, no cultivator had chosen to make a move yet.
Even though the Sect Master of the Beast Taming Sect and various elders came forward to soothe everyone, they still could not stop the terrifying atmosphere from brewing within the sect.
Gradually, some disciples could no longer bear this immense pressure and began quietly slipping away. Living under constant psychological torment, some disciples developed bloodshot eyes and grew somewhat hysterical.
It was like a powder keg, ready to be detonated at any moment by a stray spark flying from who knew where.
At this critical juncture, Di Sanmo and Lu Ya returned.
"Did you bring the item back?" Lu Ya asked upon seeing Xu Ke.
His expression was calm, without the slightest hint of panic.
Xu Ke nodded, retrieving a small, still-slumbering lump of flesh from the beast pouch in his robes.
It was precisely the strange beast gifted by Di Yi, capable of splitting on its own to produce offspring.
Seeing this, a rare flicker of delight appeared on Lu Ya's face. Solemnly taking the lump of flesh, he inspected it closely for a moment before breathing a sigh of relief.
"Senior Brother Lu, what is this little guy actually used for that makes you so tense?" Xu Ke asked curiously, knowing that Lu Ya rarely showed emotion, yet had acted so out of character this time.
"Heh, it is our hope for weathering the tribulation," Lu Ya said slowly, an enigmatic look flashing in his eyes.
"Just this thing?" Xu Ke's eyes went wide, his face full of disbelief.
"You will know in time." Lu Ya did not explain, hurrying off.
He left behind a completely bewildered Xu Ke and a thoughtful Li Fan.
Three days later, the Sect Master of the Beast Taming Sect convened a sect assembly and announced a series of plans in response to the tribulation that had descended upon heaven and earth.
First, to prevent mutual slaughter caused by dharmas cannot be cultivated concurrently, led by the Sect Master, all disciples were to temporarily disperse their Beast Taming Art, retaining only their personal cultivation bases.
Second, the entirety of the Beast Taming Sect would begin evacuating the Xuanhuang main world in batches, heading to designated grotto-heaven pocket worlds for refuge.
Because for Beast Taming Sect cultivators, the vast majority of their strength lay in the demon beasts they commanded. Even if they dispersed their cultivation techniques, their actual combat strength would not suffer a massive loss, being only slightly affected. The disciples had painstakingly nurtured their beasts from the moment of birth, and their bonds were already forged. Even without the Beast Taming Art, it would not prevent the disciples from commanding their tamed beasts.
Since this proposal could keep everyone from falling into mutual slaughter, virtually no one objected. The occasional reluctant disciple had no choice but to agree after the Sect Master led by example.
As for how one could disperse their technique without affecting their cultivation...
Li Fan watched as Xu Ke muttered incantations under his breath, dispersing his cultivation technique in an instant and transforming it into pure cultivation stored within his dantian.
"The Taishang Primordial Scripture?"
Incomparably familiar with this sight, Li Fan naturally recognized right away the method the Beast Taming Sect was using.
"They were only told how to circulate it, without any explanation of where it came from."
"What is going on? If I remember correctly, the event where the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable forcibly seized the Taishang Primordial Scripture shouldn't have occurred yet."
"Where did the Beast Taming Sect get this method?"
In an instant, a figure clad in white surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
"Could it be him?"
Chapter 652