With every inch forward, the pulling force exerted on his fortune grew stronger.
The world fortune stored within the Feather of the Profound Bird gushed out madly like water through an opened sluice gate, causing Li Fan's expression to shift slightly.
The terrifying fortune-draining capacity of this Han Yi stone statue exceeded even his imagination.
An ordinary cultivator would likely have had every scrap of fortune sucked dry in an instant—stricken by misfortune and dropping dead on the spot!
Even someone blessed with immense fortune like Xu Ke would probably not hold out for long.
And yet...
While a single individual's fortune could indeed not endure inside this fortune-draining domain for long, the fortune of an entire world was an entirely different matter.
After all, there was an upper limit to the speed at which this statue absorbed fortune. Even though Li Fan had flown at full speed and arrived right beside the statue, the fortune lost each moment was nothing more than a drop in the bucket compared to the vast reserves within the Feather of the Profound Bird.
Li Fan estimated that even if he stayed right here and let the statue drink its fill, it would take half a day for the reserve to be completely drained!
"As the saying goes, divine abilities cannot overcome the mandate of heaven!"
Drawing upon the world fortune in the Feather of the Profound Bird once more to form a protective domain around his body and ensure his absolute safety, Li Fan finally took a quiet, measured look at the Han Yi stone statue before him.
Its face was locked in terror, its eyes filled with despair, lifelike to the extreme.
Time seemed to have frozen across his body, paused forever at the instant he suffered the fatal strike.
"Han Yi must have ended up like this after encountering Yufu. Is this Yufu's handiwork, or the effect of the Heavenly Fortune Scripture?"
Rather than acting rashly, Li Fan observed closely.
"Seemingly alive, yet not alive; dead, yet not dead..."
"How bizarre!"
Through the Cloud Water Illusory Dream Technique, Li Fan had previously acquired a general understanding of the *Heavenly Fortune Scripture*. However, it did not seem to involve any technique capable of producing such an eerie transformation.
If there was anything remotely similar, it would be a divine ability known as Severing Fortune to Return to the Pivot.
When faced with a crisis of life and death, one could sever their own fortune. That meant severing all ties to the world and entering the State of Returning to the Pivot, a state of empty selflessness.
In this state, although one's physical body and thoughts were completely frozen, they were akin to escaping into the void, drifting outside the world where no one else could detect them.
The State of Returning to the Pivot would last anywhere from several months to several years, only gradually returning to normal once the external danger had completely passed.
It could be considered an exceptional life-saving art, albeit with severe side effects.
"Perhaps it was the interaction between Yufu's attack and Severing Fortune to Return to the Pivot that led to the creation of this stone statue,"
Li Fan mused with sudden realization after studying it for a long while.
"Han Yi used this life-saving ability, but the difference in power between him and Yufu was simply too vast. Before he could fully enter the Pivot state, he was struck by Yufu's technique.
"Hmm...
"Yufu likely bore no killing intent toward Han Yi, merely seeking clues about the Heaven Fiend Sword from his mind. Even so, it was far more than Han Yi could withstand. Caught in the fallout, he was turned into this stone statue.
"Severing fortune originally meant returning one's fortune to heaven—abandoning fortune. Yet now, it has turned into drawing fortune from the outside world.
"Is this because of Yufu's attack...?"
Thoughts raced through Li Fan's mind, his expression solemn.
A moment later, Li Fan pulled his thoughts back and looked at Han Yi with an icy gaze.
"If it were merely the pure State of Returning to the Pivot, there would come a day you would wake up. But with Yufu's interference, in your current state, you will never return to normal in this lifetime.
"Living like this is worse than death. Allow me to grant you release."
With that, Li Fan pointed from across the air, casting the Purple Empyrean Soul Observation Technique upon Han Yi.
At this moment, Han Yi's thoughts were in absolute stasis. Consequently, Li Fan traversed Han Yi's mind without the slightest hindrance. Every secret—even the darkest corners of Han Yi's heart—was laid completely bare before him.
It could be said that at this moment, Li Fan understood Han Yi even better than Han Yi understood himself.
After plundering every single thought from Han Yi's mind, Li Fan flicked his finger and unleashed a ray of pitch-black sword light.
It flashed through the stone statue's chest.
In an instant, the statue dissolved into countless tiny particles, dissipating into the world.
At the same time, the fortune-draining domain that had shrouded the area vanished without a trace.
Not only did no phenomenon of a cultivator's demise appear in the sky above, but an invisible tempest erupted where the statue had stood. The fortune Han Yi had absorbed during this period returned to heaven and earth with his disappearance.
Naturally, Li Fan was not about to let such a rare opportunity slip away. Utilizing the Feather of the Profound Bird, he whale-devoured all the stray, masterless fortune before it could fully disperse. Then, before anyone could notice the disturbance, he quietly slipped away.
Returning to the Valley of Longevity, he did not disturb Liu San and the others, who were still hard at work.
Li Fan entered the sect master's private cultivation chamber and set down the brown jade bottle containing Xu Ke's essence blood alongside the materials for crafting an avatar.
Just as he was about to begin, an indistinct sense of unease welled up from the depths of his mind.
*I am currently in the early Nascent Soul realm, so the avatar I craft will be capped at peak Golden Core. I intend to have the avatar cultivate Han Yi's Heavenly Fortune Scripture, but if I craft the avatar first and then have it cultivate to break through on its own...*
*The bottleneck of the Heavenly Calamity might end up even more stubborn for it than for my true body, only wasting time for nothing. It would be better for my true body to cultivate first and break through to the mid Nascent Soul realm. That way, I will achieve twice the result with half the effort.*
Pondering this, Li Fan put the materials away for now and stepped out into the sky of the Beast Seed Realm.
"I achieved the Nascent Soul realm through the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens. To break through rapidly, my best path is to comprehend the principles of the five elements on a massive scale.
"In the Xuanhuang Realm, I might have had to expend great effort searching for them. But in this Beast Seed Realm...
"The workings of heaven and earth, the circulation of the five elements—all are subject to a single thought of mine!
"Though this pocket world is a tier lower in energy, and Xiao Hei's example serves as a warning not to become too entangled with it, it is more than enough to help me quickly reach the mid Nascent Soul realm."
Li Fan closed his eyes. An instant later, an inverted funnel seemed to manifest across the firmament. The power of the five elements sustaining the Beast Seed Realm was slowly drawn in and absorbed into it. The forces of the five elements collided against one another, sending out thunderous roars from time to time. The sky grew resplendent with dazzling colors, presenting a magnificent spectacle.
Liu San and Fang Zaiji looked up, catching a glimpse of Li Fan standing quietly above the clouds, and nodded slightly.
"When the young master cultivates, his momentum is truly extraordinary. He possesses quite a bit of the old master's former presence!" Liu San remarked with a touch of gratification.
"Heh, as I see it, Liu Ruchen wasn't a patch on him!" Fang Zaiji said, giving Liu San no face at all as he took the contrary view.
Liu San's face stiffened, but unusually, he did not argue back.
"The student surpassing the master is a good thing. Otherwise, wouldn't our Medicine King Sect repeat its past mistakes?"
"It is a good thing!" Liu San repeated.
Ordering the disciples not to disturb Li Fan's cultivation, the two joined hands to lay down a protective ward around Li Fan before finally putting their minds at ease.
Time flowed on, and Li Fan remained completely immersed in his cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, two years slipped by.
Chapter 670