The Blue Flame phantom spirit left behind a sliver of power inside Su Xiaomei's body to help suppress the fury within her.
Then, it returned to Li Fan's sea of consciousness.
Even in that brief span of time, Li Fan already felt a wave of exhaustion.
His Nether Spirit Illusion Art had not yet reached the late Qi Condensation stage, and the newly born phantom spirit was still rather frail.
Furthermore, he had to concentrate his focus and carefully regulate the intensity of the spirit's output so as not to harm Su Xiaomei's tender young body.
Even for Li Fan, this was no easy task.
Fortunately, the danger passed without incident.
This intervention would keep her safe and sound for the next ten years.
If Li Fan could emerge unscathed from the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace ruins in this lifetime and obtain the Cloud Water Chart and Talismans, he would naturally return for her ahead of time.
If misfortune befell him, she could still journey to the cultivation world ten years later alongside Su Changyu and the others.
After recovering his mental energy, Li Fan walked out of the basement.
The Great Li dignitaries were all still waiting outside.
Informing them that Su Xiaomei had been healed, Li Fan dismissed them to go their separate ways.
He kept only Scholar Su behind to inquire about Su Xiaomei's circumstances.
Scholar Su flushed red. After hesitating for a long while, he stammered out the whole story.
As it turned out, Su Xiaomei was not Scholar Su's daughter, but the daughter of his younger sister, Su Yuqing.
Su Yuqing was much younger than Scholar Su; when she became pregnant with Su Xiaomei the previous year, she was only sixteen years old.
Her inexplicable pregnancy had stirred up a massive uproar in the Su household.
For she had not even been married at the time!
Pregnancy out of wedlock was already an outright scandal. What incensed Master Su even more was that Su Yuqing refused to name the child's father no matter what.
She insisted that she had never done anything improper. She claimed that while strolling in the garden one day, she had suddenly grown weary and taken a brief nap.
Shortly after waking, she noticed something unusual about her body.
Yet as an unmarried young maiden, how could she bring herself to mention such a thing to anyone?
Only when her belly grew day by day could the secret no longer be hidden.
Naturally, the Su family did not believe such a ridiculous explanation.
Enraged, Master Su wanted to abort the child.
Yet feeling the heartbeat of the unborn infant within her womb, Su Yuqing displayed the fierce resolve of a mother.
She refused to abort the pregnancy under any circumstances, even threatening to take her own life.
Though Master Su fumed with boundless fury, he could not bring himself to actually kill his own daughter.
He had no choice but to lock Su Yuqing in her quarters, forbidding her from stepping outside lest word leak out.
And so she remained until the day of labor finally arrived.
After a grueling ordeal, Su Xiaomei was brought into the world.
Su Yuqing's constitution had already been delicate, and she had received little care during her pregnancy.
After such an agonizing ordeal, her body could endure no more.
Thus, only a few days after giving birth to Su Xiaomei, she passed away full of regret.
On her deathbed, she bitterly pleaded with the family to take good care of Su Xiaomei.
The people of the Su family were not heartless.
After Su Yuqing's passing, the whole family doted on the little girl who had lost both parents from birth, wishing only for her to grow up safe, sound, and happy.
Who could have anticipated that not long after her birth, Su Xiaomei would fall stricken with a bizarre affliction?
Her entire body burned with heat, to the point where only constant ice compresses could bring any relief.
The Su family consulted every renowned physician in the capital, yet none could cure her.
Until Li Fan arrived.
...
After hearing Scholar Su's account, Li Fan looked up at the sky of this world, lost in thought.
"Conceived through heavenly mandate? Perhaps that explains why Su Xiaomei's talent is so extraordinary.
"Still, according to the original trajectory of history, even with her heaven-sent genius, she would not have escaped death in the face of calamity.
"In the vast cultivation world, how many people possessed such staggering talent like Su Xiaomei, only to perish in obscurity just like ordinary mortals?
"From this perspective, the Heavenly Dao truly treats all things as equals."
With matters concluded here, Li Fan let out a long sigh, summoned the Taiyan Boat, and sped away.
Before long, he safely and smoothly returned to Liuli Island.
Just as He Zhenghao had predicted, the trip had taken around twenty-five days in total.
And even now, the Form-Concealing Talisman he had activated earlier remained effective.
"As long as one avoids fighting, a single Form-Concealing Talisman can actually last this long. Truly a bargain of great quality. In a bit, once I'm back on the island, perhaps I should buy a few as spares," Li Fan thought.
Inside the Mountains and Rivers Starry Array, Li Fan handed the storage ring to He Zhenghao.
He Zhenghao seemed preoccupied, merely giving the storage ring a casual glance before putting it away.
His attention was fixed entirely on an archaic mirror surface before him.
In appearance, it bore a resemblance to the Heavenly Mysterious Mirror.
Li Fan followed He Zhenghao's gaze and saw a line of small characters displayed on the mirror:
"Spirit Mist Grass: Current price 15 contribution points per stalk."
The number 15 fluctuated continuously, rising to 16 one moment, then dipping quickly to 14 the next.
"Rise! Come on, rise!" He Zhenghao stared unblinkingly at the mirror like a man possessed, muttering under his breath over and over.
"Fellow Daoist He, what are you doing?" Li Fan asked curiously.
"Alas, Fellow Daoist, you don't know the half of it," He Zhenghao said gloomily with a sigh, never shifting his gaze.
"A few days ago, not long after you left, I got reliable intel. The island where Spirit Mist Grass is cultivated was attacked by exotic sea beasts, and most of the Spirit Mist Grass on the island was destroyed.
"As I told you before, Spirit Mist Grass is the main raw material for crafting Form-Concealing Talismans and is already exceedingly rare. With so much of it destroyed, the price was bound to skyrocket.
"At that time, the news hadn't spread yet, so I wanted to seize the chance to make a fortune. I went all in through the Heavenly Mysterious Mirror and hoarded a massive stockpile of Spirit Mist Grass..."
The scheme sounded faintly familiar. Li Fan looked He Zhenghao up and down, puzzled. "Isn't that a good thing? Why do you look so downcast, Fellow Daoist?"
"Alas, a good thing indeed, but I celebrated far too early," He Zhenghao sighed repeatedly, eyes glued to the mirror.
"In the beginning, the price of Spirit Mist Grass did tick up a bit, rising from 20 points per stalk to 25. But who could have foreseen that before I could even sell the stalks in my hands, the price suddenly cratered?
"It plummeted all the way from 25 points down to 13—practically cut in half!" He Zhenghao said, heart bleeding.
"Fortunately, the price rebounded recently, crawling back up to around 15."
...
Listening to He Zhenghao's tale, Li Fan couldn't help saying, "Then shouldn't Fellow Daoist take this chance to sell off your Spirit Mist Grass? At least you could recover some of your capital."
He Zhenghao shook his head emphatically. "How could I do that?! Nearly a century of my savings is tied up in this! At the very least, I have to wait until it climbs back up before I sell..."
Halfway through his sentence, he cried out in shock, "Why is it dropping again?! Thirteen? Twelve? Ten? Eight...?"
"Still falling?!"
In the blink of an eye, the price of Spirit Mist Grass avalanched from 15 points per stalk down to 6 points before barely stabilizing.
"It... it should bounce back, right?"
After a prolonged silence, looking at the utterly soul-crushed and dazed He Zhenghao, Li Fan could only offer such words of comfort.
Chapter 73