"While it is certainly true that I kept them confined to one place in this lifetime, it is also possible that something went wrong with the Li Realm.
"Otherwise, these Li Realm prodigies wouldn't fail to keep pace even with Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba, two boys from Great Xuan."
Back then, Li Fan had personally tested their cultivation talents.
They were only barely capable of cultivating, utterly incomparable to the youths of the Li Realm.
Yet now, without anyone noticing, they had actually overtaken them...
The volcano at the heart of Great Li suddenly surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
From the moment he first entered the Li Realm, he had harbored a faint suspicion that something was off about that volcano.
Yet perhaps due to the limitations of his cultivation and perspective back then, his several personal investigations had failed to uncover any trickery.
"It is a pity that in this lifetime, the entrance to the Li Realm has already been swallowed by spatial rifts, making it impossible to enter again.
"However, when I return in the next lifetime, I should pay close attention to it."
With these thoughts in mind, Li Fan waved his hand lightly, summoning Su Changyu, Su Xiaomei, and the others through the air before him.
Their alertness was noticeably far inferior compared to previous lifetimes.
Only after several breaths did they snap out of their daze. Once they saw clearly that it was Li Fan standing before them, they scrambled to salute.
"Greetings, Sect Master!"
Li Fan swept his gaze over them and asked in a low voice, "It has been more than ten years since I brought you out of that mortal pocket world. First I kept you confined on an island, and then I brought you to this Valley of Longevity, never permitting you to venture outside...
"Do you harbor any resentment?"
Ye Feipeng was the quickest to reply: "How could we ever harbor resentment toward you, Sect Master? We have lived very happily all these years! Especially this Valley of Longevity and the Beast Seed Realm—they might be just a tiny corner in your eyes, Sect Master, but to us, they are already larger than our homeland!"
He spoke in a distinctly fawning tone.
Xiao Heng deeply agreed and nodded in quick accord.
The rest followed suit.
Li Fan remained silent for a moment. Only after tension gripped every one of them did he speak: "The Xuanhuang Realm outside is currently undergoing a period of great upheaval unseen in a thousand years, rife with countless opportunities. Now is the time for you to spread your wings and realize your ambitions. Pack your things; you will leave the valley tomorrow."
As soon as those words were uttered, the expressions on everyone's faces froze.
Yet before they could react, Li Fan flicked his wide sleeve and walked away of his own accord, leaving Ye Feipeng and the others staring at each other in dismay.
Naturally, they did not dare disobey Sect Master Li Fan's command, leaving them no choice but to resign themselves to reality. With crestfallen faces, they hurriedly sought out the Medicine King Sect disciples they were familiar with to ask for help.
"I hope that once these dragons return to the sea, they can bring me a pleasant surprise. Otherwise, it truly might be that something is amiss with the Li Realm."
Locking his Formless Killing Intent onto them, Li Fan quietly returned to the secluded cultivation chamber in the Valley of Longevity.
"Blessings born, Xuanhuang Heavenly Venerable!"
Setting up the ritual, Li Fan entered the Fallen Immortal Realm once more in the next instant.
Without hesitation, he directly selected the "Heavenly Sword Sect Sword Refinement" scene.
The scene before him distorted and blurred, and then an angry shout rang in his ears.
"Ji Zhaoxuan! Why haven't you handed over your sword embryo again this time?
"If you delay Eldest Senior Brother's plan, can you bear the responsibility?!"
Memories flooded in like a tide, and Li Fan instantly understood his current situation.
Ever since Mr. Bai's departure that day, the Heavenly Sword Sect had formulated a plan to forge a Boundary-Splitting Divine Weapon.
The disciples were required to draw insights from the wooden sword and channel them into primeval stones called "sword embryos." These would then be cast into the deep pit behind the mountain, using molten fire to forge the embryonic form of the Boundary-Splitting Divine Weapon.
From top to bottom, everyone in the Heavenly Sword Sect was doing this.
Disciples, elders, and even the sect's strongest figure, Eldest Senior Brother Situ Yao, were no exception.
Yet the Golden Core cultivator Li Fan possessed, Ji Zhaoxuan, had failed to turn in his sword embryo on time several times.
Thus led to the scene before him, with someone coming to interrogate him.
With an impassive expression, Li Fan cupped his hands. "I hope Senior Brother Chu can grant me a few more days! Your junior brother's aptitude is dull; comprehending, purifying, and the rest of the steps simply take me a bit longer than others."
Senior Brother Chu scrutinized Li Fan and snorted coldly. "This is the last time. Don't think I don't know what little schemes you're nursing. Your method of condensing Qi into a sword shares the same spirit as injecting sword intent into a sword embryo, but runs in the opposite direction. Every moment the sword embryo lingers in your body brings immense benefits to your cultivation, does it not?"
Li Fan immediately displayed the flustered look of having been exposed, stammering, "Senior Brother Chu..."
The man waved his hand dismissively, his expression turning cold. "It's not that I don't care about our camaraderie as fellow disciples. But between your personal cultivation and the future of the entire Heavenly Sword Sect, which is more important? I hope you understand that clearly!
"I will return in two days. Take care of yourself!"
With that, Senior Brother Chu turned and walked away.
Amidst the pointing and whispering of numerous fellow disciples around him, the panicked look on Li Fan's face vanished at once, and he headed back to his room on his own.
After checking his internal condition, Li Fan understood.
"Sure enough, the person I've possessed this time is no simple character either."
In Ji Zhaoxuan's dantian, a "Golden Core" shrouded in gray mist like a gaseous planet was constantly spewing forth gray gas, corroding and devouring the sword embryo primeval stone hovering beside it.
At the same time, waves of exceedingly exquisite genuine understandings of the sword dao surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
They were even purer and more potent than the insights gained from personally touching the wooden sword.
This was precisely why Ji Zhaoxuan had repeatedly delayed handing over the sword embryos.
Every time he obtained a sword embryo, he would first absorb it himself, converting it into his own knowledge before submitting it to the Heavenly Sword Sect.
In truth, this body's talent in the sword dao undoubtedly ranked among the top geniuses.
Yet even so, unraveling the true intent within the sword embryo progressed at an exceptionally slow pace.
Every attempt took considerable time, which made his condensing of sword embryos appear far slower to outsiders.
Even that Senior Brother Chu had only discerned that he could gain benefits from the sword embryos to enhance his cultivation.
He could never have imagined that Ji Zhaoxuan was actually able to directly appropriate the true intent within the sword embryos for himself.
"What grand boundary-splitting plan of the Heavenly Sword Sect? This body couldn't care less.
"Because he is a mole through and through."
As Li Fan absorbed the sword embryo, he recalled the memories that had suddenly surfaced in his mind.
One night, completely unnoticed by anyone, Ji Zhaoxuan had transmitted everything that had recently transpired in the Heavenly Sword Sect to the outside world using a secret art.
As to whom exactly he had sent it, there was no answer in his memories.
In fact, even Ji Zhaoxuan himself did not know the reason behind his actions.
It was merely that one day, as if controlled by someone, he had autonomously carried out such deeds, yet he himself had felt nothing out of the ordinary about it.
"To be able to deceive even oneself is indeed a supreme method of espionage," Li Fan thought to himself.
"The Heavenly Sword Sect's sword forging will likely become known to all before long.
"Things might not be so peaceful in the days to come."
The scene of Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain splitting the boundary and tearing open the Xuanhuang Realm flashed through Li Fan's mind as these thoughts crossed his head.
Chapter 731