"Furthermore, word reached the Federation not long ago."
"Within the next ten years, wonders of Earth will be born into the Xuanhuang Realm."
"Two of them, in fact."
Ji Shaoli dropped a bombshell.
"One of them is right here in the Congyun Sea. It is a Vast Sea Pearl, brimming with the boundless power of the vast ocean."
"The other is in Guanglan Province: the Hundred Thousand Mountains Cauldron, gestating endless mountain ranges within it, containing infinite wonders."
The bodies of Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi couldn't help but tremble slightly.
"Wonders of Earth?"
Treasures of such caliber were things they had only dared dream of.
"If you are willing, the Federation can help you obtain these two items," Ji Shaoli said solemnly.
Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi froze on the spot, suspecting they had misheard.
The two of them... What had they done to deserve this?
As though seeing right through their thoughts, Ji Shaoli patted their shoulders. "There is no need for you two to belittle yourselves. While those so-called proud geniuses may far surpass you in background and talent, what our Federation values most of all is character and resolve!"
"Your willpower is not a whit inferior to any chosen genius I have ever seen!" Ji Shaoli declared categorically.
Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi stood dazed.
*Am I really that formidable?*
The thought sprang up simultaneously in both their minds.
"I believe that if you are given a sufficiently high starting point, it will be enough for you to trade blows with those geniuses!" Ji Shaoli said in a low, weighty tone.
"Are you willing?" he asked once more.
Although they still could not believe such good fortune could fall upon them, looking at it from another angle, what did the two brothers have to be conned out of now anyway?
If they were truly fortunate enough to obtain wonders of Earth... even dying would leave them with no regrets, wouldn't it?
Having tumbled through the wilds for half their lives, the two nodded vigorously without hesitation.
"If I can truly establish my foundation with a wonder of Earth, I will serve the Federation unto death!" Kou Hong declared with utmost sincerity.
Dao Xuanzi swore the same solemn oath.
"Good! Then the matter is settled," Ji Shaoli decided on the spot.
With casual ease, he had just allocated the wonders of Earth—once treasured so dearly—to Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi.
The Vast Sea Pearl was an old friend of Li Fan's.
The Hundred Thousand Mountains Cauldron was also a wonder of Earth that Li Fan had investigated previously, knowing it would emerge around this point in time.
Both were exceptionally valuable.
However, as his cultivation grew by the day, these wonders of Earth were of no use to him anymore.
Rather than letting the Alliance cultivators discover and seize them, it was better to use them to strengthen the Myriad Realms Association.
As for why he chose Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi...
It was purely a whim of Grand Preceptor Li.
After all, to him, peerless proud geniuses and the pair of Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi—who would otherwise spend their entire lives trapped at Foundation Establishment until dying of old age—made no fundamental difference.
*Actually, their innate talent cannot be called terrible either. At the very least, judging from how they fought back in the imperial capital of Great Xuan, their practical combat power was already far superior to that of ordinary cultivators.*
*Since their fates in this lifetime have deviated so greatly, I might as well add more fuel to the fire and see where their limits truly lie!*
As Ji Shaoli pondered this, he stood guard to protect the brothers.
He brought out various treasures to minimize the danger as they shattered their cores to re-cultivate.
To tell the truth, their appearance before Li Fan in this lifetime had come as a slight surprise to him.
And in the present Xuanhuang Realm, things that could bring Li Fan even a glimmer of surprise... were truly few and far between.
Hence today's experiment.
Yet what was a day that thoroughly transformed the fates of Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi was, to the avatar Ji Shaoli, merely a bored diversion after staying on Haixuan Island for too long.
Whatever the outcome, he did not care in the slightest.
All Li Fan truly cared about was himself.
At this moment, within the Spirit Wood Realm, Li Fan's true body settled his mind, merging into one with the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven.
Feeling the surging power of the five elements, he attempted to bring it all together into a unified whole.
"The five elements converge into one, limitless waxing and waning; ceaseless in its power, imperishable in soul."
"With this inexhaustible power of the five elements, it will be enough to push my Limitless Waxing and Waning Method to an entirely new height."
"And make up for my final shortcoming."
Under Li Fan's exquisite manipulation, the power of the five elements merged flawlessly into a single whole.
It formed an unknown energy that Li Fan had never encountered before.
Li Fan's divine soul felt as though it had been starved for a long time, suddenly catching the scent of delicious food.
Waves of hunger welled up, almost making Li Fan suspect that the side effect of the "Hunger" character formula had flared up again.
However, he quickly discerned that this was merely the natural reaction of his divine soul sensing something of immense benefit to itself.
Without further hesitation, he drew in this inexplicable energy like a great whale swallowing water.
It felt similar to when he had consumed the Will Horse in the past—his divine soul seemed immersed in a hot spring, bathed in a gentle, warm glow.
The difference, however, was that the effect of the Will Horse had been temporary.
Once fully digested, its nourishment of the divine soul had dissipated without a trace.
The Limitless Waxing and Waning Method, on the other hand, would never cease as long as Li Fan's conversion of the five elements continued day after day!
If consuming the Will Horse was like taking a bath in a basin of hot water that quickly cooled down, then this Limitless Waxing and Waning was a hot spring that remained constantly heated.
Amid continuous nourishment, Li Fan's divine soul grew rapidly at a pace he could almost perceive directly.
If his initial defensive shroud back in Great Xuan had been like draping a straw raincoat over his divine soul, then now, with the operation of the Limitless Waxing and Waning Method, Li Fan felt that his divine soul no longer required the protection of any external object.
Relying solely on itself, it was as unyielding as steel.
Let wind and rain batter from without; I remain unshaken and steadfast!
"Perhaps because my divine soul was too weak before, the effect of cultivation is so remarkable."
Not long after, however, Li Fan sensed that the effects of the Limitless Waxing and Waning Method were beginning to taper off. He came to an understanding.
"The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals keeps far too tight a lid on techniques regarding the divine soul. Without the aid of the Yanfa Jade, even across multiple reincarnations, I could hardly find a few decent ones."
"From today onward, though, everything is different."
Li Fan closed his eyes, immersing himself in the cultivation of the Limitless Waxing and Waning Method.
It had been a long time since he had experienced the joy brought by rapid growth in cultivation.
*I wonder if the function of True Reversion will change as my divine soul grows?*
A thought suddenly surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
...
When Li Fan awakened from his seclusion, the first thing he did was test the so-called imperishable divine soul effect of the Limitless Waxing and Waning Method.
In his memories, there was a secret art that temporarily boosted cultivation by a massive margin at the cost of burning one's divine soul: the Soul Burning Incantation.
Without the slightest hesitation, Li Fan boldly activated it.
Chapter 879