To receive dedicated, one-on-one instruction at fixed times from the wonder of Heaven, the wooden sword—this unassuming black sword definitely had something extraordinary about it.
Li Fan slowly swept his divine sense over it. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like nothing more than an ordinary piece of mortal iron, as if he could snap it in two with bare hands.
Yet right when the wooden sword lost its spiritual aura and the other remnant swords looked around in bewilderment, the black sword itself was undergoing a subtle transformation.
"It is like being tempered slowly by fire, removing impurities and retaining the essence. It appears completely plain, but in truth, just like the wooden sword, all dharmas return to one, and the Great Dao is utmost simplicity." Gradually, Li Fan discerned the secret within.
'Is the wonder of Heaven intending to create another body for itself?' This thought suddenly welled up in Li Fan's mind.
'The other remnant swords might still need a very long time before transforming into pure conceptual existences. But because this black sword has been receiving special tutoring from the wooden sword, it isn't far from completing the transformation entirely.'
'Perhaps that was one of the reasons the wooden sword was willing to leave with Shuo Feng,' Li Fan thought, musing.
Looking at this yet-unformed black sword, Li Fan temporarily shelved the idea of taking it away.
'There should still be a dozen or so years...
'This can be considered a fruit borne by the wonder of Heaven. If I can take it, the Heavenly Sword Sect in the Spirit Wood Realm will truly be established.'
Though the reason behind the wooden sword's actions remained unclear for now, it did not stop Li Fan from putting things to their best use.
Returning to his original spot, he spent several more days in the Sword Tomb. Only after finding himself unable to glean anything new from the wooden sword did Li Fan reluctantly depart.
Before leaving, Li Fan did not forget to use a secret technique to conceal this Sword Tomb, also leaving an imprint behind. The moment any intruder stepped inside, he would immediately sense it.
"With the Heavenly Sword Sect settled, next is the Medicine King Sect."
The location of the Medicine King Sect ruins was no secret. It lay deep in an uninhabited, mountainous area within Liuxian Province.
Over the years, cultivators had long since looted it clean, leaving behind only discarded junk and scrap scattered all over the ground.
When Li Fan arrived, within a hundred-li radius, there was not a single living person to be found.
A faint, foul stench permeated the air, stirring an instinctive disgust.
'The Medicine King Sect's style really suits my taste. Even when the entire sect was preparing to flee, they still left behind this repulsive miasma so their former grounds wouldn't be occupied by others,' Li Fan thought to himself.
This peculiar odor was precisely what the Medicine King Sect had left behind back then. It had merged almost entirely with the earth here, lingering for thousands of years without dissipating. Unless dispelled, no one would ever want to live in such a foul-smelling place.
Though this trick of the Medicine King Sect was rather revolting, it was undeniably effective.
Looking at the relatively well-preserved ruins, Li Fan followed the location Jiao Xiuyuan had mentioned and arrived at an abandoned workshop.
Enduring the stench, he channeled his spiritual energy and unearthed several Small Medicine King Cauldrons buried deep underground.
"There are actually thirty-six cauldrons?" Li Fan's expression grew strange.
He had previously commissioned Jiao Xiuyuan to help excavate Small Medicine King Cauldrons, but the fellow had sworn up and down that there were only twenty-odd of them.
"Oh, Daoist Jiao, Daoist Jiao..." Li Fan shook his head slightly, making a mental note of this debt.
As usual, he searched carefully once more. Aside from these old cauldrons, the Medicine King Sect truly held nothing else of value. Li Fan then headed straight for the Purple Cloud Sect.
***
Meanwhile.
Haixuan Island.
Ji Shaoli suddenly felt a surge of unease.
'Strange. I clearly made ample preparations. By all rights, even if a Dao Integration cultivator came in person, I should be able to retreat calmly.
'Where did this sense of crisis come from?'
Ji Shaoli, who had always trusted his premonitions deeply, abruptly stood up, his expression grim.
He paced back and forth, but the sense of danger did not recede; on the contrary, it grew more and more intense. His heart pounded fiercely, as if calamity were about to fall upon his head!
Ji Shaoli knew something was wrong. He checked the island's teleportation array, only to find that it had indeed been locked down and could not be activated!
'Trying to catch a turtle in a jar?' A glint of cold light flashed in Ji Shaoli's eyes.
He tried to trigger his flash-shift array, but it had also lost its effect. It was as if something had sealed off the entire space around Haixuan Island!
Though shocked, Ji Shaoli did not panic. Holding a withered branch, he felt the surging power of the earth veins beneath his feet, which remained unrestricted. He let out a slight breath of relief.
After a period of growth, spending her days with the Dao child Liuli, Lin Ling's strength had advanced substantially. Furthermore, as her spirituality grew by the day, her bond with the Earth Vein Ancient Tree had also deepened. She had obtained this withered branch of the earth veins from it; anyone holding it could traverse the earth veins.
Now that he had an escape route, Ji Shaoli did not leave immediately. He wanted to see who was trying to move against him.
To be able to shut down the two-way teleportation array from Wanxian Island, and to render completely useless all the connections he had spent copious amounts of contribution points to maintain... each of these pointed to how formidable the enemy was. It was definitely not something the Xiang clan, local tyrants of a single province, could accomplish.
Ji Shaoli was not afraid of his secrets being exposed; as long as he could determine the reason for the failure, that was enough.
Humming a little tune, he brewed two cups of spiritual tea. Ji Shaoli patiently awaited his guest.
The Mutual Aid Association members on Haixuan Island had long since been dismissed on some pretext. As for the two wonders of Earth promised to Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi, Ji Shaoli had already given them the specific information. Whether they could find them alive... would depend on their own fortune.
He did not have to wait long.
Suddenly, the figure of a young man appeared beside Ji Shaoli.
What caused Ji Shaoli's pupils to constrict was that the young man appeared without the slightest fluctuation of aura, as if he had been beside Ji Shaoli all along.
And the reason that shocked him even more... was that he had seen this young man before!
"A Dharma Transmitter?!" Ji Shaoli blurted out.
It was precisely one of the cultivators spreading the new method whom Li Fan's true body had seen when searching the souls of the earliest Alliance members in the Fallen Immortal Realm during the Retrieving Longevity Fruits in Ningyuan scenario!
"Hm?" The young man was somewhat surprised that Ji Shaoli called out his identity the moment he spoke. "Interesting."
The young man's gaze burned intently as he stared at Ji Shaoli.
The next moment, the clone felt both his thoughts and body freeze completely. Even the escape methods he had prepared beforehand lost their effect! As if his soul were being extracted, a hazy figure began to emerge from Ji Shaoli's body.
Just at that moment... two streaks of seven-colored radiance suddenly surged forth, striking toward the young man.
Yet the instant they neared him, they were caught between two of his fingers, unable to advance even half an inch.
"This is..." Looking at the Seven-Colored Divine Light in his fingers, a flicker of wonder crossed the young man's eyes.
Turning his hand, he suppressed and stowed it away, then looked back toward Ji Shaoli once more.
Chapter 891