In the Li Realm.
Having just finished her prayers, Su Yuqing, who was cultivating beside the Immortal Spirit Tower, suddenly flushed crimson.
It felt as if her body had abruptly and violently been forced open by a massive object, and she let out a muffled groan of pain.
Just as she was feeling bewildered and at a loss, this surge of pure spiritual energy that had mysteriously descended into her body thawed like a melting glacier, bursting open!
Howling as it coursed through her body, in just a few circulation cycles, it transformed into power she could command.
Docilely, it returned to her dantian!
At the same time, her realm surged upward at a terrifying, visible speed.
In just a few breaths, it skyrocketed from the early Golden Core stage straight to the peak of Golden Core completion.
Only due to the limitation of the grotto-heaven materials required by the new method to break through realms did it come to an unwilling halt.
Throughout this entire process, the Heavenly Calamity—the bottleneck that restricted a cultivator's progression—never appeared once!
Su Yuqing blankly sensed her cultivation realm, her face filled with disbelief.
Carefully discerning the origin of the spiritual energy that had aided her breakthrough, Su Yuqing then seemed to realize something, and her expression changed dramatically.
She hastily fell to her knees, meditating and offering thanks for the benevolence of the Compassionate True Immortal of the Mortal Realm.
***
In the Spirit Wood Realm, before the faceless divine statue.
An invisible surge of feedback cultivation appeared out of thin air within Li Fan's body.
It came precisely from the Immortal-Sitting Art, brought about by Su Yuqing's consecutive breakthroughs!
Deducting what Li Fan had previously bestowed upon Su Yuqing, from this back-and-forth, Li Fan's cultivation had actually advanced slightly!
"What is this?"
Li Fan was inexplicably shocked.
Yet soon enough, he calmed down.
The generation of feedback cultivation did not actually defy common sense; it still remained within the operational mechanics of the Immortal-Sitting Art.
Just like how, if Li Fan were willing to personally expend his own cultivation to help someone raise their realm, he indeed could receive a certain amount of feedback cultivation once it succeeded.
However, the loss of cultivation incurred during that process was simply too massive. It was truly a losing proposition where the gains could not cover the losses.
"Yet now, through this faceless Profound Heaven statue, the loss from transferring cultivation has been drastically reduced."
"Making such an act actually profitable!"
Li Fan instantly understood that this was a function provided by this mysterious faceless stone statue.
"Communicating with believers, bestowing divine blessings..."
"It really is becoming more and more like a charlatan."
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, his gaze resting on the faceless divine statue once again.
"Then the question arises: if a great figure is truly behind this stone statue, why didn't He personally contact these 'believers', and instead transferred all these abilities and perceptions to me?"
"Has my secret been exposed?"
After pondering for a long time, the answer Li Fan arrived at still leaned toward no.
After all, given the temperament of such powerful beings, if He knew of the existence of True Reversion within him, it would be almost impossible for Him to play any cat-and-mouse game with him.
In all likelihood, He would descend directly and plunder it.
"Otherwise, it means that for some reason, He has fallen into a deep slumber."
Li Fan's eyes flickered.
He stared at the stone statue for a long while before slowly walking away.
He did not issue any orders forbidding ordinary people from approaching the faceless stone statue. Instead, everything continued as usual, as if nothing had happened at all.
As he moved farther from the stone statue, the prayer voices in Li Fan's mind also gradually faded away.
This made Li Fan all the more confident in his assessment.
"The Profound Heaven Sect..."
Li Fan urgently wanted to know more about this ancient, mysterious sect.
Yet let alone now, thousands of years later, even during the ancient era of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao, the Profound Heaven Sect had been an absolute taboo topic.
Only the true core members of each sect were qualified to know of it.
Even having reincarnated through multiple lifetimes, Li Fan had only been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the Profound Heaven Sect through Senior Sister Zhao's dream.
"Perhaps there is another way."
In Li Fan's mind, he suddenly recalled the first instance in the Fallen Immortal Realm, "Retrieving Longevity Fruits in Ningyuan".
His incarnated body, Li Chen, had been the very vessel possessed by that Profound Heaven Dharma King in the future.
"If I lie in wait, could I meet this Dharma King in the Fallen Immortal Realm?"
Li Fan's heart could not help but leap.
Since what traveled into the Fallen Immortal Realm was merely a wisp of divine sense, even being assimilated by this Dharma King would pose zero danger to his true body.
"Perhaps this is an opportunity that would be impossible to realize in reality."
"When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you. While he attempts to seize Li Chen's body and merge with Li Fan, Li Chen can also attempt to pry into the memories within his mind."
As for whether that Dharma King in the Fallen Immortal Realm could breach the boundary between the Fallen Immortal Realm and reality to affect or harm Li Fan in reality...
Unless his strength surpassed that fallen immortal, doing so would be utterly impossible!
Li Fan's eyes flickered. After thinking it over, he deemed it viable.
Thus, he quickly made up his mind.
His figure flashed, and he arrived in the secluded cultivation chamber of the Spirit Wood Realm.
He skillfully laid out the ritual.
"Previously, out of wariness toward Mr. Bai, I thought not to enter the Fallen Immortal Realm again until I found a way to thoroughly resolve the hidden danger of being unwilling to activate True Reversion."
"Yet now, the crisis brought by the Profound Heaven Sect seems far more pressing."
"As for the risk..."
Li Fan's eyes held not the slightest fear, only utter resolve: "Flinching and wavering will never achieve greatness! How could I, Li Fan, be such an uncouth sort!"
"Blessings arise, Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang!"
Li Fan silently chanted in his heart. The next moment, the scenery around him instantly twisted.
Without any surprise, he returned once more to the instance of "Retrieving Longevity Fruits in Ningyuan".
"Junior Brother? Junior Brother?"
Zhang Qianmo's familiar voice came from beside his ear.
The disorienting sensation receded like the tide, and Li Fan turned to look at Zhang Qianmo.
"Junior Brother, what's wrong?" Zhang Qianmo's eyes held a hint of confusion and concern.
"It's my first time descending the mountain, so I'm a bit excited."
This time, Li Fan quickly slipped into character and answered Senior Brother Zhang.
Laughing and chatting with him along the way, they soon arrived at Ningyuan City.
Just as in the predetermined course of events, Senior Brother Zhang couldn't wait to go find his old flame, Chi Xia.
He handed the task of collecting the Longevity Fruits over to Li Fan.
Li Fan smiled and did not stop him.
After parting ways, Li Fan did not make any unusual moves either, heading directly to the Rebirth Longevity Tree in the center of the city to collect the three Longevity Fruits.
Under the guidance of Song Hesong, manager of Ningyuan City, Li Fan soon retrieved the Longevity Fruits from their seal.
According to the "plot," before long, Chu Liang and the other Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals cultivators lying in ambush in the city would make a move against Senior Brother Zhang's lover, Chi Xia, attempting to enrage Senior Brother Zhang and surround him to kill him—only to be wiped out by him in the end.
Li Fan looked back at Song Hesong, an eerie smile surfacing on his face.
Manager Song's heart pounded violently, a sudden premonition of doom surging within him.
*Spurt!*
Without any warning, Li Fan violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his face turning pale as paper.
"Senior Brother, save me!" Li Fan cried out in distress.
Chapter 898