Having retrieved the spirit sand, Li Fan emerged from the cavern and returned to the sea's surface.
Now that the materials were fully gathered, he was ready to begin refining his avatar.
Naturally, this could not be done right under the nose of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Li Fan considered his options, then continued flying westward.
There, on an uninhabited island, was a cave dwelling once established by Sikong Yi.
Concealed using the methods of the Stealing Heaven Changing Sun Sect, it was difficult for ordinary cultivators to detect.
It was also where Sikong Yi had hidden himself to refine his own avatar.
Given that, Li Fan decided he might as well use that very abode.
After another two days of flight, he was nearing the uninhabited island.
Yet Li Fan faintly sensed another presence there. His heart tightened, and he immediately concealed his form, creeping forward in stealth.
"Strange. It ought to be on this island..."
A voice drifting from the distance sounded somewhat familiar.
Li Fan peered closely. That furtive figure was none other than Jiao Xiuyuan.
Scratching his head with his left hand, Jiao Xiuyuan stared intently at a square object held in his right.
The device resembled a compass, though its lines and symbols were far more intricate.
A beam of red light shot out from it, rippling outward into the surroundings.
Before long, it returned, emitting a sharp beep.
"That's impossible. I couldn't have gotten the wrong place. So why isn't this spirit-discerning compass working?"
Jiao Xiuyuan muttered, thoroughly perplexed.
"What are you looking for...?" Li Fan's voice suddenly rang out.
Jiao Xiuyuan leaped in fright, nearly dropping the compass to the ground.
"Fellow Daoist Sikong?" He turned around, tentatively addressing the blurred figure that had abruptly appeared, obscured by a Form-Concealing Talisman.
"You had someone shadow us earlier just so you could slip into my cave dwelling while I was away?" Li Fan said coldly, his tone dripping with hostility.
Jiao Xiuyuan forced a hollow laugh. "A misunderstanding, purely a misunderstanding!"
His eyes darted about, and he hurried to ask, "May I ask where Fellow Daoist Baili might be?"
Li Fan offered no reply, directly producing the Azure Wood Purple Fire Formation chart and trapping Jiao Xiuyuan within it.
Purple flames flared violently. Amid shrill screams, Jiao Xiuyuan was reduced to ashes.
A scent resembling charred wood drifted through the air.
"A puppet after all."
Li Fan was not surprised. Looking down at the uninhabited island, he circulated the Stealing Heaven Changing Sun Art.
He faintly detected the presence of a cave dwelling concealed amidst the island's jungle.
Flying over, he came to a halt before a thoroughly ordinary coconut tree.
Lightly touching it, their auras resonated, and Li Fan felt a pull of suction.
Releasing his resistance, he slipped inside the tree.
To call it a cave dwelling was an overstatement; it was crude in the extreme. It barely had enough room for two people to live without feeling cramped.
Nor was there anything of value inside.
Even so, Li Fan only needed the place for temporary shelter, so he was not particularly demanding.
Nor was he worried about retaliation from Jiao Xiuyuan.
Attempting to break into another's abode was a disgraceful act on Jiao Xiuyuan's part to begin with.
Furthermore, this place was exceedingly remote. Even if Jiao Xiuyuan wished to seek vengeance, by the time he crossed thousands of li to get here, Li Fan would have long since refined his avatar and departed.
Putting these trivial matters out of mind, Li Fan retrieved all the necessary materials. Holding his breath and focusing his mind, he began the refinement.
For this avatar, Li Fan had no intention of expending excessive effort to usurp the fate of another cultivator.
In his plan, this avatar was merely meant to deceive the world, draw everyone's attention, and secure the hundred thousand contribution points.
The avatar was also meant to remain behind to quietly witness the Red Flame burning the sea.
Since it was doomed to die in the end anyway, there was no need to be overly meticulous.
The refinement commenced.
Li Fan drew out a cluster of his own essence blood. Using it as the core, he directed the blood of ten thousand livestock and the flesh of a hundred beasts, kneading and condensing the mixture into a human shape.
Next, he circulated his cultivation technique, reaching out with his senses toward the wandering threads of fate permeating heaven and earth.
Most of these wandering fates belonged to the flora and fauna of the surrounding islands.
Each was extraordinarily faint.
Yet their numbers were vast.
Li Fan meticulously extracted a single sliver from each wandering thread of fate, gathering them into one place.
As the collected fate accumulated, manipulating it grew increasingly taxing.
He knew he could not be overly greedy; if it spun out of control, it would trigger a violent backlash of fate.
Once he felt he had reached the limit of what he could manage, Li Fan ceased adding more.
He thrust this brand-new, blank thread of fate into the mass of flesh and blood before him.
Instantly, a faint glimmer of vitality surfaced from it.
The refinement was more than halfway complete. Li Fan then incorporated the remaining materials one after another.
Bones, organs, skin, hair...
All gradually took form.
Afterward, Li Fan adjusted the avatar's appearance.
Neither overly handsome nor particularly hideous.
A plain, common face—the kind impossible to pick out from a crowd at a glance.
Moments later, a blank, expressionless face stood before his eyes.
Li Fan stared at it intently for a while, then nodded in satisfaction.
Next came the final step.
Focusing his mind, Li Fan pointed a finger toward the avatar's crown.
"Sever!"
He severed the connection between the avatar's fate and its original sources.
At last, the avatar became an independent entity.
Li Fan and the avatar looked at each other.
An extra body, a completely new perspective.
The sensation was... quite peculiar.
He controlled the avatar to walk, recline, stand, and remain still.
Only after a while did Li Fan slowly grow accustomed to it.
Taking out a set of garments from his storage ring, he had the avatar dress.
The avatar bowed toward the original self. "Greetings, Fellow Daoist!"
The original self smiled. "From this day forward, you shall be named Lin Fan!"
"Splendid!"
The avatar, Lin Fan, was one minor realm lower than the original self,
possessing only the cultivation of the middle Qi Condensation stage.
Moreover, he practiced no cultivation method, holding a realm devoid of real foundation.
Now that the avatar was refined, the next step was to have him join the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
There was no need for Li Fan to provide an introduction.
Carrying the storage ring containing the Cloud Water Chart and Talismans, Lin Fan flew all the way toward the vicinity of Lingyun Island.
Li Fan trailed quietly behind him to guard against any unforeseen mishaps.
Fortunately, nothing unexpected occurred.
After successfully meeting the garrison of Lingyun Island, Lin Fan submitted his request to join the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
The other party naturally raised no objections.
Thus, after a familiar set of procedures, Lin Fan arrived on Wanxian Island and opened his own Heavenly Profound Mirror space.
Li Fan followed him back to Wanxian Island as well, though the two did not meet.
Lin Fan then brought out the Cloud Water Chart and Talismans and chose to complete the mission offering one hundred thousand contribution points.
At the same time, Li Fan focused his mind, sensing the situation on Lin Fan's end.
This time, the Heavenly Profound Mirror fell silent for far longer than usual.
A considerable time passed without any response.
Li Fan nearly thought something had gone wrong.
Finally, the voice of the Heavenly Profound Mirror sounded once more:
"Unable to determine the authenticity of the Cloud Water Chart and Talismans. Please wait."
...
"The mission poster... requests to visit your space. Do you accept?"
Lin Fan started, then promptly chose to agree.
Moments later, an elderly man with graying hair and a kindly expression appeared before Lin Fan.
Not the slightest trace of a cultivator's aura could be felt from the old man; he seemed just like an ordinary mortal.
Chapter 92