Once the little Yanfa girl resumed normal work, the required waiting time was no longer as long as a whole decade.
Merely four days later, Sacred Embryo Li Fan returned to the space where the Yanfa Jade resided.
Bent over her desk at work, the little girl seemed to sense Li Fan's arrival and snapped her head up.
When she saw that the visitor was indeed Li Fan, her large eyes darted around, and a mischievous scheme immediately popped into her head.
The little girl sat up straight, putting on a solemn and earnest expression.
The moment Li Fan stepped forward, she slapped both hands onto the desk and said in her childish, piping voice, "What kind of technique do you want deduced? What are your requirements? Creating Dharma from nothing or deriving Dharma from a blueprint?
"Write it down yourself first."
A sheet of white paper then floated over toward Li Fan.
She acted as if she had completely forgotten about Li Fan diagnosing her earlier, appearing thoroughly professional and solely focused on deducing techniques.
Li Fan caught the paper, and lines of writing reflecting his thoughts promptly manifested across the surface.
"Use the *Record of the Three Perils, Ghosts, Gods, and the Netherworld* as the blueprint to deduce a technique with a similar manifestation.
"Specific requirements: The aura and characteristics displayed during cultivation and circulation must be identical to the *Record of the Three Perils, Ghosts, Gods, and the Netherworld*. However, the core essence must be completely different—it must be an entirely new technique..."
Dense, tiny characters quickly filled the entire page.
Yet the paper did not grow larger; instead, the writing shrank overall, creating fresh blank space.
This cycle repeated more than a dozen times, the text shrinking again and again, yet the paper remained unfilled.
Although this was due to the immense complexity of the *Record of the Three Perils, Ghosts, Gods, and the Netherworld*, this abnormal spectacle still alerted the Dao Integration guardian watching over the space.
Li Fan keenly felt a sweep of divine sense brush across him.
Just as he was about to explain, the little Yanfa girl took the initiative to speak up for him. "Don't worry, it really is just an ordinary technique. It's not an evil curse..."
Propping her chin on both hands, the little girl stared blankly ahead.
Countless characters seemed to flash in tandem within her large eyes.
Only then did the divine sense locked onto Sacred Embryo Li Fan pull away.
Li Fan continued writing on the paper. When he finally finished, the white paper turned into a streak of light and flew back into the Yanfa Jade's hands.
The little girl lowered her head and fell into deep thought, remaining silent for a long time.
"Uh..."
"The blueprint technique is a bit complicated, you know. And you have quite a lot of requirements.
"Hmm, there are still a few questions you need to explain in detail..."
After feigning contemplation for a moment, the little Yanfa girl slapped the desk again. "To make sure your technique doesn't leak, come with me!"
Before Li Fan could even reply, a beam of light shot down from the gigantic sphere of characters overhead, enveloping him.
The next instant, Sacred Embryo Li Fan vanished from the chamber.
At the same time, the little Yanfa girl beside the long table disappeared as well.
Instead, the white-haired Dao Integration elder materialized, wearing a helpless expression.
He knew the Yanfa Jade had the temperament of a child. Having had her fake illness exposed by this "Fan Li" before, running into him again meant she was bound to retaliate and vent her pent-up frustration.
However, it was merely a harmless prank and would not lead to any severe consequences.
The white-haired Dao Integration elder simply chose not to intervene.
*Giving her someone to vent on once in a while isn't a bad idea either; it'll keep her from going on strike at the drop of a hat,* the white-haired elder thought instead.
***
Inside the world of the Endless Sea of Books.
The moment Sacred Embryo Li Fan stepped in, he felt over a hundred wooden clubs surrounding him from above and below, walling him in without a gap and hurtling toward him simultaneously.
"Hold on!" Li Fan shouted at the critical juncture.
The wooden clubs halted an inch before Sacred Embryo Li Fan.
The little Yanfa girl appeared overhead, hands on her hips, looking down at Li Fan with immense smugness. "Well? Do you admit you were wrong?
"Apologize to me properly, and I'll let you off!
"Otherwise...
"Hmph, hmph!"
As a demonstration of force, one of the wooden clubs tapped lightly against Li Fan's forehead.
Li Fan looked over the little Yanfa girl with a half-smile.
His gaze made her heart tighten instantly. "What... what are you planning to do?
"I'm warning you, don't you try to get physical!
"If it really comes to a fight, you're no match for me. I... I haven't fought anyone in years, and I'm afraid I might accidentally beat you to death!"
Yanfa Jade waved her little fists, threatening him huffily.
Li Fan merely smiled and shook his head, saying nothing.
This annoyed Yanfa Jade even more. "You really are insufferable!
"Are you going to admit your fault or not? If you don't apologize to me right now, I'm really going to hit you!"
Ignoring the wooden clubs hovering right in front of his face, Li Fan let out a sigh. "It seems... your illness hasn't completely healed after all."
Hearing Sacred Embryo Li Fan's words, the little Yanfa girl gave an involuntary shudder. "What illness? What makes you think I'm ill?
"Don't you go talking nonsense!"
Though Yanfa Jade did her best to hide it, the fluster on her small face was unmistakably genuine.
Li Fan chuckled. "If you're not ill, why do you constantly think about slacking off and taking breaks?
"On the surface, you claim you want to cause trouble for me, but in truth...
"You just want to use this opportunity to get a bit more rest! You won't let slip even a brief moment like this—just how lazy are you!" Li Fan's gaze burned like a torch, his voice sharp and stern.
The little Yanfa girl trembled all over. "How... how could you falsely accuse me like that!"
She stared at Li Fan with an aggrieved expression, tears looking ready to spill from her eyes.
Li Fan remained expressionless, not falling for the display in the slightest.
Yet after a brief silence, he shifted his tone. "Still, you can't be blamed for this.
"Alternating work with rest, keeping a balance between tension and relaxation—that is the natural order of things. Anyone who works continuously for so long would want a break."
Not expecting him to actually speak up on her behalf, the little Yanfa girl's eyes widened, and she nodded repeatedly.
"Furthermore, in my view, your repeated strikes and slacking off aren't your own conscious desires at all. They are merely driven by physical instinct.
"As the saying goes, when greed cannot be overcome, delusion arises from the heart. Just as a mortal must drink when thirsty and eat when hungry, this is your nature, something unavoidable."
Sacred Embryo Li Fan spoke with fluent confidence. The little Yanfa girl had never heard such a theory before and was completely captivated.
The sky full of wooden clubs instantly vanished. She said thoughtfully, "So that's how it is. No wonder I can never control myself whenever I want to slack off, yet every time I do, I always feel a pang of guilt in my heart."
"This is the affliction of heart-darkness," Li Fan said with a sigh.
The little girl looked at Li Fan, who wore the benevolent expression of a caring physician, and asked curiously, "Is that an illness too? Can it be cured?"
After all, he had seen through her feigned sleep with a single glance, so she held considerable confidence in Li Fan's medical skills.
Besides, no one had ever explained things to her like this before, so she naturally followed Li Fan's train of thought and voiced the doubt in her heart.
Li Fan smiled. "Treating this illness can be hard, or it can be simple.
"The greed and delusion in your heart both arise from being unable to rest for too long."
Chapter 942