"Sit atop the mountain and reap the rewards—who would have thought such a cultivation art existed in this world?"
"Unfortunately, he only mentioned it in passing and left no technique behind."
"I wonder if Fellow Daoist He's remains can still be recovered..."
The Mountain-Sitting Art was simply too perfect for Li Fan; it could fully unleash the advantages of True Reversion's foresight.
Not knowing about the Mountain-Sitting Art before was one thing, but now that he knew its wonders, he was determined to cultivate it, and nothing would stop him!
He Zhenghao was already dead, seemingly having left no transmission of the art behind.
But that was no problem. Li Fan had the Stealing Heaven Changing Sun Art, which allowed him to seize He Zhenghao's memories through refining an avatar from his remains.
Perhaps he could reproduce the Mountain-Sitting Art that way.
Even if his luck was truly poor and he failed, Li Fan could continue scheming in his next life.
With that in mind, Li Fan could not help but take an interest in the ancient cave abode where He Zhenghao had fallen.
He Zhenghao's party of five Foundation Establishment cultivators had all perished, leaving only a single Golden Core cultivator who had narrowly escaped with his life.
Such shocking news had stirred up quite a stir on Wanxian Island.
For a time, rumors flew everywhere.
After asking around, Li Fan gradually pieced together the whole story.
The cave abode was situated inside an undersea volcano.
Previously, because the volcano had been dormant, the abode had gone undiscovered. It was only when the volcano suddenly erupted not long ago that a passing cultivator noticed the hidden cave abode within.
Thus came the expedition where He Zhenghao and the others banded together to explore it.
One Golden Core, five Foundation Establishment.
This lineup could hardly be called weak.
After all, according to the information they had gathered, this was merely the ancient cave abode of a Golden Core cultivator named Master Tianyang.
Under normal circumstances, when exploring a Golden Core cultivator's abode, even if He Zhenghao's group could not return loaded with treasures, retreating in one piece when encountering danger should not have been difficult.
Yet only after delving deep into the abode's interior and triggering a restriction did they discover that while Master Tianyang was indeed at the Golden Core realm, he practiced mechanism arts—an ancient craft that had long since been lost to time.
Over a dozen firestone mechanism puppets were instantly activated, surrounding the group on all sides.
Only the Golden Core cultivator named Zheng Xiaoyun managed to break out, suffering severe injuries in the process.
The other five Foundation Establishment cultivators were all slaughtered at the hands of the mechanism puppets.
Because three of the five Foundation Establishment cultivators who died were island guardians of the Congyun Sea, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' officials even dispatched a mighty Nascent Soul expert to investigate Zheng Xiaoyun, checking whether there was any foul play or intentional luring into a death trap.
The conclusion was that it was indeed purely an accident.
The deaths of five Foundation Establishment cultivators not only failed to deter people from exploring the cave abode, but actually inflamed their enthusiasm all the more.
Not to mention the priceless mechanism puppets inside the cave abode, the legacies left behind by the five Foundation Establishment cultivators alone were enough to make many cultivators green with envy.
Word had it that a second exploration team was already gathering.
The leader this time was a mighty Nascent Soul cultivator, True Monarch Gouxuan.
This man was utterly obsessed with esoteric arts of all kinds. Hearing that the lost mechanism arts had resurfaced, his curiosity was piqued beyond measure.
He decided to go and investigate in person.
"I wonder if this expedition will succeed. But those going this time are all Nascent Soul and Golden Core grand cultivators, so I won't go join the bustle."
"With so many treasures, surely no one will vie with me for Fellow Daoist He's remains, right?"
"Perhaps I can post a bounty mission?"
"One thousand contribution points? That might be too much; five hundred should be about right..."
Li Fan was not worried about the Mountain-Sitting Art being leaked, either.
Cultivators in this world did not carry technique jade slips around with them.
Usually, after mastering an art, they would destroy the jade slip, carving a new one only when the need arose.
That need, naturally, referred to trading techniques.
Immortal methods could not be cultivated concurrently, making cultivation arts the most precious resource in the cultivation world.
Arts like the Mountain-Sitting Art, stumbled upon by chance in an ancient cave abode, could be sold to the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals or other organizations for a handsome sum if one chose not to cultivate them.
And techniques like the Lesser Water Derivation Technique redeemed from the Heavenly Mystery Realm could likewise be sold back to recoup a bit of investment if one switched to another art after breaking through to a new realm.
Once a technique was sold, the memories concerning it would naturally be erased from one's mind.
"Techniques in the world can be roughly divided into two kinds.
"One kind consists of those newly derived after the Great Tribulation, which have corresponding backups. Even if a cultivator practicing them dies unexpectedly, the art won't be lost forever. It will simply be recovered and put up for sale again, just like the two techniques in Qian Hong's tomb.
"The other kind consists of arts that existed before the Great Tribulation, which remain obscure to the world for various reasons, known only to the individual cultivating them. If that cultivator perishes without leaving a copy behind, it usually means the art is lost forever. The Mountain-Sitting Art and the Sea-Calming Divine Sword all fall into this category.
"Yet with the Stealing Heaven Changing Sun Art, I have a certain probability of reproducing a lost art from a cultivator's remains...
"Or could this actually be the proper way to use the Stealing Heaven Changing Sun Art?
"Don't tell me I have to pick up my old trade again?"
Li Fan fell into deep thought.
After a while, Li Fan shook his head.
"Better retrieve Fellow Daoist He's remains first. Before that, I should do some missions to earn a bit of contribution points."
Refining an avatar had to be handled by his original body.
Furthermore, since he had decided that the Lin Fan avatar would have no contact whatsoever with his true self, it was best for his true self to post this bounty personally.
Five hundred contribution points might take other cultivators nearly half a year to amass.
Yet for Li Fan, who possessed knowledge of numerous secrets in the Congyun Sea, it was merely a matter of a single mission.
Three years had passed since he submitted the blue-blood coral mission, so completing one or two missions now would not draw too much attention.
Li Fan then began browsing the mission list.
Soon, he picked a bounty mission offering two thousand points as a reward.
Accepting the mission, he sent a reply:
"In the southwestern waters of the Congyun Sea, inside the karst cave beneath Gonghai Island, you will find the sea beast you are looking for.
"It is equivalent in strength to the late Qi Condensation stage, but they move in packs and are troublesome to deal with.
"Note that this karst cave has two levels. You must search carefully to find the entrance to the second level.
"The pack of sea beasts is in the second cave."
...
Once again, he only provided information.
More than half a day later, the other party verified the authenticity of the information.
Generously enough, they awarded Li Fan 1,000 contribution points.
With the contribution points in hand, Li Fan immediately posted a bounty mission for 500 contribution points through the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
In the mission description, he stated that he and He Zhenghao had been close friends for nearly forty years, sharing a deep, unshakeable bond.
Unable to bear seeing his friend's corpse exposed in the wild, he posted this bounty in hopes of having the remains recovered for a proper burial.
He thought it would take some time before anyone accepted the mission.
To his surprise, before long, someone took it up.
This person was none other than a member of the expedition team currently assembling—a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
He even sent Li Fan a message, asking if he wanted to come along.
"With a mighty Nascent Soul expert leading the way, we are guaranteed to return safely."
The cultivator promised with absolute confidence.
Chapter 97