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Zhang Haobo looked at Li Fan, his eyes filled with both awe and joy.
He had heard that Elder Li had already cleansed his body of all the miasma and would soon become a revered Immortal Master.
To see him now naturally filled him with both respect and fear.
"So it's you." Li Fan had a good impression of this man and smiled. "It's been several years since we last met. How have you been lately?"
Zhang Haobo did not dare to be negligent and honestly reported, "Thanks to Elder Li, the fleet has been doing quite well these past few years. Especially with the large amounts of treasure Elder Li brings back from each voyage, it has attracted many young people who want to join the fleet."
"Our treatment and status on the island have also improved. Many people envy us."
Halfway through, Zhang Haobo paused, hesitating to speak.
"Feel free to speak your mind," Li Fan gestured for him to continue.
"However... the brothers on Vast Distance have recently been discussing leaving Jade Island. I also have this vague idea."
"Oh?" Li Fan was somewhat surprised. "Where are you planning to go?"
"I won't hide it from Elder Li, but we haven't decided yet," Zhang Haobo said, somewhat apprehensive.
Li Fan's interest was piqued. "If things are going well, why would you suddenly have the idea to leave?"
Zhang Haobo scratched his head. "I'm afraid Elder Li will laugh at me, but... I just have a vague sense of unease."
"Unease? Tell me more," Li Fan instructed.
Zhang Haobo was silent for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts.
After a while, he looked around and whispered, "I won't hide it from Elder Li, but we brothers have encountered various strange things on our recent voyages."
"For example?"
"On our recent voyages, we often catch over a thousand pounds of fish in one net, completely full. Nine out of ten nets are like this, and there are all kinds of fish."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"It is a good thing, but I've been fishing at sea for over a decade and have never seen anything like this before." A hint of doubt and fear flashed in Zhang Haobo's eyes.
"It's as if all the fish in the sea are fleeing and gathering together."
"What else?" Li Fan pondered for a moment and continued to ask.
"We brothers have lived on Jade Island since childhood and are very familiar with the reefs around the island. Recently, we've noticed that more reefs are exposed around the island." Zhang Haobo said somewhat seriously.
"Are you saying... the water level is dropping?" Li Fan instantly understood.
"Every year, the water level changes, but this year's changes seem unusual. The brothers are all worried," Zhang Haobo said.
"We reported this to the Luli Bureau a month ago, but they didn't seem to take it seriously, saying it was just a normal water level change." Zhang Haobo added.
"There's one more thing that worries us. In the past three years, there hasn't been a single wind disaster. Not just around our Jade Island, but throughout the entire Congyun Sea."
"We've talked to the fleets from other islands, and it's definitely true. In the past three years, wind disasters have completely disappeared from the Congyun Sea." Zhang Haobo, fearing Li Fan wouldn't believe him, quickly added.
Li Fan remained silent, unsure what this meant.
"Since I was born, wind disasters have never stopped. Some years there are over a dozen, and even in the lean years, there are two or three. It's been like this for decades."
"Now, there hasn't been a wind disaster for three whole years. Some people on the island are clapping and cheering, saying it's the Immortal Master's protection. But I and the brothers don't see it that way."
"This is too abnormal. Something big must be happening," Zhang Haobo said firmly.
"Perhaps it just means the weather will be hotter in the future," Li Fan thought for a moment and tried to reassure him. "The island has the Island Protection Array and the Immortal Master. Even if something happens, we should be able to handle it."
"Elder Li makes a good point. Many of the brothers think the same way. But I just have this vague sense of unease and can't shake it off," Zhang Haobo said with a bitter smile.
"So I've decided to leave, to leave the Congyun Sea." Zhang Haobo's gaze gradually became more determined.
Seeing this, Li Fan could only say, "Leaving home is not an easy decision. You should think it over carefully."
Zhang Haobo nodded.
Li Fan said no more, bid farewell to Zhang Haobo, and spent the rest of the day wandering through the market before returning home.
Thinking it over, Zhang Haobo wasn't being overly worried.
All the signs indeed indicated that something unusual was happening in the Congyun Sea.
Perhaps a massive wind disaster was gathering strength in the shadows;
Or perhaps a severe drought was forming.
But, none of that was a big deal.
Zhang Haobo was, after all, just an ordinary person. When a disaster struck, he would have no means to protect himself and could only rely on fate.
It was normal for him to be worried and fearful.
As for Li Fan, he had already stepped into the realm of cultivation. As long as he could break through to the Qi Condensation Stage, he could go to the Myriad Immortals Island.
There, cultivators gathered, and there was no need to worry about such disasters.
Even if a disaster so severe that even cultivators couldn't handle it occurred, worrying would be useless.
So, what Li Fan needed to do now was to focus on cultivating the Five Spirit Qi Absorption Technique.
Right, he could inform Yin Yuzhen at the Myriad Treasure Tower to prepare in advance.
...
This interlude quickly passed, and Li Fan continued to focus on his cultivation.
Time flowed by.
Another year passed.
Six months ago, Zhang Haobo and some of his brothers from Vast Distance ultimately decided to leave the Congyun Sea. This caused a stir on the island, and people began to worry.
However, the past six months had been calm, with no sign of any major disaster. So, people began to treat it as a joke.
Yin Yuzhen finally gathered enough strength and returned to Nightfall Island with high spirits. After a series of twists and turns, she managed to reclaim the position of head steward at Tianbao Tower.
With Nightfall Island initially stabilized, there were still many miscellaneous matters to handle. To prevent any troublemakers from causing trouble, Yin Yuzhen would have to stay on Nightfall Island for the next few years and could not return. She only sent someone to inform Li Fan of the good news.
He Zhenghao no longer sent anyone to visit. In his view, Li Fan had taken nearly four years to guide qi into his body, clearly showing his potential was exhausted and no longer worth his attention.
Xiao Heng, on the other hand, occasionally sent messengers with letters, inquiring about Li Fan's recent condition.
It was said that Xiao Heng had made rapid progress and was now at the middle stage of the Qi Condensation realm.
...
Amidst the world's turmoil, Li Fan observed coldly like a passerby.
He only focused on his cultivation.
On this day, Li Fan felt a stirring in his heart.
Having accumulated enough of the five spirit fuels, the Root of Heaven and Earth was finally about to form!
A faint shadow appeared in Li Fan's dantian. In an instant, Li Fan felt a subtle yet incredibly strong connection with the heavens and earth.
Like a water wheel drawing water from a river to irrigate a dry field.
Threads of heavenly qi flowed through the Root of Heaven and Earth, slowly entering Li Fan's dantian and quickly spreading throughout his body.
In the seventh year of Li Fan's entry into the cultivation world, he finally reached the Qi Condensation Stage.
(End of Chapter)