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"What's going on?"
Shocked, Li Fan's Water Mirror Technique shattered with a loud boom.
His mind was in turmoil, overwhelmed by the sudden chaos.
After a moment, Li Fan slowly regained his composure.
"Could there be something wrong with this Thousand Mechanisms Jade Ring Golden Chapter?"
His first thought was that the cultivation technique was flawed.
The so-called 'discernment' might no longer be applicable in the post-apocalyptic world of cultivation.
After all, Li Fan was currently within the protective array of Taian Island.
Taian Island was located in the central region of the Congyun Sea, under the influence of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
If everything had been safe until now, how could a disaster suddenly loom just because he went into seclusion?
However, sensing the thick aura of death around him, Li Fan couldn't easily convince himself otherwise.
His unease grew stronger.
Li Fan made a quick decision. Regardless of whether it was real or not, he would go to Myriad Immortals Island to avoid the disaster.
He immediately planned to activate the teleportation array to head to Myriad Immortals Island.
However, his heart sank when the teleportation array showed no response!
Li Fan's expression turned grim.
He took out the Communication Spirit Talisman given to him by He Zhenghao and tried to contact him.
After channeling spiritual energy, there was still no response!
It was clear that something strange had happened.
Staying on Taian Island would be a death sentence; he couldn't just sit and wait for his fate!
Li Fan summoned the Great Derivation Boat and took out the *Congyun Sea Map*, preparing to pilot the flying boat himself.
The Spirit Stone that powered the Great Derivation Boat was almost depleted, but fortunately, Li Fan had purchased a set of essentials for solitary cultivators, which included several Spirit Stones.
Li Fan estimated that it would take about two to three months to fly from Taian Island to Myriad Immortals Island.
The Spirit Stones would definitely be enough.
Without further ado, Li Fan ignored his duty to guard the island and prepared to leave in the flying boat.
Just as the Great Derivation Boat was about to fly out of the Island Protection Array, Li Fan suddenly sensed the boundless killing intent from the outside world.
It was as if countless sharp blades filled the heavens and earth.
Li Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately stopped the Great Derivation Boat.
His intuition told him that if he left the Island Protection Array, he would surely die!
Li Fan squinted, looking at the calm sea, unsure from where the danger came.
In the end, Li Fan decided not to take the risk.
He put away the Great Derivation Boat and decided to ask the commoners on the island what had happened recently.
After his divine sense swept over the entire island, he was greatly alarmed.
It turned out that a third of the island's population was missing.
The remaining people were all pale and emaciated, as if they hadn't eaten for a long time.
Realizing that something significant must have happened during his seclusion, Li Fan's expression turned grim, and he flew to the island lord's mansion.
Since taking over the duty of guarding the island, Li Fan had been in seclusion and hadn't paid much attention to the island's affairs.
He had only met the island lord a few times.
Upon seeing Li Fan, the island lord immediately fell to his knees, repeatedly banging his head on the ground and wailing.
"Merciful Immortal Master, merciful Immortal Master, please save us!"
The island lord wept bitterly, his forehead bleeding from the repeated head-banging.
"What exactly happened? Speak quickly!" Li Fan's expression was incredibly grim.
"Reporting to Immortal Master, life has become unbearable. It hasn't rained for half a year, and the fresh water and food on the island are almost depleted. If this continues, everyone will starve to death!" the island lord said, crying and banging his head.
"It hasn't rained for half a year?" Li Fan recalled what Zhang Haobo had told him a few years ago.
"The Drought Disaster has finally come. But why did the Heavenly Profound Mirror tell me that nothing significant would happen? Is a disaster of this scale not even worth the Heavenly Profound Mirror's attention?"
The island lord continued to cry out, "All the fish in the nearby sea have been caught, and the weather is so hot that no fishing fleet has returned from the distant sea. Everyone is really about to starve to death! Merciful Immortal Master, please save us!"
Li Fan was annoyed by the man's cries and, noticing that he was still quite plump despite being somewhat thinner, became furious. "Half the commoners on the island have starved to death, yet you haven't lost any weight?"
The island lord's face turned pale, about to protest.
But Li Fan's divine sense swept through the kitchen of the island lord's mansion, and he became even angrier.
Without waiting for the island lord to speak, he slapped him into a pile of flesh.
"Occupying a position without doing anything, you deserve to die!"
Li Fan snorted coldly and used the power of the array to broadcast a message to the entire island.
"The island lord has been struck down by me. All other officials, come to the island lord's mansion immediately!"
After a moment, several commoners trembling with fear came before Li Fan.
Seeing that they also looked malnourished, Li Fan suppressed his urge to kill.
From their tearful and heart-wrenching accounts, Li Fan finally understood what had happened during his year of seclusion.
The Drought Disaster began half a year ago.
Initially, no one paid much attention to the lack of rain.
It wasn't until two months passed without a single drop that the island's inhabitants began to panic.
The island had a fresh water source, but with no rain for days, it gradually dried up.
At first, they could rely on fishing in the nearby sea for food, but as the weather grew hotter, they could no longer catch any fish around the island. All the fishing fleets that ventured out to the open sea never returned, and Taian Island fell into famine.
Within just a month, a third of the island's population had died, and countless tragedies had occurred.
The remaining people were barely surviving.
If Li Fan had emerged from seclusion any later, he might not have seen any living souls.
Given the situation, Li Fan could not stand by and do nothing.
When he left Daxuan, the Great Derivation Boat was mostly filled with grain, apart from a few cabins containing gold and silver treasures.
He had originally prepared it out of caution, as a precaution for exploring the unknown world of cultivation.
He never thought it would come in handy after nearly ten years.
The Great Derivation Boat had a Dust Purification Array, so the grain had not spoiled.
Li Fan immediately expanded the Great Derivation Boat to its maximum size and ordered the island's commoners to take out some of the grain for immediate relief.
Seeing the Immortal Master bring life-saving grain, the islanders all knelt down in gratitude, repeatedly banging their heads on the ground.
Li Fan ignored them, allowing them to celebrate.
If they rationed the grain, it should be enough to sustain the islanders for a few months.
The most pressing issue was to solve the fresh water problem.
With water, they could survive.
Li Fan went to the island's main fresh water source, a medium-sized lake in the center of the island.
The lake was already guarded by dedicated personnel, preventing ordinary people from approaching.
Due to the lack of rain, the lake had shrunk significantly, now only a tenth of its original size, and was about to dry up completely.
"When the Island Protection Array was built, no one thought about a water shortage..."
Holding the island's guardian order, Li Fan shook his head helplessly.
"It seems I need to construct a seawater purification array."
(End of Chapter)