Two figures streaked across the sky like meteors, coming to a halt above Xuanjing City. The officials below paled, many crying out, "Immortal Masters!" and preparing to prostrate themselves.
Only Li Fan remained unmoved. "Panic is unbecoming," he snorted. Decades of unchallenged authority had ingrained his words into the hearts of the officials. His single command quelled their instinctive fear, restoring a semblance of calm. Yet, the sight of the two figures hovering above still instilled terror.
A hush fell over Xuanjing City as the cultivators' conversation continued.
"Kou Hong! Do you think you can escape me by fleeing to this desolate land? Hand over the cultivation technique you obtained, or I swear I won't rest until you're dead!"
"A joke! I was trapped at the Foundation Establishment stage for nearly a century, my lifespan nearing its end, because I lacked a Core Formation method. Now that I've finally obtained one, why would I give it to you?"
"This conversation sounds familiar," Li Fan thought. "It seems this isn't the first time I've experienced this." As Kou Hong and Daoist Xuan's thunderous voices echoed, a sharp pain shot through his head, followed by a flood of images.
"No!" Remembering the devastation their battle would cause, reducing Xuanjing City to rubble, Li Fan's heart tightened.
Events unfolded exactly as he remembered.
"Kou Hong! What are you doing?!"
"Just seeking a chance to survive!" Kou Hong's maniacal laughter echoed as a colossal crimson dragon descended, its fiery breath threatening to incinerate everything.
Terror and despair filled the faces of the city's inhabitants.
Except for Li Fan. He remained impassive. The crimson flames even evoked a strange sensation within him.
"Is this… the spiritual qi needed for cultivation?"
He focused his senses, and time seemed to slow. He saw the flames suspended mid-air, perfectly still. To his surprise, sensing this spiritual qi wasn't difficult. It felt almost… docile, obedient to his will.
He tentatively drew the fiery energy into his body. It flowed smoothly, the immense power that could incinerate a city entering him like a river flowing into a vast ocean, causing not a single ripple. If not for the subtle changes he felt within himself, he might have thought he had failed.
"The fire attribute of the spiritual qi has vanished, returning to its pure form," Li Fan observed. "Is this another effect of this body?"
The sudden change caught Kou Hong off guard. His ferocious expression froze as his signature technique, the Fire Dragon's Roar, dissipated.
"Did you poison me?!" he accused Daoist Xuan, his voice filled with rage and disbelief.
"What?" Daoist Xuan, confused, didn't understand the accusation.
As they argued, a cold, commanding voice boomed from below.
"Silence! Get down here!"
An immense force yanked them from the sky. They crashed to the ground, creating two large craters in the city streets.
Silence fell upon Xuanjing City. Everyone recognized the voice. The relief of surviving the fiery dragon was replaced by shock and awe. In the Grand Tutor's residence, the officials stared at Li Fan in disbelief.
One quick-witted official broke the silence. "The Grand Tutor's might compels even immortals to bow! With the Grand Tutor's protection, Great Xuan is truly blessed!" He prostrated himself, and the others quickly followed, echoing his praise.
Li Fan ignored them and walked towards the fallen cultivators. As he took his first step, traces of spiritual qi lingered in the air. By the time he reached Kou Hong and Daoist Xuan, he had absorbed it all.
"So little…" he thought, slightly disappointed. He looked at the cultivators, now surrounded by the city guard. Despite their fear, the guards leveled their spears at the intruders. They parted as Li Fan approached.
Kou Hong and Daoist Xuan, unable to break free from the force that held them down, felt a wave of despair.
"This desolate land is truly dangerous," they thought, regretting their arrival.
Li Fan stood before them. Though he radiated no spiritual qi, his presence alone made them tremble.
"Where do you come from?" he asked, sensing the spiritual power within them. He suppressed the urge to absorb it immediately.
"In response to Senior, we come from Congyun Heaven Mountain in the Xuanhuang World… We stumbled upon this place by accident. We apologize for any offense," Daoist Xuan stammered, his face slick with sweat.
Through their answers, Li Fan learned about the Great Xuan Small World and the Xuanhuang World. As they spoke, images flashed through his mind: the Immortal Severing Grand Formation sealing Great Xuan, located in the Eastern Ruins Abyss; the tomb of Yi Yin, a Taiyan Sect disciple, containing the Dao Transformation Stone and the Taiyan Ark; and the Impasse Stele within Qian Hong's tomb.
The mention of "Congyun" evoked a startling vision: a crimson figure standing amidst the heavens, wielding ethereal flames that consumed a vast sea.
"Could this be the calamity that caused my injuries and amnesia?" He examined the emotions accompanying the vision.
"No… I was that powerful? Able to withstand such a tribulation?" This realization, instead of bringing joy, filled him with apprehension. The greater his past power, the greater the threat that had injured him.
"I must proceed with extreme caution."
"Lend me your spiritual qi," Li Fan said, extending his hands towards Kou Hong and Daoist Xuan.
To their horror, they felt their spiritual power draining uncontrollably, leaving them empty in mere moments, like ordinary mortals.
Strangely, they felt no ill effects from this sudden loss. Instead, they felt invigorated, as if they had broken through several cultivation realms! They even noticed their Foundation Establishment treasures beginning to crystallize, showing signs of refinement.
"What… is happening?" They exchanged confused glances, suppressing their questions. Though impulsive, they weren't foolish. The power displayed by the old man indicated he was at least a Nascent Soul cultivator!
"But Nascent Soul cultivators have their own internal worlds. Why would he need our spiritual qi?"
"Could it be that before the Great Calamity…" They thought they had found the answer.
"Senior, if you have any requests, please command us. We will obey without hesitation," Kou Hong said gruffly.
Li Fan waved his hand, and the guards dragged the unresisting cultivators away to be imprisoned. He remained above the dungeon, contemplating the sensation he had felt upon absorbing their spiritual qi.
"Eternal Remnants…"
"…The Vessel of I… A method of traversal?"
As these fragmented words surfaced in his mind, a host of majestic figures suddenly appeared, overwhelming him.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his head reeling as if struck by a hammer. It wasn't a delusion; he had suffered a severe head injury. Blood and viscous white matter oozed from his orifices, staining his body crimson. Such an injury would be fatal to any mortal, even most cultivators.
But as he forcibly severed the connection to the memories, he instantly recovered, feeling no weakness whatsoever. He wiped the blood from his face as if it belonged to someone else. With a thought, the blood transformed into green light and flowed back into his body, not only healing him but also strengthening him, invigorated by his brush with death.
"This body's life force is truly extraordinary," he mused. "A fortunate thing, indeed."
Thinking of the Xuanhuang World beyond Great Xuan, an idea began to form.
Several hours later, an identical copy of Li Fan stood before him. Not a clone created by a divine ability, but a body he had grown from his own potent life force, limb by limb, organ by organ, even a new head, painstakingly assembled into a complete person. Strictly speaking, this body was merely an extension of himself.
He quickly adapted to the dual perspective. Even he was slightly awed by his creation.
"Let him scout the way," Li Fan decided. "If he encounters danger, he can always abandon this body."
Seven days later, Li Fan, accompanied by Kou Hong and Daoist Xuan, flew towards the Eastern Ruins Abyss. He hadn't asked about flight; his body remembered instinctively after absorbing the spiritual qi. He carried the two cultivators effortlessly.
Reaching the Abyss, Kou Hong began to speak. "Senior, ahead lies the Immortal Severing Grand Formation, sealing this mortal world. It's extremely dangerous. We…"
He trailed off as Li Fan, after a brief observation, frowned and plunged directly into the formation.
Kou Hong and Daoist Xuan's hearts leaped into their throats. But to their surprise, the formation's restrictions were inactive. They passed through unimpeded.
Emerging from the darkness, they saw the sprawling Congyun Mountain Range. Kou Hong and Daoist Xuan greedily absorbed the spiritual qi, sighing in relief as their strength returned.
They looked at Li Fan, who, strangely, showed no signs of absorbing spiritual qi. He simply stared at the sky, lost in thought. They waited respectfully, not daring to disturb him.
"How long has it been since this place transformed from mountains to sea?" Li Fan finally asked.
After a moment of hesitation, Daoist Xuan answered. "About twenty years, Senior. How did you know?"
Li Fan didn't answer, his senses focused on a crimson figure within his own body. Upon entering the Xuanhuang World, he had sensed the figure hovering in the sky, identical to the one from his vision. But instead of fear, this figure evoked a sense of familiarity. With a mere thought, he had "captured" it and sealed it within himself.
From it, he gleaned insights into the Dao of Flame, albeit rudimentary and childish, like a toddler's first words.
"It seems my past achievements were even greater than I imagined," Li Fan mused.
(End of chapter)