Chapter 44 – Finally Entering the Qi Refining Stage

Chapter 44 – Finally Entering the Qi Refining Stage

Zhang Haobo looked at Li Fan, his eyes filled with both reverence and delight.

He had heard that Elder Li had already cleansed himself of all miasma, and that it wouldn’t be long before he became an Immortal Master revered by all.

Seeing him now naturally filled Zhang Haobo with both respect and trepidation.

“So it’s you.” Li Fan had a fairly good impression of this man and smiled at once. “Come to think of it, it’s been several years since we last met. How have things been lately?”

Zhang Haobo didn’t dare be careless and answered honestly: “Thanks to Elder Li’s good fortune, the fleet has been doing quite well these past few years. Especially with how Elder Li brings back massive hauls of treasure every time he goes out to sea — it’s been attracting a steady stream of young people wanting to join the fleet.”

“Our compensation and status on the island have risen with the tide. You wouldn’t believe how many people envy us.”

Halfway through, Zhang Haobo paused, seeming to want to say something but holding back.

“Speak freely.” Li Fan gestured for him to continue.

“However… the brothers on the Distant Traveler have been discussing leaving Glazed Glass Island recently. I’ve been secretly harboring the same thought.”

“Oh?” Li Fan was somewhat surprised. “Where would you go?”

“To be honest with you, Elder Li, we haven’t decided yet,” Zhang Haobo said with some apprehension.

Now Li Fan’s interest was piqued. “If life has been good, why would you suddenly think about leaving?”

Zhang Haobo scratched his head. “I’m afraid Elder Li will laugh at me, but… there’s just this faint unease in my heart.”

“Unease? Tell me about it in detail,” Li Fan instructed.

Zhang Haobo fell silent for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts.

After a while, he glanced left and right, then said in a low voice: “To be honest with you, Elder Li, we brothers have been encountering all sorts of strange things during our recent voyages.”

“Such as?”

“On our last several outings, we’d cast a single net and pull up over a thousand jin (500 kg) of fish, packed full to the brim. Nine out of ten nets came up like that, with all kinds of fish mixed together.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It’s certainly a good thing, but I’ve been fishing these waters for over a decade, and I’ve never seen anything like it before.” A flicker of confusion and fear passed through Zhang Haobo’s eyes.

“It’s as if every fish on the ocean floor is fleeing for its life, all of them gathering together in one place.”

“What else?” Li Fan pondered for a moment, then continued asking.

“We brothers grew up on Glazed Glass Island and know every hidden reef around these waters. But recently, we’ve noticed there are more exposed rocks around the island than before,” Zhang Haobo said with some gravity.

“You mean… the water level is dropping?” Li Fan understood immediately.

“The water level fluctuates every year, but this year’s changes seem quite unusual. The brothers are all worried,” Zhang Haobo said.

“We reported this to Glazed Glass Manor a month ago, but they clearly didn’t pay it much attention. Said it was just normal water level variation,” Zhang Haobo added.

“There’s one more thing that concerns us even more. Over the past three years, there hasn’t been a single storm. And it’s not just the waters around Glazed Glass Island — it’s the same across the entire Layered Cloud Sea.”

“We’ve compared notes with fleet crews from every island, and there’s no mistake. Storms have completely vanished from the Layered Cloud Sea for the past three years.” Afraid Li Fan wouldn’t believe him, Zhang Haobo quickly added.

Not knowing what this meant, Li Fan remained silent.

“Storms — ever since the day I was born, they’ve never stopped. In busy years there’d be over a dozen, and even in quiet years there’d be two or three. It’s been like that for decades.”

“Yet now, three full years have passed without a single storm. Some people on the island are celebrating, saying the Immortal Masters are protecting us. But my brothers and I don’t see it that way.”

“This is too abnormal. Something big is definitely going to happen,” Zhang Haobo said with certainty.

“Perhaps it just means the weather will be somewhat hotter in the future,” Li Fan said after a moment’s thought, offering reassurance. “The island is protected by the island protection formation, and Immortal Master He himself presides here. Even if something does happen, they should be able to handle it.”

“What Elder Li says certainly makes sense. Quite a few brothers on the ship think the same way. But I just can’t shake this feeling of unease — I simply can’t put my mind at rest.” Zhang Haobo smiled bitterly.

“So I’ve decided to leave. To leave the Layered Cloud Sea.” Zhang Haobo’s gaze gradually grew resolute.

Seeing his determination, Li Fan could only say: “Leaving one’s homeland is no easy matter. Think it over carefully before deciding.”

Zhang Haobo nodded.

Li Fan said no more. After bidding Zhang Haobo farewell, he browsed the market district for the rest of the day before finally returning home.

Thinking it over carefully, Zhang Haobo wasn’t simply being paranoid.

All the signs did indeed suggest that something unusual was going to happen in the Layered Cloud Sea.

Perhaps a massive storm was secretly gathering its strength;

Or perhaps a severe drought was quietly taking shape.

But none of that was any great concern.

Zhang Haobo was, after all, merely a mortal. When calamity struck, he had no power to protect himself and could only resign himself to fate.

It was only natural for him to worry and fear.

Li Fan, on the other hand, already had one foot across the threshold of cultivation. As long as he could break through to the Qi Refining stage, he could travel to Ten Thousand Immortals Island.

That place was teeming with cultivators — naturally, there would be no need to worry about such disasters.

Even in the worst case, if a calamity truly arose that even cultivators couldn’t handle, worrying would be pointless anyway.

So what Li Fan needed to do now was simply continue cultivating the Five Spirits Qi Sensing technique with a peaceful mind.

Oh, and he should notify Yin Yuzhen at the Myriad Treasure House so she could prepare in advance.

…

This brief interlude quickly passed, and Li Fan returned to focused cultivation.

Time flowed on.

Another year went by.

Half a year ago, Zhang Haobo had ultimately chosen to leave the Layered Cloud Sea with some of his brothers from the Distant Traveler. The matter had caused quite a stir on the island, and people began to worry.

But the following six months had been nothing but calm seas and clear skies, without the slightest hint of any great disaster. And so people treated the whole affair as a joke.

Yin Yuzhen had finally amassed enough strength and returned to Nightfall Island in high spirits. After some twists and turns, she managed to reclaim her position as grand shopkeeper of the Heavenly Treasure House headquarters.

With Nightfall Island only just settled, there were still many loose ends to deal with. To guard against treacherous elements stirring up trouble again, Yin Yuzhen would have to remain on Nightfall Island for the next several years and couldn’t return. She merely sent someone to deliver the good news to Li Fan.

He Zhenghao had also stopped sending people to check on him. In He Zhenghao’s view, the fact that Li Fan had taken nearly four years just to complete the drawing qi into the body phase clearly meant his potential was exhausted, and he was no longer worth the effort to monitor.

Xiao Heng, however, would occasionally send letters inquiring about Li Fan’s condition.

Word had it that Xiao Heng was progressing at remarkable speed and had already reached mid Qi Refining stage cultivation.

…

The world bustled on, and Li Fan watched it all with the cold detachment of a passing traveler.

He simply cultivated patiently.

Then one day, Li Fan felt a stirring in his heart.

Having accumulated enough fuel from the Five Spirits, the Root of Heaven and Earth was finally about to take form!

A phantom image appeared within Li Fan’s dantian. In that instant, Li Fan felt a connection with heaven and earth — faint, yet incomparably intimate.

Like a waterwheel drawing water from a river to irrigate parched fields.

Wisps of heaven and earth spiritual energy flowed through the Root of Heaven and Earth, slowly pouring into Li Fan’s dantian before quickly spreading throughout his entire body.

In his seventh year since entering the cultivation world, Li Fan finally reached the Qi Refining stage.