Chapter 90 – Everything Has Its Cause

Li Fan had seen quite a few Heavenly-Earthly Wonders before.

Setting aside the Azure Sea Pearl formed from the will of the Layered Cloud Sea, there was Kou Hong’s Coiling Dragon Branch and Daoxuanzi’s Rusted Sword Daoxuan.

Now it seemed that, in all likelihood, these were transformations of cultivators who had perished long ago.

The Coiling Dragon Branch embodied the principle of using the small to overcome the great, performing acts of devouring; Rusted Sword Daoxuan represented an unyielding will, possessing the ability to slow and corrode.

One could clearly discern the faint shadows of cultivators within them.

Suddenly learning this secret about Heavenly-Earthly Wonders, Li Fan felt a jolt of alarm.

However, he had personally witnessed grand spectacles like Crimson Flame burning the sea, so he quickly calmed down.

In Li Fan’s view, the conflict between this world and its cultivators had clearly reached an extreme peak.

With tensions so intensified, no matter what bizarre things occurred, anything was possible.

Li Fan continued reviewing Si Kongbo’s memories.

That Nascent Soul powerhouse had long ago transformed himself into a Foundation Establishment singularity, attaching himself to a small child.

Normally, he merely remained in deep slumber.

He would only awaken when guiding the child’s cultivation or when the child’s life was in danger.

Thus, he had never detected Si Kongbo, who had been secretly observing and harboring malicious intent.

It was not until that night, when Si Kongbo attempted to extract the child’s essence blood, that he was finally startled awake.

The Nascent Soul powerhouse flew into a rage immediately. This child was key to his hope of reaching Spirit Transformation, or even merging with the Dao — how could he allow anyone else to covet him?

He instantly revealed his true form — a green willow tree — and moved to kill Si Kongbo on the spot.

On one side was a Heavenly-Earthly Wonder transformed from a Nascent Soul cultivator, its power greatly diminished.

On the other was someone with only Foundation Establishment cultivation, but who possessed the inheritance of a thousand-year-old hidden sect, with an endless array of techniques at his disposal.

For a time, the two actually fought to a standstill.

Both sides unleashed every technique they had, fighting with genuine fury, neither willing to retreat.

After a prolonged struggle, both were severely injured before either began to entertain thoughts of withdrawing.

It was at that moment that the small child suddenly appeared.

His expression was cold and detached as he regarded the two of them indifferently — a completely different person from the innocent five-or-six-year-old he had been before.

His cultivation had already reached the absolute limit of Qi Refining. As long as he had a Heavenly-Earthly Wonder, he could step into the Foundation Establishment realm at any time.

The green willow sensed that something was terribly wrong.

It tried to flee, but it was already too late.

During all those days while it slumbered, the child had already laid various seals and restrictions upon it.

Now they activated all at once, and the green willow was instantly absorbed into the child’s body.

Within moments, it was completely refined.

Witnessing this scene, Si Kongbo was utterly terrified and turned to run.

The child, of course, would not let him escape.

Though the child had only just entered the Foundation Establishment stage, his every move carried the air of a grandmaster. Each strike unerringly found Si Kongbo’s vital points.

Moreover, the child seemed to be quite familiar with Si Kongbo’s background.

Every time Si Kongbo tried to split off and flee with a clone, the child destroyed the clone at the earliest opportunity.

The two chased each other in a running battle. Si Kongbo’s clones were completely destroyed, and his true body was severely injured, utterly cornered.

Left with no choice, he could only release all the remnant souls of his sect’s elders stored within the Steal-the-Heavens, Swap-the-Sun Token, hoping to stall the child for even a moment.

Those remnant souls did manage to cause the child some interference, allowing Si Kongbo to escape to a distance.

But then he saw from afar a bolt of purple lightning descend from the sky, obliterating every last remnant soul into nothingness.

Si Kongbo was instantly scared out of his wits. Heedless of everything, he fled in a desperate frenzy.

He ran all the way to this remote corner of the Layered Cloud Sea before he finally stopped.

But his injuries were too severe. After staying in the Layered Cloud Sea for only a short while, his end drew near.

Before dying, Si Kongbo found Si Kongyi and took him as a disciple.

He hurriedly passed on the 《Steal-the-Heavens, Swap-the-Sun Scripture》 and the token, then perished.

As for Si Kongyi’s memories, compared to his master’s harrowing experiences, they were much simpler.

Although he had obtained the Steal-the-Heavens, Swap-the-Sun Sect’s inheritance, his bargain-price master had left him virtually nothing before dying.

The life of a rogue cultivator was incredibly difficult.

He could not even gather enough materials to refine a clone.

So after fumbling his way to the Qi Refining stage on his own, he decisively chose to join the Myriad Immortals Alliance.

After breaking through to the mid Qi Refining stage, he began collecting materials to refine his own clone.

By a stroke of luck, during one of his undersea explorations, he came across a set of remains.

Si Kongyi had a vague feeling that these remains were extraordinary — perhaps belonging to a powerful cultivator in life.

So he used the remains as material to create his clone.

This clone was none other than Baili Chen.

The moment the clone was successfully refined, a series of blurry images appeared in his mind.

It turned out that the remains belonged to a disciple of the ancient Cloud-Water Celestial Palace.

When the Great Calamity arrived, he had been severely injured and escaped from the Cloud-Water Celestial Palace.

Sadly, he could not hold on for long before his soul departed and he perished in the sea.

It was not until thousands of years later that Si Kongyi refined him into a clone.

Through this clone, Si Kongyi not only obtained a technique called 《Sea-Calming Divine Sword》, but also learned some of the ancient secrets within the Cloud-Water Celestial Palace.

Unfortunately, these were only fragmentary glimpses — he could not know everything.

Moreover, the Cloud-Water Celestial Palace had long been concealed by a grand formation, hidden from the world. Even if Si Kongyi wanted to explore it, he had no way to do so.

Later, when he discovered that the object of a bounty worth a staggering one hundred thousand contribution points — 《The Cloud-Water Chart》 — existed within the Cloud-Water Celestial Palace, he was ecstatic.

Knowing that his opportunity had come, he kept a careful watch on the central sea region for anomalies, secretly waiting for the Cloud-Water Celestial Palace to open.

In Anchor Year 11, after the Cloud-Water Celestial Palace reappeared in the world, he was the first to enter.

He had planned to obtain 《The Cloud-Water Chart》, claim the one hundred thousand contribution points, and enjoy smooth sailing on his cultivation path from then on.

But he never expected to encounter Li Fan.

Si Kongyi did not even know, right up until his death, what kind of person had killed him.

And how had that person noticed him in the first place?

He had clearly learned from his master’s lessons and conducted himself with the utmost caution!

…

Sensing the deep resentment and unwillingness within Si Kongyi’s remnant soul, Li Fan’s expression remained unchanged.

He summoned Blue Flame, the phantom spirit, and thoroughly annihilated both remnant souls.

“If it weren’t for me, Si Kongyi would have successfully obtained 《The Cloud-Water Chart》, exchanged it for one hundred thousand contribution points, and then used the ultra-long-range teleportation array to leave the Layered Cloud Sea before anyone could react.”

“No, wait.” Recalling what had happened in his previous life, Li Fan silently shook his head.

“In my previous life, many people personally witnessed Si Kongyi leaving through the teleportation array alone. Yet no one noticed Baili Chen at all…”

“Perhaps that was actually Si Kongyi’s cicada-shedding escape ploy. In the end, he probably never actually left the Layered Cloud Sea at all.”

“His true body departed the Layered Cloud Sea in full view of everyone, creating the illusion that he had already left. In reality, through the Steal-the-Heavens, Swap-the-Sun Scripture, he secretly returned to some hidden corner of the Layered Cloud Sea.”

“He didn’t need to fool the Celestial Mystery Mirror — he only needed to vanish from the sight of those eyeing the one hundred thousand contribution points…”

“A clever method. Perhaps I can do the same in this life. After all, the temptation of one hundred thousand contribution points is simply too great.”

Li Fan stowed the Steal-the-Heavens, Swap-the-Sun Token into his storage ring and flew toward the nearby island.

He needed to return to Ten Thousand Immortals Island first.

The gains from this expedition to the Cloud-Water Celestial Palace were enormous — almost too much to digest at once.

He would need to take some time to properly absorb it all.