Chapter 92 – Li Fan and Lin Fan

Chapter 92 – Li (46 km) Fan and Lin Fan

Having collected the spirit sand, Li Fan left the cavern and returned to the sea surface.

All the materials were now complete. Next, he needed to begin crafting the clone.

Naturally, this couldn’t be done right under the watchful eye of the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s Celestial Mystery Mirror.

Li Fan thought for a moment, then continued flying westward.

Out there, on a deserted island, was a cave dwelling that Si Kongyi had once established.

It had been concealed using the Steal-the-Heavens, Swap-the-Sun Sect’s techniques, making it difficult for ordinary cultivators to detect.

That was where Si Kongyi had hidden away to craft his own clone.

Since that was the case, Li Fan decided to head to that cave dwelling as well.

After two more days of flight, he was nearing the deserted island.

Yet Li Fan faintly sensed someone’s presence on the island. His heart tightened at once, and he concealed himself, creeping closer in stealth.

“Strange, it should be on this island.”

The distant voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Li Fan looked closely—that furtive figure was none other than Jiao Xiuyuan.

He was scratching his head with his left hand while staring at a square object in his right.

The object resembled a compass, though the lines and symbols on it were far more complex.

A beam of red light shot out from it, spreading in all directions.

Before long it returned, emitting a “beep.”

“That’s impossible—I shouldn’t have the wrong place. But why isn’t this Spirit-Discerning Disk having any effect?”

Jiao Xiuyuan was puzzled.

“What are you looking for…” Just then, Li Fan’s voice rang out abruptly.

Jiao Xiuyuan jumped in fright, nearly dropping the Spirit-Discerning Disk from his hands.

“Fellow Daoist Si Kong?” He turned around, looking at the figure that had suddenly appeared before him—features obscured by a Form-Concealing Talisman—and asked tentatively.

“You sent someone to sneak around and tail us before, and it was all so you could break into my cave dwelling while I was away?” Li Fan said coldly, his tone unfriendly.

Jiao Xiuyuan laughed awkwardly. “A misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding.”

His eyes darted about, and he quickly asked, “Might I know where Fellow Daoist Baili is?”

Li Fan didn’t answer. He directly produced the Verdant Wood Purple Fire Formation diagram and engulfed Jiao Xiuyuan within it.

Purple flames blazed, and amid agonized screams, Jiao Xiuyuan was reduced to ash.

The smell of something like scorched wood drifted through the air.

“A puppet, as expected.”

Li Fan wasn’t surprised. Looking down at the deserted island below, he activated the Steal-the-Heavens, Swap-the-Sun Art.

He faintly sensed the hidden cave dwelling concealed within the island’s jungle.

He flew down and stopped before a coconut tree that looked utterly ordinary.

With a light touch, as his spiritual aura resonated with it, Li Fan felt a pulling force.

Releasing his resistance, he was drawn inside the tree.

Though it was called a cave dwelling, it was actually quite crude—barely large enough to accommodate two people living there without feeling cramped.

There was nothing of value inside either.

But Li Fan only needed to borrow the place temporarily, so he wasn’t particular about it.

Nor was he worried about Jiao Xiuyuan seeking revenge.

After all, the shameful act of trying to sneak into someone else’s cave dwelling was on Jiao Xiuyuan’s head.

Moreover, this location was extremely remote. Even if Jiao Xiuyuan wanted to come for revenge, by the time he traveled all that distance, Li Fan would have long since finished crafting his clone and departed.

Li Fan put these trivial matters out of mind, took out all the required materials, steadied his breath, and focused his concentration. Then he began the crafting process.

For this clone, Li Fan had no intention of expending great effort to seize another cultivator’s fate.

Because in his plan, this clone was merely meant to serve as a decoy—to deceive everyone, draw their attention, and secure the hundred thousand contribution points.

This clone was also meant to be left behind to witness Crimson Flame’s sea-burning conflagration.

Since it was ultimately doomed to perish, there was no need to be too meticulous.

The crafting began.

Li Fan extracted a glob of his own vital blood. Using it as the core, he controlled the Myriad-Beast Blood and Hundred-Beast Flesh, blending and condensing them together, shaping them into a human form.

Then he circulated his cultivation technique, sensing the various stray fate threads drifting between heaven and earth.

These stray fate threads mostly belonged to the flora and fauna of the surrounding islands.

Each one was exceedingly faint.

But there were an enormous number of them.

Li Fan carefully plucked a wisp from each of these stray fate threads and gathered them all together.

As the number of extracted fate threads increased, his control became increasingly strained.

He knew he couldn’t be too greedy—if he lost control, the fate threads would backlash against him.

Once he felt that the fate threads under his control had reached their absolute limit, Li Fan stopped adding more.

He drove this entirely new, blank fate thread into the mass of blood and flesh before him.

Instantly, a faint vitality surfaced upon it.

The crafting process was more than half complete. Li Fan then added the remaining materials one after another.

Bones, organs, skin, hair…

All slowly took shape.

Then Li Fan adjusted the clone’s appearance.

Neither too handsome nor too ugly.

An unremarkable, average face—the kind that would be impossible to pick out in a crowd.

Moments later, a face with a blank, vacant expression appeared before his eyes.

Li Fan stared at it carefully for a good while, then nodded with satisfaction.

Next came the final step.

Li Fan concentrated his mind and pointed a finger at the top of the clone’s head.

“Sever!”

He severed the connection between the clone’s fate thread and its sources.

The clone finally became a self-contained entity.

Li Fan and the clone looked at each other.

An additional body, an entirely new perspective.

This feeling…

Was rather wondrous.

He manipulated the clone—walking, lying down, standing, remaining still.

After a while, Li Fan gradually adapted.

He took out clothes from the storage ring, and the clone put them on.

Bowing to the original body, the clone said, “Greetings, Fellow Daoist!”

The original body smiled. “From this day forward, you shall be called Lin Fan!”

“Very well!”

The clone Lin Fan was one minor realm lower than the original body.

He possessed only mid Qi Refining stage cultivation.

Furthermore, he had no cultivation technique—merely the empty shell of a cultivation level.

Now that the clone was complete, the next step was to have him join the Myriad Immortals Alliance.

There was no need for Li Fan to introduce him personally.

Lin Fan took the storage ring containing 《The Cloud-Water Chart》 and flew all the way to the vicinity of Spirit Rhythm Island.

Li Fan followed secretly behind him, in case anything unexpected occurred.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong.

After successfully meeting with the guardian of Spirit Rhythm Island, Lin Fan submitted his request to join the Myriad Immortals Alliance.

The guardian had no objections.

And so, after going through the familiar process, Lin Fan arrived at Ten Thousand Immortals Island and activated his own Celestial Mystery Mirror space.

Li Fan also returned to Ten Thousand Immortals Island, though the two did not meet.

Lin Fan then produced 《The Cloud-Water Chart》 and chose to complete the task worth one hundred thousand contribution points.

At the same time, Li Fan focused his mind, sensing the situation on Lin Fan’s end.

The Celestial Mystery Mirror remained silent for far longer than usual this time.

A long while passed with no response.

Li Fan began to wonder if something had gone wrong.

Finally, the voice of the Celestial Mystery Mirror sounded again.

“Unable to verify the authenticity of 《The Cloud-Water Chart》. Please wait.”

…

“The task issuer… requests to visit your space. Do you accept?”

Lin Fan was startled, then chose to accept.

Moments later, an elderly man with graying hair and a kindly face appeared before Lin Fan.

Not the slightest trace of a cultivator’s aura could be sensed from him—he seemed no different from an ordinary mortal.