Chapter 57 – Fortune Appears Without Warning

by spirapira

In his previous life, Li Fan had broken through the immortal-barren grand formation’s seal by a stroke of luck when his lifespan was nearly exhausted, arriving in the cultivation world for the first time.

What he had seen then was an endless mountain range and a majestic city suspended in the sky.

But in this life, after arriving in the cultivation world, Li Fan found himself above a vast, boundless ocean.

Before now, Li Fan had never thought much about it, simply assuming something had gone wrong during the teleportation.

It was only today, seeing the dried-up Layered Cloud Sea and witnessing the birth of the Wonder known as Azure Sea, that he finally understood.

There had been no mishap. The place he arrived at after passing through the immortal-barren grand formation was indeed the very same location.

The only difference was the timing of his two arrivals in the cultivation world.

In his previous life, Li Fan had arrived in the cultivation world at the age of 85—that is, anchored year 65.

In this life, Li Fan had entered the cultivation world at age 40, after his Unreality Charging progress reached 100%.

That was anchored year 20.

A gap of 45 years—one time he encountered a vast ocean, the other time a range of mountains.

It was no wonder Li Fan had never considered this possibility.

Without having experienced it firsthand, even if someone had told him in advance that such a cataclysmic transformation of heaven and earth would occur, he would surely have only half-believed it.

So Li Fan laughed.

First, he laughed at himself for still being unable to shed his mortal mentality.

If he had connected the various anomalies Zhang Haobo had pointed out earlier with the differences between what he saw on his two visits, he might have detected this heaven-and-earth upheaval in advance.

Second, he laughed because he had finally seen hope that this disaster would recede.

In anchored year 50, Kou Hong and Daoxuanzi had barged into Great Xuan. At that time, they had proclaimed themselves to be from Lingtian City in the Congyun Mountain Range.

Presumably, this drought would have already passed before then.

The dried-up ocean would transform into vibrant, life-filled mountains.

It was now anchored year 34—not far off at all.

Waiting without hope was the most agonizing thing, but once one knew the final outcome, this seemingly endless blaze-disaster no longer felt so terrifying.

Li Fan calmed his emotions and returned to Tai’an Island.

Looking at the mortals who lived in constant terror, already growing numb, able to do nothing but pray and kowtow day and night, Li Fan transmitted his voice across the entire island, telling them that this disaster would eventually pass.

Upon receiving the Immortal Master’s assurance, the island’s residents were overjoyed, each of them rekindling their hope for survival.

Li Fan, meanwhile, entered seclusion and took out the Azure Sea Pearl once more.

“So the thread of hope lies in this?”

Li Fan examined the azure-blue Heavenly-Earthly Wonder.

He sent his spiritual consciousness surging into it, but it vanished in an instant like a clay ox entering the sea, disappearing without a trace.

“It seems using it will take some effort,” Li Fan observed, thinking it over.

Heavenly-Earthly Wonders were the key to achieving Dao Foundation. The experience of how to find and use them was precious beyond measure.

The exchange price required in the Celestial Mystery Realm was also extremely expensive—nearly over 2,000 contribution points.

For now, Li Fan could only fumble his way through on his own.

Over the following period, Li Fan made numerous attempts.

He tried infusing it with spiritual energy, nurturing it with spiritual consciousness, even bombarding it with external force. In the end, he even tried the method of blood-drop refinement.

But the Azure Sea Pearl remained utterly unresponsive, its vast reserves of water vapor impossible to activate.

Finally, a flash of inspiration struck Li Fan. He recalled that within 《 The Jade Realm Thousand-Arts Golden Canon 》, there were methods for sensing and refining the vital energies from various heavenly-earthly spiritual objects.

He immediately activated the Qi Discernment divine ability and directed his gaze toward the Azure Sea Pearl.

A deep blue radiance surrounded the Azure Sea Pearl.

Ancient, profound, full of life force…

Though the Azure Sea Pearl was small, the complexity and power of its vital energy surpassed that of every living being on Tai’an Island combined.

It was simply still in a state of dormant nurturing, so without careful observation, it could not be easily discerned.

Li Fan cautiously attuned himself to the Azure Sea Pearl’s vital energy.

The moment he made contact, Li Fan felt his body vanish.

It was as though he had suddenly arrived high above the nine heavens, watching the ocean below from a bird’s-eye perspective.

The Layered Cloud Sea had existed since time immemorial, nurturing countless living beings.

But one day, a certain will between heaven and earth suddenly descended.

And so, the ocean began marching toward death.

What heaven gives life, heaven may also take. Such is the principle of the Dao.

Heaven wished to burn the sea, and the sea was powerless to resist.

But—it refused to submit!

And so, though one Azure Sea perished, another Azure Sea was born!

…

Boom!

Li Fan was wrenched out of that wondrous state.

Before he could even process the scenes he had just witnessed, he suddenly felt a wave of weakness wash over him and nearly lost his footing.

Upon examination, Li Fan was horrified to discover that at some point, strands of white hair had appeared on his head and fine wrinkles had formed on his face.

And that was merely from the instant his vital energy had harmonized with the Azure Sea Pearl!

When Li Fan opened the 【Return to Truth】 panel, he sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.

Name: Li Fan

Realm: mid Qi Refining stage

Biological Age: 89/199

Psychological Age: 517/2280↑

In that mere instant, Li Fan’s biological age had jumped straight from 54 to 89.

In the blink of an eye, it was as though 35 years had passed.

“No wonder even in the ancient Celestial Mysteries Sect, those who cultivated this technique were exceedingly rare. It was merely the consciousness of a single ocean, yet just making contact with it caused my lifespan to drain at a terrifying rate.”

“If my body hadn’t triggered an instinctive warning due to the rapid consumption of lifespan, I might have been inexplicably assimilated by the Azure Sea’s consciousness. Whether I could have even activated 【Return to Truth】 at that point is truly hard to say.”

Now that Li Fan understood what had just happened, a chill of lingering fear ran through him.

“No, that definitely isn’t the correct way to manipulate a Heavenly-Earthly Wonder.”

Li Fan knew he must have gotten the method wrong.

The human perception of time simply wasn’t on the same scale as that of heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, or vast oceans.

Even those mighty cultivators who could live for thousands of years were still nowhere close to comparing.

Rashly reaching out with human consciousness to make contact would lead to only one outcome: assimilation.

So how exactly could one manipulate a Heavenly-Earthly Wonder?

Li Fan gripped the Azure Sea Pearl, his expression shifting between dark and light.

…

Days passed one after another, and Li Fan still had not figured out how to use the Azure Sea Pearl.

Meanwhile, the weather grew ever hotter, as though intent on carrying out a final, thorough purification of the Layered Cloud Sea.

The mortals on the island gradually lost even the strength to pray.

Li Fan knew that if this continued, these mortals might die before the blaze-disaster ended.

Dying just before the dawn arrived—that was true despair.

Li Fan himself couldn’t help growing restless, his mind clouded with stray thoughts.

To calm himself, he began circulating the long-neglected 《Xuanhuang Heart-Tempering Mantra》.

Since becoming a Qi Refining stage cultivator, the vast majority of his energy had been devoted to cultivating the 《Water Derivation Art》 and 《 The Jade Realm Thousand-Arts Golden Canon 》.

It had been a very long time since he had deliberately practiced the Heart-Tempering Mantra.

After all, it offered no tangible improvement to his cultivation, and even without actively practicing it, the mantra would slowly run on its own.

So Li Fan had simply set it aside.

Now, as the Heart-Tempering Mantra circulated, the unease, fear, urgency, and all other negative emotions in Li Fan’s heart slowly dissolved, becoming nourishment that strengthened his dao heart.

As tranquility returned to his mind, Li Fan suddenly felt a stirring of insight.

The key to his breakthrough also lay within this Azure Sea Pearl.