They made their way towards the small mountain village.
Before long, they finally entered the little village.
The villagers almost all recognized them, greeting them as they passed.
When they arrived at the courtyard, Mu Qianning stepped forward to knock on the door.
"Qian Ning seeks an audience with Senior Li," she called out.
At her voice, the indifferent voice of Li Fan rang from within the courtyard: "Come in——"
The group walked in and saw Li Fan, under the peach tree, basking in the sun with Xiao Bai.
Their emotions were mixed, perhaps this was what a peerless mighty being was like, having slain a Demon Venerable, yet still able to sunbathe so nonchalantly...
It was as if he'd not taken the event to heart at all.
"Thank you for the painting, Senior Li!"
Fire Spirit stepped forward, her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude, and said, "Fire Spirit has used it up and now returns it to Senior, along with this item that was also retrieved for Senior."
She respectfully offered up the painting and the Heavenly Fire Divine Town together.
Li Fan, however, smiled and said, "The painting was a gift to you; you needn't return it to me."
"But this piece of wood, it is somewhat interesting."
He reached out to take the wood, heavy and with a trace of coolness to the touch.
"Hmm, it's much better than ordinary kindling," commented Li Fan.
Everyone present wore complicated expressions, for this was an item that signified the proof of a Supreme's path of enlightenment. In Senior Li's eyes, it was just a bit better than kindling...
However, they had to admit, it was indeed a "fair" appraisal!
After all, the person before them would even use Xuanhuo Wood as fuel to cook cat food for his pet.
Li Fan, holding the wood block, was thinking that these people must have learned from the villagers that he was skilled in carving and thus, brought the block to him.
His carving skills were indeed perfect, so perhaps this wood carving could be worth some money?
Considering Mu Qianning and the others were extremely poor, and Fire Spirit had a pitiable background, Li Fan let out a slight sigh and said:
"Since you know of my modest skills in this craft and have brought the items to me, I'll help you this once."
Li Fan spoke, then went into the house and took out a carving knife.
It was a black carving knife, with only the blade edge a pale gold color.
Needless to say, this too was given to Li Fan by the System.
Li Fan held the wood block in one hand and the knife in the other, and began to carve.
Yu Qishui and the others were overjoyed.
It seemed they had rightly guessed Senior Li's intentions; this Heavenly Fire Divine Town was indeed useful to Senior Li.
When they saw the shavings flying under Li Fan's carving, they were even more astounded.
"What kind of carving knife is that... easily slicing through the millennium-old Xuanhuo Wood?"
"Incredible... I distinctly feel that knife seems to be carving the Great Way, the heavens, and the earth!"
Both Yu Qishui and Wei Yushan were shaken.
And Mu Qianning and Fire Spirit, even more so, were somewhat infatuated. While Senior Li was carving, his entire being seemed to enter a state of the Way, like an Immortal Venerable transcending the nine heavens, undisturbed by anything in his meditation.
Beneath Li Fan's carving knife, the rough shape of a palace began to take form.
The shape gradually became full, with carved dragons and painted phoenixes, a palm-sized palace carving, yet it gave off a majestic and grand air!
It was like an Immortal Palace!
Finally, Li Fan inscribed two small characters on the palace: "Li Tian."
This palace, made from Xuanhuo Wood, where 'Li' represents fire and 'Tian', the high heavens.
In Fire Country, this palace conveys good symbolism, making it easier for people like Fire Spirit to sell it, right?
After inscribing the characters, Li Fan gently blew a breath, whisking away the remaining wood shavings.
To the onlookers, this was an astonishing scene.
They could clearly see the already extraordinary wooden palace, suffused with profound Daoist charm and wrapped in Immortal Qi, after being blown on by Li Fan!
What Li Fan blew... that was a breath of Immortal Qi!!
A breath of Immortal Qi had transformed an already precious wood carving into an unimaginably treasured item!
Li Fan turned back and saw the looks on everyone's faces, feeling a bit smug inside.
His wood carving skills were still up to par.
He handed over the wood carving to Fire Spirit, saying, "Here, take it."
Fire Spirit was stunned and said dumbly, "For... for me?"
Li Fan puzzled, "Don't you want it?"
It was only then that Fire Spirit came to her senses, overflowing with gratitude, and said, "Yes, yes... what has Fire Spirit done to deserve such effort from Senior!"
She received it with both hands.
In that moment, she could clearly feel that after Senior Li's craftsmanship, all the malevolent Qi on the wood carving had completely dissipated!
Furthermore, the entire wooden palace was rich in Daoist essence, accompanied by the laws of the Immortal Path.
She felt as if with a single thought, she could resonate with the palace, becoming acutely aware of its many wonderful uses.
This was undoubtedly an invincible Immortal Treasure.
It could establish a power on the level of a Holy Land!
"There are some scraps left, let me craft something small for you as well."
Li Fan said with a smile, using the remaining blocks of wood to quickly create two phoenix hairpins.
"Here, one for each of you."
Li Fan handed them to Mu Qianning and Fire Spirit.
The hairpins were exquisitely beautiful, shrouded in the mystic aura of the Immortal Path, instantly filling the two beautiful young ladies with excitement and joy.
Both of them were overjoyed.
Yu Qishui and Wei Yushan also watched the scene with great satisfaction.
This time, the treasures bestowed by Senior Li would surely accompany them throughout their cultivation journey.
"Senior has shown us such great kindness, we really don't know how to repay you..."
Yu Qishui couldn't help but speak up.
But Li Fan shook his head and said, "No need for that, it was just a small effort. I have been staying in this mountain village for a long time; your visit was also a kind of fate."
After a moment of thought, he continued, "If you wouldn't mind sharing some strange and marvelous tales from the cultivation world with me, that would be nice."
Although he was still a mortal, once he completed the system's tasks, he would have the chance to embark on the path of a cultivator.
Though Yu Qishui and the others were just poor ghosts on the fringes of the cultivation world, their experiences were definitely more extensive than his as a mortal.
Getting an early grasp of some knowledge and laying a solid foundation would be good.
Upon hearing this, Yu Qishui and the others immediately took on a solemn expression, understanding the situation!
Senior Li had finally issued a task!
Strange and marvelous tales!
The ones that could interest Senior Li—what level would that be? At the minimum, it should be something like the emergence of a Demon Venerable.
It seemed that Senior Li must also be paying attention to something and thus wanted to keep abreast of the news throughout the Xuantian Realm.
And they were to be the eyes and ears for Senior Li.
"We will go through fire and water for Senior Li!"
Yu Qishui immediately pledged his commitment!
"Ling'er will lay down her life!"
Fire Spirit also spoke solemnly.
Li Fan, however, felt like his teeth hurt at their exaggeration. Wasn't he simply asking them to share some gossip when they were free... He was speechless.
"Alright, you may go now, I should go up the mountain to paint," said Li Fan. As sunset approached, he was ready to continue painting the sunset.
They all respectfully took their leave.
Back at the Lihuo Sect.
"This is a supreme treasure!"
Fire Spirit took out the wooden sculpture.
Yu Qishui and the others looked at it seriously.
Fire Spirit said, "The demon energy is completely gone, and moreover, there's the sound of the Great Dao thundering within it!"
With a thought, the wooden carving suddenly resonated with the sound of the Great Dao, and the next moment, to everyone's astonishment, they found themselves within a vast palace!
Above the palace, a plaque hung high: "Li Tian"!
"Have we... entered the palace built by Senior Li?"
They were all flabbergasted.
"This item is nothing short of divine. The Li Tian Divine Palace, once enlarged and entered, becomes a venue for cultivation, increasing the speed of cultivation manifold!"
Yu Qishui spoke gravely.
"My friends, I believe Senior Li has bestowed this upon us so we can grow quickly and establish a force capable of undertaking tasks for Senior Li!"
Fire Spirit voiced her thoughts, "It's at least of Holy Land level!"
They all nodded solemnly.
"The Essence of Fire Path left by Supreme Monarch Lihuo has been purified by Senior Li and remains within this palace. We should cultivate together and make rapid breakthroughs!"
She was selfless, understanding that although Li Fan said the palace was for her, it was meant for all of them.
She was merely the keeper.
They all nodded gravely.
As Fire Spirit merged her consciousness with the palace, the cultivation mana left behind by Supreme Monarch Lihuo surfaced, nourishing all four of them in their cultivation!
Inside the great hall, the sound of the Great Dao thundered, and for them, one day was worth a hundred years!
Several days later, outside the Lihuo Sect.
"The Fire Emperor's Imperial Decree has arrived; Third Princess Fire Spirit, come forth to receive the decree!"
A loud call resonated, shaking the mountains!