The group of youths watched as Li Fan soared into the clouds and suddenly realized, understanding that Immortal Master He's words contained no deception or exaggeration. They felt a sense of shame.
"The first ones to enter the Pure Body Spirit Pool will get more spirit fluid. Hurry, all of you, go!" Immortal Master He's expression softened, addressing the group of young men.
So the youths rushed towards the sea of clouds.
...
Surrounded by dense clouds, Li Fan felt disoriented.
The white clouds around him continued to gather, becoming denser.
In an instant, they condensed into white spirit fluid, enveloping Li Fan.
In the midst of the spirit fluid, Li Fan not only didn't feel suffocated but also experienced incredible warmth and comfort.
It felt like being a fetus in the womb, and Li Fan's mind gradually relaxed completely.
A warm and gentle breath flowed through every inch of his skin, entering through the pores and entering Li Fan's body.
His entire body and soul seemed to be soaked in warm water, almost making Li Fan moan in comfort.
But soon, warmth turned into heat.
Heat turned into scorching heat.
The scorching heat turned into a blazing fire.
Unexpectedly, Li Fan let out a howl.
In that instant, he lost control of his body.
He felt a scorching magma-like flow rampage within and destroy his body, tearing and piercing through every nerve.
This kind of pain was beyond what a human could endure. Li Fan instinctively wanted to summon [Truth], but he managed to endure it.
"Three hundred years of hard pursuit, isn't it for this moment?"
"No matter what, I will never give up."
"I want to cultivate, I want longevity!"
In the midst of excruciating pain, Li Fan's consciousness shattered, but a strong determination supported him, preventing him from collapsing.
The hot stream circulated within his body endlessly, seemingly without end.
With each cycle, the level of destruction and pain deepened.
Eventually, this agony reached a point where words could not describe.
The pain was like knives, chopping Li Fan's soul into pieces and then chopping those pieces again, incessantly and endlessly.
Even with Li Fan's strong will, he gradually lost the power to resist in the face of this level of pain.
Slowly, Li Fan's consciousness began to drift.
His consciousness began to dissipate.
Even at this moment, the perseverance in Li Fan's heart kept him holding on, not activating [Truth].
His consciousness became a nearly blank slate.
Cultivation, longevity, dispelling miasma, spirit pool, Liuli Island, Heavenly Treasure, [Truth]...
All of these thoughts slowly dissipated with the fading of Li Fan's consciousness.
Instinct replaced self, and so Li Fan, since he arrived on Liuli Island, had rarely stopped, tirelessly cultivating the "Mysterious Yellow Heart Purification Mantra." It naturally started running.
Instinct replaced consciousness, and the Cleansing Heart Mantra, which Li Fan had practiced almost non-stop day and night since he came to Liuli Island, naturally ran.
As the Cleansing Heart Mantra ran, Li Fan's consciousness seemed to have a supporting pillar, reconverging and strengthening.
Although he remained in a state of unconsciousness, he gradually became like a reef by the sea, allowing the wind and waves to batter him without falling.
...
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
Among the thirteen individuals who entered the Pure Body Spirit Pool, eleven had already come out.
Out of the eleven, only four had successfully rid themselves of the miasma within their bodies, while the remaining seven couldn't endure the intense pain and failed in the purification process.
Apart from the unfortunate individual who had perished, the one person who had yet to emerge was naturally Li Fan.
He Zhenghao sensed the faint and elusive aura within the Pure Body Spirit Pool formation, becoming increasingly astonished.
As the one in charge of the Pure Body Spirit Pool formation, he knew well that purging the Immortal-Mortal Miasma from a mortal's body was an excruciating ordeal.
The Immortal-Mortal Miasma was deeply embedded in a mortal's bloodline, present since their formation in the womb.
As mortals grew, the connection between the miasma and flesh became even more inseparable.
The Pure Body Spirit Pool formation was created by one of the leaders of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, the Eastern Extreme Celestial Lord.
It forcefully expelled the miasma from the flesh by completely destroying the body, then reshaped the body through regenerative power.
This cycle continued until all miasma within the body was completely purged.
As one grew older, the miasma intertwined with the flesh made it increasingly difficult to separate them.
More destruction and reshaping were required to completely eliminate the Immortal-Mortal Miasma.
The pain experienced during this process was beyond imagination!
He Zhenghao had presided over the formation on Liuli Island for over fifty years. He had seen all of the individuals who managed to complete the purification. The oldest of them was only thirty-one.
For someone of Li Fan's age, He Zhenghao believed there was no hope of success.
However, Li Fan's performance was completely unexpected.
"This person's determination is simply terrifying. If he can succeed in purifying his body, reaching the Foundation Establishment stage won't be difficult, and perhaps even the Golden Core stage..." He Zhenghao's gaze flickered. "Maybe I should establish a good relationship with him early on."
At this point, He Zhenghao sent the others out of the formation, leaving only Li Fan to wait inside.
Three more days passed, and He Zhenghao, seeing Li Fan still hadn't come out, was speechless with astonishment.
If he couldn't sense Li Fan's stable vital signs within the formation, he would have rushed in.
Currently, there was no way to interrupt the purification formation, so he had to continue waiting.
...
Another three days passed.
He Zhenghao's expression became somewhat unsightly. He didn't know what kind of monster he had encountered, to endure this long in the Pure Body Spirit Pool formation.
Worse still, the materials sustaining the formation were running low.
If the materials were insufficient, the formation would be forcibly terminated, which could lead to unforeseen consequences, possibly undoing all the progress made.
Normally, even if the formation was interrupted at this stage, it would only be Li Fan's misfortune, and it wouldn't be related to He Zhenghao.
But thinking of Li Fan's horrifyingly steadfast determination, He Zhenghao's expression fluctuated.
"Never mind, let it be. Consider this a gamble on this man's extraordinary future!"
After saying this, He Zhenghao used his hand to perform a technique. Items flew out of his storage ring and disappeared into the depths of the sea of clouds.
"Thank goodness I've been quietly reserving some of these materials each time..." He Zhenghao looked at his now almost half-empty storage ring with a hint of regret.
...
Two more days passed, and the roiling sea of clouds gradually calmed.
The white clouds frolicked and escorted Li Fan back to the mountaintop.
He scanned the situation and confirmed that the miasma was completely gone from Li Fan's body. He Zhenghao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Congratulations, young friend! From now on, the fetters are gone, and longevity is within reach!" He Zhenghao warmly exclaimed.
Feeling his body in a state he had never experienced before, Li Fan was still adjusting to his new physique.
At this moment, witnessing He Zhenghao's sudden change in attitude, Li Fan felt puzzled.
Although he had removed the Immortal-Mortal Miasma from his body, he was still just an ordinary person who hadn't formally cultivated. He was ultimately just an ordinary mortal.
Why was He Zhenghao being so kind to him?
Li Fan looked at He Zhenghao with a puzzled expression.
He Zhenghao understood and told Li Fan about how he had spent eleven days in the Pure Body Spirit Pool, which was much longer than he knew.
"What? I stayed inside for so long?" Li Fan was truly surprised.
"Yes, young friend, you didn't know, but the materials for this formation were about to run out. I even spent my own resources to add more for you..." He Zhenghao boasted to take credit for himself.
At this moment, Li Fan was deeply shaken.
Not because of He Zhenghao's "selfless dedication," but because he found an additional cultivation technique on the panel of [Truth].
It wasn't the "Cleansing Heart Mantra" he had been practicing all along.
It was the "Venerable Refining Heart Mantra."