"What's going on?"
In shock, Li Fan's Discern Variations Technique shattered.
His mind was in chaos, a whirlwind of thoughts.
After a while, Li Fan slowly regained his composure.
"Could there be something wrong with this Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra?"
His immediate reaction was that there might be an issue with this cultivation technique.
The so-called "discerning variations" might no longer be applicable in the changed world of cultivation after the earth-shattering events of the past.
After all, Li Fan was currently within the island defense array of Taian Island.
Taian Island was located in the central area of the Cong Yun Sea, within the sphere of influence of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
It had been safe and peaceful before, so how could disaster suddenly loom upon closing the gate?
However, sensing the dense death energy around him, Li Fan couldn't convince himself that it was that simple.
The unease in his heart grew stronger.
Making a quick decision, regardless of whether it was true or false, he decided to head to Ten Thousand Immortals Island to avoid any potential disaster.
So, he immediately tried to activate the teleportation array to go to Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
But what made him frown was that the teleportation array didn't respond!
Li Fan's face darkened.
He took out the communication charm that He Zhenghao had given him, attempting to contact He Zhenghao.
After channeling spiritual energy, there was still no response!
The situation was becoming clear. Something indeed strange had happened.
Staying on Taian Island would be a dead end. He couldn't just sit and wait for disaster to strike!
Li Fan summoned the Tai Yan Boat, took out "Atlas of the Cong Yun Sea," and prepared to personally navigate the flying boat.
The original spirit stones powering the Tai Yan Boat were almost depleted, but fortunately, Li Fan acquired many spirit stones during his extravagant shopping spree.
Li Fan estimated that it would take about two to three months to fly from Taian Island to Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
The spirit stones would definitely be enough.
At this point, Li Fan no longer cared about the task of guarding the island. He directly steered the flying boat, preparing to leave.
Just as the Tai Yan Boat was about to fly out of the island defense array, Li Fan suddenly sensed an endless murderous intent from the outside.
Like countless sharp swords, it pervaded the heavens and the earth.
Li Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately halted the Tai Yan Boat.
His premonition told him that once he stepped out of this island defense array, he would undoubtedly die!
Li Fan squinted, looking at the calm sea, not knowing where the danger was coming from.
In the end, Li Fan chose not to take this risk.
He put away the Tai Yan Boat and decided to first ask the ordinary people on the island what had happened recently.
However, after his divine sense swept across the entire island, he was astonished.
The residents of the entire island were reduced by a third.
And the remaining ones all seemed to have inexplicably become thin and emaciated as if they hadn't eaten for a long time.
Knowing that something significant had happened during his closed-door cultivation, Li Fan's face darkened. He quickly flew to the residence of the island manager of Taian Island.
During his tenure as the acting guardian, Li Fan had always been in seclusion, hardly paying attention to the affairs of the island.
He had only met the island manager a few times before.
At this moment, when the island manager saw Li Fan, he knelt down directly, continuously knocking his head and wailing.
"Immortal Master, have mercy, have mercy, save us!"
The island manager wept bitterly, to the point where his head was about to bleed from the knocks.
"What happened exactly? Speak quickly!" Li Fan's face was extremely grim.
"Reporting to Immortal Master, we can't bear these days anymore. It has been nearly half a year since it last rained. The fresh water and food on the island are almost exhausted. If this continues, we will all starve to death!" The island manager said while knocking his head and weeping.
"No rain for half a year?" Li Fan recalled what Zhang Haobo had told him several years ago.
"Drought has come. But why did the Tianxuan Mirror tell me previously that there would be no major changes? Could it be that the Tianxuan Mirror doesn't take such a scale of drought seriously?"
The island manager continued to cry out, "The fish near the coast have all been caught, and the weather is extremely hot. The fishing fleets headed towards the deep sea have not returned alive. Everyone is on the verge of starving to death! Immortal Master, have mercy, save us!"
Li Fan was annoyed by this person's cries and noticed that although the island manager had become a little thin, he was still plump. He was enraged and said, "Half of the island's ordinary people are starving, but why haven't you lost weight?"
The island manager turned pale, preparing to defend himself.
However, after Li Fan scanned the kitchen in the island manager's residence with his divine sense, he was even more furious.
Without waiting for the island manager to speak, he slapped him, reducing him to a pile of flesh.
"Feasting on the dead, guilty as charged!"
Li Fan snorted coldly and used the power of the array to transmit his voice throughout the island.
"The island manager has been killed by me. The rest of the officials, come to the island manager's residence to see me!"
A few moments later, several ordinary people came to Li Fan, trembling in fear.
Seeing that they also hadn't had enough to eat, Li Fan suppressed his killing intent.
Amidst the tearful pleas of these people, Li Fan finally understood what had happened during the year of his seclusion.
The drought began half a year ago.
Initially, it hadn't rained for many days, but people didn't pay much attention.
It was only when two months passed without a drop of rain that the people on the island began to panic.
The island had a source of fresh water, but with the passing days and no rain, it had gradually dried up.
Initially, they could sustain themselves by catching fish near the island, but as the weather became hotter, they could no longer catch fish around the island. Moreover, after the fleets that went to the distant seas to fish never returned, Taian Island plunged into famine.
In just a month, a third of the island's population had died, and no one knew how many tragedies had occurred.
The remaining survivors were struggling to survive.
If Li Fan had come out of seclusion a bit later, he was afraid that he wouldn't even find a few living people.
With things at this point, Li Fan couldn't stand idly by.
When he left the Land of Immortal Extinction, besides a few cabins filled with gold and silver treasures, the rest of the Tai Yan Boat was filled with grain.
Originally, it was just a precaution due to his cautious habit of exploring the unknown world.
He didn't expect that it would come in handy almost ten years later.
The Tai Yan Boat had a Purification Array, so the food wouldn't spoil.
Li Fan immediately enlarged the Tai Yan Boat and ordered the ordinary people on the island to move some of the food out for emergency use.
Seeing that the Immortal Master had brought life-saving food, everyone on the island knelt down in excitement, continuously knocking their heads.
Li Fan didn't pay attention to them and allowed them to rejoice.
The food inside the Tai Yan Boat would last the people on the island for a few months if they ate sparingly.
The main thing was to solve the issue of fresh water.
With water, they could survive.
Li Fan went to the main freshwater source on the island, a medium-sized lake in the center of the island.
The lake had long been guarded by dedicated personnel to prevent ordinary people from approaching.
Due to the long period without rain, the lake had significantly shrunk, leaving only about a tenth of its original size, and it was about to dry up completely.
"When constructing the island defense array, I never expected to encounter a water shortage like this..."
Holding the Taian Island Guard Order, Li Fan shook his head helplessly.
"It seems that I need to create a purification array to cleanse seawater."