Third: If you want to explore the anomaly, gather as many people as possible.
The most effective way to understand the anomaly's rules is to sacrifice lives.
Just pray that you won't be the first to die!
...
Li Fan carefully read through the "Survival Guide for Sect Ruins" and felt his 100 contribution points were well spent.
With these experiences, he would have more confidence when exploring the Cloud Water Palace two years later.
In his previous life, after Sikong Yi found the "Cloud Water Map" from the Cloud Water Palace and gained 100,000 contribution points, the news spread and ignited the enthusiasm of the cultivators in the Cong Yun Sea for exploring the Cloud Water Palace.
Even though the "Cloud Water Map" had been taken, the Cloud Water Palace was so vast, and there were definitely more treasures inside than just the "Cloud Water Map," right?
With this thought in mind, the cultivators of the Cong Yun Sea surged towards the Cloud Water Palace, regardless of life and death.
Even solitary cultivators from distant continents were drawn here.
Their thoughts were indeed correct.
In his previous life, until the 27th year, the Cloud Water Palace had still not been completely explored.
From time to time, news would spread about cultivators obtaining treasures from it, making others envy them.
And precisely because so many people kept exploring, most of the anomalies inside the Cloud Water Palace were no longer a secret.
Li Fan had heard of some of these things in his previous life.
However...
Regarding how Sikong Yi had obtained the "Cloud Water Map" back then, there were various speculations, but no conclusion had been reached.
Therefore, the best way for Li Fan to plan for the "Cloud Water Map" in this life was to secretly follow Sikong Yi and snatch it when he was about to succeed.
There were two years before the Cloud Water Palace opened, so he could first investigate Sikong Yi secretly and learn about his enemy.
At the same time, he needed to improve his strength as much as possible.
Li Fan set his sights on a group of Qi Condensation stage killing techniques within the Tianxuan Mirror.
The price of killing techniques was much higher than that of ordinary techniques.
The "Minor Yan Water Technique" he had previously cultivated only cost 1,200 contribution points.
While the price of killing techniques was generally around 1,500 points.
Li Fan quickly browsed through the technique introductions, selecting the techniques suitable for him.
"Flowing Water Sword Technique," "Minor Planetary Wind Sword," "Red Flowing Star"...
Suddenly, Li Fan's eyes stopped at a technique.
"Netherworld Spirit Illusion Technique."
After carefully reading the introduction to the technique several times, Li Fan's heart was stirred.
According to the technique's introduction, this was a technique mainly focused on illusion arts.
By cultivating an "illusionary spirit" in the mind, one could release the illusionary spirit to confuse the enemy when encountering them.
Once the illusionary spirit became powerful, it could even enter another person's sea of consciousness and directly launch a spiritual attack.
This technique was tailor-made for him!
Although he didn't know how his spiritual power compared to other cultivators, after centuries of continuous reincarnation, combined with the Venerable Heart Refinement Mantra, it shouldn't be too weak.
Furthermore, visualizing and cultivating the "illusionary spirit"...
A crimson figure appeared inexplicably in Li Fan's mind.
If he visualized it based on the Crimson Flame as a prototype, the resulting "illusionary spirit" should possess considerable power.
Li Fan pondered to himself, immediately deciding to purchase this technique.
However, the price...
Li Fan took a look and his eyes widened.
2,500 points! It's almost the same price as a slightly inferior Foundation Establishment technique! No wonder this technique, despite looking so powerful, has remained unsought here.
Actually, Li Fan had some misconceptions about this.
The reason "Netherworld Spirit Illusion Technique" was priced so high was not because it was extremely powerful, but simply because illusion-based techniques were relatively rare.
In the current cultivation world, the spiritual power of the vast majority of cultivators was not significantly different.
After all, before the great calamity arrived, there were very few techniques specializing in strengthening spiritual power.
Not to mention now, where one couldn't simultaneously cultivate in different methods.
Without means to strengthen and enhance spiritual power, the spiritual power of most cultivators remained on a similar level.
In such a situation, very few would choose to use spiritual attacks against others.
Because this often meant mutually assured destruction.
This was also why the "Netherworld Spirit Illusion Technique" appeared somewhat mediocre to other cultivators.
To put it plainly, this was just an illusion technique.
It was a method of using spiritual power, not enhancing it.
One wouldn't easily use spiritual attacks; just for a bit of illusion, who would be willing to spend 2500 contribution points? It was precisely because Li Fan possessed the Venerable Heart Refinement Mantra and had personally seen the figure of the Crimson Flame, the Heavenly Spirit, that he resonated better with the path of visualizing the "illusionary spirit."
Therefore, in his hands, the "Netherworld Spirit Illusion Technique" could exert multiple times the effect others could achieve.
Regardless, Li Fan eventually gritted his teeth and purchased the "Netherworld Spirit Illusion Technique."
In the blink of an eye, Li Fan's contribution points were reduced to 1321.
Contribution points came quickly, but they also left quickly! Originally, he wanted to purchase another escape technique, but he was a bit short, so he could only consider it later.
The most pressing matter was to cultivate the "Netherworld Spirit Illusion Technique" to the late Qi Condensation stage.
Activating the auxiliary cultivation mode of the Tianxuan Mirror and placing the Golden Liuli Pearl by his side, Li Fan began his cultivation.
His mind was as clear as a mirror, and the profound technique's words, double-enhanced, seemed as simple and understandable as an elementary school textbook to Li Fan.
The pure cultivation base from the "Minor Yan Water Technique" in his dantian dissolved into pure energies, propelling the "Netherworld Spirit Illusion Technique" to progress at an astonishing rate.
In less than a day, the "Netherworld Spirit Illusion Technique" was cultivated to the mid-Qi Condensation stage.
In the mid-Qi Condensation stage, he could visualize the "illusionary spirit" in his mind.
Although it was an illusionary spirit, it couldn't be created out of thin air.
It had to be based on things that truly existed in the cultivation world.
His thoughts flowed slowly, and past events reappeared one by one before his eyes.
Li Fan felt as if he had returned to the moment when he witnessed the Crimson Flame burning the sea in his previous life.
A faint shadow gradually formed in Li Fan's sea of consciousness.
Even though it was an unformed shadow, Li Fan suddenly felt a sharp rise in his body's temperature.
Sweat poured down from his body like raindrops.
Frowning, Li Fan forcefully activated the Venerable Heart Refinement Mantra, suppressing the scorching sensation.
He continued visualizing the figure of the Crimson Flame.
As the illusionary spirit of the Crimson Flame gradually took shape, the temperature of Li Fan's body rose.
If before it felt like being in a desert under the scorching sun, then at this moment, it felt like being placed under a blazing fire.
As Li Fan continued to visualize, the scorching sensation became more and more terrifying.
Finally, when the temperature reached its limit, the clothes on Li Fan's body spontaneously ignited.
"Poof!"
He couldn't maintain the visualization state anymore, and the phantom in his sea of consciousness instantly dissipated.
Li Fan spat out a mouthful of blood in shock.
The blood seemed to have an extremely high temperature, evaporating into a white mist before it could touch the ground.
Li Fan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, not disheartened.
He purchased a healing pill from the Tianxuan Mirror and restored himself for a moment before continuing his visualization.