After obtaining the Heaven Crystal Spirit Sand, Li Fan left the cave and returned to the sea surface. With all the necessary materials collected, he was now ready to start creating his clone. However, this was something he couldn't do under the watchful eyes of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Li Fan thought for a moment and continued flying westward. On a deserted island in that direction, there was a subworld that Sikong Yi had once opened. He had concealed it using the techniques of the Sun Stealing Sect, making it difficult for ordinary cultivators to detect. This was where Sikong Yi had created his own clone.
So, Li Fan decided to head for that subworld.
After flying for another two days, he was nearing the deserted island. However, he faintly sensed that someone was present on the island. He immediately became alert, concealed his presence, and stealthily approached.
"Strange, it should be on this island."
A somewhat familiar voice echoed from a distance.
Li Fan focused his vision and saw a figure that looked furtive. It was none other than Jiao Xiuyuan. He was scratching his head with his left hand while holding a square-shaped object in his right hand.
The object resembled a compass, but it had more intricate patterns and symbols on it. A red light emitted from it and spread into the surroundings, soon returning with a "beep" sound.
"It's impossible; I should be in the right place. But why isn't this Spirit Discernment Disk working?"
Jiao Xiuyuan seemed puzzled.
"What are you looking for..." Just then, Li Fan's voice abruptly sounded.
Jiao Xiuyuan was startled, and the Spirit Discernment Plate almost slipped from his hand.
"Is that you, Senior Sikong?" He turned around and looked at the figure that had suddenly appeared, concealed by a Concealing Form Talisman, making it impossible to discern his appearance. He asked tentatively.
"Did you send someone to secretly follow us before to sneak into my subworld while I was away?" Li Fan asked coldly, his tone unfriendly.
Jiao Xiuyuan chuckled, "Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."
His eyes darted around, and he quickly asked, "I wonder where Senior Baili is?"
Li Fan didn't reply. Instead, he took out the Blue Wood Purple Fire Formation and enveloped Jiao Xiuyuan.
The purple flames flashed, and amid Jiao Xiuyuan's miserable screams, he turned into ash.
The air carried a scent akin to charred wood.
"As expected, just a puppet."
Li Fan wasn't surprised. He looked at the deserted island below and activated the Sun Stealing Technique.
He faintly sensed the existence of a hidden subworld in the island's jungle.
He flew toward it and stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary coconut tree.
Gently touching it, he felt a gravitational force.
Releasing his resistance, he was drawn into the tree.
The so-called subworld was actually quite simple. It could barely accommodate two people without feeling crowded.
There was nothing valuable inside.
But Li Fan was only borrowing this place temporarily and didn't care much about its furnishings.
He also wasn't worried about retaliation from Jiao Xiuyuan because sneaking into another person's subworld wasn't a noble act.
Moreover, this place was quite remote. Even if Jiao Xiuyuan wanted to seek revenge, by the time he traveled a long distance, Li Fan would have already created his clone and left.
Li Fan didn't dwell on such matters. He took out the necessary materials, held his breath, and focused on the task at hand.
This time, when creating the clone, Li Fan didn't intend to put too much effort into taking away the life force from other cultivators.
In his plan, this clone was only meant to deceive others, draw attention away, and acquire the 100,000 contribution points he needed.
He would also leave this clone behind to observe the events of the sea's incineration.
Since, in the end, they would all face death, he didn't need to be overly meticulous about it.
The creation process began. Li Fan used a drop of his own essence blood as the core and controlled the blood of various animals and beasts, condensing them into a humanoid form.
Then, he activated his techniques and sensed the scattered life forces in the surrounding world. Most of these life forces belonged to the plants and animals on the nearby islands. Each one was weak, but there were a great number of them.
Li Fan carefully extracted a strand of life force from each of these sources and converged them into one place.
As he continued to extract life forces, it became increasingly challenging to control them. Li Fan knew that he couldn't be too greedy; otherwise, he might lose control, resulting in the life forces backfiring on him.
Once he felt that he had reached the limit of what he could control, Li Fan stopped extracting more life force.
Li Fan incorporated this new collection of extracted life force into the humanoid figure's flesh.
Instantly, a faint sign of vitality emerged from it.
The process of creating the clone was already more than halfway complete, and Li Fan added the remaining materials one by one.
Bones, organs, skin, and hair slowly took shape.
Li Fan then adjusted the appearance of the clone. He didn't make it exceptionally handsome or ugly but gave it an average, forgettable face that would blend into a crowd.
After a while, an expressionless face appeared before him.
Li Fan observed it carefully and nodded in satisfaction.
Now, there was just one final step.
Li Fan concentrated his thoughts and pointed at the clone's head.
"Sever!"
He severed the connection between the clone's life force and its origins.
Finally, the clone became a separate entity.
Li Fan and the clone looked at each other.
An extra body and a whole new perspective.
It felt somewhat peculiar.
Controlling the clone, making it move, sit, stand... it took a while for Li Fan to adapt.
He retrieved clothes from his storage ring and dressed the clone. He bowed to the original, "Greetings, fellow Daoist!"
The original Li Fan smiled, "From now on, you shall be called Fan Lin!"
"Very well!"
Fan Lin, the clone, had a slightly lower cultivation level than the original. He was only at the Qi Condensation Intermediate Stage and hadn't cultivated any techniques; he was a blank slate.
Now that the clone had been successfully created, the next step was to integrate him into the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
There was no need for the original Li Fan to introduce him.
Fan Lin carried the storage ring containing the "Cloud Water Map" and flew to the vicinity of Lingyun Island. The original Li Fan followed quietly, prepared for any unforeseen circumstances.
Thankfully, nothing unexpected occurred.
Fan Lin successfully met with the guardian of Lingyun Island and requested to join the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
His request was readily accepted.
After completing the familiar procedures, Fan Lin arrived on Ten Thousand Immortals Island and entered his own Tianxuan Mirror Space.
The original Li Fan also returned to Ten Thousand Immortals Island, but they didn't meet in person.
Fan Lin then took out the "Cloud Water Map" and chose to complete the mission worth 100,000 contribution points.
At the same time, the original Li Fan concentrated his mental power and sensed the situation on Fan Lin's side.
The Tianxuan Mirror remained silent for a much longer time than usual.
For a while, there was no response.
Li Fan thought something might have gone wrong.
Finally, the Tianxuan Mirror's voice spoke again.
"Unable to verify the authenticity of the 'Cloud Water Map.' Please wait."
...
"The mission issuer requests to visit your space. Do you accept?"
Fan Lin was taken aback, then chose to accept.
A moment later, a white-haired old man with a benevolent expression appeared before Fan Lin. There was no trace of a cultivator's aura about him; he appeared just like an ordinary mortal.