The other person also mentioned that they inquired because it's quite rare to find someone so emotionally attached in the current cultivation world.
Li Fan looked at the person's name.
Song Weiyu, who seemed to be a female cultivator.
Should he go or not? The Golden Core expert's abode had the assurance of safety due to the Nascent Soul powerhouse leading the team.
However, Li Fan thought about it and decided to politely decline.
He only sought He Zhenghao's remains, and if Song Weiyu's mission was successful, she would surely bring them back. There was no need to take unnecessary risks.
If there were any significant opportunities in that abode, Li Fan could inquire about them and explore them in the next lifetime.
Song Weiyu didn't respond further after Li Fan's rejection.
With everything settled, Li Fan began practicing the "Cloud Water Illusory Dream Art."
He was very focused on Zhang Haobo, his pawn.
To ensure he didn't deviate from the path of growth Li Fan had set for him, he needed to periodically use illusory dreams on him.
It was easy during his mortal phase. However, influencing his thoughts once he reached the Qi Condensation stage and especially after breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage would be much more challenging.
Therefore, Li Fan needed to advance the "Cloud Water Illusory Dream Art" to the second level.
The "Cloud Water Illusory Dream Art" was a unique cultivation technique with seven levels, unrelated to cultivation realms like Foundation Establishment or Qi Condensation. Instead, it depended on the strength of one's spiritual consciousness and the precision of constructing illusions.
The higher the level of this technique one practiced, the stronger the influence of their illusions.
In theory, even an ordinary mortal could, with sufficiently strong spiritual power, submerge a Golden Core or even Nascent Soul stage cultivator in illusions. However, the cultivator's realm usually determined the strength of their spiritual consciousness, so this situation was almost nonexistent.
...
Three months later.
Liuli Island.
On board the Cangyuan ship.
Zhang Haobo stood at the bow, facing the sea breeze, gazing at the ocean.
He furrowed his brows as if searching for something.
Suddenly, he spotted a familiar-looking reef in the distance.
His spirit was rejuvenated, and he immediately leaped into the sea, leaving the surrounding crew astonished.
Zhang Haobo navigated through the dim underwater environment and soon reached the seabed. If an ordinary mortal had ventured this deep underwater, they would have succumbed to the immense pressure and perished.
However, after three months of cultivation, most of the Immortal-Mortal Miasma within Zhang Haobo's body had been cleared away. His constitution had significantly improved, and he was not far from breaking through to the Qi Condensation stage.
Combined with his natural affinity for water, he was unafraid.
Zhang Haobo swam further along the seabed when he suddenly noticed something.
His speed increased sharply as he swam toward a half-buried corpse in the mud.
He pulled the remains out of the muck and found a book resting on the corpse's chest.
It was the "Sea Fixing Sword Technique."
"It's not a dream; I have been reborn." Zhang Haobo stroked the cover of the book as he mumbled to himself.
Although he had previously accepted that he had been reborn, it was still a concept too extraordinary to grasp. Moreover, the memories of his previous life were gradually fading, causing him to doubt this situation.
Fortunately, recently, probably due to his imminent breakthrough to the Qi Condensation stage, some forgotten details had been resurfacing in his mind.
This included the location where he initially salvaged the "Sea Fixing Sword Technique." He took the opportunity of this voyage to verify his rebirth.
Now, with these skeletal remains and the reappearance of the "Sea Fixing Sword Technique," Zhang Haobo had finally confirmed that he had indeed been reborn.
His gaze became resolute, and he tucked the book into his bosom.
"I can't delay any longer; I must improve my cultivation quickly. Only by reaching a higher realm can I prevent that impending calamity."
"Just a mere Qi Condensation stage cultivator won't be enough. I need to gain more strength, or I won't be able to convince anyone."
"At least Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core..."
Thinking this way, Zhang Haobo slowly swam back to the surface and climbed back onto the Cangyuan ship.
The crew members observed their serious captain and refrained from asking too many questions.
Since some time ago, their captain seemed to undergo an inexplicable transformation. The jovial and playful captain they once knew had vanished.
Zhang Haobo was becoming less jovial, and his aura was growing stronger every day, resembling the island's immortal masters. As a result, they became somewhat intimidated and uneasy in his presence.
...
Above the Cangyuan ship, Li Fan, who remained concealed, intently observed Zhang Haobo while using the Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra to examine his fate.
"Indeed, there seems to be a peculiar change in his fate. It's very subtle, but I initiated this change myself, so I naturally pay special attention to it. Thus, I noticed it."
Li Fan carefully considered the subtle differences before and after, and it seemed like he was beginning to understand something.
"In cultivation, it's often one step at a time, with each step being quicker than the last."
"Last lifetime, Zhang Haobo only embarked on the path of cultivation in middle age due to a fortuitous opportunity. While his luck was extraordinary, reaching Foundation Establishment in just over ten years was already his limit. That was his destined fate."
"But this lifetime, under my guidance, he began his cultivation over a decade earlier."
"When fate changes, it naturally flows differently, with small changes compounding upon each other..."
Li Fan murmured softly, his eyes growing brighter.
Being able to personally witness the before-and-after changes in someone's fate was a great opportunity for Li Fan.
If it weren't for the [Truth], which allowed him to compare and verify the destinies of two lifetimes, he wouldn't have been able to know the fate of himself or others.
Just as in his previous life, only by turning into the Canghai Sea could he peek into the killing intent of the heavens.
Only by spanning two lifetimes could one understand the changes in fate.
With this realization, Li Fan couldn't help but let out a deep chuckle.
"Perhaps you will really bring me some surprises."
"I am genuinely looking forward to your performance, Zhang Haobo."
...
In a cheerful mood, Li Fan leisurely flew back to Liuli Island.
Three months had passed, but his avatar, Fan Lin, remained in a state of epiphany over the butterfly effect.
The state of Enlightenment was still ongoing.
Contribution points were being spent like flowing water, and he had used almost 2,000 points so far.
Fortunately, his avatar had a reserve of 100,000 contribution points, so it could endure this level of expenditure.
"I wonder what kind of divine power my avatar will comprehend when it emerges from this epiphany?"
Li Fan contemplated these possibilities as he arrived within the protective array of Liuli Island.
He intended to use the teleportation formation to return to Ten Thousand Immortals Island. However, he noticed that Yuwen Xing, the new guardian immortal of Liuli Island, had a grave expression, filled with worry.
"Daoist Yuwen, what has happened?" Li Fan politely inquired.
Yuwen Xing appeared to be deep in thought, and for a moment, he didn't respond.
"Daoist Yuwen?" Li Fan had to repeat his question.
Finally, Yuwen Xing snapped back to attention and looked at Li Fan with a sigh.
"Something bad has happened."
"The expedition team led by True Lord Gouxuan that went to explore the ancient abode... they're all dead."
"Even True Lord Gouxuan himself didn't manage to escape."