T/N: term change from Yanfa Jue > Technique Derivation Jade
*****
“I can’t compete with talent, and must rely on either lucky opportunities or hard work.”
“Unfortunately, I have put in the effort, and haven’t encountered any luck this life.”
As the last trace of golden light in the Soul Gathering Pearl dissipated without a trace, Li Fan couldn’t help but sigh.
No accidents occurred.
Another two months passed, and although Li Fan couldn’t say there was no progress, the success rate of identification only increased from one in ten thousand to one in a thousand.
He still couldn’t perceive the difference between a normal soul and a soul with a Soul Contract.
The so-called identification was still just a blind guess based on intuition.
Of course, this couldn’t meet the requirements for constructing the Tianxuan Spirit Lock Formation.
“It seems that I can only try again next time.”
“The only thing I’m a little reluctant to part with is that in this Huan Yu Courtyard, I can use the Tianxuan Mirror to assist my cultivation at public expense.”
Li Fan shook his head, seizing this last time to cultivate for free.
A dozen days later, the monthly assessment arrived again.
Most of the cultivators had already exhausted their Soul Gathering Pearls, so this test also determined who would stay and who would leave.
Li Fan’s performance was very stable.
In the part testing formation knowledge, he was still on top.
But in the part testing identifying souls with Soul Contracts, he was still poor.
“Those with an identification success rate of over fifty percent will have the opportunity to continue their studies.”
“Those who don’t meet the standard will be expelled from the Huan Yu Courtyard starting today.”
“And I will inform the relevant people.”
Ji Hongdao scanned the young cultivators below and said coldly.
The moment he saw Li Fan, his eyes flickered slightly, but that was all.
It was impossible for him to break the rules for this unfamiliar person.
With these words, among the over one thousand cultivators, nearly a hundred had pale faces, as if attending a funeral.
But at least there were no undignified scenes of crying and begging for another chance.
Only Li Fan had a calm and composed look, and those who didn’t know would think he had passed the assessment.
Ji Hongdao waved his hand, and a white light enveloped these eliminated cultivators, including Li Fan.
After a moment, these hundred-plus people appeared in a spacious and empty courtyard.
“Don’t be discouraged by your elimination. It is also meaningful to contribute to the development of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance from where you came!” Speaking was a chubby middle-aged cultivator with a conspicuous goatee on his chin.
The chubby cultivator showed a kind smile and patted each of these eliminated young people.
While patting, he explained, “It’s not that the organization doesn’t trust you, it’s just that the confidentiality level of the Tianxuan Spirit Lock Formation is a bit high.”
The cultivators he patted on disappeared in a flash of light.
Li Fan’s heart suddenly rang alarm bells, thinking that this chubby cultivator was here to kill and silence them.
The strength of the other party was unknown, but these young cultivators with Golden Core strength had no resistance in front of him.
Li Fan obviously wasn’t his opponent either.
Just as he was about to silently recite [Truth], he heard the other party continue, “Relax, I’m just sealing the parts related to the Tianxuan Spirit Lock Formation in your memories.”
“Don’t look at me with such terror. I know what you’re thinking. But this is Tianyu City, a vital place of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. Who knows how many eyes are watching here. How could such a thing be possible…”
The chubby cultivator muttered while quickly performing his own work.
Li Fan, like the other cultivators, breathed a sigh of relief.
But he didn’t completely believe the chubby cultivator’s words and still remained vigilant, ready to recite [Truth] at any moment.
“How should I address senior?” When it was Li Fan’s turn, he suddenly asked.
The chubby cultivator was stunned, and his movements slowed for a moment.
“You are interesting. I feel like I’ll meet you again someday.” The chubby cultivator glanced at Li Fan and said, “My name is Huangfu Song.”
After introducing himself, his movements didn’t delay any further.
A slap landed on Li Fan’s body.
With a burst of light, Li Fan’s vision blurred for a moment, and he appeared in another courtyard.
In front of him seemed to be the gate to leave this place.
“After signing this confidentiality agreement and handing over the Huan Yu Token, you can leave on your own. I suggest you don’t rush back home. It’s a rare opportunity to come to our Tianyu Province, and it would be a pity not to tour around.”
“I recommend the Discussion Tower in the east of the city. It’s extremely lively with cultivators coming and going from all directions. There’s also free spiritual tea provided.” At the gate, there was a thin cultivator who looked like a bamboo pole.
His face bore a smile uglier than crying, and whenever a cultivator approached him, he would take out a golden contract and hand it to the other party.
Only after signing and handing over the Huan Yu Token would they be allowed to leave.
“Oh, by the way, I wonder if you’ve heard of the spectacle of the Ice Abyss Fire Lotus? I highly recommend you to take a look.”
As the thin cultivator completed the procedures and sent the dejected young cultivators away, he introduced the places worth visiting in Tianyu Province.
Soon, it was Li Fan’s turn.
Li Fan asked as usual, “How should I address senior?”
“Shangguan Shi.”
The other party responded simply, placing a shiny golden contract in front of Li Fan.
It seemed to be a bit more advanced than the usual Commercial Contracts, but not as advanced as the Five Elders Association’s Soul Contracts.
He quickly scanned the contents of the contract.
It was a unilateral contract with harsh conditions.
Anyone who leaked secrets would have their soul completely extinguished.
Anyway, Li Fan had no choice but to sign.
Without hesitation, he casually wrote down his name.
A golden light entered his body, and Shangguan Shi nodded.
“You may leave!”
With a polite gesture, Li Fan stepped out of the Huan Yu Courtyard.
“This is a bit embarrassing. I’m afraid Zhang Zhiliang wouldn’t have expected me to be eliminated directly in the first round.”
“Calculating the time, it should still be more than a year before the Crimson Flame arrives.”
“I definitely can’t go back. It’s better to travel in Tianyu Province for a while, and then go directly to seek refuge with fellow Daoist He after his closed-door training ends.”
“As for Zhang Zhiliang…”
“I don’t think he’ll give up his opportunity for Dao Integration for such a trivial matter and come to trouble me.”
Thinking of the Discussion Tower mentioned by Shangguan Shi just now, Li Fan, who had nowhere to go for the time being, inquired about its location and went straight there.
The Discussion Tower was not just a single building.
It was a continuous complex of buildings.
It not only provided services such as gatherings and dining but also had many small courtyards similar to the Huan Yu Courtyard for accommodation.
The lobby of the main building was very lively and was filled with cultivators.
Most of them were not high in cultivation.
Li Fan estimated that the highest was only in the Nascent Soul realm.
It was likely that those above the Soul Transformation realm would arrange a separate courtyard when they came here to gather.
He casually found an empty seat and sat down. A cup of spiritual tea appeared on the table automatically.
After taking a sip, he felt the spiritual energy surging in his body, soothing and refreshing.
After finishing the drink and placing the cup on the table, the spiritual tea flowed out from the bottom of the cup and filled it again.
This time, Li Fan didn’t drink it. Instead, he picked up a jade plaque with the character “Dao” engraved on it from the table.
After exploring it with his spiritual consciousness, various styles of dishes suddenly appeared in his mind.
Almost all of them had some effect on improving the physique and refining the purity of spiritual energy in the body.
Of course, the prices were also extremely high.
Almost all of them cost several hundred contribution points each.
“This Discussion Tower definitely can’t be opened in the Cong Yun Sea.”
“Ordinary cultivators simply can’t afford it.”
Li Fan casually ordered a few dishes and tasted their effects.
During the wait, he listened to the conversations of the surrounding cultivators with his ears perked up.
It was no different from an ordinary tavern.
There were all kinds of topics.
Some cultivators raised their cultivation realm again; some were nearing the end of their lifespan, but still couldn’t break through, regretfully dying of old age.
The Five Elders Association had been quiet for the past few years, certainly planning some conspiracy in secret.
…
With all this and more, Li Fan didn’t feel bored listening.
After a while, a light flashed, and the ordered dishes and utensils appeared on the table one after another.
Li Fan tasted each one, feeling the changes in his body, nodding silently.
“This Discussion Tower lives up to its reputation.”
Just then, amidst the already somewhat noisy lobby, there was suddenly a bit of commotion.
A few keywords drifted into Li Fan’s ears, causing him to slightly pause and listen intently.
“Fellow Daoist Lu, did you really find the life-extending spiritual fruit?”
“Shh, keep it low-key. This trip to the Underground Forest did yield some gains. The Spirit Turtle Violet Fruit, as identified by the Tianxuan Mirror, can extend life by 150 years.” Fellow Daoist Lu’s voice sounded somewhat proud.
“Hiss…”
“The Spirit Turtle Violet Fruit, if I remember correctly, isn’t on the list provided by Immortal Sage Jicheng, right? Doesn’t that mean…”
“Fellow Daoist Lu, you’ve really encountered great fortune this time!”
“Extending life by 150 years is an extremely remarkable treasure. I don’t know where it will rank in the bounty ranking. If you are fortunate enough to rank in the top three…”
“That would be a Law Derivation Jade…”
The breathing of the crowd couldn’t help but quicken.
…
Li Fan listened to the conversation of a few other individuals, his expression slightly changing.
Without further ado, he directly booked a separate courtyard in this Discussion Tower, disregarding the remaining food on the table, and moved in.
Sure enough, there was a Tianxuan Mirror in the courtyard.
After some searching, Li Fan immediately understood the ins and outs of the matter.
It turned out that ever since Immortal Sage Jicheng retired from the position of Supreme Commander of the Garrison Court and devoted himself to healing, although his injuries gradually improved, the loss of lifespan couldn’t be recovered.
Like all cultivators nearing the end of their lifespans, Immortal Sage Jicheng began seeking various methods of prolonging life.
However, having held a high position for many years, Immortal Sage Jicheng had basically exhausted all the treasures and pills that could grant longevity, rendering them ineffective for him.
Therefore, he issued a three-year bounty for the entire Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance to search for life-extending treasures that were still effective for him.
Those proven to be effective would receive high rewards.
The more they extended his lifespan, the more generous the reward.
And the unique rewards for the top three were enough to make all cultivators in the world excited.
Each was a Law Derivation Decree, allowing one the opportunity to use the Technique Derivation Jade to derive a technique for themselves.
It was well known that techniques were quite rare.
And to customize a technique tailored to oneself was even more difficult.
Although Master Pathweavers could achieve this, the cost was high, and their proficiency varied, resulting in imperfect techniques.
It was only the second-best option.
In the hearts of many cultivators, they dreamed of using a Law Derivation Decree, the number one treasure of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, to create a technique for themselves.
Unfortunately, for the vast majority of cultivators in the world, this was just an unattainable dream.
The Law Derivation Decree was the foundation of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, so it was very precious!
Most people didn’t even know what it looked like, let alone where they could obtain one.
Not to mention using it.
Even the average Dao Integration realm cultivator might not have the qualifications to use one.
Immortal Sage Jicheng had controlled the Garrison Court for nearly five hundred years and held a position of great power.
During this time, he had experienced countless wars of all sizes and gained various merits.
Only then could he come up with the reward of three opportunities to use a Law Derivation Decree.
“First place can deduce a Dao Integration realm technique. Second place, Soul Transformation. Third place, Nascent Soul.”
Looking at the rewards, Li Fan couldn’t help but admit that he was tempted.
He happened to have a longevity treasure.
The Longevity Fruit could extend life by three hundred years.
Furthermore, it happened to not be on the list of treasures that Immortal Sage Jicheng had already used.
For him, this fruit was not very useful.
But if he exchanged it for a reward from Immortal Sage Jicheng…
Leaving aside the superiority of customized techniques, just being able to see the Technique Derivation Jade was worth the price for Li Fan.
“However, this Longevity Fruit comes from the Fallen Immortal Realm. Generally, only Golden Core cultivators can enter.”
“I’m just at Foundation Establishment. It seems a bit inappropriate to hand it over now.”
“Anyway, it’s been less than a year since Immortal Sage Jicheng’s bounty was issued. I can wait until I breakthrough to Golden Core before handing it over.”
“This way, I can explain its origin openly and aboveboard.”
“Hmm… dealing with Immortal Sage Jicheng definitely entails some risks.”
“I need to think about it carefully.”
For the next few days, Li Fan wandered around Tianyu City.
He also went to see the spectacle mentioned by Shangguan Shi, the Ice Abyss Fire Lotus.
In the depths of an icy abyss, countless flames formed a blooming lotus.
Although it was beautiful, Li Fan couldn’t discern anything particularly special about it.
It was said that some cultivators had gained enlightenment here and directly advanced a small realm, but it seemed his insight wasn’t enough.
On the way back from the icy abyss, Li Fan’s communication talisman suddenly received a transmission from Ji Hongdao.
He was asked to hurry back to the Huan Yu Courtyard.