With every inch he advanced, the suction force drawing in his fate grew stronger.
The world’s heavenly fate stored within the Black Bird Feather gushed out uncontrollably, like a flood bursting through a dam, making Li Fan’s expression change slightly.
The terrifying Fortune-draining ability of Han Yi’s stone statue exceeded his expectations.
If it were an ordinary cultivator, they would likely be drained of all their fortune in an instant, bringing calamity upon themselves and dying on the spot!
Even someone as blessed with fortune as Xu Ke would struggle to last long here.
However…
An individual’s fortune alone was indeed incapable of sustaining itself within this fortune-absorbing domain. But the fate of an entire world—now, that was a different story.
After all, the stone statue had a limit to how quickly it could absorb fortune. Even as Li Fan rapidly approached its side, the amount of fortune being drained each moment was nothing compared to the immense reserves stored within the Black Bird Feather—merely a drop in the ocean.
By Li Fan’s estimation, even if he remained stationary and allowed the statue to absorb his fortune freely, it would still take at least half a day to fully deplete it!
Once again drawing upon the world’s heavenly fate stored within the Black Bird Feather, Li Fan enveloped himself in a protective barrier, ensuring his absolute safety before quietly observing the Han Yi stone statue before him.
Its face was frozen in terror, eyes filled with despair—so lifelike, as if time itself had stopped at the very moment it suffered a fatal blow.
“Han Yi must have encountered the Fisherman before ending up like this. Was it the Fisherman’s doing, or the effect of the Heavenly Fortune Sutra?”
Li Fan did not act recklessly but instead carefully analyzed the situation.
“Neither alive nor dead… something is strange about this.”
Previously, through the Cloud-Water Dream Art, Li Fan had gained a general understanding of the Heavenly Fortune Sutra. However, none of its recorded techniques described such an eerie transformation.
If anything came close, it would be a divine ability known as [Severing Fortune, Return to the Pivot].
This technique allowed one to sever their own fortune in moments of life-threatening danger—completely cutting off all ties to the world and entering an realm of the Pivot, where there is no space and no self.
In this state, one’s body and mind would completely stagnate, as if they had escaped into the void itself, making them undetectable by others.
The state of returning to the Pivot may last anywhere from several months to several years, only gradually restoring itself once all external threats had passed.
It was a technique with severe side effects but also unparalleled survival potential.
“Perhaps the Fisherman’s attack interacted with [Severing Fortune, Return to the Pivot], leading to the creation of this stone statue.”
After a long period of contemplation, Li Fan came to a realization.
“Although Han Yi activated this life-preserving divine ability, the power gap between him and the Fisherman was simply too vast. He didn’t even have time to fully enter the Returning To Pivot state before he was struck by the Fisherman’s technique.”
“Hmm…”
“The Fisherman likely had no intention of killing Han Yi. He was merely searching for clues regarding the Heavenly Calamity Sword within Han Yi’s mind. But even so, Han Yi couldn’t endure it. The sheer force of the attack engulfed him, turning him into this stone-like state.”
“Severing fortune means returning one’s fortune to the heavens—essentially forsaking it. But now, this state has transformed into one that absorbs fortune from the outside world instead.”
“Is this due to the Fisherman’s attack?”
Li Fan’s thoughts raced, his expression turning serious.
After a while, he emerged from his deep contemplation and gazed at Han Yi’s frozen figure, his eyes cold.
“If this were a normal Return to Pivot state, you would eventually wake up one day. But with the Fisherman’s interference… in your current condition, you will never return to normal again.”
“A fate worse than death. Let me put you out of your misery.”
As he spoke, Li Fan pointed a finger in midair and cast the Purple Heaven Soul-Viewing Technique on Han Yi.
At this moment, Han Yi’s thoughts were in absolute stasis. Because of this, Li Fan faced no resistance as he roamed freely through Han Yi’s mind. Every secret, even the darkest corners of Han Yi’s heart, were laid bare before Li Fan.
It could be said that at this moment, Li Fan understood Han Yi better than Han Yi himself.
After extracting every single thought from Han Yi’s mind, Li Fan flicked his finger, releasing a streak of pitch-black sword light.
The dark sword light swiftly pierced through the statue’s chest.
In an instant, the statue disintegrated into countless tiny particles, scattering into the heavens and earth.
At the same time, the Fortune-draining Domain that had enveloped the statue vanished without a trace.
Rather than any ominous signs appearing in the sky due to a cultivator’s fall, an invisible storm instead surged in place. The fortune energy that Han Yi had absorbed over time also returned to the heaven and earth following Han Yi’s demise.
Li Fan would not let such a rare opportunity slip by. He immediately activated the Black Bird Feather, seizing the moment before this unclaimed fortune completely dispersed and devoured it all. Then, before anyone could notice the anomaly in this place, he quietly disappeared.
Returning to Longevity Valley, he did not disturb Liu San and the others, who were still busy.
Li Fan entered the Sect Master’s secluded cultivation chamber, where he placed the brown jade bottle containing Xu Ke’s essence blood and the materials needed to refine a clone in front of him.
Just as he was about to start the process, an inexplicable sense of unease arose in his heart.
“I am currently at the early Nascent Soul stage. The clone I refine will be limited to the Peak Golden Core stage. I intend to use the clone to cultivate Han Yi’s Heavenly Fortune Sutra. But if I create the clone first and then have it cultivate and break through on its own…”
“The bottleneck imposed by the Calamity of Heaven may be even more rigid than my own, causing unnecessary delays. It would be better for my main body to cultivate first and break through to the Mid Nascent Soul stage. That way, I can achieve twice the result with half the effort.”
After contemplating this, Li Fan temporarily put away the materials and ascended into the sky of the Beast Realm.
“I achieved my Nascent Soul through the Five Elements Cave-Heaven. To break through quickly, I must deeply comprehend the Laws of the Five Elements.”
“In the Xuanhuang Realm, I would have to spend great effort searching for suitable opportunities. But in this Beast Realm…”
“The laws of the heaven and earth operate, the Five Elements circulate—all within my grasp!”
“Although this small world is of a lower tier, and I must avoid excessive entanglement with it due to what happened to Xiao Hei… It is still more than sufficient to aid my rapid breakthrough to Mid Nascent Soul.”
Closing his eyes, Li Fan focused, and in an instant, a massive inverted hourglass seemed to appear in the sky. The Five Elements Power sustaining the Beast Realm was slowly drawn into it. As the Five Elements clashed, deafening explosions echoed through the air. The sky itself transformed into a brilliant tapestry of five-colored radiance, creating a breathtaking spectacle.
Liu San and Fang Zaiji looked up, gazing at Li Fan, who stood motionless above the clouds, and nodded slightly.
“Young Master’s aura when cultivating is truly extraordinary. He has quite a bit of the old master’s demeanor!” Liu San said with some relief.
“Heh, I think even Liu Ruchen can’t compare to him!” Fang Zaiji retorted without giving Liu San any face.
Liu San’s expression stiffened, but surprisingly, he did not argue back this time.
“For the new to surpass the old—that is a good thing. Otherwise, wouldn’t our Medicine King Sect be doomed to repeat the past?”
“It is a good thing!” Liu San repeated.
Ordering the disciples not to disturb Li Fan’s cultivation, the two of them then joined forces to set up protective barriers around him, finally putting their minds at ease.
Time flowed on as Li Fan immersed himself in cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, two years passed.