The reason why Li Fan chose Zhang Haobo as the “reborn” to provoke the Ten Thousand Immortals League to fight against Crimson Flame was, of course, because this person’s fate was extraordinary.
In the previous life, as a mortal, he could vaguely sense the crisis of the burning sea and fled far away before the disaster arrived.
Not only that, it seemed that he had another fate on a distant continent.
In just over twenty years, he transformed from a mortal into a Foundation Establishment powerhouse.
In this life, with the techniques provided by Li Fan, it was likely that he could grow even faster.
Only in this way would he qualify to participate in the great event of resisting the Crimson Flame’s burning of the sea.
The seed has been sown, and now one must wait for it to grow into a towering tree.
Of course, during its growth, it would inevitably need some trimming and pruning.
Li Fan looked at Zhang Haobo, who had experienced a drastic change of mind and then fallen into a deep sleep, took off into the air, and prepared to return to the Island of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Under the cover of the night, most of the residents of Liuli Island had already fallen into deep sleep, and the island was dark.
Only one residence was still brightly lit, but the courtyard was hung with white mourning banners.
Li Fan had been to that residence before; it was the home of Steward Zhao, the steward in charge of the island’s finances.
So Li Fan’s spiritual sense scanned it briefly.
His figure suddenly stopped and hung in mid-air, and a look of surprise flashed in Li Fan’s eyes.
He landed in the courtyard of Steward Zhao’s residence and walked into the spiritual hall.
Steward Zhao was dressed in mourning, kneeling in front of a memorial tablet.
Li Fan looked at the characters on the memorial tablet, lost in thought.
“The memorial tablet of the late Immortal Master He Zhenghao.”
He Zhenghao…
Is he dead?
Li Fan wasn’t particularly shocked, just extremely puzzled.
It is said that a person cannot truly witness the event twice.
However, with the [Truth], Li Fan could witness the same event countless times. His slight movements might cause ripples in the river, but he couldn’t change the river’s course.
He Zhenghao’s death was unexpected.
“How did fellow Daoist He die?” Li Fan couldn’t help but ask.
Steward Zhao was suddenly taken aback but immediately turned around and answered respectfully, “It is said that Immortal Master He encountered traps while exploring an ancient cave and tragically perished.”
“It has been fifty-six days so far.”
Li Fan couldn’t help but recall He Zhenghao’s message from back then.
“Just now, several fellow Daoists of mine discovered an ancient cave and invited me to explore it with them. They say that this cave should have been sealed long before the Great Calamity, and it is bound to contain numerous treasures and perhaps even some techniques.”
He Zhenghao wanted Li Fan to oversee Liuli Island because he wanted to explore this cave.
Li Fan refused because he was trying to obtain the “Cloud Water Map.” At that time, he hadn’t taken this matter to heart, thinking that He Zhenghao would surely return safely.
After all, in the previous life, Li Fan had encountered He Zhenghao more than ten years later, and he was perfectly fine at that time.
But unexpectedly, he had directly perished.
“So, in the previous life, He Zhenghao didn’t participate in this exploration of the cave.”
“The reason for the change must be…”
“He saved up a lifetime of contributions and lost them all at once. To earn the Nascent Soul technique, he was ready to take a gamble.”
“Why did the event of the attack by that beast, the dragonwhale, happen?”
A scene suddenly flashed through Li Fan’s mind.
When he was in the stomach of the dragonwhale, he found many unprocessed Liuli beads.
The Liuli bead is the main material for refining the Liuli Pill. After consuming the Liuli Pill, it can produce effects similar to enlightenment.
“Liuli beads can enlighten…”
This beast, the dragonwhale, gradually gained sentience because it had consumed a large number of Liuli beads.
By a stroke of fate, it encountered the island where Spirit Mist Grass was grown.
The Spirit Mist Grass seemed to be of some benefit to it, so the dragonwhale launched a raid and devoured most of the Spirit Mist Grass on the island.
The reason it could consume so many Liuli beads was because…
Li Fan narrowed his eyes.
In the previous life, when he was assimilated into the Canghai Pearl, he had seen the massive skeleton of a Liuli fish.
In the skeleton, a huge Liuli bead shimmered in the sunlight.
So, in this life, when he passed by, he casually slaughtered the leader of the Liuli fish.
With the leader of the Liuli fish gone, the Liuli fish group was leaderless.
They had no resistance and could only be devoured by the dragonwhale.
In the blink of an eye, Li Fan had unraveled the chain of events and was completely stunned.
So, does this mean that his unintentional action back then led to He Zhenghao’s death?
And not only He Zhenghao, but how many other people were ruined by the manipulation of Spirit Mist Grass trading?
And how many other people had to take desperate risks, ultimately leading to their deaths?
The cause of this series of subsequent events was just because Li Fan killed a giant Liuli fish.
The death of the leader of the Liuli fish meant that the Liuli fish group could not resist other creatures’ predation.
As a result, an exotic beast, the dragonwhale, gained sentience after devouring a large number of Liuli beads.
This sentient dragonwhale, by chance, destroyed all the Spirit Mist Grass on an island.
The destruction of the Spirit Mist Grass, further manipulated by someone, led to countless people’s fortunes being ruined.
The ultimate result was the premature deaths of several Foundation Establishment cultivators.
These events were like interlocking shackles.
At first, they were just lightly locking together, but one link led to another, tightening more and more.
Until finally, once the fatal chain was formed, it was difficult to break free.
“So, even Foundation Establishment cultivators are so simple to kill. This is the correct way to use the killing intent of the heavens and earth.”
“The ‘Formless Killing Intent’ still seems a bit crude.”
Li Fan couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with excitement and contemplation.
In the Tianxuan Mirror, Lin Fan, who was immersed in various secrets, suddenly changed his expression.
He quickly activated the auxiliary cultivation mode, and with the enlightenment enhancement, he began to comprehend.
“To kill someone, it is far from necessary to do it personally. With the [Truth]’s foresight and premonition, I can easily kill someone, just like I did with He Zhenghao. Through manipulation, I can kill across time and space.”
“Hundreds of thousands of miles away, several years in the past, I can take someone’s life.”
In other words, the butterfly effect: the flapping of a butterfly’s wings could cause a series of events that lead to a hurricane on the other side of the world.
If it weren’t for He Zhenghao’s unexpected death, Li Fan might have had to wait a long time before comprehending this butterfly effect.
“Fellow Daoist He, it’s good that you died!”
Thinking of this, Li Fan sincerely lit a stick of incense in front of He Zhenghao’s memorial tablet.
“Rest now. In the next life, I will not treat you unfairly.”
Li Fan silently said.
After standing for a moment and waiting for the incense to burn out, Li Fan turned to leave.
Just then, Steward Zhao suddenly spoke.
“Immortal Master, please wait!”
*****
TL Note: And so it begins…