He Zhenghao was no longer the arrogant and passionate youth he once was. After struggling in the Cong Yun Hai for decades, he had long recognized the cruelty of reality.
He Zhenghao sighed deeply and shook his head, saying, "Dao Friend is joking. Ruoshui's cultivation talent is far beyond mine. Even if I can reach the Yuan Ying realm in this lifetime, by then, she might have already advanced to Nascent Divinity."
"Nascent Divinity Weaving Master..."
"The gap between us will only widen."
"I'm already old, and I don't aspire to that anymore."
"As long as Xinxin comes to see me from time to time, I'll be content."
He Zhenghao sighed.
Li Fan didn't say much; he patted He Zhenghao on the shoulder and then took his leave.
Back in the Tian Xuan Mirror, Li Fan began to carefully search for information about Source Daozhou.
The people of an entire province had their time devoured periodically by an unknown entity. The residents of Source Daozhou might not have been aware of it at that time, but when exchanging information with cultivators from other provinces, would they sense that something was amiss?
During these ten years of devouring, how would the outside world perceive Source Daozhou?
The information in the Tian Xuan Mirror was vast, and there should be some clues related to this phenomenon, right?
Li Fan spent half a day confirming this.
Nothing.
Li Fan couldn't help but sigh, "Everything visible is what they want you to see. Anything they don't want you to see disappears without a trace."
Shaking his head, he gave up on his previous plan and focused on searching for the history of Source Daozhou.
"Records of the Heavenly Capital Ruins," "Source Dao? Dao Source? On the Relationship Between Source Daozhou and the Ancient Dao Source Land," "A Brief Discussion on the Succession of the Heavenly Capital Archmage Lineage"...
Li Fan patiently flipped through one book after another.
In these books about Source Daozhou, there was almost always one keyword: Heavenly Capital.
"The source of Dao, the head of all teachings..."
"What grandiose claims."
Li Fan couldn't help but think, "Could this Heavenly Capital be one of the ten ancient immortal sects?"
According to later investigations, during ancient times, the Heavenly Capital was suspended high above the nine heavens, overlooking the myriad lives in the Profound Yellow Realm.
It was hailed as the source of Dao, the head of all teachings.
Specific information about the cultivators inside the Heavenly Capital back then was unknown.
The only name that had been passed down was the Heavenly Capital Archmage.
It was said that the Dao Sourcezhou's Blue Feather Immortal Veneration was from the lineage of the Heavenly Capital Archmage.
The "Heavenly Capital Feather Transformation Technique" he practiced was directly passed down by the Archmage.
Many of Blue Feather's treasures, such as the Heavenly Capital Martial Arts Arena and the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace, were all inherited from the Heavenly Capital.
"Within this year, Blue Feather will reach the end of his life. Before his death, he will set up the Devour Essence and Return to Life Grand Array, attempting to reverse the cycle of life and death and achieve eternal life."
"It is said that when Blue Feather falls, strange phenomena will occur throughout the entire province, visible to everyone."
"I cannot go in person, but there's no harm in sending my avatar."
Li Fan had a vague feeling that the unknown entity that devoured time might be related to the ancient Heavenly Capital.
But this was just intuition, without any evidence to support it.
"Regardless, witnessing the scene of the Immortal Veneration's fall is a rare sight."
"It's good to broaden my horizons."
"I heard that because Blue Feather was already a Dao Source cultivator before the Great Tribulation, the signs of his fall will be different from those of ordinary cultivators."
...
With a determined mind, Li Fan began searching for ways to eliminate the unknown traces on his body.
Different strokes for different folks.
Just because **Still True** couldn't do it didn't mean there weren't other methods in this world.
As long as it could be solved with contribution points, it wasn't a problem for Li Fan.
Keywords: purification, curse, trace, elimination...
Li Fan calmly examined the information that popped up.
These solutions generally fell into three categories.
The first was to rely on natural treasures to cleanse oneself, purging demonic and evil auras.
The second was to practice special techniques continuously, achieving purity of body and mind.
The third was the use of rare elixirs or artifacts to remove the mysterious marks.
The third category involved cultivators who specialized in this field. All that was required was to pay a certain price, and they would willingly come to your doorstep to provide services. They could eliminate the anomalies entwining your body. Of course, if unsuccessful, they wouldn't charge you. With a mindset of giving it a try, Li Fan contacted these cultivators.
When the other party inquired about the type of traces that needed to be expelled, Li Fan simply stated that he wasn't sure. He only felt something was off in his body through spiritual awareness.
Such statements were quite normal.
More than ten cultivators arrived, ranging from Nascent Soul to Foundation Establishment cultivators. After performing their techniques, Li Fan felt no effect. The cultivators also stared at him for a moment and then shook their heads, indicating that they couldn't find any anomalies.
Just as Li Fan was about to give up, the last cultivator, named Fang Yang, surprised him. Fang Yang was also a Nascent Soul cultivator. After observing Li Fan for a while and preparing to cast a spell, his expression suddenly changed. Without saying a word, he turned and walked away.
Li Fan knew that Fang Yang must have discerned something, so he quickly caught up.
In front of the Transmission Plaza, Fang Yang, who was intercepted by Li Fan, had an unpleasant expression. If it weren't for the prohibition of fighting on the island, he might have slapped this ignorant kid to death.
"Young friend, go back! I'm afraid I can't help with the issue on your body!" Fang Yang said sternly.
Li Fan looked nervous and earnestly said, "Please, senior, save me! Recently, I've been feeling restless day and night, unable to meditate peacefully. If this continues, my cultivation will stagnate, and I might die in the Foundation Establishment stage, severing my path to Dao!"
Holding onto Fang Yang's hand desperately, Li Fan appeared determined not to let go.
Fang Yang's face turned red, and he couldn't retaliate. He had to lower his voice and say, "Kid, let me be frank with you. Although I don't know what's happening with you, it's evident that you've provoked an existence you shouldn't have. It's beyond my capacity, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, to resolve."
"Even if I had a solution, I wouldn't act on your behalf. Because, to put it bluntly, the anomalies on your body are like imprints left by that entity. If you rashly remove them, it will undoubtedly attract the entity's attention."
...
Fang Yang stopped speaking at this point and said no more.
Li Fan's heart sank. Things were more serious than he had imagined.
"Do you have a solution, senior? If I can escape this calamity, I will surely repay you generously in the future!" Li Fan said solemnly.
Fang Yang carefully examined Li Fan and pondered for a moment before answering, "Find a secluded small world, cultivate a purification technique, spend more than a decade on it, and you might be able to get rid of it. Of course, this is just a suggestion, and whether it works depends on your own destiny. I can't guarantee anything."
Li Fan nodded slowly in response.
Thanking Fang Yang, he stopped pressing for more information.
(End of this chapter)