Chapter 79 - 79: 78: Activation of the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters

Translator: 549690339

“I apologize. I really can’t handle this matter. I foresee a breakthrough soon, so I must go out seeking opportunities within the next two years and won’t be able to guard Liuli Island for long.”

The Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters will open in a little over a year, and Li Fan wouldn’t miss the chance to enter first for the small amount of contribution points he’d get for guarding the island.

So he bluntly refused He Zhenghao.

“I see, then I’ll have to find someone else. I wish you an early foundation establishment!” He Zhenghao replied regretfully.

There were no more messages coming through the communication talisman.

Li Fan did not care. He spent contribution points and activated the auxiliary practice mode.

He started to practice “The Shadow-Following Form Secret”.

After all, it’s just an auxiliary technique, practicing “The Shadow-Following Form Secret” is much simpler than the other two techniques.

Thanks to the double boost from Enlightenment and the Exquisite Luli Bead, it took Li Fan less than ten days to refine it to the Final Stage of Energy Refining.

At this moment, Li Fan was testing the effect of “The Shadow-Following Form Secret”.

He used 100 contribution points to start a simulated chase battle with a final-stage Energy Refining cultivator in the Tianxuan Mirror.

The surrounding space transformed into a continuous chain of mountains.

In the woods, a shadow was escaping towards the distance at high speed.

That was the target set to be pursued.

Watching the target’s back becoming more and more distant, Li Fan moved his consciousness, and his figure suddenly darkened.

As if draped in a dark veil, under the shelter of the ubiquitous shadows, he became even more difficult to notice.

Just as the target was about to disappear from his sight, Li Fan suddenly accelerated and kept up.

His speed has greatly improved compared to his simple wind -commanding flight before.

There was even a faint connection between him and the target of the chase.

The target’s speed increase, to some extent, also sped up Li Fan.

It truly seemed as if Li Fan had become the target’s shadow, making it impossible for it to shake him off.

He could even constantly shuttle and jump through the shadows on the ground.

In no time at all, Li Fan caught up with the shadow ahead.

The surroundings became blurry, and the illusions of mountains and cultivators disappeared at the same time.

It changed back into a pitch-black space.

At the end of the chase battle, Li Fan was quite satisfied with “The Shadow-Following Form Secret”.

Its ability to hide his aura was remarkable in itself, and paired with an Invisible Talisman, he would be even harder to detect.

Sikong Yi might be a bit mysterious, but there’s no doubt that he’s at the final stage of Energy Refining.

Having prepared so much already, and depending on unplanned for things going against the unprepared.

Seeking “The Cloud and Water Scroll” shouldn’t be a big problem.

Now that everything is ready, he just needs to wait for information from Jiao Xiuyuan and the official opening of the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters.

In the TianXuan Mirror, Li Fan looked deeply into the distance.

Two months later, at the Thousand Miles Hall on Ten Thousand Immortals Island.

Upon receiving a message from Jiao Xiuyuan, Li Fan hurriedly rushed over after activating the Invisible Talisman.

As soon as he saw Jiao Xiuyuan, he feigned anger: “How does your Thousand Miles Hall do things? It’s just a little Energy Refining cultivator, but it took you so long to find out the information. I thought you had forgotten about this and I was going to find someone else to do it!”

Jiao Xiuyuan was a bit embarrassed, but he quickly pulled Li Fan along, activated the store’s Array Technique to isolate it from the outside world’s prying eyes.

It was only then that he quietly explained: “Please lower your voice! The delay was due to a reason.”

“Hmm?” Li Fan’s expression slight changed, waiting for what comes next.

“Hehe, truth be told, the difficulty of this task was beyond my expectations. The fifty contribution points we agreed on last time are simply too little! I had to ask for help from a senior at the final stage of Foundation Establishment to get this done…” Jiao Xiuyuan looked eagerly at Li Fan, his meaning obvious.

“So, are you going back on your word?” Li Fan’s eyes narrowed, and he stared at Jiao Xiuyuan with an unfriendly expression.

Jiao Xiuyuan scratched his head: “Can you add a bit more… ”

Li Fan turned and was about to leave.

Jiao Xiuyuan was so anxious he nearly jumped up: “Oh, my dear ancestors, I am really having a bad year! Two orders in a row and both are losing deals.”

“Okay, okay! Let’s stick to the initial deal, fifty is fifty!” He gritted his teeth and said.

“Here, along with the previous deposit, sums up to fifty contribution points.” Li Fan said coldly, throwing over four medium grade Spirit Stones.

“Such a hassle to earn your money.” Jiao Xiuyuan groaned as he caught the Spirit Stones and finally handed a jade scroll over to Li Fan.

Li Fan received the scroll and examining it with his spirit consciousness, revealed an expression of surprise.

He then put away the jade scroll and walked away.

Watching Li Fan’s retreating figure, Jiao Xiuyuan’s previously obsequious expression disappeared instantly.

He caressed the Spirit Stones in his hand, letting out a series of sneers. “One secretive and of unknown origin; the other concealed and unpredictable.”

“I am curious to see what you two are up to.”

In the Tianxuan Mirror, Li Fan once again thoroughly read the contents of the jade scroll before finally destroying it.

“Two people?”

Li Fan’s brow furrowed, finding himself in a somewhat difficult position.

According to the information Jiao Xiuyuan had gathered, this Sikong Yi lived a secluded life and rarely showed himself.

He had a good friend named Baili Chen, who was also a male cultivator.

This Baili Chen was slightly weaker, at the mid stage of Energy Refining Cultivation.

Sikong Yi and Baili Chen seemed to get along extraordinarily well, always sticking together and inseparable during their outings.

Moreover, the duo seemed to have some sort of combined attack technique.

When they attacked enemies, their coordination was seamless, seemingly possessing a shared consciousness, as if they were one person.

These two usually stayed within the Ten Thousand Immortals Island, rarely venturing outside except to complete tasks and accumulate contribution points.

However, during Jiao Xiuyuan’s investigation, the duo mysteriously disappeared once.

They were lost after leaving the Ten Thousand Immortals Island, no one knew where they went.

“Who is this Baili Chen, why don’t I have any impressions of him?” Li Fan carefully recalled, but he could not find any information about Baili Chen in his memory.

“It seems that he must have perished inside the Relics of the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters.”

“However, I didn’t expect that there would be an extra cultivator to deal with.

I’m afraid my current preparation is insufficient.”

“Fortunately, there’s still plenty of time.”

As thoughts swirl in his spirit consciousness, Li Fan began to replan.

One year later.

At the center of the Misthaven Ocean, after eleven years of anchoring.

A thunderstorm that had been brewing in the sky for several months continued to roar.

The thick spiral of clouds has turned black, slowly rotating, building up power endlessly.

The clouds seemed like high walls, guarding the center of the spiral.

In there, streaks of blue light flickered non-stop.

Each time it flickered, the central sea area seemed to undergo some inexplicable change.

Such abnormality inevitably attracted cultivators.

And there was a faint rumor that the relics of an Ancient Sect were about to appear here.

As a result, the number of cultivators gathered here over the months had been growing steadily.

Naturally, Li Fan was among them.

His gaze swept over the crowd and inadvertently lingered for a moment on Sikong Yi and Baili Chen.

Then, he saw the figure of Jiao Xiuyuan.

Jiao Xiuyuan was staring excitedly into the vortex of clouds in the sky.

“This fool probably thinks he’s stumbled upon a good opportunity.”

“Little does he know, he’s only seeking his own death.”

A cold glint flashed across Li Fan’s eyes..