Chapter 813: The Heaven-Bestowed Twin Gourds
"'One cannot fly in the Nine Mountains; cultivators can only gaze up and sigh.' What a spectacular, rare sight!"
"A single one of these majestic ranges would be enough to make any ordinary province famous, yet here there are nine!"
A youth in white robes ambled to the foot of Mount Tianlao, his voice filled with wonder.
The youth was fair-skinned and handsome, but his eyes held a glint of resolve that belied his age.
Around his neck hung a long cord woven from green vines.
A green gourd was tied to the end of the cord.
The youth gave the gourd a little shake, then pulled out the stopper and aimed its opening at the towering peaks of Mount Tianlao before him.
He adjusted the angle slightly before nodding in satisfaction.
"Collect!"
The youth brought the opening of the gourd to his nose and inhaled deeply.
"An exquisite vista, indeed!"
A look of pure bliss spread across his face.
The next moment, however, his expression froze, and his body locked in place, utterly paralyzed.
A figure materialized slowly behind him, a hand extending to pluck the green gourd from his grasp.
"The Heavenly View Gourd," the figure cackled. "This is quite an impressive little toy."
A flicker of terror crossed the youth's eyes.
Li Fan ordered Tianyang to restrain the youth while he secured the precious gourd.
"Shang Tianci, a member of the Immortal Alliance's Mountain River Pavilion. Reached the Golden Core stage at eighteen—a truly peerless talent."
"His companion wonder, the Heavenly View Gourd, can capture the landscapes of the Xuanhuang Realm, generating near-perfect, scaled-down replicas within it."
"More importantly, he can teleport between any recorded location with a mere thought. If it weren't for my Insect Binding technique, even a Soul Transformation cultivator would have struggled to catch him so easily."
Li Fan directed his divine sense into the Heavenly View Gourd. Amidst swirling clouds and mist, he saw countless points of light scattered about, each one a distinct and unique landscape.
Some of them were quite familiar to Li Fan.
For instance, the Ten Ranges of Taihua and the Thousand Waters of Tianling.
And Mount Tianlao, which Shang Tianci had just captured, was also there!
"Barely a Golden Core cultivator, yet he dares to venture alone into the chaos of the Nine Mountains Prefecture. The recklessness of youth, truly."
"Of course, if I weren't here, he would have been the hero of the coming conflict."
"During his journey, he would have stumbled right into a surprise attack by the Five Elders Council."
"With the Spirit Element Sect coordinating from the inside, the Five Elders Council had already deployed heavy troops to seal off the Nine Mountains Prefecture, letting people in but not out. They had even blocked all communications, ensuring no word could escape through conventional channels. Their entire strategy hinged on speed, hoping to conquer the prefecture in a single, swift strike before the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance could even react."
"But who could have predicted their rotten luck? They just had to run into an anomaly like Shang Tianci, who could use his companion wonder to teleport instantly, even in a region where spatial travel is forbidden."
"As a result, the information leaked, and their entire plan fell apart at the final hurdle."
Li Fan's thoughts churned as he recalled the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's official narrative of these events from his past life.
"However, there's no guarantee that this is the whole truth."
"I'll need to observe a little more."
"As for this kid..."
Li Fan turned his head and glanced at the immobilized Shang Tianci.
Tianyang needed no verbal command; he knocked the youth unconscious with a single blow. Li Fan then flicked his finger, sending a shimmering red globule containing his own blood essence straight into Shang Tianci's body.
This was the Blood Bond technique, a spell capable of influencing the mind.
"The Federation of All Worlds can't consist of me alone," Li Fan mused. "A genius like this will make for a perfect public face."
Riding atop Tianyang, Li Fan flew to the summit of Mount Tianlao.
He casually set up a formation to conceal his presence, then gazed into the distance, awaiting the arrival of the Five Elders Council's army.
"It should be soon."
While waiting, Li Fan began to study the newly acquired Heavenly View Gourd.
Though it was Shang Tianci's companion wonder, for some reason, he hadn't used it for his Foundation Establishment.
Instead, he treated it as a common treasure, simply carrying it with him.
Li Fan sent his divine sense deep into the green gourd, attempting to connect with the landscapes inside and see if he could travel through them at will, just as Shang Tianci had.
But alas, they completely ignored him, showing no reaction whatsoever.
"It can't be refined with spiritual energy. Even [Truth] can't seem to sense or absorb it..."
"It seems this treasure is bound exclusively to him."
After a few fruitless attempts, Li Fan shook his head and gave up.
"To not use a treasure like this for his Foundation Establishment... what, then, is his actual Foundation Establishment Wonder?"
Li Fan went over to the unconscious Shang Tianci and examined him closely.
"Hm?" A moment later, a curious glint appeared in Li Fan's eyes.
Engraved upon the surface of Shang Tianci's Golden Core was the striking image of a purple-gold gourd.
It looked identical to the Heavenly View Gourd, but its aura was far more profound and regal.
"Twin gourds? Interesting."
A gleam appeared in Li Fan's eyes.
However, he had no intention of simply stealing it.
For one, keeping Shang Tianci alive still had its uses.
For another, this companion wonder was likely just like the Heavenly View Gourd—personally bound to its owner and impossible to steal.
"Perhaps an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, like Mr. Bai, could use it without any trouble. But not me."
A treasure right before his eyes, but not one he was fated to possess.
Yet Li Fan felt no sense of urgency.
He simply narrowed his eyes, silently gauging the progress of the Blood Bond technique within Shang Tianci's body.
When Shang Tianci slowly came to, he looked at the mysterious figure who had captured him, but the terror he'd felt before was gone.
In its place was a feeling of affinity and trust.
"Young man, what are your thoughts on the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance?" Li Fan asked, his voice oddly pitched.
"Huh?" Shang Tianci stared, taken aback. He never expected such a random, nonsensical question.
He answered reflexively, "The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance is great! Everyone has access to cultivation techniques, and we don't have to fear for our lives..."
Li Fan cut him off with a cold snort. "Great? Can't you see how many cultivators slave away for half their lives, all for a single technique? And it would be one thing if it were a complete, profound art."
"But no, they sell them in fragments. You get a technique for Foundation Establishment, and once you reach the Golden Core stage, you have to start over and trade for the next part. It’s the same for Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation!"
"They treat us cultivators as nothing more than beasts of burden!"
Shang Tianci opened his mouth to argue, but Li Fan silenced him with a single tap of a finger to his brow.
In an instant, his mind was flooded with images of countless low-level cultivators, struggling and risking their lives for a mere handful of contribution points.
As a prodigy of his generation, Shang Tianci had no idea how arduous the path was for an average cultivator, just how difficult it was to advance from a mere mortal to the realms of Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core...
Countless people spent their entire lives stuck in realms he had surpassed with ease, unable to make the slightest progress.
To truly see and understand this for the first time in his life sent a violent shock through Shang Tianci's soul, leaving him stunned beyond words.
Li Fan pressed his advantage, his words weaving a web of disillusionment.
Slowly, the look in Shang Tianci's eyes began to change.
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