Chapter 869: Li Fan Hatches a Clever Plan
"Indeed. I misjudged it before as well."
"I originally thought that the items in this Fishing Pool were all placed inside when it was forged a thousand years ago."
"But this thing I fished out last time... it wasn't a creation from that era at all."
"It was made within the last five hundred years."
The Slate Fisherman opened his palm, revealing a curved piece of black jade shaped like a horn.
"This is..." Li Fan couldn't recognize it.
"The Conquering Heaven Horn. An invention of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. When blown, it can briefly invoke the power of an entire province's Heavenly Dao," the Slate Fisherman stated succinctly.
"The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance?" Li Fan was startled at first, then his expression shifted.
He turned his head to look at the Fishing Pool, and a torrent of thoughts instantly flooded his mind.
"While we are fishing in the Star Sea, it, too, is fishing the myriad heavens..."
The Slate Fisherman's words confirmed the suspicions in Li Fan's heart.
It was as if a monstrous wave had crashed through his mind, leaving him unable to calm his spirit for a long time.
Even after personally experiencing the marvels of the Fishing Pool, he had never imagined that he still hadn't seen its full picture.
"Is this the power of an immortal artifact?"
"Not only does it hold countless treasures within, but there's no need to worry about them ever running out."
That was what Li Fan was thinking.
The Slate Fisherman, however, was focused on something else.
His usually calm tone rippled with a hint of excitement. "This is the true Dao of 'Fishing'."
"This immortal artifact is no simple thing."
"If I could master it, perhaps I could fish the myriad heavens myself and find what I'm looking for, without having to rely on it," the Slate Fisherman's voice quivered with anticipation.
Li Fan fell silent.
Only then did it dawn on him.
How could a marvel like the Creation Stone Slab possibly choose a mediocre person to possess?
Having made a new discovery, the Slate Fisherman stopped fishing.
At the same time, his appearance changed.
He was no longer a fisherman, but what appeared to be a newborn infant.
He closed his eyes by the pond's edge and fell into a deep sleep.
After waiting for several more days and seeing no sign of him waking, Li Fan shook his head and retreated.
"Even with Senior Slate's aptitude for comprehension, grasping the Dao of Fishing won't happen in a day."
"And now he's occupying the Fishing Pool, so no one dares to disturb him."
Li Fan felt a pang of helplessness.
He could only instruct Lin Ling to wait there and contact him if anything changed.
Li Fan then returned alone to the Spirit Wood Realm.
Just then, he received a message from the Five Elders Council.
"To think that even his identity as a contact for the Five Elders Council was fake."
"This Senior Slate is truly dedicated to his roles." Li Fan shook his head inwardly, recalling the man's tone and expression.
"This must be one of his peculiar amusements. Fortunately, he seems good-natured. He didn't just decide to kill me on a whim."
These few days spent with Senior Slate had not only revealed some ancient secrets, but most importantly, they had clarified the true nature of the conflict between the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council in the Xuanhuang Realm.
Li Fan recalled the fisherman's sigh.
"The Xuanhuang Realm... is a ship that is about to sink."
"The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council are fighting for final control of that ship."
"Both are absolutely confident in their ability to save the Xuanhuang Realm from its sinking fate. But the prerequisite is that a single, ultimate authority must be decided."
"Heh, just like the Ten Great Immortal Sects all those years ago."
"It's not that they're blinded by power, but that to escape this fate, the entire realm's strength must be unified and concentrated. If someone on the inside is playing both sides..."
"So, all this fighting and killing doesn't really matter. Once the existence of the Xuanhuang Realm is truly threatened, both sides will still join forces. Just like five hundred years ago, when those traitors returned."
When the Slate Fisherman mentioned those traitors, his tone had turned uncharacteristically fierce.
"Five hundred years ago must be referring to the counter-attack from the small worlds. But it seems those small worlds were just puppets. The real masterminds must be the cultivators who once betrayed the Xuanhuang Realm." In the Spirit Wood Realm, Li Fan pieced together the fisherman's words with secrets he had previously uncovered, his mind deep in thought.
"As expected of the one who bears the Creation Stone Slab, he knows so many secrets. It's just a pity he's not strong enough."
"How much I can learn depends entirely on his mood."
"Otherwise, I'd interrogate him day and night."
Li Fan's thoughts slowly turned.
From Senior Slate's perspective, many things that had seemed hazy and shrouded in mist to Li Fan were now crystal clear.
At the time, after hearing the fisherman's explanation of the struggle between the Alliance and the Council, Li Fan couldn't help but ask, "What about the Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate? What is his attitude towards all of this?"
The Slate Fisherman looked as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
He first let out a loud, unrestrained laugh.
Only then did he answer, "The Dharma Spreader?"
"The Xuanhuang may be sinking..."
"...but the Dharma Spreader can fly, can't he?"
"He couldn't care less."
"However..."
The Slate Fisherman's smile suddenly vanished.
"That's just my speculation."
"In reality, for the Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate, who considers the Xuanhuang Realm his private property, his attitude is somewhat difficult to fathom."
"Otherwise, after all these years, he could have left long ago."
The Slate Fisherman's voice gradually faded until it was inaudible.
...
"The Dharma Spreader can fly."
"So he can indeed ignore the influence of the Immortal Ruins and leave on his own."
Li Fan mused to himself.
"I wonder what level of power is required to escape the Xuanhuang Realm?"
"Perhaps..."
"I could make an attempt."
The thought suddenly bloomed in Li Fan's mind.
Although there was no precedent for any of the Longevity realm cultivators in the Xuanhuang Realm escaping, aside from the Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate, the Longevity cultivators of Xuanhuang were intrinsically tied to the world.
It was possible that it wasn't a lack of strength, but a backlash caused by that very bond.
Just like Senior Slate.
"Besides, I don't have to rely solely on my own power. I can use external forces."
Li Fan recalled the countless obelisks that had stood upon the Xuanhuang land in his 114th life.
"I achieved the Nascent Soul stage with the Five Elements Primordial Grotto-Heaven. If I merge the five elements and forge a new world..."
"...and then build obelisks upon its surface to provide thrust..."
"...escaping the Xuanhuang Realm might not be impossible."
In truth, with [Truth] at his disposal, Li Fan had no intention of going down with this ship.
If possible, finding another cultivation world to settle in would be far better than staying in this accursed place.
After all, in a world on the brink of collapse, nothing was too strange to happen.
He had already encountered far too many monsters and freaks along his journey.
"One attempt, a two-pronged approach."
Li Fan began to calculate silently in his heart.
(End of Chapter)
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