"Master, what do we do? We got the wrong person..."
Wei Yushan asked through a mental transmission.
"But if he isn't the Old Ancestor, why did the Divine Water Stone recognize him as its master? Why would he give the Divine Water Stone to us?!"
The Former Sect Master couldn't understand it.
"...Master, I think this senior might have some old connection with the ancestors of our Lihuo Sect. Maybe that's why he lent us a hand?"
Wei Yushan said uncertainly.
"That's very possible!"
The Former Sect Master replied, sounding doubtful too.
At that moment, Li Fan was already walking toward them.
"Why have you come again? And who are these two?"
Li Fan asked Mu Qianning.
Could it be that I gave this girl a gemstone, so her family wants to find more?
That must be it. They look decently dressed, but according to Aunt Zhang, they even eat weeds. They've had a rough time...
If they find some gemstones, maybe life will get a little easier?
Cultivators have it rough too...
Li Fan had more or less figured it out.
"Senior, these... these two are elders of my sect. They wanted to pay you a visit, so I came here without asking first..."
Mu Qianning stammered. Now she felt even more reverence for the senior before her.
"All right,"
Li Fan said. "Let's talk at my place."
He then said goodbye to Aunt Zhang and led them toward his residence.
"Master, what should we do?"
On the way, Wei Yushan asked nervously.
But the Former Sect Master said, "A senior of this stature must have some deeper purpose behind even the most casual-seeming act. Since he's taking us to his abode, he must have a reason. We should simply follow him..."
Before long, they arrived at Li Fan's residence.
It was simple and tidy, built from stone and timber.
"Master, this... what kind of immortal's abode is this? I feel the spiritual energy surging wildly, growing so lively just from coming near it..."
Wei Yushan was stunned!
"How could you even call this an abode..."
Yu Qishui was utterly dazed. He murmured, "This is clearly... clearly a world of its own..."
The stronger one's cultivation, the more one could feel the boundless vastness and unfathomable depths of this place.
Mu Qianning, on the other hand, didn't have a high enough cultivation to sense anything so profound.
She only felt that it was very comfortable and natural.
As she approached the small courtyard, her whole body grew calm, as if all her worries had slipped away. Her Dao heart was astonishingly peaceful.
This must be where a true Immortal lives: natural and unrestrained, yet beyond the mundane...
She couldn't help glancing at Li Fan, thinking that a mighty figure with such unfathomable cultivation had chosen to live in seclusion here, among mortals, with grass and trees for company...
Perhaps this is what true cultivation is supposed to be?
"Come in."
By then, Li Fan had opened the door and turned back to them.
Yu Qishui and Wei Yushan both took deep breaths. At that moment, they felt like paupers standing before a magnificent palace, so overwhelmed they hardly knew what to do with their hands and feet!
They followed Li Fan inside.
"The Dao Rhyme in this courtyard is so rich. I feel like I'm about to enter meditation."
Wei Yushan exclaimed in shock. He sensed that the bottleneck that hadn't budged in years had suddenly given him the faintest chance of a breakthrough.
It was terrifying.
"A senior like this still raises chickens and farms..."
Mu Qianning's beautiful eyes were filled with envy. All she sensed was nature and ease.
Cultivators across the land were as plentiful as carp crossing a river. How many could possess a state of mind like this senior?
After entering, Yu Qishui looked around with uncertainty in his eyes.
Every blade of grass and every tree in the courtyard gave him an indescribable feeling!
He saw several dirt-colored chickens wandering around the yard. His brows furrowed as he tried to discern what was special about them.
Just then, one of the chickens suddenly glanced at him.
Boom!
In that instant, Yu Qishui felt as if he were facing an ancient ferocious beast, a cosmic God or Devil. His mind rang; his Dao heart nearly collapsed. Cold sweat poured down him, and he stumbled, about to fall!
Fortunately, Li Fan turned around in time and caught him. Shaking his head, he said, "You're so old, yet you can't even walk steadily. And you still insist on traveling around. It must be hard on you."
The moment Li Fan's hand touched Yu Qishui, the terrifying pressure he'd been facing suddenly vanished, and his mind recovered in an instant!
Still shaken, Yu Qishui saw that the chickens had lowered their heads and were pecking at the corn on the ground again, paying him no mind.
Yu Qishui didn't dare look at them again. He hurriedly lowered his head, trembling!
Damn it, those aren't dirt chickens the senior's raising!
They're even more terrifying than that famous Fire Beast in the Fire Kingdom's imperial palace!
Could those chickens all be at least at the Void Integration Stage...?
Who exactly is this senior?
At that moment, he was genuinely frightened. He didn't dare look around at all, afraid of provoking some unfathomable being.
Fortunately, Li Fan soon led them into the main hall.
"I know why you've come."
Li Fan spoke calmly.
At his words, Yu Qishui, Wei Yushan, and the others were all taken aback.
Of course. A senior of this caliber has achieved the Dao and transformed the very laws of nature. How could our purpose possibly escape his notice?
But when they thought it over, they accepted it. Li Fan's cultivation was simply too high in their eyes.
"That stone and I have some history, you could say. I've come across it many times."
Li Fan continued.
Yu Qishui's heart suddenly leaped with joy. The senior's words clearly meant that he did indeed have some connection with the Lihuo Sect!
Perhaps one of the Lihuo Sect's ancestors had once been friends with this great being?
So that's why he casually returned the Divine Water Stone to the Lihuo Sect!
"But I've only ever come across that one stone."
Li Fan glanced at the three of them and said, "So don't get your hopes up."
Even if they did, I couldn't find another one for them. There's nothing I can do about that.
But at his words, their expressions all changed abruptly!
How could they fail to hear the warning in the senior's words?
He's only ever come across that one stone, and we shouldn't get our hopes up... That means the connection between the senior and the Lihuo Sect goes no further than this!
We mustn't press our luck...
Yu Qishui's heart sank. He understood that the more powerful a person like Senior Li was, the more they valued fate and karma. Since he'd put it that way, they absolutely couldn't entertain any unreasonable hopes...
I'd even been thinking of asking Senior Li to look after the Lihuo Sect...
Mu Qianning felt disappointed too.
"But you've come a long way. It couldn't have been easy."
Seeing the disappointment and distress on their faces, Li Fan couldn't help feeling sorry for them. He said, "Have some tea and a simple meal before you go."
With that, he went to brew tea for the three of them.
The old man is so thin from hunger he can barely walk straight. I'd be afraid they'd run into trouble if I let them leave without a meal.
"Master..."
Wei Yushan looked at Yu Qishui.
Yu Qishui shook his head. "Forget it. This senior helped us recover the Divine Water Stone and helped Miss Mu reach Golden Core perfection. He's already shown us immense kindness. We really shouldn't ask for anything more."
But Mu Qianning said, "Grandmaster, Master, I don't think Senior Li brought us here just to dash our hopes..."
Yu Qishui paused at her words. Suddenly, his old eyes lit up. "I understand!"
"Understand what, Master?" Wei Yushan hurriedly asked.
"What did Senior Li just say? That it couldn't have been easy for us to come all this way, and that we should have tea and a meal before leaving... Could this... could this be his way of granting us an opportunity?!"
"Have you forgotten? Miss Mu reached Golden Core perfection after drinking the senior's water!"
His old eyes shone with excitement!
With an existence as terrifying as Senior Li, just a little spilling from between his fingers would be enough to benefit them for the rest of their lives!
Wei Yushan and Mu Qianning immediately grew hopeful too!
Before you continue