Li Fan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Li Fan (李凡)
Alias(es)	Fan Li (used while traveling outside the village) 1064
Gender	Male
Occupation/Role	Village resident; master and teacher to numerous disciples
Affiliation	Small mountain village and its courtyard
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 5

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Foundation Establishment, First Layer	803	Completed the System task of collecting nine rare animals and nine rare plants; successfully drew Qi into his dantian.
Golden Core Realm	993	Upgraded after completing numerous System tasks; tested flight, and a single step destroyed approaching True Ancestors and their gray-mist paths.
Nascent Soul Realm	1035	Learned that he had reached Nascent Soul while playing chess with Second Uncle.

Background / History

Li Fan lives in a small mountain village and initially regards himself as a weak mortal who must avoid involvement with cultivators. Although visitors consistently perceive his courtyard, art, food, and casual actions as unfathomably powerful, Li Fan interprets many events through ordinary concerns: hospitality, household finances, dangerous treasure-hunting, and the safety of his disciples. 5 155 574 1079

He became a teacher to cultivators including Nan Feng and Ziling, later accepting Lu Rang and Long Zixuan after recognizing their interest in farming and fish farming. His lessons frame profound cultivation in everyday arts and labor. 25 59 188

When his disciples failed to return from their journey, Li Fan finally left the village to search for them. He traveled under the name Fan Li, joined Fan Yaoyao and Fan Paiming’s group, and entered the Hanque Mountain Range. There, he reunited with Dugu Yuqing and rejected the ancient bronze lamp his disciples had risked themselves to obtain, prioritizing their lives over its value. 1063 1064 1079

Personality

Li Fan is kind, hospitable, and protective. He welcomes visitors with food and tea, invites strangers home for meals, and consistently treats disciples’ safety as more important than wealth, cultivation opportunities, or grand plans. 6 25 1049 1079 1085

He is modest to the point of persistent self-misunderstanding. Li Fan believes he has low cultivation, worries that cultivators could casually kill him, and often mistakes others’ fear or reverence for ordinary reactions. 155 574 803 1065 1069

As a mentor, he is patient and practical. He guides disciples through painting, music, farming, chess, calligraphy, exercise, tea ceremony, poetry, and other daily disciplines rather than conventional cultivation lectures. 59 75 124 188 306

Appearance

Li Fan is a young man whose lack of discernible cultivation aura causes others to mistake him for an ordinary mortal—or fear him as a flawless, unfathomable existence. 574 905

• Often seen in his small courtyard, painting, cooking, reading, farming, or playing chess. 8 188 637 1035
• Uses the name Fan Li while concealing his identity outside the village. 1064
• Is considered handsome by Fan Yaoyao. 1067 1068

Abilities & Skills

Teaching and Dao Guidance

Li Fan’s ordinary instruction repeatedly enables disciples and visitors to gain enlightenment, stabilize cultivation, or advance dramatically.

• His porridge enabled Yu Qishui, Wei Yushan, and Mu Qianning to break through; his tea stabilized their cultivation and removed flaws. 6
• He guided Ziling through an artistic block to immortality. 75
• His plant-care advice brought Lu Rang to the peak of Primordial Unity Golden Immortal. 188
• He remotely directed Lu Rang through chess formations and games against powerful opponents. 124 125
• He leaves clues in Go that assist Yunxi in refining her technique. 913

Painting Dao

Li Fan is recognized as a Painting Saint whose works carry overwhelming Dao principles.

• His sunset paintings heal injuries and reveal the Way of the Great Sun. 8
• Myriad Mountains Gather Dragon Diagram elevated Ziling to the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm. 25
• He created the White Tiger Roaring Sky Painting and later prepared to answer a rival work with Kirin Emerging from the Valley Painting. 306
• With one stroke, he erased a figure from the Great Sun Dao Diagram; observers feared the figure may have been an Immortal King. 136
• His poem suppressed three Stone Tokens connected to the Three Great Heavenly Realms. 251
• His calligraphy inspired enlightenment and conveyed his determination to fight for all living beings. 401

Chess and Go

Li Fan possesses extraordinary chess skill and uses it to teach rather than seek personal recognition.

• He casually solved complex chess formations through Lu Rang’s communication crystal. 124
• Jiang Li recognized his supreme Dao of Chess and sought his instruction. 155
• He plays Chinese chess with Second Uncle and Go with Yunxi. 1035 1049 913
• He refuses to sacrifice chess pieces unnecessarily, reflecting his resolve to protect those important to him. 1049

Crafting and Calligraphy

Li Fan can create seemingly simple tools and writings with exceptional effects.

• He fashioned a brush from a chicken feather for Dugu Yuqing. 118
• He created the Phoenix Feather Brush for Ziling. 139
• His courtyard inscription caused Fan Yaoyao and Fan Paiming to break through to the Wind Riding Realm. 1085
• His poems and calligraphy can convey Dao principles and affect major forces. 251 401

Culinary Arts

Li Fan’s food and drink grant extraordinary benefits to cultivators.

• Rice porridge produced qilin-like steam and caused multiple cultivation breakthroughs. 6
• Tea grants comprehension, stabilizes cultivation, and removes flaws. 6 27
• Immortal peaches, tangyuan, cornmeal rice, and other meals repeatedly advance his disciples or guests. 66 822 1086
• Fan Yaoyao and Fan Paiming reached the Fuyao Realm after eating his cornmeal rice. 1086

Domain and Unintentional Protection

Li Fan’s residence and presence are lethal or inaccessible to hostile powers.

• Two Supreme-level Yaksha Devil Generals were killed at his door by his domain. 26 27
• Fortune tellers who attempted to probe his realm had their cultivation severed. 574
• Lin Yihao’s sword qi could not affect Fan Yaoyao while Li Fan supported her. 1065
• Forbidden beasts in the Fearsome Beast Forest become docile around him. 1085

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Phoenix Feather Brush — crafted for Ziling to assist her against invaders. 139
• Chicken Feather Brush — made for Dugu Yuqing before his departure to Yellow Heaven Realm. 118
• Wuji Sword — a broken legendary sword Li Fan considered reforging. 136
• Ancient bronze lamp — recovered by his disciples; Li Fan discarded it rather than allow them to endanger themselves for its value. 1079

Relationships

• Nan Feng — disciple; Li Fan guides her qin practice and supports her cultivation. 25 188 207
• Ziling — disciple; Li Fan teaches her painting and helps her attain immortality. 25 75
• Lu Rang — disciple; taught planting and husbandry, chess, and plant care. 59 124 188
• Long Zixuan — disciple; taught fish farming and entrusted with cultivation missions. 59 118
• Dugu Yuqing — disciple; Li Fan provides brushes, paintings, and guidance in sword-related matters. 118 136 1079
• Mu Qianning — frequent visitor and ally who seeks Li Fan’s advice; she first received his porridge and tea. 6 66 155
• Huo Ling'er — frequent visitor and ally; Li Fan gave her a handkerchief that improved her eye technique but refused her request to become his disciple. 14 66
• Yunxi — close companion and student in Go; Li Fan provides her with guidance on confronting ultimate darkness. 574 913 1049
• Second Uncle — village elder and chess companion. 1035 1049
• Fan Yaoyao — traveler Li Fan protects and later welcomes to his village; she recognizes his strength while helping conceal his self-perceived weakness. 1065 1067 1085
• Fan Paiming — Fan Yaoyao’s protective brother; travels with Li Fan and later learns Dugu Yuqing is Li Fan’s disciple. 1064 1079

Story Role / Major Arcs

Small Courtyard and Early Visitors

Li Fan hosts Yu Qishui, Wei Yushan, and Mu Qianning, unknowingly granting them major breakthroughs through porridge and tea. His paintings subsequently heal them and reveal the Way of the Great Sun. 6 8

Building the Courtyard’s Disciples

He accepts and instructs Nan Feng, Ziling, Lu Rang, and Long Zixuan, using art, agriculture, fish farming, music, and daily life as paths to cultivation. 25 59 75 188

Heavenly Realm Conflicts

As threats from other realms escalate, Li Fan’s disciples and allies repeatedly seek his guidance. His writing suppresses Stone Tokens tied to the Three Great Heavenly Realms, while his disciples interpret his actions as protection of humanity. 139 251 400 401

Departure from the Village

After Yunxi and others do not return, Li Fan leaves the village to search for them, enters the cultivation world as Fan Li, and becomes involved with Fan Yaoyao, Fan Paiming, Qingjian Sect, and the Hanque Mountain Range. 1063 1064 1067 1068

Hanque Mountain Range and Reunion

Li Fan’s presence protects the Fan siblings through dangers they barely understand. He reunites with Dugu Yuqing, rejects the ancient bronze lamp, and returns to the village with the siblings. 1069 1079 1085

Conflict with the Silent One

Li Fan exchanges paths with the Silent One, who cannot kill him due to his anomalous nature and instead seeks to make Li Fan become him. Other forces later plot to destroy Li Fan’s state of mind through betrayal, parting, and powerlessness. 1203 1210

Trivia

• Li Fan dismisses fortune-telling as a scam used to frighten people into paying money. 574
• He considers dangerous antiques an unacceptable source of income, even if they could make his household wealthy. 1079
• He repeatedly describes himself as weak, including after reaching Nascent Soul. 1069 1079
• His disciples and outsiders frequently interpret his mundane actions as deliberate manifestations of profound Dao principles. 188 251 665