Borrowing a Treasure

Unfortunately, Li Fan's happiness didn't last long. He had just finished setting up the magic array, preparing to continue cultivating immortality to the end, cultivating for seventeen or eighteen years straight, and reaching the True Person realm, when someone came to visit him again.

The visitor was a female Daoist priest in a moon-colored robe and skirt. Li Fan recognized her, but couldn't remember how to address her. He was a little shocked. Could it be that his forced cultivation of the Five Mountain Gods Divine Body had caused such a severe damage to his Divine Sense that he had even lost his photographic memory?

"Fellow Daoist, you bow in greeting. This humble nun Xuanji of the Seven Star Temple. I had a brief encounter with Li Daoyou, at Tiantai Mountain, though we did not exchange names then. I never imagined you would possess such talent. Achieving the Golden Core only a year after our parting, you are a prodigy, truly admirable!"

What kind of achievement is the Golden Core stage? I'll Nascent Soul Stage to the Nascent Soul stage soon if I keep cultivating... Oh, Tiantai Mountain, I remember now, this is Zhang Jiugao's friend, her disciple is called Qingguo, Jinz Jujube. They haven't officially confirmed their names, that gave me quite a fright!

"Qingyue of Ink Bamboo Mountain has met with Hermit Xuanji. May I ask what brings you here?"

Li Fan also bowed to the female Daoist priest. He could sense that there was another boatload of people waiting outside, but he was not sure of their intentions.

Following Xuanji's gaze, Li Fan saw Kun and Leopard roasting meat. He quickly flicked his sleeve and unleashed a palm strike, throwing the two embarrassing creatures into the room to prevent them from being used to blackmail him.

"Oh, this humble nun is traveling with several fellow Daoists to Lei Marsh to find rare and Heavenly Treasure needed for our two disciples to form their cores. Passing by your residence, I remembered seeing my Uncle Tian Shu refining the Dinghai Pearl for you, Fellow Li Daoyou, and thus wished to invite you to join us. With the Dinghai Pearl as a precious treasure for protection, you'll have someone to look after you if you encounter danger on the journey."

Xuanji Zidao was quite kind and approachable, speaking softly and gently. He didn't play any tricks or make up any nonsense; he just got straight to the point and said he was after your magic weapon.

"I'm going into seclusion to cultivate; I don't plan to go to Lei Marsh."

Xuanji Zi replied with some regret, "That makes sense. Fellow Daoist is at the stage of laying the foundation. I was being presumptuous. I won't disturb your cultivation any longer. Farewell."

Li Fan asked curiously, "Master Xuanji, to be honest, I heard a lot of people went to explore Lei Marsh two months ago. Is it because there are some Heavenly Treasure or immortal caves that have appeared? Isn't it a bit late to go now?"

Xuanji Zi patiently explained, "Lei Marsh is shrouded in clouds and submerged in water all year round, with constant thunder and torrential rain, and lightning striking overhead. Only during the winter months, which last for less than three months, does the weather clear up, the clouds disperse, and the water level calm enough for boats and flying. Sometimes the rainy season is too long, sometimes the dry season is too short, and sometimes the thunderclouds don't dissipate, making it difficult to find an opportunity to enter throughout the year. In short, the great opportunity to explore the heart of Lei Marsh may only come once every three to five years. Once you miss it, you don't know when it will come again."

As a result, Lei Marsh is sparsely populated and rich in spiritual materials. Cultivators from the southern kingdoms would time their visits carefully, calculating the opening time of Lei Marsh, and arrive at the Middle Valley Dojo in advance to prepare for Lei Marsh Swamp in search of opportunities.

Nascent Soul stage cultivators usually set off into the swamp a few months earlier, once the heavenly thunder subsided. We Golden Core Stage cultivators, on the other hand, have to wait for the gale to subside before we can set off, and we won't go too deep. We'll just gather some Heavenly Treasure on the outskirts for a month or two, just in case we're trapped in the Lei Marsh Swamp for a year if we don't leave in time, which would be extremely dangerous.

However, this time it's all gone, Lei Marsh Swamp has opened up a great opportunity. Even if it's a dangerous place, we have to give it a try.

"I see. With both marshland and water, the Dinghai Pearl is indeed a good defensive treasure." Li Fan nodded, took out the black pearl, and handed it to Xuanji, saying, "Then I'll lend this treasure to you for self-defense."

Xuanji Zi was startled, "How can this be allowed?"

What's wrong with that? Aren't you Xiaohe's old flame...?

Of course, Li Fan said, "No need to be so polite, layman. My cultivation is not stable right now, so I won't go this time. I'll go with you again next year when Lei Marsh reopens."

Xuanji Jushi hesitated for a moment, then nodded and thanked her, "Thank you for your help, fellow Daoist. Xuanji will borrow the Dinghai Pearl for three months, and this magic treasure will be temporarily held by you..."

Li Fan looked at the worthless magic scissors she handed him and smiled wryly, "No need to be so polite, laywoman. I'm just borrowing them... Then please help me find some spiritual herbs suitable for Golden Core Stage as well."

Xuanji Zi then bowed in gratitude, saying, "Since you are so generous, fellow Daoist, this humble nun will certainly do her utmost to gather as many superior Heavenly Treasure as possible to aid your cultivation."

You really don't need to worry about it. I pray to the moon at the door every night, and my cultivation level will greatly improve in the time it takes to doze off. I can easily draw top-quality equipment with nine attributes in the system lottery. I won't need to replace all the divine equipment I have in a few years.

In comparison, the Lei Marsh Secret Realm, which can only be explored for three months each year, is a rare opportunity that requires immense effort and hard work, and the 'Heavenly Treasure' that must be fought and battled to the death to be obtained is something I really don't care about...

However, saying that would be too rude, so Li Fan politely smiled and nodded, watching the recluse Xuanji leave, who had disturbed his cultivation, for her own sake and for her disciple's arduous and perilous Postnatal Immortal Dao to immortality.

As for the preparations Li Fan needed to make for the Moon Worship, such as choosing a softer cushion, so that his bottom would be more comfortable if he dozed off and sat for a long time...

That evening...

"Roar roar roar--!"

The leader of the Si Niu let out a helpless and furious roar, chasing after Li Fan for more than fifty miles, with the herd following behind in a thunderous stampede.

"Damn it! It's just two of your cubs! Don't be so stingy! What's the point of chasing them?!"

Li Fan didn't use the Qiongqi Dao Body this time. In his human form, he grabbed a bull's horn with each hand and carried two Si Niu, flying through the sky on his own.

It's so annoying! He came over to Moon Worship, intending to steal two cows to eat, but who knew that one cow was watching him and lying in wait. Suddenly, it popped out of the mud pit, which was really scary!

Unfortunately, he had just completed the Five Mountain Gods Body Transformation and was now starving. The Five Mountain Gods Body also required mental effort to maintain its stability. Li Fan was afraid that he would lose control again if he transformed into Qiongqi, so he had no choice but to drag the two oxen along.

Unexpectedly, the Si Niu leader got stubborn and refused to give up, making it impossible for Li Fan to barbecue in peace.

"Hmph! You beast, you're asking for death!"

Seeing that they'd been chased for a quarter of an hour, Li Fan's mood plummeted, and he felt a surge of annoyance. He rarely got to worship the moon; he needed to cultivate, hunt, and explore—time was extremely tight. How could he possibly have time to waste like this?

He suddenly turned around, flung his hand, and hurled the two calves at the Si Niu leader!

"Roar--!"

The Si Niu leader couldn't dodge in time. He lowered and then lifted his head, actually sending the calf that was thrown on his head flying. The calf spun around like a rag doll and rolled into the herd behind, crashing down on a large number of cattle.

The other calf was even more unlucky. It crashed to the ground and was then knocked away by the leader, who couldn't stop in time. Its belly was ruptured and its internal organs were scattered all over the ground.

"Roar!"

"What the hell are you yelling about! You won't give it to either side! I'll wipe out your whole family!"

Li Fan flicked his hand and pulled a handful of air into the void, draping the purplish-black Daoist robe over his body. His face was instantly shrouded in smoke and clouds, obscuring his true form. He activated his invisibility and suddenly transformed into a bolt of purple lightning, disappearing without a trace.

The next instant, a Sword Light appeared from the herd of rhinoceroses behind them. It was as if a black serpent was weaving back and forth among the herd, circling around a Si Niu. In an instant, the giant bull knelt down, its head rolling to the ground. Its flesh and bones were separated, its hide torn apart. It was as if Bao Ding had butchered the bull, cutting it into eight pieces along the muscle fibers and the gaps between the bones and skin!

One, two, three... When the herd of rhinoceroses discovered that their companions had suddenly fallen to the ground and been torn apart, they could no longer bear it and fled in panic, screaming in agony.

But where could they escape? Those that lagged behind and ran far away were suddenly struck as if by something, their calves and knees shattered, their legs twisted and they fell to the ground screaming in agony, tripping over the terrified herd of rhinos behind them. These hundred or so giant beasts, though they looked extremely imposing and terrifying, were now like a helpless flock of sheep, being slaughtered and dismembered by unseen hunters!

The Si Niu leader, with bloodshot eyes, roared to the sky and charged wildly around the herd.

But aside from watching Si Niu were crippled one by one, unable to move, and forced to wait for the Sword Light to dismember them, it was utterly powerless. It couldn't find the hunter who had poached its herd.

Li Fan ignored it, his left hand forming a hand seal, controlling the Fagui Sword, dissecting the bull according to its body structure, being careful not to damage the sword's edge. His right hand, meanwhile, would occasionally Pifeng Biyue Palm to shatter the bull's knee bones, preventing them from escaping. In less than half an incense stick's time, he had slaughtered the entire bull herd right before the Si Niu leader's eyes, turning them into a pile of minced beef.

Only then did Li Fan deactivate his invisibility. He raised his hand, retrieved the Fagui Sword— its blade still spotless from blood—and put it back into his sleeve. Floating in front of the Si Niu- headed leader, he spread his hand and smiled, "See? You asked for it. Here's a lesson for you."

"Roar--!!"

The Si Niu chieftain lost his last shred of consciousness, howled to the sky, and charged forward headfirst! His horns and leather armor were enveloped in a thick gale, and visible blue qi flames surrounded his entire body, making him look like a giant ball of fire, rushing towards Li Fan with unparalleled force!

Li Fan stood with his hands behind his back to meet the Si Niu chieftain's charge. Just as he was about to be hit, a flash of purple light appeared around him, and he vanished without a trace, leaving only a purplish-black bubble in the void.

The moment the Si Niu- headed beast's horn touched the bubble, the azure energy surrounding its entire body was instantly drained. The giant beast was like a piece of rag caught in a winch; its massive body, as if made of paper, spun around the black sphere hundreds of times in a second, and then, with the same speed as a charge, it was violently thrown back the way it came.

With a loud bang, it rolled and tumbled, turning into a mushy mess of beef like a tattered sack. Every bone was shattered into powder, completely twisted and crushed, its original shape indistinguishable.

At the same time, a flash of purple light appeared, the bubbles disappeared without a trace, and Li Fan fell from mid-air onto the grass. Ignoring the beef scattered on the ground, he immediately sat cross-legged, took a deep breath, and began cultivating the Huashu Cultivation Method to recover the nearly depleted True Essence within his body.

Fortunately, this is the Tai Su Realm, where there is an endless supply of baleful energy to replenish the True Essence of Returning to Emptiness. Otherwise, Li Fan's Gui Xu Nascent Soul would have suffered a cultivation deviation, requiring the dismemberment of his Dao body to replenish its energy.

That's right. The spatial bubble skill of the Gui Xu Dao Yi just now consumed a huge amount of energy. In fact, Li Fan only activated it for one second before it exhausted all of his Returning to Emptiness True Essence. So, before the Si Niu chieftain could be thrown into the Void Abyss, the skill was deactivated and it was thrown out.

But no matter how mythical Divine Beast you are, if you're thrown into a centrifuge and churned hundreds of times, you're bound to die.

This outfit is truly amazing; that bubble effect is practically invincible. I haven't even had a chance to test the clone yet, but it's definitely a superhuman skill on par with a cow flying in an airplane.

Moreover, the invisibility skill is very useful. Just now, Li Fan tested the invisibility effect, and the Si Niu didn't even notice him when he stood on its head. Furthermore, when he unleashed his palm strike, there was no noticeable movement, allowing Li Fan to kill all of the hundred or so Si Niu.

In addition, it also has the effect of reducing the probability of mood fluctuations. The system now only occasionally notifies me of a slight mood drop every thirty seconds. This passive ability to reduce fluctuations is truly a great help for exploring the Tai Su Realm.

The only drawback is that this robe consumes True Essence of Returning to Emptiness. If it's used all day long, how can the Gui Xu Nascent Soul to Emptiness be forged? And if the True Essence of Returning to Emptiness is exhausted, it will cause one to suffer a demonic possession and separate from one's physical body. It can only be remedied in time in a place like the Tai Su Realm, which contains evil energy. If the True Essence is exhausted in the Taiji Realm, then one might end up following in the footsteps of Real Person Liang.

However, Li Fan originally intended to keep this group of rhinoceroses for sustainable development. This time, he was angered and used heavy force to wipe out a group. Although he had a small test of the effects of the Gui Xu Dao Yi, Li Fan also guessed that his Dao Body was too strong and his Dao Heart was affected.

Fortunately, we've collected so much beef; it should be enough to suppress my Dao heart.

After recovering some of his True Essence through cultivation, Li Fan began to transform his Dao bodies to feed them. He first fed Qiongqi until it was full, and then fed his Dao bodies in the order of the five elements' mutual generation.

After devouring the herd of Si Niu, Li Fan managed to subdue the Five Mountain Mountain God Dao Body without any major incidents. Although he still needed the Five Luo Sword Ghosts to suppress them constantly to ensure their complete control, Li Fan felt that his Divine Sense and Dao heart had become much clearer. After probably worshipping the moon two or three more times, he would be able to master the transformations of the Five Mountain Gods' bodies with ease.

Although he had the Daoist robe's assistance, he still spent quite a bit of time in the Tai Su Realm. By the time Li Fan returned to the Taiji Realm, it was almost dawn. Seeing that his mood had dropped to around 200 and the energy recharge progress was less than halfway done, he estimated that he would have to work on his mood for a while before he could Moon Worship...

Sigh, he has to take drugs and practice martial arts to calm down a little bit. But this calmness is actually hindering his cultivation speed. It seems that he True Cultivator to the Nascent Soul Stage in three to five years.

The next day, just as Li Fan was about to continue his seclusion and practice his Limitless Nascent Soul Stage, someone else came to disturb his peaceful cultivation.

Yuhengzi bowed deeply, "This humble Daoist wishes to borrow the Dinghai Pearl."

Li Fan narrowed his eyes at him, "You really have no manners... And what's wrong with your Seven Star Temple? You managed to forge such a piece of trash, and everyone knows about it?"

Before Li Fan could reply, Yuhengzi reached into his sleeve and pulled out a square gold box. "This is the Yang Sui Gold Essence that I refined. It is a top-grade material for refining treasures. I am willing to exchange this for the Dinghai Pearl for three months."

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Hey, this thing's not bad. I need it for sword forging. Let's keep switching!'"

There's no such thing as another chance; we've missed our opportunity.

"You're going to Lei Marsh too?" Li Fan looked at the box with a hint of regret. "But I've already lent the Dinghai Pearl to the Xuanji of your Seven Star Temple."

Yuhengzi was taken aback. "... I wonder what kind of magical artifact Xuanji used as collateral with you? I'm willing to help her get it back."

"I'm just lending it to her for now. I didn't ask for any magic treasures in return. I just asked her to help me find some cultivation materials while she's at it." Li Fan shrugged.

Yuhengzi narrowed his eyes. "So it really is Nascent Soul magic weapon. She came to borrow it from you, and you just lent it to her? Fellow Daoist, you're being far too generous. May I ask what kind of Heavenly Treasure you desire? Please tell me, and I'll go and fetch it for you."

Seeing his expression, Li Fan understood a little. "... You misunderstand. I didn't threaten anything. It's just that she came to our aid when we were at Tiantai Mountain, so I borrowed her for self-defense."

Yuhengzi seemed to understand, and remained silent for a long while, "... Xuanji's feelings for Zhang Jiugao were only one-sided."

Huh? Zhang... Holy crap! Don't try to put on an 8 PM soap opera for me! I've already hidden myself away in this remote mountain forest, and a bunch of people are still rushing to disturb my cultivation! Now they're acting out a melodramatic soap opera, holy crap!

Li Fan was utterly speechless.

Yuhengzi remained silent for a while, then suddenly tossed the golden box in his hand to Li Fan, flicked his Sword Light, and vanished. "Consider this my way of thanking you for lending me the treasure on her behalf!"

Li Fan didn't react for a moment, and when he looked up again, Yuhengzi had already flown away. He could only say speechlessly, "Take it easy, fellow Daoist! Senior Brother and Junior Sister usually don't have good endings!"

Unfortunately, Yuhengzi has already flown far away, and of course, he might not be listening to this...