Leaving Seclusion

Early in the morning, Li Fan stroked his three strands of beautiful beard as he walked out of the training room, marveling at the snowy scenery of Qingyue Creek.

Ah, life between heaven and earth is like a fleeting moment, gone in an instant. Who would have thought that in the time it took to retreat into seclusion, the world would have changed so drastically! Time flies! Years pass like an arrow! It truly makes one sigh with regret...

Just then, Asha, dressed in a single layer of clothing and carrying a sword, stepped out. Squinting at Li Fan, whose temples were frosty, with a goatee, but whose face was uniquely handsome and jade-like, she couldn't help but complain, "Senior brother, you can't sit still again after only three days. And what's wrong with your face? Can you go berserk while doing arithmetic problems?"

"Oh, good morning, Asha. This trick is a secret I figured out when I was daydreaming. It can change the age and appearance of your Dao body. Do you want to learn it? It can make you a little bigger, cough cough cough," Li Fan turned his head and transformed back into a young man. "Oh? You're going to practice swordsmanship? Okay, okay, senior brother will teach you a couple of moves?"

Asha couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. Although my comprehension is low, you teach me the Profound Heaven Sword Method every few days, so I've memorized it... I won't disturb your cultivation any longer. Senior Brother Kun is still sleeping, and it doesn't need to cultivate, so please don't tease it. I'll release the leopard when I return from forging the sword."

"Oh, oh, have a good journey."

Li Fan watched with a smile as Asha went to practice her sword on the back mountain. After standing there for a while, he looked boredly at the black and white carp in the pond that had grown to the size of dogs, and casually flicked two streams of Qiankun True Qi to feed them.

Ugh, this is so annoying... I've been in seclusion in the mountains for a month now...

No computer, no internet, no TV, all I can do is math problems... What kind of hell is this?!

Seriously, couldn't the story just start from 'Ten years later, Li Fan has achieved the Nascent Soul Stage' the moment he opens and closes his eyes?! Do they really want him to solve problems one by one for a hundred years?!

Li Fan's mood dropped a little.

Current mood: 2444/2500

Alright, after a month of recuperation, the injuries from the drugs and battles have mostly healed, and his mood is almost back to normal. Li Fan feels he can finally let loose again.

What? You're asking how I managed to max it out in a month? It's actually quite simple.

Practicing math problems earns you a little satisfaction for each correct answer and deducts a little for each wrong one...

Honestly, when Li Fan discovered this damn way to farm points, he almost knelt down before the system.

Heavens above! Can't we just level up using the traditional methods of training, grinding, fighting monsters, and using potions?! Practicing with question banks is just too much of a torture!!

Okay, I have to say this system where you level up by learning is just too damn reasonable and too damn efficient. It's just a bit mentally taxing...

This time, Li Fan emerged from seclusion not only because he was really restless, but also because his mood had almost reached its peak. To avoid overflowing his energy, he planned to draw a prize so he could start his Moon Worship and cultivation that evening.

Come on! Let's have a lucky draw!

'Prize being delivered'

'The Bagua mirror has been delivered'

Bagua mirror?

Li Fan stared wide-eyed at the object in his hand, which was, strictly speaking, a lens, a small round mirror less than the size of a palm. The outer ring of the concentric circles was a dark jade ring, carved with the Eight Trigrams, and the center was composed of two lenses in the shape of two fish, forming a Tai Chi symbol.

What's the point?

'Turbulence can be observed with this mirror'

Turbulence?

Li Fan raised the Bagua mirror and looked at the Taiji lens in the center, discovering that he could see countless vortexes.

The movement of Qi between heaven and earth, the tiny whirlpools in the pool, the splashes created by the two large carp swimming—these irregularly moving eddies and subtle changes invisible to the naked eye can all be clearly observed.

Hmm... so what's the point??

'Functionality awaits development by the host.'

Tsk, another inexplicably useless item. Can't they give us something more practical? Is he just incredibly unlucky with his luck?

Li Fan looked at the fish with the Bagua mirror for a while, then lost interest. He shrugged, put the mirror away, and strolled around Qingyue Creek with his hands in his pockets, like a leisurely person taking a break.

It has to be said that Chen Asha is truly a capable manager. In just one month, she cleaned up the various buildings that Li Fan had casually tossed aside, making everything spotless and organized. The sword furnace, pharmacy, kitchen, and living room were all tidy and spotless. Even the pile of rare and Heavenly Treasure Storage Jade Li Fan and Lei Marsh brought back, stored in storage jades, were neatly stored. Li Fan and Profound Heaven Sword Intent simply put the items into Storage Jade according to their uses, but she actually categorized them according to the five elements' mutual generation and restraint, and further separated them into smaller categories like fruits, wood, metals, and stones, even writing labels on them...

Li Fan knew that Asha was learning the ways of a maid from Liu Qing Fuling, but he never expected it to be so terrifying... He really struck gold...

Li Fan strolled around with his hands in his pockets. Kun, the creature that spends all its time eating, sleeping, and playing, was currently lying on its back in the blanket that Asha had knitted for it, blowing bubbles. Li Fan resisted the urge to wake it up, took a brush and drew a funny face on Kun's belly. Then, feeling rather bored, he put his hands back down and went to look at the leopard.

The leopard was quite fat. Li Fan had originally planned for it to do the Iron Leopard Triathlon every day, but Asha said it was to gain weight for winter, and that it would naturally slim down after winter. In a way, she saved the leopard's life. Anyway, Asha's status in Qingyue Creek now seems to be a little higher than his...

Li Fan shook his head as he looked at his two sleeping children. These two rascals were fine for playing around, but they were useless in a life-or-death situation. He'd rather Moon Worship tonight and go cultivate alone.

As for which Revered Heavenly Demon to worship, Li Fan had already decided. He had nearly perfected the Dark Underworld Dao Body of the Northern Mountain God through the Gonggong Dao Body. The next step would be the Eastern Mountain God, to cultivate the Purple Haze Body, which had the body of a rhinoceros and the head of a human. Purple Radiance, well, that's wood, right? He figured that once he reached the Tai Su Realm, he'd just need to transform into a cow and graze a bit more...

However, it was barely dawn, and waiting until it got dark Moon appeared would be too boring. Besides, Li Fan had been staying home for a month and really didn't want to do any more practice problems. He figured he should balance work and rest, so he decided to fly out and go shopping.

Moshan was really in a remote place, with no village or shop in sight. All the flying swords had been taken away for improvements, so Li Fan had no choice but to use his escape technique to get on the road.

However, instead of using the <Profound Nether Ice River Escape>, they used the <Qingcheng Wind and Cloud Dragon Ascent Technique> from the Qingcheng Sect.

This is one of the superior escape techniques of the Qingcheng Sect obtained from the blessed land of the Lei Marsh God's Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land. It is also the ultimate escape technique that Jade Toad Granny used to describe something that appears and disappears without a trace, and that even a group of people from Ink Bamboo Mountain could not stop or catch. When used, it is like a gentle breeze that disappears without a trace.

Adhering to the principle of "if you can't beat them, join them," or "to defeat an enemy, you must first understand them, "Li Fan used his spare time, which was spent doing so many practice problems that left him dizzy, to study cultivation techniques and learn this escape method that could be activated by Profound Nether True Qi.

To be honest, this technique is a secret Inner Sect transmission of the Qingcheng Sect, and it is indeed superior to the common, widely circulated technique in the north, such as the Ice River Escape. When executed, it is like a flying dragon riding the clouds, moving swiftly and stealthily. Whether it is the speed of flight or the effectiveness of stealth, it is a top-tier escape technique. Compared to the Ice River Escape, it is only slightly inferior in two aspects.

Firstly, its straight-line acceleration is not as fast as the Ice River Escape, especially in winter when it's windy and snowy, when the Ice River Escape is going off and you simply can't stop it.

Secondly, although this method can utilize the moisture in the air to escape and can travel along the dragon energy of the spiritual veins to save energy, it still requires a huge amount of Dao Breath energy to perform. The Ice River Escape can utilize the surrounding Dark Underworld spiritual energy to a certain extent, which is why it leaves obvious ice river traces on the path. In fact, its consumption is relatively low compared to other escape techniques.

This technique of ascending to the heavens and earth is entirely powered by the cultivator's own refined Dao Breath, which is why it is so difficult to find and leave no trace.

This wouldn't be a problem for a Divine Transformation cultivator like Jade Toad Granny, but Li Fan's mana would be completely depleted after just one use. He could only practice it occasionally; using it for escaping or even fighting was simply impractical.

Now Li Fan also discovered that the spells taught to him by the Profound Heaven Sword Intent were all quite practical, or at least usable. The Beichen Sword Sect certainly had better escape techniques than Ice River Escape, but using them would deplete his mana, which was useless.

Where have they all disappeared to?

Li Fan Fourth Department looked around and saw a mountain peak in the distance. Although it had snowed, the peak was still green and lush, and there were still lingering clouds. He didn't know if it was a strange phenomenon or some kind of magical treasure hidden in the clouds. However, lightning flashed continuously, making it easy to identify.

This is probably Qingting Peak in Bamboo Mountain.

The unique environment of Qingting Peak is suitable for cultivating thunder magic, and there's also a talkative old Qingting Sou, a master who's entangled with both the Xuanmen Luo Sect. Li Fan still remembers him.

However, the old man in straw sandals is probably not home right now.

Not long ago, Li Fan, unable to stay idle while doing practice problems, went to Wangshu Residence to visit Fuling. There, he ran into Liu Qing and chatted for a while. Liu Qing mentioned that some of the disciples from the Southern Faction had gone to the northern Border Prefecture to provide support.

Despite the differences in their routes, the abbot had decided to respond to the call of the Xuanmen and the Immortal Palace to fight against the Divine Sect, so many disciples from Ink Bamboo Mountain went. Qingting Sou was originally from the Xuanmen, so of course he would be among those fighting the Divine Sect.

At this moment, Li Fan remembered that he had also learned the Kui Shui Yin Lei of Qingcheng Mountain. Since he had nothing better to do, he simply flew towards Qingting Peak and practiced thunder magic along the way.

As the saying goes, "Strike with thunder and lightning, nourish with wind and rain; when yin and yang interact, the world responds."

Thunder magic has always been a secret supernatural power passed down through the Immortal Palace, much like dual cultivation techniques for the Immortal Palace and primordial spirit techniques for the Divine Cult. It is a unique skill belonging to a faction or faction, unlike body refining techniques, Body Domination Technique, Sword Control Technique, or esoteric arts, which are available to every faction.

Although the Immortal Palace has Thunder Department, it relies more on special spirit beasts, magical treasures, and talismans. The generals themselves mainly focus on body cultivation and battle formations. The Divine Sect also has skills that can deal lightning damage, but unlike the Profound Sect, it doesn't have a Five Thunder Technique that can be cultivated and advanced like the Five Elements True Qi.

Moreover, even among the Nine Great Xuan Sects, not every one possesses a complete Five Thunder Technique lineage. So far, only the Li Fan Shenxiao Sect and Danxia Mountain have been seen as true inheritors of the Five Thunder Technique.

The petrified immortal of Qingcheng Mountain did not inherit the complete legacy. He cultivated both water and earth, refining the Profound Nether True Qi into Kui Water Yin Thunder, while the Return to Dust True Qi was cultivated through the <<Jade Pure Return to Dust Primordial Qi Technique>>, and he would cultivate the Jade Pure Qi in the future.

With such focused cultivation, the Jade Pure Qi protects the body, while the Sunflower Water Yin Thunder dispels evil. It is both offensive and defensive, with boundless power, enough to reach the Enlightenment Stage. Of course, Li Fan's Ink Bamboo Mountain Basic Sword Qi can evolve into all five elements of sword qi, and he can also refine the Qiankun Sword Qi and Tai Su Sha Qi, so he doesn't need to follow the Qingcheng Mountain path.

He just happened to be passing by and was bored, so he decided to test the properties of lightning magic. He might have to prepare for the lightning tribulation in the next two years, and he would inevitably encounter experts who cultivated lightning magic in the future. He had a good idea of how powerful it would be in a fight.

So Li Fan flew into Qingting Peak and tried to use his palm thunder technique to guide and control the thunder and lightning in the sky.

This method of cultivation is actually similar to the Undying Body Divine Art. The physical body cannot withstand it directly. One must use Divine Sense to sense and estimate the area where lightning will occur, and then use one's own lightning technique to guide the direction of the heavenly thunder and lightning wind.

It has to be said that doing practice problems for a month did have some effect. Li Fan flew into the thunderclouds and, after scanning his surroundings, unconsciously calculated the location and trajectory of the nearby lightning strikes. At the same time, he used the key points of the Pifeng Biyue Palm Technique to practice the Thunder Palm.

Each palm strike, imbued with the force of thunder, swept out with a deafening roar, knocking down large swathes of enemies. Sparks flew, rocks shattered, and the thunder roared with tremendous force.

After practicing a set of Thunder Palm techniques, Li Fan realized that there was some kind of magnetic mineral at the top of Qingting Peak that attracted lightning. While the thunder magic was powerful, the trajectory of the lightning was not something he could control at the moment. In reality, he was simply throwing out the Yin lightning in his palm to induce heavenly lightning to bombard a large area. When he was struck by lightning during his tribulation, his current level of palm lightning cultivation would probably not be enough; he would need to practice diligently.

Since it was still early, Li Fan followed the cultivation method of the Profound Heaven Sword Intent Flow, striving for perfection. He set his sights on a magnetic mountain wall and began training in palm lightning. He first tried to induce heavenly lightning to strike the rock wall, and then further narrowed the range of the lightning strikes. He used a method similar to threading a needle, mentally calculating the direction and repeating the training from morning until night.

Finally, perseverance paid off. After thundering for most of the day, the mountain finally split open with a loud crack, revealing an iron gate.

Oh, another wild opportunity has arisen, hasn't it...?

After casually checking the Si Nan, Li Fan expressionlessly pushed aside the stones with his palm and began to examine the iron gate.

Well, he's really used to it now. Whenever he gets tired of doing exercises, Li Fan can just wander around Moshan and encounter all sorts of flowers, herbs, and jade that he can use for alchemy and weapon crafting. That's probably how things are now; opportunities are everywhere. He's picked up so many that it's no longer called finding treasures; it's just that Li Fan's knowledge has become increasingly broad, and he can see that everything in nature has its own use.

So it's not surprising that someone might wander onto a mountaintop and casually create a celestial abode. After all, the area on the summit of Qingting Peak where one can practice thunder magic is quite small. It's normal for ancient immortals to build a cave here for seclusion and cultivation.

So Li Fan put his hands behind his back and looked at the iron gate. He saw that the restrictions on the gate were outdated and confirmed that it was not a cave dwelling that someone regularly maintained or lived in. So Door Opening open and went in to take a look.

Upon Door Opening, a cloud of smoke and dust, along with a musty smell, hit you. Passing through the front hall, you see a skeleton sitting on the most conspicuous alchemy furnace cushion in the stone chamber, presumably the owner of this place.

Li Fan bowed respectfully to the fellow Daoist, then looked Fourth Department. The room was quite simple, probably a separate room carved out for convenient cultivation, just a place to rest temporarily. After all, the place outside was struck by lightning, not a good place for long-term residence. The surrounding shelves were covered in layers of dust, many talismans and magic arrays had lost their spiritual energy, the paper was rotten, and the pills were definitely inedible. There weren't any treasures inside.

Li Fan examined the remains of his fellow Daoist again. The robes on the man's body had dissipated all spiritual energy and were rotten into strips, but the texture of his Daoist bones was quite solid. They hadn't decayed or withered even after at least a hundred years, so he was probably at least a Golden Core cultivator, and likely someone who had refined his body. Upon closer inspection, he discovered a dagger embedded in his ribs. It turned out he hadn't died peacefully; he had been ambushed.

Li Fan glanced at the dagger. It wasn't exactly a magic weapon, just a very sharp one. It hadn't been refined, so he couldn't tell what kind of refined gold it was made of. He only estimated that the blade was about 1.2 feet long and 3 inches wide, with a central spine resembling solid ice, and the handle was made of animal horn or bone, engraved with lotus flowers.

A direct stab to the heart—that must have been an ambush by someone you knew, right? But there are no other corpses around. This fellow cultivator is probably an ancient body-refining cultivator, and likely also knows lightning magic. Being stabbed like that shouldn't have killed him instantly. Why didn't he retaliate?

Li Fan was also stumped, but it was at least a locked-room murder case from hundreds of years ago. He figured only a famous detective like Ke Bi could handle it, so he shrugged, took out his Yin-Yang Transformation Bag, and said...

"I apologize for disturbing you, fellow Daoist. However, you wouldn't want to sit here alone, would you? I'll collect your remains and send them to the mortuary tomorrow. How about we find a beautiful place to settle down for a long time? If there are any other opportunities left, consider them my reward."

"... If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."

So Li Fan bowed to the remains again, tidied them up, put them in a bag, and then immediately saw that there was something hard hidden in the futon where the person had been sitting.

"What's this 'Northern Bip Divine Skill'?"

Even if it were truly a Northern B-level divine skill, he wouldn't be too interested. Right now, Li Fan doesn't lack divine skills at all; what he lacks is a quantum computer.

Li Fan collected the immortal's remains, took out the object, and examined it. It was a heavy stone box. Upon opening it, he found a dark, unremarkable mud ball inside.

Li Fan felt inexplicably familiar with this thing, as if he had seen it somewhere before. After a moment's thought, he realized what it was and couldn't help but gasp.

I found another sword pellet!