Along with the remains was a book.
Though it had been soaked in seawater for so long, the writing inside remained perfectly clear.
Sea-Calming Sword Art.
It was a cultivation technique from the ancient Cloudwater Palace, capable of being practiced all the way to the Foundation Establishment realm.
It allowed one to condense twenty-four Sea-Calming Swords within the dantian, which could be launched against enemies.
Relying on this powerful technique, his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds. In just over a decade, he had progressed from an ordinary mortal all the way to the late-stage Qi Refinement realm.
He was on the verge of Foundation Establishment, but then...
The mere thought of the terrifying scene from the dream made Zhang Haobo tremble uncontrollably.
In the sky above the Congyun Sea, a translucent crimson figure had abruptly appeared. In its hand danced a flame that seemed feeble at first glance.
Yet, it was this very flame that slowly boiled the entire Congyun Sea dry over the next ten years.
His family, his friends, his hometown—everything around him was utterly destroyed.
The cultivators of Myriad Immortals Island fought desperately against it, but alas, that figure was far too powerful, and its appearance had been far too sudden.
The Congyun Sea had become a dead zone, impossible to enter or leave.
With no reinforcements, every last cultivator of Myriad Immortals Island sacrificed their lives in the end, yet only managed to wound it severely.
A torrent of raging flames descended from the heavens, reducing Myriad Immortals Island to ashes.
The nightmare ended there.
But Zhang Haobo remained unsettled for a long time.
Was it really just a dream?
How could an ordinary mortal like him dream so vividly of things like Myriad Immortals Island and the Tianxuan Mirror—things he had never even imagined before?
Even that cultivation technique...
Wait.
Zhang Haobo's eyes sharpened.
The Sea-Calming Sword Art instantly surfaced in his mind. Every word, every character, crystal clear!
He shot to his feet.
It wasn’t a dream?!
Then, does that mean...
I’ve regressed?!
He’d read plenty of strange novels featuring plots where the protagonist died and returned to life decades in the past.
He never imagined he would one day experience it himself.
It took a long time for Zhang Haobo to calm down and try to recall the scenes from his past life.
Unfortunately, perhaps because that crimson figure was too terrifying, it dominated his thoughts, and only fragments of major events from his past life vaguely remained in his memory.
But it was enough.
He turned to look at his wife, still sound asleep beside him, and his gaze grew resolute.
There were still over ten years before that tragedy would unfold. If he prepared early and set traps in advance, he could definitely kill that crimson figure!
The first step was to break through to the early-stage Qi Refinement realm. Then, join the Myriad Immortals Alliance.
The matter of his regression was too fantastical to reveal to anyone.
He also needed to find a way to make the Myriad Immortals Alliance believe that crimson figure would truly appear.
Zhang Haobo regained the mindset of the late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator from his past life, his mind racing with plans.
***
Li Fan watched Zhang Haobo’s rapidly shifting expression and, seeing he had no intention of fleeing immediately, nodded to himself.
What Zhang Haobo believed to be his regression was, of course, the result of Li Fan's Cloudwater Dream Illusion Art.
Crafting an illusory dreamscape based on his own experiences of the true future was more than sufficient to deceive a mere mortal.
Unfortunately, his current mastery of the art was still shallow; even having witnessed future events, he could not know every detail. Thus, the constructed illusion still contained significant flaws.
To enhance the dream's credibility, Li Fan had invested heavily, even bringing out a watered-down, Foundation Establishment-level version of the Sea-Calming Sword Art.
His goal was to use Zhang Haobo as his proxy to push the Myriad Immortals Alliance into confronting Crimson Flame.
Li Fan wanted to know: if the cultivators on Myriad Immortals Island were warned of the Soul Arbiter of Heaven and Earth's descent in advance, how would they react?
Of course, to prevent Zhang Haobo from being terrified by Crimson Flame's power and simply fleeing, he had also layered the illusion with psychological suggestions, instilling in him a sense of duty to prevent the tragedy for the sake of his family and comrades.
Simultaneously, he had altered the portrayal of Crimson Flame's strength, making it seem not invincible, but rather something that could actually be defeated.
For now, the results seemed satisfactory.
He would need to return periodically to reinforce the illusion using the Cloudwater Dream Illusion Art.
With this in mind, Li Fan secretly locked onto Zhang Haobo with Formless Killing Mechanism, just in case the man tried to slip away unnoticed.