He lost the ability to think for himself, silently observing the world through the lens of the Deepsea Pearl alone.
In the second year after Crimson Flame’s disappearance, several cultivators dressed in blue robes arrived at the Congyun Sea.
As they cast spell after spell, rain finally fell from the sky. It was a long-awaited downpour.
Soon, more cultivators arrived.
Azure light bloomed across the dried-up seabed.
Vegetation began to emerge from the earth, brimming with vitality.
A gentle breeze swept through, and trees sprouted from the ground.
In less than a year, the scorched land regained its vibrancy.
The recent catastrophe of Crimson Flame evaporating the sea seemed like nothing more than a nightmare, gently brushed away.
The Congyun Sea had completed its transformation into the Congyun Mountain Range.
A city began to take shape in the air above the mountains.
Once constructed, it attracted more and more cultivators from all corners of the world.
The Congyun Mountain Range grew increasingly lively.
Occasionally, cultivators would visit Tai’an Island, drawn by its fame as the only island to survive the drought, and hoping to find some opportunity there.
But with Li Fan instinctively concealing himself, they discovered nothing.
In Anchor Year 48, a Foundation Establishment cultivator returned to the Congyun Sea.
He arrived at what was once Liuli Island, now Liuli Mountain. His expression was sorrowful.
Nearby, Li Fan’s divine sense swept over the scene. A wave of melancholy washed over him as well.
Li Fan recognized this man.
It was Zhang Haobo, who had once decided to migrate from the Congyun Sea due to a sense of foreboding.
Some twenty years had passed, and through unknown fortunes, this man had actually become a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The scenes of this lifetime flashed through Li Fan's mind in rapid succession. His consciousness was on the verge of dissipating.
Just before vanishing completely, Li Fan's consciousness returned to his physical body.
Over a decade of insights into the energy mechanisms of heaven and earth finally shattered the bottleneck that had hindered Li Fan's breakthrough.
Spiritual qi surged inward, and Li Fan's cultivation instantly broke through to the late-stage Qi Refinement realm.
A faint smile appeared on Li Fan's face, then froze.
His body aged rapidly, and as a gust of wind blew past, it crumbled into dust, scattering into the world.
Only a skeleton remained, lying silently where he had been.
Just before dissipating, Li Fan cried out in his mind:
Return to Truth!