The portable teleportation arrays cost three thousand contribution points per set.
Li Fan bought two sets, just in case.
Afterward, he purchased two Golden Core techniques and twelve Foundation Establishment techniques in one go.
By the time he finished, his avatar had nearly exhausted the three hundred top-grade spirit stones it had brought along.
As he left the Wanfa Trade Association, the staff thoughtfully presented him with a mask.
Once worn, it could alter one’s appearance and aura, preventing others from tracking or identifying the wearer.
Li Fan smiled and accepted it.
He then rented a guesthouse in Tianchang Mountain City, performed a ritual, and transferred all the purchased items into the Bone Vanguard Realm.
Only then did he finally relax a little.
Both his true body and his avatar possessed the left-hand bone, the control center of the vanguard realm. That way, even if something went wrong on the return journey, the worst outcome would be the loss of a single avatar.
With everything settled, the avatar left the guesthouse and wandered through Tianchang Mountain City once more.
Three days later, Qingmu and the others finished their purchases.
As they prepared to return, the group encountered another team of cultivators who had come from the distant Congyun Sea.
This team was led by a Nascent Soul cultivator named Ling Meng.
Though Ling Meng and Qingmu were not personally acquainted, they were well aware of each other’s reputations. Since everyone hailed from the Congyun Sea, they decided, after a brief discussion, to return together and look out for one another along the way.
After waiting a few more days, they finally set off.
With the newcomers, the group’s size nearly doubled.
Two Nascent Soul cultivators, seven Golden Core cultivators, and over twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators—this was no weak force.
Their combined strength deterred most ill-intentioned parties, and the journey was far more peaceful than expected.
Still, Li Fan couldn’t shake the feeling that Ling Meng seemed familiar. But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t immediately recall where he had seen him before.
His true body, cultivating within the Tianxuan Mirror, split off a strand of consciousness and combed through past memories. At last, realization struck.
Ling Meng was the Nascent Soul cultivator who, in Li Fan’s twelfth lifetime, had once entered Fuzi’s study, only to die shortly afterward while exploring a cave dwelling.
Li Fan had seen his portrait in the Heavenly Mechanism Hall. That explained the sense of familiarity.
In this lifetime, Li Fan had not undertaken the Cloudwater Model mission. The events involving the azure ox pulling the cart and Fuzi’s manifestation should never occur.
The only remaining question was whether Ling Meng’s destined death could be changed this time.