He contemplated the emotions of the living beings in heaven and earth.
Or rather, the emotions passively generated by the living beings who were infected by the will of heaven and earth.
Is heaven and earth grieving?
Grieving for what? The fall of a mere Dao Unity cultivator like Lan Yu?
Li Fan shook his head inwardly.
No.
After Zhang Haobo achieved Dao Unity, he was slain by Ink Death. At that time, heaven and earth were delighted.
“Fortunate to receive heaven's punishment...”
Staring at the lingering phenomenon in the sky, Li Fan suddenly gained a flash of insight.
What it grieves is that yet another practitioner of the old methodology has departed from this world.
Perhaps, what it grieves even more is that this Dao Unity Immortal Venerable, who lived for countless years and built his entire cultivation foundation upon the old methodology, should have been a steadfast adherent of the old ways...
Yet, on the verge of death, for the sake of attaining eternal life, he decided to defy the principles of heaven and earth...
Has yet another cultivator who had endured for millennia turned to the opposing side?
The Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher is indeed domineering.
Li Fan’s avatar stood motionless beneath the celestial phenomena.
Quietly, he immersed himself in contemplation.
A long time passed before the phenomena finally dispersed.
The sky returned to calm, and a wave of heat surged within the avatar’s body, instantly evaporating the rainwater from his clothes.
He took one last look at the heavens, then quietly returned to the Congyun Sea.
***
Li Fan’s true self and avatar secluded themselves, detached from the world. Yet the affairs of the world did not pause; they continued relentlessly.
After the chubby Ye Feipeng suffered grievous wounds at Zhang Zhiliang’s hands, the Deepsea Pearl enveloped him, plunging him into a profound slumber on the seabed.
Yet whenever the azure winds threatened to form a stormflood, Ye Feipeng’s eyes would abruptly open.
His gaze was hollow and vacant, yet it did not hinder his movements. Bathed in a faint blue light, he would arrive at the heart of the raging stormflood.
Just as he had devoured the first strand of azure light, his mouth would open wide, voraciously consuming all the energy swirling within the stormflood.
The stormflood would vanish without a trace, and Ye Feipeng, sated, would return to the depths to continue his slumber.
By Anchor Year 20, the hilt of the Heaven-Scorning Sword had escaped Azure Wind’s cage after launching a desperate strike.
Its whereabouts remained unknown. Azure Wind also vanished without a trace.
The remaining azure light strands formed the last stormfloods in the Congyun Sea.
Originally, these storms would have persisted until Anchor Year 24 before fading entirely.
But in this lifetime, as Ye Feipeng unconsciously devoured them, the stormfloods that had long plagued Congyun Sea had completely disappeared by Anchor Year 22.
Having consumed as much of Azure Wind's energy as he could, the intensity of Ye Feipeng's aura had far surpassed that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Limits and bottlenecks seemed nonexistent. Though he had yet to reach the Golden Core realm, his strength continued to rise without pause.
From the perspective of heaven and earth, Li Fan could even perceive a monstrous phantom flickering behind him—part whale, part Peng—emitting ancient, melodious cries.
Is this why you insisted on protecting Ye Feipeng at all costs?
To the point where you abandoned even the other half of your chance to escape?
Do you have that much faith in him?
This was a level of treatment even Zhang Haobo had never received in the previous life.
Li Fan fixed his gaze on Ye Feipeng.
Within his dantian, alongside the Dao Foundation built from the True Intent of Azure Wind, rested a blue pearl he knew intimately, serene amid the azure gales.
The blue glow within Ye Feipeng’s chest had already fused entirely with the Curio, the Deepsea Pearl.
Two Dao Foundations, each built from a different Curio... How is this even possible?