Zhang Haobo looked at Li Fan with a mix of awe and delight in his eyes. He had heard that Elder Li had already cleansed himself of all miasma and would soon become an Immortal Master revered by all. Naturally, seeing him now, he felt both respect and fear.
"So it's you," Li Fan said with a smile, recalling a favorable impression of the man. "It's been several years since we last met. How have you been lately?"
Zhang Haobo dared not be negligent and honestly replied, "Thanks to Elder Li's blessings, the fleet has been doing quite well these past few years. Especially with Elder Li bringing back treasures every time you go seafaring, it has attracted many young people eager to join the fleet."
"Our status and treatment on the island have also risen significantly. Many people are envious."
Halfway through, Zhang Haobo hesitated, as if he had more to say.
"Speak freely," Li Fan gestured for him to continue.
"However... the brothers on the Cangyuan Ship have been discussing leaving Glass Island recently. I, too, have vaguely considered it."
"Oh?" Li Fan was somewhat surprised. "Where do you plan to go?"
"To be honest with Elder Li, we haven't decided yet," Zhang Haobo said with some trepidation.
Li Fan's interest was piqued. "Since life is going well, why the sudden thought of leaving?"
Zhang Haobo scratched his head. "I'm afraid Elder Li will laugh, but... there's just a vague sense of unease in my heart."
"Unease? Explain it to me," Li Fan instructed.
Zhang Haobo was silent for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts. After a while, he glanced around and whispered, "To be honest with Elder Li, we've encountered various strange occurrences during our recent seafaring trips."
"Such as?"
"Recently, every time we cast our nets, we catch thousands of pounds of fish, completely filling them. Nine out of ten nets are like this, with all kinds of fish."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"It is indeed a good thing, but I've been fishing at sea for over a decade and have never seen anything like this before," Zhang Haobo's eyes flashed with confusion and a hint of fear.
"It's as if all the fish in the sea are fleeing, gathering together."
"And what else?" Li Fan pondered for a moment and continued to ask.
"We've lived on Glass Island since childhood and are very familiar with the reefs around the island. But recently, we've noticed more exposed reefs around the island," Zhang Haobo said seriously.
"Are you saying... the water level is dropping?" Li Fan immediately understood.
"There's always been water level changes every year, but this year's changes seem unusual. The brothers are a bit worried," Zhang Haobo explained.
"We reported this to the Glass authorities a month ago, but they clearly didn't take it seriously, saying it's just a routine water level change," Zhang Haobo added.
"There's one more thing that's even more concerning. In the past three years, there hasn't been a single storm. Not just around Glass Island, but the entire Congyun Sea Region is the same."
"We've communicated with fleets from various islands, and there's no mistake. Storms have disappeared from the Congyun Sea in these three years," Zhang Haobo quickly added, fearing Li Fan wouldn't believe him.
Not knowing what this meant, Li Fan remained silent.
"Storms have never ceased since I was born. In busy years, there are over a dozen, and in quieter years, at least two or three. It's been like this for decades."
"Yet now, there hasn't been a single storm for three whole years. Some people on the island are applauding, saying it's the protection of the Immortal Masters. But my brothers and I don't see it that way."
"This is too abnormal; something big is bound to happen," Zhang Haobo said with certainty.
"Perhaps it just means the weather will be a bit hotter in the future," Li Fan thought for a moment and offered comfort. "The island is protected by the Island Protection Array, and Immortal Master He is stationed here. Even if something happens, it should be manageable."
"Elder Li's words make sense. Many brothers on the ship think the same. But I just can't shake this vague unease," Zhang Haobo said with a bitter smile.
"So I've decided to leave, to leave the Congyun Sea," Zhang Haobo's gaze gradually became resolute.
Seeing this, Li Fan could only say, "Leaving one's homeland is not easy; you must think it over carefully."
Zhang Haobo nodded.
Li Fan said no more. After bidding farewell to Zhang Haobo, he wandered around the market for half a day before returning home.
Thinking carefully, Zhang Haobo's concerns were not entirely unfounded. Various signs indeed suggested that something unusual might happen in the Congyun Sea.
Perhaps a massive storm was secretly gathering strength; or maybe a severe drought was quietly forming.
But none of this was a big deal.
Zhang Haobo, after all, was just an ordinary person. When a great disaster strikes, without the power to protect himself, he can only resign himself to fate. It's normal to worry and fear.
As for Li Fan, he had already set one foot into the realm of immortal cultivators. As long as he could break through to the Qi Refinement Stage, he could head to the Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
There, surrounded by immortal cultivators, he naturally wouldn't need to worry about such disasters.
Even if, in the worst-case scenario, a disaster that even immortal cultivators couldn't handle occurred, worrying would be futile.
Therefore, what Li Fan needed to do now was to focus on cultivating the Five Spirits Qi-Sensing Method.
By the way, at the Ten Thousand Immortals Treasure Pavilion, he could notify Yin Yuzhen to prepare in advance.
...
This episode quickly passed, and Li Fan continued to immerse himself in cultivation.
Time flew by.
Another year passed.
Half a year ago, Zhang Haobo finally chose to leave the Congyun Sea with some of the brothers from the Cangyuan Ship. This caused a stir on the island, and people began to worry.
However, the past six months had been calm, with no sign of any great disaster, so people began to treat it as a joke.
Yin Yuzhen finally amassed enough strength and triumphantly returned to Night Orchid Island. After some twists and turns, she reclaimed her position as the chief manager of the Treasure Pavilion headquarters.
With Night Orchid Island newly stabilized, there were still many miscellaneous matters to handle. To prevent troublemakers from causing issues, Yin Yuzhen would need to stay on Night Orchid Island for the next few years and couldn't return. She only sent someone to bring the good news to Li Fan.
He Zhenghao also stopped sending people to visit. In He Zhenghao's view, since it took Li Fan nearly four years to draw qi into his body, his potential was clearly exhausted, and he was no longer worth the effort to monitor.
Xiao Heng, on the other hand, occasionally sent letters inquiring about Li Fan's situation.
It was said that Xiao Heng was progressing rapidly and had now reached the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.
...
Amidst the tumult of worldly affairs, Li Fan observed as if a detached bystander.
He focused solely on cultivation.
One day, Li Fan felt a stirring in his heart.
Having accumulated enough Five Spirits fuel, the root of heaven and earth was finally about to take shape!
A phantom appeared in Li Fan's dantian, and in an instant, he felt a subtle yet incredibly close connection with the heavens and earth.
Like a waterwheel drawing water from a river to irrigate parched fields.
Threads of spiritual energy from heaven and earth flowed along the root of heaven and earth, slowly entering Li Fan's dantian and quickly spreading throughout his body.
In his seventh year in the Immortal Cultivation World, Li Fan finally entered the Qi Refinement Stage.
(End of Chapter)