Li Fan had been stuck at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement for several years, unable to make any progress. Despite cultivating two techniques to the mid-stage, he still couldn't find the key to his breakthrough. At this moment, as he gazed at the Canghai Pearl, he suddenly sensed an opportunity for a breakthrough, much like before, by using his consciousness to connect and comprehend the Canghai Pearl.
Li Fan was well aware of the peril involved, essentially akin to courting death. The "Cultivation Miscellany" contained numerous accounts of cultivators sensing their own opportunities. Though risky, these opportunities were often accompanied by great potential.
Why hadn't he sensed it before, and why did it suddenly appear now? Li Fan quickly realized the answer: the "Xuanhuang Heart Refining Mantra." Perhaps by activating the "Xuanhuang Heart Refining Mantra," Li Fan could resist the assimilation of the Canghai's will.
With a decision made, Li Fan held the Canghai Pearl with both hands, resting it gently on his dantian. Sitting cross-legged, he simultaneously activated the "Thousand Mysteries Jade Golden Seal" and the "Xuanhuang Heart Refining Mantra." Initially, managing both was somewhat challenging for Li Fan. However, since the Heart Refining Mantra didn't involve the circulation of spiritual energy but rather the tempering of the mind, there was no conflict between the two techniques.
After hundreds of attempts, Li Fan finally mastered the method of running both techniques simultaneously. His consciousness blurred, as if he had once again become an ocean, observing the world's changes. The sun rose and set, stars shifted, clouds drifted, and rain scattered. All these phenomena accelerated thousands of times, flashing rapidly before Li Fan's eyes. In just a thought, it seemed as if centuries had passed.
A distant, ancient, and desolate aura gradually seeped into Li Fan's consciousness. He began to view the world from the perspective of the ocean, gradually forgetting that he was human. At this moment, a refreshing aura suddenly surged forth, akin to a mountain spring, slowly washing away the mottled marks of time. Li Fan gradually regained his consciousness.
"It really works." Confirming his hypothesis, Li Fan felt neither joy nor sorrow. Although the "Xuanhuang Heart Refining Mantra" could somewhat reduce the assimilation of the Canghai's will, he was still too insignificant compared to it. He still couldn't avoid being influenced. His lifespan was consumed at many times the rate of normal cultivation, and human emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness were infinitely diluted.
There were benefits, of course. At this moment, he could already harness a trace of the Canghai Pearl's power. His divine sense was strengthened a hundredfold, effortlessly covering the entire Tai'an Island.
Without stopping, Li Fan's consciousness rippled outward like waves. One by one, lifeless islands appeared in his mind. Through his divine sense, he saw a once-extinct volcano on a certain island reignite under the influence of a fire calamity.
He saw not far from Glass Island, a giant fish skeleton lying among human corpses. In the center of the fish bones, a massive Glass Pearl gleamed in the sunlight. He saw in the hidden corners of the Congyun Sea, a few cultivators he thought long dead still lingering.
He saw many secrets usually concealed, only revealed in such apocalyptic times.
However, these were no longer his concern. His heart was devoid of greed. Retracting his divine sense, he manipulated the Canghai Pearl, drawing the remaining moisture from the Congyun Sea to gather above Tai'an Island. Thus, the surviving humans on Tai'an Island saw clouds gradually forming in the sky.
"Boom!" As the rain poured down, people wept with joy, embracing and rolling in the rain. The rain lasted for half an hour. The clouds above Tai'an Island still lingered faintly, not completely dissipating. This was Li Fan's doing, ensuring that every half month, the Canghai Pearl would automatically draw moisture, bringing rain to Tai'an Island, thereby ensuring the survival of the mortals on the island.
Having done all this, Li Fan quietly gazed at the sky. The reason he was no longer tempted by the many secrets and treasures in the Congyun Sea wasn't because he had suddenly become saintly, but because he had found something more worthy of pursuit—an opportunity to connect with the will of heaven and earth.
In the theory of the "Thousand Mysteries Jade Golden Seal," the ideal state of the technique was to sense and refine the Qi mechanism of heaven and earth. The Qi mechanism of heaven and earth, as the external manifestation of the will of heaven and earth, was vast and unparalleled. Ordinary cultivators, when in contact, would quickly deplete their lifespan, as Li Fan had before, even losing their self-will and becoming puppets of the heavenly way.
But now, Li Fan had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to touch the will of heaven and earth while retaining his consciousness. Because now, he was not just an ordinary Qi Refinement cultivator. A part of his consciousness was already connected with the Canghai Pearl. If it was suicidal for a cultivator to fathom heaven and earth, then using the ocean to fathom heaven and earth might not be a dead end.
Li Fan's heart stirred with excitement. This was truly the pursuit of the Dao, worth dying for! He transformed into the ocean, quietly observing this world, sensing the myriad of Qi flowing between heaven and earth, feeling the will of heaven and earth.
One year, two years... The passage of time no longer mattered to Li Fan. The more he gazed at the sky, the more insights he gained. His previous concepts were overturned one by one. He thought the pervasive killing intent in the Congyun Sea had gradually dissipated. But now he realized that the killing intent of heaven and earth had never diminished; it still existed.
The violent killing intent he previously sensed was not part of the heavenly way itself. The killing intent of heaven and earth would never be perceived by mere mortals or cultivators. It wouldn't be so violent, so angry, so filled with emotion. It was merely a pure will, a pure rule. It was heaven and earth being indifferent, treating all things as straw dogs. It was the destruction of you, without any concern.
Under the heavenly way, all were ants. Mortals, cultivators, the ocean... there was no distinction in its eyes. Cultivators plundering heaven and earth would naturally evoke the killing intent of the heavenly way. Yet the heavenly way would not act directly, as cultivators themselves were part of the heavenly way. Corresponding laws would evolve, resonating with the killing intent of heaven and earth. For instance, the inability to cultivate immortal arts simultaneously, or like the scene Li Fan witnessed now.
Above the Congyun Sea, a crimson transparent figure coldly observed below. In its hand, a small flame flickered continuously, scorching the Congyun Sea. Sensing Li Fan's gaze, the crimson figure turned its head. Their eyes met. The seawater within the Canghai Pearl boiled instantly. Fortunately, it only glanced at Li Fan before withdrawing its gaze. Li Fan's consciousness was thus preserved. Because of that glance, Li Fan understood its identity: the Spirit of Heaven and Earth—Flame!
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(End of Chapter)