As the divine sense traversed through the colorful model, it felt as if one were personally journeying through the former Cloud Water Heavenly Palace.
However...
Aside from that, this Cloud Water Scroll seemed to have no other special uses.
"This Cloud Water Scroll might be more appropriately named Cloud Water Record."
"Or perhaps, there are other secrets hidden within? Otherwise, why would someone offer a bounty of one hundred thousand contribution points?"
Li Fan's heart surged with many doubts.
But now was not the time for deep inquiry.
After putting away the colorful model into his storage ring, Li Fan cupped his hands towards the tortoise-snake creature. "Master Taiyi, please send me away from here. I still have matters to attend to with Junior Brother Bai Li Chen."
Moments later, the aged voice of Taiyi echoed, "Hmm, it's good to leave. It's good to leave..."
It was the same reaction he had when sending Bai Li Chen away earlier.
A burst of blue light enveloped Li Fan.
Then, his figure vanished without a trace.
In front of the Taiyi Hall, a long silence fell once more.
After an unknown period, a strange sound broke the tranquility.
"Zii..."
"Zii..."
"Zii..."
...
It sounded as if blades were being sharpened on a whetstone, or like a giant serpent shedding its old skin.
With each sound, countless illusory swords manifested from the void, embedding themselves into the tortoise-snake creature.
"Boom!"
The Taiyi Hall suddenly sank, forcing the creature's limbs to retract.
The two black giant serpents let out a painful hiss, entangling their fierce heads as they retreated into the Taiyi Hall.
"Pain..."
"Ah, pain..."
The old and deranged voice of Taiyi reverberated throughout the entire Cloud Water Heavenly Palace like thunder.
Within the buildings shrouded in white mist, various terrifying sounds seemed to respond in kind.
The illusory sword shadows fell like a torrential rain, suddenly fierce.
"Roar!"
The figure of the tortoise-snake creature ultimately vanished.
Only the empty Taiyi Hall remained, along with the increasingly vast sword forest ahead, silently witnessing Taiyi's eternal suffering.
...
Congyun Sea.
Li Fan blinked, feeling as if he had returned to the vast blue ocean once again.
However, he had already left the range of the Central Sea Region's Cloud Water Heavenly Palace ruins.
Sensing the positions of Sikong Yi and Bai Li Chen, Li Fan activated the Shadow Following Technique and closely pursued them.
At the same time, the formless killing intent that had been lurking suddenly erupted.
Sikong Yi and Bai Li Chen were immediately met with an ambush, their speed greatly reduced.
Li Fan's speed, on the other hand, continued to accelerate.
The distance closed in, and before long, he could vaguely see their figures.
"Who exactly are you? I've already given you the Cloud Water Scroll, why do you still cling to us?" Sikong Yi's furious voice rang out.
Li Fan did not respond, only quickening his pace.
"You're truly overstepping!" Seeing this, Sikong Yi actually abandoned his escape and turned to face Li Fan.
Golden sword qi emerged around him.
Winding and coiling like a dragon.
With a flick of Sikong Yi's finger, the sword qi surged forth like a sky full of flying dragons, attacking Li Fan.
Meanwhile, Bai Li Chen seemed to have used some secret method, his speed suddenly increasing several times.
He attempted to seize the chance to escape towards a distant island.
"Still trying to use that old trick of slipping away? Planning to use the island's teleportation array to return to Ten Thousand Immortals Island?"
"Not a bad idea."
"Unfortunately, I was already prepared."
Li Fan watched the two with an enigmatic glint in his eyes.
Ever since he had learned from Jiao Xiuyuan that Sikong Yi and Bai Li Chen often acted together, he had specifically purchased some targeted magical tools in the Tianxuan Realm to deal with them.
For example, right now...
A shield wreathed in flames materialized before him, blocking all of Sikong Yi's golden sword qi.
Scarlet Fire Shield, 350 contribution points.
It had a natural restraining effect against Sikong Yi's metal attribute sword qi.
Li Fan then took out a black chain from his storage ring.
One end aimed at Sikong Yi, while the other targeted Bai Li Chen.
With a gentle toss.
The black chain rapidly extended, binding Sikong Yi and Bai Li Chen together in the blink of an eye.
The chain suddenly retracted.
Bai Li Chen, who was racing for his life, was yanked back towards Sikong Yi.
Soul-binding Chain.
Li Fan had spent 958 contribution points to have it specially crafted by a foundational stage artifact master from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Once the two were connected by the chain, they could not stray too far from each other.
Finally, looking at the two bound together, Li Fan took out a formation diagram.
Green Wood Purple Fire Formation.
A hefty 1500 contribution points.
With immense power, once activated, even a typical Refining Qi stage cultivator would be reduced to ashes in less than a quarter of an hour.
Li Fan's expression remained impassive as he activated the grand formation, enveloping Sikong Yi and Bai Li Chen.
From the moment Li Fan blocked Sikong Yi's golden sword qi to trapping the two within the grand formation, it all happened in the blink of an eye.
They had no time to react and became fish in a barrel, unable to escape.
"Who exactly are you?!"
Seeing that every move Li Fan made was highly targeted, Sikong Yi realized he had been scheming for a long time.
Li Fan did not answer, using the Insect Binding Divine Ability to control Bai Li Chen.
Ignoring Sikong Yi's curses, he activated the grand formation, burning Sikong Yi.
"Ah!"
Amidst the cries of agony, Sikong Yi turned to ash.
But...
No abnormal phenomena appeared in the sky above.
Then, just as Li Fan had anticipated, a scene unfolded.
Next to Bai Li Chen, a phantom slowly materialized.
After writhing for a moment, the phantom gradually took on a solid form.
Sikong Yi, resurrected once more!
Li Fan narrowed his eyes and activated the grand formation again.
The cries of agony continued.
Sikong Yi died once more.
This time after his resurrection, his cultivation fell from late Refining Qi to mid Refining Qi.
Li Fan seemed to gain some insight.
The purple fire flickered, and Sikong Yi faced yet another round of death.
His curses transformed into pleas for mercy.
Then into tearful cries of anguish.
But Li Fan remained unmoved.
This Sikong Yi was mysterious and had powerful means of self-preservation.
Having snatched the Cloud Water Scroll worth one hundred thousand contribution points from him had already forged a deadly enmity.
Even if he could not pry any secrets from him, Li Fan would never allow him to escape.
The Green Wood Purple Fire Formation continued to activate.
Soon, Sikong Yi's cultivation had dropped to the early Refining Qi stage.
Despair surfaced on his face.
In a breakdown, he pleaded for mercy from Li Fan.
To save his life, he chose to divulge all his secrets.
Li Fan listened quietly, his expression shifting constantly.
Finally, the purple fire blazed.
After dying three times in a row, Sikong Yi could no longer resurrect.
And Bai Li Chen, after Sikong Yi's demise, also turned to dust, completely disappearing from the world.
In the place where Sikong Yi had vanished, a black token floated quietly in the air.
Li Fan picked up the token, and a message instantly appeared in his mind.
"The bearer of this token shall command the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Sect."
(End of Chapter)