Upon returning to the Ten Thousand Immortals Island through the teleportation array, Li Fan discovered that the news of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace's emergence had already spread widely.
"Breaking News! The Mysterious Sect Sealed for a Thousand Years Reappears," "Gentle Senior Brother Attempts Misconduct at Midnight...," "Top Secret Intelligence, 10 Contribution Points Per Copy, Fair to All."
Initially, it was the intelligence sold by Jiao Xiuyuan, which only included content related to the first trial of Qin Tang. However, due to being firsthand information, it still sold at a high price of 30 contribution points per copy. Jiao Xiuyuan made a considerable profit from this.
But as more survivors returned from the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, the intelligence about this mysterious sect's relics gradually became richer, and the prices plummeted accordingly. Of course, due to the limited number of initial explorers, the intelligence circulating on the market was still confined to the Qin Tang statue and a few surrounding anomalies. Information about deeper areas of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, such as the Demon Refining Tower and Taiyi Hall, remained blank.
Li Fan shook his head and returned to the Profound Mirror to begin inventorying his gains this time. He had acquired the Dream Illusion Technique taught by Qin Tang, the Insect Binding Divine Ability from the Insect Daoist, and the Cloud Water Scroll. Additionally, he obtained the Ocean-Calming Sword Technique, the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Technique, and the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Token from Sikong Yi.
Having already cultivated the Thousand Mysteries Jade Golden Seal, Underworld Phantom Art, and Shadow Following Technique, Li Fan knew that greed would only lead to inefficiency. He needed to make choices about which new techniques to cultivate. Among them, the Insect Binding Divine Ability was an innate divine ability and required no cultivation. The Dream Illusion Technique, with its endless applications, was crucial for Li Fan's upcoming plans, so it was a must-cultivate.
The Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Technique was cultivable, but... Li Fan's divine sense swept over the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Token in his storage ring. The method to forge a clone could be attempted. As for the technique created later by Sikong Yue, which involved converting one's life essence into the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Token, it was unnecessary to cultivate.
In Li Fan's view, Sikong Yue's life-preserving method was far from perfect. At least, if someone like Li Fan could trap both the original and the clone and then continuously annihilate them, the so-called resurrection would be nothing but a joke. In this world, what could be more life-preserving than his "Return to Origin"? Why abandon the fundamental for the trivial?
Moreover... gazing at the slightly eerie, seemingly living token, a premonition flashed faintly in Li Fan's heart. "Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping. Who is swapping with whom? It's really hard to say." "No need to take this risk. I'll set it aside for now and verify it later when the opportunity arises."
"The Ocean-Calming Sword Technique can be cultivated all the way to the Golden Core Realm. Upon mastery, one can condense 108 Ocean-Calming Swords within the dantian. Against a single opponent, a hundred swords can be unleashed simultaneously; against a group, it can form the Ocean-Calming Sword Array. It's a top-tier offensive technique." "Its power is formidable, but there's no rush to cultivate it."
"Now, it's been 12 years since anchoring. In my previous life, the red flame burned the sea in the 31st year of anchoring. I was hesitant about whether to participate in this major event. Now, with a stroke of fortune, through a clone and the Dream Illusion Technique, even if my true self escapes to a distant continent, I might still stir up a storm in the Congyun Sea."
In an instant, various plans flashed through Li Fan's mind. After a long time, he set them aside for now. Taking out a small, colorful model from his storage ring, he examined it closely. "If I hadn't personally obtained this from Taiyi, I wouldn't believe this is the legendary Cloud Water Scroll." After studying it for a while and still unable to discern any secrets, Li Fan couldn't help but sigh.
"Perhaps there's truly a secret hidden within. But if it can't be deciphered, it's no different from trash in my hands. Exchanging it for a hundred thousand contribution points would be most suitable." "However, if my true self submits it, it would be too conspicuous. I should first forge a clone."
Li Fan checked his current contribution points. Previously, to deal with Sikong Yi, he had spent almost all his contribution points, leaving only a little over 500 points. Fortunately, most of the materials for forging a clone weren't expensive. Supreme Bone, Heavenly Spirit Milk, Fragmented Bone Treasure Tendon... Li Fan purchased them one by one.
Finally, with only 135 points left, Li Fan had acquired all the materials except for the last one, the Heavenly Crystal Spirit Sand. As for the Heavenly Crystal Spirit Sand, according to Sikong Yi's memory, it could be collected somewhere in the Congyun Sea.
Subsequently, Li Fan activated the auxiliary cultivation mode and began cultivating the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Technique. The Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Technique was somewhat similar to Li Fan's main cultivation technique, the Thousand Mysteries Jade Golden Seal. The Thousand Mysteries Jade Golden Seal cultivated qi mechanisms, while the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Technique stole fate. Both qi mechanisms and fate were mysterious and difficult to sense, yet they truly existed.
With the spirit-enhancing bonus, Li Fan reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining in just three days. Meanwhile, his contribution points dwindled to a mere 35. Since the Heaven-Stealing Sun-Swapping Technique only required mid-stage Qi Refining to forge a clone, he decided to stop cultivating.
Gathering his materials, Li Fan left the Ten Thousand Immortals Island through the teleportation array and arrived at the western sea region of the Congyun Sea, Lingyun Island. The location of the Heavenly Crystal Spirit Sand was not far from Lingyun Island. After greeting the guardian of Lingyun Island, Li Fan casually activated the Concealment Talisman and flew towards the location in his memory.
Several days passed, and he stopped at a sea surface filled with large and small whirlpools, then dove underwater. The water here was relatively shallow, reaching the bottom after just three to four hundred meters. The area was littered with the remnants of collapsed buildings, likely a relic site. The relic was quite large, and one could vaguely imagine its former prosperity. It was unclear why it had sunk to the seabed.
Such relics were scattered throughout the Congyun Sea, and Li Fan wasn't surprised. After all, when Li Fan first arrived in the Congyun Sea, he had heard of storms wreaking havoc and hundreds of islands sinking. Arriving at a slanted rectangular boulder, Li Fan squeezed through the gaps between the stones. Inside, it was like a pitch-black cavern, with hundreds of glowing jellyfish swimming around, resembling moving stars.
The ground of the cavern was covered with a layer of fine, sparkling sand—the Heavenly Crystal Spirit Sand. In the center of the cavern, a giant stone had been hollowed out, becoming the jellyfish's home. Li Fan collected the Heavenly Crystal Spirit Sand from the ground and glanced at the giant stone, marveling at the wonders of creation.
This place was also a site Sikong Yi had discovered by chance. The giant stone in the center was an ordinary Heavenly Spirit Ore. However, after being consumed and digested by these unknown jellyfish, it transformed into the precious material, Heavenly Crystal Spirit Sand. Truly incredible.
It's worth noting that even a Foundation Establishment artifact refiner would need considerable effort to refine the Heavenly Crystal Spirit Sand.