Chapter 266: Zhong Shentong
Regardless of the circumstances, the plan of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance ultimately succeeded.
Not only did they kill several Dao Integration cultivators from the Five Elders Association, but they also successfully exposed the spy, Immortal Sage Ziqiong.
It was an extremely effective plan in striking back after previous losses.
On the other hand, the Five Elders Association, faced with this bloody reality, could only admit defeat.
The battles in Tianling Province and the ambush in Tianyu Province resulted in each side winning one.
The losses of the Dao Integration powerhouses would take time to slowly recover.
With both the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Association suffering, it could be foreseen that a period of extended peace was on the horizon.
For the majority of cultivators, this was a good thing.
As the clouds of war gradually dispersed, Jiao Xiuyuan's Minor Medicine King Cauldron auction, which was postponed due to the war, was finally held at the end of the 23rd year.
Li Fan didn't attend the event.
However, it was said that the results were somewhat unsatisfactory.
In the first batch, a total of four small cauldrons were sold.
The selling prices for each cauldron were generally only around a few hundred thousand contribution points.
Obviously, there were doubts about whether the meteor that fell from the sky was the true Medicine King Cauldron.
Even though Jiao Xiuyuan followed Li Fan's strategy, creating a buzz everywhere, the effect was minimal.
Those cultivators willing to spend a large amount of contribution points to gamble on a prosperous future were, after all, in the minority.
Most cultivators followed the principle of not releasing the eagle without seeing the rabbit.
Despite the unsuccessful start, Jiao Xiuyuan wasn't discouraged.
On the one hand, he still had a considerable inventory.
On the other hand, even if the subsequent small cauldrons were sold at this price, he would still make a stable profit.
"I do business without greed. As long as there's profit, it's good enough."
That's what Jiao Xiuyuan said.
Li Fan just smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
His attention returned to his original body.
The group of people who had been calmly waiting on the deserted island for more than ten years had already grown into adults.
They were starting to get a bit restless.
Especially Su Xiaomei, who occasionally sneaked by herself.
However, the mysterious disappearance of Ye Feipeng had always been a shadow pressing on their hearts.
This made them reluctant to stray too far from the deserted island, as they feared that they would be detected by the cultivators from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Li Fan checked the cultivation levels of several individuals.
Su Xiaomei, Xiao Heng, and Zhang Haobo were all at the Foundation Establishment perfection stage.
However, there seemed to be some distance to the Golden Core stage for all of them.
The Yin sisters had mediocre aptitude in cultivation, only reaching Qi Condensation perfection.
As for Su Changyu, his cultivation progress was the slowest.
He only reached the mid stage Qi Condensation.
But his mentality had always been stable, neither arrogant nor impatient.
As for the unconscious Ye Feipeng...
Li Fan found it a bit unpredictable.
Over the past few years, besides absorbing all the wind disaster energy unconsciously, the chubby guy had almost circled the entire sea area by following the undersea currents beneath the Cong Yun Sea.
During this process, the intensity of the aura on Ye Feipeng's body continued to increase.
In theory, it had already surpassed the limit of Foundation Establishment.
Li Fan estimated that if he erupted with all his strength, an ordinary Golden Core cultivator wouldn't be his opponent.
It seemed like the Cong Yun Sea was using this unique method to "nourish" Ye Feipeng.
Just the quantity of growth had reached a point where it could ignore the gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.
Furthermore, the giant beast phantom that occasionally appeared behind Ye Feipeng seemed to become more vivid and robust during this process.
It continuously swam around him, occasionally emitting a long roar.
It was as if it could come alive at any moment.
Li Fan had a strange premonition.
The awakening of Ye Feipeng was not far away.
So, time passed slowly.
In the blink of an eye, it came to the end of the 24th year.
On this day, Li Fan, who was in seclusion, suddenly received a notification from the Tianxuan Mirror. In Discussing Dao While Seated, Zhang Qianmo finally suffered his first defeat!
"Did that 'I Am Invincible' finally comprehend the method to defeat him?" Li Fan couldn't help but feel a bit excited at the thought.
Opening Discussing Dao While Seated, the result surprised Li Fan.
The one who defeated Zhang Qianmo was not 'I Am Invincible,' but someone else.
A cultivator named Zhong Shentong.
Moreover, this Zhong Shentong was not a virtual creation but a real cultivator existing in the Xuanhuang Realm.
"Zhong Shentong..."
Li Fan felt incredulous.
Li Fan was well aware of Zhang Qianmo's abilities. After revealing his purple core, he could easily slay Golden Core cultivators as if slaughtering chickens and cattle. How did this Zhong Shentong, who was merely at the Foundation Establishment level, defeat Zhang Qianmo?
With this question in mind, Li Fan opened the replay of the battle.
In the void, Zhang Qianmo had a stern expression as he stood with his hands behind his back. Not far away, a white-haired old man in Daoist robes smiled as he looked at him.
"Please enlighten me, Junior!"
As soon as Zhong Shentong finished his polite words, his expression suddenly changed. He pointed with his right hand, and a sea of azure light surged above Zhang Qianmo's head.
Each strand of light resembled extremely sharp flying swords, constantly stabbing towards Zhang Qianmo. Zhang Qianmo snorted, and beside him, the Purple Heaven Royal Thunder appeared, striking down the incoming azure light.
The azure and purple lights intersected, annihilating each other and turning into nothingness.
Zhong Shentong's fingers kept pointing repeatedly.
Blue, purple, crimson, red...
In an instant, various colorful lights emerged continuously, like a never-ending river, with a momentum that never seemed to stop.
The density was so high that Zhang Qianmo could barely defend himself.
What was most terrifying was that these seven-colored lights seemed inexhaustible, and it was unknown whether they were a result of a technique or a spiritual treasure.
It seemed like they didn't require any consumption; after the attack started, there was no sign of weakening. Moreover, the intensity of the light even increased.
Gradually, wounds began to appear on Zhang Qianmo's body.
Although they would quickly heal on their own, Zhang Qianmo still looked quite wretched.
On the other hand, Zhong Shentong seemed relaxed and at ease from beginning to end.
"This Seven-Colored Divine Light is indeed extraordinary."
"Could it be that Zhong Shentong defeated Zhang Qianmo with this?"
Li Fan analyzed while watching.
"No, although the Seven-Colored Divine Light has astonishing destructive power, it is still limited to the same realm. Once Zhang Qianmo reveals his purple core, I'm afraid he can easily resist it..."
Suddenly, Li Fan seemed to realize something, and his expression became serious.
"So that's it..."
He stared at the ongoing battle between Zhang Qianmo and Zhong Shentong.
Wounds appeared on Zhang Qianmo's body like blooming flowers, but in an instant, they were healed by the power surging from within him. As the battle continued, this process repeated.
It seemed like it would never end.
However...
For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, there was a limit to their strength.
Although Zhang Qianmo's total amount of spiritual energy far surpassed an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was still far from being infinite.
When the battle dragged on for a day, two days, three days...
The spiritual energy within him finally began to deplete.
Thus, Zhang Qianmo had to start using the energy stored in the purple core.
When Li Fan cultivated the Karmic Body, he speculated that the purple core in Zhang Qianmo's body was a means used by the Purple Heaven Sect to contain and suppress cultivation.
Now, it seemed to be true.