Chapter 145
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Chapter 145: Li Xuandao’s Heavenly Path Oath
Early in the morning, Xu Fan emerged from the time chamber to find Lei Wenxi had already set breakfast on the table.
“Wenxi, you don’t need to bring breakfast anymore,” Xu Fan said, feeling uneasy lately, as if something major was about to happen—something far from ordinary.
He decided to settle a few things before going into seclusion. After all, his cultivation was a weak point. With more disciples reaching the peak of Qi Refinement, it wouldn’t be long before the first batch advanced to the Foundation Establishment Stage.
“Grand Elder, have I done something wrong?” Lei Wenxi asked, her voice tinged with worry.
“I’ll be entering seclusion soon, so you can stop bringing breakfast for a while,” Xu Fan replied kindly.
Just then, Li Xuandao entered Xu Fan’s courtyard, looking puzzled.
“Master, your disciple is here,” Li Xuandao said respectfully, bowing.
“Wenxi, you may leave for now,” Xu Fan instructed.
“Understood.”
“Today, I just want to have a chat with you.”
Xu Fan gestured for Li Xuandao to sit beside him.
“You’re my sixth disciple, and I’ve taught each of you a set of renowned spells tailored to your strengths.”
“But your performance has been exceptional. In techniques, artifact crafting, illusions, soul cultivation, and swordplay, you’ve excelled in every area.”
“So, I want to ask—what path do you wish to pursue in the future?” Xu Fan studied his disciple, who seemed like a true big shot.
If he was a person with a destined fate, then aside from spirit roots, he was flawless—like a character straight out of a classic cultivation novel.
If he was a reincarnated soul, his acting skills were impeccable, and his potential as a reborn Great Immortal Emperor was undeniable.
Today, Xu Fan planned to test this before entering seclusion.
“Master, I wish to follow the path of techniques,” Li Xuandao declared. This was the path he had chosen after his seventh life, and he had already prepared the necessary techniques and spells.
As for alchemy and artifact crafting, he had abandoned those pursuits long ago. Any treasures he needed, he could craft himself.
“Like your senior brother? But I believe there’s a set of renowned spells better suited to you,” Xu Fan said, handing Li Xuandao a jade slip.
A bloom of Other Shore Flowers appeared in Xu Fan’s hand, serving as the guiding symbol for this set of spells.
When Li Xuandao examined the jade slip with his mental strength, he was stunned by its contents.
“At first, I didn’t notice, but now I see the power of reincarnation within you is growing stronger,” Xu Fan said with a smile.
Damn, how extraordinary is my master? He’s only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, yet he can recognize the power of reincarnation!
The power of reincarnation only manifests when practicing techniques and spells from a past life, as these don’t belong to this world. Its sudden appearance requires the protection of reincarnation power; otherwise, it would be deemed heresy by the heavenly path.
“Can you explain the power of reincarnation within you?” Xu Fan asked gently, unaware that at that very moment, all the giant cannons and celestial artifact satellites of the grand formation had locked onto Li Xuandao.
To escape, he’d need the fighting strength of a Void Refinement stage cultivator or the ability to teleport through space.
In that instant, Li Xuandao felt like a helpless chick stepping into a tiger’s den.
Damn, I was too careless, thinking the entire sect only had Nascent Soul Stage cultivators and I’d be safe, Li Xuandao thought.
At times like this, Li Xuandao knew that even a single lie would reduce him to scraps in an instant. He’d faced this situation at least three times before, always captured by cultivators at the Core Formation Stage or higher.
Faced with the choice once more, he decided to come clean.
Li Xuandao gathered his emotions and slowly said, “I am a true immortal from the vast world of Youming, who gained the technique of the path of reincarnation by chance due to a breakthrough that seemed hopeless.”
“The Nine Lives Golden Immortal Decision is from my eighth life.”
After finishing, Li Xuandao looked at Xu Fan, waiting for his questions.
“How long can a true immortal live?” Xu Fan suddenly asked.
“The theoretical lifespan of a true immortal is limitless,” Li Xuandao responded.
Is that my limit? Xu Fan thought sadly.
“But true immortals face tribulations. A small tribulation occurs every ten thousand years, while a great catastrophe occurs every thirty thousand years. Even the greatest true immortal cannot survive the ninth great catastrophe.”
“Thus, the lifespan of a true immortal is three hundred sixty thousand years. If one exceeds that without breaking through to the Golden Immortal stage, even the Great Immortal Emperor cannot save them.”
Li Xuandao didn’t understand why Xu Fan asked this question, but he answered honestly since his life was in Xu Fan’s hands.
Upon hearing Li Xuandao’s words, Xu Fan sighed in relief; it seemed even true immortals had limits to their lifespan.
A storage bag filled with spirit stones appeared in front of Li Xuandao.
“The previous master-disciple relationship is void. This bag of spirit stones is to establish a good tie with you, my taoist friend.”
“May your path to immortality flourish, and may you achieve the Golden Immortal stage,” Xu Fan said in a formal manner, while secretly thinking that after all this time, it turned out he was dealing with a true immortal, who didn’t even measure up to the average starting point compared to the immortal emperors in novels.
Li Xuandao understood Xu Fan’s meaning: he had been asked to leave the Hidden Spirit Sect.
“Taoist friend, may I stay and be an ordinary disciple?” Li Xuandao pushed back the storage bag filled with spirit stones.
“You know what I am concerned about,” Xu Fan replied. Who would feel secure with a reincarnated immortal remaining in the sect?
“I can swear a heavenly path oath: as long as the Hidden Spirit Sect exists, I will be a disciple of the sect and will not harm any disciples by any means,” Li Xuandao stated. Having experienced hundreds of lives and cycles, he had a deeper understanding of who he was.
He lacked the ability to establish a sect and didn’t have the leisure to be a wandering cultivator; as an idle fish, finding a sturdy tree to shelter him was essential.
The future tree could also be considered a large tree, and this place might even be more suitable for him.
“What can I gain?” Xu Fan asked directly, knowing the other party was at least ten thousand years old and preferring straightforwardness.
“Once I reach the Nascent Soul stage, I’ll present the celestial scripts, techniques, and divine spells from the vast world to the Grand Elder,” Li Xuandao thought for a moment before responding.
He didn’t particularly care about these things; giving them to himself wouldn’t be a loss and could help establish a good relationship. Who knows, they might meet again when he becomes a Golden Immortal.
“Include these in your heavenly path oath,” Xu Fan said.
“Understood,” Li Xuandao agreed.
“Good, one last question, may you have great fortune.”
Li Xuandao: ???
After reaching an agreement, Xu Fan and Li Xuandao exchanged heavenly path oaths. A chain of laws appeared in Xu Fan’s spiritual world.
The heavenly path oath is typically sworn by cultivators at significant moments for guarantees. If violated, the consequences aren’t too severe; it merely invokes a celestial demon during a crucial breakthrough or enhances the power of a heavenly tribulation several times.
The strength of a heavenly tribulation is determined by one’s personal strength, and an increase can be deadly for even the mightiest cultivators.
“All right, if you’re interested, you can continue being my disciple; if not, I’ll arrange a position for you on the Elder Council,” Xu Fan said, assessing the possibility that this individual didn’t have much of a chance to be the protagonist.
“I’ll go back to being your disciple; a reborn life offers its unique opportunities,” Li Xuandao replied, bowing respectfully to Xu Fan.
With hundreds of lifetimes behind him, he didn’t underestimate Xu Fan, who was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, because he knew that a big shot would always remain a big shot. Even if you lead for a time, in the end, you would be overtaken by the big shot.
“Good, feel free to visit for tea and chat about the vast world,” Xu Fan said.
“Sure.”
Watching Li Xuandao’s departing figure, Xu Fan lifted all the locks he had placed on him. In the heights of Hidden Spirit Island, thousands of miles away, several fifth-grade precious artifact satellites retracted their exposed ultra-hard alloy gravity rods, then all grid satellites concealed themselves.
“Not one of my celestial base artifacts had a chance to strike; I still don’t know how powerful they are.”
At that moment, Xu Fan suddenly became intrigued, opening the entire virtual map of the Ten Thousand-Mile Giant Lake and selecting a small island located a hundred miles away from Hidden Spirit Island.
Far above, a precious artifact satellite adjusted its direction slightly under the control of Grape. A precious artifact version of an ultra-hard alloy gravity rod shot out at an incredible speed, targeting the selected island.
A giant pillar, one meter in diameter and ten meters long, flew like a bullet, ignited with flames, and accurately struck the island.
‘Boom~~’
The layers of soil on the small island were raised a thousand meters high, then a more intense wave from beneath the earth surged up to ten thousand meters into the sky.
The Ten Thousand-Mile Giant Lake immediately surged with colossal waves that reached thousands of meters; the entire lake trembled as countless beasts trembled in the lowest layers of the lakebed, too afraid to face the divine might.
At that moment, the Transformation God-level giant turtle also hid with its twelve children in a deep trench at the lakebed, their eyes filled with extreme fear. The massive pillar, like divine wrath, had been witnessed by them striking that small island.
If it had hit them, the result would have been unimaginable.
Xu Fan observed the scene on the screen and the slight trembling of Hidden Spirit Island, realizing he might have gone too far.
At that instant, the ten-thousand-meter-high waves crashed into the protective grand formation of the island.
The protective mountain formation of Hidden Spirit Island remained steadfast like coastal rocks, showing no signs of disturbance.
“Protective mountain formation suffered 0.5% damage; repairs are complete.”
“Testing the power of the sky-based precious artifact,” Xu Fan stated, realizing the gravity rod’s power was greater than he had expected.
“It can instantly kill Transformation Stage demon beasts and will definitely injure Void Refinement stage beasts,” Grape reported vague data.
“Not bad; this is only the first generation. I’ll upgrade it several more times, and then the Hidden Spirit Sect will be the safest place,” Xu Fan thought.
In Xu Fan’s heart, the safety of Hidden Spirit Island was the top priority. Any new ideas would be applied to the island’s defenses first.
Just then, Xu Fan’s communication artifact rang. It was a message from the Elder Council of Lin Sen Fairy City, stating they sensed fluctuations over the Ten Thousand-Mile Giant Lake that exceeded the Transformation Stage, asking if they needed assistance.
Xu Fan replied that everything was fine; if something were to happen, their speed would already be too late to help.
After dealing with Li Xuandao’s matters, Xu Fan began to enter a semi-seclusion state.
