Chapter 356: Profound Yellow Inverse Heart Refining

But immediately, Li Fan, who was seeking the answer to heart refining, had a flash of inspiration and seemed to think of something.

His mind became clear, analyzing rationally like a cold-eyed bystander.

"Is this my inner instinct?"

"In such a desperate situation, some might choose to risk entering the White Mist, seeking a glimmer of life amidst hopelessness."

"Others might choose to sacrifice their Fellow Daoists to save themselves, striking first to kill others through treacherous means."

"And some would rather die than strike at their companions."

"As for me, my subconscious response is to hide and bide my time, waiting for others to finish their slaughter before stepping in to reap the benefits."

"…"

"This is the optimal strategic choice based on the current situation, and it's also related to my past experiences."

"Everyone's choices are different. In my view, it's a matter of personality, with no inherent superiority or inferiority."

"This is called the original heart of a person."

"Refining the heart, refining the heart…"

Li Fan pondered blankly, muttering to himself.

He forgot the tide of demonic sounds full of danger outside the outpost, and the dire situation inside where resources were about to run dry.

As if entranced, his mind was completely immersed, and even several small-scale attacks of demonic sounds failed to affect him.

Time passed quickly during Li Fan's enlightenment.

Thus, it was the fiftieth day after the outbreak of the tide.

Cold Responding Clothes still had not returned. In order to prolong their survival as much as possible,

After discussion, the group decided to abandon most areas of Jiaxu Outpost.

Only some basic buildings were kept.

In this way, the consumption rate of the [black death talisman] could be reduced by nearly half.

Although the active area was significantly reduced,

Compared to living a bit longer, squeezing together was nothing.

However, the once-familiar group now clearly had more wariness toward each other.

On the surface, they still appeared polite, but what they were truly thinking in their hearts was known only to themselves.

Surging undercurrents, hidden killing intent.

When Li Fan sensed the atmosphere around him gradually turning wrong, under the warning of his body's instinct, he finally slowly woke up from his trance.

With a slight scan, Li Fan understood the current situation clearly.

From ancient times to the present, this kind of drama where people are trapped in a desperate situation and kill each other for survival is not uncommon.

Even Li Fan himself felt killing intent rising after understanding his current predicament.

This killing intent was his own heart's intent.

It did not belong to distracting thoughts; even the Profound Yellow Heart Refining Mantra could not eliminate it.

Li Fan carefully sensed the thoughts constantly emerging in his mind.

"Seeking survival is human instinct. To kill for life is to follow the heart's intent."

"Follow the heart's intent, follow the heart's intent…"

Suddenly, Li Fan froze slightly, repeatedly chanting this phrase in his heart.

After a long time, a strange light flashed in his eyes.

"Heart refining, heart refining. If it's always smooth sailing, how can the heart be refined?"

"To refine the Dao Heart, perhaps it needs to be tempered by adversity."

"Adversity, reversal…"

Like a bolt of lightning cutting through the mist, in an instant, Li Fan understood something.

"To witness longevity, one must defy the principles of heaven and earth."

"And to refine the Dao Heart…"

"One must defy the true intent of the self."

"Perhaps all along, I have been cultivating incorrectly."

Li Fan's eyes slowly grew bright.

"Doing as one pleases and crushing all distracting thoughts only stays at the level of the Heart Clearing Mantra at most."

"To truly Cultivate the Profound Yellow Heart Refining Mantra, one must temper the original heart."

"Is it to go against my own instinctive choices?"

Thinking of this, Li Fan felt suddenly enlightened, and the gloom in his heart was swept away.

The circulation of the Heart Refining Mantra suddenly became several times faster than before.

"It seems my accidental guess was actually true."

"Inverse heart refining."

"This kind of cultivation method is truly quite peculiar."

"Taking this Jiaxu crisis as an example, if I want to use it to refine my heart, I cannot do what my instinct suggests."

"It's best to do the opposite."

"The greater the difference from my original heart, the more my inner self suffers, and the more significant the cultivation effect of the Heart Refining Mantra will be."

"Then the best choice should be…"

Li Fan's thoughts turned rapidly, and he made a judgment in an instant.

And the Heart Refining Mantra, which circulated more and more smoothly, also corroborated his deduction.

"But, is it worth doing this?"

"The Profound Yellow Heart Refining Mantra's rating in Huan Zhen is even above the Cloud Water Illusion Dream Skill…"

After a moment of silence, Li Fan made a decision.

Shortly after, inside the meeting hall of Jiaxu Outpost.

Li Fan gathered everyone and raised the question in his heart.

"The feasibility of forcibly returning to the Eternal Immortal Fortress? Great Master Li, why are you asking this?" a Qingxuan soldier named He Chen asked with some confusion.

However, he reacted immediately, thinking Li Fan wanted to send someone else to seek help.

His expression turned somewhat ugly, but he still answered truthfully: "In recent days, the demonic sound tide has shown no signs of weakening; it even seems to be intensifying."

"With our current strength, if we want to cross the White Mist during the demonic sound tide, I'm afraid…"

He Chen shook his head repeatedly.

Another Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Yanwu Hall named Kong Yu also flatly denied it: "Absolutely not!"

"I know Fellow Daoist Cold's strength. If even he failed to get reinforcements, there is no way we can succeed. It's better to wait until the demonic sound tide weakens before making a decision."

The others also chimed in with advice.

"Let's wait a bit longer; maybe Captain Cold will be back soon?"

"Yes, Great Master Li, it's better not to make such a hasty decision. As they say, there's strength in numbers. Although our outpost is short-handed now, we can still barely look out for each other. If we split up again, we might not have enough strength if any emergency occurs!"

…

The Cultivators in the outpost who assisted with the Formation construction, even those with Nascent Soul cultivation, all addressed Li Fan as 'Great Master'.

Although Li Fan had always maintained that his Formation skills were ordinary and he did not deserve the title of Great Master, declining it vigorously,

He could not change how these people addressed him.

Over time, he could only accept it by default.

At this moment, seeing that all the Cultivators held opposing views, Li Fan thought to himself: "Actually, my thoughts are the same as yours, but unfortunately, I have to conduct an experiment."

"I can only do the opposite."

However, he did not argue with them, but simply waited for everyone to quiet down before gazing at them with a serious expression.

When the Cultivators began to avoid his gaze, Li Fan finally spoke slowly: "Everyone, let's not beat around the bush. Before the demonic sound tide, a normal round trip from Jiaxu Outpost to the Eternal Immortal Fortress only took two or three days."

"Now, even if the tide is terrifying and every step is difficult, if everything goes well, the time needed for a round trip should be ten days at most."

"If there is no return for a long time, I'm afraid the result can only be that some accident has occurred, and the outlook is grim."

"As Cultivators, we struggle against heaven for our lives. Life and death are common occurrences; there's no need to avoid the subject."

"In fact, before Captain Cold left, he specifically gave me instructions."

This sentence was not something Li Fan made up; it was indeed true.

The several Qingxuan Army Cultivators present were all witnesses.

Therefore, after Li Fan finished his few sentences, a trace of gloom flashed in their eyes.

The hall was also silent; no one contradicted him.

Li Fan then continued: "Now the supplies in the outpost are about to run out, and the demonic sound tide shows no sign of stopping…"

"An unavoidable question lies before us: what should we do after the supplies are completely exhausted?"

"Perhaps we don't even have to wait until then."

"Seeing the stock of [black death talisman] getting smaller and smaller, I'm afraid some people can no longer suppress their killing intent in order to fight for that last bit of hope for survival."

Seeing Li Fan unmask the dark thoughts in everyone's hearts without any concealment, some Cultivators couldn't sit still and immediately stood up to declare their stance.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Great Master Li, rest assured, for our Qingxuan Army, duty is greater than life."

"Exactly! Great Master Li, since we were ordered to protect your safety, we will definitely do so. If anyone else wants to harm you, they'll have to step over our corpses!"

The several Golden Core cultivators belonging to the Qingxuan Army spoke up righteously one after another.

And the other Cultivators from the Yanwu Hall and Tianji Hall in the outpost also looked a bit nervous seeing this scene.

"Great Master Li…"

Just as they were about to say something, Li Fan waved his hand to interrupt them.

With a slight smile, Li Fan said frankly: "Everyone, there's no need for this. Even ants cling to life, let alone us Cultivators?"

"Who among us that has cultivated to this Realm hasn't gone through untold hardships?"

"The desire for survival is not a mistake."

"But…"

Li Fan paused slightly, drawing the attention of all the Cultivators.

With a serious and noble expression, he said: "We are all brothers and sisters of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. If we die in battle against the Five Old Men Association, it would be a worthy death without regret."

"But if we are to perish in internecine strife, I'm afraid I would die with my eyes open."

"To prevent this from happening, I believe we should head to the Eternal Immortal Fortress to seek rescue once more before the supplies are exhausted."

"As the brothers of the Qingxuan Army said, this demonic sound tide's sudden attack is of rare intensity. I'm afraid the Eternal Immortal Fortress is currently unable to look after itself and cannot be expected to send reinforcements."

"In a desperate situation, it's better to take a chance than to sit and wait for death."

Li Fan's words were powerful, but the Cultivators present all had strange expressions on their faces when they heard them.

Everyone understood the logic, but the strongest person in Jiaxu Outpost, Cold Responding Clothes, had already met with misfortune in this demonic sound tide.

Who could guarantee they could do what even Cold Responding Clothes could not?

Staying in the outpost, they could still linger on and live a bit longer.

Leaving the outpost to face the White Mist and the tide, they would likely meet an immediate end.

You, Li Fan, speak so righteously, but aren't you just trying to incite us to go to our deaths?

Could it be that you would risk yourself and go personally?

All the Cultivators present thought so.

However, it hadn't reached the point of an open fallout yet. They looked at each other, and Kong Yu coughed, intending to advise again.

However, Li Fan's next words made them all stand up in shock.

"Captain Cold likely perished in the demonic sound tide to ensure my safety."

"I already felt uneasy about it."

"I also know that seeking help is extremely dangerous. If any more of you perish because of me, I will be even more ashamed to face everyone."

"So, I have decided…"

Li Fan suppressed his discomfort and spoke words that went against his Dao Heart.

"To go alone to the Eternal Immortal Fortress to seek rescue."

"If I do not die, I will surely find a way out for everyone!"

Li Fan said decisively, his face full of determination.

Kong Yu, He Chen, and the others never expected this young Formation Master to make such a decision.

They looked at each other, doubting if they had heard correctly.

But looking at Li Fan's firm eyes and face, their doubts vanished, replaced by utter shock.

Actually, as the Formation Master building the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array, although Li Fan only had a Golden Core cultivation,

His status in Jiaxu Outpost was the highest.

Because everyone present, whether from the Qingxuan Army, Yanwu Hall, or other departments, was here to assist Li Fan in building the Locking Spirit Array.

If he insisted on forcing the group to send more Cultivators to seek rescue, using the excuse that 'the construction of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array cannot be delayed, and my death would inevitably hinder the progress of the entire Formation',

Then in the end, nine times out of ten, everyone would have to yield.

But now, not only did he not do that,

He instead volunteered to take on this task that was almost certain death to seek a way out for everyone.

Disregarding personal life and death, selflessly helping others…

Could there actually be such a person in the world?

Even the Saints of old were only like this, weren't they?

They had stayed with him for so long before and hadn't noticed at all?!

Truly, only in the moment of life and death can one see a person's true nature.

And as everyone recalled the dirty thoughts in their own hearts, they couldn't help but feel secretly ashamed.

Feeling inferior, they all began to advise him with genuine sincerity this time.

"Great Master Li, why go this far! Although the situation is bad, it hasn't reached the point where you need to risk your life."

"Yes, Great Master, please reconsider. Dealing with the demonic sound and the White Mist at the same time is too dangerous! The odds are against you!"

…

Facing the crowd's clamorous dissuasion, Li Fan said resolutely: "My mind is made up; you need not say more."

"You have lived in the Chizha Abyss for many years and have rich experience in how to survive in the demonic sound and White Mist. If you are truly sincere, you should tell me everything I need to watch out for on the road, so that my chances of coming back alive will be a bit greater."

Li Fan said with great ease.

The group feigned hesitation and advised him for a while longer, but seeing that they truly could not change Li Fan's will, they could only sigh one after another.

While feeling a wave of secret relief, they all shared their survival experience in the Chizha Abyss without reservation.

Li Fan listened intently and committed everything to memory.

Subsequently, carrying the supplies needed for one person to survive in the White Mist for twenty days, he set off on the road to the Eternal Immortal Fortress alone under everyone's reluctant gaze.

It is worth mentioning that perhaps moved by Li Fan's righteousness,

The Qingxuan guard He Chen decided to accompany him just before he left.

However, after praising the other's high morality, Li Fan still declined his kindness.

Under the other's gaze full of admiration and emotion, Li Fan put on the black death talisman, identified the position of Severed Hand Immortal City in the vast White Mist, transformed into a stream of light, and plunged headlong into it.

The other Cultivators in Jiaxu Outpost had various expressions on their faces as they watched Li Fan's disappearing figure.

"I didn't expect that in today's Cultivation World, there would still be such a person of noble character. It truly puts us to shame."

"I have lived in vain for three hundred and forty-eight years. Only today have I seen such a person; it's truly a great regret."

"If Great Master Li does not die, from now on, I will certainly follow his lead."

…

After a moment of silence, everyone sighed with heartfelt emotion.

"Humph!"

Only He Chen glanced at everyone with utter disdain and walked away with a flick of his sleeves.

Everyone's faces were more or less embarrassed.

They dispersed like birds and beasts.