Chapter 377: Catalyzing the Life-Sustaining Bead

Seeing this, Li Fan simply smiled and offered no further explanation.

Huangfu Song, however, did not intend to let him off so easily, even though the two of them didn't actually have much of a connection.

This did not stop him from acting as if he were very close to Li Fan, striking up a conversation with relentless enthusiasm about anything and everything.

"Senior Huangfu, how often do you usually get the chance to see Chief Lu?"

Li Fan gave non-committal responses, but seeing that Huangfu Song was going on endlessly, he couldn't help but interrupt with a question.

Huangfu Song couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

He replied somewhat awkwardly, "Given Chief Lu's status…"

Before he could finish, Li Fan said meaningfully, "In that case, a heaven-sent opportunity is right before your eyes. Why doesn't Senior Huangfu take the chance to show off a bit and leave a good impression?"

Huangfu Song was stunned for a moment, then it was as if he had just woken from a dream.

He said with great joy, "Little friend, your reminder is spot on. If I am fortunate enough to catch Chief Lu's Dharma Eye, a meteoric rise is right before me!"

"Heh, it's fine to say such things to me. But in front of outsiders, it's better to be a bit more cautious," Li Fan reminded him again.

"Understood, understood," Huangfu Song nodded hurriedly.

Afterward, he left in a hurry to go look for an "opportunity to show off."

Only then did Li Fan find some peace and quiet.

The reason he was able to know Chief Lu's whereabouts in advance was, naturally, through Lu Xuejing secretly passing on information.

But it stopped there.

He hadn't asked her to do anything more.

It wasn't that Li Fan had a sudden burst of kindness, but rather that he understood deeply that in front of a world-class powerhouse like Chief Lu…

…even the slightest hint of abnormal behavior could potentially be detected.

While the Fisherman's methods were indeed profound, whether they could truly bypass the scrutiny of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's top-tier combatants was still unknown.

When it involved his own safety, Li Fan naturally had to be extremely cautious.

As for a so-called grand scheme, it wasn't even worth mentioning.

With a Golden Core cultivation, trying to plot against a Combined Dao Immortal was simply seeking death. Li Fan was naturally not so irrational as to do that.

What he had done was merely create an opportunity for a "chance encounter" with Chief Lu.

As for what would happen after they met, it was as Li Fan had said before.

Whether it succeeded or not depended entirely on fate.

…

Ever since Oriental heard the news that Chief Lu was coming for an inspection, the working atmosphere of the entire Spirit Transformation Stream changed instantly.

From top to bottom, not a single idle person could be seen.

Every Cultivator was hurried and solemn-faced.

He himself checked the completed parts of the Formation over and over again, fearing any oversight.

The heavy atmosphere of preparation made the various Cultivators who had followed Huangfu Song to visit feel a bit restless as well.

Coupled with seeing the usually somewhat lazy Huangfu Song actually being unprecedentedly busy,

none of them were fools, and they immediately guessed that a major figure might be coming for an inspection.

Thus, they all volunteered to help out.

Having gained a group of elite helpers for free, the thin man named Oriental naturally would not refuse.

Inside the Spirit Transformation Stream, without special countermeasures, even Cultivators would find it difficult to move an inch.

To this end, Oriental urgently applied for a batch of [Life-Sustaining Beads] so that Li Fan and the others could move freely.

"These were collected by Senior Oriental Yao and are to be distributed to you." A seven or eight-year-old boy wearing black and white Daoist robes spoke; he had delicate features.

He took a white jade bottle from his robes and pulled out several multicolored, swirling beads of Chaos to distribute to everyone.

"Swallow them and place them in your Dantian. Then you will be able to sense the flow of Spiritual Qi again." Although the boy looked very young, he explained the usage and precautions of the Life-Sustaining Beads quite expertly.

Li Fan held the rainbow-colored Life-Sustaining Bead in his hand and observed it for a moment, but he couldn't see anything special about it for the time being.

He swallowed it in one gulp.

Once the Life-Sustaining Bead entered his stomach, various colors of light surged from it, spreading throughout his body.

Like a medicinal catalyst, it stirred the stagnant Spiritual Qi within his body.

The Spiritual Qi that had been suppressed by the Spirit Transformation Stream regained its vitality in an instant.

Although there was still a gap compared to being able to use its full power in the outside world, it was barely enough to support the needs of daily work.

"Rather than saying it lifted the suppression, it's more like a catalyst that increased the reaction efficiency of the Spiritual Qi."

"Thereby partially canceling out the deathly stillness of the Spirit Transformation Stream."

"In that case, if one were to take this [Life-Sustaining Bead] in an ordinary region of the outside world, wouldn't it…"

Li Fan felt the exotic Spiritual Qi mixed with variegated colors in his body, lost in thought.

While he was thinking, he heard the boy in front of him say, "The effect of the Life-Sustaining Bead lasts for thirty days. Everyone must pay attention to its expiration date."

"There have been cases where Cultivators were too engrossed in their work and forgot the duration. When the effect expired, their Spiritual Qi vanished, and they fell from the sky and were directly killed by the impact."

"If you want to stop using it midway, you can circulate your Spiritual Qi and spit the remaining Life-Sustaining Bead out of your body."

The Cultivators nodded one after another upon hearing this.

"Oh, and one more thing. Before leaving this Spirit Transformation Stream, you must either wait for the effect of the Life-Sustaining Bead to completely disappear or spit it out directly."

"Do not forget this. Otherwise, there is a risk of Spiritual Qi exploding within your body. Of course, if you have a powerful Physique like Senior Oriental Yao and are unafraid of Spiritual Qi riots, then forget I said anything."

The boy was thorough, having explained everything that needed to be said.

He bowed to everyone and then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, transformed into a One-legged white bird and flew away with a flap of its wings.

With the help of the Life-Sustaining Beads, the group, now full of energy again, immediately threw themselves into the support of the Formation's construction.

They were familiar with the work and soon blended into the atmosphere of the Spirit Transformation Stream.

In this way, a day passed.

Li Fan, who was conducting a check on a Formation unit, suddenly felt something. He stopped his work and looked up.

He saw a streak of rainbow light spanning the sky, cutting through the dark red of the Ten Thousand Mile Flame Scorched Beach and heading straight for the Spirit Transformation Stream below.

The calm green river water seemed to sense something; waves rose without wind, churning constantly.

The suppression force suddenly rose by a level, and the Cultivators, who were only able to move freely thanks to the Life-Sustaining Beads, were caught off guard.

Their Spiritual Qi became unbalanced, and they nearly fell from the air.

Just then, Li Fan saw countless transparent patterns radiating from the rainbow light.

They expanded outward continuously, like a giant curtain covering the sky, enveloping the entire Spirit Transformation Stream in an instant.

"A Formation?"

Li Fan looked up, a sharp glint in his eyes.

The patterns flashed, and in an instant, a grand Formation took shape.

The churning green river was pressed down heavily, becoming instantly calm, and even the river's surface seemed to drop slightly as a whole.

The Cultivators within the Formation all felt a sense of relief in body and mind.

The suppression effect of the Spirit Transformation Stream seemed to vanish in an instant.

Surrounded by more than a dozen black-clad Cultivators, Lu Xichan, dressed in white, stepped upon the rainbow light.

She descended before everyone.

"Greetings, Chief!"

Oriental Yao and Huangfu Song hurriedly flew forward and bowed respectfully.

Lu Xichan's gaze swept over the two of them, her expression cold.

"Let's go. Take me to see how the Formation construction is progressing."