Chapter 54: The Heavens and Earth Set a Killing Trap

"What is going on?"

In his shock, Li Fan's Water Mirror Technique shattered instantly.

His mind buzzed, falling into momentary chaos.

After a moment, Li Fan slowly regained his composure.

"Could there be something wrong with this 'Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter'?"

His first reaction was that this Cultivation Technique was problematic.

The so-called "Discernment of Opportunities" might no longer be applicable in the Cultivation World after the great changes in the heavens and earth.

After all, Li Fan was currently within the island-protecting formation of Taian Island.

And Taian Island was located in the central region of the Congyun Sea, within the sphere of influence of the Myriad Immortals Alliance.

It had always been safe before; how could it be that just after closing for seclusion, disaster was imminent?

However, sensing the dense Death Qi around him, Li Fan could not convince himself so easily.

The unease in his heart gradually grew stronger.

Li Fan made a prompt decision; regardless of whether it was true or false, he would first head to Ten Thousand Immortals Island to avoid disaster.

Thus, he immediately intended to activate the teleportation array to go to Ten Thousand Immortals Island.

But to his dismay, the teleportation array did not respond at all!

Li Fan's expression darkened.

He took out the communication talisman that He Zhenghao had given him and tried to contact He Zhenghao.

He channeled Spiritual Qi into it, but there was still no response!

The situation was already very clear; some truly strange incident had occurred.

Staying on this Taian Island was a dead end; he could not just sit and wait for death!

Li Fan summoned the Taiyan Boat, took out the "Congyun Sea Atlas," and prepared to pilot the flying boat himself.

The Spirit Stones originally used as power for the Taiyan Boat were almost depleted, but fortunately, when Li Fan had gone on a shopping spree, the "Cultivator Solo Travel Essential Set" he bought included quite a few Spirit Stones.

Li Fan estimated that it would take about two or three months to fly from Taian Island to Ten Thousand Immortals Island.

The Spirit Stones were definitely enough.

Li Fan no longer cared about the task of being the Guardian of the island and directly piloted the flying boat, preparing to leave.

Just as the Taiyan Boat was about to fly out of the island-protecting formation, Li Fan suddenly sensed an endless killing intent from the outside.

It was like ten thousand sharp swords, spreading across heaven and earth.

Li Fan's heart stopped, and he immediately halted the Taiyan Boat.

His intuition told him that if he stepped out of this island-protecting formation, he would surely die!

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, looking at the calm sea, not knowing where the crisis came from.

In the end, Li Fan chose not to take the risk.

He put away the Taiyan Boat and prepared to first ask the Mortals on the island what had happened recently.

And after his Divine Sense swept over the entire island, he was shocked once again.

It turned out that the number of residents on the entire island had decreased by a full third.

And the remaining ones had all become sallow and emaciated, as if they hadn't eaten for a long time.

Knowing that something incredible must have happened during his seclusion, Li Fan's expression darkened as he flew to the mansion of the Taian Island Lord.

Since acting as Guardian, Li Fan had only been in seclusion and had not paid much attention to the mundane affairs on the island.

He had only met this Island Lord a few times.

At this moment, when the Island Lord saw Li Fan, he knelt directly on the ground, kowtowing and wailing incessantly.

"Immortal Master, have mercy! Immortal Master, have mercy! Save us!"

The Island Lord wept bitterly, his forehead almost bleeding from kowtowing.

"What exactly happened? Speak quickly!" Li Fan's expression was extremely grim.

"Reporting to Immortal Master, life has become unbearable. The heavens haven't rained for a full half-year. The fresh water and food on the island have almost been exhausted. If this continues, everyone will be starved to death!" The Island Lord said while kowtowing and crying.

"No rain for half a year?" Li Fan remembered what Zhang Haobo had told him a few years ago.

"The drought has come after all. But why, when I previously asked the Tianxuan Mirror, was the answer that no major changes would occur? Could it be that a drought of this scale is not even considered significant by the Tianxuan Mirror?"

The Island Lord continued to cry out: "The fish in the near seas have all been caught. The weather is truly too hot, and not a single fleet that went to the distant seas to fish has returned alive. Everyone is really about to starve to death! Immortal Master, have mercy, save us!"

Li Fan was annoyed by the man's shouting, and upon glancing at his body, which, although somewhat thinner, was still full of fat, he flew into a rage: "Half of the Mortals on the island have starved to death, why haven't you lost any weight?"

The Island Lord's face turned pale, and he was about to defend himself.

However, after Li Fan's Divine Sense scanned the kitchen in the Island Lord's mansion, he was even more furious.

Without waiting for the Island Lord to speak, he slapped him into a pulp.

"Holding a position and wasting food, you deserve to die!"

Li Fan snorted coldly and used the power of the formation to transmit his voice across the whole island.

"The Island Lord has been killed by me; all other managers, come to the Island Lord's mansion to see me immediately!"

A moment later, several Mortals arrived before Li Fan, trembling in fear.

Seeing that they also looked like they hadn't eaten their fill, Li Fan suppressed his murderous intent.

Amidst their tearful complaints, Li Fan finally understood what had happened during the year he was in seclusion.

The drought started half a year ago.

At first, it hadn't rained for many days, and no one took it seriously.

It wasn't until two consecutive months without a drop of rain that everyone on the island panicked.

There were fresh water sources on the island, but as it hadn't rained for many days, they had gradually dried up.

Food could initially be maintained by catching fish in the near seas, but as the weather got hotter and hotter, fish could no longer be caught around the island, and after all the fleets that went out never returned, Taian Island fell into famine.

In just one month, one-third of the population on the island died, and who knows how many tragedies occurred.

The rest were just barely surviving.

If Li Fan had come out of seclusion any later, he probably wouldn't even have seen a few living people.

Matters having reached this point, Li Fan could not just sit by and watch them die.

When he left Great Xuan back then, apart from a few cabins filled with gold, silver, and treasures, the Taiyan Boat was filled with food.

It was originally just a cautious habit he had prepared for exploring the unknown Cultivation World.

He didn't expect that it would finally come in handy after almost ten years.

There was a Dust-Purifying Formation inside the Taiyan Boat, so the food naturally would not spoil.

Li Fan immediately expanded the Taiyan Boat to its maximum size and ordered the Mortals on the island to move out a portion of the food for emergency use.

When the people on the island saw that the Immortal Master had brought life-saving food, they all knelt on the ground excitedly, kowtowing incessantly.

Li Fan didn't care and let them cheer.

The food inside the Taiyan Boat, if eaten sparingly, should be enough for the people on the island to last a few months.

The most important thing was to solve the fresh water problem.

With water, they could live.

Li Fan came to the island's main fresh water source, a medium-sized lake in the center of the island.

The area around the lake had long been guarded by designated personnel to prevent ordinary people from approaching.

Because it hadn't rained for a long time, the lake had shrunk significantly, leaving only one-tenth of its original size, and it looked like it was about to dry up completely.

"When the island-protecting formation was built, no one expected that there would be a water shortage situation…"

Holding the Taian Island Guardian Token, Li Fan shook his head helplessly.

"It seems that I still need to build a formation to purify seawater."