Cut fate and return to the core

With every inch he advanced, the suction force pulling at his Luck from all around grew a bit stronger.

The world's Heavenly Fortune stored within the Xuan Birds Feather poured out wildly like a breached floodgate, causing Li Fan's expression to change slightly.

The terrifying Luck-absorbing ability of this Han Yi stone statue exceeded even his imagination.

If it were an ordinary Cultivator, they would probably have all their Luck sucked dry in the span of a single breath.

Calamity would befall them, and they would drop dead on the spot!

Even someone with great Luck like Xu Ke probably wouldn't be able to hold on for long.

However…

The Luck of an individual alone indeed could not sustain them for long within this Luck-absorbing Domain.

But the Luck of an entire world was a completely different story.

After all, there was an upper limit to the speed at which this stone statue could absorb Luck.

Even though Li Fan was flying at high speed and was now close to oceans of stone statue sides, the Luck lost at every moment was merely a drop in the bucket compared to the massive reserves within the Xuan Birds Feather.

Li Fan estimated that even if he stopped right here and let the stone statue absorb to its heart's content, it would probably take a little half-day's time before he was completely drained!

"This is what is called: Divine Abilities cannot surpass the will of Heaven!"

Invoking the world's Heavenly Fortune from the Xuan Birds Feather once more to form a defensive Domain around his body and ensure his absolute safety, Li Fan quietly sized up the Han Yi stone statue ahead.

Its Face was terrified, despair filled its eyes, and it looked lifelike.

Time seemed to have frozen on it, stagnating at the very moment it received the fatal injury.

"Han Yi must have become like this after meeting the Fisherman. Was it the Fisherman's method, or the effect of the Heavenly Fortune Scripture?"

Li Fan did not act rashly, instead observing carefully.

"Neither truly alive, nor truly dead…"

"Bizarre!"

Previously, through the Cloud Water Illusion Dream Art, Li Fan had gained a rough understanding of the Heavenly Fortune Scripture.

However, it did not seem to involve methods related to such bizarre transformations.

If he had to name something similar, it should be a Divine Ability called "Cutting Luck to Return to the Pivot".

When encountering a life-and-death crisis, one could sever one's own Luck.

That meant cutting off all connections with the world and entering the Realm of Return to the Pivot, where neither emptiness nor self existed.

In this state, although one's Physical Body and thoughts completely stagnated,

it was as if one had escaped into the Void Realm, wandering outside the world, unable to be perceived by others.

The Return to the Pivot Realm would last anywhere from several months to several years, until the external crisis completely passed, before slowly returning to normal.

It could be considered a technique with extremely strong side effects, but also exceptionally outstanding life-saving capabilities.

"Perhaps the interaction between the Fisherman's attack and "Cutting Luck to Return to the Pivot" led to the birth of this stone statue."

After observing for a long time, Li Fan seemed to have an epiphany.

"Although Han Yi executed this life-saving Divine Ability, the gap in strength between him and the Fisherman was simply too vast.

Before he even had time to enter the Return to the Pivot state, he was struck by the Fisherman's Move."

"Hmm…"

"The Fisherman perhaps harbored no intent to kill Han Yi, only wishing to find clues concerning the Heavenly Fiend Sword within his mind.

But even so, it was not something Han Yi could withstand.

He was forcefully caught in the fallout, turning into the appearance of this stone statue today."

"The so-called cutting of Luck means returning one's own Luck to Heaven, which is abandoning Luck.

But now, it has turned into extracting Luck from the outside world."

"Is this because of the Fisherman's attack…"

Thoughts spun rapidly in his mind, and Li Fan's expression turned solemn.

Shortly after, Li Fan snapped out of his thoughts, looking at Han Yi with icy eyes.

"If it were merely the Return to the Pivot Realm, there would sooner or later be a day of awakening.

But with the Fisherman's interference, in your current state, you will never be able to return to normal for the rest of your life."

"Death is better than life. I shall help you find release."

With that, Li Fan pointed into the air, launching the Purple Heaven Soul Observation Art at Han Yi.

At this moment, Han Yi's thoughts were in a state of absolute stillness.

Because of this, Li Fan roamed freely through Han Yi's mind without encountering any obstruction.

Any secret, even the darkest corners of Han Yi's heart, was laid bare before Li Fan.

It could be said that Li Fan at this moment understood Han Yi even better than Han Yi understood himself.

After plundering all the thoughts in Han Yi's brain, Li Fan flicked his finger, shooting out a pitch-Black Sword light.

It quickly pierced through the stone statue's chest.

In the span of a breath, the stone statue turned into countless tiny particles, dissipating between heaven and earth.

At the same time, the Luck-absorbing Domain shrouding the stone statue instantly vanished without a trace.

Not only did no Cultivator's fall omen appear in the sky above, but an invisible storm brewed in place instead.

The Luck absorbed by Han Yi during this period also returned to heaven and earth along with Han Yi's disappearance.

Naturally, Li Fan would not let go of this rare Opportunity, utilizing the Xuan Birds Feather to swallow them all whole while these drifting, masterless Lucks had not yet completely dissipated.

Then, before anyone else discovered the abnormality here, he quietly slipped away.

Returning to Longevity Valley, he did not disturb Liu San and the others who were still busy.

Li Fan entered the Sect Master's cultivation chamber, placing the brown jade bottle containing Xu Ke's essence blood and the Materials for refining a Clone in front of him.

Just as he was about to act, a vague sense of impropriety suddenly arose in his heart.

"I am currently at the Early Stage Nascent Soul, and the Realm of the Clone I refine will be restricted to Golden Core Perfection.

I intend to use the Clone to Cultivate Han Yi's Heavenly Fortune Scripture. If I refine the Clone first and then let it Cultivate and break through on its own…"

"Perhaps the Bottleneck of the Heavens Calamity would be even more stubborn than that of the main body, needlessly wasting time instead.

It would be better for the main body to Cultivate first and break through to the Middle Stage Nascent Soul.

Only then can we achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Li Fan pondered, temporarily putting away the Materials, and arrived in the sky of the Beast Realm.

"I achieved Nascent Soul through the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven. If I want to break through quickly, it is best to comprehend the principles of the Five Elements in large quantities."

"In the Xuanhuang World, I might still need to rack my brains to search for them.

But in this Beast Realm…"

"The operation of heaven and earth, the circulation of the Five Elements, are all within a single thought of mine!"

"Although the energy level of the Small World is a tier lower, and with Xiao Hei as a cautionary tale, one must not entangle too much with it.

But it is more than enough to help me quickly Cultivate to the Middle Stage Nascent Soul."

Li Fan closed his eyes, and a moment later, an inverted funnel seemed to appear in the firmament.

The Five Elements power maintaining the operation of the Beast Realm was slowly absorbed and entered into it.

The Five Elements power collided with one another, emitting tremendous roaring sounds from time to time.

The sky also turned colorful because of this, presenting a magnificent sight.

Liu San and Fang Zaiji looked up, faintly gazing at Li Fan standing quietly above the clouds, nodding slightly.

"When the Young Lord Cultivates, his Aura is truly extraordinary. He quite has a bit of the demeanor of the old master back then!" Liu San said with some gratification.

"Heh heh, in my view, even Liu Ruchen is not as good as him!" Fang Zaiji, however, gave Liu San no Face at all, intentionally playing devil's advocate.

Liu San's expression stiffened, but uncharacteristically, he did not retort.

"Outperforming one's predecessor is a good thing. Otherwise, wouldn't our Medicine King Sect repeat past mistakes?"

"It is a good thing!" Liu San repeated.

Ordering the various Disciples not to disturb Li Fan's cultivation, the two joined hands to set up protective Restrictions around Li Fan before finally setting their minds at ease.

Time passed, and Li Fan's heart was immersed in Cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, two years passed.