Sowing seeds and waiting for flowers to bloom

“There’s something like that? Are you trying to take advantage of my ignorance?” Li Fan still looked disbelieving and persistent.

Only after the shopkeeper repeatedly explained and the surrounding Cultivators who were watching the show chimed in did he accept it with a mix of doubt and belief.

“So, the tianling flower, which was once the most beautiful in Xuanhuang World, has now completely disappeared?”

Li Fan looked somewhat crestfallen, regretting his past actions: “If I had known this, I would have come to admire its beauty a few years ago, no matter what!”

“I heard that the tianling flower has different numbers of petals. After blooming, each petal would display a special scene. Perhaps a green mountain range, or a surging river. Or perhaps snow falling from the sky. A single flower would gather all the beautiful scenery from various parts of the world. It received the essence of nature, truly breathtaking… ”

Li Fan’s narration instantly stirred the memories of the Cultivators present.

Most of them were native Cultivators of Tianling State and had witnessed the stunning beauty of the tianling flower back then. They began to speak one after another, making everyone sigh with even more emotion.

What cannot be obtained is always the most beautiful.

The more they thought about it, the more regretful they felt, and the Cultivators shook their heads and sighed.

Seeing that the atmosphere had been built up to its climax, Li Fan then said aloud: “Such a treasure, if one cannot see it with their own eyes, is truly one of the greatest regrets in life! The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance has countless talented individuals, and I refuse to believe that the tianling flower wasn’t preserved intact back then!”

“I hereby offer a reward: I am willing to exchange a Longevity Pill that can extend life by three hundred years for a chance to personally see the original tianling flower!”

Saying this, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Li Fan took out a Medicinal Pill and placed it in his palm.

His voice instantly spread, and upon seeing the Medicinal Pill in Li Fan’s hand and feeling a stirring sense of attraction in their hearts, it caused an even greater uproar.

A treasure that extends life by three hundred years is already extremely precious. Yet, this person was willing to use it just for a chance to meet someone!

“Fellow Daoist is truly a man of passion, I admire you! Don’t worry, I have a friend who specialized in cultivating tianling flowers back then. Perhaps he might have some tianling flowers preserved in their original state.”

“I’ll help you ask around too!”

…

The crowd instantly became lively.

And the flower shop owner’s eyes also flickered as he picked up his communication talisman and started contacting people.

Li Fan, meanwhile, stood amidst the crowd, waiting quietly.

The result was consistent with his expectations.

After half a day, everyone showed extremely regretful expressions. The news spread throughout Tianling City, and indeed, no one had preserved the tianling flower in its original state.

Li Fan sighed deeply, looking utterly disappointed.

“If I cannot fulfill my wish, I will not rest in peace even in death!”

“My reward offer remains valid long-term, please trouble everyone to help me inquire!” Li Fan cupped his hands towards the crowd, and then, with long sighs, he walked away.

Although this matter seemed insignificant, it was, after all, a rare interesting event in the rather desolate Tianling City after the great war.

Thus, during people’s casual conversations, the matter of the “extinction of the original tianling flower,” which had initially not attracted much attention, gradually began to become known to more people.

At any rate, the number of Cultivators who had seen or heard of the tianling flower’s beauty back then was certainly not small.

And as this interesting story spread widely, their memories of the tianling flower resurfaced from the depths of their minds.

“Alas, it is indeed a bit regrettable.”

“Such a treasure, and I never got to admire it back then? It’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that’s now gone!”

More and more Cultivators couldn’t help but have such thoughts emerge in their minds.

And the instigator of it all, Li Fan, watched the increasing discussions about the tianling flower from various places in the tianxuan mirror, nodding with satisfaction.

“Next, it’s time to let the emotions ferment for a while. On the ordinary Cultivator side, a good start has been made. With the Medicine King Sect Disciple adding fuel to the fire, there shouldn't be much of a problem.”

“However, to truly inflate the value of the tianling flower, we still need to rely on the true powerful elites of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.”

A sharp glint flashed in Li Fan’s eyes as he took out the communication talisman Shuo Feng had given him earlier.

“Shuo Xiong, how have you been recently?”

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Fan got straight to the point: “I have something I need to trouble Shuo Xiong to inquire about for me.”

“tianling flower…”

After sending the message, Li Fan quietly waited for the other party’s reply.

Not long after, Shuo Feng sent a message: “tianling flower, I think I’ve heard of it before. It’s a small matter, I’ll help you ask.”

Li Fan smiled slightly: “In that case, I thank Shuo Xiong in advance!”

There was no further sound from Shuo Feng’s side for a while.

“Next, I just need to wait for the flower to bloom.”

Without rushing back to Chang Sheng Valley, Li Fan browsed through all the major and minor events that had occurred in Xuanhuang World over the past two years using the tianxuan mirror, leaving no stone unturned.

Li Fan, who was familiar with the course of history, could naturally find those unusual changes that were deliberately hidden, even from tiny clues.

For example, the information about the Chaoyuan Sect Ruins in Nine Mountains State, which he had always been very concerned about, completely disappeared overnight. It was as if the incident of the Immortal Cave flying into the sky and attracting Cultivators to explore had never happened. The only search results that appeared were scattered records about the ancient Chao Yuan Sect.

Another example was the conscription of some Cultivators from various Yanwu Halls, who were dispatched to unknown destinations. The vacant positions caused quite a bit of contention and unrest.

…

Li Fan recorded all the various clues in his mind.

“Still need to solve the permission issue. The information a commoner can gather is too little. There are too many restrictions.”

After half a day, Li Fan temporarily stopped.

After pondering for a moment, he sent another message to Shuo Feng: “Shuo Xiong, I recently comprehended a Divine Ability. Recalling our sparring session back then, I can’t help but feel a bit eager. I wonder if you have time recently to have another match with me?”

This time, Shuo Feng replied very quickly.

“Oh? What, after more than two years, you’re confident you can beat me now? I forgot to tell you, I’ve already Breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm. Even if you use your full power at the Nascent Soul Realm, you might not necessarily win against me.”

“More talk is useless, we’ll know once we try.” Li Fan’s reply was also very straightforward.

These words instantly ignited Shuo Feng’s Battle Intent.

“Come here.” He sent a location, indicating.

Li Fan looked at it: a mountain range outside Tianquan City in Tianquan State.

“Alright, I’m coming now. Shuo Xiong, please wait a moment.”

“No problem. I’ll be here for the next few days.” After Shuo Feng replied, there was no further message.

Li Fan then exited the tianxuan mirror and used a teleportation Formation to arrive in Tianquan State.

Tianquan State was filled with the Immortal Caves of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance’s powerful elites.

The location Shuo Feng had given was naturally one such place.

Li Fan, in the sky, observed the traces covered by protective Formations, carefully bypassing the middle of the Formations and heading straight for the target location.