After everyone dispersed, Zhang Fan led Lin Haotian and the others back to his own mountain peak, which he had chosen when he became a guest elder of the Sixth Prince's Estate. Liu Mu had nowhere to go and followed Zhang Fan.
There were no buildings on this mountain peak. It was cut in half by a sword, leaving a flat summit. Zhang Fan tossed out the exquisite and delicate Golden Light Immortal Mansion from his hand. Upon landing, the mansion quickly grew, transforming into a golden palace.
"It seems your trip to the Great Luo Realm was quite fruitful," Zhang Fan said with a hint of relief as he stepped into the immortal mansion and sensed the cultivation realms of his companions.
After receiving the Daoist inheritance from the Nascent Soul Stone Statue, they had all broken through. They were now cultivators of the Six Tribulations realm, and with just one more step into the Seven Tribulations realm, they could be considered powerhouses among the Nascent Soul stage.
"Master, didn't Junior Sister come back with you?" Lin Haotian asked after enduring it for a while, only speaking after they entered the immortal mansion.
"Her?" Zhang Fan pondered for a moment and said, "She has her own mission. We likely won't see each other for a while, but there will be opportunities in the future."
After accepting the inheritance of the Great Luo Realm Lord, Luo Xiaoxiao had become the new master of the Great Luo Realm. The Great Luo Artifact Spirit would guide her to explore the myriad domains and the star sea. No one knew where she would end up.
However, as long as one's strength was sufficiently great, distance would no longer be a constraint. If they wished to meet, they could do so at any time.
"I had promised Junior Sister that after leaving the Great Luo Realm, we would go together to destroy the Teng Snake clan. I never imagined she wouldn't even return," Lin Haotian couldn't help but sigh.
A faint cold smile flickered across Zhang Fan's lips. Teng Tiangu had already died by his hand. The Teng Snake clan must be in a panic right now. "No need to rush. After we destroy the Flying Immortal Mansion, Black Sand Cave Heaven, and Sun Shadow Cave Heaven, I will also pay a visit to the Teng Snake clan."
"Count me in!" Liu Mu quickly chimed in. How could he miss out on such a good opportunity?
Lin Haotian glanced at Liu Mu with some curiosity, wondering what kind of person his master's friend was. He looked so fair and tender, yet he was also a bloodthirsty individual.
In the following days, Zhang Fan imparted knowledge and answered questions for Lin Haotian and the others. Although the three of them had entered the Nascent Soul Stone Statue and received complete Daoist inheritances, they had not grasped them deeply due to their cultivation levels.
On the third floor of the Golden Light Immortal Mansion, Lin Haotian, Wu Chen Sword Immortal, and Tian Hua Heavenly Lord sat cross-legged, sequentially presenting their comprehension and doubts regarding the inheritance from the Nascent Soul Stone Statue.
The questions they raised were all trivial to Zhang Fan. The body-refining path that Lin Haotian practiced and the sword path that Wu Chen Sword Immortal focused on were naturally even less of a challenge. Zhang Fan could answer them with ease, explaining difficult concepts in the simplest way possible for Lin Haotian and the others to understand.
Even for the array path that Tian Hua Heavenly Lord cultivated, Zhang Fan could easily resolve his doubts, which made Liu Mu, who was standing by and appearing somewhat bored, focus with a newfound interest.
The sermon lasted for about a day. After Lin Haotian and the others thanked him and left, Liu Mu walked over, staring at Zhang Fan with curiosity as if seeing him for the first time.
"Body refinement, array formations, sword cultivation, immortal pill refining... it seems there's nothing you don't know. What kind of monster are you, with a talent that even surpasses mine?" Liu Mu exclaimed in amazement.
It wasn't the first time Zhang Fan had been teased by Liu Mu, so he was accustomed to it. Just as he was about to speak, he seemed to sense something and vanished from Liu Mu's presence in a flash.
"Lord Ling Xiu, it's only been a day. Have you already prepared everything?" Zhang Fan asked Ling Xiu as he arrived in front of the Golden Light Immortal Mansion.
Ling Xiu tossed a storage ring to Zhang Fan. "This matter concerns the survival of my Sixth Prince's Estate, so I naturally dared not be negligent. Fortunately, we were lucky, and all the items Elder Zhang Fan required were gathered today."
Zhang Fan took the storage ring. It felt light, but in his heart, it was immensely heavy. He nodded slightly and said, "I plan to go into seclusion for a period. I hope to break through to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage with this opportunity."
Even though Ling Xiu had guessed that Zhang Fan's purpose in requesting a hundred billion spiritual crystals was for cultivation advancement, he had not expected his target to be the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. After all, it was only a short three months. Did he not face any bottlenecks in his Dao comprehension?
However, upon recalling that Zhang Fan had cultivated from the Golden Core stage to the Nine Tribulations realm in just a few short years, Ling Xiu immediately let go of his reservations. Some people simply could not be judged by conventional standards.
Upon returning to the Golden Light Immortal Mansion, Zhang Fan sent Liu Mu to the second floor of the mansion. When he took out the ten billion spiritual crystals from the storage ring, they occupied more than half of the third-floor space. Zhang Fan sat cross-legged before the spiritual crystals, adjusted his state of mind, and began to circulate the cultivation technique within his body. As the Gluttonous Art was activated, Zhang Fan's entire being became like a black hole, continuously absorbing the spiritual energy from the spiritual crystals.
For a time, the entire space was filled with dense and pure spiritual energy, and Zhang Fan's body was like a bottomless pit. As he absorbed spiritual energy like a whale gulping down water, his aura slowly grew.
The Sixth Prince's Estate, after the great battle, appeared exceptionally tranquil. Apart from a few stewards handling affairs who flew between the mountain peaks, most cultivators had entered a state of seclusion. Even though they knew that Zhang Fan was the key to this battle.
Just a few days after Zhang Fan entered seclusion, the events that transpired on the Coiled Dragon Mountain Range began to spread rapidly. Such earth-shattering news swept across the entire Realm Heart Continent like a storm within days, and even many cultivators on life planets outside the Realm Heart Continent were discussing the matter.
All sides marveled at the strength of the Sixth Prince's Estate, which had managed to resist the combined forces of three factions. However, what shocked them even more was Zhang Fan's challenge, where he confidently allowed the opponent to choose the location and even swore a Heavenly Dao oath, effectively cutting off his own retreat.
At the Azure Sea Palace, on an island shrouded in mist, a man with his upper body bare and a face full of stubble was slowly pulling a fishing net. The net was large, and the waves surged on the sea surface. Something large seemed to be struggling violently below, and the man pulled with great effort, having been locked in this stalemate for a long time.
The sea mist was hazy. Two figures emerged from within. The middle-aged man, seeing the two, was momentarily distracted. The already strained tug-of-war suddenly broke. The middle-aged man shook his head upon seeing this and sighed, "I've woven this net for so long, and now it's broken. What a pity."
"Master, as the strongest person in the Wu Shan Star Domain, who could possibly escape your net?"
Who would have thought that this bare-chested, unshaven fisherman was actually the Southern Venerable, known as the strongest person on the Realm Heart Continent?
And the two figures stepping on the sea at this moment were Cang Lan Ming Yue and Cang Lan Qiu Yue.
...