zhè jǐ nián lǐ ， fēn shēn nà biān yě méi yǒu xián zhe 。
这几年里，分身那边也没有闲着。
In recent years, Li Fan’s clone hadn't been idle either.
yì zhí zài rú jī sì kě de liú lǎn xiū xiān jiè de zhǒng zhǒng yǐn mì zhī shí 。
一直在如饥似渴的浏览修仙界的种种隐秘知识。
He had been voraciously browsing through various secret knowledge in the world of cultivators. His contribution points were rapidly depleting; currently, he only had over 73,000 left. This level of knowledge was sufficient to handle most situations at present, so Li Fan decided to pause for a while.
gòng xiàn dù yě zài fēi kuài de xiāo hào 。
贡献度也在飞快的消耗。
For the next long period, Li Fan intended to focus his efforts on researching and refining his cultivation techniques. He was about to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, and it was time to upgrade some of his current techniques.
rú jīn yǐ jīng zhǐ shèng xià qī wàn sān qiān duō diǎn le 。
如今已经只剩下七万三千多点了。
The *Thousand Mechanisms and Jade Circle* could be practiced all the way up to the Immortal Core Realm without any issues, so he wouldn't need to worry about that for now. The same applied to the *Cloud Water Illusory Dream Technique*.
zhè zhǒng chéng dù de zhī shí chǔ bèi ， zú yǐ yìng duì mù qián de dà bù fèn qíng kuàng le 。
这种程度的知识储备，足以应对目前的大部分情况了。
Regarding the *Steal Heaven Replace Sun Decree*, according to its records, it was capable of being practiced all the way up to the Dao Integration Realm in ancient times. However, over the years, the Steal Heaven Replace Sun Sect had declined, with each generation not surpassing the last. Only a single Spirit Transformation cultivator appeared about two thousand years ago; after that, most practitioners could only reach the Immortal Core Realm and no higher.
suǒ yǐ lǐ fán zàn shí tíng le xià lái 。
所以李凡暂时停了下来。
Thinking of the *Steal Heaven Replace Sun Decree* still stored in his storage ring, Li Fan's premonition grew stronger. He decided to try it out once he reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.
jiē xià lái hěn zhǎng yī duàn shí jiān ， lǐ fán dǎ suàn jiāng jīng lì yòng zài zuān yán gōng fǎ shàng 。
接下来很长一段时间，李凡打算将精力用在钻研功法上。
The *Shadow Follows Form Technique* was merely a common body technique that could be discarded at any time for an appropriate Foundation Establishment realm遁术 (evacuation technique).
jí jiāng tū pò zhì zhù jī qī ， shēn shàng de jǐ mén gōng fǎ yě shì shí hòu yào shēng yī shēng jí le 。
即将突破至筑基期，身上的几门功法也是时候要升一升级了。
However, after observing Zhang Haobo’s graceful movements, Li Fan gained some insight. Perhaps he could combine the essence of those movements with the *Shadow Follows Form Technique*, creating a new cultivation method.
《 qiān jī yù huán jīn zhāng 》 néng yì zhí xiū liàn dào yuán yīng jìng ， zàn shí bù yòng qù guǎn tā 。
《千机玉寰金章》能一直修炼到元婴境，暂时不用去管它。
The *Mystic Phantom Technique* was crucial for Li Fan. The Azure Flame Phantom had various miraculous effects and could resist the greed brought by the essence of heaven and earth. Thus, Li Fan searched through the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror to find similar techniques that cultivated phantoms at the Foundation Establishment Realm.
《 yún shuǐ huàn mèng gōng 》 yì shì rú cǐ 。
《云水幻梦功》亦是如此。
He indeed found several such techniques, including one called *Mystic Shadow Technique*, which was an advanced version of the *Mystic Phantom Technique*.
《 tōu tiān huàn rì jué 》， gēn jù gōng fǎ zhōng de jì zǎi ， shàng gǔ zhī shí zuì gāo néng yì zhí xiū liàn dào hé dào jìng jiè 。 dàn tōu tiān huàn rì zōng chuán chéng zhè me duō nián xià lái ， bù zhī wèi hé què shì yī dài bù rú yī dài 。
《偷天换日诀》，根据功法中的记载，上古之时最高能一直修炼到合道境界。但偷天换日宗传承这么多年下来，不知为何却是一代不如一代。
Li Fan didn't rush to exchange for it. Observing Zhang Haobo’s凝聚剑意 (concentrating sword intent), Li Fan felt he could try integrating this insight with the *Mystic Phantom Technique*. This would allow him to derive a new technique through derivation and calculation.
zhǐ zài liǎng qiān duō nián qián chū guò yí gè huà shén xiū shì 。 qí tā yě zuì duō zhǐ shì xiū liàn dào yuán yīng jìng hòu jiù zài nán tí shēng le 。
只在两千多年前出过一个化神修士。其他也最多只是修炼到元婴境后就再难提升了。
Yes, Li Fan was going to try his hand at being a weaver of techniques. He knew that creating a new technique was extremely difficult, but how difficult it was, he still didn't have a concrete understanding. The saying goes: "To know the truth of something, one must experience it firsthand."
xiǎng qǐ nà ge hái zài chǔ wù jiè zhōng tǎng zhe de tōu tiān huàn rì lìng ， lǐ fán xīn zhōng zhī qián jiù yǒu le de mǒu zhǒng yù gǎn yù fā qiáng liè 。
想起那个还在储物戒中躺着的偷天换日令，李凡心中之前就有了的某种预感愈发强烈。
With his clone’s enhanced perception from启灵 and Linglong Lustrous Pearl's dual effects, its comprehension efficiency was twenty-seven times higher than usual. With the remaining contribution points, it could remain in seclusion for ten years continuously.
tā jué dìng zhù jī zhī hòu ， jiù zhǎo gè jī huì shì yī shì 。
他决定筑基之后，就找个机会试一试。
Over two hundred and seventy years, he would derive two Foundation Establishment Realm techniques. Li Fan mused that although this clone’s abilities were average, there was still a good chance of success since ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators lived about as long. If successful, he could break free from the restrictions of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's cultivation methods and directly practice in his next life.
《 rú yǐng suí xíng jué 》 zhǐ bù guò shì yī mén jiào wéi pǔ tōng de shēn fǎ ， dǎo shì suí shí kě yǐ shě qì ， gēng huàn zhù jī qī de dùn fǎ 。
《如影随形决》只不过是一门较为普通的身法，倒是随时可以舍弃，更换筑基期的遁法。
More importantly, it would open up an entirely new method for acquiring techniques. Using the original techniques obtained through exchanges within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance as a base, blending them with the profound insights gained from the Heaven’s Eye and Earth’s Ear technique, and using the refined blood of a prodigy to re-cultivate a talented clone, he would derive new techniques over an extended period in the Ten Thousand Immortals Realm.
bù guò guān mó zhāng hào bō nà rú qīng fēng fú guò yì bān de shēn fǎ zhī hòu ， lǐ fán yǒu suǒ lǐng wù 。
不过观摩张浩波那如清风拂过一般的身法之后，李凡有所领悟。
If this process was indeed feasible, Li Fan could claim himself a weaver of techniques. With his mind made up, Li Fan no longer hesitated and immersed himself in seclusion for contemplation.
huò xǔ kě yǐ jiāng nà shēn fǎ de ào yì jīng suǐ hé 《 rú yǐng suí xíng jué 》 jié hé qǐ lái ， xíng chéng yī mén quán xīn de gōng fǎ 。
或许可以将那身法的奥义精髓和《如影随形决》结合起来，形成一门全新的功法。
Zhang Haobo continued to diligently practice every day. His cultivation speed did not slow down as he entered the Foundation Establishment Realm; instead, it accelerated even more.
《 míng líng huàn gōng 》 duì yú lǐ fán lái shuō dǎo shì shí fēn zhòng yào 。
《冥灵幻功》对于李凡来说倒是十分重要。
Meanwhile, Li Fan’s main body was temporarily on hold since he planned to wait for the appearance of the Pearl of the Vast Sea before breaking through. He found himself with nothing much to do and spent some time enjoying a leisurely life on Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
lán yán huàn líng yǒu zhǒng zhǒng shén yì de xiào guǒ ， gèng néng dǐ kàng tiān dì zhī pò dài lái de tān yù 。
蓝炎幻灵有种种神异的效果，更能抵抗天地之魄带来的贪欲。
Every day, he roamed around the island, meeting many Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators. Although these cultivators were not particularly powerful, they were all grassroots personnel controlling the Cloud Sea under the control of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. Most had seen much and weren't ordinary people.
yú shì lǐ fán zài tiān xuán jìng zhōng sōu suǒ le zhù jī qī yǒu méi yǒu lèi sì péi yǎng huàn líng de gōng fǎ 。
于是李凡在天玄镜中搜索了筑基期有没有类似培养幻灵的功法。
Interacting with them yielded significant benefits for Li Fan.
dí què bèi tā zhǎo dào bù shǎo 。
的确被他找到不少。
One day, he suddenly received a message from Chen An.
shèn zhì lián wú fèng xián jiē 《 míng líng huàn gōng 》 de gōng fǎ dōu yǒu ， míng wèi 《 yōu míng huàn gōng 》。
甚至连无缝衔接《冥灵幻功》的功法都有，名为《幽冥幻功》。
"Chen An?"
nǎi shì 《 míng líng huàn gōng 》 de shàng wèi shēng jí bǎn 。
乃是《冥灵幻功》的上位升级版。
Li Fan frowned when he saw the name but quickly recalled who Chen An was. It was the Qi Refinement cultivator who had once sought his advice on the mysteries of Qin Tang's dedicated trials in Cloud Water Heaven Palace.
bù guò lǐ fán méi yǒu zháo jí duì huàn 。
不过李凡没有着急兑换。
This person had survived the stone statue and left Cloud Water Heaven Palace, showing some alertness. Over these years, they hadn't contacted Li Fan again, but why were they suddenly seeking him now?
tóng yàng shì guān mó zhāng hào bō níng jù jiàn yì yǒu gǎn ， lǐ fán jué de zì jǐ tóng yàng kě yǐ cháng shì ， jiāng zhè gǎn wù hé 《 míng líng huàn gōng 》 jìn xíng róng hé 。
同样是观摩张浩波凝聚剑意有感，李凡觉得自己同样可以尝试，将这感悟和《冥灵幻功》进行融合。
Li Fan opened the message. Chen An appeared with a smile.
cóng ér tuī yǎn chū xīn de gōng fǎ 。
从而推衍出新的功法。
"Friend Daoist Li Fan, how are you? It's been over five years since we parted ways at Cloud Water Heaven Palace. I still vividly remember your风采 (demeanor) when you cracked the enigmatic secrets of Qin Tang’s stone statue in our conversation."
lǐ fán ， yào cháng shì dāng yī huí zhī fǎ shī 。
李凡，要尝试当一回织法师。
After listening to Chen An's message, Li Fan understood why he had suddenly sought him out.
lǐ fán zhī dào tuī yǎn xīn de gōng fǎ jí nán ， dàn dào dǐ yǒu duō nán ， tā hái méi yǒu gè liàng huà ér jù tǐ de rèn shí 。
李凡知道推衍新的功法极难，但到底有多难，他还没有个量化而具体的认识。
Recently, a strange event occurred within the Cloud Sea. A large, continuously moving white fog appeared unexpectedly. Curious cultivators flew into it and discovered an enormous, mountain-like black bull pulling a two-wheeled cart across the sea. The cart contained a dilapidated thatched cottage. Outside stood two monstrous guards—one without a mouth, terrifying to behold; the other towering and strong, wielding a wooden stick.
suǒ wèi jué zhī cǐ shì yào gōng xíng 。
所谓绝知此事要躬行。
From within the cottage, faint reading sounds could be heard. This peculiar scene naturally caught the attention of the cultivator. He was quite bold and believed there must be some opportunity here. So he flew up to the thatched cottage, wanting to investigate further but was blocked by the two door gods outside.
zhèng hǎo kě yǐ jiè cǐ jī huì ， kàn gè jiū jìng 。
正好可以借此机会，看个究竟。
After politely greeting them, he attempted to enter the cottage but received no response and was instead beaten away with a wooden stick. When he tried again, he found himself unable to approach the cottage no matter how hard he tried.
lín fán fēn shēn zài kāi qǐ qǐ líng 、 líng lóng liú lí zhū de shuāng chóng jiā chí xià ， gǎn wù xiào lǜ shì píng shí de èr shí qī bèi 。
林凡分身在开启启灵、玲珑琉璃珠的双重加持下，感悟效率是平时的二十七倍。
Thus, he had to give up in disappointment. After returning to his friend and telling him about it, his friend also became interested. They decided to return together the next day to investigate further near the black bull cart.
shēn shàng shèng yú de gòng xiàn dù ， néng zhī chí tā bù jiàn duàn de bì guān shí nián 。
身上剩余的贡献度，能支持它不间断的闭关十年。
To their surprise, this cultivator found that he could now approach the cottage. The two of them cautiously approached but were again driven away by the wooden sticks.
liǎng bǎi qī shí nián de shí jiān ， tuī yǎn liǎng mén zhù jī gōng fǎ 。
两百七十年的时间，推衍两门筑基功法。
Undeterred, they tried again on the third day with no change in outcome. However, instead of feeling discouraged, they became somewhat excited. Since there was no danger to life, they decided to call more people and find a way into the cottage.
In recent years, Li Fan’s clone hadn't been idle either.
He had been voraciously browsing through various secret knowledge in the world of cultivators. His contribution points were rapidly depleting; currently, he only had over 73,000 left. This level of knowledge was sufficient to handle most situations at present, so Li Fan decided to pause for a while.
For the next long period, Li Fan intended to focus his efforts on researching and refining his cultivation techniques. He was about to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, and it was time to upgrade some of his current techniques.
The *Thousand Mechanisms and Jade Circle* could be practiced all the way up to the Immortal Core Realm without any issues, so he wouldn't need to worry about that for now. The same applied to the *Cloud Water Illusory Dream Technique*.
Regarding the *Steal Heaven Replace Sun Decree*, according to its records, it was capable of being practiced all the way up to the Dao Integration Realm in ancient times. However, over the years, the Steal Heaven Replace Sun Sect had declined, with each generation not surpassing the last. Only a single Spirit Transformation cultivator appeared about two thousand years ago; after that, most practitioners could only reach the Immortal Core Realm and no higher.
Thinking of the *Steal Heaven Replace Sun Decree* still stored in his storage ring, Li Fan's premonition grew stronger. He decided to try it out once he reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The *Shadow Follows Form Technique* was merely a common body technique that could be discarded at any time for an appropriate Foundation Establishment realm遁术 (evacuation technique).
However, after observing Zhang Haobo’s graceful movements, Li Fan gained some insight. Perhaps he could combine the essence of those movements with the *Shadow Follows Form Technique*, creating a new cultivation method.
The *Mystic Phantom Technique* was crucial for Li Fan. The Azure Flame Phantom had various miraculous effects and could resist the greed brought by the essence of heaven and earth. Thus, Li Fan searched through the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror to find similar techniques that cultivated phantoms at the Foundation Establishment Realm.
He indeed found several such techniques, including one called *Mystic Shadow Technique*, which was an advanced version of the *Mystic Phantom Technique*.
Li Fan didn't rush to exchange for it. Observing Zhang Haobo’s凝聚剑意 (concentrating sword intent), Li Fan felt he could try integrating this insight with the *Mystic Phantom Technique*. This would allow him to derive a new technique through derivation and calculation.
Yes, Li Fan was going to try his hand at being a weaver of techniques. He knew that creating a new technique was extremely difficult, but how difficult it was, he still didn't have a concrete understanding. The saying goes: "To know the truth of something, one must experience it firsthand."
With his clone’s enhanced perception from启灵 and Linglong Lustrous Pearl's dual effects, its comprehension efficiency was twenty-seven times higher than usual. With the remaining contribution points, it could remain in seclusion for ten years continuously.
Over two hundred and seventy years, he would derive two Foundation Establishment Realm techniques. Li Fan mused that although this clone’s abilities were average, there was still a good chance of success since ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators lived about as long. If successful, he could break free from the restrictions of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's cultivation methods and directly practice in his next life.
More importantly, it would open up an entirely new method for acquiring techniques. Using the original techniques obtained through exchanges within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance as a base, blending them with the profound insights gained from the Heaven’s Eye and Earth’s Ear technique, and using the refined blood of a prodigy to re-cultivate a talented clone, he would derive new techniques over an extended period in the Ten Thousand Immortals Realm.
If this process was indeed feasible, Li Fan could claim himself a weaver of techniques. With his mind made up, Li Fan no longer hesitated and immersed himself in seclusion for contemplation.
Zhang Haobo continued to diligently practice every day. His cultivation speed did not slow down as he entered the Foundation Establishment Realm; instead, it accelerated even more.
Meanwhile, Li Fan’s main body was temporarily on hold since he planned to wait for the appearance of the Pearl of the Vast Sea before breaking through. He found himself with nothing much to do and spent some time enjoying a leisurely life on Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
Every day, he roamed around the island, meeting many Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators. Although these cultivators were not particularly powerful, they were all grassroots personnel controlling the Cloud Sea under the control of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. Most had seen much and weren't ordinary people.
Interacting with them yielded significant benefits for Li Fan.
One day, he suddenly received a message from Chen An.
"Chen An?"
Li Fan frowned when he saw the name but quickly recalled who Chen An was. It was the Qi Refinement cultivator who had once sought his advice on the mysteries of Qin Tang's dedicated trials in Cloud Water Heaven Palace.
This person had survived the stone statue and left Cloud Water Heaven Palace, showing some alertness. Over these years, they hadn't contacted Li Fan again, but why were they suddenly seeking him now?
Li Fan opened the message. Chen An appeared with a smile.
"Friend Daoist Li Fan, how are you? It's been over five years since we parted ways at Cloud Water Heaven Palace. I still vividly remember your风采 (demeanor) when you cracked the enigmatic secrets of Qin Tang’s stone statue in our conversation."
...
After listening to Chen An's message, Li Fan understood why he had suddenly sought him out.
Recently, a strange event occurred within the Cloud Sea. A large, continuously moving white fog appeared unexpectedly. Curious cultivators flew into it and discovered an enormous, mountain-like black bull pulling a two-wheeled cart across the sea. The cart contained a dilapidated thatched cottage. Outside stood two monstrous guards—one without a mouth, terrifying to behold; the other towering and strong, wielding a wooden stick.
From within the cottage, faint reading sounds could be heard. This peculiar scene naturally caught the attention of the cultivator. He was quite bold and believed there must be some opportunity here. So he flew up to the thatched cottage, wanting to investigate further but was blocked by the two door gods outside.
After politely greeting them, he attempted to enter the cottage but received no response and was instead beaten away with a wooden stick. When he tried again, he found himself unable to approach the cottage no matter how hard he tried.
Thus, he had to give up in disappointment. After returning to his friend and telling him about it, his friend also became interested. They decided to return together the next day to investigate further near the black bull cart.
To their surprise, this cultivator found that he could now approach the cottage. The two of them cautiously approached but were again driven away by the wooden sticks.
Undeterred, they tried again on the third day with no change in outcome. However, instead of feeling discouraged, they became somewhat excited. Since there was no danger to life, they decided to call more people and find a way into the cottage.