bù guǎn rú hé ， wàn xiān méng de jì huà zhōng jiū shì chéng gōng le 。
不管如何，万仙盟的计划终究是成功了。
Regardless of the outcome, the plan of the Ten Thousand Immortals League had succeeded.
zhū shā le ruò gān wǔ lǎo huì de hé dào xiū shì bù shuō ， hái chéng gōng bǎ jiàn dié zǐ qióng xiān zūn gěi jiū chū lái 。
诛杀了若干五老会的合道修士不说，还成功把间谍紫穹仙尊给揪出来。
Firstly, they had eliminated several coalesced daoists from the Five Elders Association. Secondly, they managed to expose the spy, Purple Vastness Immortal Sovereign. It was a significant victory that allowed them to vent their anger.
kě wèi shì hěn hěn chū le yī kǒu è qì 。
可谓是狠狠出了一口恶气。
On the other side of the Five Elders Association, faced with this grim reality, they could only accept defeat.
ér wǔ lǎo huì nà biān ， miàn duì zhè xiě lín lín de xiàn shí ， yě zhǐ néng rèn zāi 。
而五老会那边，面对这血淋淋的现实，也只能认栽。
In the great battle in Heavenly Spirit State and the ambush in Heavenly Yu State, both sides suffered losses. The loss of coalesced daoists would take time to recover from. Given that both the Ten Thousand Immortals League and the Five Elders Association had been weakened, it was foreseeable that a period of relative peace would soon follow.
tiān líng zhōu dà zhàn ， tiān yǔ zhōu fú jī 。
天灵州大战，天禹州伏击。
This was good news for most cultivators. With the shadow of war gradually dissipating, Jiyuxuan's small medicine king tripod auction finally took place in late 23rd year as scheduled.
shuāng fāng gè shū yī cháng 。
双方各输一场。
Li Fan did not attend to avoid the crowd. However, it was said that the results were somewhat unsatisfactory. Only four small tripods were sold initially, with each selling for around a hundred thousand contribution points. Clearly, people still had doubts about whether the flying fire meteorite that descended from the sky was truly the Medicine King True Tripod.
hé dào qiáng zhě de sǔn shī ， xū yào shí jiān lái màn màn huī fù 。
合道强者的损失，需要时间来慢慢恢复。
Even though Jiyuxuan followed Li Fan's strategy and promoted it extensively, the effect was minimal. Few cultivators were willing to spend such large amounts of contribution points on a future fortune; they preferred to wait and see before making such investments.
zài wàn xiān méng hé wǔ lǎo huì dōu shòu chuàng de qíng kuàng xià ， kě yǐ yù jiàn de shì ， yī duàn jiào zhǎng shí jiān de hé píng qī ， jí jiāng dào lái 。
在万仙盟和五老会都受创的情况下，可以预见的是，一段较长时间的和平期，即将到来。
Jiyuxuan did not feel discouraged by the initial setback. He had plenty of stock left, and even if all the tripods sold at this price in the future, he would still make a profit.
zhè duì jué dà duō shù xiū shì lái jiǎng ， dōu shì yī jiàn hǎo shì 。
这对绝大多数修士来讲，都是一件好事。
"I do business without greed. As long as there's something to be gained," Jiyuxuan said.
zhàn zhēng de yīn mái zhú jiàn sàn qù ， jiāo xiū yuǎn jǔ bàn de xiǎo yào wáng dǐng pāi mài huì ， zài máo dìng 23 nián mò zhōng yú zhào kāi 。
战争的阴霾逐渐散去，焦修远举办的小药王鼎拍卖会，在锚定23年末终于召开。
Li Fan merely chuckled and did not comment further.
lǐ fán méi yǒu qù còu rè nào 。
李凡没有去凑热闹。
His attention returned to his main concern. The people who had been living on the deserted island for over ten years were now all grown up, eager to explore beyond their boundaries. Su Xiaomei was especially prone to sneaking out occasionally. However, Ye Feipeng's mysterious disappearance continued to cast a shadow over them.
bù guò jù shuō jié guǒ yǒu diǎn chā qiáng rén yì 。
不过据说结果有点差强人意。
They did not dare venture too far from the island in fear of being discovered by the Ten Thousand Immortals League again. Li Fan checked on his fellow cultivators. Su Xiaomei, Xiao Heng, and Zhang Haobo were all at the peak of Foundation Establishment. However, they seemed to be a distance away from achieving Golden Core.
shǒu pī yī gòng mài chū sì zūn xiǎo dǐng 。
首批一共卖出四尊小鼎。
The Yin sisters had average cultivation potential, only reaching Qi Condensation perfection but not yet entering Foundation Establishment. As for Su Changyu, his progress was slow; he was still at the middle stage of Qi Condensation.
jī běn shàng měi zūn xiǎo dǐng de shòu chū jià gé ， dōu zhǐ shì zài shí jǐ wàn gòng xiàn dù zuǒ yòu 。
基本上每尊小鼎的售出价格，都只是在十几万贡献度左右。
But his mindset remained calm and steady, neither arrogant nor boastful. As for Ye Feipeng, who was in a coma...
xiǎn rán ， dà jiā duì nà cóng tiān ér jiàng de fēi huǒ liú xīng ， dào dǐ shì bú shì yào wáng zhēn dǐng hái yǒu suǒ yí lǜ 。
显然，大家对那从天而降的飞火流星，到底是不是药王真鼎还有所疑虑。
Li Fan could no longer see clearly. Apart from absorbing all the wind disaster energy, the little fat boy had unknowingly traveled almost the entire sea with the currents beneath Cunyun Sea. Meanwhile, Ye Feipeng's aura strength had grown significantly during this process.
nǎ pà jiāo xiū yuǎn tīng qǔ le lǐ fán de cè lüè ， sì chù zào shì ， shōu xiào yě shèn wēi 。
哪怕焦修远听取了李凡的策略，四处造势，收效也甚微。
Theoretically, he had already surpassed the limits of Foundation Establishment. Li Fan estimated that if he were to fully unleash his power, ordinary Golden Core cultivators would not be able to match him. It seemed that Cunyun Sea was using a unique method to "nurture" Ye Feipeng, making mere quantitative growth enough to ignore the differences between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.
yuàn yì huā shàng jù é gòng xiàn dù ， qù dǔ yí gè wèi lái fù guì de xiū shì ， bì jìng zhǐ shì shǎo shù 。
愿意花上巨额贡献度，去赌一个未来富贵的修士，毕竟只是少数。
The giant beast shadows occasionally appearing behind Ye Feipeng also seemed more vivid and robust, circling around him and emitting long roars from time to time. It was as if they were about to come alive at any moment.
bú jiàn tù zi bù sā yīng cái shì dà bù fèn xiū shì de chǔ shì yuán zé 。
不见兔子不撒鹰才是大部分修士的处事原则。
Li Fan suddenly had a premonition that Ye Feipeng's awakening was imminent.
chū shī bù lì ， jiāo xiū yuǎn yě méi yǒu jǔ sàng 。
出师不利，焦修远也没有沮丧。
Time passed slowly. Soon enough, it was the beginning of 24th year. One day, Li Fan received a notification from the Heavenly Spirit Mirror while in seclusion.
yì fāng miàn shì tā shǒu lǐ de cún huò hái shèng yǒu bù shǎo 。
一方面是他手里的存货还剩有不少。
In the Sitting and Discussing Dao session, Chapter Qianmo finally suffered his first defeat!
lìng yì fāng miàn zé shì yīn wèi jiù suàn jiē xià lái de xiǎo dǐng dōu àn zhè ge jià gé mài chū ， tā yě jué duì shì wěn zhuàn bù péi le 。
另一方面则是因为就算接下来的小鼎都按这个价格卖出，他也绝对是稳赚不赔了。
"Could it be that 'I Am Invincible' has finally figured out how to defeat an opponent?" Li Fan thought excitedly.
“ wǒ zuò shēng yì ， bù tān 。 zhǐ yào yǒu de zhuàn jiù hǎo 。”
“我做生意，不贪。只要有的赚就好。”
Opening the Sitting and Discussing Dao session, Li Fan was surprised by what he saw. The one who defeated Chapter Qianmo was not "I Am Invincible," but a different cultivator named Zhong Shentong.
jiāo xiū yuǎn de yuán huà shì zhè yàng shuō de 。
焦修远的原话是这样说的。
Zhong Shentong was no virtual creation; he was an actual cultivator from the Xuanhuang Realm.
lǐ fán duì cǐ dāng rán shì hē hē yī xiào ， bù zhì kě fǒu 。
李凡对此当然是呵呵一笑，不置可否。
"Zhong Shentong..."
zhù yì lì huí dào běn zūn zhè biān 。
注意力回到本尊这边。
Li Fan felt incredulous. He knew well enough about Chapter Senior Brother's methods. In his Purple Core state, killing a Golden Core cultivator was as easy as slaughtering chickens and cows. How could this Zhong Shentong, just at the Foundation Establishment stage, defeat Chapter Qianmo?
zài huāng dǎo shàng píng jìng dài le shí duō nián de lí jiè zhòng rén ， yǐ jīng fēn fēn zhǎng dà chéng rén 。
在荒岛上平静待了十多年的离界众人，已经纷纷长大成人。
With these questions in mind, Li Fan opened the battle replay.
màn màn yǒu diǎn biē bú zhù le 。
慢慢有点憋不住了。
In the void space, Chapter Senior Brother stood with a stern expression, hands behind his back. Nearby, an old man with white hair and beard was smiling at him.
yóu qí shì sū xiǎo mèi ， shí bù shí huì tōu tōu yí gè rén liū chū qù xián guàng 。
尤其是苏小妹，时不时会偷偷一个人溜出去闲逛。
"Please let me challenge you!"
dàn yè fēi péng de mò míng shī zōng yì zhí shì yā zài tā men xīn tóu shàng de yī kuài yīn yǐng 。
但叶飞鹏的莫名失踪一直是压在他们心头上的一块阴影。
Zhong Shentong's polite words suddenly changed as he pointed his right hand. Suddenly, a myriad of green light enveloped Chapter Senior Brother's head.
dǎo zhì tā men yě bù gǎn guò fèn yuǎn lí huāng dǎo ， shēng pà zài bèi wàn xiān méng rén de xiū shì chá jué 、 zāo yù bù cè 。
导致他们也不敢过分远离荒岛，生怕再被万仙盟人的修士察觉、遭遇不测。
Ray after ray of light, like sharp swords, continuously struck towards Chapter Qianmo.
lǐ fán chá kàn le xià jǐ rén de xiū shì 。
李凡查看了下几人的修士。
Chapter Senior Brother snorted coldly; the Purple Cosmic Divine Lightning appeared beside him and struck the incoming green light.
sū xiǎo mèi 、 xiāo héng 、 zhāng hào bō jiē yǐ jīng shì zhù jī yuán mǎn 。
苏小妹、萧恒、张浩波皆已经是筑基圆满。
Green and purple intersected, mutually annihilating into nothingness.
dàn sì hū lí néng tū pò jīn dān ， hái yǒu yī duàn jù lí 。
但似乎离能突破金丹，还有一段距离。
Zhong Shentong rapidly tapped his fingers. Blue, purple, red...
yīn jiā jiě mèi xiū xiān zī zhì bù suàn tài hǎo ， zhǐ shì liàn qì yuán mǎn ， shàng méi néng zhù jī 。
殷家姐妹修仙资质不算太好，只是炼气圆满，尚没能筑基。
In an instant, colorful light of various hues continuously emerged. It was like a river flowing endlessly, with attacks never ceasing. The density of these lights was so high that Chapter Qianmo could barely defend against them.
ér sū zhǎng yù xiū xíng sù dù zé shì zuì màn 。
而苏长玉修行速度则是最慢。
The most terrifying thing was that this seven-colored light seemed to be both a divine technique and a treasure artifact. It did not seem to consume any energy; it continued to intensify from the moment the attack began, without weakening.
kān kān cái liàn qì zhōng qī de shuǐ píng 。
堪堪才炼气中期的水平。
Gradually, Chapter Senior Brother's body also bore wounds. Although they healed quickly, he still looked extremely disheveled.
dàn shì tā de xīn tài yì zhí hěn píng wěn ， bù jiāo bù zào 。
但是他的心态一直很平稳，不骄不躁。
On the other side, Zhong Shentong remained effortlessly relaxed throughout.
zhì yú hūn mí zhōng de yè fēi péng ……
至于昏迷中的叶飞鹏……
"This seven-colored light is indeed formidable."
lǐ fán zé yǒu diǎn kàn bù tòu le 。
李凡则有点看不透了。
"Could it be that Zhong Shentong defeated Chapter Senior Brother with this?"
zhè jǐ nián lái chú le jiāng tūn shì de fēng zāi néng liàng dōu xī shōu wán bì zhī wài 。
这几年来除了将吞噬的风灾能量都吸收完毕之外。
Li Fan analyzed in his mind as he watched.
xiǎo pàng zi hái zài wú yì shí zhōng ， suí zhe cóng yún hǎi dǐ àn liú ， jī hū jiāng zhěng zuò hǎi yù dōu guàng le yī quān 。
小胖子还在无意识中，随着丛云海底暗流，几乎将整座海域都逛了一圈。
"No. While the seven-colored lights are destructive within the same realm, they can't break through once Chapter Senior Brother transforms into his Purple Core form..."
ér yè fēi péng shēn shàng de qì xī qiáng dù ， yě zài zhè ge guò chéng zhōng bù duàn zēng qiáng 。
而叶飞鹏身上的气息强度，也在这个过程中不断增强。
Suddenly, Li Fan realized something and his expression turned serious.
lǐ lùn shàng lái jiǎng ， zǎo yǐ jīng chāo chū le zhù jī de jí xiàn 。
理论上来讲，早已经超出了筑基的极限。
"Ah, I see..."
lǐ fán gū jì ， ruò shì quán lì bào fā zhī xià ， xún cháng jīn dān xiū shì ， jué jì bú shì tā de duì shǒu 。
李凡估计，若是全力爆发之下，寻常金丹修士，决计不是他的对手。
He closely observed the battle with Chapter Senior Brother. Wound after wound appeared on him like blooming flowers but were quickly healed by the power surging from within Chapter Senior Brother's body.
sì hū cóng yún hǎi shì zài yòng zhè zhǒng dú tè de fāng shì ， zài “ wèi yǎng ” yè fēi péng 。
似乎丛云海是在用这种独特的方式，在“喂养”叶飞鹏。
As the fight continued, this process repeated endlessly. It seemed it would never end.
shǐ de jǐn jǐn shì “ liàng ” de zēng zhǎng ， jiù yǐ jīng dá dào le kě yǐ wú shì zhù jī 、 jīn dān chā jù de dì bù 。
使得仅仅是“量”的增长，就已经达到了可以无视筑基、金丹差距的地步。
But...
ér bù shí zài yè fēi péng bèi hòu chū xiàn de jù shòu xū yǐng ， yě sì hū biàn dé gèng jiā shēng dòng 、 zhuàng shí qǐ lái 。
而不时在叶飞鹏背后出现的巨兽虚影，也似乎变得更加生动、壮实起来。
Foundation Establishment cultivators have their limits. Although Chapter Senior Brother had a much larger total amount of qi than ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was not infinite.
bù tíng dì rào zhe tā yóu dòng ， shí bù shí fā shēng yī shēng cháng míng 。
不停地绕着他游动，时不时发生一声长鸣。
When the battle dragged on for one day, two days, three days, his original power began to dwindle. Thus, Chapter Qianmo had no choice but to draw energy from his Purple Core.
fǎng fú suí shí dōu yào huó guò lái yì bān 。
仿佛随时都要活过来一般。
Previously, Li Fan had speculated that Chapter Senior Brother's Purple Core was used by the Purple Cosmic Sect to contain and suppress his cultivation. It seemed this was indeed the case.
Regardless of the outcome, the plan of the Ten Thousand Immortals League had succeeded.
Firstly, they had eliminated several coalesced daoists from the Five Elders Association. Secondly, they managed to expose the spy, Purple Vastness Immortal Sovereign. It was a significant victory that allowed them to vent their anger.
On the other side of the Five Elders Association, faced with this grim reality, they could only accept defeat.
In the great battle in Heavenly Spirit State and the ambush in Heavenly Yu State, both sides suffered losses. The loss of coalesced daoists would take time to recover from. Given that both the Ten Thousand Immortals League and the Five Elders Association had been weakened, it was foreseeable that a period of relative peace would soon follow.
This was good news for most cultivators. With the shadow of war gradually dissipating, Jiyuxuan's small medicine king tripod auction finally took place in late 23rd year as scheduled.
Li Fan did not attend to avoid the crowd. However, it was said that the results were somewhat unsatisfactory. Only four small tripods were sold initially, with each selling for around a hundred thousand contribution points. Clearly, people still had doubts about whether the flying fire meteorite that descended from the sky was truly the Medicine King True Tripod.
Even though Jiyuxuan followed Li Fan's strategy and promoted it extensively, the effect was minimal. Few cultivators were willing to spend such large amounts of contribution points on a future fortune; they preferred to wait and see before making such investments.
Jiyuxuan did not feel discouraged by the initial setback. He had plenty of stock left, and even if all the tripods sold at this price in the future, he would still make a profit.
"I do business without greed. As long as there's something to be gained," Jiyuxuan said.
Li Fan merely chuckled and did not comment further.
His attention returned to his main concern. The people who had been living on the deserted island for over ten years were now all grown up, eager to explore beyond their boundaries. Su Xiaomei was especially prone to sneaking out occasionally. However, Ye Feipeng's mysterious disappearance continued to cast a shadow over them.
They did not dare venture too far from the island in fear of being discovered by the Ten Thousand Immortals League again. Li Fan checked on his fellow cultivators. Su Xiaomei, Xiao Heng, and Zhang Haobo were all at the peak of Foundation Establishment. However, they seemed to be a distance away from achieving Golden Core.
The Yin sisters had average cultivation potential, only reaching Qi Condensation perfection but not yet entering Foundation Establishment. As for Su Changyu, his progress was slow; he was still at the middle stage of Qi Condensation.
But his mindset remained calm and steady, neither arrogant nor boastful. As for Ye Feipeng, who was in a coma...
Li Fan could no longer see clearly. Apart from absorbing all the wind disaster energy, the little fat boy had unknowingly traveled almost the entire sea with the currents beneath Cunyun Sea. Meanwhile, Ye Feipeng's aura strength had grown significantly during this process.
Theoretically, he had already surpassed the limits of Foundation Establishment. Li Fan estimated that if he were to fully unleash his power, ordinary Golden Core cultivators would not be able to match him. It seemed that Cunyun Sea was using a unique method to "nurture" Ye Feipeng, making mere quantitative growth enough to ignore the differences between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.
The giant beast shadows occasionally appearing behind Ye Feipeng also seemed more vivid and robust, circling around him and emitting long roars from time to time. It was as if they were about to come alive at any moment.
Li Fan suddenly had a premonition that Ye Feipeng's awakening was imminent.
Time passed slowly. Soon enough, it was the beginning of 24th year. One day, Li Fan received a notification from the Heavenly Spirit Mirror while in seclusion.
In the Sitting and Discussing Dao session, Chapter Qianmo finally suffered his first defeat!
"Could it be that 'I Am Invincible' has finally figured out how to defeat an opponent?" Li Fan thought excitedly.
Opening the Sitting and Discussing Dao session, Li Fan was surprised by what he saw. The one who defeated Chapter Qianmo was not "I Am Invincible," but a different cultivator named Zhong Shentong.
Zhong Shentong was no virtual creation; he was an actual cultivator from the Xuanhuang Realm.
"Zhong Shentong..."
Li Fan felt incredulous. He knew well enough about Chapter Senior Brother's methods. In his Purple Core state, killing a Golden Core cultivator was as easy as slaughtering chickens and cows. How could this Zhong Shentong, just at the Foundation Establishment stage, defeat Chapter Qianmo?
With these questions in mind, Li Fan opened the battle replay.
In the void space, Chapter Senior Brother stood with a stern expression, hands behind his back. Nearby, an old man with white hair and beard was smiling at him.
"Please let me challenge you!"
Zhong Shentong's polite words suddenly changed as he pointed his right hand. Suddenly, a myriad of green light enveloped Chapter Senior Brother's head.
Ray after ray of light, like sharp swords, continuously struck towards Chapter Qianmo.
Chapter Senior Brother snorted coldly; the Purple Cosmic Divine Lightning appeared beside him and struck the incoming green light.
Green and purple intersected, mutually annihilating into nothingness.
Zhong Shentong rapidly tapped his fingers. Blue, purple, red...
In an instant, colorful light of various hues continuously emerged. It was like a river flowing endlessly, with attacks never ceasing. The density of these lights was so high that Chapter Qianmo could barely defend against them.
The most terrifying thing was that this seven-colored light seemed to be both a divine technique and a treasure artifact. It did not seem to consume any energy; it continued to intensify from the moment the attack began, without weakening.
Gradually, Chapter Senior Brother's body also bore wounds. Although they healed quickly, he still looked extremely disheveled.
On the other side, Zhong Shentong remained effortlessly relaxed throughout.
"This seven-colored light is indeed formidable."
"Could it be that Zhong Shentong defeated Chapter Senior Brother with this?"
Li Fan analyzed in his mind as he watched.
"No. While the seven-colored lights are destructive within the same realm, they can't break through once Chapter Senior Brother transforms into his Purple Core form..."
Suddenly, Li Fan realized something and his expression turned serious.
"Ah, I see..."
He closely observed the battle with Chapter Senior Brother. Wound after wound appeared on him like blooming flowers but were quickly healed by the power surging from within Chapter Senior Brother's body.
As the fight continued, this process repeated endlessly. It seemed it would never end.
But...
Foundation Establishment cultivators have their limits. Although Chapter Senior Brother had a much larger total amount of qi than ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was not infinite.
When the battle dragged on for one day, two days, three days, his original power began to dwindle. Thus, Chapter Qianmo had no choice but to draw energy from his Purple Core.
Previously, Li Fan had speculated that Chapter Senior Brother's Purple Core was used by the Purple Cosmic Sect to contain and suppress his cultivation. It seemed this was indeed the case.