máo dìng 9 nián ， tiān yáng dòng fǔ hái shàng wèi chū shì 。
锚定9年，天阳洞府还尚未出世。
Nine years had passed, and the Heavenly Yang Cave still hadn't made its debut.
shēn cáng zài chén mián hǎi dǐ huǒ shān de nèi bù ， bù wèi wài rén suǒ zhī 。
深藏在沉眠海底火山的内部，不为外人所知。
Deep within a dormant underwater volcano, hidden from outsiders, Li Fan, based on the [Earth Fire Return Array] he obtained from the remnants of Heavenly Yang, spent considerable effort to pinpoint the cave's location.
lǐ fán gēn jù huò dé zì tiān yáng yí niàn zhōng de 【 dì huǒ guī yuán zhèn 】， fèi le bù shǎo gōng fu ， fāng cái què dìng le dòng fǔ de wèi zhì 。
李凡根据获得自天阳遗念中的【地火归元阵】，费了不少功夫，方才确定了洞府的位置。
After activating several protective spirit talismans, Li Fan cautiously entered the cave. The current state of Heavenly Yang was peculiar; he was in a liminal condition between life and death.
jī fā le shù méi fáng hù líng fú hòu ， lǐ fán xiǎo xīn yì yì dì qián rù dòng fǔ 。
激发了数枚防护灵符后，李凡小心翼翼地潜入洞府。
From the eternal remnants, Li Fan learned that back when they transformed into Dao bodies, apart from Heavenly Yang, all others had participated in the ancient battle and never returned.
mù qián de tiān yáng zhēn rén ， chǔ yú yī zhǒng jiāng sǐ wèi sǐ de qí tè zhuàng tài 。
目前的天阳真人，处于一种将死未死的奇特状态。
Heavenly Yang himself firmly believed his master and senior brothers would return one day. To ensure they could find him if they did come back, he stayed within the Cave of Transformed Dao, unwilling to leave.
zì yǒng héng yí niàn zhōng ， lǐ fán dé zhī 。
自永恒遗念中，李凡得知。
Years later, an outsider stumbled upon the cave. Heavenly Yang intended to resist but was no match for them. He relied on the treasures left by his senior brothers and barely managed to survive.
dāng chū shēn huà dào chú le tiān yáng zhī wài ， qí yú jǐn jiē qián wǎng cān yù shàng gǔ shí qī de nà chǎng dà zhàn ， zài yě méi yǒu huí lái 。
当初身化道除了天阳之外，其余尽皆前往参与上古时期的那场大战，再也没有回来。
From then on, young Heavenly Yang began a nomadic life in the cultivation world. In this process, he gradually realized that his talent wasn't as exceptional as his senior brothers had claimed—far from matching their abilities, he couldn't even match ordinary Golden Core cultivators.
ér tiān yáng zì jǐ ， què shì xīn zhōng jiān xìn ， shī fù hé shī xiōng men yí dìng huì huí lái 。
而天阳自己，却是心中坚信，师父和师兄们一定会回来。
Despite this, his master and senior brothers still left him with the last hope for survival. Whenever Li Fan thought about what they once said to him: "Heavenly Yang, your talent is unparalleled in this world. Get well soon; Transformed Dao needs you," he felt a deep sense of self-hatred.
pà tā men fǎn huí shí zhǎo bú dào zì jǐ ， yú shì tiān yáng yì zhí dài zài shēn huà dào dòng fǔ zhōng ， bù kěn chū qù 。
怕他们返回时找不到自己，于是天阳一直待在身化道洞府中，不肯出去。
But reality didn't change based on his emotions. Heavenly Yang estimated that without any extraordinary opportunities, he might reach the Golden Core realm as his limit.
bù xiǎng shù nián hòu bèi wài rén chuǎng rù dòng fǔ ， tiān yáng běn yù fǎn kàng ， què bú shì duì shǒu 。
不想数年后被外人闯入洞府，天阳本欲反抗，却不是对手。
To fulfill his master's and senior brothers' expectations, Heavenly Yang decided to take a desperate gamble. He would abandon his physical body and fully transform into a puppet to defy fate and destiny.
zhǐ shì kào zhe shī xiōng men lín zǒu qián liú xià de fǎ bǎo ， kān kān bǎo dé yī tiáo xìng mìng 。
只是靠着师兄们临走前留下的法宝，堪堪保得一条性命。
His entire second life was dedicated to preparing for this. Finding suitable locations for the [Earth Fire Return Array], gathering materials, and refining puppets...
cǐ hòu ， nián yòu de tiān yáng biàn kāi shǐ le zài xiū xiān jiè de liú làng shēng huó 。
此后，年幼的天阳便开始了在修仙界的流浪生活。
After everything was in place, Heavenly Yang completed the puppet transformation resolutely. Then he fell into a deep sleep, hoping to use the power of earth fire to refine the puppet, elevating it.
ér tā yě zài mō pá gǔn dǎ zhòng ， màn màn míng bái ， zì jǐ de zī zhì jué bú shì xiàng shī xiōng men suǒ shuō nà yàng ， tiān fù yì bǐng 、 shì shēn huà dào fù xīng de xī wàng 。
而他也在摸爬滚打中，慢慢明白，自己的资质绝不是像师兄们所说那样，天赋异禀、是身化道复兴的希望。
If all went well, he would complete his transformation within five hundred years, becoming a powerful existence whose might wouldn't be inferior to that of a Divine Immortal.
bù shuō hé shī xiōng men bǐ jiān ， pà shì lián xún cháng jīn dān xiū shì dōu bǐ bù guò 。
不说和师兄们比肩，怕是连寻常金丹修士都比不过。
But...
dàn jí biàn rú cǐ ， shī fù hé shī xiōng ， réng rán bǎ zuì hòu shēng de xī wàng liú gěi zì jǐ 。
但即便如此，师父和师兄，仍然把最后生的希望留给自己。
Reality was different.
měi měi xiǎng qǐ tā men céng duì zì jǐ shuō guò “ tiān yáng a ， nǐ de zī zhì kě shì bù shū shì shàng rèn hé rén 。 gǎn kuài hǎo qǐ lái ba ， shēn huà dào hái yào kào nǐ ne ” zhū rú cǐ lèi de huà 。
每每想起他们曾对自己说过“天阳啊，你的资质可是不输世上任何人。赶快好起来吧，身化道还要靠你呢”诸如此类的话。
Over five centuries, mountains turned into seas. The earth's veins changed, weakening the effectiveness of the Earth Fire Return Array. The materials used for refining the puppet were ordinary ones.
zài fǎn guān xiàn zài zì jǐ lián shī mén dòng fǔ dōu bǎo bú zhù 。
再反观现在自己连师门洞府都保不住。
This slowed down Heavenly Yang's transformation process significantly.
tiān yáng xīn zhōng jiù mǎn shì duì zì jǐ wú néng de tòng hèn 。
天阳心中就满是对自己无能的痛恨。
From the originally planned five hundred years, it now stretched to thousands of years.
dàn shì shí bù yǐ rén de qíng xù wèi zhuǎn yí 。
但事实不以人的情绪为转移。
Even in his slumber, Heavenly Yang's consciousness gradually wore away. Most of his subjective will was lost, leaving only "Heavenly Yang's life is no less than that of others" as a lingering thought.
tiān yáng gū mō zhe ， cǐ shēn zì jǐ ruò shì méi yǒu qí tā qí yù ， kǒng pà jīn dān qī jiù yǐ jīng shì jí xiàn le 。
天阳估摸着，此身自己若是没有其他奇遇，恐怕金丹期就已经是极限了。
Li Fan speculated that perhaps it was the [Sky-Breaking Palm] that turned Cunyun Range into Cunyun Sea that caused Heavenly Yang’s plan to fail.
wèi le bù fù shī fù 、 shī xiōng suǒ tuō ， tiān yáng jué dìng gū zhù yí zhì ， cǎi yòng pāo què ròu shēn 、 chè dǐ shēn huà kuǐ lěi de fāng shì ， nì tiān gǎi mìng 。
为了不负师父、师兄所托，天阳决定孤注一掷，采用抛却肉身、彻底身化傀儡的方式，逆天改命。
"Heavenly Yang's life, unfortunate compared to others..." Li Fan shook his head and stepped out onto the cave's external plaza.
ér tā de xià bàn shēng ， quán zài wèi zhè jiàn shì zuò zhǔn bèi 。
而他的下半生，全在为这件事做准备。
He carefully examined the area before transforming into a ghostly figure, moving like a fine thread, safely passing through without triggering any mechanisms.
xún zhǎo hé shì bù zhì 【 dì huǒ guī yuán zhèn 】 de dì diǎn ， sōu jí cái liào 、 liàn zhì kuǐ lěi ……
寻找合适布置【地火归元阵】的地点，搜集材料、炼制傀儡……
Without activating any traps, he reached the deeper parts of the cave. There, a child-sized skeleton sat quietly.
dāng yī qiè zhǔn bèi tuǒ dàng zhī hòu ， tiān yáng yì rán jué rán de wán chéng le shēn huà kuǐ lěi 。
当一切准备妥当之后，天阳毅然决然的完成了身化傀儡。
In real history, due to Heavenly Yang’s congenital deficiency never being fully replenished, he always retained his youthful body size.
zhī hòu chén mián zài dì mài shēn chù ， yù jiè zhù dì huǒ zhī lì ， duì kuǐ lěi jìn xíng cuì liàn ， shǐ qí shēng gé 。
之后沉眠在地脉深处，欲借助地火之力，对傀儡进行淬炼，使其升格。
Li Fan approached cautiously. Suddenly, from below, came creaking sounds.
rú guǒ bù chū yì wài de huà ， zuì duō zài wǔ bǎi nián nèi ， tiān yáng jiù huì wán chéng tuì biàn 。
如果不出意外的话，最多在五百年内，天阳就会完成蜕变。
Li Fan's heart stirred; he retreated swiftly.
jìn shēng wèi wēi néng bù zài huà shén xiān jūn zhī xià de qiáng dà cún zài 。
晋升为威能不在化神仙君之下的强大存在。
Following this, seventeen black and red puppets emerged.
dàn piān piān ……
但偏偏……
Li Fan activated the Transformed Dao technique and shouted, "Younger brother, do you not recognize me?"
shì yǔ yuàn wéi 。
事与愿违。
The mechanical puppets ignored him, attacking mercilessly.
wǔ bǎi nián jiān ， lóng shé qǐ lù ， shān biàn cāng hǎi 。
五百年间，龙蛇起陆，山变沧海。
They all advanced towards Li Fan. Fortunately, they had a characteristic of weakening or strengthening based on their opponent's strength. A sword light pushed back one puppet while Li Fan moved through the gaps between them, repeatedly calling out Heavenly Yang’s name.
dì mài biàn dòng dǎo zhì dì huǒ guī yuán zhèn de xiào lì dà jiǎn ， ér dāng chū tiān yáng yòng lái liàn zhì kuǐ lěi de cái liào yě zhǐ shì pǔ tōng cái liào 。
地脉变动导致地火归元阵的效力大减，而当初天阳用来炼制傀儡的材料也只是普通材料。
Slowly, the puppets' actions became hesitant.
zhè yě dǎo zhì le tiān yáng kuǐ lěi de jìn shēng guò chéng yì cháng huǎn màn 。
这也导致了天阳傀儡的晋升过程异常缓慢。
At this moment, Li Fan took out a projection stone and projected Ling Xiao's masterpiece into the air.
cóng yù dìng de wǔ bǎi nián ， yī xià cì biàn chéng le shù qiān nián 。
从预定的五百年，一下次变成了数千年。
This time, the mechanical puppets gradually stopped their attacks. Looking up at the text in the sky.
yōu yōu suì yuè ， jiù suàn zài chén shuì zhōng ， tiān yáng de yì shí yě zài màn màn mó sǔn 。
悠悠岁月，就算在沉睡中，天阳的意识也在慢慢磨损。
"Two..."
shī qù le jué dà duō shù de zhǔ guān yì niàn ， zhǐ yú “ tiān yáng yī shēng 、 bù ruò yú rén ” de zhí niàn cán cún yú shì 。
失去了绝大多数的主观意念，只余“天阳一生、不弱于人”的执念残存于世。
"S-Senior Brother?"
lǐ fán cāi cè ， kě néng zhèng shì dāng chū nà jiāng cóng yún shān mài pāi chéng cóng yún hǎi de 【 fān tiān yī zhǎng 】， cái dǎo zhì le tiān yáng jì huà de shī bài 。
李凡猜测，可能正是当初那将丛云山脉拍成丛云海的【翻天一掌】，才导致了天阳计划的失败。
A somewhat sluggish composite sound echoed.
“ tiān yáng yī shēng ， bù xìng yú rén ……” lǐ fán yáo yáo tóu ， lái dào le dòng fǔ wài bù de guǎng chǎng shàng 。
“天阳一生，不幸于人……”李凡摇摇头，来到了洞府外部的广场上。
Li Fan laughed heartily: "Younger brother, it’s been a thousand years since we last met; you're still well!"
zǐ xì duān xiáng le piàn kè ， shēn xíng rú tóng guǐ mèi ， lǐ fán huà zuò yī dào xì xiàn ， qī wān bā rào zhōng ， ān quán chuān guò 。
仔细端详了片刻，身形如同鬼魅，李凡化作一道细线，七弯八绕中，安全穿过。
"Sen- Senor Brother!"
méi yǒu chù fā jī guān jìn zhì ， lǐ fán shùn lì de lái dào dòng fǔ shēn chù 。
没有触发机关禁制，李凡顺利的来到洞府深处。
Boom!
nà lǐ ， duān zuò zhe yī jù hái tóng bān dà xiǎo de shī gǔ 。
那里，端坐着一具孩童般大小的尸骨。
Seventeen puppets' bodies showed cracks. Then they shattered like broken porcelain, their fragments dissolving and moving until forming a smaller version of Heavenly Yang's puppet.
zhēn shí de lì shǐ shàng ， yóu yú tiān yáng de xiān tiān kuī kōng yì zhí méi yǒu dé dào bǔ quán ， suǒ yǐ tā yě shǐ zhōng bǎo chí zhe nián yòu shí de shēn tǐ dà xiǎo 。
真实的历史上，由于天阳的先天亏空一直没有得到补全，所以他也始终保持着年幼时的身体大小。
He flew to Li Fan's side, tilting his head as he sized up Li Fan.
lǐ fán dǎ qǐ jiè bèi ， huǎn huǎn kào jìn 。
李凡打起戒备，缓缓靠近。
Looking at this man who seemed somewhat unfamiliar, Heavenly Yang was bewildered.
hū de ， cóng dì dǐ tū rán chuán lái gē zhī gē zhī de xiǎng shēng 。
忽的，从地底突然传来咯吱咯吱的响声。
Li Fan patted Heavenly Yang’s shoulder: "Come on, senior brother, let's go home!"
lǐ fán xīn zhōng wēi dòng ， shēn xíng bào tuì 。
李凡心中微动，身形暴退。
The puppet was stunned.
jǐn jiē zhe ， shí qī zūn hēi hóng xiāng jiàn de kuǐ lěi gēn zhe shā le chū lái 。
紧接着，十七尊黑红相间的傀儡跟着杀了出来。
Deafening sounds came from the depths of the sea, and the ground trembled as if something was about to emerge.
lǐ fán yùn zhuàn qǐ shēn huà dào gōng fǎ ， gāo shēng hū hǎn dào ：“ xiǎo shī dì ， nǐ rèn bù dé wǒ le me ？”
李凡运转起身化道功法，高声呼喊道：“小师弟，你认不得我了么？”
Li Fan chuckled: "Younger brother, don't be so excited. In this era, there are still many bad people out there."
jī guān kuǐ lěi zhì ruò wǎng wén ， chū shǒu háo bù liú qíng 。
机关傀儡置若罔闻，出手毫不留情。
"If someone discovers us, it would be bad."
qí qí xiàng lǐ fán gōng lái 。
齐齐向李凡攻来。
As though understanding Li Fan's meaning, after a long while, the puppet nodded.
hǎo zài tā men yǒu “ yù ruò zé ruò 、 yù qiáng zé qiáng ” de tè xìng 。
好在它们有“遇弱则弱、遇强则强”的特性。
Silence returned to the sea bottom.
yī dào jiàn guāng jiāng kuǐ lěi bī tuì ， lǐ fán yóu zǒu zài kuǐ lěi jiàn xì zhōng ， bù duàn gāo shēng hū huàn zhe tiān yáng de míng zì 。
一道剑光将傀儡逼退，李凡游走在傀儡间隙中，不断高声呼唤着天阳的名字。
With Li Fan’s help, they spent three days retrieving and reassembling all the broken body components buried underground.
màn màn de ， jī guān kuǐ lěi de dòng zuò biàn dé yǒu xiē chí yí 。
慢慢的，机关傀儡的动作变得有些迟疑。
Quietly following behind, Heavenly Yang obediently waited as Li Fan cast secret techniques to conceal their presence.
cǐ shí lǐ fán yòu qǔ chū yī méi tóu yǐng shí ， zài kōng zhōng yìng shè chū líng xiào yí zuò lái 。
此时李凡又取出一枚投影石，在空中映射出陵笑遗作来。
He also took with him the remnants of Heavenly Yang's bones containing eternal remnants.
zhè xià ， jī guān kuǐ lěi zhú jiàn tíng zhǐ le gōng jī 。
这下，机关傀儡逐渐停止了攻击。
They hurried off to a nameless island where the people from his previous life had resided.
yǎng tóu kàn zhe kōng zhōng de wén zì huà miàn 。
仰头看着空中的文字画面。
Over ten days, Li Fan simply recreated a cave based on how it was in his former life and set up hidden and protective arrays.
“ èr ……”
“二……”
Looking at Heavenly Yang, Li Fan instructed: "Younger brother, stay here while I go back."
“ shī …… xiōng ？”
“师……兄？”
Heavenly Yang nodded obediently.
lüè xiǎn chí dùn de fù hé jī xiè yīn xiǎng qǐ 。
略显迟钝的复合机械音响起。
After Li Fan left, he returned to his original room and sat quietly.
lǐ fán hā hā xiào dào ：“ xiǎo shī dì ， qiān zài bú jiàn ， bié lái wú yàng ！”
李凡哈哈笑道：“小师弟，千载不见，别来无恙！”
In the Heavenly Xuan Mirror,
“ èr …… shī xiōng ！”
“二……师兄！”
"Awakening Heavenly Yang a few years earlier had some drawbacks."
pēng !
砰!
"Not fully refined yet; still has a gap from reaching peak Divine Immortal."
shí qī zūn kuǐ lěi de shēn shàng fú xiàn chū dào dào liè wén ， suí hòu tā men jìng rán wǎn ruò bèi shuāi huài de cí qì bān ， quán dōu suì liè kāi lái 。
十七尊傀儡的身上浮现出道道裂纹，随后它们竟然宛若被摔坏的瓷器般，全都碎裂开来。
"But I can help him complete it."
mǎn dì de suì piàn róng jiě rú dòng ， zuì zhōng xíng chéng le yī zūn xiǎo xíng de tiān yáng kuǐ lěi 。
满地的碎片溶解蠕动，最终形成了一尊小型的天阳傀儡。
After researching and purchasing rare materials, contribution points flowed like water.
tā fēi shēn lái dào lǐ fán shēn qián ， wāi zhe tóu dǎ liàng zhe lǐ fán 。
他飞身来到李凡身前，歪着头打量着李凡。
Two days later, Li Fan returned to the nameless island with several storage rings filled with resources.
kàn zhuó yǎn qián zhè wèi sì hū biàn dé yǒu xiē mò shēng de nán zi ， tiān yáng yǒu xiē mí wǎng 。
看着眼前这位似乎变得有些陌生的男子，天阳有些迷惘。
"Blackish-Gray Drifts, Willow Brushing Stones, Scarlet Spirit Copper..."
lǐ fán zé shì pāi le pāi tiān yáng de jiān bǎng ：“ zǒu ， shī xiōng dài nǐ huí jiā ！”
李凡则是拍了拍天阳的肩膀：“走，师兄带你回家！”
"Younger brother, these are for you to absorb and strengthen yourself."
tiān yáng kuǐ lěi lèng zhù le 。
天阳傀儡愣住了。
"As for your daily life, stay in this [Return to Origin Array]. It will aid your refinement..."
hōng míng shēng zì hǎi dǐ shēn chù chuán lái ， dà dà bù duàn chàn dòng ， sì hū yǒu shén me yào pò tǔ ér chū 。
轰鸣声自海底深处传来，大大不断颤动，似乎有什么要破土而出。
Li Fan carefully guided Heavenly Yang.
lǐ fán hē hē yī xiào ：“ shī dì ， bú yào zhè me jī dòng 。 xiàn zài de shí dài ， wài miàn huài rén hái shì hěn duō de 。”
李凡呵呵一笑：“师弟，不要这么激动。现在的时代，外面坏人还是很多的。”
Heavenly Yang listened attentively.
Nine years had passed, and the Heavenly Yang Cave still hadn't made its debut.
Deep within a dormant underwater volcano, hidden from outsiders, Li Fan, based on the [Earth Fire Return Array] he obtained from the remnants of Heavenly Yang, spent considerable effort to pinpoint the cave's location.
After activating several protective spirit talismans, Li Fan cautiously entered the cave. The current state of Heavenly Yang was peculiar; he was in a liminal condition between life and death.
From the eternal remnants, Li Fan learned that back when they transformed into Dao bodies, apart from Heavenly Yang, all others had participated in the ancient battle and never returned.
Heavenly Yang himself firmly believed his master and senior brothers would return one day. To ensure they could find him if they did come back, he stayed within the Cave of Transformed Dao, unwilling to leave.
Years later, an outsider stumbled upon the cave. Heavenly Yang intended to resist but was no match for them. He relied on the treasures left by his senior brothers and barely managed to survive.
From then on, young Heavenly Yang began a nomadic life in the cultivation world. In this process, he gradually realized that his talent wasn't as exceptional as his senior brothers had claimed—far from matching their abilities, he couldn't even match ordinary Golden Core cultivators.
Despite this, his master and senior brothers still left him with the last hope for survival. Whenever Li Fan thought about what they once said to him: "Heavenly Yang, your talent is unparalleled in this world. Get well soon; Transformed Dao needs you," he felt a deep sense of self-hatred.
But reality didn't change based on his emotions. Heavenly Yang estimated that without any extraordinary opportunities, he might reach the Golden Core realm as his limit.
To fulfill his master's and senior brothers' expectations, Heavenly Yang decided to take a desperate gamble. He would abandon his physical body and fully transform into a puppet to defy fate and destiny.
His entire second life was dedicated to preparing for this. Finding suitable locations for the [Earth Fire Return Array], gathering materials, and refining puppets...
After everything was in place, Heavenly Yang completed the puppet transformation resolutely. Then he fell into a deep sleep, hoping to use the power of earth fire to refine the puppet, elevating it.
If all went well, he would complete his transformation within five hundred years, becoming a powerful existence whose might wouldn't be inferior to that of a Divine Immortal.
But...
Reality was different.
Over five centuries, mountains turned into seas. The earth's veins changed, weakening the effectiveness of the Earth Fire Return Array. The materials used for refining the puppet were ordinary ones.
This slowed down Heavenly Yang's transformation process significantly.
From the originally planned five hundred years, it now stretched to thousands of years.
Even in his slumber, Heavenly Yang's consciousness gradually wore away. Most of his subjective will was lost, leaving only "Heavenly Yang's life is no less than that of others" as a lingering thought.
Li Fan speculated that perhaps it was the [Sky-Breaking Palm] that turned Cunyun Range into Cunyun Sea that caused Heavenly Yang’s plan to fail.
"Heavenly Yang's life, unfortunate compared to others..." Li Fan shook his head and stepped out onto the cave's external plaza.
He carefully examined the area before transforming into a ghostly figure, moving like a fine thread, safely passing through without triggering any mechanisms.
Without activating any traps, he reached the deeper parts of the cave. There, a child-sized skeleton sat quietly.
In real history, due to Heavenly Yang’s congenital deficiency never being fully replenished, he always retained his youthful body size.
Li Fan approached cautiously. Suddenly, from below, came creaking sounds.
Li Fan's heart stirred; he retreated swiftly.
Following this, seventeen black and red puppets emerged.
Li Fan activated the Transformed Dao technique and shouted, "Younger brother, do you not recognize me?"
The mechanical puppets ignored him, attacking mercilessly.
They all advanced towards Li Fan. Fortunately, they had a characteristic of weakening or strengthening based on their opponent's strength. A sword light pushed back one puppet while Li Fan moved through the gaps between them, repeatedly calling out Heavenly Yang’s name.
Slowly, the puppets' actions became hesitant.
At this moment, Li Fan took out a projection stone and projected Ling Xiao's masterpiece into the air.
This time, the mechanical puppets gradually stopped their attacks. Looking up at the text in the sky.
"Two..."
"S-Senior Brother?"
A somewhat sluggish composite sound echoed.
Li Fan laughed heartily: "Younger brother, it’s been a thousand years since we last met; you're still well!"
"Sen- Senor Brother!"
Boom!
Seventeen puppets' bodies showed cracks. Then they shattered like broken porcelain, their fragments dissolving and moving until forming a smaller version of Heavenly Yang's puppet.
He flew to Li Fan's side, tilting his head as he sized up Li Fan.
Looking at this man who seemed somewhat unfamiliar, Heavenly Yang was bewildered.
Li Fan patted Heavenly Yang’s shoulder: "Come on, senior brother, let's go home!"
The puppet was stunned.
Deafening sounds came from the depths of the sea, and the ground trembled as if something was about to emerge.
Li Fan chuckled: "Younger brother, don't be so excited. In this era, there are still many bad people out there."
"If someone discovers us, it would be bad."
As though understanding Li Fan's meaning, after a long while, the puppet nodded.
Silence returned to the sea bottom.
With Li Fan’s help, they spent three days retrieving and reassembling all the broken body components buried underground.
Quietly following behind, Heavenly Yang obediently waited as Li Fan cast secret techniques to conceal their presence.
He also took with him the remnants of Heavenly Yang's bones containing eternal remnants.
They hurried off to a nameless island where the people from his previous life had resided.
Over ten days, Li Fan simply recreated a cave based on how it was in his former life and set up hidden and protective arrays.
Looking at Heavenly Yang, Li Fan instructed: "Younger brother, stay here while I go back."
Heavenly Yang nodded obediently.
After Li Fan left, he returned to his original room and sat quietly.
In the Heavenly Xuan Mirror,
"Awakening Heavenly Yang a few years earlier had some drawbacks."
"Not fully refined yet; still has a gap from reaching peak Divine Immortal."
"But I can help him complete it."
After researching and purchasing rare materials, contribution points flowed like water.
Two days later, Li Fan returned to the nameless island with several storage rings filled with resources.
"Blackish-Gray Drifts, Willow Brushing Stones, Scarlet Spirit Copper..."
"Younger brother, these are for you to absorb and strengthen yourself."
"As for your daily life, stay in this [Return to Origin Array]. It will aid your refinement..."
Li Fan carefully guided Heavenly Yang.
Heavenly Yang listened attentively.