rú jīn shì máo dìng 6 nián 。
如今是锚定6年。
Now it is the 6th year.
lǐ fán méi yǒu qián wǎng wàn xiān méng 。
李凡没有前往万仙盟。
Li Fan did not head to the Ten Immortals Alliance. Instead, he quietly arrived at the entrance of the Exile Lands.
ér shì xiān qiǎo rán lái dào le lí jiè rù kǒu 。
而是先悄然来到了离界入口。
Passing through the spatial channel, Li Fan flew directly towards a nearby volcano in the center of the Exile Lands.
chuān guò kōng jiān tōng dào ， lǐ fán jìng zhí fēi dào le lí jiè zhōng yāng de nà zuò huǒ shān fù jìn 。
穿过空间通道，李凡径直飞到了离界中央的那座火山附近。
The hot air was thick with the smell of sulfur.
chì rè de kōng qì zhōng ， mí màn zhe nóng nóng de liú huáng wèi 。
炽热的空气中，弥漫着浓浓的硫磺味。
Nearby, traces of lava could still be seen, indicating that it had not yet fully cooled down. It seemed as though this volcano had just experienced a violent eruption.
fù jìn yī xī néng kàn dào róng yán sì nüè ， shàng wèi wán quán lěng níng de hén jì 。
附近依稀能看到熔岩肆虐，尚未完全冷凝的痕迹。
Suspended in mid-air, Li Fan carefully observed the volcano. A strange feeling grew stronger within him.
sì hū zhè huǒ shān ， cái gāng gāng fā shēng guò yì qǐ jù liè de bào fā 。
似乎这火山，才刚刚发生过一起剧烈的爆发。
"Surely there's something odd about this."
xuán yú bàn kōng ， lǐ fán zǐ xì guān chá zháo huǒ shān 。
悬于半空，李凡仔细观察着火山。
After a while, a peculiar expression appeared in his eyes.
xīn zhōng nà gǔ guài yì de gǎn jué yù fā qiáng liè 。
心中那股怪异的感觉愈发强烈。
Perhaps it was because he had already ascended to the Foundation Establishment Realm and possessed an Inner Heaven existence within his body. Or perhaps it was due to his previous fusion with the Heavenly Dao of a small world through the body of Xu Bai. Li Fan's perception of "Inner Heavens" and "Small Worlds" had become more acute.
“ guǒ rán yǒu jǐ fēn qī qiāo 。”
“果然有几分蹊跷。”
Upon this observation, he immediately understood where the strange feeling in his heart came from whenever he saw the volcano in the Exile Lands.
bàn shǎng zhī hòu ， lǐ fán yǎn zhōng lù chū yī sī qí yì zhī sè 。
半晌之后，李凡眼中露出一丝奇异之色。
"This volcano isn't part of the Exile Lands at all. It comes from another small world!"
huò xǔ shì yīn wèi céng jīng yǐ jīng shēng rù yuán yīng jìng ， tǐ nèi yǒu zhe dòng tiān de cún zài 。
或许是因为曾经已经升入元婴境，体内有着洞天的存在。
"No wonder there's always a sense of discomfort and disharmony!"
yì huò zhě shì céng jīng yǐ xǔ bái zhī qū ， yǔ yī fāng xiǎo shì jiè tiān dào xiāng hé 。
亦或者是曾经以许白之躯，与一方小世界天道相合。
Actually, the surrounding terrain already gave away clues to this fact. On an endless plain, a violent volcano stood out. This was clearly abnormal. However, ordinary people attributed it to the power of nature. Li Fan, as a cultivator, could discern its true cause.
lǐ fán duì yú “ dòng tiān 、 xiǎo shì jiè ” de gǎn zhī chéng dù ， mǐn ruì le bù shǎo 。
李凡对于“洞天、小世界”的感知程度，敏锐了不少。
Li Fan's interest piqued.
cǐ fān guān chá zhī xià ， tā dùn shí zhī dào le ， zhī qián tā měi měi kàn dào zhè lí jiè huǒ shān shí ， xīn zhōng de yì yàng lái zì hé chù le 。
此番观察之下，他顿时知道了，之前他每每看到这离界火山时，心中的异样来自何处了。
"Why is there a volcano from another small world appearing in the Exile Lands?"
“ zhè chù huǒ shān ， gēn běn bú shì lí jiè suǒ shǔ 。 ér shì lái zì lìng yí gè xiǎo shì jiè ！”
“这处火山，根本不是离界所属。而是来自另一个小世界！”
He set up a protective barrier around himself and flew into the volcano's mouth. The scorching lava couldn't harm him at all.
“ nán guài shǐ zhōng yǒu zhǒng gé gé bù rù de bù hé xié zhī gǎn ！”
“难怪始终有种格格不入的不和谐之感！”
Li Fan delved deeper into the volcano, trying to find the source of the anomaly. He finally found something significant at the bottom where the volcano met the earth veins.
qí shí ， zhè sì zhōu de dì xíng ， yǐ jīng hěn néng shuō míng wèn tí le 。
其实，这四周的地形，已经很能说明问题了。
"What is this..."
yí wàng wú jì de píng yuán zhī shàng ， yī zuò bào nüè de huǒ shān bá dì ér qǐ 。
一望无际的平原之上，一座暴虐的火山拔地而起。
He reached out and gathered a strand of geothermal fire in his palm. Even with his mid-advanced Golden Core protection, it still felt quite hot.
xiǎn rán shì shí fēn bú zhèng cháng de shì qíng 。
显然是十分不正常的事情。
"It's not spiritual energy but a kind of extraordinary force."
zhǐ bù guò fán rén zhǐ jiāng qí guī yīn yú ， tiān dì zào huà wěi lì 。
只不过凡人只将其归因于，天地造化伟力。
"The Exile Lands are purely a human world without conditions for such geothermal fires to exist."
ér lǐ fán zhè děng xiū shì ， què shí néng fā xiàn qí bèi hòu de yuán yīn 。
而李凡这等修士，确实能发现其背后的原因。
Li Fan returned the geothermal fire and carefully examined this space. Compared to the volcano mouth, the lava here flowed more calmly and quietly, occasionally bubbling up.
lǐ fán dùn shí lái le xìng qù 。
李凡顿时来了兴趣。
At the edge of the lava sea, there was an indistinct boundary line hidden in the orange-red lava. If not deliberately sought out, it would easily be overlooked.
“ zhè shì zěn me huí shì ？ lìng wài yí gè xiǎo shì jiè de huǒ shān ， wèi shén me huì tū wù chū xiàn zài lí jiè ？”
“这是怎么回事？另外一个小世界的火山，为什么会突兀出现在离界？”
From this boundary line, a force similar to geothermal fire could faintly be sensed.
lǐ fán suí shǒu zài zì shēn zhōu wéi bù xià fáng hù ， ér hòu fēi rù huǒ shān kǒu zhōng 。
李凡随手在自身周围布下防护，而后飞入火山口中。
"Another spatial channel?"
zhuó rè 、 fān téng de yán jiāng ， gēn běn wú fǎ shāng qí fēn háo 。
灼热、翻腾的岩浆，根本无法伤其分毫。
Li Fan pondered for a moment, then set up a protective array around himself and leaped into it.
lǐ fán shēn rù huǒ shān ， shì tú cóng qí nèi bù ， zhǎo dào yì cháng de lái yuán 。
李凡深入火山，试图从其内部，找到异常的来源。
Boom!
yì zhí dào zuì dǐ bù ， huǒ shān yǔ dì mài de jiāo huì chù 。
一直到最底部，火山与地脉的交汇处。
Before he could fully enter, a fireball was hurled at him. However, the power wasn't great enough to break through his protective barrier.
cái zhōng yú yǒu suǒ shōu huò 。
才终于有所收获。
Initially thinking someone was attacking, Li Fan's heart tightened. Upon closer inspection, however, he relaxed as he was captivated by the scenery of this world.
“ zhè shì ……”
“这是……”
This was an entirely lifeless world, purely a realm of "fire."
lǐ fán shēn shǒu ， jiāng yī lǚ dì huǒ shè yú shǒu xīn 。
李凡伸手，将一缕地火摄于手心。
The fiery lava formed a never-ending inferno, constantly boiling and exploding. With each eruption, flames shot up into the air, bursting apart in mid-air. They left countless red fire lines streaking across the sky before crashing down on all sides.
yǐ tā jīn dān zhōng qī de fáng hù děng jí ， yī rán gǎn dào yǒu xiē tàng shǒu 。
以他金丹中期的防护等级，依然感到有些烫手。
They fell back into the lava sea, triggering new chains of reactions.
“ bú shì líng qì 。 dàn què yě shì zhǒng chāo fán de lì liàng 。”
“不是灵气。但却也是种超凡的力量。”
Flames were the eternal theme of this world. Not only did countless independent fires exist deep within the endless lava sea, but in the sky, various large flames could be seen floating with the wind, resembling canvases.
“ lí jiè nǎi shì chún cuì de fán rén shì jiè ， méi yǒu dàn shēng zhè zhòng dì huǒ de tiáo jiàn 。”
“离界乃是纯粹的凡人世界，没有诞生这种地火的条件。”
Their colors and shapes varied greatly. The strongest flame's aura even made Li Fan feel a little棘手 (handsome).
lǐ fán jiāng dì huǒ fàng huí ， yòu zǐ xì guān chá qǐ zhè piàn kōng jiān 。
李凡将地火放回，又仔细观察起这片空间。
But that was all.
yǔ huǒ shān kǒu xiāng bǐ ， cǐ chù yán jiāng liú dòng ， què shì jiào wéi píng huǎn 、 píng jìng 。
与火山口相比，此处岩浆流动，却是较为平缓、平静。
After thoroughly exploring this world for some time, Li Fan couldn't help feeling disappointed: "The power level is at most late-stage Golden Core."
zhǐ shì bù shí fān chū xiē xǔ qì pào 。
只是不时翻出些许气泡。
"Even if I were in the Foundation Establishment Realm, with the fires of this world burning me to ashes, it wouldn't be able to harm me a bit."
ér yán jiāng hǎi biān yuán ， cún zài zhe yī céng hěn bù míng xiǎn de fēn jiè xiàn 。
而岩浆海边缘，存在着一层很不明显的分界线。
"It's valuable but not that much."
yǐn cáng zài chéng hóng yán jiāng zhōng ， háo bù qǐ yǎn 。
隐藏在橙红岩浆中，毫不起眼。
Li Fan shook his head. He estimated that even for cultivators interested in fire attributes, they would not pay more than 2000 contribution points for this world.
rú guǒ bú shì kè yì xún zhǎo ， hěn róng yì jiù huì hū lüè tā de cún zài 。
如果不是刻意寻找，很容易就会忽略它的存在。
This amount was negligible to Li Fan.
cóng zhè fēn jiè xiàn zhōng ， yǐn yǐn chuán lái le ， gēn dì huǒ tóng yuán de lì liàng 。
从这分界线中，隐隐传来了，跟地火同源的力量。
"Disappointing!"
“ yòu yí gè kōng jiān tōng dào ？”
“又一个空间通道？”
Li Fan lost interest and was about to return through the spatial channel he came from when he suddenly remembered something and stopped. After pondering for a moment, he changed direction and flew towards the sky.
lǐ fán ruò yǒu suǒ sī 。
李凡若有所思。
He continued flying until reaching the edge of the world, near the endless void.
chén yín piàn kè ， zài zhōu shēn bù xià fáng hù fǎ zhèn hòu ， tā fēi shēn yuè rù qí zhōng 。
沉吟片刻，在周身布下防护法阵后，他飞身跃入其中。
Looking down, he could vaguely see the entire landscape of this world.
hōng ！
轰！
It was clear that the terrain of the lava sea near the spatial channel to the Exile Lands was different from other areas. It seemed as though it had been struck by a violent impact, leaving an obvious outline.
yǎn qián yī huā ， gāng gāng jìn rù ， biàn yǒu yī tuán huǒ qiú ， cháo zhe lǐ fán zá lái 。
眼前一花，刚刚进入，便有一团火球，朝着李凡砸来。
From the distance in the air, Li Fan could faintly see the scenery of the Exile Lands.
bù guò wēi lì què bú shì hěn dà ， bèi fáng hù zhèn fǎ zì xíng dàn kāi 。
不过威力却不是很大，被防护阵法自行弹开。
Li Fan suddenly understood: "This is two small worlds from two different voids colliding."
lǐ fán yuán běn hái yǐ wéi shì yǒu rén xí jī ， lǐn le lǐn xīn shén 。
李凡原本还以为是有人袭击，凛了凛心神。
"A part of the fire world has deeply embedded itself within the Exile Lands."
dìng jīng yī kàn ， què fàng sōng xià lái 。 zhǐ shì shùn jiān bèi cǐ fāng shì jiè jǐng sè xī yǐn 。
定睛一看，却放松下来。只是瞬间被此方世界景色吸引。
"Integrated as one. Over time, they become indistinguishable and gradually merge."
zhè shì gè wán quán méi yǒu shēng mìng cún zài 、 chún cuì de shǔ yú “ huǒ ” de shì jiè 。
这是个完全没有生命存在、纯粹的属于“火”的世界。
Li Fan quickly returned to the lava sea below.
chì rè róng yán suǒ gòu chéng de liàn yù zhī hǎi ， fān téng bù zhǐ 。
炽热熔岩所构成的炼狱之海，翻腾不止。
"The power level of this fire world is clearly much higher than that of the human Exile Lands."
bù shí yǒu jù dà de zhà liè shēng xiǎng qǐ 。
不时有巨大的炸裂声响起。
"With their strength surpassing mine, over time, the fate of the Exile Lands can only be to be devoured and assimilated."
bàn suí zhe yán jiāng chōng tiān pēn qǐ ， ér hòu zài kōng zhōng bào liè kāi lái 。
伴随着岩浆冲天喷起，而后在空中爆裂开来。
Li Fan pondered.
huá guò wú shù dào chì sè huǒ xiàn ， zá xiàng sì miàn bā fāng 。
划过无数道赤色火线，砸向四面八方。
"Ah?"
luò rù yán jiāng hǎi zhōng ， yòu yǐn fā xīn yī lún de lián suǒ fǎn yìng 。
落入岩浆海中，又引发新一轮的连锁反应。
He suddenly remembered the extraordinary talents displayed by Su Xiaomei, Su Heng, Ye Feipeng, and others in the 115th World. He had first confined them on his body-transforming island before imprisoning them in Medicine King Valley for many years. When they finally started cultivating, he found that everyone in the Exile Lands had lost their spiritual energy.
huǒ yàn ， shì cǐ fāng shì jiè yǒng héng de zhǔ tí 。
火焰，是此方世界永恒的主题。
At that time, Li Fan drove them out of Medicine King Valley, hoping to see if they could rediscover their talents after returning to the world. Unfortunately, by the end of the world's cycle, no news about them reached him. They were just like ordinary people now.
bù jǐn shì xià fāng wàng bú dào tóu de yán jiāng hǎi zhōng ， cún zài zhe wú shù rú tóng huā bān dú lì de huǒ zhǒng 。
不仅是下方望不到头的岩浆海中，存在着无数如同花般独立的火种。
"The talents of the Exile Lands' people do not come from themselves."
zài tiān kōng zhī zhōng ， yě néng yī xī kàn dào suí fēng piāo fú de jù dà de 、 rú tóng huà bù zǔ chéng de gè shì huǒ yàn 。
在天空之中，也能依稀看到随风漂浮的巨大的、如同画布组成的各式火焰。
"Instead..."
yán sè 、 xíng tài gè yì 。
颜色、形态各异。
Li Fan recalled Su Xiaomei's birth: "Born without a father, conceived under divine mandate."
qí zhōng zuì qiáng zhī huǒ de qì xī ， shèn zhì ràng lǐ fán gǎn dào yǒu xiē wēi wēi jí shǒu 。
其中最强之火的气息，甚至让李凡感到有些微微棘手。
Li Fan's eyes lit up as he found the key to the problem. He passed through the spatial channel beneath the volcano and returned to the Exile Lands.
rán hòu yě zhǐ yú cǐ le 。
然后也止于此了。
Not long after, he found his target in the University Chancellor's residence—Su Xiaomei's mother, Su Yuning. She was still childless at this young age, with a face full of innocence and naivety. She was playing with butterflies perched on flowers in her own backyard garden, very focused.
huā fèi le yī xiē shí jiān ， jiāng cǐ fāng shì jiè wán quán tàn suǒ wán bì hòu ， lǐ fán bù jīn yǒu xiē yí hàn ：“ lì liàng céng jí ， zuì duō yě zhǐ shì jīn dān hòu qī céng cì 。”
花费了一些时间，将此方世界完全探索完毕后，李凡不禁有些遗憾：“力量层级，最多也只是金丹后期层次。”
The moment he saw her, a familiar feeling surged within Li Fan.
“ ruò wǒ yuán yīng qī lái ， nǎ pà cǐ chǔ shì jiè zhī huǒ ， yī qí fén wǒ 。 yě bié xiǎng duì wǒ zào chéng sī háo sǔn shāng 。”
“若我元婴期来，哪怕此处世界之火，一齐焚我。也别想对我造成丝毫损伤。”
"Mr. Bai?"
Now it is the 6th year.
Li Fan did not head to the Ten Immortals Alliance. Instead, he quietly arrived at the entrance of the Exile Lands.
Passing through the spatial channel, Li Fan flew directly towards a nearby volcano in the center of the Exile Lands.
The hot air was thick with the smell of sulfur.
Nearby, traces of lava could still be seen, indicating that it had not yet fully cooled down. It seemed as though this volcano had just experienced a violent eruption.
Suspended in mid-air, Li Fan carefully observed the volcano. A strange feeling grew stronger within him.
"Surely there's something odd about this."
After a while, a peculiar expression appeared in his eyes.
Perhaps it was because he had already ascended to the Foundation Establishment Realm and possessed an Inner Heaven existence within his body. Or perhaps it was due to his previous fusion with the Heavenly Dao of a small world through the body of Xu Bai. Li Fan's perception of "Inner Heavens" and "Small Worlds" had become more acute.
Upon this observation, he immediately understood where the strange feeling in his heart came from whenever he saw the volcano in the Exile Lands.
"This volcano isn't part of the Exile Lands at all. It comes from another small world!"
"No wonder there's always a sense of discomfort and disharmony!"
Actually, the surrounding terrain already gave away clues to this fact. On an endless plain, a violent volcano stood out. This was clearly abnormal. However, ordinary people attributed it to the power of nature. Li Fan, as a cultivator, could discern its true cause.
Li Fan's interest piqued.
"Why is there a volcano from another small world appearing in the Exile Lands?"
He set up a protective barrier around himself and flew into the volcano's mouth. The scorching lava couldn't harm him at all.
Li Fan delved deeper into the volcano, trying to find the source of the anomaly. He finally found something significant at the bottom where the volcano met the earth veins.
"What is this..."
He reached out and gathered a strand of geothermal fire in his palm. Even with his mid-advanced Golden Core protection, it still felt quite hot.
"It's not spiritual energy but a kind of extraordinary force."
"The Exile Lands are purely a human world without conditions for such geothermal fires to exist."
Li Fan returned the geothermal fire and carefully examined this space. Compared to the volcano mouth, the lava here flowed more calmly and quietly, occasionally bubbling up.
At the edge of the lava sea, there was an indistinct boundary line hidden in the orange-red lava. If not deliberately sought out, it would easily be overlooked.
From this boundary line, a force similar to geothermal fire could faintly be sensed.
"Another spatial channel?"
Li Fan pondered for a moment, then set up a protective array around himself and leaped into it.
Boom!
Before he could fully enter, a fireball was hurled at him. However, the power wasn't great enough to break through his protective barrier.
Initially thinking someone was attacking, Li Fan's heart tightened. Upon closer inspection, however, he relaxed as he was captivated by the scenery of this world.
This was an entirely lifeless world, purely a realm of "fire."
The fiery lava formed a never-ending inferno, constantly boiling and exploding. With each eruption, flames shot up into the air, bursting apart in mid-air. They left countless red fire lines streaking across the sky before crashing down on all sides.
They fell back into the lava sea, triggering new chains of reactions.
Flames were the eternal theme of this world. Not only did countless independent fires exist deep within the endless lava sea, but in the sky, various large flames could be seen floating with the wind, resembling canvases.
Their colors and shapes varied greatly. The strongest flame's aura even made Li Fan feel a little棘手 (handsome).
But that was all.
After thoroughly exploring this world for some time, Li Fan couldn't help feeling disappointed: "The power level is at most late-stage Golden Core."
"Even if I were in the Foundation Establishment Realm, with the fires of this world burning me to ashes, it wouldn't be able to harm me a bit."
"It's valuable but not that much."
Li Fan shook his head. He estimated that even for cultivators interested in fire attributes, they would not pay more than 2000 contribution points for this world.
This amount was negligible to Li Fan.
"Disappointing!"
Li Fan lost interest and was about to return through the spatial channel he came from when he suddenly remembered something and stopped. After pondering for a moment, he changed direction and flew towards the sky.
He continued flying until reaching the edge of the world, near the endless void.
Looking down, he could vaguely see the entire landscape of this world.
It was clear that the terrain of the lava sea near the spatial channel to the Exile Lands was different from other areas. It seemed as though it had been struck by a violent impact, leaving an obvious outline.
From the distance in the air, Li Fan could faintly see the scenery of the Exile Lands.
Li Fan suddenly understood: "This is two small worlds from two different voids colliding."
"A part of the fire world has deeply embedded itself within the Exile Lands."
"Integrated as one. Over time, they become indistinguishable and gradually merge."
Li Fan quickly returned to the lava sea below.
"The power level of this fire world is clearly much higher than that of the human Exile Lands."
"With their strength surpassing mine, over time, the fate of the Exile Lands can only be to be devoured and assimilated."
Li Fan pondered.
"Ah?"
He suddenly remembered the extraordinary talents displayed by Su Xiaomei, Su Heng, Ye Feipeng, and others in the 115th World. He had first confined them on his body-transforming island before imprisoning them in Medicine King Valley for many years. When they finally started cultivating, he found that everyone in the Exile Lands had lost their spiritual energy.
At that time, Li Fan drove them out of Medicine King Valley, hoping to see if they could rediscover their talents after returning to the world. Unfortunately, by the end of the world's cycle, no news about them reached him. They were just like ordinary people now.
"The talents of the Exile Lands' people do not come from themselves."
"Instead..."
Li Fan recalled Su Xiaomei's birth: "Born without a father, conceived under divine mandate."
Li Fan's eyes lit up as he found the key to the problem. He passed through the spatial channel beneath the volcano and returned to the Exile Lands.
Not long after, he found his target in the University Chancellor's residence—Su Xiaomei's mother, Su Yuning. She was still childless at this young age, with a face full of innocence and naivety. She was playing with butterflies perched on flowers in her own backyard garden, very focused.
The moment he saw her, a familiar feeling surged within Li Fan.
"Mr. Bai?"