Ever since this fish gambling started, it has become the most popular activity for cultivators in the Cong Yun Sea.
Especially during the final round of fish gambling at the end of each year, the number of participating cultivators was so great that the solitary island was almost filled to capacity.
Everyone was hoping to strike it rich overnight.
During the fish gambling at the end of the 16th year, Li Fan also went to join in the lively atmosphere.
He discovered that there was some skill to this fish gambling; it wasn't as simple as just relying on luck.
One must know that the fish in this island's lake came from all over the Cong Yun Sea.
For those who could traverse thousands of miles to get here, each one's strength was considerable.
During the 27-day observation period, these fish had to ensure their survival within the lake, while also accumulating power and making preparations for the final leap into the sky.
And on the final day when the lake erupted, the position of each fish within the lake also largely determined the eventual leaping height.
Hundreds of thousands of fish were intertwined in this lake, struggling against each other.
That one lucky fish not only had to defeat its competitors but in the end also had to rely on fortune, hoping that the erupting waters were strongest in its area in order to become the final winner.
How difficult!
Li Fan's divine sense flowed among the hundreds of thousands of fish for a long time but didn't find one particularly suitable.
In the end, he could only randomly choose a fish that looked rather strong before the deadline.
As a result, this fish actually couldn't survive the remaining three days. Before the lake erupted, it was swallowed by two other fish teaming up.
Li Fan shook his head, resigned to his bad luck.
The final result came out: the fish that leaped above all others turned out to be a sickly-looking inconspicuous white pomfret.
This fish had barely managed to survive in the lake before, but unexpectedly it was the one who had the last laugh.
The cultivators used the recorded images to discover that this white pomfret had heaven defying luck.
When the lake erupted, it just happened to be at the point with the strongest current.
After accumulating power all this time, with many factors compounding, it was able to shoot into the sky and take first place.
No one could have predicted it, and they could only regretfully watch this white pomfret.
Li Fan locked onto it with Formless Killing Intent, carefully memorizing its appearance in his mind.
"I wonder if this same fish will be the final winner again in the next life?" Li Fan randomly thought.
After fish gambling ended, some were happy and some were worried.
But what needed to be done still had to be done.
The group of cultivators jointly worked swiftly. In an instant, all the fish in the lake aside from that white pomfret were refined into spiritual energy.
The white pomfret swallowed this ball of spiritual energy, and its body instantly expanded several fold.
Its teeth became as sharp as blades, and blood-red streaks even emerged between its scales, an ominous aura bursting out from within.
In a short time, this white pomfret had seemingly already completed the metamorphosis that the other fish struggled towards for a lifetime but still might not have achieved.
After releasing this white pomfret back into the sea, the group of cultivators departed together.
Li Fan went along with them.
Halfway there, Li Fan was suddenly taken aback.
Because in the perception of Formless Killing Intent, the aura of that white pomfret which had just completed its metamorphosis and ascended in one step, was rapidly declining.
"Hmm? What's the situation?" Li Fan was a little curious, immediately activating the Vision of Heaven and Earth.
In his vision, five ugly and extremely ferocious-looking fish were surrounding and attacking the white pomfret.
Each of these fish was not inferior in strength to the freshly metamorphosed white pomfret.
Ganged up on, how could it withstand the onslaught?
Soon it was already grievously injured and on its last legs.
Li Fan saw clearly that these five fish had a mixture of refined blood and energy in them. Obviously, they didn't naturally evolve to this level, clearly showing traces of artificial cultivation.
"Interesting, these are all the previous years' winning fish?" Li Fan understood the cause and effect in an instant.
These fish that obtained good fortune, because of the obstruction from the outer formations of the solitary island, could not enter the lake again to participate in fish gambling.
But they had already vaguely developed intelligence, knowing that each month here a new fish king would be born.
Thus, they lay in wait here, joining forces to strangle these newly born fish kings and eat their flesh and blood.
Unable to obtain good fortune themselves, but able to eat those who did, the effect was the same.
Under Li Fan's gaze, the white pomfret that the group of cultivators just spoke of having "Heaven's Will" and "heaven defying luck" was reduced to bones in an instant, buried in the bellies of the five fish.
Only the slowly rising crimson blood stain in the seawater proved that it once existed.
After eating their fill, the spiritual energy in the five strange fish swelled a bit more.
Satisfied, they swayed their heads and left.
Li Fan watched this scene from afar, falling deep in thought.
Returning to Ten Thousand Immortals Island, he didn't choose to enter secluded cultivation in the Tianxuan Mirror.
Instead, he narrowed his eyes, looking up at the sky, then looked at the statue of the elderly man overlooking all life on the island.
Feeling ever more sentimental.
"Perhaps there is nothing new in this world..."
Li Fan realized.
Time continued to slowly tick by.
In the 17th year, Zhang Haobo's cultivation had broken through to mid Foundation Establishment.
Li Fan observed for a while and discovered he no longer endlessly practiced the Sea Fixing Sword Technique.
Instead, he once again embarked to follow after the winds.
Only now, different from before, wherever Zhang Haobo arrived at the scene of a wind calamity, he would dance with his sword along the wind.
The 108 Sea Fixing Swords combined into a giant blue sword.
Zhang Haobo, facing the howling frenzied winds, slashed against them.
The roaring wind calamity seemed to weaken under his endless sword slices.
But this trend was very weak. If not for Li Fan's Vision of Heaven and Earth revealing the minute shifts in the flow of spiritual energy between heaven and earth, it would be hard to notice.
Yet Zhang Haobo appeared unconcerned by failure or humiliation.
Unwilling to give up, he continued to pursue one wind calamity after another.
Honing his sword intent in the winds.
"Looks like his next breakthrough is not far off." Li Fan did not feel the slightest envy towards his rapid progress.
From the moment he obtained [Truth] and entered the cultivation world, Li Fan was clear that speed of cultivation was completely unimportant to him.
Accumulating steadily over life after life, building an extremely solid foundation, that was what he should do.
And after seeing the white pomfret get eaten after winning, he became even more firm in this understanding.
Only by cultivating through hundreds of lifetimes was there a sliver of a chance to break out of this dead end.
...
Li Fan's days on Ten Thousand Immortals Island continued as peaceful as always.
In the middle of the 17th year, Li Fan accumulated over eight thousand contribution points and bought two low grade Human Treasures.
He went out for a trip and then sacrificed them to unlock the second anchor point of [Truth].
He didn't immediately set the anchor. Li Fan planned to see how the third anchor point was unlocked before deciding.
However, not long after this, Li Fan's peaceful life was disrupted.
He received a summons from the Hall of Heavenly Secrets of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, requiring him to assist in an investigation. It involved the mysterious deaths of two Nascent Soul cultivators, six Golden Core cultivators, nineteen Foundation Establishment cultivators, and numerous Qi Condensation cultivators.
Ever since this fish gambling started, it has become the most popular activity for cultivators in the Cong Yun Sea.
Especially during the final round of fish gambling at the end of each year, the number of participating cultivators was so great that the solitary island was almost filled to capacity.
Everyone was hoping to strike it rich overnight.
During the fish gambling at the end of the 16th year, Li Fan also went to join in the lively atmosphere.
He discovered that there was some skill to this fish gambling; it wasn't as simple as just relying on luck.
One must know that the fish in this island's lake came from all over the Cong Yun Sea.
For those who could traverse thousands of miles to get here, each one's strength was considerable.
During the 27-day observation period, these fish had to ensure their survival within the lake, while also accumulating power and making preparations for the final leap into the sky.
And on the final day when the lake erupted, the position of each fish within the lake also largely determined the eventual leaping height.
Hundreds of thousands of fish were intertwined in this lake, struggling against each other.
That one lucky fish not only had to defeat its competitors but in the end also had to rely on fortune, hoping that the erupting waters were strongest in its area in order to become the final winner.
How difficult!
Li Fan's divine sense flowed among the hundreds of thousands of fish for a long time but didn't find one particularly suitable.
In the end, he could only randomly choose a fish that looked rather strong before the deadline.
As a result, this fish actually couldn't survive the remaining three days. Before the lake erupted, it was swallowed by two other fish teaming up.
Li Fan shook his head, resigned to his bad luck.
The final result came out: the fish that leaped above all others turned out to be a sickly-looking inconspicuous white pomfret.
This fish had barely managed to survive in the lake before, but unexpectedly it was the one who had the last laugh.
The cultivators used the recorded images to discover that this white pomfret had heaven defying luck.
When the lake erupted, it just happened to be at the point with the strongest current.
After accumulating power all this time, with many factors compounding, it was able to shoot into the sky and take first place.
No one could have predicted it, and they could only regretfully watch this white pomfret.
Li Fan locked onto it with Formless Killing Intent, carefully memorizing its appearance in his mind.
"I wonder if this same fish will be the final winner again in the next life?" Li Fan randomly thought.
After fish gambling ended, some were happy and some were worried.
But what needed to be done still had to be done.
The group of cultivators jointly worked swiftly. In an instant, all the fish in the lake aside from that white pomfret were refined into spiritual energy.
The white pomfret swallowed this ball of spiritual energy, and its body instantly expanded several fold.
Its teeth became as sharp as blades, and blood-red streaks even emerged between its scales, an ominous aura bursting out from within.
In a short time, this white pomfret had seemingly already completed the metamorphosis that the other fish struggled towards for a lifetime but still might not have achieved.
After releasing this white pomfret back into the sea, the group of cultivators departed together.
Li Fan went along with them.
Halfway there, Li Fan was suddenly taken aback.
Because in the perception of Formless Killing Intent, the aura of that white pomfret which had just completed its metamorphosis and ascended in one step, was rapidly declining.
"Hmm? What's the situation?" Li Fan was a little curious, immediately activating the Vision of Heaven and Earth.
In his vision, five ugly and extremely ferocious-looking fish were surrounding and attacking the white pomfret.
Each of these fish was not inferior in strength to the freshly metamorphosed white pomfret.
Ganged up on, how could it withstand the onslaught?
Soon it was already grievously injured and on its last legs.
Li Fan saw clearly that these five fish had a mixture of refined blood and energy in them. Obviously, they didn't naturally evolve to this level, clearly showing traces of artificial cultivation.
"Interesting, these are all the previous years' winning fish?" Li Fan understood the cause and effect in an instant.
These fish that obtained good fortune, because of the obstruction from the outer formations of the solitary island, could not enter the lake again to participate in fish gambling.
But they had already vaguely developed intelligence, knowing that each month here a new fish king would be born.
Thus, they lay in wait here, joining forces to strangle these newly born fish kings and eat their flesh and blood.
Unable to obtain good fortune themselves, but able to eat those who did, the effect was the same.
Under Li Fan's gaze, the white pomfret that the group of cultivators just spoke of having "Heaven's Will" and "heaven defying luck" was reduced to bones in an instant, buried in the bellies of the five fish.
Only the slowly rising crimson blood stain in the seawater proved that it once existed.
After eating their fill, the spiritual energy in the five strange fish swelled a bit more.
Satisfied, they swayed their heads and left.
Li Fan watched this scene from afar, falling deep in thought.
Returning to Ten Thousand Immortals Island, he didn't choose to enter secluded cultivation in the Tianxuan Mirror.
Instead, he narrowed his eyes, looking up at the sky, then looked at the statue of the elderly man overlooking all life on the island.
Feeling ever more sentimental.
"Perhaps there is nothing new in this world..."
Li Fan realized.
Time continued to slowly tick by.
In the 17th year, Zhang Haobo's cultivation had broken through to mid Foundation Establishment.
Li Fan observed for a while and discovered he no longer endlessly practiced the Sea Fixing Sword Technique.
Instead, he once again embarked to follow after the winds.
Only now, different from before, wherever Zhang Haobo arrived at the scene of a wind calamity, he would dance with his sword along the wind.
The 108 Sea Fixing Swords combined into a giant blue sword.
Zhang Haobo, facing the howling frenzied winds, slashed against them.
The roaring wind calamity seemed to weaken under his endless sword slices.
But this trend was very weak. If not for Li Fan's Vision of Heaven and Earth revealing the minute shifts in the flow of spiritual energy between heaven and earth, it would be hard to notice.
Yet Zhang Haobo appeared unconcerned by failure or humiliation.
Unwilling to give up, he continued to pursue one wind calamity after another.
Honing his sword intent in the winds.
"Looks like his next breakthrough is not far off." Li Fan did not feel the slightest envy towards his rapid progress.
From the moment he obtained [Truth] and entered the cultivation world, Li Fan was clear that speed of cultivation was completely unimportant to him.
Accumulating steadily over life after life, building an extremely solid foundation, that was what he should do.
And after seeing the white pomfret get eaten after winning, he became even more firm in this understanding.
Only by cultivating through hundreds of lifetimes was there a sliver of a chance to break out of this dead end.
...
Li Fan's days on Ten Thousand Immortals Island continued as peaceful as always.
In the middle of the 17th year, Li Fan accumulated over eight thousand contribution points and bought two low grade Human Treasures.
He went out for a trip and then sacrificed them to unlock the second anchor point of [Truth].
He didn't immediately set the anchor. Li Fan planned to see how the third anchor point was unlocked before deciding.
However, not long after this, Li Fan's peaceful life was disrupted.
He received a summons from the Hall of Heavenly Secrets of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, requiring him to assist in an investigation. It involved the mysterious deaths of two Nascent Soul cultivators, six Golden Core cultivators, nineteen Foundation Establishment cultivators, and numerous Qi Condensation cultivators.
