Chapter 40

The young boys watched as Li Fan departed as if riding the clouds and mist, and only then did they realize that Master He's words contained no deceit or exaggeration, feeling somewhat ashamed.

"Those who enter the Spirit Pool first will receive more of the Spirit Liquid. Hurry up, all of you." Master He's expression softened as he spoke to the group of young boys.

Thus, the young boys rushed toward the cloud sea, vying for the lead.

...

Surrounded by a dense cloud sea, Li Fan felt lost.

The white clouds around him gathered, becoming increasingly dense.

In a moment, they coalesced into white Spirit Liquid, enveloping Li Fan.

Inside the Spirit Liquid, Li Fan did not feel suffocated but rather experienced an overwhelming warmth and comfort.

Like a fetus in the womb, Li Fan's mind gradually relaxed completely.

A warm and gentle flow of energy passed over every inch of his skin, seeping through his pores into his body.

His entire body, along with his soul, felt as if immersed in hot water, making Li Fan almost moan in pleasure.

But then, the warmth turned to heat.

The heat turned to scalding.

The scalding turned to a searing fire.

Caught off guard, Li Fan let out a wail.

In that instant, he lost control of his body.

He felt a lava-like heat flow through his body, tearing and drilling into every nerve.

This pain was beyond human endurance, and Li Fan instinctively wanted to call out "Return to Truth," but he forcibly held back.

"Three hundred years of arduous pursuit, isn't this the moment?"

"No matter what, I will not give up."

"I want to cultivate, I want to achieve immortality!"

Li Fan's consciousness fragmented in the intense pain, but a strong will kept him from collapsing.

The heat flow circulated within him, seemingly endless.

With each cycle, the destruction and pain intensified.

Eventually, the pain became indescribable.

The pain was like a thousand knives, repeatedly slicing and cutting Li Fan's soul, endless and unceasing.

Even with Li Fan's strong will, he gradually lost the strength to resist such pain.

Slowly, Li Fan's consciousness became hazy.

His consciousness began to dissipate.

Even at this moment, the strong will in Li Fan's heart kept him from activating "Return to Truth."

His consciousness became almost blank.

Cultivation, immortality, cleansing, Spirit Pool, Liuli Island, celestial wonders, Return to Truth...

All these thoughts slowly dissipated as Li Fan's consciousness faded.

Instinct took over, and the *Xuanhuang Qingxin Spell* that Li Fan had practiced day and night since arriving on Liuli Island naturally began to run.

As the Qingxin Spell ran, Li Fan's consciousness seemed to regain a core, recondensing and growing stronger.

Though still in a state of ignorance, it gradually became like a reef in the sea, standing firm against the wind and waves.

...

Three days passed in a flash.

Of the thirteen people who entered the Cleansing Spirit Pool, eleven had already come out.

Of the eleven, only four successfully removed the miasma from their bodies, while the remaining seven could not endure the intense pain and failed.

Apart from the unfortunate one who died, the one who had not yet appeared was naturally Li Fan.

He Zhenghao, sensing the faint aura within the Spirit Pool array, became increasingly astonished.

As the cultivator in charge of the Spirit Pool array, he knew very well how painful it was to remove the miasma from a mortal's body.

The miasma was deeply embedded in a mortal's blood, present from the moment of conception.

As the mortal grew, the miasma became increasingly intertwined with the flesh.

The Cleansing Spirit Pool array, created by one of the leaders of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, the Eastern Supreme Deity, worked by completely destroying the body to force out the miasma and then reshaping the body with regenerative power.

This process was repeated until all the miasma was removed.

The older the mortal, the more difficult it was to separate the miasma from the flesh.

More destruction and reshaping cycles were needed to completely remove the miasma.

The pain experienced during this process was unimaginable!

He Zhenghao had been in charge of the array on Liuli Island for over fifty years. The oldest person he had seen successfully complete the cleansing was thirty-one years old.

For someone Li Fan's age, He Zhenghao believed there was no hope of success.

But now, Li Fan's performance greatly exceeded his expectations.

"The determination of this person is simply astonishing. If he can successfully cleanse his body, reaching the Foundation Establishment stage will not be difficult, and even the Golden Core stage..." He Zhenghao's eyes flickered. "Perhaps, I can form a good connection early on."

He immediately sent the others out of the array and waited alone for Li Fan.

Another three days passed, and He Zhenghao, seeing that Li Fan still had not come out, was speechless with shock.

If it weren't for the stable life force he could still sense within the array, He Zhenghao would have rushed in long ago.

But there was nothing he could do; the Cleansing Spirit Pool array could not be interrupted arbitrarily, so he could only continue to wait.

...

Another three days.

He Zhenghao's expression became somewhat unpleasant. He didn't know what kind of monster could endure for so long in the Cleansing Spirit Pool array.

Worse still, the materials needed to maintain the array were running out.

If the materials ran out, the array would be forcibly terminated, leading to unpredictable consequences, possibly even undoing all the previous efforts.

By all accounts, if the array were to terminate now, it would only be Li Fan's bad luck, not He Zhenghao's responsibility.

But thinking of Li Fan's terrifying and determined will, He Zhenghao's expression changed.

"Fine, fine. Let's consider this a bet on this boy's future greatness!"

Saying this, He Zhenghao made a hand seal, and items flew out of his storage ring, disappearing into the depths of the cloud sea.

"At least I secretly kept a portion of these materials each time..." He Zhenghao looked at his now half-empty storage ring with a pained expression and muttered.

...

Two more days passed, and the rolling cloud sea finally began to calm down.

The white clouds joyfully gathered and carried Li Fan back to the mountaintop.

A mental scan revealed that Li Fan's body was free of miasma, and He Zhenghao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Congratulations, young friend! Now that the shackles are gone, immortality is within reach!" He Zhenghao said warmly.

Feeling better than ever, Li Fan was still adapting to his new body.

Seeing Master He's sudden change in attitude, he felt somewhat puzzled.

Although he had successfully removed the miasma from his body, he was still just a mortal, not yet formally cultivating.

Why was he being so courteous?

Li Fan looked at He Zhenghao with a puzzled expression.

He Zhenghao understood and told Li Fan that he had stayed in the Cleansing Spirit Pool for eleven days.

"What? I was in there for that long?"

Li Fan was truly surprised.

"Yes, young friend, you may not know, but the materials for the array were almost depleted. I had to invest a lot to add more for you..." He Zhenghao took credit for his actions.

Li Fan was deeply moved, not by He Zhenghao's "selfless contribution," but because he noticed that his "Return to Truth" interface had gained a new cultivation technique.

It was not the *Xuanhuang Qingxin Spell* that Li Fan had been practicing.

It was the *Xuanhuang Lianxin Spell*.