After some twists and turns, Lu Fan and Zhuge Xian finally returned to Twelve Dao Gou Village. Liu Ruyan was shocked when Lu Fan recounted the events. She had just broken through to the Transformation Realm, and she hadn't expected the existence of Soul Realm powerhouses.
Most Transformation Realm powerhouses were in Huarong Prefecture, numbering only a few dozen. Nationally, there were only a handful of Soul Realm powerhouses. This showed how difficult it was to break through.
"There's actually an organization like the Han Shi Xuan in the world, and Shadow was a force cultivated by someone or some people within the Han Shi Xuan. These people are ambitious and want to unify the world. To ensure everything goes smoothly, a powerful intelligence network is essential.
Ruyan! I don't trust anyone else with this matter, so why don't you take it on? Let Li Jingjing and Zhantai Ruomei help you. Both of these girls have their specialties, and hypnosis and mind-reading might come in handy. Also, we should teach the two children some special skills so they can protect themselves," Lu Fan said to Liu Ruyan.
"Alright! I'll listen to you!" Liu Ruyan nodded.
...
In the evening, Lu Fan appeared in the cave of the Luoyan Sect in the back mountain. The scruffy old Daoist was actually sitting at a small dining table in the cave, gnawing on a roasted chicken. There was also a bottle of Erguotou on the table.
"Old fellow! You stole my little chicken again!" Lu Fan sniffed vigorously. Well, this little chicken was definitely from his own home!
"Kid! You're quite impressive now, you've become a prefecture lord! It's only right for you to treat me to a chicken! After all, I've helped you quite a bit!" the scruffy old Daoist said, taking a swig of wine.
"Hmph! No one is up early without reason. You disgusted everyone at Qingcheng Mountain and then quietly went back. Tell me, you old fellow must have gotten quite a few treasures, right!" Lu Fan walked over, sat opposite the scruffy old Daoist, and asked.
"Hmm? These are all Daoist master's things, don't even think about snatching them!" The scruffy old Daoist immediately covered his tattered Daoist robe, looking as if he was afraid Lu Fan would use force.
"Stop pretending! You helped me invite three of the four rogue cultivators in the Soul Realm. The only one missing is that Yuan Shizi from Kunlun Mountain! Tell me the truth, are you Yuan Shizi!?" Lu Fan suddenly gave the scruffy old Daoist a sideways glance and said.
"Holy cow... You've gotten smarter, kid! You guessed it!" The scruffy old Daoist looked surprised, and his greasy claws suddenly reached out towards Lu Fan: "Alright, let's shake hands, I'll reintroduce myself."
*Slap...* Lu Fan raised his hand and slapped the scruffy old Daoist's claw away.
"Fine, if you don't want to shake hands, then don't! I am Yuan Shizi!" the scruffy old Daoist said, and then continued to gnaw on the roasted chicken in his hand.
"That's it?" Lu Fan rolled his eyes. "Don't you have anything else to say?"
"That's it! Well... alright! Here are these few things, take them if you want them!" The scruffy old Daoist took out three storage rings from his tattered Daoist robe and threw them onto the table.
Lu Fan picked up the three storage rings and looked at them. They were all empty. The items had clearly been looted by the scruffy old Daoist. Well, empty was better than nothing. His two young disciples needed these things.
Lu Fan put away the storage rings and then stared at the scruffy old Daoist, just staring. The scruffy old Daoist became a little uneasy under his gaze.
"Al... alright! That old fellow also has a treasure sword, I'll give it to you, is that okay!" The scruffy old Daoist took out the treasure sword that Patriarch Duanmu had used and handed it to Lu Fan.
"That's more like it!" Lu Fan put away the treasure sword.
"Tell me, how can I advance to the Soul Realm!" Lu Fan suddenly said again.
"Kid, don't be too greedy. At your age, you shouldn't even be considered a Grandmaster. Moreover, cultivation cannot be rushed. Just focus on cultivating, and it will happen naturally when the time is right," the scruffy old Daoist immediately waved his hand and said.
"Alright! I can't get anything out of you. I'm leaving now." Lu Fan got up and left.
Back in the village, Lu Fan went directly to Wang Yan's village branch.
"Xiao Fan! You finally came to see me!" Wang Yan was so happy she almost jumped when she saw Lu Fan appear.
"Sister-in-law! Take this sword for self-defense. And this sword manual, it's my improved sword technique!" Lu Fan directly took out the treasure sword and sword manual.
"What do I need these useless things for!? I'm not a martial artist," Wang Yan angrily threw the sword and sword manual aside. This little scoundrel, doesn't he know what I want?
...
Inside Lu Fan's villa, the spiritual energy was dense, like two different worlds from the outside. The training team members could cultivate here with twice the results. Everyone's cultivation speed had increased significantly.
Lu Fan sat beside the spirit gathering bottle, where the spiritual energy was a hundred times more concentrated. The powerful spiritual energy was absorbed by Lu Fan and circulated wildly within his body, cleansing every meridian and bone in his body. Finally, it returned to his dantian.
The golden core in his dantian had turned golden from the inside out. It radiated golden light, like a sun in his dantian. Lu Fan could even feel his dantian becoming warm.
"My Sea of Consciousness..." Suddenly, Lu Fan realized he could peer into his Sea of Consciousness. His Sea of Consciousness was like a calm lake, without a single ripple. Moreover, it was as large as the entire village.
The entire village? Lu Fan took a deep breath. With that thought, he felt as if he could sense everything happening in the entire village. Every gust of wind, every blade of grass, was under his control.
*Ugh...* Suddenly, Lu Fan opened his eyes. It seemed that observing every subtle movement in the entire village consumed a lot of divine sense. In just a moment, Lu Fan felt exhausted. He remembered that the last time he felt this way was when he was sparring with Zhantai Ruomei in hypnosis.
"My divine sense can cover the entire village!" A sense of excitement made him ignore the exhaustion of his divine sense. Could this be the power of the Soul Realm?
Shou Yuan Pill! The refining method for the Shou Yuan Pill suddenly appeared in Lu Fan's mind. It required so many high-grade medicinal herbs.
The Shou Yuan Pill was used to increase the chance of condensing the Nascent Soul. Only by condensing the Nascent Soul could one become an immortal! Hahaha! You scruffy old Daoist, you didn't tell me, humph, I found out myself. No wonder that old fellow could use one Shou Yuan Pill to make them all protect me!
But he had already opened his Sea of Consciousness, so why couldn't he advance to the Soul Realm? Could it be that, like when he broke through to the Transformation Realm, his advancement was completely different from others!? What other changes would there be? Lu Fan suddenly felt a sense of anticipation!