Li Fan’s eyes flashed with a glimmer as he increased the intensity of his devouring.

The earth vein energy, which had traveled millions of miles to reach him, completely flowed into Li Fan's body.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Li Fan seemed to faintly hear the sound of collisions and roaring explosions coming from within his body.

In the midst of this internal struggle, it felt as if something was slowly shattering.

A crisp cracking sound seemed to echo in his ears.

Moments later, Li Fan's cultivation surged forward, with his aura constantly rising. In the blink of an eye, he advanced from just recently breaking through the mid-stage of the Golden Core to rapidly moving toward the late stage.

At this moment...

Li Fan suddenly sensed that the dim light at the bottom of the sea had completely disappeared.

It wasn't just darkness in his vision, but a suffocating feeling of space being sealed.

Without pausing his devouring technique, Li Fan simultaneously looked up.

He saw a gigantic palm above his head, its origin unknown.

It obscured everything and pressed down on him.

Before this immense palm, Li Fan was as insignificant as an ant.

"Damn!"

Seeing this powerful being appear out of nowhere, Li Fan cursed inwardly.

However, his clone was currently operating the "Heaven-Devouring Earth-Eating Technique," making him fearless, as if he had the courage of a bear or leopard. Faced with this terrifying giant palm, he was not afraid at all.

On the contrary, he opened his mouth, wanting to devour the giant palm as well!

And the result...

Naturally, it was predictable.

In the next moment, Li Fan lost contact with his clone.

The only fortunate thing was that this mysterious being did not seem intent on pursuing the matter further.

They didn't follow the trail to find Li Fan's true body.

Otherwise, he would have been forced to reveal himself again.

Li Fan carefully recalled the timing of the giant hand’s appearance.

"It seems that it was triggered because I forcefully broke through the Heavenly Calamity?"

"Is it a countermeasure from the heavens, or..."

Frowning slightly, a blue light emitted from the Dao Deviation Stone crystal in Li Fan's mind.

Just before his clone was crushed, using the "Heaven-Devouring Earth-Eating Technique," he managed to absorb a trace of energy from that giant hand.

If the opponent had been a cultivator, Li Fan would not have been able to do this at all.

As he repeatedly savored the taste of that energy, Li Fan began to ponder.

"It feels more like a pure force of rules."

"It seems somewhat similar to Senior Brother Zhang's Grand Aspiration Dharma Body."

"Normally, he doesn't show up in public, but he will take action under certain circumstances..."

"I had originally planned to use the 'Heaven-Devouring Earth-Eating Method' to elevate the clone's cultivation to the peak of the Golden Core stage first, to accumulate experience for breaking through to the Nascent Soul. Who would have thought that such a calamity could occur?"

"Fortunately, it was just a clone."

Li Fan sighed, having grown accustomed to the constant dangers of the Xuanhuang Realm.

Quietly leaving Ten Thousand Immortal Island, he found a secluded spot and spent some time recreating the "Zhou Qingang" clone.

The clone nodded slightly, bid farewell to the true body, and headed toward the site of the incident.

He wanted to see what had become of the sea area after being struck by that heavenly palm.

Soon, Li Fan returned to the scene.

To his great surprise, the sea was calm, the sky clear.

There was no sign of any calamity.

It seemed as though everything that had happened earlier was just an illusion.

Li Fan pondered for a moment before diving into the sea.

When he saw the scene at the bottom, his pupils constricted.

The ruins of the sunken island were gone.

In their place was an ordinary seabed of mud and sand.

It wasn’t just destroyed; it was as if every trace of its existence had been completely erased!

After a long, deep look, Zhou Qingang quietly returned to Taian Island and laid low.

In the Tianxuan Mirror.

Through the eyes of his clone, Li Fan observed the aftermath of the giant palm strike and fell into contemplation.

"Because I forcefully broke through the Heavenly Calamity, did I trigger some kind of taboo, resulting in an attempt to erase me?"

"And it all happened so silently."

"If one could survive such a strike, what would happen?"

"Would there be no more bottlenecks? Of course, it might also attract even more terrifying existence."

These reckless thoughts lasted only a moment before Li Fan dismissed them.

"However, in my previous life, after some time, the Heavenly Calamity would mysteriously disappear on its own. I wonder what the reason behind that is."

After being suppressed by the sudden appearance of the giant palm, Li Fan abandoned the idea of having his clone cultivate as well.

He decided it was better to use the clone as a mere tool, to sacrifice itself in critical moments.

Since his attempt to gain early insights into forming the Nascent Soul through his clone had failed, Li Fan had no choice but to take a step back and purchase related experiences from the Tianxuan Mirror.

Each person's insights varied greatly, yet all had their merits, with no clear distinctions of superiority.

With his abundant resources, Li Fan bought everything and studied them carefully.

Time passed slowly as Li Fan continued his cultivation and contemplation.

Soon, it was time for his second investment meeting with He Zhenghao.

Since the previous meeting had gone well, He Zhenghao had made some decent gains this time, raising a total of 550,000 contribution points.

After confirming with Li Fan, He Zhenghao immediately transferred the contribution points over.

He also added his own 100,000 contribution points.

"One year later, one million contribution points," Li Fan stated concisely.

He Zhenghao was overjoyed, and a stream of flattery spilled from his lips.

Li Fan couldn't be bothered to listen and directly cut off communication.

He then began reviewing the list of contributors this time.

What caught his attention was that a cultivator named Zhou Peng still held the largest share.

"Interesting. He has such confidence in me? Not afraid that I’ll take the money and run?"

"And how does a Foundation Establishment cultivator like him, just like He Zhenghao, have so many contribution points?"

Li Fan had heard of this person from He Zhenghao in his past life.

He was a friend who often gathered with He Zhenghao to discuss investment strategies.

It seemed he had a close relationship with a certain cultivator from Tianji Hall, making him well-informed, often leading others to small profits.

Thus, he held considerable influence within their small circle.

In past lives, when He Zhenghao planned to speculate on Lingwu(Spirit Mist) Grass, this person had played a significant role.

"Hmph, whatever the scheme, I'm not afraid. Let's just watch and see."

Li Fan looked at his balance of over six million contribution points and sneered.

With so many contribution points, he could keep up the charade for a while longer.

Besides, the Lingwu Grass incident was approaching.

These contribution points would multiply several times over.

"The only concern is that such a large transaction might attract the attention of those with ulterior motives."

"It's time to check on how Junior Brother Tianyang is recovering."

With this in mind, Li Fan quietly entered the Dao Formation.

Tianyang sat quietly within the formation, absorbing energy to restore himself.

He made no defensive moves against Li Fan's arrival.

Li Fan checked on the progress.

"Almost there."

"A Nascent Soul-level strength should be safe within the Congyun Sea."

"But outside the Congyun Sea, it might not be enough."

"Crimson Flames burning the sea..."

Li Fan glanced at Tianyang, a trace of hesitation flashing in his eyes.