Based on Li Fan's experiences from his previous lives, in the Crimson Flame Sea Incineration incident, any cultivator who attempted to merge with the Crimson Flame ultimately met with death.

Ink death, who had inherited the Heaven's Mandate to destroy the world, was simply too terrifying.

A newly merged cultivator stood no chance against Him.

"Junior Brother Tianyang's actual combat power is likely even lower than Zhang Zhiliang's in the previous life, so I won't let him go to his death."

"A puppet body is different from a mortal one. To improve combat strength, breaking through cultivation levels isn't the only way."

"Although costly, once the Cloud Sea is destroyed and I flee with the money, it'll definitely be enough for me."

After some thought, Li Fan ultimately abandoned the plan to have Tianyang risk merging and instead focused on observing and protecting him.

Fifteen days later.

As the materials within the Return to Origin Formation were completely exhausted, Tianyang also completed his final transformation.

His puppet body was perfectly reinforced, and his cultivation level stabilized at the peak of the Soul Transformation stage.

"Junior Brother Tianyang relies almost entirely on brute strength in battle. He still needs to find ways to refine it."

With his cultivation complete and nothing to do, Tianyang stood silently and followed behind Li Fan.

Li Fan took out the prepared clothing from his storage ring and dressed Tianyang.

At the same time, he taught him the secret technique Sky-Shrouding Palm.

"Junior Brother, from now on, you'll study this secret technique. Once you master it, you can follow me in action," Li Fan instructed.

Tianyang nodded solemnly and began studying earnestly.

With only a trace of instinct left, the secret techniques of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect were still somewhat complex for Tianyang. Fortunately, with Li Fan's careful guidance and Tianyang's focused mind, he would eventually master it through gradual study.

[TL: Lingwu Island and Lingwu Grass will now be translated as Spirit Mist Island and Spirit Mist Grass]

As Tianyang diligently improved himself under Li Fan's guidance, Li Fan shifted his attention to Spirit Mist Island.

He made a brief visit to Spirit Mist Island and silently locked down the island's defenses with a formless killing intent.

Then, he returned to the Tianxuan Mirror and began quietly acquiring Spirit Mist Grass while patiently waiting.

Soon, the day arrived when the Dragon Whale Beast was supposed to attack Spirit Mist Island, as it had in the previous life.

However, for some unknown reason, the dragon whale had yet to appear by sunset.

A sense of unease gripped Li Fan.

As he feared, three more days passed, and Spirit Mist Island remained unscathed.

Li Fan finally realized that the variables brought by his arrival nearly a year earlier in this world were inevitable.

Instead of acting rashly, Li Fan first carefully investigated the whereabouts of the missing dragon whale beast.

A creature with strength comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, one that had vaguely developed its own intelligence and could grow stronger by continuously devouring, shouldn't have just vanished without a trace.

After searching for half a day with no results, Li Fan resorted to posting an anonymous bounty task, which finally yielded the answer.

It turned out that the dragon whale beast had been killed not long ago by a Golden Core weapon refiner named "Yue Zaisen".

All the valuable materials from the beast's body had been taken by him.

Yue Zaisen even sent a message, offering to sell any parts Li Fan might need at a low price.

Feigning interest, Li Fan purchased several pieces of whale bone.

After the transaction, Li Fan engaged in some casual conversation with Yue Zaisen, trying to uncover the reason for this deviation from previous lifetimes.

Yue Zaisen, not suspecting anything, revealed that he had been temporarily inspired to search for materials in the Congyun sea at the request of his friend, Mu Rong, who wanted to forge a High quality defensive artifact.

As for why Mu Rong, who was perfectly fine, suddenly wanted a defensive artifact, Yue Zaisen hadn't asked.

"Mu Rong…" Li Fan ended the communication, his expression shifting.

This name was not unfamiliar to him.

He even had some interactions with Mu Rong.

This person was Chen Ying's assistant. In the previous life, before Chen Ying went to the Five Elements Cave Heaven, he had left Li Fan with Mu Rong's contact information.

he told Li Fan that if he had any problems, he could directly seek out Mu Rong.

"Could it be that after seeing Chen Ying purchase so many life-saving treasures, he too developed a sense of crisis? Is that why he did this?"

"Or perhaps Chen Ying said something to him…"

Li Fan felt a wave of helplessness.

In any case, with the dragon whale not attacking Spirit Mist Island, Li Fan realized that he would have to personally intervene to set history back on its intended course.

"The risk is not small, and I need to do it without leaving any traces." Li Fan didn't act hastily but instead began to carefully plan in his mind.

"Should I disguise myself as a beast to act? Or should I borrow the power of the Five Elders Association?"

"The chances of exposure are high in both scenarios."

"Perhaps I don't necessarily have to insist on the Spirit Mist Grass. As long as I meet the conditions of stable demand and plants that only grow in certain special regions, it should suffice."

"Let's see if there's anything similar."

Li Fan had a sudden thought and began searching through the Tianxuan Mirror.

There were indeed many targets that met the criteria, but after adding further restrictions, specifically looking for those with unusual recent price fluctuations, only a few remained.

Li Fan carefully examined each one, finally setting his sights on a spiritual plant known as Samantabhadra True Leaf.

This herb had a relatively long growth cycle and wasn't commonly used.

Its primary use was in the creation of a talisman known as Wise Discernment.

In the era before the Tianxuan Spirit Locking Formation was invented, the Five Elders Association's spies were pervasive.

Most of them, like Zhou Qing'ang, mastered secret art of shape-shifting techniques that could even deceive the White Jade Inquiry Platform.

When the Wise Discernment Talisman was first invented hundreds of years ago, it played a significant role in rooting out many Five Elders Association spies.

Because of this, it became an unwritten rule that entry into certain classified areas of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance required verification by the Wise Discernment Talisman.

Although the Five Elders Association later learned from their mistakes and improved the concealment techniques of their spies, rendering the Wise Discernment Talisman largely ineffective, its use had become a habit.

The Five Elders Association, naturally, couldn't openly announce that the Wise Discernment Talisman was no longer effective.

And no one in the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had made a decision to stop using the Wise Discernment Talisman.

Moreover, an interest chain had formed behind the production and manufacturing of the Wise Discernment Talisman.

Due to these various factors, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance continued to require a significant amount of Samantabhadra True Leaf each year.

But for some unknown reason, the once stable price of Samantabhadra True Leaf had recently begun to decline abnormally.

Li Fan frowned slightly.

He recalled that in his previous life, as the price of Spirit Mist Grass skyrocketed, it also drove up the prices of other spiritual plants and herbs in the market.

Samantabhadra True Leaf, however, was an exception.