The Qianli Hall fell into an eerie silence. Jiao Xiuyuan stared at Li Fan with a look of disbelief, his face full of shock.

"Don't look at me like that. I originally planned to pay, but no matter how I called out to you, you didn’t respond."

Li Fan shrugged. "And by the time you woke up, before I could say anything, you had already exploded on your own. Can you really blame me?"

Jiao Xiuyuan's face twitched as he looked at Li Fan's innocent expression. After thinking for a moment, he realized that Li Fan didn’t seem like someone who would take without asking. Resigned, he pretended to be generous. "Forget it. It was just a puppet, after all. Let it blow up! I have plenty of puppets!"

"Daoist Jiao, how generous!" Li Fan clapped and praised him.

"I remember the scene in that painting depicted the Heavenly Sword Sect from ancient times. Daoist Li, could it be that you're recalling the past from seeing it?" Jiao Xiuyuan suddenly sized up Li Fan and asked with a strange look.

Li Fan looked at Jiao Xiuyuan, his thoughts racing.

After a moment, Li Fan shook his head, his tone doubtful. "Heavenly Sword Sect? You must be mistaken. Although I’ve lost part of my memory after thousands of years of slumber, I still vaguely remember the two stone tablets inscribed with 'Halt' and 'End the War' outside the Heavenly Sword Sect’s gate. The sect in this painting doesn’t quite resemble that."

Jiao Xiuyuan slapped his forehead. "Haha, look at my memory. Maybe losing a puppet messed with my recollection."

"It must be the Taishang Sect!" Jiao Xiuyuan said again.

"Taishang Sect..." Li Fan squinted slightly, as if recalling something.

After a while, he shook his head slowly. "No, I’ve visited the Taishang Sect before. Their thirty-three floating peaks don’t match the scenery in the painting either."

Li Fan looked at Jiao Xiuyuan with suspicion. "Daoist Jiao, are you..."

Jiao Xiuyuan chuckled awkwardly and quickly said, "I remembered wrong again! Let me think... it must be the Du'e Sect! This time, I’m absolutely sure!"[1]

"The Du'e Sect?" Li Fan’s heart stirred.

Jiao Xiuyuan's previous two tests had failed, so this mention of the Du'e Sect might finally hold some truth.

In his previous life, outside the Great Five Elements Cave Heaven, when the Five Elements merged, Li Fan had once glimpsed a mirage of a master and disciple from the Du'e Sect.

At that time, among all the cultivators on the Dust-Crossing Boat, only he had been able to see it.

Originally, Li Fan thought it was due to his unusually strong soul.

But if what he saw beneath the Abyss of Ruin was also related to the Du'e Sect...

Li Fan remembered when he once peered into the Abyss of Ruin, he had almost been bewitched by its power, nearly losing his mind and foolishly attempting to explore the abyss before, the [Truth], had fully charged.

At that critical moment, light suddenly burst from the bottom of the Abyss of Ruin, and the four characters "The Immortal Dao is Dead" appeared before his eyes, snapping him back to his senses and saving his life.

"It seems this Du'e Sect has some deep connection to me. Strange..."

Despite pondering over his past experiences, Li Fan couldn’t find the reason for this connection.

"The Du'e Sect... I’ve heard the name, but I don't think I’ve ever visited. Daoist Jiao, how much do you know about this sect?" Li Fan asked Jiao Xiuyuan.

"For some reason, the scenery from the Du'e Sect feels familiar. Could my memory be scrambled as well?" Li Fan mused, showing a puzzled expression.

Ignoring the teasing tone in Li Fan’s voice, Jiao Xiuyuan, surprised, said, "Is that so? If that’s the case, it’s truly extraordinary!"

"Oh? How so?" Li Fan asked eagerly.

"Daoist, you might be the 'One Destined for Calamity' that the Du'e Sect cultivator who left this painting was waiting for!" Jiao Xiuyuan said solemnly, his gaze deepening as he looked at Li Fan.

"Destined for Calamity?" Li Fan repeated the phrase several times, "What does that mean?"

"The sect’s name is telling. "Du'e" Sect cultivators use calamities as their cultivation resource. Their technique, 'Eternal Calamity,' draws power from various disasters. Each time they survive a catastrophe, their strength improves drastically."

"The greater the disaster, the more power they gain after surviving it."

"But conversely, for their next advancement, they must seek out even more dangerous calamities."

"However, disasters in this world are innumerable, and even heaven and earth may perish in a calamity. How can Du'e Sect cultivators guarantee they will always survive?"

"When they sense they may not survive their next catastrophe, they use a secret method to hide themselves from the world temporarily."

"They leave behind various means, waiting for someone capable of resolving the calamity to appear."

"That person is known as the 'One Destined for Calamity'!"

Jiao Xiuyuan slowly explained.

Upon hearing this, Li Fan frowned deeply. "Such a cultivation method exists? So, I’ve been marked by some Du'e Sect cultivator? Jiao Daoist, is there any way to break this?"

Jiao Xiuyuan waved his hand dismissively. "Don’t be so tense! Thousands of years have passed, who knows if the Du'e Sect cultivator who left this painting is even still alive?"

"Besides, even if he is, there’s no need for concern. To survive his calamity, he will have to rely on you completely. Until he has passed through it, he won’t harm you."

"And if you help him survive the disaster, he will owe you a great debt. The Du'e Sect has always adhered to this rule. Otherwise, who would ever help them play such a game?"

"Moreover, think about it. The disaster he couldn’t overcome, yet you can. By then, your strength will surpass his, and he’ll be too relieved to survive to even think of opposing you."

Jiao Xiuyuan dismissed Li Fan's worries, but began studying him with renewed interest.

"Li Fan Daoist, to be sensed as the 'One Destined for Calamity' by a Du'e Sect cultivator, your future must be boundless!"

Jiao Xiuyuan’s words brought some comfort to Li Fan, but a sense of unease still lingered in his heart.

Judging from the aid provided in the Abyss of Ruin, that Du'e Sect cultivator was likely still alive.

Though it was unlikely they were monitoring his every move, long-term observation might reveal something eventually.

"It seems I’ll need to find a way to resolve this hidden threat," Li Fan thought to himself.

"Daoist, your knowledge is truly vast, even understanding these ancient sect secrets so thoroughly. I am deeply impressed!"

"By the way, how many contribution points for this painting? I’ll buy it. I can’t let you make a losing deal!"

Though his mind was elsewhere, Li Fan's demeanor remained perfectly calm as he spoke to Jiao Xiuyuan.

1. The “Du’e Sect” can be translated to “Sect of Calamity” or “Sect of Tribulation” in English. This name implies a group focused on overcoming significant challenges or adversities.

Should I keep the name Du'e or translate from now with the English term?