Chapter 546: Chapter 288: Brace Yourself for the Onslaught (Extended Chapter)

Can’t beat her, but can’t I eradicate her last shred of consciousness?

...To tell the truth, Li An thought he probably really couldn’t.

That’s why Li An took a risk and set his sights on the Thunder Tribulation.

With the Thunder Tribulation, the chance of taking action against her in the future would be much greater!

"People from the outside should be coming soon..."

Li An returned to his cave dwelling, thought for a moment, and directly shook his Life Seed, killing the barely alive gray giant eagle!

This gray giant eagle was of no use to him now.

"After the Life Seed absorbed the power of numerous Celestial Tribulations, its restraining effect on eerie qi has become stronger and stronger..."

Li An was very satisfied.

After cleaning up the gray giant eagle’s corpse, he took out two Jade Talismans and crushed them directly!

One was a gift from Gui Changshou years ago.

The other was obtained from Song Wujing.

Both talismans were very precious, veritable treasures.

Yet Li An still used them—no reason other than for concealment!

Everyone else died, so how did Li An manage to survive?

This needed a suitable reason.

And the two Jade Talismans were his reason!

Compared to the gains from this tribulation crossing, using up two talismans... didn’t feel like a loss.

At the same time, he concealed his own aura, and after some thought, made some alterations to his Primordial Spirit, making it look sickly and even incomplete!

Yes, using up all his strength and the two talismans, although the Harmonization Dao was successful, his Primordial Spirit was deficient... this way, no one would suspect him anymore.

Li An immediately feigned unconsciousness, lying in wait.

That night.

Long after the Celestial Tribulation ended, personnel from various forces finally entered Nanfu Island.

They arrived at the valley first thing.

"What a terrifying Thunder Tribulation..."

"Such fluctuations, it could almost be compared to a Mahayana Stage Thunder Tribulation, right?"

"Unimaginable!"

Everyone was astonished, and after a quick check, they soon found the unconscious Li An in the retreat area—

"He’s actually alive?"

"Is he the one who broke through to the Harmonization Dao and attracted the Celestial Tribulation?"

"Hmm, there’s a scent of the Jade Talismans in the surroundings... and not just one, did this person actually use two Jade Talismans? How extravagant, and it seems his Primordial Spirit is problematic."

Among those who came, two were Mahayana Stage powerhouses, and with a brief search, they already discovered various clues.

They woke Li An up.

"Fellow Daoist, what exactly happened?"

These two Mahayana Stage individuals were from the Sun and Moon Sect and the Five Elements Sect, and they were rather courteous to Li An—after all, Li An had an Elder’s Jade Tablet next to him!

This indicated that Li An was quite prestigious within the Dao Sect, being an Elder!

Otherwise, in terms of strength, Li An would have to address them as "seniors."

"I had an agreement with Song Wujing to use the Thunder Tribulation to slay the gray giant eagle. However, other faction geniuses unexpectedly arrived. I couldn’t stop my breakthrough momentum, which instead led to disaster. They’re all dead, all dead..."

Li An spoke, sighing with sadness: "I barely survived using the Jade Talismans, but this misfortune was incomplete, my Primordial Spirit is deficient, deficient indeed!"

The two Mahayana Stage individuals exchanged glances and nodded at each other. Li An’s explanation seemed largely credible.

They asked for more details.

"Hmph, looks like that Song Wujing is to blame. So many geniuses trapped in the valley, yet he activated the array formation!"

One of the Mahayana Stage experts showed a flash of anger!

"Truly despicable, for a notable Dao Sect to harbor such a cruel fiend!"

After they finished listening, they quickly identified the main culprit—Song Wujing!

In truth, it was indeed the case; if Song Wujing hadn’t activated the array outside, the Thunder Tribulation wouldn’t have been so massive, and not everyone would have died.

"Daoist Li, we need an explanation for this!"

The two looked at Li An and spoke coldly.

"I will immediately report to the sect. Song Wujing, in his fight for Nanfu Island, ignored the lives of fellow Daoists and has violated the Dao Sect regulations..."

"Of course, I also bear some fault... Dao Sect’s rules are strict, and we will not shield anyone, rest assured!"

Li An respectfully bowed.

He had plotted with Song Wujing, letting him preside over the array on the outside... precisely for this moment!

To find someone to blame!

After all, killing so many geniuses, the various forces were bound to investigate. One had to plan where to shift the blame before taking action...

The plan he and Song Wujing agreed upon was to wait for the gray giant eagle to appear in the valley. Li An would break through to summon thunder and kill it, but Song Wujing was unaware that Li An deliberately let the gray giant eagle bring other geniuses into the valley.

And Li An calculated that Song Wujing, to save his mother and for the sake of Nanfu Island... would never let this opportunity slip by. He would definitely activate the array and not let anyone leave.

Li An used Song Wujing to achieve his goals, and he could emerge spotless!

On this trip to Nanfu Island, Chen Ning went missing, Song Wujing violated sect rules, and was sure to be severely punished, while only Li An gained immensely.

Of course, in the eyes of outsiders, he was quite miserable, also a victim; due to Song Wujing’s actions, his Harmonization Dao fortuitous event was ruined, his Primordial Spirit half-crippled, making future cultivation challenging.

...

Seeing Li An’s statement, the two nodded.

...

Subsequently, Li An quickly reported the situation to the sect.

Evergreen Peak’s Peak Master, Song Qingsong, couldn’t sit still and came personally to negotiate with other forces to handle the matter.

Li An was also subjected to considerable questioning, but every detail was seamlessly covered up. The key was that it was indeed Song Wujing’s own decision to trap everyone in the valley, making him the primary culprit for violating sect rules.

This big blame, he had to bear!

As the Elder leading the team, Li An had some responsibility, but at most, it was negligence in supervision.

...

While discussions continued, Li An temporarily entered seclusion.

From the sect’s side, Xiang Yuntian sent multiple messages, inquiring about Li An’s condition. Upon hearing that Li An’s Harmonization Dao breakthrough was affected by Song Wujing, causing his Primordial Spirit to be half-crippled, Xiang Yuntian was furious and wanted to draw his sword and act.

But Li An advised him to stay calm, saying there’s a sect protocol and not to act rashly. He asked Xiang Yuntian to prepare some Immortal Dao items for him in the sect to stabilize him.

Only then did Xiang Yuntian reply to Li An, promising to secure some Immortal Dao-level opportunities for him, encouraging Li An to cultivate peacefully and not feel disheartened.

...

"Hmm? Around my Life Seed, there are a few strands of peculiar Great Dao power..."

After entering seclusion, Li An examined himself and suddenly noticed some anomalies.

These strands of Great Dao power resembled ripples, shimmering with silver light, looking extremely peculiar.

A total of four strands!

"No, I haven’t interacted with any Grotto Heavens recently; the Great Dao power is very thin around Nanfu Island and the vicinity. From where did I condense this Great Dao power?!"

Li An was puzzled, and as he immersed his mind, he felt those four strands of power, a sense of time passing like water quietly washed over him.

"Four strands..."

"From my successful Harmonization Dao till today, exactly four days!"

"Could it be that these four strands of Great Dao power were absorbed from the passage of time? Does one more appear with each passing day?!"

Li An was a bit shocked. Could this be the extraordinary effect that his master, Purple Fairy, mentioned about the Life Nourishing Immortal Skill upon entering the Harmonization Dao?

Absorbing Great Dao power from time itself, as life extends, gaining one strand for each additional day lived... this is truly terrifying!

Doesn’t this mean that Li An’s cultivation doesn’t rely on any Grotto Heaven and Blessed Land, just living would suffice...?

...

Goodnight.