Chapter 557: Chapter 291: A Thousand Years of Surviving by Laying Low (Extended Chapter) (Part 3)

"You..."

The cultivator wanted to say something, but before he could speak, Li An had already activated the Demon Skill, directly refining him into—

A puppet!

After a long time, the puppet had become completely identical to Li An, resembling a true living person, with not the slightest difference in the most fundamental life aura.

"This Immortal Light protects me, identifying with my life aura, so I should be able to transfer the Immortal Light onto the puppet!"

Li An murmured.

The Immortal Light was like a "garment" only he could wear, but now that there was "another Li An," naturally, the "garment" could be exchanged between the two.

Li An attempted to channel the Immortal Light into the puppet. After a very long time, he finally succeeded!

Li An felt a great sense of relief!

In this way, he had two layers of protection.

The first was Withered Fate. Since the other party was from the Dao Sect, upon noticing Withered Fate’s attitude, they would certainly be wary. Li An believed that just this defensive line should be enough to ensure his safety.

The second was this "false body." As long as Li An didn’t go out, the adversary would have to attack Li An’s Primordial Spirit, while the real Li An could wait in ambush with the Celestial Thunder and, if need be, destroy the opponent’s Primordial Spirit!

Of course, if he really killed the opponent, Li An would have only one path left—

To leave with the teapot lid given by Lady Yi, and from then on never be able to enter the Dao Sect again.

Li An was not averse to this.

In fact, when he initially entered the Dao Sect, it was for the Sect’s protection and various resources.

At that time, he was still too weak, facing the future situation with no power to resist at all.

But now it was different; Li An had already taken great strides in becoming a Mysterious Creature and had made significant progress within the Dao Sect.

Now in terms of cultivation, he no longer needed the Grotto Heaven of the Dao Sect, and the Dao Sect had lost its greatest usefulness for Li An!

He certainly planned to leave the Dao Sect in the future. After all, in the face of the mysterious tide, the Dao Sect would inevitably perish; hiding under a big tree to avoid the storm was fine, but when the tree was about to fall... Li An would definitely run early.

The reason for not leaving yet was, firstly, he still needed to use the identity of a Dao Sect elder to hunt enough Blood Food, and secondly, he wanted to continue exploiting the Dao Sect. Maybe during the chaos within the Dao Sect, he could loot some precious resources.

But when the risk became unsustainable, naturally he would prioritize his own safety!

Having made all the preparations, Li An immediately announced that he was going into seclusion.

To prevent the outside world from seeing any hints of his false body.

His true body hid its aura, while the false body was left in the cave dwelling, pretending to cultivate.

...

In the blink of an eye.

Another ten years passed.

News of the Immortal Ceremony finally spread throughout the world!

The Dao Sect made a decision and selected Nanfu Island as the location for the Immortal Ceremony.

A large number of Dao Sect members arrived, including many Peak Masters, even Sect Leader Su Yebai, several Supremes, and others frequently appeared on Nanfu Island.

Centered on Nanfu Island, a larger construction began, and the entire surrounding bay was included in the Dao Sect’s planning.

The Dao Sect’s plan was astonishing. They aimed to set up an incredible Array using the whole bay as the center, using some mysterious items drifting in from the Southern Sea as a guide, actively drawing out the storms lurking deep in the Southern Sea.

They would actively awaken the mysterious forces, then let the Dao Sect’s geniuses become immortals amidst the mystery—

The world was captivated; it caused an uproar, and almost all factions and cultivators were fervently discussing the matter!

"Has the Dao Sect gone mad? They actually want to actively summon the Southern Sea’s Immortal Wind? Have they forgotten what the world was like during the significant upheaval three hundred years ago? This will affect all living beings!"

"That’s limited thinking! It’s actually good if the Dao Sect does this. If there is indeed a storm hidden deep in the Southern Sea, if they bring it out, it’s like clearing mines for the entire Spirit Realm, and they take the front line while we can watch from the sidelines!"

"There’s some reason... but if the Dao Sect really bets correctly and a group of people become immortals during the mysterious event, then who in the world could challenge the Dao Sect? Unifying the entire Spirit Realm wouldn’t be difficult."

Various rumors spread like wildfire.

The Brahma Sect, Five Elements Sect, Sun and Moon Sect, Taiqing Sect, and even some ancient and secretive forces like the Sword Immortal family, the Dugu family, and the heir of the Ancient Daoist Sect, Ge Ruoxian, along with other significant figures, all appeared on the New Continent...

The world’s geniuses were even more covetous, rushing towards Nanfu Island, eager to witness history.

Nanfu Island had already become a place where clouds converge and blooms interact.

...

The island was incredibly lively.

Xiang Yuntian and Gu Canye also arrived and had visited, but upon learning that Li An was in seclusion, they did not disturb him.

Li An continued his cultivation while observing coldly, waiting and not taking a single step outside.

The more people on the island, the safer he felt!

After all, if someone in the Dao Sect wanted to kill Li An, they would have to do so covertly, because Li An hadn’t committed any mistakes in recent years, and the Dao Sect followed rules, not killing the innocent.

Those who wanted to act covertly would find it extremely difficult under the watchful eyes of so many.

...

The world’s discussions about the Dao Sect’s plans were fervent; various prominent figures appeared time and again, coming to investigate and so forth.

But the speed at which the Dao Sect set up formations far exceeded the world’s imagination. The high-ranking members of the Dao Sect referred to the undertaking on Nanfu Island as a grand plan of eternal consequence. Merely the time span for laying down various Arrays was conservatively estimated at over five hundred years.

The entire Dao Sect was deployed, various precious resources poured out like sand and gravel, and the costs were unimaginable; top-grade treasures, runes, arrays, and more, were consumed in frenzy...