Treasure Gathering Immortal Furnace

Lu Fan saw the figure in the distance and his face lit up with joy. He hadn't expected that Chi Mei would actually come. He quickly activated the sect's protective formation.

At that moment, Chi Mei flew over and immediately saw the dozen or so corpses on the ground. He was horrified. How many people had been killed?

"I am truly surprised that Fellow Daoist Chi Mei has come to keep our appointment despite the danger. Now I have another helper," Lu Fan hurriedly stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting.

After landing, Chi Mei reluctantly cupped his hands in greeting: "With Fellow Daoist Li's supernatural abilities, there is no need for me to be his assistant. When I was forming my core, I spent a lot of money to hire seven Foundation Establishment friends to barely keep the situation under control."

"Fellow Daoist Li is quite something, one of him is worth seven!"

Chi Mei was utterly shocked.

"Fellow Daoist Chi Mei, you flatter me. I also had a hard time protecting him," Lu Fan shook his head, then invited Chi Mei into the pavilion, and asked, "Has the True Person reached the Core Formation stage after two years of seclusion?"

When asked, Chi Mei sighed softly and raised his hand, clearly indicating that he had not succeeded.

"What? Did you fail to form your core?" Lu Fan saw that it took Chi Mei five days to arrive, so he knew that it was probably a failure. Otherwise, the speed of forming the core wouldn't have been so slow. He didn't expect it to be true.

"Although I made thorough preparations for this Core Formation, my talent is simply too limited. Despite exhausting all my resources, I still failed," Chi Mei said with a bitter expression, his energy and spirit not as good as they were two years ago.

Seeing Chi Mei's dejected appearance, Lu Fan didn't know how to comfort her, so he could only say, "It's alright, just consider it as gaining experience. You'll definitely succeed next time."

"Haha, if it were before, I would definitely have taken Fellow Daoist Li's good wishes, but now my lifespan is almost over, and I have exhausted all the resources for forming my core. I don't want to think about it anymore," Red Eyebrows chuckled.

"Wait a moment," Lu Fan said, then rummaged through the pile of storage bags, finally pulling out two Golden Marrow Pills. He said, "Your strength is remarkable, you'll definitely succeed next time. Take these two Golden Marrow Pills and give it another try."

Upon seeing the Golden Marrow Pill handed to him by Lu Fan, Chi Mei's eyes lit up, but then dimmed again. He said, "Forget it. Even if you give me the Golden Marrow Pill, I still don't have the ability to find the Dew of Creation. Besides, even if I did find it, these repeated failures have made me lose my heart for the Dao, and I have no chance of forming a core."

Chi Mei still refused. After all, repeated failures in forming the core would be a huge blow to a cultivator. Moreover, his lifespan was limited, and even if he collected the materials, his success rate in forming the core would be less than 10%.

"Since you have embarked on the path of immortality, your resolve to pursue it should be as firm as a rock. How can you give up so easily until the very last moment?" Lu Fan advised.

"Throughout my journey, I believe I have considerable talent, enough to at least reach the Core Formation stage and enjoy a lifespan of six hundred years, living a carefree life."

"But once you actually start walking this path, you realize how arduous it is. Alas, everything is predestined, and we have no say in anything about it."

Red Eyebrows was filled with emotion at this moment, which was in line with his resigned state of mind.

Lu Fan didn't know what else to say.

Red Eyebrows then took out two manuals from his storage bag and slowly placed them on the stone table, saying, "Fellow Daoist Li, one of these manuals is the Six Jia Thunder Formation you gave me, and the other is the complete collection of formations I have learned in my life. Please accept them."

"The True Man has completed the Six Jia Thunder Formation?" Lu Fan was shocked.

"I have successfully completed the method for refining the array flags. If you can find some unusual lightning in the future and incorporate it into the array flags, their power will surely increase greatly," said Red Eyebrows.

Lu Fan opened the manual and began to read it, then said, "Master, you have gone to great lengths to complete the Six Armor Thunder Formation for me. I truly do not know how to thank you enough."

"You're too kind. I am a formation master myself, and I have spent my whole life studying various formations. Fellow Daoist, you have given me such a formation to study, and I have no regrets in this life," Red Eyebrows said slowly.

The fact that Chi Mei could utter the words "I have no regrets in this life" shows just how significant the Six Jia Thunder Formation is.

"I will accept the Six Jia Thunder Formation, but I cannot accept your formation manual. It is all your hard work," Lu Fan declined.

"Fellow Daoist, please don't refuse. My array manual contains only some commonly used arrays, nothing particularly profound. You might find it useful if you keep it," Red Eyebrows raised his hand.

Seeing that Chi Mei had said so, Lu Fan couldn't refuse any longer. He put everything into his storage bag and asked, "So, what are your plans for the future, Master?"

"I have thirty years left to live. I plan to enter the mortal world, marry a few wives and concubines, have a few big, fat sons, and enjoy the joys of family life. Perhaps if I'm in a good mood, I can live a few more years," Red Eyebrows stroked his beard and laughed.

"That's absolutely right. Since there's no hope of breaking through, why not experience the pleasures of being a mortal and leave behind a bloodline? That wouldn't be a bad thing. Have you found a good place for yourself, Master?" Lu Fan nodded and asked.

"I've found it. It's in Shiquan Town, near the capital of Da Yan. If you ever happen to pass through here, you may stop and rest. I will certainly treat you as an honored guest. Of course, if I'm still alive then," Chi Mei said with a smile.

"Definitely," Lu Fan said slowly, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Alright, I won't disturb Fellow Daoist Li any longer. We'll meet again someday," said Red Eyebrows, then prepared to leave.

"Take care, sir," Lu Fan said, bowing slightly.

"Take care," Red Eyebrows cupped his hands in greeting, then raised his hand to release his flying sword and fled into the distance.

Watching Chi Mei walk away, Lu Fan felt quite emotional.

I met Chi Mei in Thousand Peaks City. Although it was only a few years, he can be considered a close friend.

But his spiritual journey ended, and he could not escape passing away peacefully.

This made Lu Fan wonder if he could be as carefree as Chi Mei if he failed to form a core with a mutated mixed spiritual root.

"Forming the Core is so difficult. How did those old monsters who have reached the Nascent Soul stage manage to fight their way through?" Lu Fan sighed, then looked towards Ye Lingxi's secluded cave.

...

The sun and moon alternate, and time flies like an arrow.

Another year has passed in a flash. Throughout the year, Lu Fan has not dared to relax for a moment and has always been guarding the sect square.

In contrast, at the entrance of Linggu Gate, there were more than twenty corpses lying haphazardly, almost all of them were at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Among them were two pseudo-Core Formation stage cultivators, indicating that Lu Fan had experienced several bloody battles over the past year.

His blue robe was already soaked in blood, making him appear to be severely injured, but in reality, it was all the blood of his enemies. Even so, Lu Fan's overall mental state was still haggard and dejected.

After all, forcing a cultivator to endure two years of seclusion without going into seclusion is an extreme torment to both their mind and body.

In contrast, the sect's protective formation had already ceased operation due to the depletion of spirit stones.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, if you don't come out of seclusion soon, I really can't hold on any longer," Lu Fan said with a bitter expression.

Because he had killed too many cultivators, Lu Fan's aura of murderous intent was exceptionally strong at this moment.

Just as Lu Fan looked utterly hopeless, an extremely powerful surge of spiritual energy suddenly erupted from the once silent valley.

Suddenly, a large expanse of golden light burst forth from the cave where Ye Lingxi was in seclusion, intertwined with green spiritual energy, growing ever more intense.

"Dual spiritual roots of metal and wood?" Lu Fan was also surprised, not expecting Ye Lingxi's talent to be so remarkable.

"The spiritual energy is gathered and does not dissipate, with a strong aftereffect. It seems that I am about to successfully form my core," Lu Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief.