On the other side, Li Xing was struggling to make progress. The Holy Soul Sect’s expedition force had changed its strategy, with numerous Elders monitoring everything around, leaving fewer opportunities for him to take action. Watching the expedition force advance at an increasing pace, Li Xing had no choice but to return to the Eternal Joy Immortal Realm to communicate with Fang Yan.

After returning to the Eternal Joy Immortal Realm, Li Xing took out the Communication Talisman crafted by Fang Yan and used it as Fang Yan had instructed.

"Fang Yan, I’ve returned. Contact me immediately when you see this!"

Li Xing did not expect that as soon as he sent the message, he received a response from Fang Yan. His Communication Talisman lit up, and he immediately connected.

"Senior Brother, what’s happening?" Fang Yan, upon suddenly receiving Li Xing’s message, had thought something important had occurred and promptly contacted Li Xing.

"Fang Yan, the Elders on the side of the Holy Soul Sect have dispersed and are monitoring everything, leaving me with no opportunity to act. Now, I’m helpless as I watch the Holy Soul Sect speed up their expedition. What should I do now?" As soon as the connection was made, Li Xing quickly described the situation. He was truly at his wit’s end.

"Senior Brother, this situation is quite normal. If after all this time the Holy Soul Sect hadn’t thought of a countermeasure, they’d be fools, wouldn’t they?" Hearing Li Xing’s words, Fang Yan laughed and then changed his tone, continuing to speak to Li Xing: "But no matter how they guard against it, there’s always a chance. No matter what, you must return there and try to harass them as much as possible while ensuring your safety."

"Fang Yan, I can return, but the problem is that I can’t find an opportunity to harass them! If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have come back to consult with you!" Li Xing replied, feeling frustrated after hearing Fang Yan’s words. If it weren’t for the current situation, he wouldn’t have come back!

"Senior Brother, there are still many ways to deal with them. The key is to be unexpected. For example, if you can predict their route, you can set some traps along the way, like a seemingly ordinary bird carrying poison, or you could bait them into a trap, or help the sects they’re targeting by giving them special poisons or plotting against the Holy Soul Sect with them. Because they’re human, there will always be unexpected areas."

Upon hearing Li Xing’s words, Fang Yan smiled lightly and then immediately communicated with Li Xing, teaching him how to harass the people of the Holy Soul Sect. After all, their targets are too big, and there are bound to be loopholes. As long as one’s thinking is open enough, it’s definitely not a difficult task to exploit these loopholes.

"You’re always full of ideas. Fine, I’ll go back and see what I can do." Li Xing replied, frustrated after hearing Fang Yan’s words. He really couldn’t think of a good plan, but Fang Yan’s words indeed gave him some hints. If he followed Fang Yan’s advice, there were indeed many things he could do. All he needed to do was think these things through, and he could put them into practice. He wasn’t sure about other methods, but helping the sects resist the Holy Soul Sect’s expedition force and setting traps for them was something he could easily do.

After speaking, Li Xing hung up the Communication Talisman and then returned to the Dharma Profound Immortal Realm to continue harassing the Holy Soul Sect’s expedition force...

"This Senior Brother!" Seeing the Communication Talisman hang up, Fang Yan shook his head helplessly and said. Li Xing always acted so hastily, but he had already given him the necessary instructions, so there was nothing more to say. Hanging up was just fine.

Putting away the Communication Talisman, Fang Yan prepared to continue cultivating. But suddenly he realized that he hadn’t seen Qin Kun and Wu Shan for a few days. He immediately followed the elder’s previous instructions and went to where Qin Kun and Wu Shan were. Seeing the two lying on the ground and looking at their wounds, a warm smile appeared on Fang Yan’s lips. He could naturally see that Qin Kun and Wu Shan had both fought desperately. Otherwise, they couldn’t possibly have gotten hurt like this.

Moving quickly to their side, Qin Kun and Wu Shan immediately beamed with smiles. No matter how battered and severely injured they were, as long as Li Xing was there for them, everything would be fine.

"Boss, finally, I see you!"

"Boss, these days I’ve reached the bottleneck of the Earth Immortal Realm!"

The two greeted Fang Yan enthusiastically. Their bodies really couldn’t move right now, or else they would have jumped up to talk to him.

Seeing them in such a state, Fang Yan instructed them directly: "You two, stop talking for now. Let me check your injuries."

As soon as they heard Fang Yan’s words, they immediately behaved like well-behaved children, lying there motionless. At that moment, a faint golden light appeared on Fang Yan’s body. Like living organisms, these golden lights poured into the bodies of the two.

They immediately felt a powerful warm current flowing through their bodies, feeling incredibly comfortable. They closed their eyes and guided this special energy with their Gang Qi to heal their bodies.

Soon this treatment was over, and all their injuries were healed, which made their minds active again.

"Boss, we’ve run out of Elixir. Do you have any more?"

"Right, we just ran out of Elixir, Boss, give us some, please."

Looking at Fang Yan, they both opened their mouths to ask for more Elixir. It couldn’t be helped; they were nearly driven mad. If their bodies were intact, they would have used up all their Elixir fighting those who came against them. Without Elixir, they wouldn’t have been lying on the ground.

"There’s still some left, I’ll give it all to you. But use it sparingly." Hearing their request, Fang Yan handed them some Elixir and reminded them to use it with caution. They had plenty of Elixirs, yet had consumed it all so quickly. Even though he practiced Alchemy, such wastefulness was uncalled for.

Receiving Fang Yan’s Elixir, the two blushed with embarrassment. They indeed had been reckless earlier, using Elixirs for some minor injuries, then continued fighting wildly. Being reprimanded by Fang Yan made them feel quite ashamed, realizing their mistakes.

Seeing them like this, Fang Yan smiled lightly. His point had been made, and they naturally understood what to do from now on. Suddenly, he noticed they were both now at the Half-Step Earth Immortal Realm, and a joyful expression appeared on his face. He spoke to them encouragingly: "You two, put in a bit more effort. Strive to reach the Earth Immortal Realm as soon as possible."

"Hehe, don’t worry, Boss. We definitely will!"

"Right, Boss, if we weren’t on the verge of breaking through, we wouldn’t have been so desperate."

Qin Kun and Wu Shan responded to Fang Yan with great excitement. They had consumed Elixirs so quickly because they were close to breaking through. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have overlooked the importance of conserving Elixirs. They were eager to break through to the Earth Immortal Realm, as it was the mark of a true expert, enabling them to protect their families in the human-immortal war.

Hearing this, Fang Yan nodded, understanding their aspirations. After a moment’s thought, he took out two Jade Creation Pills and a bunch of Heavenly Origin Treasure Boxes, handing them over: "These are Jade Creation Pills; they’ll make breaking through easier. And here’s some Liquefied Spiritual Essence for your cultivation. Time is short, so work hard."

Having said that, Fang Yan turned and left without further ado. He had done all he needed to do; the rest was up to their effort.

After leaving the two, he returned to the volcano to continue harnessing the active Fire Element to accelerate his cultivation. Before he could start, he was surprised to find Lin Feng initiating a psychic connection with him.

"Where are you?" Lin Feng asked directly.

"Main body, I’m on a small island in the Endless Sea enhancing my strength. What’s up?" Fang Yan replied casually, curious about Lin Feng’s intentions.

"Okay, plant a sapling seed on that island. I’ll visit sometime later, and we’ll talk face-to-face. I have some things to discuss with you." Lin Feng, surprised to hear Fang Yan was in the Endless Sea, saw it as a positive. No one else would find him there, making it perfect for sharing certain technologies with his doppelganger.

"No problem." Hearing Lin Feng’s instruction, Fang Yan replied, but went on: "Main body, the Holy Soul Sect is speeding up their expedition. Senior Brother Li Xing finds it hard to disrupt them. If I’m right, the human-immortal war will start soon, so make all your preparations."

"Yes, the preparations have begun. But try to delay it as much as possible; I need more time. Ideally, the human-immortal war shouldn’t happen within the next month or two." Lin Feng answered promptly upon hearing this from his doppelganger.

"Judging by the current pace, I estimate that opening a Space Passage within a month or two is unlikely." Fang Yan thought for a while, analyzing the situation before giving his estimate when Lin Feng asked.

"Then there’s no problem!" Lin Feng replied, and then asked: "How’s your strength enhancement going over there?"

"I’ve now reached the middle stage of the Earth Immortal Realm. I’m doing nothing but cultivating frantically. Fortunately, I had gathered a lot of Liquid Spirit Energy before, and I took a Nine Treasures Sacred Heart Pill when I first reached the island, which helped my strength grow rapidly."

Fang Yan eagerly responded to Lin Feng’s question. He had indeed done his utmost, but at the current pace, reaching the Immortal Realm Peak before the human-immortal war was extremely challenging. After all, he only had a few months, while other cultivators took decades to progress from the initial to the peak stage of the Earth Immortal Realm. But he had no choice under his circumstances; time was truly running out for him.