"When the real is made to appear fake, the fake becomes real."
"The interplay of truth and illusion… truly profound." Li Fan recited the words, a thrill of excitement coursing through him.
Though it had only lasted a moment, he had manifested his Soul Formation cultivation from his previous life, conjuring it from nothingness.
A first attempt, a tentative step into a new realm of power.
But he wasn't discouraged. He was exhilarated.
Creating something from nothing… even legendary True Immortals struggled with such a feat.
And he, through the insights gleaned from countless True Return simulations, had achieved it, however briefly.
The first step was always the hardest. And now, having tasted success, he knew he could refine this power, hone it, make it his own.
"Not just my cultivation," he mused, his eyes gleaming with ambition, "but objects, experiences… even people. The Xuanhuang World, the Dark Star Sea, even the realm beyond the Wall… one day, I will recreate them all. With a mere thought."
He stood above the sea of clouds, savoring the lingering sensation of power, the echo of his brief foray into true creation.
After a while, he turned his attention to the True Return panel, selecting his first reward - his Soul Formation cultivation.
The familiar rumble echoed through the Great Xuan Small World as his power settled within him.
But unlike before, when inheriting this level of cultivation had strained the small world, this time, thanks to the transformation triggered by the [Creation] script, the world endured, its reaction limited to a gathering of storm clouds and a few minor celestial phenomena.
"Finally…" He exhaled, feeling the familiar weight of power, his cultivation restored.
He selected his second reward – an item.
Images of countless objects flickered through his mind, every item he had possessed in his previous life, including those held by his fragments.
He scanned them, his gaze settling on a simple, unassuming white ring.
It had been acquired before the Sacred Emperor persona had fully diverged, so it was still considered… his.
He selected it, and a warm light materialized in his hand, solidifying into the white ring.
It was cool to the touch, his divine sense unable to detect any fluctuations of spiritual energy.
Perhaps because it was a product of the True Return, it didn't require refinement or a bonding ritual. He simply… knew how to use it.
And it was bound to him, its ownership absolute.
He glanced at the name displayed on the True Return panel.
[Falling to the Mortal Realm].
He tested the ring's weight, rolling it between his fingers, pondering its name, its purpose.
"Go."
He tossed the ring towards Mount Jielidie below.
With a thought, it expanded, enveloping the entire mountain peak.
Then, it descended.
The portion of the mountain encased within the ring disintegrated, its substance transforming into pure spiritual energy that dispersed throughout the Great Xuan Small World.
Mount Jielidie, a towering peak thousands of meters high, vanished, leaving behind a perfectly circular crater, its surface smooth as glass.
Creatures that had inhabited the mountain plummeted, their cries of terror echoing through the air, their homes suddenly gone. They were saved by the surge of spiritual energy released by the mountain's disintegration, a gentle updraft that slowed their descent.
The area, once vibrant with life, was now a desolate wasteland.
Li Fan inhaled deeply, absorbing the released spiritual energy, not for its negligible boost to his cultivation, but to analyze it, to compare it to the world's natural energy.
He found no difference.
It felt… familiar. As if it had always been a part of the Great Xuan Small World.
"It transforms matter into energy, yet its name is 'Falling to the Mortal Realm.' How curious."
"Perhaps… it's meant for… Celestial Artifacts." A sudden realization struck him. "The Sacred Emperor persona didn't have the opportunity to fully explore its capabilities. Perhaps… I can test my theory against the pseudo-Celestial Artifacts in the Xuanhuang World."
He stored the ring, his gaze turning towards the crater below.
Mount Jielidie, a prominent landmark, had vanished in broad daylight.
To the mortals below, it was a terrifying, inexplicable event, a sign of divine wrath.
Fearing heavenly punishment, they gathered at the edge of the crater, offering prayers, their faces etched with fear and reverence.
Among them, as expected, were Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba.
With a flick of his wrist, he sent a projection of himself down towards them. It shimmered, solidifying into the image of an elderly man with a long white beard, resembling himself, but with an air of divine authority, reminiscent of Legacy Transmission.
"Look! A Celestial being!"
The mortals prostrated themselves.
The figure waved his hand, and they rose.
He sat cross-legged in the air, his voice echoing across the desolate landscape as he began to preach, his words a blend of familiar proverbs and cryptic pronouncements.
The spiritual energy generated by the Great Xuan Small World's recent transformation converged upon him, forming a swirling vortex above the crater.
Using this energy, he constructed a miniature version of the Purifying Spirit Pond, designed to cleanse the mortals of the Celestial Mortal Miasma.
Under the combined influence of the sermon and the formation, the mortals began to change, their bodies shedding the miasma, their potential awakening.
Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba were among the first to be affected.
The ground within the crater rumbled and shifted as those who had been cleansed were drawn towards its center, their positions rising, forming concentric tiers, a natural amphitheater, bringing them closer to the figure above.
The sermon continued for seven days.
As more mortals reached Qi Refinement, their positions continued to rise, forming distinct tiers.
After seven days, the figure vanished, leaving behind a single thought in the minds of those assembled. The Celestial Teacher will return in one month.
They were awestruck.
Even the slowest among them recognized this as a momentous opportunity.
News of the Celestial Teacher's sermon spread throughout the Great Xuan Small World like wildfire.
And within the crater, now known as the Dao Discussion Platform, they discovered its… unique properties.
The platform, a term coined by the mortals who had witnessed the sermon, was tiered, their positions fixed, reflecting their cultivation level. The higher their cultivation, the higher their position.
These positions were fixed, unchangeable.
Even with the Celestial Teacher gone, those seated on the platform continued to gain insights, their understanding of the Dao deepening.
At the highest tier, a glowing platform materialized, its surface etched with the names of countless cultivation techniques.
A mere thought, and they could access the details of any technique, choosing one to cultivate. Once chosen, the technique's name would vanish from the platform, its essence flowing into the cultivator's mind.
Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba, faced with this vast library of techniques, were overwhelmed.
"Erlang," Wang Xuanba asked, scratching his head, "which one should I choose?"
"Patience," Sun Erlang replied calmly, his eyes scanning the platform. "There are countless techniques here. Take your time. It will be days before others arrive. And once you choose… you cannot change your mind until you reach the next realm. Choose wisely."
…
Above the Dao Discussion Platform, Li Fan's true form, hidden from view, observed the scene below.
These techniques were all from his previous life, copied from the Law Derivation Jade's vast library.
She had used simulated personalities to generate these techniques, a shortcut that allowed her to conserve energy.
And those simulations… he had absorbed their memories, their knowledge.
Since these techniques hadn't yet been created in this timeline, he didn't have to worry about attracting the attention of the Alliance's Guardians' Hall.
The Law Derivation Jade's stockpile… it would last him a long time.
"In this life," he mused, "I shall be… the Teacher of Heaven and Earth."
"Spreading the Dao throughout the Xuanhuang World, starting… here."
He watched as mortals, drawn by rumors of a Celestial being's sermon, continued to arrive, their numbers growing.
He channeled his power into the Dao Discussion Platform, expanding the white ring's area of effect to accommodate the growing crowd.
…
While his projection continued its sermon, planting the seeds of cultivation, his true self descended into the depths of the Great Xuan Small World.
His plan, to achieve Dao Integration using the enhanced Heavenly Soul of a supercharged Xuanhuang World, required him to maximize the world's potential.
And beyond Celestial Spiritual Qi, the dormant power within the absorbed worlds, and the [Creation] talisman…
…the return of the affiliated smaller worlds, the unification of all realms under the Xuanhuang banner, would be a significant boost.
Every little bit helped.
Especially if he used the [Creation] talisman to enhance those smaller worlds before their return, their essence, their power, becoming nourishment for the Xuanhuang World.
The stronger the Xuanhuang World, the more powerful its Heavenly Soul. And the more powerful the Heavenly Soul, the better his chances of success.
"The affiliated worlds, propelled by the World-Splitting Whales over millennia, have drifted far from the Xuanhuang World, their connection now a tenuous thread of spatial energy."
"To reintegrate them, I need to rebuild that bridge."
He closed his eyes, visualizing the connection between the Great Xuan Small World and the Xuanhuang World, their forms represented by spheres of light within his mindscape.
The Great Xuan, a tiny, flickering speck, its connection to the larger sphere, the Xuanhuang World, weak and unstable.
With a thought, he began weaving a formation.
Spiritual energy surged from him, flowing through the earth, spreading outwards.
Lines of power, intricate patterns, materialized in his vision, a framework for his… surgery.
Unseen, the Great Xuan Small World began to move, its trajectory guided by his will, his formations, undoing millennia of the World-Splitting Whales' efforts.
As it neared the Xuanhuang World, he halted its progress.
Tendrils of energy emerged from the Great Xuan, reaching out, connecting to the Xuanhuang World.
Like a fetus drawing nourishment from its mother, the Great Xuan Small World's transformation accelerated.
He carefully chose the connection point, avoiding the volatile Congyun Sea, opting for the more stable Shilin Region. He couldn't risk triggering the Xuanhuang World's defenses.
Compared to the vastness of the Xuanhuang World, the Great Xuan was insignificant, its reintegration a minor event.
His plan proceeded smoothly.
Faint lines of power flowed through the connection, weaving themselves into the Xuanhuang World's essence, strengthening the bond.
But it was more than just a connection. It was the foundation of a far larger, more complex formation, its structure still incomplete, its purpose hidden.
"When all worlds return," he mused, "the formation will be complete."
This time, it wasn't a formation of destruction. It was a formation of containment, designed to capture the enhanced Xuanhuang World's first Heavenly Soul.
He was planning for the future.
That Heavenly Soul… that would be his target.
He would manipulate events, guide its development, make its trials more challenging, its responsibilities… greater.
The more it relied on the Xuanhuang World, the stronger it would become.
And to ensure his own ascension… this formation was essential.
"The most powerful Heavenly Souls… they are the echoes of past Grand Celestial Venerables. Their power is a culmination of countless Heavenly Souls, their combined might almost equal to that of the Xuanhuang World itself."
"In my 115th life, Heavenly Dao Bai was able to briefly resist Legacy Transmission. This time, with my… enhancements, the new Grand Celestial Venerable should reach the limit of the Star Sea's potential."
"And if my research into Celestial Spiritual Qi yields results… perhaps even… a glimpse of true immortality."
"But there is a risk. The Grand Celestial Venerable's echoes… they might carry remnants of the Celestial Realm's influence. I'll need to be careful." He remembered Heavenly Dao Bai's attempts to influence him, and a shiver of unease ran down his spine.
He meticulously refined the formation within the Great Xuan Small World. It would be the template for the formations he would weave within the other smaller worlds.
Legacy Transmission and the Healer, having used the Soul Seal, World Substitution technique, possessed a deep understanding of the Xuanhuang World.
If they detected his interference, if they discovered his formations… his plan would be ruined.
(End of Chapter)