Li Fan had two theories about the Great Wall's formation. One was that it was created by the Dao Comprehending True Immortal within the Immortal Ruins, like a restriction placed by a cultivator in seclusion to prevent disturbances.
The other was that it was built by an unknown existence beyond the Wall, sealing off the Star Sea to contain the True Immortal Script calamity.
Both theories had merit.
The Great Wall, formless and invisible, yet capable of sealing off the entire Star Sea, employed methods beyond the comprehension of mortal cultivators, achievable only by beings of the Immortal level. While the Dark Star Sea was vast and contained countless cultivation worlds, it was but a small area in the eyes of a True Immortal. Such a sealed-off region might be an ideal cultivation ground for an Immortal.
On the other hand, the Star Sea was boundless. The Dark Star Sea was definitely not the entirety of the lower realms, perhaps not even a corner of it. After the Great Calamity of the Immortal Realm, the Xuanhuang King returned after ascending, and the Faceless True Immortal escaped from the Xuanhuang World's region. Could there be no other survivors from other Immortal Realms beyond the Dark Star Sea? It was highly plausible that they, having detected the anomalies in the Xuanhuang World's region, took preventative measures.
"With the collapse of the Immortal Realm, the vast lower realms became a battleground for various forces. What is the situation beyond the Great Wall now? Do the surviving Immortals still reign supreme? Or have the former cultivators fought back, finding ways to resist True Immortals, even developing civilizations capable of hunting them?" Li Fan's mind wandered, filled with a sense of longing. His heart surged with excitement.
"Soon. In this life, with the Profound Immortal Ark leading the way and attempting to cross the Great Wall, even if they fail, I can learn from their mistakes and try again in my next life. Within a few attempts, I should be able to cross it. And after I achieve Dao Integration with the Heavenly and Earthly Immortal Soul and become the strongest in the Dark Star Sea, I can unite the forces of the Xuanhuang World and the Ark and begin exploring the world beyond the Great Wall."
"Just like how I gradually explored the Congyun Sea and the Xuanhuang World from the Great Xuan Small World!"
The scene of him struggling to break free from the Immortal Severing Grand Formation and entering the cultivation world flashed through his mind.
"Although the world beyond the Great Wall is dangerous, I'm no longer the same person I was back then."
Li Fan's eyes flickered. "High and low…"
The insights he gained while observing the Star Sea beneath the Great Wall from a higher-dimensional perspective were far more profound than those gained through ordinary cultivation. Moreover, these insights, gained naturally from that elevated vantage point, were inherently on a higher level, as if he were comprehending the Dao as a True Immortal!
"Why are all those below Immortals considered ants? A True Immortal can destroy the Xuanhuang World with a single glance, while even the strongest mortal cultivators would require considerable effort. It's because Immortals stand at a sufficient height. In their eyes, a world is but a tiny speck!"
He recalled the scene he had witnessed from the peak of the Great Wall of Shattered Worlds. The endless fragments of shattered worlds shrunk and warped into rings as his perspective rose, eventually converging into a single point. Compared to that colossal structure, the current Xuanhuang World was but a tiny fragment.
The Great Wall became a point.
And to see the Xuanhuang World as a point, he wouldn't even need to reach such a height.
Recalling the sensation of ascension, Li Fan watched as the images of the Great Xuan Small World and the Xuanhuang World shrunk and warped before his eyes. While they hadn't yet converged into points, they resembled clouds of yellow mist, as if he were observing them from the void.
He instinctively reached out to touch them, but he found himself frozen, unable to move, as if bound by an invisible force!
"I'm still too weak! Although I can momentarily see from a True Immortal's perspective, perception and action are two different things…" After several attempts, the result remained the same. His body felt disconnected from the world, unresponsive to his commands. Even these few attempts drained his energy rapidly. Despite his vast reserves, he was quickly nearing exhaustion.
Knowing his limits, Li Fan quickly descended. As his perspective lowered, he regained control of his body. He let out a long breath, recovering from the exertion.
A moment later, he noticed something peculiar. With his normal recovery rate, he should have been back to full strength within a few breaths. After all, with the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heavens as his foundation, augmented by the Xuanhuang World-Ending Transformation, the energy he could draw upon from the merged Xuanhuang World was immense, practically limitless.
Yet, simply attempting to act from that "height" had depleted his reserves in a short time.
"It's not just the change in height. The energy required for movement also increases exponentially. This is one of the fundamental differences between immortals and mortals. Spiritual energy, even an entire world's worth, isn't enough to sustain action at that 'height.' The energy level is too low. I need a higher-level substitute. Immortal spiritual energy…"
These realizations flashed through Li Fan's mind.
He took a step, leaving the Great Xuan Small World and arriving in another desolate small world, uninhabited, covered in primeval forests.
After resting and recovering, Li Fan attempted to ascend again. However, this time, he controlled the rate of his ascent. He stopped when the primeval forest below shrunk to the size of a glass bead. Even maintaining this "height" required a significant amount of energy. This time, he didn't use his own spiritual energy but Source Power Essence, which was closer to immortal spiritual energy.
Bathed in golden light, the restrictive feeling lessened, far less constricting than before. Looking at the small world, now resembling a glass bead, Li Fan slowly extended his index finger.
A mournful wail, like a lament, echoed from the sky above the desolate small world, as if sensing impending doom. However, it couldn't stop what was about to happen.
Li Fan's finger gently descended. A giant finger appeared in the sky above the small world. With a slight exertion, Li Fan felt a slight resistance. Golden Source Power Essence surged and roared, instantly breaking through the resistance like paper.
The giant finger in the sky, like a dark cloud, enveloped the entire small world. There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a soft cracking sound, like glass breaking.
The desolate small world was instantly annihilated!
A violent hurricane, unleashed by the world's destruction, swept through the void. However, Li Fan remained unmoved, protected by the golden light. The storm couldn't harm him in the slightest.
He narrowed his eyes, looking at his finger, still reveling in the power of that world-destroying touch. The massive consumption of Source Power Essence had caused him to descend, returning to his normal perspective. However, the ease with which he had erased a small world gave him the illusion of being an omnipotent god.
Li Fan closed his eyes, taking a long time to dispel this sense of misplaced power.
"When the True Immortal of the Immortal Ruins destroyed the Xuanhuang World with a single glance, it was essentially no different from what I just did. He simply stood higher and commanded greater power… Given enough time, I can achieve the same."
Li Fan gently touched the tip of his index finger, as if wiping away nonexistent dust.
"This technique, descending from above, like a True Immortal's finger… I'll call it the Nine Heavens Dustfall Finger! It represents both a True Immortal descending to the mortal realm and the power of a True Immortal subduing the mortal realm. Perfect!"
Li Fan was quite pleased with his naming. Sensing divine consciousnesses approaching to investigate the small world's destruction, he transformed into a sword's image and vanished.
The desolate small world was too insignificant. Its destruction wouldn't affect the Xuanhuang World's stability.
Back in Great Xuan, Li Fan reflected on the sensation of using the Nine Heavens Dustfall Finger, considering how to make it easier to activate. While possessing world-destroying power, the technique had a significant drawback: it took too long to prepare. Just ascending to the required height took considerable time. Then, he needed to gather Source Power Essence to move freely at that height…
If his target was a world, it wasn't a problem, as worlds didn't move. However, if his target was a cultivator, they wouldn't give him so much time.
"One solution is to set up a formation ambush to trap them, buying me time. And…"
Among his current skills, Li Fan was most proficient in formations. Having now comprehended a near-immortal technique but unable to use it freely, he naturally sought a solution through formations.
"All Daos under heaven share the same origin. Techniques can be transformed into formations, and formations can be transformed into techniques…"
Since ascending to that peak, Li Fan felt his mind was more active than ever before. The elevated perspective allowed him to consider problems from a transcendental viewpoint.
"Terminal Dissociation Disc, analyze!"
Putting all other tasks aside, Li Fan fed the Disc his experience at the foot of the Great Wall and his insights on the Nine Heavens Dustfall Finger. However, directly transforming the technique into a formation was beyond the Disc's current capabilities. Its Simulated Personality stuttered to a halt.
Li Fan pondered, then changed his approach. He wouldn't attempt to transform the entire Nine Heavens Dustfall Finger into a single formation. Instead, he would break down the activation process into several tiered formations, just like how the Xuanhuang World's Floating Ferry Starry Sky Grand Formation was composed of several ancient formations.
He would use a series of interconnected formations to achieve rapid activation of the Nine Heavens Dustfall Finger.
"The first step is naturally 'ascension.'"
Having ascended several times, Li Fan had gained a basic understanding of the process. Ascension, in essence, was elevating one's "momentum" within the starry sky by stimulating energy.
"To achieve this, I might need to follow the Profound Immortal Ark's plan: gather enough power from the True Immortal Script and trigger a concentrated eruption at the Great Wall."
"However, firstly, I'm not aiming to break down the Great Wall with a single finger, so the required energy isn't as immense. Secondly…"
The image of the peaks converging in the depths of the Dark Sea flashed through his mind.
"Perhaps I can learn from the Spirit Gathering Ascension Grand Formation. Its ability to easily create such a high energy concentration in the Dark Star Sea is because it's built upon the remains of a True Immortal. If I use similar materials for my formation…"
Li Fan's mind raced. A red light flashed in his hand, a writhing mass exuding an ominous aura – the remaining True Immortal flesh from Ou Shangtian's Qian-Kun Bone Hand, stimulated by the "Gu" character.
"Although it lacks immortal spiritual energy, it's still from a True Immortal. It should be somewhat helpful, right?"
Li Fan muttered, beginning his first experiment using the True Immortal's flesh as the primary material. With the Spirit Gathering Ascension Grand Formation as a template, the Terminal Dissociation Disc's analysis proceeded smoothly. Soon, a prototype formation was created.
Li Fan set up the formation using Source Power Essence, incorporating the writhing True Immortal flesh.
After a long preparation, he activated the formation. A moment of silence, then a dazzling pillar of light erupted from the formation, fueled by the True Immortal's flesh.
To Li Fan's delight, in his perspective, the pillar of light wasn't merely bright. It was ascending, rising above all things!
"So easily?"
The moment the thought crossed his mind, the light pillar, which seemed capable of illuminating the entire sky, vanished. Li Fan was stunned. After some investigation, he realized there wasn't anything wrong with the formation. The True Immortal's flesh, used as fuel, had simply been consumed.
Li Fan frowned slightly. "The utilization rate is still too low. I can improve upon it. Also, it's not just the Qian-Kun Bone Hand. There must be other True Immortal remains within the Xuanhuang World. I can gather them all…"
The Ascension Formation's purpose wasn't just to facilitate the activation of the Nine Heavens Dustfall Finger. Its ability to elevate one's "momentum" might be crucial for crossing the Great Wall or even achieving True Immortality in the future.
Li Fan took this very seriously, putting all other matters aside and focusing all his attention on its development. With the Terminal Dissociation Disc's analysis and Li Fan's guidance and modifications, the Ascension Formation underwent thousands of iterations in just seven days.
Finally, the utilization rate of the True Immortal's flesh reached a level that satisfied him, at least for now.
(End of Chapter)