Within the Great Xuan small world, on the Dao Discussion Platform, the Tian Yang Immortal Puppet stood motionless behind Li Fan, eyes closed.
Li Fan sat, reviewing the insights on the High Wall's flaw selected by the Simulated Heavenly Grid from billions of beings across the small worlds.
"What lies before it? Not nothingness, but height! Like a dam across a river, reaching for the sky! Severing our life force, blocking our path!"
"The power of the dark High Wall is immeasurable, impossible to destroy without divine, immortal power. Yet, even a thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant colony!"
"The body of one, the souls of millions, the will of billions. A blazing fire illuminating the darkness."
…
Undeniably, facing the threat of annihilation, people could unleash unimaginable potential. Some of these mortals, whose cultivation was at most Golden Core, had actually touched upon the truth. Even Li Fan found some of their insights enlightening.
But they were still too far removed from the High Wall's level. Even with billions of thoughts, combining and evolving them to unravel the High Wall's secrets wouldn't be easy.
At least, Li Fan saw no sign of their success yet.
But he wasn't in a hurry.
He paused his review, flicking a finger to send a sword phantom carrying all these valuable insights to Mo Rubin.
"Hopefully, this prodigy of the ancient cultivation world can make some progress," Li Fan murmured, gazing at the Star Sea.
Although he had created the Tian Yang Immortal Puppet, his calculations showed that it alone wouldn't be enough to protect him during his Dao Integration with the super Xuanhuang World's Heavenly Soul.
"Besides those I've encountered in past reincarnations, I also have to consider what lies beyond the High Wall…"
He remembered the end of his previous life, Mao Bao's descent, the High Wall's collapse, and the flickering image of True Return.
"Once the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm is born, will the High Wall still hold? If unknown forces from beyond sense it and descend, I won't have much time."
Based on his previous experience, Li Fan estimated the buffer period.
"Plan for defeat before planning for victory. While it might not happen, I must be prepared."
"My power relies on True Return as its foundation. Second is my formation mastery that surpasses even the Star Sea. Third is the Ascending Finger, the Nine Heavens Dustfall."
"And then, the various True Immortal Seal scripts."
Within Li Fan's consciousness sea, the Terminal Dissociation Disc, having completed its task of downgrading immortal formations, was working tirelessly on an astonishing new formation, a culmination of all his current formation knowledge.
Wielding the power of mortals to perform the Dao of True Immortals!
He reviewed the formations he currently possessed.
Those derived from the Primordial Beginning Spirit Grand Formation: Xuanji, All Spirits Return to Number; Desolation, Blossoming in an Empty Room; Boundless, Primordial Chaos Takes Form.
And those he'd developed himself, inspired by the ancient Xuanhuang World's protective grand formation: Simulation, Myriad Forms of Existence; Immortal Descent, All Things Return to Nothing. One for creation, one for destruction, their power rivaling that of true immortal formations.
Now, Li Fan intended to combine all these formations, using the concept of "Infinite Law" as its core, to create the ultimate defensive immortal formation!
He remembered how the Sacred Emperor, in his previous life, had used the Bright Moon Starry Sky Grand Formation to trap the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance within the central four regions. Regardless of their cultivation, anyone who entered was lost in an endless starry sky, unable to escape.
In this life, Li Fan planned to do the same, but his target was the entire Xuanhuang World! He would create another High Wall, a wall of formations, around Xuanhuang!
"If I can delay those unstable factors for a while longer… victory will be mine!"
The Dissociation Disc shimmered, countless formation fragments forming, combining, and evolving within it. With the foundation of downgraded immortal formations, the barrier between mortals and immortals had been broken. The development of the formation proceeded as Li Fan envisioned.
"The Primordial Chaos Takes Form Formation can analyze those who enter."
"Using Blossoming in an Empty Room and Myriad Forms of Existence, I can create countless realistic illusory worlds."
"Xuanji, All Spirits Return to Number, allows for instant adjustments to these worlds…"
"Every form of energy, every life form, has its ideal and non-ideal environments. By combining the essence of various immortal formations, I can create an endless, ever-changing, personalized anti-world tailored to exploit their weaknesses!"
"Trapping and killing with worlds!"
Even with a treasure like True Return, Li Fan was still trapped within the Xuanhuang World and the Star Sea. A hundred lifetimes had passed, and he still needed more time to transcend them.
This formation the Dissociation Disc was developing would create personalized Xuanhuang Worlds for every intruder, tailored to their specific weaknesses!
Its underlying principle was similar to the endless illusions Li Fan had experienced within the Immortal Severing Grand Formation when he left Great Xuan. However, the realism and detail of the worlds created by this immortal formation were far superior to ordinary illusions.
"Using the nightmare difficulty Xuanhuang World experience as a base template, I'll create countless variations…"
"This formation shall be called 'Illusory, Myriad Xuanhuang Beings'!"
With its name decided, its purpose solidified, and the formation took shape.
The flickering light within the Terminal Dissociation Disc suddenly stopped, then erupted outwards, forming a perfect sphere of light seemingly composed of billions of fragments. Within each fragment, a distorted version of the Xuanhuang World played out.
At the center of these fragmented worlds, surrounded by the High Wall, the true Xuanhuang World rested within the Dark Star Sea, its faint light illuminating the surrounding fragments.
Even Li Fan, the formation's creator, was mesmerized by this spectacle. In a fleeting glimpse, he saw the worlds created by the Dissociation Disc. Despite his long experience in the Xuanhuang World, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, slightly intimidated by his own creation.
"If I were to get lost within, I'd probably be trapped for hundreds of lifetimes."
"Anyone below True Immortal level, even if they comprehend the nature of these worlds, wouldn't have the power to break free…"
"In a sense, this Illusory, Myriad Xuanhuang Beings Grand Formation is a High Wall of formations!"
As Li Fan pondered, the sphere of fragmented worlds surrounding the Dissociation Disc began to collapse inwards, converging at its core.
Currently, the Dissociation Disc had only developed the core of the Myriad Xuanhuang Beings Grand Formation. Completing it would require much more time.
But even this core was enough for Li Fan to begin his preparations.
"The amount of Source Power Essence required for this formation to encompass the entire Xuanhuang World is staggering."
After a rough estimate, Li Fan frowned. Even with the current Nether Race population working tirelessly, they wouldn't be able to meet his needs.
"I need to find another way."
"Either utilize the beast's flesh-factory breeding method, or find an alternative energy source equivalent to Source Power Essence."
As he thought this, he sent a strand of divine sense to the underground cavern in Great Xuan. The Nether Race population here, since being captured and bred by Li Fan, had tripled. Their days were spent eating, sleeping, and praying to the great Master.
Strangely, despite their lack of activity, they weren't weakened. On the contrary, they were far healthier than when they'd been hiding from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
This was different from Li Fan's previous experiences. In the past, the Nether Race, after being exploited, had become incredibly weak, their lifespans shortened, and their reproductive abilities drastically reduced. Without careful management, they would have faced extinction.
But now, they seemed to have broken free from this curse.
Li Fan compared this life to his past experiences.
"The breeding method is essentially the same. Although I haven't been overly oppressive and have given them ample rest, the Sacred Emperor in my previous life did the same."
"The Nether Race in Great Qi also had short lifespans…"
"Could it be?" Li Fan remembered how he'd used the Dao Pill technique to possess a Nether Race member, attempting to find the hidden True Immortal Seal script within their bloodline, inherited from the First Grand Magus.
"Is it related to this character that governs the transformation between mortals and immortals?" he wondered.
"The Nether Race was created by the Profound Heaven King. Their bloodline, the source of Source Power Essence, is also their curse."
"Now, their curse has weakened…" A realization dawned on Li Fan.
"The Profound Heaven King wasn't completely merciless. While punishing the Nether Race, he might have left them a glimmer of hope. If a member of the Nether Race were to awaken and discover the secret within their bloodline, the shackles upon them would be weakened."
To confirm his theory, Li Fan acted. The Master's projection, before whom the Nether Race prayed, silently emitted beams of dark light, randomly striking several individuals.
As if receiving divine revelation, these Nether Race members froze, their minds flooded with visions. Overwhelmed with emotion, they kowtowed to the Master's projection in gratitude before immersing themselves in the revelation.
Their prayers and chants grew louder and faster. Like the Nether Race member Li Fan had possessed, their bodies rapidly aged. Some even turned gray instantly, their bodies crumbling into dust.
This horrifying scene, instead of frightening the other praying Nether Race members, filled them with envy, their faith intensifying.
Finally, amidst the chanting, all those who had received Li Fan's "revelation" burned their lives away, turning into ashes.
As a result, Li Fan sensed the curse upon the remaining Nether Race members weaken further. They became stronger, not just physically, but also mentally and spiritually, as if… reverting to the original state of the First Grand Magus's bloodline.
"Chosen by a True Immortal from the Upper Realm to be the First Grand Magus of Xuanhuang, how could such a being be weak?"
"How could his bloodline be so feeble?"
Li Fan's eyes narrowed. He continued using the Master's projection to spread his "revelations." With the current Nether Race population, he could afford this sacrificial strengthening.
"However, I need to control the pace of their liberation."
"I don't want to face a suddenly revived Grand Magus at a critical moment…" Having learned his lesson, Li Fan was extra cautious.
The gradually reverting Nether Race members demonstrated incredible vitality and reproductive abilities, almost matching the speed of the flesh factories. And there were no defects. Every newborn was incredibly strong, more like demonic beasts than humans!
As their seals weakened, the amount of Source Power Essence generated by their prayers also increased exponentially, partially alleviating Li Fan's urgent need.
However, looking at the rapidly growing Nether Race population, which had doubled again in a short time, Li Fan felt a chill.
"Even under heavy restrictions, they are already this powerful. If they were at their peak…"
"…their reproductive abilities would probably rival that of the legendary insect races. And each individual is so strong. It defies logic."
Silently, he pruned and controlled their burgeoning numbers until he was satisfied.
"It seems I need to keep a close eye on them."
Li Fan implanted a simulated personality within the Master's projection the Nether Race prayed to. He also set up a layer of the newly developed Myriad Xuanhuang Beings Grand Formation around their territory, ensuring their complete confinement.
"I can't afford to be careless."
Carefully controlling the Nether Race population, maintaining its linear growth, and using their Source Power Essence to construct the Illusory, Myriad Xuanhuang Beings Grand Formation, time flew by.
Until one day…
Li Fan looked up at the sky. The Medicine King Cauldron had finally left the Immortal Ruins, falling towards the Xuanhuang World.
The six-in-one Immortal Realm fragment within him pulsed intensely, urging him to retrieve it.
With a flash of sword light, Li Fan left the Xuanhuang World. He watched the Medicine King Cauldron grow larger in his vision, its descent unsteady. With a wave of his hand, he collected it and returned, the entire process smooth and effortless, without alerting anyone within the Xuanhuang World.
Sensing Li Fan's suppression, the Medicine King Cauldron pulsed with energy, attempting to escape his control. But it was a futile struggle. Trapped between the Myriad Xuanhuang Beings Grand Formation and the All Things Return to Nothing Formation, suppressed by the power of the immortal formations, it quickly quieted down.
Li Fan sent a strand of divine sense into the cauldron. Familiar with its layout, he navigated directly to the core control center.
Seeing the empty space, he sneered, reaching out and clenching his hand. The entire space seemed to distort under his grasp. A blurry figure was dragged out.
"Spare me, Senior!"
The figure was, of course, Liu Ruchen, the hidden Sect Master of the Medicine King Sect. Captured by Li Fan, he showed none of the dignity of a sect master, his voice filled with panic.
It wasn't that Liu Ruchen was weak, but Li Fan's methods were simply too unfathomable. He had bypassed all the restrictions within the Medicine King Cauldron, reaching the core control center directly and instantly seeing through his concealment…
Liu Ruchen's mind raced, trying to identify this mysterious expert. But Li Fan, like an ordinary mortal, emitted no discernible aura, making it impossible to gauge his strength. Only his calm demeanor and casual glance sent shivers down Liu Ruchen's spine, his instincts screaming danger.
Before he could speak, Li Fan pressed a finger against his forehead. An overwhelming force surged into his soul. Already severely injured and barely clinging to life, this attack left Liu Ruchen with only a sliver of his soul remaining.
Normally, Li Fan avoided using soul-searching techniques. But this concerned the clues left by Sun Piaomiao, the Medicine King Sect's ancestor, regarding the Immortal Realm fragments. He couldn't afford to be careless.
Countless images, Liu Ruchen's memories, flooded Li Fan's mind. He meticulously examined everything, paying close attention to any information related to Sun Piaomiao.
In Liu Ruchen's time, Sun Piaomiao was a figure of legend. Even as the current sect master, most of Liu Ruchen's knowledge of Sun Piaomiao came from a travelogue left behind by the ancestor.
Li Fan had heard about this travelogue from the Medicine King Sect disciples. Now, he read it word for word within Liu Ruchen's memories.
Already knowing the answer, revisiting the details of the travelogue revealed some inconsistencies. The travelogue began after Sun Piaomiao established the Medicine King Sect. Without any explanation, the sect master had suddenly decided to leave Xuanhuang and travel to other worlds.
At the time, the newly established Medicine King Sect was still unstable, with countless matters requiring the sect master's attention. Yet, Sun Piaomiao had simply abandoned everything and left. If not for his capable disciples and the sect's focus on healing and saving lives, rarely engaging in conflict, the Medicine King Sect might not have survived until his return.
While Sun Piaomiao's sudden departure could be attributed to his carefree and unconventional nature, Li Fan suspected it was because he had received some sort of urgent mission.
Considering Sun Piaomiao's strength at the time, the Star Sea wouldn't have been a smooth journey for him. His near-fatal encounter with a Star Sea phenomenon and his crash landing in the Xiaoyao World were proof of this.
With this in mind, Li Fan reread the travelogue. A travelogue should record memorable experiences, yet Sun Piaomiao hadn't mentioned any of his personal trials, not even his near-death experience. His entire focus was on describing the characteristics of the cultivation worlds he visited, like an emotionless recording device, ensuring that future generations could find these worlds if they wished to retrace his steps.
"What about the purpose of the pawns he left behind?"
"Having left such obvious clues, he should have mentioned them."
Li Fan carefully reviewed the travelogue but found nothing, frowning slightly. To be sure, he checked again, but still found nothing. He then searched through Liu Ruchen's other memories.
His efforts were finally rewarded. He found a possible clue in an anecdote Liu Ruchen had heard in his childhood, an anecdote his master had mentioned casually, which even Liu Ruchen himself had forgotten.
"A severely injured man once came to the Medicine King Sect seeking help."
"His injuries were so grave that no one in the sect could heal him. Even our ancestor, after examining him, reached the same conclusion."
"There's no such thing as a cure-all. We did our best to save him. But in his despair, he cursed the Medicine King Sect and even attacked our disciples with his remaining strength. While our sect is dedicated to healing and saving lives, we aren't pushovers. Naturally, we were angered."
"Our disciples were about to kill him when our ancestor stopped them. He approached the dying man, pointed at the sky, and said something."
"The man trembled, his rage subsiding. He stopped attacking, looked up at the sky, his ferocious expression replaced by tears. Then, with a look of acceptance, he died."
"Our ancestor sighed and instructed us to bury him properly."
Young Liu Ruchen, like everyone who heard this anecdote, had naturally asked, "What did our ancestor say to him to so easily quell his rage?"
Liu Ruchen's master had replied, "Birth, old age, sickness, and death are the eternal truths of the Grand Dao. Even the Star Sea itself can't escape them. What more can you do?"
"That's what our ancestor said."
Young Liu Ruchen, too naive to understand the weight of these words, had simply nodded and said, "Yeah! He's such a sore loser. Serves him right!"
But now, Li Fan could discern a different meaning in Sun Piaomiao's words.
"At that time, the path to immortality wasn't severed, and everyone aspired to become immortals. Those words don't sound like something the Medicine King, dedicated to healing and saving lives, would say."
"It aligns with my theory about the pessimists of the Immortal Realm."
Li Fan continued searching Liu Ruchen's memories for more clues.
As luck would have it, he found another suspicious detail. Cultivation sects usually erected statues of their founders for future generations to venerate. But there wasn't a single statue of Sun Piaomiao in the entire Medicine King Sect.
"Master, Master, what did our ancestor look like? Why isn't there even a portrait of him?"
"Haha, our ancestor said that instead of venerating him, we should venerate the Medicine King Cauldron. Our alchemy, our healing, our entire sect relies on this cauldron! Without the cauldron, there would be no Medicine King, and no future."
…
"The Medicine King Cauldron, the future."
Li Fan exhaled slowly, withdrawing from Liu Ruchen's memories, lost in thought. Liu Ruchen's remaining soul trembled beside him, not daring to interrupt.
"Perhaps it's just my conjecture, but Sun Piaomiao's hint seems quite obvious."
"However, only if one already suspects that the Medicine King Cauldron might be an Immortal Realm fragment."
"If I'm right, Sun Piaomiao must have hinted at the cauldron's special nature elsewhere, but his disciples didn't notice, and the information was lost to history."
"If not for the anomaly I discovered with Sun Piaomiao's relics on the Celestial Ark, this secret might have remained buried forever."
Li Fan looked at the Medicine King Cauldron. Using the Interplay of Truth and Illusion, he channeled his spiritual energy, simulating the power of the Life-Saving Eternal Scripture. He had cultivated this technique before, and with his current power far surpassing that of ordinary Dao Integration realm cultivators, replicating it was effortless. The simulated version was indistinguishable from the original.
Under Liu Ruchen's stunned gaze, Li Fan easily bypassed the Medicine King Cauldron's restrictions and gained control of it.
"The disciples of the Medicine King Sect have fallen so far!"
"Instead of helping the world in times of crisis, they flee…"
"Scoundrels!" Li Fan's angry words boomed like thunder in Liu Ruchen's ears. His intimate knowledge of the Medicine King Sect, and his authoritative tone… A bold guess surfaced in Liu Ruchen's mind.
"Senior, are you…?"
Li Fan ignored him, grabbing Liu Ruchen and flashing out of the cauldron. With a thought, he deactivated the Great Dream Spring and Autumn Formation within the cauldron, and like shaking a sieve, he tossed out all the sleeping Medicine King Sect disciples.
They rained down from the sky. Fortunately, they had already awakened and sensed the danger, managing to stabilize themselves.
Confused and disoriented, they looked around, their gazes eventually settling on Li Fan, the only stranger present, especially since he was holding the fading figure of Liu Ruchen.
"Sect Master?!"
"Master?!"
The disciples, elders, and Liu San cried out, glaring at Li Fan.
Unfazed by their hostility, Li Fan continued shaking the Medicine King Cauldron until all the treasures, spiritual plants, and herbs within it flew out as spheres of light. He then stopped, summoning the All Things Return to Nothing Formation and enveloping the cauldron.
Silently, the Medicine King Cauldron, which could even withstand the Immortal Ruins' suction for a while, crumbled into dust.
"The Medicine King Cauldron!" The Medicine King Sect members watched in horror as their most prized treasure was destroyed, their eyes filled with rage. They were about to attack Li Fan when the faint aura of the world-destroying immortal formation emanating from his fingertips froze them in their tracks.
(Author's Note about chapter length)
(End of Chapter)