"The first Grand Celestial Venerable of Xuanhuang wasn't an Immortal descending to the lower realm…"
"But an Immortal transforming into a mortal?"
Li Fan's mind reeled. An Immortal descending and an Immortal transforming into a mortal seemed similar, but the difference was fundamental. A descending Immortal remained a True Immortal, their power merely restricted by the lower realm's limitations. Transformation, however, meant the Immortal was no longer an Immortal!
Becoming a True Immortal was the ultimate aspiration of every mortal cultivator. Yet, in the ancient Xuanhuang World, a True Immortal willingly chose to abandon their immortality and descend to the mortal realm.
"The Dao Obliteration Calamity!" The name flashed through Li Fan's mind. Besides escaping this catastrophic event that later shattered the Immortal Realm, Li Fan couldn't conceive of another reason.
"When the first Grand Celestial Venerable transformed, the Immortal Realm's calamity was still a long way off."
"Such foresight, such resolve!"
"This was a True Immortal truly descending to the mortal realm!" Li Fan marveled.
A new thought arose: "However, we can't rule out that he was forced. The True Immortal's memories revealed a strict hierarchy in the Immortal Realm."
"If he only wanted to escape the Dao Obliteration Calamity, he wouldn't have become the Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable."
"Clearly, the first one's arrival was part of a plan orchestrated by the Immortal Realm."
"And the Xuanhuang World was one of their testing grounds."
Recalling the unstable rings and the Nine Star Crimson Pearl Formation within the Immortal Array, along with the countless frozen bodies controlled by the observer, Li Fan connected the dots.
"Perhaps the Immortal Realm's purpose wasn't just to create a refuge in Xuanhuang."
"They might have been trying to find a way to overcome the Dao Obliteration Calamity."
"But judging by the current state of things, they failed."
"The Dao Obliteration Calamity ravaged the Immortal Realm faster than anticipated, claiming countless True Immortals."
"Meanwhile, the lower realm of Xuanhuang remained untouched. This likely shook some Immortals' resolve."
"And that led to the later plan involving the Immortal Realm fragments…"
Narrowing his eyes, a bigger question emerged: "Did the first Grand Celestial Venerable of Xuanhuang truly die?"
The True Immortal's remains had been passed down through generations of Xuanhuang Celestial Venerables. But what about the original? Mortals and Immortals were different. Having left descendants, the first one must have become fully mortal. Did such a figure simply fade away due to old age, like countless others? Or did they change their identity, living in secrecy, observing from the shadows?
"The close connection between Xuanhuang and the Immortal Realm must be related to this first Celestial Venerable. A True Immortal, demoted and acting as a bridge between the mortal and immortal realms, secretly monitoring Xuanhuang."
"But this True Immortal was also under the Immortal Realm's control. Perhaps, dissatisfied, they feigned death to escape."
"The second Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable wasn't a transformed Immortal, but a being chosen from Xuanhuang…"
"Either the transformation was too costly to maintain, or the Xuanhuang project was a top-secret even within the Immortal Realm, with limited Immortal involvement. Perhaps they simply couldn't find another suitable candidate for transformation."
"Or maybe it was a combination of both."
Remembering the profound character he saw within the Nether Race bloodline, Li Fan mused: "Immortal transformation isn't just about lowering one's power."
"It involves the [Transformation of Immortal and Mortal]."
"A power even greater than [Creation]…"
Thoughts raced. Li Fan pieced together a possible truth about the Immortal Realm and Xuanhuang, based largely on the similarities between the first Grand Celestial Venerable and Xing Wuque's power reduction. The fact that it aligned with previous clues was telling.
"A banished Immortal, hiding in the shadows…"
"But in my past life, when the barrier crumbled and the Star Sea was in turmoil, they remained hidden."
"It seems that by now, even this banished Immortal is no longer in the Dark Star Sea."
"Not necessarily deceased. They might have transcended the barrier!"
The Dark Star Sea, Li Fan's current base of operations, appeared superficially safe, offering some comfort.
"If the Nether Race are descendants of the first Grand Celestial Venerable…"
"Could the [Reveal] character technique activate their bloodline connection and lead me to the banished Immortal?"
A dangerous thought surfaced, quickly suppressed.
"There's no need for such a reckless move yet. Perhaps later, when I'm strong enough to explore beyond the barrier."
Glimpsing a fragment of the Immortal Realm's past intensified Li Fan's curiosity and instilled deep caution towards the collected but unassembled Immortal Realm fragments.
"If True Immortals once saw the lower realm as a refuge, these dismantled and sealed fragments could be their hiding places…"
Li Fan hesitated about using Sun Piaomiao's fragments. After long deliberation, he resolved his doubts.
"This mystery box will be opened eventually."
"Better sooner than later."
"With the Immortal Array downgrade method and numerous arrays at my disposal, I can activate True Return even if something unexpected happens."
"Besides, there's a place in the Star Sea that's particularly effective against Immortals…" A glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes.
Gathering Liu Ruchen and the other descendants of Sun Piaomiao from the Medicine King Sect, along with all the Immortal Realm fragments, Li Fan enveloped them in the wooden sword's shadow and transported them to the center of the Star Sea. The shadow solidified, creating an illusion of a normal world under a blue sky. The Medicine King Sect members remained unaware of their true surroundings. Only Li Fan could see the terrifying, boundless black Qi in the distance.
"It's spreading faster than expected."
"And the area around the black Qi…" Li Fan frowned, comparing it to his previous observations. He'd seen the harbingers of the Dao Obliteration Calamity here before, but from afar. He only felt the sense of danger while directly observing the black Qi. Now, even when looking away, a chilling premonition lingered, intensifying with time. The Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra couldn't dispel it.
Suppressing his instinct to flee, Li Fan analyzed the feeling. "Like a crumbling wall, a collapsing tower, and I'm trapped beneath…"
Despite the immense danger, Li Fan moved closer, bringing the wooden sword's shadow to the edge of the churning black sea.
"Begin," he instructed the Medicine King Sect members within the illusion.
Oblivious to their perilous situation, they gazed at the floating orbs with entranced expressions. Bound by golden chains were a seven-colored chess piece, a white chess piece, and six gray chess pieces.
"These are the Immortal Realm fragments left by our ancestor!" Excited to unveil Sun Piaomiao's ancient secrets, they began the fusion under Li Fan's guidance.
Using the life-giving green energy of Liu Ruchen's Life-Saving Eternal Scripture, they first fused the six gray pieces. The process was surprisingly smooth. Just as when Li Fan had done it, the six gray pieces combined into a larger, seven-colored piece.
Now, only two seven-colored pieces remained, along with the crucial white piece, transformed from the Medicine King Cauldron. Stimulated by the other two pieces, the white piece pulsed with seven-colored light around its edges. Smaller than the others, it seemed to be the core. The golden chains binding it trembled, about to break.
Li Fan retreated sharply, releasing the seal. With fervent expressions, the Medicine King Sect members maneuvered the two seven-colored pieces towards the white one.
In a flash, the white piece's aura expanded, engulfing the two seven-colored pieces. Only a single piece remained.
A faint hum emanated from the piece. Through the layers of his arrays, Li Fan observed it closely. Strangely, despite the complete fusion, the expected Immortal Realm hadn't manifested.
But Li Fan knew the fusion was successful. He felt the "weight" of the nearby Immortal Realm increasing. The wooden sword's shadow and the surrounding arrays strained, threatening to shatter under the pressure.
As Li Fan prepared to reinforce them, a unique protective force emanated from the white piece, enveloping the wooden sword's shadow and the arrays. It was like entering another dimension, where the Immortal Realm's pressure vanished. Li Fan remained outside, using the wooden sword's shadow to observe within. Strictly speaking, the shadow hadn't entered the Immortal Realm, but was shielded by it. The astonished Medicine King Sect members received the same protection.
Like unfolding paper, the light from the Immortal Realm piece intensified, even pushing back the encroaching black Qi. Li Fan retreated further, avoiding the light. The radiance didn't extend indefinitely like normal light, but stopped after reaching a certain area, resembling a giant luminous sphere at the edge of the black sea. The light was so bright that it blocked the perception of Li Fan's wooden sword shadow within. He saw vague, flickering images – humanoid yet not, landscapes yet not.
Just as he anticipated the Immortal Realm's full appearance, the black sea, previously repelled, suddenly surged forward, expanding rapidly. The approaching black Qi seemed to frighten the nascent Immortal Realm. Its light abruptly retracted, the giant sphere shrinking back into the white-edged chess piece. Then, as the Medicine King Sect members watched in disbelief, it transformed into a beam of white light, piercing the sky and fleeing. Their "sky," of course, was Li Fan's illusion and arrays. Measures that could briefly trap the Healer couldn't even slow this white light.
As the Immortal Realm piece was about to vanish, a giant finger descended from the sky, piercing space and pinning it down – Li Fan's Nine Heavens Dustfall Finger!
Perhaps sensing the high potential within the Nine Heavens Dustfall Finger, or perhaps because the threat of the black Qi had receded, the white light ceased struggling, its aura vanishing as it floated motionless.
"Such a drastic reaction."
"The black Qi must have triggered some kind of obstacle."
"The Immortal Realm's unfolding failed." Li Fan quickly understood. This temporary setback didn't render the piece useless, it had simply become dormant. But in that brief moment of unfolding, Li Fan had glimpsed within.
"I'm fairly certain there are no living beings inside."
"My worry about dormant True Immortals is unfounded."
"However, besides the basic laws of the Immortal Realm, the most prominent feature…" Li Fan furrowed his brow, gesturing with his hand.
"Those floating shadows…"
"Are they True Immortal script?" He wasn't entirely sure. In that fleeting glimpse, he'd seen numerous moving black lines. Familiar with True Immortal script, he recognized them as structures commonly found within the characters.
"True Immortal script is the embodiment of laws."
"And when the embodied script decomposes, returning to its original form as laws…"
"Is that the process of the chess piece unfolding into the Immortal Realm?" Li Fan had a revelation. The Immortal Realm piece was a superposition of countless True Immortal scripts! His heart pounded. To construct an entire Immortal Realm, the number of scripts within the piece must be astronomical!
"The True Immortal who created this piece was no ordinary being!"
(End of Chapter)