The effects of the Shape of Life were even more wondrous than Li Fan had anticipated. Observing the Daoist boy, he tried to understand his life form.
"Granting life…" he pondered.
By inscribing the Shape of Life onto the liquid sword, he had created a "sword spirit" with an intrinsic connection to him. The boy's "Great Master" was, in fact, his master, his creator. Li Fan sensed he could erase the boy's consciousness and restore the sword to its original state with a mere thought.
No matter how powerful the boy became, as long as he was bound by the Shape of Life, he couldn't escape his fate as a creation.
"The Shape of Life is truly profound. The only drawback is that it creates truly independent beings with their own will. I can't fully perceive their thoughts."
"But I can still control them like puppets."
Understanding this, Li Fan said, "Rise." He gestured, and clothes materialized on the boy.
"Thank you, Great Master, for granting me clothes!" The boy kowtowed again before rising.
"Attack me with all your might."
"But…" The boy hesitated, then obeyed.
He vanished. A torrential downpour ensued. Each raindrop was a frigid sword, a storm of blades aiming to tear Li Fan apart. Newly born, the boy was a blank slate, following orders without hesitation. His attack was merciless.
"Even a nascent consciousness can manifest such pure, diverse sword intent. A cultivator would need centuries of training to achieve this. Is this the advantage of tool spirits?"
"Unfortunately, this sword is still a World Tool. Its power is limited."
Li Fan stood unmoved as the rain fell. Each sword beam, though formidable, dissipated in a flash of golden light before reaching him. The downpour didn't even dampen his clothes.
"Enough." With a wave of his sleeve, Li Fan gathered the raindrops, flicking them with a finger. A clear ringing sound echoed.
The boy reappeared, falling to the ground.
"Thank you, Great Master, for your mercy!"
"Great Master's might is unmatched throughout the universe!" He scrambled to his feet, instinctively praising Li Fan.
"It has taken form, but its power is far from sufficient to protect me."
"It needs further enhancement." Li Fan narrowed his eyes, returning the boy to his sword form.
The sword's surface now rippled like water, more vibrant than before. Li Fan had a plan. His strength lay in Immortal Arrays. The best method was array refinement.
He channeled Source Power Essence, weaving golden patterns into array units, merging them with the liquid sword. The sword boiled again, its surface violently agitated. Normally, a World Tool couldn't handle the immense power of an Immortal Array. But Li Fan was inscribing the Illusory, Myriad Xuanhuang Beings Grand Formation, a fusion of all the Immortal Arrays he knew.
The evolving array possessed inherent life and death之力, protecting the sword from destruction. Li Fan also sensed the influence of the Shape of Life.
"The birth of sentience has changed the sword's very nature. Otherwise, it wouldn't have withstood the initial influx of the array's power."
After seven days of flickering golden light, Li Fan completed the inscription. What he'd created was similar to the True Immortal script molds, a framework. Activating the array required energy. The sword itself couldn't sustain the array for long.
Li Fan wasn't willing to use Source Power Essence. He needed every bit for Xuanhuang's ascension. If his protector competed for resources… it would defeat the purpose.
But he didn't intend for it to be a short-lived tool either. He had a brilliant idea.
"Energy… infinite." Li Fan looked towards the Star Sea, his eyes narrowing.
Twenty days later, the Daoist boy stood in the empty Star Sea, chanting the vessel's enhanced Grand Method of the Supreme Armour. Li Fan watched from afar, concealed.
He was replicating the vessel's equalization of the Star Sea. But this time, the target wasn't him, but the liquid sword!
He knew that contact with the infinite Star Sea would lead to assimilation, transforming the subject into a Star Spirit.
But… the sword contained the Shape of Life!
The Shape of Life had created the Dark Star Sea's independent consciousness. Its standing was clearly higher than the Star Sea's. As long as the Shape of Life remained intact, even as a Star Spirit, the sword's fate was in Li Fan's hands.
"Star Spirits can't defy the Star Sea consciousness."
"Creations of the Shape of Life can't defy their creator."
"When these two conflict…"
"Let's see which prevails!"
The boy's chanting continued flawlessly, even surpassing the vessel elders. Tool spirits were indeed quick learners.
Perhaps due to its previous forced interaction, the Star Sea consciousness seemed to have developed some "resistance." It took twice as long to summon it this time.
The purple-gold vortex, like a deep eye, reappeared. The boy didn't hesitate. He unleashed the [Equalize] character.
The Star Sea remained receptive. However, unlike the seasoned vessel elders, the newly born boy, with his limited experience, didn't seem to pique its interest as much.
Regardless, equalization was achieved. Infinite Star Sea energy poured down. Bathed in starlight, the boy gradually transformed, his form becoming luminous blue, his "bones" formed of interconnected stars.
Suddenly, as if impacted by the infinite power, the Shape of Life within him flared, appearing on his surface. Triggered by the clash with a near-equal force, the Shape of Life unleashed its true brilliance – a black void shimmering with all the colors of existence, edged with a faint white light.
This striking, unforgettable hue instantly overshadowed the Star Sea's blue.
The purple-gold vortex roared with a thousandfold intensity. Even Li Fan, observing from afar, felt the Star Sea's fury.
But the Star Sea consciousness wasn't impulsive. Despite the thunderous roar, the vortex vanished faster than it had appeared.
With the threat gone, the Shape of Life receded, leaving only the Star Spirit Daoist boy standing motionless.
"Did it work?"
Surprised by the ease of success, Li Fan calmly sensed his connection to the boy. The creator's control remained, unaffected by the Star Sea consciousness.
With a thought, the boy appeared before him, several times faster than before.
"Thank you, Great Master, for bestowing fortune!"
Li Fan studied the boy's new Star Spirit form. Through his connection, he saw beyond the brilliant starlight, perceiving the intricate details within. Each point of light was a conduit to an unknown source, the origin of the infinite Star Sea power. Perhaps because of its immensity, exceeding his perception, Li Fan couldn't sense anything within.
The Star Sea consciousness's influence remained, suppressed by the Shape of Life. Li Fan sensed countless Star Sea laws slowly merging with and reshaping the boy's sword form as infinite energy flowed through the conduits.
"Though not quite an Immortal Tool, it's a Supreme Being level sword."
"Fueled by infinite Star Sea power, it can sustain an Immortal Array indefinitely." Li Fan reached out, grasping the sword, which had returned to its original form. But it was no longer liquid, but a swirling mass of starlight, like the Star Sea itself, with countless worlds flickering within.
Li Fan felt a surge of pride, having created such a powerful weapon.
"Can I use it to wield the infinite power of the Star Sea?" With a thought, he drew power from the sword. But this raw Star Sea energy was different from cultivator's spiritual energy. It couldn't be absorbed, only rampaging destructively within him.
Li Fan frowned, expelling it. "What a pity. But there must be a technique to harness this power." He thought of the Supreme Armour World cultivators who had wielded Star Sea power.
He then shook his head. "I'm being foolish. Even the infinite Star Sea is bound by the Shape of Life."
"Pursuing limitless quantity without qualitative change…"
"Is a dead end."
"But the ability to easily create Supreme Beings is invaluable." With a dozen Supreme Being level tool spirits protecting him, he could dominate the Star Sea.
As he prepared to create more, something unexpected happened.
He couldn't inscribe the Shape of Life anymore! He remembered the pattern, but couldn't replicate it.
"There's a limit."
After several attempts, Li Fan accepted this limitation with some regret.
"I had hoped to create an army of tool spirits to explore beyond the barrier."
"Completely obedient creations are far more convenient than cultivators."
"What a pity." He sighed, tossing the starlight sword.
The Daoist boy reappeared, standing before him, head bowed.
Li Fan mused, "Things are boundless in quantity, endless in time, and ever-changing in form. You now possess the infinite power of the Star Sea, transcending mortal limitations."
"From now on, your name will be…"
"Autumn Water!"
The boy was initially puzzled by the connection between his name and Li Fan's words. But the Great Master's word was law. He kowtowed happily. "Thank you, Great Master, for granting me a name!"
Accepting the name, his aura subtly shifted, becoming more like a naturally born being. Li Fan understood. If Autumn Water ever truly became an independent life, free from his control, Li Fan could inscribe the Shape of Life again.
Li Fan pondered this, his expression unreadable.
"Hmph."
"Pure creations are better after all."
Returning to the Xuanhuang World, he found Tian Yang had emerged from his meditation. Though merely a puppet, he now possessed an ethereal, otherworldly aura, only slightly less than the True Immortals Li Fan had encountered.
Li Fan suspected that if Tian Yang appeared in the Xuanhuang World now, countless cultivators would prostrate themselves before him.
He then had Autumn Water and Tian Yang spar. With infinite Star Sea power fueling the Myriad Xuanhuang Beings Grand Formation, Autumn Water should have had the advantage. But the Immortal-level illusion array, which had trapped the Healer, had little effect on Tian Yang. In combat, he simply ignored the illusions. Even the scene of his past life as the Dao didn't faze him. The array only served to refine his will.
Breaking free from Autumn Water's all-encompassing array, Tian Yang landed a solid punch.
(End of chapter)