Stimulated by the stele's presence, the Nether Race's reproductive drive intensified. With their survival instincts fully activated, their reproduction rate would likely double.
"The only things limiting their growth are resources and time."
"This physique…" Li Fan examined a Nether Race member, comparing him to those from the previous cycle.
"As the seal weakens, the ancestral reversion accelerates exponentially."
He carefully tested their limits, discovering their astonishing resilience. They could withstand attacks from Qi Refinement realm後期 cultivators.
"A strong adult can even survive a blow from a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. With their regenerative abilities, any non-fatal injury heals quickly…" He shook his head, abandoning his previous idea.
"This is their limit."
"It's not that I'm afraid of them rebelling. Even at their strongest, they're no match for the Unnamed True Immortal's Leg Bone. I'm more concerned about the first Grand Celestial Venerable…"
"Resurrection through descendants isn't impossible. Caution is warranted."
"As for deciphering the complete Transformation of Immortal and Mortal…" He glanced at the blurry inscription on the stele fragment.
"The Transformation of Immortal and Mortal is a one-time opportunity. If I don't fully comprehend it on first sight, I'll lose the chance forever…"
"Once the stele fragment's progress reaches over fifty percent, I'll personally decipher the secret within the Nether Race bloodline."
"I'll simultaneously infuse my insights into the fragment. I might not be able to retain the knowledge, but the Unnamed True Immortal's Leg Bone shouldn't have that limitation." He formulated his plan.
The stone statue, worshipped as a savior by the Nether Race, provided a steady stream of Source Power Essence. As their physique improved, the quality and quantity of their prayers increased. Li Fan no longer needed to worry about resource scarcity.
He reinforced the stele fragment's protection with an Immortal Array and used the Simulate, Myriad Forms of Existence Formation to create a Heavenly Grid, monitoring the Small World. Satisfied with his preparations, he left.
Over the next six months, using his abundant Source Power Essence, Li Fan set up Immortal Arrays in most of Xuanhuang's Small Worlds, preparing them for ascension and searching for suitable candidates for cultivating Eternal Remnant Will.
His previous attempt to create artificial Eternal Remnant Will using Kou Hong, though unsuccessful, had been enlightening. The fact that True Return could partially consume Kou Hong's remnant will suggested it wasn't far from true Eternal Remnant Will. Perhaps it just needed a final push.
Li Fan suspected the process had been too short, the "heat" insufficient.
"Profound emotions don't fade with time. They become more refined, more brilliant, as time washes over them." He pondered.
"I haven't mastered time manipulation, but I can use illusion arrays to simulate it."
"This time, I'll gather countless seeds and place them within the Illusory, Myriad Xuanhuang Beings Grand Formation!"
"With enough seeds, some are bound to sprout!" A glint flashed in his eyes. "If not for those memories from Kou Hong's remnant will, I would have recklessly proceeded with Dao Integration."
"Eternal Remnant Will, with its ability to unlock True Return's potential, is crucial."
"Just as crucial are the Three-Pronged Tree and the Mechanical Puppet, Sun Piaomiao's relics. I wonder if they'll still be useful to True Return this time…"
The Profound Immortal Vessel possessed True Immortal script and countless treasures within its vault, not to mention control over an ancient Desolate God. Li Fan wouldn't provoke them before True Return was fully charged.
"With sufficient Source Power Essence, I can deploy Immortal Arrays at any time."
"But my strongest offensive technique is still the Nine Heavens Dustfall Finger."
Three figures lay unconscious on the Great Xuan's Dao Discussion Platform: one adult and two children, two male and one female. The younger male was Ou Shangtian. The other two, like him, possessed Foundation Establishment treasures suspected to be derived from True Immortal remains.
"I gleaned valuable information from True Immortal flesh and blood in the previous cycle."
"I wonder what I'll see this time."
Ou Shangtian possessed the Kun Qian Bone Hand. The other two possessed the Wind Stepping Foot and the Illusionary Divine Eye, respectively.
The Wind Stepping Foot not only granted incredible speed but also absorbed the luck and fortune of those it killed, using living beings as stepping stones to ascend.
The Illusionary Divine Eye could see through illusions and, at crucial moments, generate visions, either warnings of the future or glimpses of hidden treasures. Li Fan had captured the female cultivator possessing the Eye before she could react, despite her sensing his approach.
The three treasure wielders floated in mid-air. Li Fan was ready.
He inscribed the [Ancient] character. Its power, capable of tracing back through time, illuminated the True Immortal remains within them.
True Immortal flesh and blood began to emerge, as if the deceased True Immortal were being resurrected. Using golden threads, Li Fan drew the three masses together. As if connected by an unseen force, they merged, forming a pulsating, grotesque mass of flesh.
Li Fan, prepared, released a character – not True Immortal script, but an array connecting to the Nether Race Small World. The Simulated Heavenly Grid there would absorb anything affected by the True Immortal flesh and blood, channeling it into the Unnamed True Immortal's Leg Bone.
Even before the array fully unfolded, the mere hint of its aura caused the flesh to tremble violently, retreating in terror. But Li Fan wouldn't allow it. He used the character to pin it down.
Even without a full connection, the character suppressed the True Immortal flesh, rendering it inert.
Holding another character, Li Fan cautiously approached. The aura of the Unnamed True Immortal, even through the fragment, was enough to suppress the flesh. It showed no reaction as Li Fan examined it, its unusual properties seemingly deactivated.
He nodded, sending a sliver of divine sense into the flesh.
Boom!
Li Fan wasn't the Unnamed True Immortal. His borrowed power could only suppress the flesh superficially. Direct interaction triggered a backlash.
But this time, perhaps due to his previous experience, the backlash was far weaker. He aged at two or three times the normal rate, a manageable cost.
With an indifferent expression, he watched the scenes unfold. Initially, they were similar to what he'd seen before.
"…Qiong Lang Star Region…annihilation…guarding…"
"…target acquired…"
"I obey."
Another conversation in the Immortal Realm. But this time, it included the departing True Immortal's final, lingering glance at their home. Li Fan saw the legendary Immortal Realm for the first time.
It was like an ocean with countless waves. Each wave was a star region, sparsely populated by True Immortals, mostly inhabited by their creations. Magnificent palaces appeared within each wave, each housing a powerful figure ruling over their respective star region.
Even the descending True Immortal dared not look directly at them. Only blurry images remained.
The Star Sea churned, and the waves vanished beneath the surface. The True Immortal arrived in the lower realm, Xuanhuang.
…
This fleeting glimpse of the vibrant, boundless Immortal Realm filled Li Fan with excitement.
"The rumors of the Immortal Realm's infinite resources are true."
"That ocean is vast! Each star region is boundless!"
"Incredible!" He marveled, his brow furrowed. This glimpse had shattered his previous understanding.
The True Immortal's memories continued.
He was guarding Xuanhuang, seemingly waiting for something.
Eons passed.
Doubt crept into the True Immortal's mind.
"It's been five hundred years past the predicted time."
"It still hasn't appeared…" The flickering images revealed his unease.
"I'll wait a little longer."
Time flowed in Xuanhuang.
"Fifteen hundred years."
"Far beyond the margin of error…"
"My greatest fear has come to pass. That thing…"
"Probably won't come." As this thought arose, the world turned gray. Like a drowning man losing his last straw, the True Immortal closed his eyes, despair engulfing him.
But then, something changed. The despair receded.
"Great beings have their own concerns."
"Ants have their own ways of survival."
"…" He looked at Xuanhuang and the Star Sea.
Boom! The image shattered.
…
"Even a True Immortal is an ant?"
"What kind of being are they referring to?"
"An Unnamed True Immortal?"
"Is the difference between a True Immortal and an Unnamed True Immortal that vast?" Li Fan was stunned.
A True Immortal's memories were far more credible than speculation. He now had a rudimentary understanding of the Immortal Realm.
The life force drain accelerated, his hair turning gray, but he pressed on, sensing crucial information was about to be revealed.
…
The scene shifted. The True Immortal was no longer observing Xuanhuang. He was sitting at a stone table beside a pond, drinking tea with another figure.
The figure was blurry, but judging by the True Immortal's respectful demeanor, it was someone of great importance. What shocked Li Fan was that he recognized the pond – the Fishing Pond!
The figure spoke. The True Immortal nodded respectfully, but no sound registered in his memory.
After finishing their tea, the figure vanished, along with the table, chairs, and even the teacups, as if it had all been a dream. But Li Fan sensed the True Immortal's excitement.
He looked at the calm pond, flicking an orb into it. The orb vanished without a ripple. The True Immortal closed his eyes, sensing something.
After a while, he walked to the edge of the pond, looking at his reflection.
Boom!
A face appeared in Li Fan's mind. The True Immortal flesh, suppressed by the Unnamed True Immortal's Leg Bone, suddenly thrashed violently. Li Fan's hair turned completely white as he was forced out of the memory.
"Just physical aging. I still have over three hundred years left. Nothing serious."
"The flesh has calmed down. It must have been a resonance triggered by the True Immortal's face appearing in the memory." He quickly assessed the situation.
The flesh remained suppressed by the bone.
Li Fan, still reeling from the scene, was in a daze. He had seen the True Immortal's face in the Fishing Pond's reflection.
And to his shock and confusion, it was identical to his own!
(End of Chapter)