Li Fan carefully examined the Immortal Legion Dissociation Disc.
In his previous life, he had experienced the terrifying power of the Dissociation Disc after its ascension to an Immortal Artifact.
With a single thought, Immortal arrays could be formed.
And with Immortal arrays, even Immortals and gods could be slain!
Mo Sha was among the most powerful Heavenly Souls. After ascending alongside the Xuanhuang World, its power as a Heavenly Immortal Soul was unimaginable.
An inky blackness veiled Li Fan's eyes. Countless wriggling black dots emerged from his right fingertip.
He pressed this blackness onto the condensed remnants of True Immortal inscription power in his left hand.
The remnants, capable of wreaking havoc across the Star Sea, offered no resistance to the power of the Heavenly Immortal Soul Mo Sha. They were engulfed by the blackness and vanished completely.
The inky tide surged and receded, leaving Li Fan's hands empty.
"Able to erase True Immortal remnants, it wouldn't be too far behind even a True Immortal. This is the benefit of ascending with the new method. As long as the devoured Heavenly Immortal Soul is powerful enough, its power can be utilized instantly."
"With Mo Sha's power protecting me, even as a 'Half-Immortal' lacking Immortal spiritual energy and other Immortal methods, I can dominate the Star Sea."
"But my true trump card is the Immortal Legion Dissociation Disc!"
Within his mind, countless Dissociation Discs radiated light. Silvery starlight flowed from each star, converging in Li Fan's palm.
"Mo Sha, the Heavenly Immortal Soul, is incredibly powerful. But against the Dissociation Disc, capable of forming true Immortal arrays, it's as insignificant as an ant."
Li Fan's current Half-Immortal state was achieved by merging with Mo Sha's Dao. Without upgrading his other techniques to the Half-Immortal level, he wasn't much stronger than Mo Sha.
He too would be helpless against his own Immortal arrays.
"Like a child wielding an Immortal treasure, the offense and defense are disproportionate."
"And the reason for this absurd situation…"
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, attempting to absorb the silver starlight in his palm.
It remained unresponsive.
"Immortal spiritual energy. But I can't use it?"
The Dissociation Disc's extraordinary power stemmed from Li Fan diverting a portion of the Immortal spiritual energy, obtained by the Xuanhuang World from the Grand Celestial Venerable's legacy, to the disc during his ascension in his previous life.
Infused with Immortal spiritual energy, the Dissociation Disc had undergone a true transformation.
Moreover, this transformation seemed more complete than that of the Xuanhuang World or Li Fan himself.
To test his theory, Li Fan focused his mind. The countless stars of the Dissociation Disc shimmered.
Immortal spiritual energy flowed, instantly forming a miniature Immortal array before him.
It looked like a palm-sized silver ring. But within it was the Illusory, Myriad Xuanhuang Beings Grand Formation, infused with the Law of Imprisonment. A single ring could easily suppress any being below Immortal level.
The Dissociation Disc continued to shine, producing more silver rings.
They lined up before Li Fan, ninety-nine in total, until the Dissociation Disc was exhausted and stopped.
Each silver ring contained more energy than the mortal Illusory Formation Li Fan had painstakingly constructed across the entire Xuanhuang World in his previous life. The difference between Immortal and mortal was immeasurable.
Even as an Immortal Artifact, creating ninety-nine Immortal arrays seemed to be its limit.
Li Fan stared at the seemingly depleted Dissociation Disc.
Within the countless star-like sub-discs, new Immortal spiritual energy was slowly regenerating!
Li Fan was certain that the Dissociation Disc hadn't absorbed any external energy during this process.
"Infinite, in a sense," Li Fan mused.
A hint of regret and deep puzzlement surfaced.
"After Wuming became Grand Celestial Venerable, I examined the remaining four Immortal Artifacts using the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao."
"They contained Immortal spiritual energy, but it was finite. Unlike the Immortal Legion Dissociation Disc, their supply wasn't inexhaustible!"
"Why is that?" Li Fan's thoughts churned.
After pondering, he reached a tentative conclusion: "Perhaps it was a deliberate limitation imposed by the Immortal Realm when bestowing these artifacts upon the Xuanhuang World."
"But now, with the Immortal Realm destroyed, newly ascended artifacts are no longer restricted and have regained their original properties."
"But…" Something still felt amiss.
If simply possessing Immortal spiritual energy allowed for the mass creation of fully powered Immortal Artifacts, then the past Grand Celestial Venerables of Xuanhuang would have long since destroyed the old artifacts and forged new ones.
"Perhaps it has something to do with the Terminal Dissociation Disc itself."
After a long while, Li Fan had a realization.
"The Terminal Dissociation Disc is a fusion of the Terminal Disc and the Dissociation Disc. Both are secondary manifestations of the Heavenly Profound Mirror."
"The Heavenly Profound Mirror is one of the Immortal Artifacts brought back from the Immortal Realm by Profound Heaven King."
"In a way, the Terminal Dissociation Disc is a descendant of an Immortal Artifact."
Then, Li Fan recalled how he obtained the Terminal Dissociation Disc.
Gu Xinghan, a Medicine King Sect disciple wielding Li Fan's Dissociation Disc incarnate, had stumbled upon the Terminal Disc.
The two objects merged.
After Gu Xinghan's death, the fused object was buried with him for thousands of years.
The birth of the Terminal Dissociation Disc was a highly improbable event.
"Perhaps simply merging two secondary manifestations wasn't enough. It also required the tempering of time, and perhaps even the destruction and rebirth of a world, to gain the qualifications to ascend to an Immortal Artifact..." Li Fan now understood how fortunate he was to have obtained the Terminal Dissociation Disc.
Despite not knowing the exact principles, he now possessed this Immortal Artifact.
He was extremely satisfied with its power. His only concern was his inability to utilize the Immortal spiritual energy it contained and generated.
He tried channeling the Immortal spiritual energy from the Dissociation Disc into other objects, such as the Myriad Beasts Condensing Crystal and the Dao Transformation Stone.
But the silver starlight passed through them without leaving a trace.
The target objects didn't even register the presence of Immortal spiritual energy.
"It seems this infinite Immortal spiritual energy can only be used by the Dissociation Disc itself."
"It's not just me. No one can use it."
Li Fan shook his head. "No wonder Profound Heaven King struggled to ascend beyond Half-Immortal, despite collecting so many treasures from the Immortal Realm."
"Artifacts and artifacts, artifacts and Immortals, are different."
"Perhaps even the Immortal spiritual energy within the Faceless Immortal, a True Immortal, couldn't be transferred to Profound Heaven King. Otherwise, given their relationship and the infinite nature of Immortal spiritual energy, the Faceless Immortal wouldn't have hesitated to help."
Suddenly, Li Fan recalled something from Ji Yuzhen's memories about Profound Heaven King: "But it's said that Profound Heaven King could extract and refine Immortal spiritual energy from the Grand Magus of Tiandu? How is that possible?"
"The fragmented memories of the Profound Heaven Sect's Dharma King shouldn't be taken as gospel truth."
"But it serves as a reminder. I need to be wary of that enigmatic Grand Magus upon returning to the Xuanhuang World…"
Li Fan stood in the Star Sea, his thoughts slowly settling.
He opened the True Return panel to examine the changes after reaching the Half-Immortal realm.
Name: Li Fan
Realm: Immortal
Physical Age: …
Mental Age: …
False Reality Recharge: 50%
Anchor Setting Recharge: 0%
Current Anchor Points: 3
Available Anchor Settings: 1
Bound Items: […Leg Bone], [Falling to the Mortal Realm], [Immortal Legion Dissociation Disc], Dao Transformation Stone, Heavenly Profound Mirror Origin (Fragment), Taiyan Ark, Myriad Beasts Condensing Crystal, Ten Thousand Blood.
…
Seeing the single character "Immortal" under his realm, Li Fan raised an eyebrow.
"It seems that in True Return's eyes, there's no real difference between Half-Immortal and Immortal."
Li Fan stared at the character, pleased, before continuing.
Having become an Immortal, physical age was no longer a constraint.
And the long-standing worry of his mental age limit had also vanished. He felt a sense of disorientation.
"I've achieved a form of immortality, at least temporarily."
He had reached a milestone. But his true goal, true Eternal Life, still seemed distant.
Yet, it was no longer an unattainable dream.
Strangely, his physical and mental ages on the True Return panel weren't infinite, nor were they fixed numbers.
Like the prefix of the Unnamed True Immortal's leg bone, or the Immortal Realm coins, they displayed constantly shifting scenes.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, trying to decipher their meaning.
Having ascended to immortality, tasks that previously required immense effort and carried the risk of backlash were now effortless.
"Seven million, three hundred sixty-five thousand, eight hundred sixty-four years, thirteen days, and seven hours…"
Li Fan frowned after deciphering his displayed age, or rather, his age limit.
Just over seven million years? Far less than he expected!
How could this befit an Immortal?
Moreover, this number wasn't static. It fluctuated, mostly decreasing, with occasional increases.
Li Fan stared intently at these mystical numbers.
A sudden realization struck him.
"An Immortal's lifespan is definitely not just a few million years."
"But according to True Return, I can only live for this long…"
A flash of insight ignited in his eyes. "This is the lifespan of the mortal world, not mine!"
As if uncovering a profound secret, even as a Half-Immortal, Li Fan's heart pounded. "When that fluctuating number reaches zero, the mortal world will meet its end."
"All life within it will be destroyed!"
"If I'm still within it and don't activate True Return, I'll perish too!"
"Wait a minute?!"
Li Fan's heart raced even faster.
"Previously, my mental age wasn't affected by True Return."
"It was only related to my own experiences."
"But now that my mental age has merged with this number and disappeared..."
Li Fan's expression darkened.
"Even if I continuously activate True Return, this countdown to the mortal world's demise won't change?"
"This true apocalypse can't be averted by True Return?"
The joy of his ascension was quickly replaced by the dread of True Return's ominous prophecy.
Even with his resilient spirit, Li Fan was shaken.
The only good news was that the apocalypse was still far off.
And the displayed number wasn't immutable.
Taking a deep breath, Li Fan calmed himself.
"It seems True Return is showing its prediction of the mortal world's lifespan."
"Something is terribly wrong. Even the Immortal Realm's destruction might be connected to this apocalypse!"
"It's not that I can't live that long, but that the world itself can't last that long!"
A dark cloud descended upon Li Fan's heart, extinguishing the joy of his ascension.
Disregarding the fate of the mortal world, for the sake of his own pursuit of Eternal Life, Li Fan had to find a way to avert this crisis.
"Perhaps, in True Return's view, only Immortals can influence the course of this apocalypse."
"Below Immortal, no matter the struggle, fate is sealed."
"Even revealing this information would be pointless, only adding to the suffering."
Li Fan looked at the Dark Star Sea.
"Perhaps the key to understanding this apocalypse lies with the Dao Obliteration Calamity."
…
Li Fan examined the rest of the True Return panel.
After ascending to Immortal, True Return's False Reality recharge had also changed.
It seemed True Return itself had been enhanced. After activating and returning, there was no need to reaccumulate energy.
It was already at 50% charge.
(End of Chapter)