One wore Daoist robes, the other a scholar's white attire. Li Fan had encountered phantoms of these two before—Truth Celestial Venerable and Human Dao Celestial Venerable. Within the Domain of Truth, lies were impossible, while in the Human Dao Celestial Realm, anyone with a sincere heart could reshape reality, regardless of their cultivation level.
The last one was a young man, no older than twenty, exuding an otherworldly aura.
Though Li Fan hadn't met him in reality, he had a brief encounter during a trial within the Fallen Immortal Realm.
Ji Wangxian!
The very one who, millennia ago, established the [Worldly Commerce Association] that spanned the Xuanhuang World and built an extravagant celestial city with spirit stones.
"Unexpectedly, the unscrupulous Ancestral Master of the Ji Clan has become the embodiment of contracts."
"However, it's said that the entire Ji Clan and the Worldly Commerce Association were merely tools for his cultivation. After the world changed, it makes sense that he would adapt his methods to maintain his Eternal Life state."
Li Fan instantly grasped the situation of the Myriad Laws Commerce Association, situated between the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Council of Five Elders in the Nine Mountains Region.
"The Myriad Laws Commerce Association is a remnant of the Worldly Commerce Association. After Ji Wangxian achieved Eternal Life, the association became useless to him. However, as a former power base of one of the Five Celestial Venerables, as long as it remained peaceful, neither the Alliance nor the Council would bother it. It could also serve as a neutral ground for private transactions between the two."
"But that's all it was. In the face of true power, the Myriad Laws Commerce Association was no different from any other insignificant entity. Under Legacy Transmission's palm, it turned to ash along with the rest of the Nine Mountains Region."
Thoughts swirling, Li Fan's gaze swept over the three newly arrived Eternal Life Celestial Venerables.
Clearly informed by Blissful Ignorance of his unfathomable power, they maintained a calm facade, upholding their image as apex cultivators of the Xuanhuang World.
But Li Fan could sense their apprehension.
"Now, now, don't be nervous," he said casually. "Legacy Transmission Celestial Venerable has been suppressed."
These simple words sent chills down the spines of the five Celestial Venerables. Seeing Legacy Transmission himself, trapped within an endless illusion within Li Fan's palm, neither fully asleep nor awake, their faces paled. They lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
Blissful Ignorance, in particular, trembled uncontrollably, filled with fear at her previous disrespectful and foolish probing.
Before this, the Five Celestial Venerables knew this True Immortal-like being was powerful, but they hadn't grasped the extent of his power.
Now they did.
Legacy Transmission Celestial Venerable, who dominated the Xuanhuang World and forced their submission, had been effortlessly suppressed.
Such power naturally filled them with terror.
Li Fan, seemingly oblivious to their fear, continued calmly, "The gulf between immortals and mortals is vast. I won't interfere unduly in your affairs. But there are some matters requiring your assistance."
"Senior, command us!" Blissful Ignorance was the first to speak.
Such eagerness, a stark contrast to her usual detachment, surprised the other Celestial Venerables. But having achieved Eternal Life in the Xuanhuang World, they were no fools. They quickly echoed her sentiment.
"I have come for an item: the Soul Crushing Disc."
At these words, all eyes turned towards the Daoist-robed man.
Truth Celestial Venerable's face twitched. He bowed slightly and retrieved a millstone-like object, offering it to Li Fan.
Li Fan saw the Soul Crushing Disc still slowly rotating. From beneath it, he could faintly hear the agonizing cries of countless souls being ground to dust.
True Return stirred slightly.
Within the Soul Crushing Disc were fifty-six fragmented souls and one hundred and three skeletal remains. But these fragments radiated an aura even stronger than that of countless ordinary ghosts.
Upon closer inspection, Li Fan understood.
The Soul Crushing Disc, like a giant millstone, continuously ground these remnants. Logically, even the most resilient souls couldn't withstand such torment for more than a decade.
Yet, they had endured since ancient times. This was because a stream of pure energy constantly emanated from the disc, nourishing the remnants, sustaining their existence only to be subjected to further torment.
This unending cycle was akin to an infernal hell.
Li Fan finally understood how this suspected Eternal Remnant had formed.
"An ingenious method," he commented indifferently.
Truth Celestial Venerable lowered his head, not daring to respond.
Li Fan exerted a slight pressure, and the giant millstone vanished.
The freed souls and bones were absorbed by True Return.
The remaining pure energy within the millstone felt familiar, identical to the refined cultivation essence produced by dissolving techniques using the transformative chapter of the Supreme Primordial True Scripture.
"Supreme Being Sect remnants."
Li Fan glanced at Truth Celestial Venerable, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Not all cultivation essence transformed by the Primordial True Scripture was inherited. A small portion vanished without a trace. Now, it seemed, it flowed into the Supreme Being Sect's coffers.
"The life and death of worldly cultivators are of no concern to me. Truly fitting for a Supreme Being."
When the great calamity struck the Xuanhuang World, some members of the Ten Immortal Dao Sects had escaped. Individuals like Single-Minded and Truth Celestial Venerables might hold the key to exploring the world beyond the wall.
Ignoring them for now, Li Fan focused on the changes within True Return.
Unlike its usual eager, joyful devouring, True Return reacted strangely this time, as if it had consumed something incredibly difficult to swallow. It tried to regurgitate it but reluctantly forced it down.
Li Fan's expression shifted subtly. He remained motionless, examining the prompts from True Return.
The Eternal Life cultivators of the Council of Five Elders stood respectfully by his side, not daring to move.
Perhaps this Eternal Remnant wasn't formed from a single individual but from numerous fragmented souls.
Without experiencing a true illusionary trial, True Return directly absorbed it.
"[Unending Cycle of Reincarnation] function unlocked."
There wasn't even a poem this time, just a simple, perfunctory statement.
"Unending Cycle of Reincarnation…"
These four words piqued Li Fan's interest.
"Create a closed time loop based on a past life experience."
"Place any unresisting being into this time loop."
"If the time loop contains a corresponding identity for the placed being, they will possess it. Otherwise, possession will be random."
"Can specify the possessed identity."
"The placed being will lose all memories from outside the cycle."
"Only the placed being's memories will be retained within the Unending Cycle of Reincarnation."
"Time within the cycle repeats endlessly, constrained by the events of the chosen template, ensuring the cycle doesn't deviate from its original trajectory."
"The Unending Cycle of Reincarnation is tied to my existence. Each time I activate True Return and revert to the initial anchor point, the created cycle will vanish and must be recreated. It can also be preserved at a certain cost."
"Time flows a thousand times faster within the Unending Cycle of Reincarnation than in normal spacetime. It can also be significantly accelerated further based on my needs…"
The Unending Cycle of Reincarnation function was far more complex than the previous [Avatar] and [Dao Origin] functions.
But the concept was simple: a perpetually repeating loop of one of Li Fan's past lives.
Every time Li Fan pushed True Return, a great terror followed. This meant that within the Unending Cycle of Reincarnation, a devastating calamity would occur every few decades.
And due to True Return's constraints, beings experiencing the cycle couldn't gradually progress and defy fate like Li Fan.
"I can also observe the placed being's state within the cycle…"
"Interesting. Very interesting."
Like a child with a new toy, Li Fan's curiosity was piqued.
"Qiao Sidao escaped after billions of cycles within the Era device."
"I wonder if anyone can escape from the Unending Cycle of Reincarnation created by True Return?"
According to True Return's explanation, the cycle would only end if its conclusion deviated significantly. However, the placed being still couldn't escape.
The time loop would simply exist in a state of limbo between truth and falsehood, awaiting Li Fan's next command: to release the being or create a new cycle.
"Truly deserving of the name 'Unending'!"
Li Fan was almost ecstatic. He abruptly turned to Truth Celestial Venerable.
A knowing smile spread across his face. He lightly pointed a finger at him.
One of the few Eternal Life Celestial Venerables of the Xuanhuang World vanished without a trace.
His fate unknown.
The remaining Celestial Venerables, including Blissful Ignorance, were horrified, but they harbored no thoughts of revenge for Truth Celestial Venerable. They could only pray this True Immortal would spare their lives.
The entire process of suppressing Truth Celestial Venerable occurred without a ripple of energy, in a way they couldn't comprehend.
They couldn't even understand what they were seeing, let alone resist. The gap in power was so vast that they lacked the courage to even defy him.
Li Fan's attention returned to the newly created Unending Cycle of Reincarnation.
He chose the memory of himself, as a sacred fetus within the Medicine King Cauldron, hurtling towards the Immortal Ruins, the event that triggered the Starvation Immortal's world-destroying gaze.
(End of Chapter)