Quickly dismissing the mysterious cultivator, Bai Li Shan focused on the disc. Though common sense told him this unknown object couldn't possibly be the true Supreme Dao Scripture, he couldn't tear his gaze away.
He studied it for hours, finding nothing unusual, and finally gave up with a wry smile, dismissing it as a fanciful delusion.
Three days later, returning from a lesson with his master, his teachings still fresh in his mind, he found himself unconsciously fiddling with the disc again.
"The third level of the Eternal Evergreen Scripture… what does 'Heaven has four seasons, following them brings evergreen, defying them brings longevity' mean? Isn't evergreen the same as longevity…?"
As he pondered this, a green light emerged from the disc, engulfing him.
He found himself in a vast starry sky, the faint outline of the Mountain and Sea visible in the background. Above him, countless glowing characters floated like stars, as if the Great Dao itself had manifested.
His mind went blank.
"The… Supreme Dao Scripture? Is it real?" As he gaped in awe, a streak of light descended from the characters above, entering his body.
"Green is the order of heaven and earth. Longevity transcends heaven and earth. Heaven and earth are finite, but longevity is boundless…" A majestic voice echoed in his mind.
Understanding flooded Bai Li Shan. "So that's what it means!"
As the first user connected with Li Fan, Li Fan, in turn, gained access to this era's Daos through Bai Li Shan's mind. Though it was like seeing flowers in a mirror or the moon in water, Li Fan already understood the flowers and the moon; he simply needed a fixed point of reference. With the veil over the Xuanhuang Great Dao lifted, he quickly compared this era's Daos with his own understanding.
In an instant, he absorbed Bai Li Shan's limited comprehension of the Dao. He could extrapolate the true nature of the Dao from the fragmented understanding of others. This was his power as a near-Transcendent being.
Effortlessly, he progressed through the Mortal, Qi Refinement, and Foundation Establishment realms, reaching Bai Li Shan's cultivation level of late-stage Foundation Establishment.
But Li Fan's late-stage Foundation Establishment was vastly different from Bai Li Shan's.
"I can easily kill even a Nascent Soul cultivator. This should be enough for self-preservation," he thought, assessing his new body.
"But cultivation realm isn't important. It's the depth of Dao comprehension that matters. Bai Li Shan's perspective is limited. I need to distribute more Supreme Dao Scriptures…"
He checked his progress with the Interplay of Truth and Illusion. Bai Li Shan's limited understanding of the Dao was insufficient, but it proved the method worked. He hadn't attracted the attention of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao or the mysterious Grand Celestial Venerable.
"Now, I need to go where talented cultivators gather…"
Li Fan set off, leaving the Evergreen Valley behind.
A month later, the Great Dao Sect was in sight. Along the way, he hadn't been stingy with the Supreme Dao Scriptures, offering them to any cultivator with potential. His cultivation had reached late-stage Golden Core. But this seemed to be the limit for ordinary disciples outside the Ten Immortal Sects.
He had encountered many cultivators, mostly below Golden Core. Nascent Soul cultivators and above were rare, and those he encountered were mostly elderly, not meeting his requirements.
"The ancient Xuanhuang World should be a thriving cultivation world. This scarcity of talent… could it be…?"
Recalling Elder Song's warning of impending conflict, he suspected the Ten Sects were waging war against other cultivation worlds, their elite disciples deployed elsewhere.
"This explains the Heavenly Dao's intense resistance. I wonder if they're fighting the Heavenly Law World."
The Xuanhuang World's history was fragmented and distorted, shrouded in mystery. Even the stone tablets' records couldn't reveal the full truth. Only by returning to the past could he witness it firsthand.
His main purpose in visiting the Great Dao Sect was to find Zhao Ruoxi. As the future Longevity Celestial Venerable, her talent was undeniable. Though he knew her memories, he couldn't pinpoint her exact location in time.
"But I don't remember any mention of external conflicts in her memories. Perhaps she hasn't been born yet?" He was slightly disappointed.
He easily navigated the Great Dao Sect, bypassing the mountain gate formation and infiltrating the sect.
The current Great Dao Sect was vastly different from the one in Zhao Ruoxi's memories. The most obvious difference was the evidence of recent battles: lingering bloodstains and damage to buildings.
"The fighting has reached their mountain gate?" He was surprised. He had never encountered this part of history in later records.
Sensing the strongest concentration of life force, he donned a Great Dao Sect disciple uniform and approached cautiously.
"A disgrace! They nearly breached our mountain gate!"
"If the other sects find out, we'll be expelled!" He overheard an elder's furious roar.
"Calm yourself, Uncle. After the war, I'll use the Dao Burning Furnace to erase this incident from history. Our priority now is to understand the enemy's movements." The calming voice was familiar. It was Fang Dingge, the Great Dao Sect Master.
Around him stood five hundred cultivators, ranging from Qi Refinement to Dao Integration, their expressions grim.
"We underestimated them. After all, they are…" Fang Dingge said with a faint smile.
He was interrupted by the elder. "I opposed this plan from the beginning! The Xuanhuang World is the Ten Sects' foundation. How can we abandon it? We should be working together to face the Great Calamity, not fighting amongst ourselves!"
"You've said enough, Uncle." Fang Dingge gave him a sharp look.
The elder, though still disgruntled, fell silent.
Fang Dingge looked at the assembled cultivators and, after a moment of thought, summoned a strange three-legged furnace. Ethereal flames flickered within it.
The furnace's image expanded, engulfing everyone present.
"Spiritual qi?" Li Fan was startled. He, too, was enveloped by the furnace's aura.
The flames, however, posed no threat. He simply felt his memory of the recent conversation fading.
But Li Fan wasn't an ordinary cultivator. He had survived the fusion of three Daos. This strange immortal furnace couldn't affect him. The ethereal flames that attempted to ignite within his mind vanished without a trace.
"The Dao Burning Furnace?" he mused. He had never heard of this artifact. Judging by the conversation, this was a time of internal conflict within the Ten Sects.
He wasn't surprised they possessed immortal artifacts. But the Dao Burning Furnace's power was unexpected.
"Fang Dingge said he would use it to erase this incident. And there are no records of this battle in later history…"
"If it truly possesses such power, it must have been a significant artifact even in the Immortal Realm. I wonder where it ended up."
As he pondered this, Fang Dingge issued his commands. One hundred cultivators, all at Golden Core or below, were selected for reinforcements. The rest would remain to defend and repair the sect.
"Golden Core and below?" Li Fan thought he had misheard. But the other disciples' lack of surprise suggested there was a reason.
He didn't question it.
Unfortunately, he was among the chosen one hundred. He noticed Fang Dingge's gaze lingering on him during the selection process.
"It seems even my simplified Illusion Becomes Reality can't completely fool a Sect Master."
He decided to comply for now, waiting for a better opportunity.
A golden chain appeared above the Great Dao Sect. Fang Dingge, along with the selected disciples, ascended the chain and vanished.
They seemed to traverse a vast distance. Li Fan found himself in a strange realm where the maximum "potential" was equivalent to the Golden Core peak in the Xuanhuang World. Yet, the Dao suppression was just as strong, limiting everyone's power to the Golden Core realm.
(End of Chapter)