Those who possess the Supreme Dao Scripture can achieve True Immortality. This wasn't just a rumor, but a belief rooted in the legend of the Xuanhuang True Immortal.
The True Immortal hadn't appeared out of nowhere. His journey from an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator to True Immortal was well-documented, making his rapid ascent even more astonishing. He had achieved immortality in just a few years.
Though the Ten Sects attributed this to his unique physique and the transformative power of battle, doubts lingered. They even launched a secret investigation into his past.
Bai Li Shan, despite his cunning, couldn't hide his connection to the True Immortal from the Ten Sects. Their shared history came to light.
Jiang Yingyue of the Supreme Being Sect, tasked with the investigation, examined the familiar disc in her hand. "Identical to the one in my mind. Bai Li Shan said he also possessed one. I always sensed something strange about him. So that's why… A unique physique, guided by the Supreme Dao Scripture, allowed him to achieve immortality. Unprecedented." A determined glint flashed in her eyes. If he could do it, so could she. Perhaps not as quickly…
She ruthlessly eliminated Bai Li Shan to protect the secret. Just as she returned to her sect, she received a summons from the Sect Master.
"The Supreme Dao Scripture concerns the future of the Xuanhuang World. The Ten Sects must share it." The old Daoist, who had previously rejected the Dao Starry Sky to forge his own path, now, witnessing Li Ping's rapid ascension, couldn't resist its allure.
Jiang Yingyue felt a mix of disappointment and relief as she presented the disc.
The Supreme Dao Scripture became the Ten Sects' shared treasure. And based on Jiang Yingyue's experience, they concluded there might be more discs in circulation. They couldn't allow such a powerful artifact to fall into the wrong hands. A secret organization was formed to search for them.
For three years after the war, the Xuanhuang World enjoyed a period of peace. Though the True Immortal had revived most of the fallen, the losses weren't crippling. But the war's psychological scars lingered. The tension between the Ten Sects and the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance eased, their shared experience in Taiyuan forging a temporary truce.
More importantly, their victory had secured a foothold in another world, opening new possibilities beyond the Xuanhuang World's seemingly inescapable confines. The conflict between the two factions was no longer irreconcilable. The river of history, having taken a sharp turn, flowed towards a different future.
Amidst the resulting turbulence, a lone figure struggled to maintain his form, held together by countless threads emanating from the river itself.
"What is the Dao of Upstream? How do you define forward and backward, right and wrong, with and against the current? Is the river's end predetermined? Or are there multiple outcomes?" Adrift in the chaotic currents, Li Fan pondered these questions, finding solace in contemplation amidst his suffering.
Though he had enjoyed playing the role of the True Immortal, the price was steep. The river of time, diverted towards a different future, was moving further away from its original course with each passing moment, intensifying the backlash. It was far worse than anything he had experienced during his upstream journey. Previously, he had remained within the same river. Now, he had been pushed towards a completely different branch. If his previous journey was upstream, this was a traversal.
Fortunately, his performance had been memorable, leaving a deep impression on the Xuanhuang World's inhabitants. These countless, significant anchor points secured his existence in this altered timeline, as long as this branch of the river remained, as long as the Xuanhuang World wasn't completely destroyed.
"This is true immortality: a name etched in history, unwavering throughout the ages."
Regardless of his next move, whether he continued upstream or remained in this time, he now had a secure foothold, just like the Great Xuan Small World within the Xuanhuang World, the Xuanhuang World within the Dark Star Sea, and the worlds within the High Wall within Primordial Possibility.
However, considering the Xuanhuang cultivators' questionable morality and the likelihood of future calamities, he didn't expect these anchor points to remain stable forever. Thus, besides the title "Xuanhuang True Immortal," he had left behind the Supreme Dao Scriptures as backup anchor points.
And beyond the Xuanhuang World, there was Taiyuan.
He hadn't completely destroyed the Taiyuan cultivators or the Rebirth Furnace. He had sealed them within the deep chasm, their fear and despair serving as additional anchor points. Annihilating them would have been pointless. The Taiyuan cultivators, capable of endless revivals and retaining their memories, were ideal anchor points.
Perhaps, in time, the Xuanhuang True Immortal's legend would fade. His statues would crumble. But his image, standing defiantly against overwhelming odds, single-handedly turning the tide of battle and sealing away Taiyuan, would remain etched in the survivors' memories, even beyond death.
It took two more years, five in total, for Li Fan to stabilize amidst the temporal turbulence. Returning to reality, he felt different, no longer adrift but rooted in this timeline, a part of its fabric.
"Enough anchor points, and you're no longer a stowaway, but a resident," he realized.
The benefits were immediate. His cultivation had almost completely recovered, his Dao comprehension realigned with this era. He sensed that fully restoring his Mo Annihilation Immortal Soul, the Interplay of Truth and Illusion, and his other techniques was within reach.
Instead of returning to the Xuanhuang World, he looked at the chasm below, the one he had created with a single sword strike.
In five years, the Ten Sects had sealed it, repeatedly attempting to explore its depths. But the seals he had placed before entering the temporal currents were beyond their understanding. Their attempts were futile.
"Besides the Ten Sects…" He narrowed his eyes, scanning the formation's recorded images. The images flickered, stopping at a particular figure.
"Found you, Grand Celestial Venerable." A spark of excitement flashed in his eyes.
As expected, the appearance of a True Immortal after the path to immortality was severed had intrigued even the most powerful cultivators, especially those closest to that realm. The Grand Celestial Venerable, holding the highest position in the Xuanhuang World, was no exception. He had risked venturing into Taiyuan, hoping to glean insights from the True Immortal's remnants.
He had walked into Li Fan's trap.
Despite his attempts to conceal himself, the Grand Celestial Venerable couldn't escape Li Fan's formation.
Dressed in a simple, elegant pink robe, their face partially veiled, a small, plum-blossom-shaped scar near their temple, this was the Grand Celestial Venerable who had mysteriously vanished from history.
And just like the others, Li Fan felt a strange familiarity with this figure.
"I haven't met them directly… but I've seen them in someone's memories…"
He searched his past, and the answer surfaced. The figure overlapped with Master Bai's mortal lover, the one who had died during the battle between Zhang Qianmo and the traitorous Zi Xiao Sect disciple, Song Hesong, setting Master Bai on the path of cultivation.
"Song Hesong's betrayal… was likely orchestrated by the Grand Celestial Venerable. Such underhanded tactics." He scoffed, but he understood. Bound by duty, the Grand Celestial Venerable couldn't simply abandon their post. They needed a suitable successor, one who met the stringent requirements for the position.
And Su Bai was their chosen candidate.
"There are no coincidences. Even with Su Bai's extraordinary talent, ascending to Deity Transformation and Dao Integration in such a short time… becoming the Grand Celestial Venerable requires more than just talent and cultivation."
Like the Unnamed One's ascension, Su Bai's rise was orchestrated.
"Perhaps Su Bai suspected something. But his love for this mortal blinded him," Li Fan mused, recalling fragments of memories from the Xuanhuang malevolence and Su Bai's Eternal Remnants.
He erased the recordings and descended to the bottom of the chasm, where the Taiyuan cultivators were imprisoned. For them, death wasn't the worst fate. It was the endless cycle of suffering, of being unable to live or die, that truly broke them. The past five years had been worse than any battlefield. They were trapped, unable to escape the suffocating darkness, their every attempt to break free, even suicide, thwarted by the ever-present Rebirth Furnace. This was a true, eternal hell.
Li Fan's arrival went unnoticed.
He observed them, frowning slightly. His plan was to use their fear as anchor points. But their fear of him was fading.
"This isn't good. I need to remind them." He gestured towards the Taiyuan Rebirth Furnace above, and a brilliant light filled the chasm, revealing his image, standing like a war god, his sword raised. The memory of the battlefield, of their utter defeat, returned, and screams of terror and despair echoed through their prison.
Satisfied, Li Fan entered the Rebirth Furnace.
The Observer and the Repairer, the immortal servants guarding the Taiyuan formation, knelt before him, not in defiance, but in subservience.
He wasn't their match in direct combat at his current Dao Integration realm. But even the most powerful servant was still a servant. As the Hill Watcher's disciple and inheritor of the Tai Heavenly Emperor's legacy, he could easily control them. This was why they hadn't intervened, even as Taiyuan faced defeat.
Ignoring them, he entered the formation's core, finding the Undying Ring and the Nine Star Crimson Pearl. Within the formation's heart, he felt the pressure from the Upper Mountain and the Infinite Sea. A strange glint flashed in his eyes. He wasn't here for the pearl containing the life data of Taiyuan's cultivators, but for the formation itself.
"I can't directly access the Infinite Sea. But I can use this formation to indirectly siphon its power, just like I did with my avatar. Without the Mo Annihilation Immortal Soul and the Myriad Manifestations Dao Net, this is the only way to temporarily restore my True Immortal cultivation."
(End of Chapter)