Chapter 1014: Source Power Elevates All Things
After they had paid their respects to the statue of the Faceless Immortal, the rapport between them seemed to have grown considerably.
“Master Qiaogong, you went to great lengths to establish the Spirit Origin Sect and gather Source Power. What exactly is its purpose? To be honest, I only took over the sect because of the convenience of the Common Lives Spirit Essence Art, which allows many to practice the same technique. As for how to extract and utilize Source Power, I’m completely in the dark!”
Li Fan asked this amiably as he gave Master Qiaogong a tour of the Spirit Wood Realm, showing him the flesh-and-blood puppets that automatically cultivated the technique.
“Having a private small world as a base is certainly convenient,” Master Qiaogong remarked with a touch of envy during the tour. “Back in my Spirit Origin Sect, I would never have dared to be so blatant as to line these flesh-and-blood cultivator puppets up in a plaza. I always had to keep them concealed, otherwise it would cause unrest and all sorts of trouble among my followers.”
He then answered Li Fan’s question. “Aside from using it to create Heavenly Mechanism Puppets, I stored most of the Source Power away for emergencies.”
“Theoretically, any cultivator can use purified Source Power to rapidly advance their cultivation. Have you ever heard the legends of an immortal sect bestowing a gift upon its disciples, allowing them to break through several major realms in a single day? That is the effect of Source Power.”
“However, in this Xuanhuang Realm...” Master Qiaogong clicked his tongue and shook his head slightly.
“This cursed place is truly ill-suited for cultivators,” Li Fan agreed. “Never mind the resources required for each major breakthrough; even the bottleneck of the Heavenly Disaster is far more severe than in other cultivation worlds.”
“A pity we no longer have a choice,” Master Qiaogong lamented.
“You mean... the Heavenly Profound Mirror?” Li Fan instantly understood.
“Not just that,” Master Qiaogong said with a smile. “The Heavenly Profound Mirror is undoubtedly an immortal-grade artifact. To it, Source Power is a nice bonus, but little more. However, any artifact within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance that has yet to reach immortal grade can be enhanced by absorbing Source Power.”
“So that’s how it is,” Li Fan murmured, his thoughts turning to the Terminal Dissociation Disc in his sea of consciousness.
Following their discussion, with the enthusiastic help of Master Qiaogong, a Heavenly Mechanism Fortress was constructed next to the plaza of flesh-and-blood puppets in the Spirit Wood Realm.
It took the form of a sphere, encircled by two constantly rotating metal rings.
As soon as Master Qiaogong finished his engravings on these two rings, Li Fan could faintly sense the overflow of Source Power, which had previously been flowing into his clone, Li Qing.
It now redirected itself, converging upon the Heavenly Mechanism Fortress.
What had been a gentle stream became a surging river, forming golden, physical droplets that dripped into the sphere’s core for storage.
Upon closer inspection, Li Fan noticed that this golden Source Power was of a slightly lower grade than the Source Power Essence—the Dao Flowers—formed by the statue of the Faceless Immortal.
Nevertheless, it held a fatal attraction for cultivators. While not enough to make one lose their senses like the sight of a Spirit of Heaven and Earth, it still stirred a deep, primal greed from within.
“It’s done,” Master Qiaogong said, wiping his brow with a hint of delight. “It seems the restrictions of heaven and earth are weaker in a small world. Guiding the Source Power was much easier here than in the Xuanhuang Realm.”
“This is called the Heavenly Mechanism Fortress. I imagine it has defensive functions beyond just collecting Source Power?” Li Fan asked, cutting straight to the point.
Master Qiaogong didn't hide anything. “Correct. Because resources were limited in my Tianji Realm, we always sought to achieve the ultimate integration of functions in our creations.”
Master Qiaogong lightly tapped the nearby sphere, and a flash of light washed over it.
The newly constructed fortress suddenly vanished before Li Fan’s eyes.
“Oh? Interesting...” Not only was it invisible to the naked eye, but even his spiritual sense couldn't detect it.
Only by flying forward and reaching out his hand could he confirm its existence by touch.
“This is its stealth mode,” Master Qiaogong explained proudly. “It requires a certain amount of Source Power to activate, but it can achieve a level of concealment on par with the ‘Zu’. Even a Longevity realm expert in person might not notice a thing.”
Next, Master Qiaogong demonstrated the fortress’s attack and relocation modes for Li Fan.
It truly lived up to its "Heavenly Mechanism" name.
Li Fan was quite satisfied.
“The only pity is that Source Power is not easily obtained. It must be painstakingly squeezed from every cultivator practicing the technique.”
“It cannot achieve the self-contained, perpetual cycle of the ‘Zu’.”
“When I was fleeing for my life, I couldn’t bring the ‘Zu’s’ power core with me. Perhaps I will never have the chance to unlock that mystery,” Master Qiaogong said, gazing at the fortress before him. He seemed to be thinking of his home world again, his eyes filled with regret.
“Heh, there will be a chance,” Li Fan said with a smile.
Master Qiaogong did not take his words seriously.
After the demonstration, Master Qiaogong very consciously gave Li Fan the highest authority over the Heavenly Mechanism Fortress.
With a single thought, a flood of information appeared in Li Fan’s mind: the amount of Source Power stored, the projected operational time for each function, a detailed projection of the fortress’s surroundings...
Everything was presented to him in an instant.
It gave Li Fan a peculiar sense of omnipotence.
He increased the fortress’s power output, extending its defensive perimeter to cover the entire Spirit Wood Realm, and then activated its permanent stealth mode.
As a result, very little Source Power could be stored, and the fortress was almost running at a deficit.
Li Fan wasn't worried, however. He simply had his clone, Li Qing, intensify the practice of the Common Lives Spirit Essence Art across all the small worlds.
It was foreseeable that with the further promotion of the technique, not only would the harvest of Source Power increase, but the amount of Source Power Essence generated from gratitude towards the Red Dust Compassionate Immortal would also experience a qualitative leap.
With this matter now on the right track, and believing in making the best use of everything, Li Fan did not let Master Qiaogong remain idle.
He summoned Tianyang and had Master Qiaogong examine him closely.
“My junior brother here was once limited by his physical body’s aptitude and could not break through to higher realms. So, he forged a different path, transforming his body and lodging his soul within a puppet. He later absorbed the power of a thousand-year-old earth fire, finally achieving Soul Transformation.”
“Although I later helped him devour a Spirit of Heaven and Earth, allowing him to cross the threshold of Dao Integration, this may very well be his limit.”
“Junior Brother Tianyang has been by my side for many years, loyal and true. I cannot bear to see his journey end here...”
“Master Qiaogong, please take a look. Is there any way to help him advance further?” Li Fan asked, his tone serious.
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