Chapter 1036: Mountains and Rivers into the Spirit Wood
Li Fan continued to trail Gongsun Qixuan, observing him for a time before deciding against revealing himself. He slipped away as quietly as he had come.
As he passed over Ten Thousand Immortals Island, Li Fan cast another glance toward the profound darkness below.
The Earth's Soul, Golden Seal, which he had lured away with a false heavenly mandate, had reappeared at some point, once again suppressing the entrance to the Passage to Gloom.
The various manifestations of weirdness, both great and small, had been resolved, their source sealed away.
On the surface, it seemed the Cong Yun Sea had returned to the tranquil days of old.
But from his perspective of Heaven and Earth, Li Fan could see the true consequences of the outbreak.
The Earth's Soul, Crimson Flame, having accepted the mandate to incinerate the sea, had grown considerably more powerful.
The faint, scorching heat emanating from it was enough to send a quiet chill of alarm through Li Fan.
A sudden realization struck Li Fan. "A serious illness requires strong medicine," he mused. "It seems the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm is finally getting serious. At this rate, it won't be long before the Cong Yun Sea vanishes entirely."
Li Fan shook his head slightly, deciding not to linger any longer over the Cong Yun Sea.
"The trial run of my False Claiming Heavenly Dao ability is complete," he thought. "When the time is right, I can instantly draw upon the vast World Birthing Change and convert it into sustenance for myself."
"The next step is to provoke these two great deities into a contest of strength."
Li Fan couldn't help but cast a glance toward the sky, toward the invisible location of the Immortal Ruins.
Plotting against immortals as a mortal was, of course, an exceedingly dangerous game.
Never mind true immortals; even Li Fan himself could faintly sense when an enemy was plotting against him in the shadows.
"All my preparations must be triggered at the exact same moment," he strategized. "When the two immortals turn their attention this way, the first thing they see must be each other."
"That should be enough to make them overlook me. Hmm..."
Li Fan mulled it over for a moment. "Then again," he conceded, "one of them might spare a sliver of power to casually crush an insect like me."
"..."
No matter how he considered it, he couldn't dismiss the possibility.
A fresh wave of gravity settled over Li Fan's heart.
After all, a True Immortal was a being capable of annihilating the entire Xuanhuang Realm with a single glance.
Resisting the might of a True Immortal with his current level of power was a near-impossible task.
"I need to accumulate more strength."
"Being dragged into this in the current era was unavoidable."
"To survive the aftershocks of their clash, my only hope may be to turn their own power against them."
His mind churning with these thoughts, Li Fan found himself back in the Spirit Wood Realm before he even realized it.
"Hm?"
He only then noticed that a group of newcomers had arrived.
A sweep of his spiritual sense revealed them to be Shang Tianci and Yan Fangzhou. After much painstaking persuasion, they had finally brought their companions from the Mountain River Pavilion for a visit.
They were all under fifty years of age, yet the weakest among them was at the Nascent Soul realm. They were truly the favored children of heaven.
Most hailed from renowned and powerful clans, giving them an exceptionally broad perspective.
When they beheld the scenery of the Spirit Wood Realm, a flicker of curiosity crossed their faces, but little in the way of shock or awe.
"Brother Shang, Brother Yan," one of them said with a light chuckle, "is this the unparalleled vista of all realms you described? Forgive me, but that seems a bit of an overstatement."
"Indeed," another chimed in. "My family's grotto-heaven may not possess the same imposing aura, but in terms of sheer scenic beauty, it would certainly not be outshone by this place."
In all, thirteen young cultivators spoke up, teasing their friends.
They were smiling, their words meant as friendly banter rather than mockery.
Shang Tianci was about to offer an explanation when he suddenly received a transmission from Li Fan.
"Bring them before the statue of the True Immortal."
Shang Tianci’s expression flickered, and he instantly changed what he was about to say. "Hehe, there is, in fact, another sight in the Spirit Wood Realm you have yet to see. If all the wonders here were measured as ten parts, this one scene alone would account for nine."
At his words, the others were immediately intrigued.
"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Brother Shang! Lead the way!"
"Yes, yes! We've come all this way; we can't possibly miss it now!"
As the group clamored, a faint smile touched Shang Tianci's lips. "Very well. If everyone would please follow me."
Before long, the group arrived at the circular grand hall near the entrance to the Spirit Wood Realm.
When Shang Tianci stopped, the others looked at him dubiously. "What's the meaning of this, Brother Shang? What's there to see in this plain, circular hall?"
"Yes, wasn't this the first building we saw upon arrival?"
"Unless... there's more to it than meets the eye?"
The group murmured amongst themselves.
Shang Tianci simply cupped his hands. "You will understand once you step inside."
With that, he strode purposefully into the hall.
The others exchanged glances, but their high cultivation made them bold. Without much hesitation, they followed him inside.
The bright sunlight vanished the instant they crossed the threshold.
Their surroundings plunged into dimness.
Yet, within the gloom, a stone statue stood out with impossible clarity.
It seemed to possess a magnetic quality, irresistibly drawing their gaze.
...
Several hours later.
A group of twelve people emerged from the circular hall, their steps slow and measured.
They appeared unchanged from when they had entered, but they were now all devout followers of the Red Dust Compassionate Immortal.
Li Fan watched the group of youths depart and nodded slowly in satisfaction.
"Their innate talent isn't much different from the group from the Li Realm," Li Fan reflected. "But at least their strength is already established. I won't need to spend any effort cultivating them."
Li Fan assigned them their first and, for now, only task as new members of his cause.
To deduce the method for forming the [Mixed Origin Golden Core] that follows the path of [Foundation Establishment Through Oneself].
This was a potential path to completely breaking free of the Dharma Propagator Celestial Venerable's cultivation system, and Li Fan had not forgotten it.
Even if each lifetime was destined to yield only minor breakthroughs, he knew that by accumulating small grains of sand, he would one day build a tower. Eventually, he would find the solution.
"Alternatively," Li Fan mused, "if I can meet the Xuantian King in this lifetime, it might significantly accelerate the deduction process."
Li Fan thought in silence.
...
Another month passed in tranquility.
A fluctuation from the Final Dissociation Disc caused Li Fan's eyes to narrow. "Finally, a result."
The deduction regarding the Dharma Propagator Celestial Venerable's restriction had finally yielded a breakthrough.
The time it had taken far exceeded Li Fan's expectations.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, absorbing the proposed solution that flowed continuously from the disc.
The Dharma Propagator Celestial Venerable's restriction on the Heavenly Profound Mirror could be summarized as being deeply and intricately entwined, like gnarled roots burrowing into the very marrow of the world. It was rooted in the fabric of the Xuanhuang Realm, completely fused with it.
Therefore, the solution provided by the Final Dissociation Disc was brutally direct: to scrape the flesh from the bones, to let the blood, to tear out the sinews.
As terrifying as it sounded, the method was essentially to follow the pathways the Heavenly Profound Mirror had left within the world, tracing them back to their source, and dismantling the restrictions one by one.
It was not a solution of finesse, but one of brute-force.
Furthermore, according to the Final Dissociation Disc's deductions, this was the *only* way to break the Dharma Propagator Celestial Venerable's restriction.
This explained why, even with the disc's formidable capabilities, the process had consumed so much time.
"I suspect that when the Dharma Propagator laid this restriction, he never imagined someone would attempt to break it with such a method."
"Because any being capable of this would already possess power nearing that of an immortal. They could simply obliterate the restriction entirely, rather than resorting to this most simple, most direct approach."
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