Chapter 1075: Finally Solving the Mystery of the Fallen Immortal
Chapter 1075: Finally Solving the Mystery of the Fallen Immortal
“Since the Immortal Ancestor established the New Law, not a single new Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate has been born. So as for what might happen...”
“No one knows.”
Dharma Transmitter Zhou stated, his expression grave.
Li Fan offered no reply.
The words of Mr. Bai echoed in his mind: "The path to immortality is barred, for the Immortal Ancestor stands guard above."
If his theory was correct, the only reason Mr. Bai had been able to ascend to the heavens in a single step, despite his mortal body, was that he had attained the title of Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate.
And yet, he had sacrificed his own life to reverse the very principle that “mortals cannot slay immortals.”
Thus creating the Immortal-Mortal Miasma.
“If you think of the Xuanhuang Realm as an intricate machine, the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate originally held full administrative privileges.”
“But then the Immortal Ancestor found a flaw in this machine. By reversing the Heavenly Principles, he created a new administrative privilege out of nothing. Moreover, this new privilege could continuously erode the existing ones within the Xuanhuang Realm.”
“This has nearly led to the current situation, where control of the Xuanhuang Realm is shifting.”
He returned to the metaphor of the Xuanhuang Realm as a prison.
The entity that first forged the Xuanhuang Realm left a central control room within this prison.
The Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate was the designation for anyone who could access that control room.
From within that room, one could oversee every aspect of the Xuanhuang Realm.
It was even a simple matter to create a Heavenly Treasure representing a specific law with one's bare hands.
But one day, an uninvited and exceptionally skilled guest arrived at the prison.
Through some unknown method, he managed to sever the control room's authority over a section of the prison, seizing that power for himself.
He then proceeded to gather a large following within the prison.
By directly rebuilding the very walls, he began remodeling the prison, slowly consuming it piece by piece.
Naturally, the control room lost its authority over these remodeled and newly constructed sections.
...
“It seems that the power of a Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate today is a shadow of its former self.”
“They might not even be a match for the Immortal Ancestor.”
“However...”
A glint appeared in Li Fan's eyes.
He knew his own nature well; he was unlikely to meet the criteria to become a Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate.
But he could find someone who *did* meet the criteria—a person of absolute sincerity and virtue, like the Xuantian King or Mr. Bai.
Once that person became the new Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate, he could then orchestrate a confrontation between them and the Immortal Ancestor.
To gauge the true extent of the Immortal Ancestor's power.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Li Fan frowned and asked, "So, if the situation is this urgent, aren't we going to do anything?"
“If Mo Rubin actually becomes the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate, things will become incredibly difficult.”
A look of resignation crossed Dharma Transmitter Zhou's face. “It's not that we don't want to act,” he said, “but there are simply no good options.”
“Many of us have already tried. We can't even pass the first test to become a Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate.”
“Of course, if you're interested, you can try it yourself.”
Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly. “Oh?”
“It's the same ritual used to enter the Fallen Immortal Realm,” Dharma Transmitter Zhou explained. “You just have to perform it in reverse.”
“Oh?” Li Fan was taken aback.
“Alright, I'll try it.” Having learned all he could about Mo Rubin, Li Fan's immortal puppet took its leave.
In the secret chamber of the Spirit Wood Realm.
Li Fan, meanwhile, took out the four required items and placed them in the surrounding corners.
Then, he took four steps backward, muttering an incantation.
Dharma Transmitter Zhou had said that the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had sent close to ten thousand cultivators to attempt the ritual, but not a single one had succeeded.
Li Fan hadn't held out much hope for his own success.
To his surprise, however, the moment he completed the reversed ritual, a familiar wave of vertigo washed over him.
“I actually succeeded?”
Li Fan was stunned.
The thought had barely crossed his mind before his vision faded to black and he lost consciousness.
“Junior Brother, Junior Brother?”
A familiar voice called out to him.
“What are you thinking about? You've been spacing out for a while.”
Li Fan slowly came to his senses and surveyed his surroundings.
He was stunned by what he saw.
A young cultivator in a purple and white Daoist robe, a purple lightning bolt emblazoned between his brows, was looking his way.
“This scene...”
He was all too familiar with it!
It was none other than The Ningyuan Longevity Fruit, the scenario he faced every single time he entered the Fallen Immortal Realm!
“I'm back in the Fallen Immortal Realm? Is there no difference?”
“That's not right!”
Li Fan instantly understood.
“Is this the trial to become the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate?”
“It's exactly the same as what I encounter when I normally enter the Fallen Immortal Realm?”
“What in the world...”
Even with his usual composure, Li Fan was profoundly shaken by this unbelievable turn of events, his heart filled with disbelief.
If the trial to become the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate was a momentous, once-in-a-lifetime examination...
...then the exam questions were identical to the practice tests he'd been taking all along!
How could such an astonishing discovery not leave him utterly shocked?
From the first time he entered the Fallen Immortal Realm, Li Fan knew that his experiences were different from all other cultivators.
But he never knew why this bizarre phenomenon occurred.
Now, however, an answer was beginning to form in his mind.
“Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate...”
“The Xuanhuang Cleansing Heart Mantra, the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Mantra, the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra...”
“The Xuanhuang Cleansing Heart Mantra is a method passed down among the common people to clear the Immortal-Mortal Miasma from a mortal's body.”
“And the Immortal-Mortal Miasma was the very thing Mr. Bai created by reversing the Heavenly Principles!”
Li Fan's thoughts raced, and an image of Mr. Bai's kind, smiling face instantly appeared in his mind's eye.
“Of course. Mr. Bai was, after all, a compassionate man.”
“Though he reversed the Heavenly Principles and created the Immortal-Mortal Miasma, in the grand scheme of things, it was to protect future generations of mortals from being slaughtered by cultivators. It might even have been one part of a plan to save the world.”
“But it also severed the path of cultivation for any mortal who wished to walk it.”
“That's why, when he created the miasma, he also left behind a way to overcome it.”
“For those who insisted on seeking immortality, the path was not entirely closed.”
“And for someone like me, with an exceptionally resolute will...”
Li Fan frowned.
“Someone like me...”
“My desire to seek the Dao is so sincere that I disregard everything else. In Mr. Bai's eyes, I am surely not a virtuous man.”
“So...”
Li Fan recalled the Reverse-Forging the Dao Heart required to temper the Immortal Heart Mantra.
He then thought of the various scenarios he had encountered in the Fallen Immortal Realm ever since he began practicing the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Mantra.
They felt more like a form of guidance.
“The Ningyuan Longevity Fruit. To achieve a perfect outcome, one has to find a way to save all the mortals in the city.”
“And the second scenario, the calamity at the Imperial Beast Sect, and the third, the sword forging at the Heavenly Sword Sect...”
“To achieve a perfect outcome in those, one would also have to act in accordance with the principles of a Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate.”
“Was it to guide me toward virtue? Or, if that failed, to at least make my actions *appear* virtuous through the process of Reverse-Forging the Dao Heart.”
Li Fan's eyes narrowed as all the pieces instantly fell into place.
(End of this chapter)
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