Chapter 1282: The Secret Archives of the Hundred Rumors
In this life, Li Fan had also attempted to categorize the True Immortal Scripts he had seen.
But he had done so from the perspective of their specific powers, such as destruction, command, enhancement, and so on.
Here, however, within the Broken Immortal Tower at the far end of the Star Sea, they were classified from a different, novel perspective.
Specifically: whether the [Dao] depicted by a True Immortal Script was already occupied by a certain True Immortal, or had been occupied in the past.
According to the numerous records within the Broken Immortal Tower, the difficulty and danger of cultivating these different types of True Immortal Scripts were worlds apart.
If the Dao was already claimed by a True Immortal, anyone who dared to enter that path through the script would be instantly annihilated at the moment of "attainment," vanishing without a trace. No matter how powerful or gifted the individual, this fate was inescapable.
If the Dao was no longer occupied by a True Immortal, then even with some side effects, a mortal could still catch a glimpse of the grand vista of the Great Dao depicted by the script.
Li Fan carefully pondered the scattered insights from his predecessors that he was permitted to read with his current level of "contribution."
This so-called "entering the Dao" was not a true entry into a True Immortal's path. It was more akin to merging one's body, divine soul, and consciousness with a World Extinguishing Relic, acquiring certain properties born from its tempering through time, thereby becoming better able to channel the residual immortal power in the Star Sea.
Without a doubt, this was an opportunistic shortcut. If the environment were to change and the Star Sea no longer held such abundant residual immortal power, their abilities, even after "entering the Dao," would be drastically weakened. In contrast, Li Fan's method of copying the fundamental forms of the True Immortal Scripts was not bound by location; its effectiveness depended solely on the caster's own strength and their level of comprehension of the scripts.
Of course, this was merely the understanding of Li Fan, someone who had personally witnessed the True Immortal Scripts. The people of the Immortal Boat would likely never accept it. Not unless Li Fan was willing to share the fundamental forms of the scripts. Given the Immortal Boat's millennia of accumulated knowledge, if they were to see the true face of the scripts, their collective power would likely experience a quantum leap in a very short time...
But Li Fan wasn't foolish enough to do that.
It was far easier and safer to continue as he was, periodically submitting his "insights" in exchange for contributions. After all, his reflections were born from genuine [True Immortal Scripts], so no matter how peculiar his perspective, they were undeniably correct.
"This is the fundamental difference that comes from seeing the true transmission," he thought. "They try every means possible, working from the various manifestations of the True Immortal Scripts, to reconstruct the source. But I was fortunate enough to have already seen the source's true face, so for me, working from the top down is naturally effortless."
Although Li Fan was convinced that the Immortal Boat's methods were nothing more than clever tricks, he couldn't deny that for ants like them, existing beneath the level of True Immortals, being able to wield power that originally belonged to True Immortals was entirely worth the effort.
After all, in the Darkest Star Sea, survival was the top priority.
Without the fruits of this research into the True Immortal Scripts, the Mysterious Immortal Boat would have likely become just another piece of wreckage in the endless ruins of the Star Sea long ago.
This time, Li Fan had guided the Mysterious Immortal Boat to capture the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's flying vessel not just to accumulate more merits for his current body, but more importantly, to use the mouths of those Dao Integration cultivators to leak the existence of the Dharma Spreader.
Having lurked within the Mysterious Immortal Boat for so long, Li Fan had finally figured out the identity of the mysterious cultivator he had encountered when he first arrived in the Relic Sea.
They had once been members of the Mysterious Immortal Boat, some even among its highest echelons of power. But several hundred years ago, they were beguiled by an outsider. After reaching some secret agreement, they allowed this outsider to enter the Immortal Boat's most classified archive, the [Hundred Rumors Immortal Record].
The outsider had claimed they only wanted to borrow the ancient secret records stored within. However, after entering, they never emerged, even long after the agreed-upon time had passed. The people of the Immortal Boat sensed something was wrong and rushed to check, only to discover to their horror that numerous hidden treasures within the [Hundred Rumors Immortal Record] had vanished.
Along with them, the outsider and the three Dao Integration cultivators assigned to guard the archive had also disappeared without anyone noticing.
The Immortal Boat was shaken. The leaders who had allowed this were held accountable, sparking a small-scale internal conflict.
The conflict ended with a small faction escaping the Immortal Boat. But this group never gave up on reclaiming their former home. With nowhere else to go in the vast Darkest Star Sea, they went into hiding in the Relic Sea, hoping to one day launch a counterattack and return to the Mysterious Immortal Boat.
On the Immortal Boat's side, while they never gave up on hunting down these fugitives, the Star Sea was simply too vast. Capturing them was easier said than done.
They could only let them be.
Everyone on the Immortal Boat still harbored a deep grudge against the outsider who had caused this turmoil. The loss of the hidden archives, in particular, was a wound that would never heal.
Unfortunately, the outsider's identity was a complete mystery. Perhaps only the traitors who had fled the Immortal Boat knew the truth.
Since that incident, the person had never been seen again.
Although Li Fan wasn't certain if this outsider was truly the Dharma Spreader, it didn't stop him from creating the "possibility" that they were one and the same.
After all, the Darkest Star Sea was a desolate place, with few living beings to begin with.
Someone mysterious and powerful near the High Wall...
Besides the Dharma Spreader and the Heavenly Doctor, who else could it be?
Li Fan was confident that if the Immortal Boat learned that a powerful figure—very possibly their ancient enemy—was hiding in the even vaster sea of realm fragments far beyond the Relic Sea, they would surely try to investigate.
After all, the timeless principle of not letting a tiger sleep beside your bed held true.
And Li Fan, in turn, could use the Mysterious Immortal Boat to probe the truth about the Dharma Spreader and the Heavenly Doctor.
He didn't expect any major breakthroughs, but even gleaning the slightest bit of information would be a gain. For Li Fan, it was a simple nudge, a move that cost him absolutely nothing.
"The final victory might just be built upon these seemingly insignificant pieces of intelligence. The Immortal Boat, the Saint Emperor... they are all just pawns for me to test the waters."
Li Fan thought to himself as he flipped through another document.
As for the fate of the Alliance's Dao Integration cultivators, it wasn't even a consideration for him. Back in the Xuanhuang Realm, they were just as expendable.
But to Li Fan's surprise, three days later, the long-haired Dao Integration cultivator, Wang Hai, returned.
He brought with him an interrogation record.
"Brother Zhao, take a look. What happened on that flying vessel was truly fascinating."
Li Fan scanned it, his brow furrowing slightly. "This flying vessel is that strong? It treated Dao Integration cultivators like rations..."
Wang Hai nodded. "We fought three grueling battles before we finally broke through its defenses. And it cost us quite a few relics."
"But it wasn't a loss in the end. The resources carried by each of those Dao Integration cultivators were extravagant. Not to mention the things stored inside the vessel, which they called [Spirits of Heaven and Earth]..."
Li Fan looked up slightly, feigning ignorance. "These Spirits of Heaven and Earth, what exactly are they? Manifestations of the world's laws?"
Wang Hai chuckled. "If that was all, I wouldn't be this excited or have gone to the trouble of running over here to share the good news. These so-called Spirits of Heaven and Earth, apart from the power of a cultivation world's laws, also contain a significant portion of the foundational power that constitutes a world."
"If you compare a cultivation world to a house, then these Spirits of Heaven and Earth are like the beams and pillars used to build it! And that's precisely what our Mysterious Immortal Boat is lacking! With this supplemental [fuel], our Immortal Boat can operate smoothly for another hundred years!"
The joy in Wang Hai's voice was unmistakable.
He continued animatedly, "Even the flying vessel itself can be dismantled to reinforce our Immortal Boat. Brother Zhao, your mysterious foresight this time has brought a harvest for the Immortal Boat equivalent to dozens of relics!"
Li Fan, however, kept his head down, flipping through the document. "I only care about the specific rewards. By the way, what did their council of elders from that place called the Xuanhuang Realm have to say? It might be a distant piece of meat, but it could still save our lives."
Wang Hai shrugged. "You know how the elders are. They use the [greater good] and the [future of the Immortal Boat] as an excuse for everything. An expedition across the Star Sea..."
"I think they'll only do it when our Immortal Boat has truly exhausted all its resources."
Hearing this, Li Fan nodded thoughtfully. "A pity. I saw in my visions that the Dao Integration cultivators like those on the flying vessel are already the top-tier combat power in that Xuanhuang Realm. The stronger Longevity stage cultivators can be counted on one hand. If our Immortal Boat were to arrive, they'd have no strength to resist at all..."
Wang Hai nodded in agreement, his tone dripping with disdain. "They're just a bunch of parasites clinging to a surviving cultivation world. In my opinion, we wouldn't even need the full power of the Immortal Boat. Just three or five of our Dao Initiates would be enough to easily suppress that Xuanhuang Realm."
Wang Hai sighed again, a hint of regret in his voice. "It's just a shame the council won't allow it."
Li Fan didn't respond, instead asking, "What's my reward? Surely the council won't just ignore such a significant contribution?"
Only then did Wang Hai stop beating around the bush. He carefully took out a jade slip.
The moment the jade slip appeared, Li Fan's gaze sharpened.
He keenly noticed that the half-jade hairpin in Wang Hai's hair was trembling incessantly. And the jade slip itself faintly emanated the power fluctuations of a True Immortal Script.
"This is..."
Li Fan reacted quickly. "The jade slip itself is a World Extinguishing Relic?"
Wang Hai said with a hint of pride, "Correct. This is the third [World Extinguishing Jade Slip] our Immortal Boat has collected. Each time one is observed, a portion of the True Immortal power attached to it is consumed, making it exceptionally precious. The council really splurged this time."
"What's recorded in this jade slip?"
"I'd like to know myself, but I'm not qualified. You'll see once you look. Hurry up. I have to take it back after you're done reading," Wang Hai urged, looking at the jade slip in Li Fan's hand with envy.
Only then did Li Fan solemnly send a thread of his divine sense into the slip.
The World Extinguishing Jade Slip was an extremely special type of World Extinguishing Relic.
Unlike ordinary magic treasures, after being steeped in True Immortal power for years on end, a World Extinguishing Jade Slip wouldn't absorb the power of the True Immortal Script itself. Instead, the True Immortal power would seep into the content recorded within the slip.
Causing it to undergo a kind of "mutation."
Or, perhaps, a sublimation.
The sublimated content was like receiving direct guidance from a True Immortal, undergoing a qualitative leap.
A mortal cultivation technique could transform into an immortal method. Even a simple piece of writing, when touched by True Immortal power, could become a medium for enlightenment.
In short, the World Extinguishing Jade Slip was one of the few known ways to get close to the essence of a [True Immortal] without harm.
As his divine sense entered the jade slip, the original content was the first thing to flood in.
It was an ordinary method for tempering one's will. Judging by its grade, it was for Soul Transformation cultivators at best.
After reading it in an instant, what his divine sense perceived suddenly changed.
The originally unremarkable words seemed to come alive in an instant, twisting and mutating, transforming into entirely new characters.
Then, after rearranging themselves, a brand-new immortal art leaped off the page.
"Hmm?"
Li Fan's heart jolted slightly. He quickly and carefully studied this new method several times.
A familiar yet strange feeling slowly welled up within him as his understanding deepened.
"Immortal Heart Mantra?"
"But not the Xuanhuang version."
"And... there are still subtle differences. After all, it wasn't truly deduced or personally transmitted by a True Immortal, but rather evolved on its own within the jade slip. You could even call it a weakened version of the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra," Li Fan thought with a touch of regret.
On the outside, however, he put on a show of being extremely excited and completely absorbed.
When the flowing characters in his mind slowly faded and finally disappeared completely, Li Fan reluctantly returned the World Extinguishing Jade Slip, remarking, "Truly worthy of being called an immortal art. With this method, I can protect myself from inner demons from now on. Even the negative effects I suffer when comprehending True Immortal Scripts will be greatly reduced."
"Please thank the elders for me!"
Hearing this, Wang Hai subconsciously glanced at the jade slip in his hand, then forcefully suppressed the urge to peek.
Leaving aside the council's restriction on it, which he couldn't bypass, taking something without permission was a major taboo on the Immortal Boat.
Even for someone like him, the only outcome for such an offense would be to become living material for script research.
"I must thank you, Brother Wang, for connecting me with this opportunity. This is my insight, please accept it." Li Fan, noticing the other's expression, closed his eyes slightly to concentrate, then carved another jade slip on the spot and handed it over.
Wang Hai was overjoyed. "Thank you, Brother Zhao! I'd go through fire and water for you in the future!"
After the pleasantries, he took the jade slip and began to read it.
He became immersed, his expression animated with delight.
After a long while, he returned from his state of enlightenment and, right in front of Li Fan, crushed the jade slip to dust.
This was the rule of knowledge transmission on the Immortal Boat.
Although the restriction of 'the law cannot be cultivated together' didn't exist here, cultivation techniques, Daoist arts, and all sorts of insights were still incredibly precious resources.
Just like the World Extinguishing Jade Slip awarded by the Broken Immortal Tower's council this time—only Li Fan was qualified to view it, and it could not be lent to others.
However, after Li Fan finished viewing it, there were no such restrictions on him passing on his own understanding.
But since it was secondhand knowledge, the effect was inevitably a great deal weaker than the direct experience. Especially when it involved the power of a True Immortal, even if the words were transcribed perfectly, one could not feel the evolution of that mystical power. Both the speed of cultivation and the depth of comprehension would be naturally inferior.
Unless one was a heaven-sent genius capable of ignoring this natural gap, those who received the knowledge second or thirdhand would always be weaker than the one who received it first.
It was precisely because they abided by this rule that Wang Hai destroyed the jade slip Li Fan had carved after he finished reading.
After leaving today, he would have the right to spread this method again. But any version he passed on would be thirdhand, and its effectiveness would be further diminished.
If someone who learned this method wished to advance further, they would need to trace the path of its transmission back to the source, pay a certain price, and beseech the original transmitter. Whether they could obtain the true method would depend on their sincerity.
Having infiltrated the Mysterious Immortal Boat for over a decade, Li Fan was already crystal clear on its rules.
Seeing Wang Hai's actions, Li Fan offered another jade slip of insights as a gift, and the two then bid a reluctant farewell.
"By the way, among the five surviving Dao Integration cultivators from the Xuanhuang Realm, there's something strange about one of them. So, out of caution, the council hasn't acted against him yet. If you're interested, you might want to look into it." Wang Hai left this ambiguous remark before departing.
Li Fan couldn't help but fall into thought.
According to the Immortal Boat's customs, they would only be this tactful when the matter involved the upper echelons of the Immortal Boat or the power behind the other party.
"The survivor..."
"It should be Lan Yu? After all, he's the only one who reached Dao Integration through the old methods, so he's of no value to the Immortal Boat. But there's nothing particularly strange about him..."
"The Tiandu Grandmaster?"
An idea forming in his mind, Li Fan straightened his slightly disheveled clothes and headed out toward the Broken Immortal Tower's council of elders.
The current Immortal Boat was built entirely upon a divine tree in the void. After the Broken Immortal Tower seized actual control of the vessel, they relocated to the very top of this tree.
Threads of green light, like the tips of branches and leaves, connected the various buildings of the Broken Immortal Tower.
Standing in the void, one didn't need to fly; a single thought could manipulate the green light to travel between different locations.
Looking down, he could faintly make out the Dao Proving Academy, the Star Forging Workshop, and the newly built Sin Suppression Valley beneath the giant divine tree.
They seemed to float independently in the endless void, connected only by the divine tree.
The giant Li Fan had seen before, pierced through the center of its body by the divine tree, had been completely drained. In its place was now an enormous rabbit.
This rabbit had a white body, black ears, and a human face. Though long dead, its expression was one of profound compassion, as if it had witnessed a deeply heartbreaking scene before its demise.
This [Human Emperor Rabbit], like the [Dao Chaser] giant before it, was part of the hidden archives of the Mysterious Immortal Boat's [Hundred Rumors Immortal Record].
The various materials collected in the archives came not only from the golden age of cultivation before the Star Sea's collapse but also included many strange wonders gathered by the Mysterious Immortal Boat during its millennia of drifting through the Darkest Star Sea.
Li Fan's gaze drifted imperceptibly over the withering body of the Human Emperor Rabbit, but his thoughts had already flown to the Immortal Boat's hidden archives.
If there was anything on this Immortal Boat worth his scheming, it would be the [Hundred Rumors Immortal Record].
"And perhaps," he added in his thoughts, "the trail of the other half, the Merchant Immortal Boat."
The thought suddenly occurred to Li Fan.
As a former part of the Xuan Shang Immortal Boat, even though the Xuan and Shang halves had lost contact long ago, they could still occasionally sense each other's existence.
However, any information regarding the Merchant Immortal Boat was a top secret on the Mysterious Immortal Boat. Even within the Broken Immortal Tower's council, only the three core elders were qualified to know.
In his decade of infiltration, Li Fan had only ever overheard a phrase or two by chance while listening in on a council meeting.
"I wonder what the situation is with the Merchant Immortal Boat. The secrecy surrounding it is even tighter than for the True Immortal Scripts..."
While Li Fan was lost in thought, he arrived at the apex of the void divine tree, where the Broken Immortal Tower's council convened.
The first thing Li Fan did, naturally, was to visit his "master."
On the Mysterious Immortal Boat, lineage and factional ties were of utmost importance.
The reason Wang Hai had run errands and relayed messages for him time and again was, of course, because both Li Fan and Wang Hai were disciples of the Broken Immortal Tower's Third Elder, Ai Tianjue.
And this Ai Tianjue's relationship with Li Fan was even closer.
Because Ai Tianjue also hailed from the Dao Proving Academy.
However, in order to research new methods of entering the Dao, he had joined the Broken Immortal Tower after leaving the academy and had remained obscure and unknown for a long time.
It wasn't until he achieved results and the Broken Immortal Tower successfully seized control of the Immortal Boat that Ai Tianjue reappeared in the public eye.
"Greetings, Master." Li Fan bowed with a calm expression, then relayed his insights on the World Extinguishing Jade Slip he had just received, truthfully explaining everything to his master.
Whenever a student made any gains, they were required to report and submit them to their master.
This, too, was a rule of the Immortal Boat.
After listening to Li Fan's explanation, Ai Tianjue nodded slightly. "I have seen that jade slip before. Your talent is indeed extraordinary; you have already grasped seventy to eighty percent of its essence."
Li Fan bowed respectfully again, thanking his master for the praise.
"But do not rely on it too heavily," Ai Tianjue's tone suddenly shifted.
"You must understand, inner demons are both a tribulation and an opportunity. While you can use wondrous arts to slay them, inner demons are endless. They will only return after being cut down. Relying on the Immortal Heart Mantra to pacify them is ultimately a lesser path."
"It is better to transform them into nourishment for your cultivation journey, which will be far more beneficial..."
Ai Tianjue spoke slowly, in a calm and unhurried manner.
While instructing Li Fan, he was also writing something on a sheet of white paper.
As expected of one of the top experts in the Broken Immortal Tower, his brief words were enough to inspire even the current Li Fan.
Li Fan listened intently, his eyes never once straying to peek at what Ai Tianjue was writing.
After finishing his lecture, Ai Tianjue still did not stop writing.
It wasn't until nearly half a day had passed that he finally put down his brush.
"Take a look at this character. How is it written?" Ai Tianjue said to Li Fan.
Only then did Li Fan raise his head to look.
On the white paper was what appeared to be a "complete" True Immortal Script.
That was Li Fan's initial reaction.
"Fallen..."
As he focused and continued to observe, a sense of disappointment welled up in Li Fan's heart. "A pity."
"It's not a complete True Immortal Script. Only eighty to ninety percent of it has been restored."
"Still, to comprehend this much from a pile of chaotic fragments is truly remarkable..."
Li Fan reflected that he definitely couldn't have achieved this on his own.
After a moment of contemplation, Li Fan shared his understanding of the [Fallen] script: "This 'fall' is not a fall of the mind or spirit. It is the fundamental fall of all things. A descent from a higher level to a lower one."
"A True Immortal becomes a cultivator, a cultivator becomes a mortal, and a mortal turns to dust..."
On this single character, Li Fan spoke of his insights for the better part of a day.
And he was still far from finished.
When Li Fan finished, Ai Tianjue first pointed out a few errors in his words, then sighed softly. "Comprehending the scripts of True Immortals is like seeing a mountain and running a horse towards it."
"A thousand years ago, the Immortal Boat had already restored sixty to seventy percent of this 'Fallen' script. After a millennium, we've only progressed by another ten percent."
"The closer we get to the true meaning of the script, the slower the progress. And even if we are off by just a hair, the power is worlds apart from a genuine True Immortal Script."
"We can see the path ahead, but cannot tread upon it. The path of immortality... how difficult it is."
Hearing Ai Tianjue's lament, Li Fan felt a bit strange.
This didn't sound like something his research-obsessed master would say.
"Master, why do you say such things?" Li Fan didn't hold back and asked directly.
Only then did Ai Tianjue explain the reason.
"That Dao Integration cultivator from the Xuanhuang Realm, Lan Yu, cultivates a true immortal art."
"The Myriad Tribulations Feather Transformation Technique..."
"How my heart yearns for it!"
Ai Tianjue sighed deeply again.
These words caused a great tremor in Li Fan's heart.
He knew how high his master's standards were. If he called it a true immortal art, then it must be an authentic, immortal-grade technique, just like the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra.
But...
How could that be?
Lan Yu?
Wasn't he cultivating the [Heavenly Capital Feathering Technique]?
In an instant, Li Fan's eyes narrowed as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
But his verbal response was quick. "Since that Lan Yu has fallen into our hands, doesn't that mean his immortal art now belongs to our Immortal Boat?"
"So why do you sound so regretful, Master?"
He asked, feigning confusion.
Ai Tianjue smiled and shook his head. "The Xuanhuang Realm has a restrictive law: the same technique cannot be cultivated by multiple people. Although our Immortal Boat is far from the Xuanhuang Realm and not subject to this rule, the immortal art Lan Yu cultivates has a shackle that achieves a similar effect."
"To cultivate the Myriad Tribulations Feather Transformation Technique, one needs the [Myriad Tribulations Feather] as a catalyst. Without this treasure, no matter how astounding one's talent, one cannot even begin."
Li Fan was slightly stunned.
"The Myriad Tribulations Feather has already fused with Lan Yu. It is not something we can separate from him."
"So even though the immortal art is right before our eyes, we can only look at it, not cultivate it!"
Ai Tianjue shook his head again. "This situation is just like the only immortal art recorded in our Mysterious Immortal Boat's hidden archives."
Li Fan also put on a thoughtful expression. "It's not just cultivation techniques. Isn't it the same for True Immortal Scripts? If a True Immortal occupies the path, no one else can cultivate it..."
With a wave of his hand, Ai Tianjue gathered up the paper on his desk, his expression unreadable. "That's why, that day, I suddenly had a feeling... that perhaps it's a good thing we haven't fully comprehended this True Immortal Script."
"Otherwise, it would inevitably stir up another bloody storm within the Immortal Boat."
Li Fan fell silent at these words.
"But speaking of which," Ai Tianjue suddenly remarked, "the birth of this [Law cannot be cultivated together] rule in the Xuanhuang Realm is rather interesting."
Li Fan looked at his master.
He was muttering to himself, "This restriction should be unique to the Immortal World. It's not something the Heavenly Dao of a lower realm should be able to derive..."
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