Chapter 1305: The White Ring, Falling into the Mortal Dust
"When truth is made false, the false becomes true."
"The transformation between truth and falsehood is endlessly profound."
Li Fan recited this in his heart once more, overcome with joy.
Though it had lasted only for an instant, he had indeed managed to conjure his Soul Transformation cultivation from the previous life out of thin air.
However, it was his first attempt at wielding such a great divine ability.
A moment after its successful creation, the conjured cultivation vanished like a dream, a fleeting bubble.
Li Fan felt no disappointment, only immense delight.
Creating something from nothing was a feat that perhaps even the legendary True Immortals could not achieve.
Yet, he had taken the first step, guided by the insights gleaned from countless simulations with [Truth].
"It's not just my own cultivation. The items I once possessed, and even..."
"Different people, the Xuanhuang Realm, the dark Star Sea, and everything beyond the High Wall. One day, I will be able to recreate them all with a single thought!"
Li Fan stood amidst the sea of clouds, savoring the sensation of wielding the transformation between truth and falsehood, his heart surging with excitement.
After a long while, he finally returned from his state of epiphany.
Looking at the inheritance options on the [Truth] panel, he first chose to inherit his cultivation.
The same scene played out again as the skies of the Great Xuan rumbled without end.
This was the disturbance caused by the formless infusion of Li Fan's Soul Transformation cultivation into the small world.
But compared to the last time he inherited his cultivation, the Great Xuan small world, having undergone a metamorphosis thanks to the 'Creation' True Immortal Script, showed no signs of being overwhelmed.
There were only dark, gathering clouds and a host of strange phenomena.
"Hah..." As the familiar power of his cultivation returned to his body, Li Fan let out a long sigh of relief.
Next, his gaze locked onto the second inheritance choice.
The option to inherit cultivation had dimmed, leaving only options 1, 3, and 4 available.
Without hesitation, Li Fan chose to inherit items.
Instantly, every item he had possessed in his previous life—including those held by his clones and avatars—appeared in his mind.
He calmly waited for his selection.
His gaze swept across the options. After a moment of contemplation, it finally settled on a plain, unremarkable white ring.
Before this white ring was fished out, the Saint Emperor had not yet been fully severed from Li Fan's true self, so it was also considered an item he had once possessed.
Once the choice was confirmed, a light flickered in his hand, coalescing into a simple white ring.
It was slightly cool to the touch. When he scanned it with his divine sense, he detected no fluctuations of spiritual energy whatsoever.
Perhaps because it was manifested by [Truth], it required no refining or binding. The moment he held the white ring, Li Fan felt he could use it freely.
Moreover, no one else could take it from him.
Li Fan looked at the name of the white ring displayed on the [Truth] panel.
"[Falling into the Mortal Dust]."
Caressing the ring, Li Fan murmured the three words, his mind pondering the correct way to use it.
"Go!"
Li Fan tossed the white ring toward Jieli Mountain below.
With a mere thought, the ring expanded as it flew, instantly enveloping the entire mountain peak.
Then, it descended.
As the white ring touched the ground, the section of the mountain it had encircled disintegrated before Li Fan's eyes, vanishing inch by inch.
It transformed into spiritual energy, which then dissipated into the world of the Great Xuan.
The several-thousand-meter-tall Jieli Mountain had simply vanished into thin air. The countless creatures living on it, deprived of their home, fell uncontrollably from the sky. If not for the surge of spiritual energy from the mountain's dissolution cushioning their fall, Jieli Mountain would have instantly become a scene of hell.
Now, this area might as well be called the Jieli Ring.
The earth was as smooth as a mirror, as if a massive blade had sliced a piece of it away.
Having lost their home, the creatures of Jieli Mountain fled in a panicked exodus, driven by primal fear.
In a short while, the once vibrant Jieli Mountain had become a forbidden zone, devoid of life.
Li Fan took a deep breath, inhaling all the spiritual energy released from the mountain's decomposition like a whale swallowing the sea.
For his current self, this amount of spiritual energy was less than a drop in the bucket. His primary goal was to analyze the spiritual energy from the [Falling into the Mortal Dust] ring and see how it differed from the natural energy of the world.
After a careful and thorough examination, Li Fan came to a conclusion.
There was no difference at all.
In fact, the spiritual energy felt incredibly familiar, as if it was something that the Great Xuan small world was always meant to produce.
"It's clearly matter decomposing into energy, yet on the [Truth] panel, its name is [Falling into the Mortal Dust]."
"Falling into the Mortal Dust..."
"Perhaps... this is a punitive treasure specifically designed to be used against immortal artifacts," Li Fan suddenly realized.
"In my previous life, the Saint Emperor clone didn't have a chance to test it much. In this life, I might be able to use a few of the near-immortal artifacts in the Xuanhuang Realm to verify my guess."
Putting the white ring away, Li Fan gazed down below.
The disappearance of Jieli Mountain in broad daylight was an unimaginably terrifying event for ordinary mortals.
Believing it to be a punishment from the heavens, the mortals at the foot of the mountain, gripped by terror, had already begun to organize sacrificial rituals.
Not daring to approach the massive circle on the ground, they could only pray from a distance.
Among the crowd, Li Fan spotted Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba, his former disciples, just as he had expected.
With a flick of his finger, a figure drifted down from the sky, descending into the mortal world.
The figure bore a seventy percent resemblance to Li Fan. However, he had a long beard and white hair, and his attire was somewhat similar to that of a Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate.
"Look, an immortal!"
The common folk all fell to their knees.
The figure waved a great hand, and the kneeling mortals rose to their feet again.
The figure sat cross-legged in the air, murmuring incantations and beginning a lecture on the Dao for the surrounding mortals.
The wisps of spiritual energy that had been born from the Great Xuan small world's evolution were all drawn to this spot.
They formed a visible vortex above the Jieli Ring.
Li Fan used this spiritual energy to casually set up an array. In no time, a miniature formation designed to purge the miasma from mortal bodies was complete.
Under the dual effects of the lecture and the array, it only took the time to drink a cup of tea for some of the mortals listening below to completely purge the miasma from their bodies.
Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba were, of course, among them.
Within the Jieli Ring, the earth rumbled. The ground where these beings who had completed the first step of cultivation stood began to flow like water.
It gathered them together, then slowly rose and swelled.
As a result, these people were now a little closer to the immortal master lecturing above.
The figure's lecture on the Dao continued for a full seven days.
Within those seven days, the spots where those who had successfully guided qi into their bodies and reached the Qi Refining stage stood continued to rise.
They formed a series of clearly defined tiers and steps.
After seven days, the figure transformed into a streak of light and flew away. At the same moment, a thought flashed through the minds of all the cultivators present.
The immortal master's lecture would continue in one month's time.
Everyone was profoundly shaken.
Even the dullest among them realized that this was a heaven-sent opportunity.
And so, news of the immortal master's lecture spread like wildfire, reaching the far corners of the Great Xuan at a terrifying speed.
Meanwhile, within the Jieli Ring, people also discovered the many wonders of this [Lecture Stage].
The Lecture Stage was the respectful name given to the Jieli Ring by the mortals who had listened to the immortal master's teachings. Inside, it was divided into different tiers based on one's cultivation level—the higher the cultivation, the higher one's seat.
Each person's position was fixed; it could not be exchanged or seized.
Sitting on the Lecture Stage, even when the immortal master was no longer present, one could still experience all sorts of profound insights just by closing one's eyes.
On the highest level of the Lecture Stage, a glowing platform could be vaguely seen floating above.
On the platform, the names of various cultivation techniques seemed to be inscribed.
By sitting on the Lecture Stage and focusing one's thoughts, one could learn the specific details of these techniques.
Every cultivator could choose one to practice.
When someone completed their selection, the name of the technique would vanish from the glowing platform, transforming into a ray of light that entered the cultivator's sea of consciousness.
Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba stared at the thousands upon thousands of technique names, their eyes nearly glazing over from the sheer number of choices.
"Erlang, which one do you think I should choose?" Wang Xuanba asked, scratching his head.
"There's no need to rush. There are so many techniques, so take your time choosing. It will take at least a few days for people from other places to hear the news and arrive. On the other hand, once you make a choice, you won't be able to change it until you reach the next realm, so you must be careful," Sun Erlang analyzed calmly, his eyes not blinking for a moment.
...
Above the Discussion Stage.
The lecturing figure had not actually left. It had simply hidden its form, making it invisible to the crowd below.
All the techniques here had been obtained from the little loli of the Deduction Jade in his previous life.
The Deduction Jade had used fabricated personalities to take shortcuts.
And Li Fan had recorded all the techniques deduced by those fabricated personalities.
At this point in time, the third-year anchor, these techniques had not yet been deduced by the Deduction Jade, so he didn't have to worry about alerting the Law Enforcement Hall of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
The inventory the Deduction Jade had accumulated in his past life was more than enough for Li Fan to use for a very long time.
"In this life, I shall be the [Teacher of Heaven and Earth]."
"Spreading the Dao to Xuanhuang, starting from the Great Xuan."
The lecturing phantom, sitting cross-legged in the air, watched as the teeming masses rushed in from all corners of the Great Xuan, and this thought formed in its mind.
Controlling the circulation of spiritual energy on the Lecture Stage, it expanded the range of the white circle on the ground once more.
...
The phantom lectured in silence, igniting the first spark of the Teacher of Heaven and Earth.
Meanwhile, Li Fan's true self had arrived deep underground in the Great Xuan.
Since his plan for this life was to merge with the Spirit of Heaven and Earth of a super Xuanhuang Realm, it was natural that he had to stimulate the potential of the Xuanhuang Realm to its absolute limit.
Besides factors like immortal spiritual power, the hidden forces of the various remnant realms, and the Creation Immortal Talisman, there was another.
Pushing the attached small worlds to return to Xuanhuang, to achieve the unity of ten thousand realms, could also be a major boost.
After all, every little bit counts.
Especially after Li Fan used the 'Creation' True Immortal Script to first elevate and transform each small world. The return of ten thousand realms would be a significant source of nourishment for the Xuanhuang Realm.
Ultimately, the more powerful the future Xuanhuang Realm became, the stronger the Spirit of Heaven and Earth it would nurture.
And that would be all the more advantageous for Li Fan.
"The attached worlds, pushed by the Split Boundary Whales over thousands of years of evolution, have already drifted far from the Xuanhuang main world. They are only connected to the Xuanhuang Realm through long, narrow void passages."
"To push them to re-fuse with the Xuanhuang Realm, the first thing to do is to reactivate the severed connections."
Li Fan closed his eyes, and a vision of the Great Xuan small world and the Xuanhuang light cluster appeared in his mind.
The Great Xuan was like a distant bean of light, flickering, seeming both near and far.
With a thought, a grand array began to form.
Boundless spiritual energy surged from Li Fan's body, rushing underground and spreading like vines to every corner of the Great Xuan.
And from Li Fan's perspective, lines of an array formation were being generated one after another.
Using the array as a blade, he continuously modified the Great Xuan small world.
Unseen by anyone, the small world slowly moved through the void, heading toward the Xuanhuang Realm.
It undid the efforts of countless Split Boundary Whales over thousands of years.
Just before colliding with the Xuanhuang Realm, the Great Xuan small world finally came to a halt.
From within the world, array-like tendrils slowly grew, silently attaching themselves to the Xuanhuang main world.
Like a fetus receiving nourishment from its mother through the placenta, the metamorphosis of the Great Xuan small world instantly accelerated.
When selecting the attachment point, Li Fan had deliberately manipulated and changed the connection point between the Great Xuan small world and the Xuanhuang main world.
He did not choose the Cong Yun Sea, but switched to Shilin Province instead.
This was to avoid triggering an immune-like response from the Xuanhuang Realm.
Compared to the vast Xuanhuang main world, the size of the Great Xuan small world was almost negligible.
Thus, the attachment of the Great Xuan had not yet attracted the attention of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Li Fan's plan could therefore proceed smoothly.
Faint, imperceptible array lines followed the Great Xuan's tendrils, slowly entering the Xuanhuang Realm.
While binding the Great Xuan small world ever more tightly to Xuanhuang, they also silently transferred a part of a massive array into the Xuanhuang Realm.
However, it was merely an incomplete array structure. Before it was formally activated, even Li Fan himself would find it difficult to detect.
"The day the ten thousand realms return will be the day the array takes shape."
This time, the array Li Fan was laying was, of course, not the [All Things Return to Void] grand array. It was a grand array meant to capture the Immortal Spirit of Heaven and Earth that would be born in the future.
It was a precaution.
The first Immortal Spirit of Heaven and Earth to be born after the super Xuanhuang Realm came into being would be Li Fan's target for Dao Integration.
Through a series of guides, he would continuously increase the difficulty of the heavenly duties it needed to perform.
The more power Xuanhuang lent it, the more formidable the Immortal Spirit of Heaven and Earth would become.
To ensure a flawless victory and to succeed in the Dao Integration as quickly as possible, this preemptive immortal array was of paramount importance.
"The strongest Spirits of Heaven and Earth are the phantoms of the past Great Heavenly Venerates. All the Spirits of Heaven and Earth are added to them. Just one of them is equivalent to the sum of more than half of all the Spirits of Heaven and Earth in the Xuanhuang Realm."
"In my 115th life, Heavenly Dao Bai was able to slightly hold off the Dharma Spreader. In this life, after my numerous enhancements, it should be able to reach the limits of the Star Sea."
"If I make another breakthrough in my research on immortal spiritual power, it might not be impossible for it to achieve a semi-immortal state..."
"The only thing to consider is that the phantoms of the Great Heavenly Venerates might still carry traces of the ancient Immortal Realm. I must be careful while devouring them," Li Fan thought to himself, recalling the strange influence Heavenly Dao Bai had had on his mind.
As the beachhead for spreading the Dao throughout Xuanhuang, and the template for the arrays of other small worlds in the future, Li Fan was especially cautious in constructing the Great Xuan's invasion array.
In his previous life, the Heavenly Doctor and the Dharma Spreader had once joined forces to perform the [Soul-Sealing World Replacement] technique.
This indicated that their control over the Xuanhuang Realm had already reached a meticulous level.
If they were to notice the array tendrils of the small world's invasion and return from the Star Sea, Li Fan's plans would be disrupted.
(End of this chapter)
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