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Chapter 1347: A Shared Fate with the Immortal Boat

The timing of these Immortal Law fragments was just too convenient.

They were discovered at the precise moment he was planning to guide the Xuanhuang Realm's evolution toward becoming an Immortal Realm.

Given Li Fan's nature, it was impossible for suspicion not to bloom in his mind.

He began to slowly sort through the logical connections.

"The stealthiness of these chess pieces is truly terrifying. The crew of the Immortal Boat, and even the Dharma Transmitters and the Heavenly Doctor, had come into direct contact with them countless times over tens of thousands of years, yet none of them ever noticed anything amiss."

"The only reason I discovered their peculiarity so easily was entirely due to the guidance of [Truth]. Without it, I too would have seen them as ordinary objects..."

At this thought, a flicker of realization sparked in Li Fan's mind.

"From that perspective, it is indeed possible that the chess pieces are bait, specifically targeting [Truth]."

"However... there are many other things that only [Truth] can perceive. The 'Eternal Remembrance' is one such example. It's simply that [Truth] operates on such a high level that all these anomalies are laid bare before it."

Li Fan observed the seven-colored chess piece resting quietly within his body.

The piece seemed completely independent of him. Spiritual energy, divine sense, and other forces flowed through its location without the slightest obstruction, as if it didn't exist at all.

And aside from the "dead weight" of the fused Immortal Realm fragment, the piece had no other discernible effect on him.

"The thirteen gray chess pieces were hidden by Sun Piao Miao in thirteen cultivation worlds he once visited. He recorded their world coordinates in his travelogues and passed them down to his descendants."

"But it's obvious these pieces weren't crafted by Sun Piao Miao, but by a True Immortal from the upper realm. Perhaps they were a contingency plan, a last resort by some pessimists hoping to resurrect the Immortal Realm amidst the outbreak of the Dao Annihilation Calamity."

"For some unknown reason, they fell into Sun Piao Miao's hands."

Li Fan pondered, his thoughts churning.

"In Sun Piao Miao's era, the Immortal Realm had not yet been shattered, and the path to immortality was not yet severed. The vast majority of True Immortals were still actively fighting the Dao Annihilation Calamity. It's conceivable that in such a climate, the defeatist True Immortals who forged these pieces would not have been accepted by the mainstream and could only act in secret. Is that why they were quietly passed down to the lower realms?"

"But for some reason, these contingency plans were never activated. The most likely explanation is that the True Immortals who created the pieces perished in the Dao Annihilation Calamity that destroyed the Immortal Realm."

"Or perhaps..." Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly as he recalled the structure of the Immortal Boat's Myriad Phenomena Yin-Yang Diagram.

"Nowhere in the entire Darkest Star Sea can the black and white pieces still on the board be found. Only these 'discarded' gray pieces remain. Could it be that somewhere unknown, beyond this High Wall, the black and white pieces have already completed their mission of rebuilding the Immortal Realm?"

This was merely his speculation, currently unsupported by any evidence.

"Sun Piao Miao must have known more about these gray chess pieces. He himself is nowhere to be found, but if there are any clues left in the Star Sea, they would most likely be in the Medicine King Cauldron he left with the Medicine King Sect."

"Anchored for fifteen years, the stars will fall and return to Xuanhuang. It won't be long now..."

Although danger might be lurking behind these pieces, Li Fan certainly wouldn't abandon his plan to elevate the Xuanhuang Realm by merging with the Immortal Domain just because of a mere possibility.

With the Immortal Realm fragments as a foundation, the chances of the Xuanhuang Realm's successful ascension were vastly greater.

Li Fan calmed his thoughts and turned to Yin Shangren and Bai Hua.

They had witnessed the entire process of the gray chess piece's fusion. They dared not speak, merely watching in silence.

Li Fan did not explain to them the creation of the Immortal Realm fragment after the fusion.

But they guessed that these pieces, forged from worlds of utter silence, likely played a crucial role in the Xuanhuang ascension plan.

"I sent you to that location in the depths of the Star Sea before. Did you find anything?" Having been rushing about to collect the chess pieces ever since returning to the Great Qi, Li Fan finally had a moment of respite. He fixed his gaze on Bai Hua and asked.

Li Fan had estimated that it would take Bai Hua a considerable amount of effort to investigate that unknown "high ground." Yet, she had returned not long after, rendezvousing with Yin Shangren on the fringes of the Star Sea.

Bai Hua took a moment to compose her thoughts before explaining, "Perhaps it was my own incompetence. I searched for a long time in the area you indicated, Holy Teacher, but I never found anything unusual. Seeing that staying any longer would be a waste of time, I had no choice but to give up and join Daoist Yin in the search for Xu Ke."

"Perhaps that opportunity and I were simply not fated to be," Bai Hua sighed.

Li Fan nodded, then asked, "And what of Xu Ke's whereabouts? Any discoveries?"

Yin Shangren spoke up. "We made some progress. We discovered that Xu Ke may have been drawn into a peculiar area within the Realm Fragment Great Wall. The Great Wall is an amalgamation of countless destroyed worlds at the foot of the High Wall. Though it consists of trillions of fragments, they are faintly interconnected."

"We don't yet understand the principle behind its formation, but perhaps it can be seen as a long rope woven from countless fine threads. The place where Xu Ke disappeared is one of the 'nodes' that formed to maintain the rope's stability."

"However, just as we were about to explore that node further, we received your message, Holy Teacher," Yin Shangren said with a hint of regret.

"A node..." Li Fan mused for a moment, then continued, "The situation was sudden. To obtain the chess pieces, I had no choice but to ask for your help in putting on a show."

"The people you saw that day all came from the Immortal Boat civilization on the edge of the Star Sea."

"To avoid exposing the existence of the Xuanhuang Realm, I previously disguised myself as a member of a non-existent 'Great Qi' civilization to interact with them. The Xuanxian Immortal Boat is highly skilled at deconstructing the power of various True Immortal Seal Characters left in the Star Sea. I've exchanged some of the Seal Characters I've mastered with them a few times, and both sides have benefited."

"This time, during a transaction, I happened to discover the existence of the gray chess pieces in the Immortal Boat's treasury."

"These pieces are too important for the Xuanhuang ascension; I couldn't let them slip away. Thus, I resorted to a small trick..." Li Fan explained the cause and effect of the matter to the two of them in a light, understated tone.

"The Xuanxian Immortal Boat is still of some use to the Xuanhuang Realm for now, so you should avoid contact with them to prevent the matter from being exposed. Especially you," Li Fan said to Yin Shangren, "the aura of life and death on you is too distinct. One look and they would know it was you who stole the gray chess pieces."

Yin Shangren and Bai Hua would naturally not side with the Xuanxian Immortal Boat.

They just smiled, not paying much mind to Li Fan's clever acquisition of the gray chess pieces.

"There are still a few pieces left to collect from the Immortal Boat and the Realm Fragment Great Wall. Leave them to me. You two should continue searching for Xu Ke."

"Once I have all the pieces, the final transformation of the Xuanhuang Realm will not be far off," Li Fan instructed.

Yin Shangren's expression turned solemn as he nodded in agreement.

After giving his instructions, Li Fan first used the A Thousand Miles in a Moment Array to arrive at the edge of the Realm Fragment Great Wall.

The Wooden Sword's phantom flickered through space continuously. It took a considerable effort, but he finally managed to obtain the remaining five gray chess pieces from this location.

Even with his heaven-defying escape art, the depths of the Realm Fragment Great Wall at the foot of the High Wall were fraught with peril.

The echoing star power, surging like tempestuous waves, could only be partially neutralized by his Wooden Sword's phantom. He still had to contend with the omnipresent suction force.

Coupled with the constant burden of the Immortal Domain, the cost of using the Wooden Sword phantom's escape art was nearly two or three times what it used to be.

Therefore, by the time he had collected the five pieces here, Li Fan was already physically and mentally exhausted.

But the gains were substantial. Li Fan gazed inward.

Five gray chess pieces and a slightly larger, seven-colored one floated quietly within him.

They faced each other from a distance.

Perhaps because there were too few of them, the five newly acquired pieces merely revolved around one another and could not yet react with the one that had already completed its fusion.

"Only two are left. The Xuanxian Immortal Boat, and the Medicine King Sect."

"Once all thirteen pieces are in place, if all goes as expected, I should be able to recreate a corner of the former Immortal Realm."

Li Fan's eyes narrowed.

Then, he raised a hand and struck himself hard in the chest.

With a muffled grunt, his already weary face grew even paler.

Without circulating his spiritual energy to heal the injury, Li Fan maintained his current appearance and slowly made his way toward the Immortal Boat.

As he approached the Immortal Boat without concealing his aura, a group of elders had already reacted.

Led by Zhong Daogong, they came out together to greet him.

"I have not failed my mission," Li Fan said faintly, coughing once and cupping his hands in a salute.

"We are indebted to you, fellow Daoist!" Zhong Daogong's expression was grave as he actually bowed low.

Li Fan frowned and sidestepped the gesture.

He snorted coldly. "Spare me the pleasantries. Though the ritual wasn't complex, I exhausted myself to deceive my master and the other Holy Teachers."

"I don't know the exact population covered by the ritual, but I imagine it should be sufficient."

Zhong Daogong nodded with a smile. "Approximately one hundred million living beings. It is more than enough to bear the backlash of performing the Jun Tian Divine Art."

"In that case, there's no need to hide things from me any longer, is there?" Li Fan's gaze swept over the assembled elders.

"This is not the place to talk. Let's discuss the details inside the Immortal Boat."

The elders of the Immortal Boat were as cautious as ever.

The group arrived at the very top of the structure, in the deepest chamber of the Broken Immortal Tower.

The floor of black jade was already inscribed with profound patterns.

Li Fan was no stranger to these symbols; they were part of the Jun Tian Divine Art ritual.

It seemed the elders of the Immortal Boat were growing impatient.

The elders took their respective seats.

And Li Fan was granted his own place here.

His pledge of allegiance was a hundred million souls.

One hundred million humans—a number so immense it was absolutely unimaginable on the resource-strapped, life-deprived Xuanxian Immortal Boat.

Therefore, after Li Fan completed the ritual, combined with his various actions prior, he had finally won the absolute trust of everyone on the Immortal Boat.

"Fellow Daoist, please calm yourself."

"For now, please take a seat and experience the effects of the [Jun Tian Divine Art] for yourself," Zhong Daogong said, gesturing to Li Fan's position.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Fan drifted into his seat.

The pattern beneath him instantly emitted a faint glow.

After sitting down, Li Fan's vision began to change under the soft light.

The positions of the surrounding Immortal Boat elders shifted strangely in space. Where before they were all seated on the same plane, in Li Fan's eyes, they were now distributed throughout a three-dimensional cube.

They were arranged in an orderly, scattered fashion, occupying every point of the cube.

And Li Fan himself was at the center of this cube, the focal point of all their gazes.

Li Fan's expression remained unchanged.

"From shadowed heavens, through timeless night, all things as one, in equal light..."

The chanting of the Immortal Boat elders reached him.

It was ancient, vast, and tinged with a strange eeriness.

As the chant continued, the elders raised their arms.

Using their fingers as brushes, they began to write in the empty air before them.

What each of them wrote was not a complete True Immortal Seal Character, but merely a single component of an incredibly complex glyph.

From Li Fan's perspective, it was as if countless moving lines had suddenly risen up around him.

These lines surrounded him in the center.

And as they were continuously completed, the character for "Jun" [均] slowly took shape.

Boom!

In an instant, Li Fan's body trembled. His vision uncontrollably drifted upward, finally stopping at a fixed point.

From this vantage point, looking down.

The structural components of the technique, inscribed by all the elders on different planes, combined to form the character "Jun" [均] on a single plane!

And his body was suppressed right in the center of this "Jun"[均]!

The "Jun"[均] character was more complex than the "Hunger"[饥] or "Chaos"[乱]characters Li Fan had seen before. Although not as inherent as "Creation", it possesses a unique and different kind of marvel.

Under the power of the Jun Tian Divine Art, Li Fan gradually began to feel the changes occurring in his body.

Li Fan checked his [Truth] panel.

His lifespan, which had been reduced to just ten years, was now slowly increasing!

Strands of black began to appear amidst his full head of white hair.

Streams of life force materialized from thin air, nourishing Li Fan's decaying flesh.

Yet Li Fan felt no joy at this sudden extension of his life, only observing [Truth] with utmost caution.

He finally relaxed only when the influx of life force gradually ceased and the Jun Tian Divine Art ritual concluded.

Aside from the change in his physiological age on the panel, [Truth] showed no other reaction whatsoever.

"As expected, a mere'jun'[均] character is not enough to affect [Truth]."

"It seems to only affect the target locked by the Jun Tian Divine Art. In this case, my lifespan."

"Other aspects, like my divine sense and cultivation base, remain unchanged."

After carefully inspecting his internal state, Li Fan reached his conclusion.

He looked at the members of the Immortal Boat's council of elders.

Compared to before the ritual, they all looked slightly older.

But because the depletion of their lifespan was evenly distributed among them, the change was not very noticeable.

"How do you feel?" Zhong Daogong asked on behalf of the elders.

Hearing this, Li Fan pretended to awaken as if from a dream and looked down at his rejuvenated body.

He then bowed to the elders, expressing his gratitude for this life-saving grace.

The elders of the Immortal Boat all returned the bow in unison.

"From now on, we are all one family," Zhong Daogong declared with great solemnity.