Chapter 1360: The Dust Cauldron Transforms into an Immortal Chess Piece
Indignation and resentment vanished.
Regardless of whether they were Dao Integration, Soul Transformation, or Nascent Soul cultivators.
Under the might of the [Immortal Descends, All Things Return to Void Array], every member of the Medicine King Sect reacted in the exact same way.
Fear. Only an endless, suffocating fear filled their hearts.
Only when Li Fan retracted the world-ending power of the grand array did the members of the Medicine King Sect slowly begin to emerge from that extreme state of emotion.
But as long as Li Fan remained silent, none of them dared to move a muscle.
The power of the immortal array flowed, retracted but not dispersed. It formed a self-contained space, enveloping the entire Medicine King Sect.
While it awed the crowd, it also shielded them from the Xuanhuang Realm's rule that a single law cannot be cultivated by many. This prevented the newly awakened cultivators of the Medicine King Sect from falling into internecine slaughter.
Then, Li Fan ignored them as if they didn't exist. He watched as the finest particles of the Medicine King True Cauldron gathered, just as he had predicted, finally coalescing into the shape of a chess piece.
Instead, it was unmistakably...
White.
At its white edges, there was even a halo of color, remarkably similar to the fused chess piece.
Li Fan reached out and drew the white chess piece to his hand. He gazed at it intently; within the small object, an infinite vitality seemed to be gestating.
And within his body, the chess pieces he had previously subdued—including the fused fragment of the Immortal Realm—all began to vibrate faintly.
It was as if they were welcoming their cornerstone, erupting in bursts of joyous celebration.
An urgent prompting, several times more intense than before, emanated from the pieces within him.
They seemed desperate to merge with this white chess piece.
This urging even began to transform into Li Fan's own desire.
The craving was so intense that even circulating the Immortal Heart Mantra could barely resist it.
But Li Fan's willpower was, after all, extraordinary.
With immense fortitude, he finally managed to forcibly suppress the restless stirring of the chess pieces within him.
Calming his heart and mind, he was able to once again examine the white chess piece in his hand, comparing it with the six pieces sealed inside his body.
Inside Li Fan, there was one large piece and five small ones. The large one shimmered with seven colors, having been formed from the fusion of six ordinary gray pieces. The five smaller ones orbited the multicolored piece.
And this white chess piece before him, though only a single piece, gave Li Fan a feeling similar to that of the fused, seven-colored one.
"It seems the one Sun Piao Miao left in the Xuanhuang Realm was the most crucial piece of all."
"A complete fragment of the Immortal Realm..."
"The last one remaining is the piece inside the Mysterious Immortal Boat."
The thought that, in a few years, he would be able to see a corner of the already shattered Immortal Realm made his heart surge with emotion, no matter how composed he usually was.
"Does this fused Immortal Realm fragment contain immortal spiritual energy?"
"Could I use it to ascend and become an immortal?"
"Within the fragment, are there any relics left by the True Immortal who forged these pieces back then?"
"And what's more, could there be a True Immortal inside, waiting to be reborn along with this realm?"
A tide of questions flooded Li Fan's mind.
If it were an ordinary cultivator, even with the Immortal Realm fragment in hand, they would be fraught with hesitation, facing the complete unknown and immense risks, and would never dare to use it rashly.
But Li Fan, with [Truth] at his disposal, had no such worries.
Especially in this life, with his immortal array newly completed, the protective charge of [Truth] had doubled, providing him with more than enough means of protection.
...
The white chess piece, formed from the Medicine King Cauldron, seemed to possess an endless, magical allure, drawing the gazes of every cultivator present.
They could faintly sense that an immense secret must be hidden behind this piece. Yet, intimidated by the power Li Fan had just displayed, they only dared to watch from a distance.
Finally, it was Liu Ruchen, having recovered his composure, who mustered the courage to speak. "Dare I ask, Senior, is this chess piece a relic of Ancestor Sun Piao Miao?"
Liu Ruchen dared to speak because just before destroying the Medicine King Cauldron, Li Fan had deliberately released the Medicine King Sect cultivators from within, a clear show of goodwill.
Li Fan absorbed the white chess piece into his body, suppressing it separately from the others, and then sneered, "Sun Piao Miao entrusted this item to you, his descendants, for so long. He even left numerous hints, both overt and subtle, yet none of you could uncover its true nature..."
"A pack of utter failures!"
Li Fan's merciless rebuke, however, also served as an indirect answer to Liu Ruchen's question.
Upon hearing this, a flicker of shame crossed the faces of most Medicine King Sect disciples.
Liu Ruchen gave an awkward smile, about to inquire further, but Li Fan cut him off. "This matter is no longer something you are qualified to be involved in."
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, studying Liu Ruchen, and commented, "Though you violated the principles of the Medicine King Sect, leading your entire sect to flee the Xuanhuang Realm was, by a strange twist of fate, a good deed!"
With a flick of his finger, countless images flashed into existence before them.
They depicted the cataclysmic changes that had occurred in the Xuanhuang Realm and even the Star Sea during the ten thousand years the Medicine King Cauldron was trapped by the Immortal Ruins.
The members of the Medicine King Sect erupted in an uproar.
When Li Fan slightly loosened the immortal array's protection, they felt a boundless killing intent surge from within their hearts, directed at their friends, family, masters, and brothers beside them.
Only then did they confirm that Li Fan had not fabricated anything. Their faces turned ashen, and their spirits plummeted.
Li Fan paid them no mind, simply summoning the seven Dao Integration cultivators of the Medicine King Sect, including Liu Ruchen.
"Do you know what this chess piece, formed from the Medicine King Cauldron, truly is?"
"It is none other than one of the fragments of the former Immortal Realm, left behind by Sun Piao Miao!"
Li Fan's opening words stunned the Dao Integration cultivators of the Medicine King Sect, leaving them utterly reeling.
He then controlled the seven-colored chess piece sealed within him, releasing a faint trace of its aura.
A fragment of the Immortal Realm's laws—even a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg was enough to leave these Medicine King Sect cultivators utterly intoxicated.
"The Immortal Realm suffered a calamity, but there were signs long beforehand. Back then, Sun Piao Miao received an immortal decree to leave behind a contingency for the Immortal Realm's revival..."
Li Fan spoke with great eloquence, presenting his own speculations as "fact."
"Now, Sun Piao Miao's whereabouts are unknown. Since you are his disciples, it is your duty to assist me in the great cause of restoring the Immortal Realm!" Li Fan declared, looking down upon them as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Liu Ruchen and the others were still immersed in the wonder of the Immortal Realm's laws.
Hearing Li Fan's words so suddenly, they were abruptly stunned.
They all stared at Li Fan, their faces etched with disbelief. "Revive the Immortal Realm? Us?"
"I have already collected all the fragments of the Immortal Realm. All that's left is to wait for the right moment."
"When the time comes, all you need to do is assist from the side," Li Fan stated nonchalantly.
Faced with a demand from this expert who was likely a True Immortal, how could the Dao Integration cultivators of the Medicine King Sect possibly refuse?
Yet, their hearts pounded with uncertainty. Why would a powerhouse who could annihilate their entire sect with a wave of his hand possibly need their help?
However, since Li Fan did not elaborate, they dared not ask.
Were these people from the Medicine King Sect of any use?
To Li Fan, they were, of course, useful.
Not for rebuilding the Immortal Realm, however. But to serve as catalysts for the fusion of various powers when the time came to sublimate the Xuanhuang Realm.
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