Chapter 1392: A Heart in Service to Xuanhuang
Chapter 1392: A Heart in Service to Xuanhuang
He let his imagination wander for a moment but ultimately forced the thought down.
That day would come, but not now.
In this lifetime, his goal of achieving Dao Integration with the immortal soul of the Xuanhuang Realm trumped everything else.
"Besides the Hunger Immortal of the Immortal Ruins, I can also test this on the Observer, and even the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate," he mused. "Theoretically, since they hold positions granted by the Immortal Realm, the restrictions on them should be even tighter."
Li Fan was extremely pleased with his recent gains. He had not only shored up his weaknesses in immortal arrays but also mastered a True Immortal Script character that represented an edict from the Immortal Realm.
And all this, he had gleaned from a mere, almost accidental, glimpse into the secrets beyond the High Wall.
It was difficult to fathom what the world beyond the High Wall had become.
"As for Jiao Xiuyuan's identity..."
"When he was first sent through the High Wall, he must have been a newborn. To be sent so far from home and family..."
"Something catastrophic must have happened. The faction Qin Zhuang represents only managed to find a clue and track him here many years later."
Li Fan's expression was unreadable.
"Why would they choose to entrust the life of their young heir to the Xuanhuang Realm, a world inside the High Wall?"
"Do they see the Xuanhuang Realm as a sanctuary, a refuge from their conflicts? Or does this land hide some treasure so precious that even outsiders covet it?"
"And more importantly, it seems those beyond the High Wall can observe the conditions within, at least to some degree. They must have known the Xuanhuang Realm hadn't been devoured by the Immortal Ruins. Otherwise, sending Jiao Xiuyuan here would have been a death sentence."
A single drop of the substance from the sphere that had enveloped the infant Jiao Xiuyuan could nurture a miraculous tree capable of evading the influence of immortal arrays. It stood to reason that Jiao Xiuyuan, having absorbed the majority of that substance, would be even more extraordinary. This was precisely why Li Fan had opted to probe him with an illusionary array instead of resorting to an immediate soul-search.
"But Jiao Xiuyuan has been in the Xuanhuang Realm for so long, he might as well be a native. That special power of his seems to have gone dormant..."
His divine sense swept over Jiao Xiuyuan, who was still lost within the Grand Array of Xuanhuang's Sentient Beings. For the time being, Li Fan abandoned the idea of helping him awaken his potential.
The aura that Jiao Xiuyuan had involuntarily radiated when he was on the verge of awakening had sent a shiver of unease through Li Fan.
This unease wasn't born from the crushing pressure of a sudden explosion of power.
It was more like an instinctual alarm, a spiritual premonition of some latent danger.
"Since Jiao Xiuyuan originally comes from beyond the High Wall, perhaps when I decide to explore the outside world, I can have him scout ahead."
"The unique nature of his identity is bound to stir up a turbulent storm. The more chaotic it gets, the more secrets I'll be able to uncover."
"Of course, I'll make the final decision after I extract the information from Qin Zhuang's mind."
"The Heavenly Sword Sect..."
As his thoughts turned to this former member of the Ten Great Immortal Sects—the one that had used the World Splitting Divine Weapon to escape—an idea suddenly sparked in Li Fan's mind.
"Could it be that Jiao Xiuyuan's bloodline traces back to one of the factions that escaped from the Xuanhuang Realm long ago?"
"Even if that's not the case, they must have deep ties to the Xuanhuang Realm."
"With the passage of so much time, those sects that fled must have grown to an astonishing degree. I wonder if they'd even acknowledge their old kin from the Xuanhuang Realm anymore..."
His thoughts churned, a relentless tide that refused to subside.
The more Li Fan learned about the world beyond the High Wall, the more eager he became to venture there.
But first, he needed to strengthen his ability to protect himself.
"Soon."
"After simmering for fifteen years, it's time to crank up the heat."
Li Fan's gaze fell upon the Xuanhuang Realm.
With the vast majority of the Xuanhuang Realm's inhabitants trapped in the grand illusionary array, the world itself had fallen silent.
Free from the influence of mortals and cultivators, the Xuanhuang Realm was resting and recuperating at a rate hundreds, even thousands of times faster than normal.
Especially within the illusionary array, where cultivators were constantly dying.
As they died, the cultivators returned their Dao to the heavens, providing one dose of restorative tonic after another. Though each dose was weak, the supply was vast and unending. Furthermore, since cultivators consumed the power of the world itself, the Xuanhuang Realm could reabsorb it without any hindrance.
The cultivators' sacrifice, the return of the small worlds, the infusion of life force from subterranean rivers, and the nourishment from the infinite power of the Star Sea...
...all of it was making the Xuanhuang Realm visibly more "solid" and "robust."
"The foundation is now more than solid enough, far stronger than what I prepared in my last life. It can withstand the dramatic changes that are coming."
A glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes, and in an instant, dozens of figures shot out from the illusionary array.
They were all Dao Integration cultivators from the Xuanhuang Realm.
Li Fan's plan was not substantially different from the one he had used in his previous life.
When the time came to infuse the immense power that would elevate the entire Xuanhuang Realm, he would still need catalysts to act as buffers.
And these Dao Integration cultivators were the perfect candidates.
Golden light flickered around them. Even cultivators as powerful as those in the Dao Integration stage were utterly helpless in Li Fan's hands.
Unconscious and lost in a deep slumber, they were like puppets, manipulated at his whim.
"In this lifetime, I haven't established the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm. The sliver of immortal spiritual energy from the Great Heavenly Venerate's legacy alone won't be enough to trigger the realm's transformation."
"Fortunately, I can now connect with the Star Sea and draw upon its limitless power. That's more than enough to sustain the long period of accumulation before the tipping point."
"All I need to do is, at the critical moment, unleash that immortal spiritual energy, fuse it with the Xuanhuang Realm, and push it over the final threshold."
"After that, I'll use the leg bone of the Nameless True Immortal to temporarily anchor the Xuanhuang Realm's newfound potential."
"Once the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm descends, given my immense contribution in single-handedly engineering its ascension, it shouldn't be difficult to use the principle of Falsehood-to-Truth to summon Ink Death."
"Then, I'll use the myriad Xuanhuang World-Ending Transformations I've already prepared and embedded within the realm—which will have evolved along with it—to annihilate Ink Death's world-soul!"
As Li Fan arranged the Dao Integration cultivators, he quickly ran through the entire process for his own ascension in his mind.
He confirmed there were no major flaws in the plan.
Gazing at the Dao Integration cultivators, each cocooned in shimmering golden threads like a chrysalis, Li Fan levitated one and cast it back into the immortal array that blanketed the land.
It fused with one of the array's nodes. Concealed by the immortal array's aura, its presence was impossible for anyone else to detect.
Even the Xuanhuang Realm itself would be unable to perceive their existence until it had fully transformed into an immortal realm.
"As the Grand Array of Xuanhuang's Sentient Beings gradually absorbs the cultivators and feeds their energy back to the world, its connection to the realm itself grows stronger."
"These catalysts are using that very connection to silently embed themselves into the fabric of the Xuanhuang Realm."
"For one, they will aid the Xuanhuang Realm on its path to ascension."
"And for another..."
"When necessary, this illusionary array can instantly transform into a world-ending immortal array. With these catalysts serving as pre-implanted nodes, it will be like triggering the array from within the Xuanhuang Realm itself."
"When that time comes, even if the Xuanhuang Realm has become an immortal domain, this will be enough to make it suffer dearly!"
A thrill of excitement ran through Li Fan.
Throughout the preparations for his Dao Integration, his theoretical understanding of arrays and alchemy was solidifying through practice, coalescing into a comprehensive mastery.
His mind teemed with ingenious and unconventional ideas.
He had to admit, this perspective—viewing the entire world and all its creatures as components for an array, as ingredients for a concoction—was perfectly suited to him and his [Truth].
His actions perfectly mirrored his thoughts, filling him with a sense of exhilarating freedom.
Of course, Li Fan didn't let this feeling go to his head or get carried away.
He knew full well that the immortal arrays and the Medicine King's alchemical scriptures, passed down by Sun Piao Miao, could afford such an indifferent perspective—treating all life as ants...
...entirely because of their transcendent power. A True Immortal was, in fact, a being of a completely different order from the mortals of the world.
Li Fan, on the other hand, could only achieve this by borrowing the transcendent power of his [Truth].
And so, his desire to achieve Dao Integration grew ever more urgent.
"Even if I only manage to become a demi-immortal, it will be a world away from being a mere mortal!"
He implanted all the Dao Integration catalysts into the grand Xuanhuang array.
Li Fan nodded slightly, operating the array to conceal every trace of his work.
Then, his gaze shifted to one of the few small worlds remaining in the Xuanhuang Realm: the Thirteen Peaks World.
More than a decade had passed, yet Wuming still had the appearance of a child.
He stood alone atop a mountain peak and had remained motionless for so long that he seemed to have become a statue.
The other inhabitants of the Thirteen Peaks had come to regard him as a deity.
They dared not approach, only kneeling to worship him from afar.
But today, at a subtle cue from Li Fan, Wuming—who had been lost in enlightenment for so long—finally opened his eyes.
He took a single step and left the Thirteen Peaks World behind.
He had truly arrived in the Xuanhuang Realm.
In truth, under Li Fan's subtle guidance, Wuming had already begun to comprehend the fundamental principles of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Yet when this boy, who had spent his entire life in a tiny world composed of just thirteen mountains, suddenly found himself in the vast expanse of the Xuanhuang Realm, he was still overcome.
his heart was filled with an endless sense of awe.
He gazed up at the heavens and down upon the earth, his sight seeming to sweep across the entire Xuanhuang Realm in an instant.
When he saw the world's slumbering inhabitants, he was not overly surprised, thanks to Li Fan's earlier hints.
He paid them little mind.
The only thing Wuming truly cared about was the world of Xuanhuang itself.
Wuming stood perfectly still, observing the Xuanhuang Realm. Seven full days and nights passed in this way.
Only then did he open his eyes and begin his journey.
This handpicked successor for the title of Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate did not immediately perform the ritual to enter the trial illusion.
Instead, his form flickered as he began to wander across the lands of Xuanhuang.
He took in the mountains and rivers, the grass and trees, the whispering winds.
Although Wuming was still a mortal and had not embarked upon the path of the New Law...
...his resonance with the fundamental principles of the Xuanhuang Realm deepened with every step of his journey.
When he stepped forward, he had no need for arts that shrink the earth; the world itself cooperated, contracting the distance before him.
He had no need to command the wind; he simply spread his arms, and a gentle breeze would come to lift him...
Cultivators of the New Law had to devour the world's elemental souls to master its principles.
But Wuming, with the proactive cooperation of the Xuanhuang Realm, could wield the power of Dao Integration with a mortal body.
Moreover, he was not limited to calling upon a single one of the world's laws.
He could command all that he could see.
It was reminiscent of the day Su Bai had manifested as the Heavenly Dao, when the world's souls had flocked to him at the speed of light, eager to obey his command.
Anyone in the world who received such treatment...
...would gradually come to believe without reservation that they were a child of destiny, favored by the Great Dao itself.
They would believe that becoming the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate was their manifest destiny.
But only Li Fan, orchestrating everything from behind the scenes, knew the real reason for the Xuanhuang Realm's compliance.
It was simply sensing his presence behind Wuming.
If Li Fan himself desired such treatment, the Xuanhuang Realm's cooperation would be dozens of times more elaborate and effusive.
After all, considering the Xuanhuang Realm's current rate of recovery, it was no exaggeration to say that Li Fan's contribution was tantamount to giving the world a second life.
Li Fan watched as Wuming joyfully explored the Xuanhuang Realm.
At last, the boy entered the illusion of the succession ceremony.
Li Fan smiled faintly.
Wuming was proving to be an excellent pawn.
He had almost no will of his own, acting purely on instinct.
Unlike Sun Tianci, even after becoming the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate, Wuming would not take any initiative or do anything unexpected.
He would simply let nature take its course, allowing the Xuanhuang Realm to continue developing in a beneficial direction.
Thus, he would have no reason to obstruct any of Li Fan's plans.
"And when I need that cluster of immortal spiritual energy, I won't even have to lift a finger."
"The world itself will urge him to offer it up willingly. After all, that is the mission of the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate..."
Li Fan mused to himself as he waited for Wuming to emerge from the illusion.
Having learned from the precedent set by Sun Tianci, the process went smoothly this time.
A peculiar resonance descended upon the world.
The new Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate had been born.
Wuming still appeared as an innocent child, his eyes clear and pure.
After materializing, he stood vacant for a moment before beginning to act.
Li Fan followed and observed him from the shadows.
He discovered that Wuming's first destination was the Great Whirlpool at the southernmost edge of the Xuanhuang Realm.
It was the scar left behind when the demonic beasts of Nanming had broken through the world's barrier and departed.
For ten thousand years, the wound had not healed, becoming a terrifying forbidden zone that made most cultivators pale at the mere mention of its name.
Wuming floated before the Great Whirlpool, gazing at the raging storm of wind, rain, and ceaseless lightning within.
He gently sent forth a ray of white light.
The warm light was like the clear, soothing notes of a zither, capable of calming an angry heart. It gradually tamed the violent winds and rains of the vortex.
Rays of white light streamed out, one after another, in a continuous flow.
The wound that had scarred the Xuanhuang Realm for ten millennia began to slowly heal.
Watching from the side, Li Fan saw everything clearly.
The white light Wuming projected was the very life force of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Normally, the world's life force was evenly distributed, never so intensely concentrated.
But when channeled by the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate, it could be gathered in one spot.
Under the influence of this dense life force, the wound began to rapidly mend.
(End of Chapter)
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