Chapter 1395: Refining a Great Medicine with Heaven and Earth
The Xuanhuang Realm's path of self-transformation was exceptionally unique.
The cataclysm known as the Law of Incompatible Cultivation, which drove ancient cultivators to mutual slaughter and annihilated countless sects, was the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao's retaliation against the New Method cultivators for devouring the very essence of the world.
It was brutally effective. In a single stroke, it wiped out over ninety percent of the cultivator population, plunging the Xuanhuang Realm into a desolate age of cultivation that lasted for millennia. Only with the return of the Dharma Spreader and the intervention of a power transcending the Heavenly Dao did the world of cultivation begin to thrive once more.
In truth, one could say the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao had won its war against the cultivators. It was only the Dharma Spreader's later interference that single-handedly reversed the victory.
Ever since the great change brought by the Law of Incompatible Cultivation, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao had never again manifested such a targeted response.
For ages, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao had been treated as little more than meat on a chopping block, a passive resource to be carved up. As a result, the vast majority of cultivators had long lost any sense of reverence or fear for it.
Now, gazing upon the surging tides of change within the Xuanhuang Realm, Li Fan mused, "From this day on, the roles of aggressor and defender have been reversed. I fear that in the conflicts to come, it will be the cultivators who find themselves on the losing end."
"If they even have a future."
Perhaps Li Fan was the only one in the entire Xuanhuang Realm who understood why, for ten thousand years following the Law of Incompatible Cultivation, the world had failed to produce any new, responsive changes.
In this lifetime, Li Fan had long since returned that malevolence to the world. Combined with the nourishment from his various schemes, the Heavenly Dao's long-standing weakness was finally being healed.
Now, at last, it was beginning to reveal its true, formidable nature.
A glint appeared in Li Fan's eyes as calculations raced through his mind. "Without the intervention of some overwhelming external power, the Xuanhuang Realm will begin to evolve all manner of strange and wondrous phenomena to eradicate cultivators."
"Perhaps the 'Weirdness' that was once confined to specific regions will spread to envelop the entire realm. There might even be more unique life forms, like those iridescent, flowing clouds, beginning to appear..."
The adaptive capabilities of a complete Xuanhuang Realm didn't particularly surprise Li Fan. After all, if this place, suspected to be an experimental ground forged by the Immortal Realm, was no different from an ordinary cultivation world, *that* would be truly illogical.
What truly intrigued Li Fan was the mechanism behind this power of transformation.
Time had worn away all things. The grand array once left by the Immortal Realm had long since lost its power. Even the formation's core, the Nine Stars Red Pearl, had vanished without a trace.
"It seems," Li Fan concluded, "that the Xuanhuang Realm's ability to generate these changes relies entirely on its own intrinsic nature."
Li Fan tilted his head back, his eyes narrowed in keen observation. Thanks to his exceptionally high standing with it, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao made no effort to conceal its workings, allowing him to watch to his heart's content.
The fusion of his True False Transformation with the power of the immortal array enabled Li Fan to construct a wide variety of fabricated personalities.
These creations ranged from extensions of his own consciousness, flawlessly executing his commands with absolute loyalty, to replacements for the original consciousness of semi-immortal artifacts and even entire small worlds, serving as far-reaching tendrils of his will. The applications were, in a word, limitless.
Yet, despite nearly a hundred million experiments, Li Fan had encountered a bottleneck he could not surpass.
And for the foreseeable future, there seemed to be no hope of a breakthrough.
The issue was that every fabricated personality he created could only ever follow his initial programming to the letter.
This wasn't necessarily a bad thing; at the very least, it guaranteed that his creations would never run amok.
But Li Fan wasn't particularly concerned with control. In fact, he hoped for the opposite—for these fabricated personalities to one day offer him a genuine surprise.
Unfortunately, as things stood, not a single one had managed to do so.
"To be like the Xuanhuang Realm," he thought, "to maintain one's core nature while spontaneously generating adaptive responses to reality..."
"*That* is what I truly desire."
Li Fan's consciousness connected with the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao, seeking to glimpse the source of this transformative power.
He was certain this mysterious power had to originate from the methods employed by the Immortal Realm in ages past.
If he could just decipher it...
"Even if the Star Sea were devoid of life, I could create an endless army of subordinates, advancing wave after wave, fearlessly sacrificing themselves to explore what lies beyond the High Wall!" A fervent heat grew in Li Fan's chest at the thought.
However, after careful study, Li Fan discovered that even the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao itself didn't comprehend the true meaning behind its own adaptive ability.
It simply perceived this trait as innate, with no knowledge of its origin.
"To understand it completely, I'd probably have to dissect the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao itself. It seems there's no chance for that in this lifetime. I'll have to wait for the next."
Li Fan shook his head with a touch of regret.
Completely oblivious to the bullet it had just dodged, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao surged with ever-greater vitality, thanks to the Great Heavenly Venerate Wuming's efforts in cleansing and mending its wounds.
It was like a coarse stone that, after relentless polishing from many hands, was finally beginning to reveal the precious, uncarved jade hidden within.
"The Great Heavenly Venerate is in position," Li Fan noted. "It is time for the next step."
"The high flame has been roasting for some time now," he murmured. "It's time to add the auxiliary ingredients to the crucible..."
Li Fan flew to the center of the Xuanhuang Realm, where he stood suspended in the void, his hands clasped behind his back.
With but a flicker of his will, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth roiled and surged, gathering before him, ready to be commanded.
So great was the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao's trust in him now that Li Fan had only to give the slightest notice, and the entire realm would lend him its full, unrestrained support.
The very ley lines of the Xuanhuang Realm, currents of pure spiritual energy, converged on his position in a rushing torrent.
A great, ethereal brush materialized before Li Fan. Like a leviathan drawing in the ocean, it inhaled the world's spiritual energy in its entirety.
The ethereal brush slowly solidified, becoming tangible.
Then, guided by Li Fan's will, it swept through the air in a single, masterful stroke.
And in the sky of the Xuanhuang Realm, a second sun blazed into existence.
The instant this new sun appeared, the entire Xuanhuang Realm seemed to shift from the depths of winter into the warmth of spring and summer.
A unique vitality poured forth from the mysterious character, flowing silently into every corner of the world.
It was none other than the [Creation] character, a technique Li Fan had learned from the Mysterious Immortal Boat!
Like the dawn of a new day, its energy resonated throughout the world, and all of creation stirred with new life!
Under Li Fan's meticulous regulation, the character's power was perfectly balanced. It was as if the Xuanhuang Realm had swallowed a potent elixir; Li Fan could clearly see wondrous phenomena emerging all across the world as new life blossomed.
But Li Fan was not finished.
He then drew upon the life force from the fissures in the Star Sea, channeling it into the realm.
Though both were sources of vitality, their natures were fundamentally different.
The vitality from the [Creation] character was external, a potent stimulant that worked from the outside in. If mismanaged, it was like playing with fire—the vibrant life could swiftly turn into a field of death.
In contrast, the vitality from the fissures was gentle and nurturing, working from the inside out. Even if the realm absorbed more than it could handle at once, the excess would simply be stored away without causing harm. Its only drawback was its slowness; it required a patient, gradual approach.
The two forms of vitality, one yin and one yang, were perfect complements.
Under Li Fan's covert guidance, they gradually fused, becoming one with the Xuanhuang Realm itself.
The skies of the Xuanhuang Realm seemed to grow clearer, more vibrant.
As the character in the sky slowly faded, the vast spiritual energy Li Fan had gathered dispersed, flowing back to its origins across the land.
Through Li Fan's masterful orchestration, the deficit the Xuanhuang Realm had accrued over ten thousand years of being consumed by cultivators was finally, utterly erased.
Between heaven and earth, the vibrant, fervent life force was now almost tangible, a shimmering heat haze visible to the naked eye.
All living things erupted in a riot of growth, vying with one another in a dazzling display of splendor!
And yet, Li Fan's great refinement continued.
"Seize the opportunity. Strike while the iron is hot!"
The Xuanhuang Realm was now brimming with vitality, spontaneously giving rise to all manner of changes.
The birth of new creatures was hardly worth mentioning. The crucial development was the gradual evolution of numerous grotto-heavens.
With such abundant vitality, the formation of new grotto-heavens was as natural as a flower blooming and bearing fruit.
But the gestation of each grotto-heaven would inevitably divert a portion of the Xuanhuang Realm's own power. Since Li Fan intended to refine the entire realm into a great medicine, how could he possibly permit such a thing to occur?
It was just as he had done before, when he had severed the burgeoning life of the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven.
Wherever Li Fan's gaze swept, nascent grotto-heavens disintegrated into fine dust, their essence returning to the world as nourishment.
A continuous series of dull explosions echoed through the realm.
The Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao showed no sign of reproach for Li Fan's destruction of its grotto-heavens.
On the contrary, it radiated a clear sense of delight.
It was apparent that the Heavenly Dao itself was displeased with the countless grotto-heavens that had formed upon it, but due to its own inherent restrictions, it had been powerless to stop them.
For Li Fan to now step in and clear out these "parasites" was an outcome it couldn't have wished for more!
Ignoring the increasingly sycophantic emanations from the Heavenly Dao, Li Fan calmly continued his observation of the world.
The situation was not nearly as rosy as the Heavenly Dao seemed to believe.
The world had been flooded with a sudden, immense surge of vitality. The formation of grotto-heavens was a natural way to vent this excess energy. But now, Li Fan had mercilessly severed that release valve.
The consequence was that the Xuanhuang Realm had no choice but to absorb every last drop of that vitality.
It swelled, and swelled, and swelled.
Until finally...
With a cataclysmic *boom*, it would burst apart!
It would be like an alchemist who, mindlessly adding ingredients without controlling the flame, causes his cauldron to explode.
Of course, Li Fan would not simply stand by and let that happen.
Before the Xuanhuang Realm could be torn asunder by its own vitality, he would decisively initiate his plan for its ascension.
The current level of vitality might seem overwhelming, but as soon as the Xuanhuang Realm's fundamental "potential" began to rise, all this energy would be consumed in an instant. In fact, it wouldn't be nearly enough!
"Under high pressure, it is best to add supplementary materials."
Li Fan observed for a time, ensuring the Xuanhuang Realm had settled into a temporary equilibrium.
Then, he vanished, reappearing in Luoyan Province.
This had once been part of a Tianfa Realm, but it had since been silently grafted onto the Xuanhuang Realm by the Heavenly Doctor.
The world's natural rejection of the foreign body had all but vanished. The fusion of the two realms was nearly complete.
Li Fan tapped his foot lightly on the ground. From the hidden Grand Array of Xuanhuang's Living Beings deep beneath the earth, a figure shot out.
It was one of the Dao Integration cultivators he had previously selected to serve as a medicinal catalyst.
"The realm fragment as medicine, infused into the Xuanhuang."
As Li Fan chanted softly, his form seemed to stretch infinitely upwards.
He had already deployed an ascension array.
This time, however, he did not unleash the Nine Heavens Descending Dust Finger. Instead, from his elevated perspective, he produced a world fragment he had acquired from the Realm Fragment Great Wall.
From Li Fan's current vantage point, the entire Xuanhuang Realm appeared no larger than a mortal man.
And the realm fragment in his hand looked just like a medicinal pill.
He pinched it gently between his fingers and slowly pressed it into the body of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Ascended to this higher plane of existence, Li Fan's aura was so immense that even sleeping creatures throughout the Xuanhuang Realm trembled in their dreams.
Even the Xuanhuang Realm itself dared not send so much as a single fawning thought his way.
It could only comply in silence.
It was as if some long-dormant memory from a distant past had been awakened within it.
With utmost care, he successfully implanted the realm fragment.
Then, Li Fan's elevated state abruptly collapsed.
"Go!"
He pointed a finger at the awaiting Dao Integration cultivator.
The cultivator instantly, uncontrollably, detonated.
There was no gory explosion of flesh and blood. Instead, an ethereal silhouette, like a Spirit of Heaven and Earth, expanded tens of millions of times in an instant.
It formed a thin membrane that enveloped the implanted realm fragment in layer after layer.
"Refine!"
Li Fan commanded with another low shout.
Streams of hazy, multicolored light began to swirl rapidly within the phantom membrane.
It was Li Fan, channeling the power of the immortal array to help the phantom devour and digest the fragment encased within!
A world fragment that had survived millennia of calamities and still endured.
Now, it dissolved into streams of pure light, flowing into the phantom membrane.
But this was not its final destination.
It was merely a waypoint.
High in the sky, the celestial phenomenon heralding the death of a Dao Integration cultivator began to manifest.
Compared to a normal passing, however, this phenomenon not only appeared with agonizing slowness...
...but its duration was also exceptionally long.
As the phenomenon persisted, the process of the cultivator's Dao Returning to Heaven proceeded in tandem.
The moment the celestial phenomenon vanished completely would mark the moment the realm fragment was fully assimilated by the Xuanhuang Realm.
This was Li Fan's method: using a Dao Integration cultivator as both catalyst and buffer, and a realm fragment as medicine, all to nourish the Xuanhuang Realm!
The methodology was learned from the Heavenly Doctor.
But without a doubt, the student had already surpassed the master.
Although the Dao Integration cultivator served as a buffer, the method was still far too violent compared to letting the Xuanhuang Realm assimilate the fragment on its own. The realm, in its previously weakened state, would never have been able to withstand it.
Only in this lifetime, after being fortified by the cumulative effect of Li Fan's many gambits, was the Xuanhuang Realm's constitution robust enough to endure such a potent prescription.
And that was merely the prerequisite.
Setting aside the issue of compatibility between the fragment and the Xuanhuang Realm, simply acquiring a suitable fragment from the Realm Fragment Great Wall was no simple feat. Removing one rashly could trigger instability throughout the Great Wall, and perhaps even the entire Star Sea. The timing had to be perfect.
Li Fan's success in this lifetime was built upon the experience he had gained in the last.
More importantly, to treat a world fragment as a mere pill—such an act of casual mastery was something that even the greatest powers of the Star Sea might not accomplish so easily. It was only with the power of True Immortal flesh and the immortal array that Li Fan could make it look so effortless.
Having completed the first infusion, Li Fan continued without pause.
He proceeded to implant the other prepared fragments into various locations across the Xuanhuang Realm.
Even before the Xuanhuang Realm had begun to absorb the power from these fragments...
...Li Fan could already faintly sense the imminent transformation about to erupt throughout the world.
"The Xuanhuang Realm is a truly unique place in the Star Sea," he mused. "But that doesn't mean its collection of laws is complete."
"Compared to the myriad laws that permeate the Star Sea, it is still missing certain pieces."
"But these missing pieces can be filled by devouring the fragments I provide."
"The principle is the same as when it devours an immortal artifact."
Li Fan's gaze was intense, his movements relentless.
He did not stop until he sensed that the Xuanhuang Realm had reached its absolute limit.
"Yes," he thought with satisfaction. "As it grows stronger, I can continue this process after some time."
"I will repeat this again and again, until it reaches its true, ultimate limit."
"And that will be the time for its true metamorphosis."
Comments