Chapter 1396: To Overturn the Star Sea
The preliminary preparations for refining the Xuanhuang Realm into an Ascension Pill were, for the most part, complete.
Next, all Li Fan had to do was wait.
Wait for Wuming to truly inherit the authority of the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate, and wait for the Xuanhuang Realm to absorb all the various essences and reach its absolute limit.
"Three years at most, perhaps as little as one."
Whether it succeeded or failed, the remaining time in this life was short. It was time to implement the plans he had previously laid out.
First, he teleported to the small world of the You Clan.
The [Detain] character stood starkly out of place, tucked into a corner of the stele. The characters of the Immortal-Mortal Transformation were gradually spreading, though it was uncertain how much had already been revealed.
But Li Fan had a faint premonition that the complete unveiling of this supremely mysterious character was not far off.
He carefully inspected the body of every You Clan member, selecting the most robust among them.
Splitting off a thread of his divine will, he used the [Dao Pill] method to possess its body.
Then, avoiding the other You Clan members, Li Fan slowly walked through the immortal array and approached the stele.
Through the You Clan member's body, as he gazed from a distance at the partially revealed character on the Nameless True Immortal's leg bone, Li Fan felt the blood within him begin to surge.
It was as if some searing font was pulsing and scorching him, threatening to bring all the blood in this body to a boil.
Li Fan couldn't help but look away.
The strange stirrings within him continued, like the ceaseless beating of a war drum.
"It seems that glimpsing that True Immortal Script is touching upon some kind of taboo..."
"But I am determined to try!"
Li Fan snorted coldly, but the gaze of the You Clan body he inhabited grew ever more devout.
He kowtowed, sensing every minute change within his body.
With the experience of glimpsing the Immortal-Mortal Transformation character in his previous life, Li Fan located that profound and mysterious trace with absolute ease.
The You Clan body seemed to be struck by heavenly retribution.
Time flowed rapidly around it; its hair turned snow-white in an instant, and its life force was being consumed at an alarming rate.
Yet Li Fan remained completely unmoved, focusing his spirit solely on prying into the traces of the Immortal-Mortal Transformation.
Using the portion already visible on the stele as a reference, he excluded it and needed only to peer into the remaining traces of the character.
Having made ample mental preparations, Li Fan's speed in deciphering this endlessly sprawling True Immortal Script was a fraction faster than in his previous life.
But it was still almost fleeting, gone in a flash.
This brief moment was nowhere near enough for Li Fan to perceive the character in its entirety.
The possessed You Clan body, as if consumed by fire, crumbled into drifting ash.
At the same time, Li Fan's true body flashed before the stele, slapping all of his comprehension onto its surface.
Just as the Hunger Immortal of the Immortal Ruins had done in the previous life.
On the stele, the mysterious character extended rapidly. In a mere instant, it had more than doubled in size.
Li Fan felt that after it had completely devoured his comprehension of the Immortal-Mortal Transformation, the stele actually tried to absorb him as well!
Having witnessed the true power of the stele, how could Li Fan possibly be unprepared?
The phantasmal wooden sword unsheathed, helping Li Fan successfully evade the stele's pull.
But in that single moment of contact, Li Fan was horrified to discover that his cultivation, originally at the peak of Soul Transformation, had plummeted to the mid-stage.
Had he hesitated for even a fraction longer, he might have been drained into a mere mortal!
"Anything related to the Nameless True Immortal is truly terrifying and cannot be underestimated!"
Li Fan took a deep breath and calmed himself.
He carefully observed the new manifestation on the stele.
Besides the Immortal-Mortal Transformation character, which had doubled in progress, there were now some mottled shadows.
These shadows connected into a ring, taking the unmistakable shape of the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven.
"The Dao of the Five Elements..."
Unfortunately, the trace was too faint to reveal any real insight.
Li Fan's focus then returned to his primary objective.
"Of the True Immortal Scripts I know, Hunger, Chaos, and the like are in one tier."
"Innate and Creation are a tier higher."
"And above them are this Immortal-Mortal Transformation and the Shape of Living Beings."
Li Fan compared the two he knew, and upon confirming they were on the same level, his mind eased slightly.
"I have already deduced eighty percent. At the current rate of sacrificing You Clan lives, it should be enough."
"If, in the end, it's still not quite enough, I can always sacrifice the entire You Clan at once."
Li Fan nodded to himself.
"As for the complete Shape of Living Beings..." Li Fan's brows furrowed slightly.
If his guess was correct, that these two were of the same rank, then what he currently understood of its shape was likely less than a fifth of the complete form!
"Merely glimpsing its full form is already so difficult, let alone comprehending the Dao it contains."
However, Li Fan wasn't seeking to understand its principles right now. Just being able to use it, like the Xuantian King, would be enough!
"The little turtle is the personification of a jade pendant. I wonder if the stele can manifest it if I simply feed it the pendant?" A sudden thrill shot through Li Fan.
But his eyes narrowed, and after careful consideration, he suppressed the impulsive thought.
"I'll raise the little Tian Beast a bit more first. If that doesn't work, then I'll rely on the stele."
It wasn't that Li Fan had developed a soft heart, but that in this life, stability was paramount.
Feeding mundane things to the Nameless True Immortal's leg bone was one thing.
But the Tian Beast was a creation of the Immortal Realm, containing an unknown, immense amount of energy. If the leg bone were to eat its fill all at once...
Who knew what sort of change that might trigger.
Li Fan had not forgotten the scene at the end of his last life, when the wordless stele exploded and this leg bone inexplicably flew towards him.
"I absolutely have to guard against it."
"I cannot let short-term gains cloud my judgment."
In fact, there were many other things Li Fan wanted to feed the stele to manifest their principles.
Including the Azure Nether Pearl, still buried deep at the end of the chasm!
Although in the last life, according to Xu Ke's description, the moment he touched the Azure Nether Pearl, the supreme treasure had disintegrated into dust, its energy completely depleted.
But Li Fan was certain that at this point in time, the Azure Nether Pearl still maintained its final, indestructible form.
A mortal could not possibly collect it.
The leg bone of the Nameless True Immortal, however, most likely could!
"This stele is a natural machine for aiding enlightenment."
"Anything dangerous can be fed to it, allowing me to comprehend it through an intermediary."
"Even..."
Li Fan's gaze left the stele and turned towards the depths of the starry sky.
"It wouldn't be impossible to sacrifice the entire Darkest Star Sea, and even the High Wall."
"The entirety of a Star Sea should be enough to make a sufficient number of laws manifest on the stele!"
The very thought of that scene made Li Fan's heart pound with anticipation.
"That day will come, but not now."
"At the very least, I must first have the power to protect myself. Only then can I undertake such a magnificent feat!"
(End of Chapter)
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