Chapter 1410: The Heavenly Profound's Bewitching Tune
Stunned by this unknown, immense power, the Heavenly Doctor also grew deeply wary of the body's original owner.
Thus, while Xuanyuan Tuo was gravely injured and unconscious, the Heavenly Doctor seized the opportunity to gradually tamper with the body.
The Heavenly Doctor knew Xuanyuan Tuo was protected by the power of that mysterious, whispering voice. Therefore, he eschewed conventional methods. Instead, he relied solely on the connection forged by the [Heavenly Soul Reincarnation Technique]—the bond of two souls in one body—using his very essence as a slow-acting poison to gradually corrupt him.
In a sense, he was Xuanyuan Tuo, and Xuanyuan Tuo was him. The only difference was the mystical power shrouding the Xuanyuan clan's bloodline, which allowed Xuanyuan Tuo—who should have lost his independent consciousness—to retain control over his body.
The stronger Xuanyuan Tuo became, the stronger the Heavenly Doctor grew alongside him.
As his injuries gradually healed, Xuanyuan Tuo slowly regained consciousness and escaped from the Gloomy Sea of Darkness.
The inexplicable disappearance of six Longevity realm experts naturally sent shockwaves through the world.
But the Ten Great Immortal Sects possessed deep foundations. While the loss was grievous, it was not enough to cripple them.
Xuanyuan Tuo had a nagging premonition that he was about to face the Ten Great Immortal Sects' true trump card.
They stood by as the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance gradually devoured the smaller sects on their periphery.
And when Xuanyuan Tuo finally attained the Longevity realm, the very laws of the Xuanhuang Realm were altered forever.
The old laws ceased to be, and the New Method became the only path of cultivation available to the world's cultivators.
Xuanyuan Tuo's lifelong ideals and ambitions were finally realized. Anyone in the world who wished to cultivate could now do so without hindrance.
He had already foreseen a future problem: as the number of cultivators grew, the resources required to advance using the New Method would become a major bottleneck.
But Xuanyuan Tuo already had a plan to deal with it.
He had absorbed the power of the [Golden Seal], which allowed him to manipulate the Xuanhuang Realm itself, continuously generating various wonders, grotto-heavens, and even Spirits of Heaven and Earth.
Internally, the Xuanhuang Realm would continuously evolve, endlessly self-sustaining.
Externally, he would annex and absorb the remaining cultivation worlds in the Star Sea to supplement their resources.
As the number of cultivators practicing the New Method grew, his own power would also continue to climb.
Even with the path to true immortality severed, he could still reach the apex of the Star Sea. When that time came, he would repair the formation left by the ancient Xuantian Sect and guide the Xuanhuang Realm out from under the shadow of the Immortal Ruins.
Once they reached a relatively safe region, he would then use the power unique to a Longevity Celestial Venerable's ascension—the ability to reverse the principles of heaven and earth—to continuously reshape the Xuanhuang Realm.
According to his calculations, it would only take a few dozen Longevity Celestial Venerables working in concert to rebuild the Xuanhuang Realm.
By combining their efforts with the power of the ancient formation, they might even be able to traverse the High Wall!
Xuanyuan Tuo, now known as the Dharma Spreader Heavenly Venerate, continued to build his own power while secretly observing the cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm, searching for those capable of shouldering great responsibility.
He paid no mind to their innate talent, focusing solely on their temperament and character.
For those who passed his trials, the Dharma Spreader Heavenly Venerate would secretly intervene, helping them grasp the method of reversing principles and ascend directly to the Longevity realm!
Indeed, Xuanyuan Tuo had already identified several promising young cultivators worthy of his trust.
But before he could act, a sudden calamity befell the Xuanhuang Realm: the Law could not be cultivated together!
This sudden, world-altering change caught Xuanyuan Tuo completely by surprise.
He controlled the Dao of the [Golden Seal]; the principles of the Xuanhuang Realm should have been entirely under his command. Yet this change had occurred inexplicably...
Xuanyuan Tuo understood that the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm must have unexpectedly awakened a power capable of countering the Dao of the Golden Seal.
The Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate!
The name instantly flashed through his mind.
Xuanyuan Tuo bore no ill will toward this new Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate. He even considered seeking him out to talk.
Unfortunately, the Great Heavenly Venerate used the power of the Xuanhuang's Heavenly Dao to remain perfectly concealed.
Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Tuo had to devote his energy to cleaning up the mess the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had become after the calamity of incompatible laws struck.
The Ten Great Immortal Sects, with their deep foundations and diverse cultivation methods, still maintained a semblance of order and were not on the verge of immediate collapse.
The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, on the other hand, had seen its numbers swell at an astonishing rate, but the vast majority of its members practiced the [Heavenly Net Divine Technique] that Xuanyuan Tuo himself had taught.
This technique, which Xuanyuan Tuo had personally derived to be all-encompassing—a single path to the heavens—had now become a death warrant for the members of the Alliance!
The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was still young, little more than a loose coalition of New Method cultivators. Aside from the immense prestige of Xuanyuan Tuo himself, no one else could command true authority. When the calamity struck, the Alliance descended into a horrifying cycle of internecine slaughter.
And so, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, which the Ten Great Immortal Sects had regarded as their greatest threat, collapsed on its own before they ever had to lift a finger!
This event taught Xuanyuan Tuo a profound lesson about the importance of a solid foundation.
The Alliance's rise had seemed grand and unstoppable, but it lacked sufficient history and reserves. Its ability to weather adversity was abysmal. The slightest storm was enough to shatter it.
Xuanyuan Tuo tried to salvage what was left of the Alliance's strength, all while searching for the elusive Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate.
He had created the New Method. Without the power of the [Golden Seal] to control it, he and the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao were fundamentally irreconcilable.
Naturally, the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate would see him as a mortal enemy.
"He misunderstands me so deeply," Xuanyuan Tuo thought with a touch of regret. "Judging my actions without understanding my intent."
But the pride of a peerless expert would not permit him to step forward and offer an explanation.
Not even the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate could stop him now that he had completely mastered the reversal of principles!
However, not long after, two more things occurred that Xuanyuan Tuo had not anticipated.
First, despite being the most powerful being of his era, Xuanyuan Tuo began to experience sudden, heart-pounding jolts of terror. His premonitions were filled with unease and sorrow. After a thorough internal investigation, he made a horrifying discovery: these emotions were not his own. They originated from another presence inside his body—a separate consciousness he had never detected!
Second, while the calamity of incompatible laws had yet to subside, another plague quietly descended upon the world: the Immortal-Mortal Miasma. Its arrival coincided with the death of the nameless Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate!
This event stunned Xuanyuan Tuo even more than the discovery of the second consciousness within him. He understood that the miasma was the result of the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate initiating a reversal of principles at the cost of his own life.
In the very act of becoming a Heavenly Venerate of both the old and new laws, he had suffered the backlash and perished.
Xuanyuan Tuo could not comprehend his actions at all.
But he knew that anyone capable of embodying both the old and new laws could not be an incompetent fool. There had to be a reason for such a sacrifice.
Xuanyuan Tuo pondered this endlessly but could not find an answer.
It was only later that he discovered the truth: even if a cultivator managed to expel or overcome the Immortal-Mortal Miasma, it would linger in the bloodlines of their descendants.
It became a fundamental law of the world, preventing mortals from cultivating.
However, if a mortal managed to overcome this suppressive force and embark on the path of cultivation, it was equivalent to completing a miniature reversal of principles.
While a single instance was not enough to affect the world's fundamental principles, over a long enough timeline, with countless mortals embarking on the path...
The birth of every single cultivator was, in essence, chipping away at the very foundation of his New Method.
"He couldn't kill me, but he managed to offset a huge portion of the power I would have accumulated from every new cultivator."
"Originally, every new cultivator would have become a cornerstone of my own cultivation. With their numbers growing day by day, I would have eventually been pushed to an unfathomable, divine state!"
"But now..."
"He has severed my path!"
Even a man of stone would be moved to anger. Realizing what had been done, Xuanyuan Tuo flew into a rage. But with the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate already dead, where could he direct his fury?
Just as his mind reeled with unprecedented turmoil, his consciousness was suddenly yanked into a pitch-black void. He had lost control of his body.
Floating opposite him was a weathered, white-haired old man.
Their faces were different, yet as Xuanyuan Tuo looked at the man, it felt as though he were staring into a mirror.
For reasons he couldn't explain, Xuanyuan Tuo cried out his name: "Heavenly Doctor!"
The Heavenly Doctor wasted no words.
Instead, tears of blood streamed from his eyes.
As if possessed, he just kept repeating, "We must return to the Tianfa Realm! We must return!"
Xuanyuan Tuo instantly understood. This was the source of the turmoil that had plagued him for so long.
Xuanyuan Tuo tried to reason with him.
But the Heavenly Doctor, his mind consumed with the Tianfa Realm, was deaf to his words.
Xuanyuan Tuo tried to suppress him, only to discover with horror that the man was practically his duplicate. Their strength was nearly identical.
In fact, fueled by an overwhelming obsession to return to his homeland, he was even slightly stronger!
He was gradually seizing control of the body!
The body's features slowly morphed, taking on the Heavenly Doctor's original appearance.
Trapped as if in a dark cell, Xuanyuan Tuo could only vaguely perceive the events of the outside world.
He watched as the Heavenly Doctor, after innumerable hardships, finally returned to the Tianfa Realm.
Its inhabitants had been slaughtered to the last.
The carnage was so horrific that even Xuanyuan Tuo found it difficult to stomach.
His homeland destroyed, the Heavenly Doctor descended into madness.
A terrifying storm raged within their shared mind, severing Xuanyuan Tuo's connection to him.
Xuanyuan Tuo gathered his strength, trying to wrest back control of his body.
After an unknown amount of time, a transparent figure appeared in the void alongside the Heavenly Doctor.
What filled Xuanyuan Tuo with an overwhelming sense of dread was that this transparent figure seemed to lack any awareness or consciousness.
Yet it could attach itself to his consciousness and begin to erode it.
It was a bizarre power the likes of which Xuanyuan Tuo had never encountered.
He resisted with all his might, but he could not stop its relentless encroachment.
Just before the transparent figure could completely consume him...
...the ethereal, whispering voice surfaced in his mind once more.
With the aid of this miraculous power, Xuanyuan Tuo managed to cling to his consciousness.
Time flowed by, unnoticed, in the dark space.
After another eternity, Xuanyuan Tuo finally sensed an opportunity.
The body seemed to have entered a peculiar space.
Here, the mystical whispering voice became clearer than ever before.
Drawing on the power he had long accumulated, Xuanyuan Tuo launched a counterattack and, for a fleeting moment, regained control of his body.
Though it was only for an instant, it was long enough for him to grasp the situation and devise a plan.
The space they occupied seemed to be the interior of an immortal artifact. That was why the whispering voice, a power of the immortal-level, resonated so strongly.
Softly chanting, Xuanyuan Tuo etched the whispering voice from his mind into the very fabric of the immortal artifact's inner space.
This mystical voice possessed a heaven-defying ability: to influence future reality through past memories. Xuanyuan Tuo was confident he could use it to influence all who would later enter this space.
He would turn them into his key to freedom.
After imprinting the voice, Xuanyuan Tuo lost control of his body once more.
He was sealed again within the boundless darkness of his own mind.
Ages passed.
During that time, he attempted to fight back several more times. But for some reason, the power suppressing him only grew stronger, until it seemed any chance of escape was lost.
But Xuanyuan Tuo never gave up hope.
The whispering voice he had planted was continuously gathering the energy he would need.
It would simply take a little longer for him to be completely free.
...
Time returned to the present.
As Li Fan watched the scenes conjured by the illusion array, scenes derived from the memories of the Dharma Spreader's body, his expression flickered several times.
Even though he thought he already knew the story of the Dharma Spreader Heavenly Venerate and the Heavenly Doctor, he had never anticipated the truth would be so convoluted, so...
...twisted by fate.
However, what intrigued Li Fan the most were the many peculiarities of the Xuanyuan clan.
It wasn't just the impossibly mystical whispering voice.
It was also the 'mad uncle' Xuanyuan Tuo had met in his youth, Xuanyuan Sheng.
"'Kiddo, you have to understand,' he'd said, 'everything in this world has already happened countless times...'"
Li Fan's eyes narrowed as he mulled over the words.
"Were they the meaningless ravings of a madman," he wondered, "or did they point to a deeper truth?"
The description inevitably brought [Truth] to Li Fan's mind.
And in Xuanyuan Tuo's memory, it was uncertain whether Xuanyuan Sheng had truly died on the night he disappeared.
"The Xuanyuan clan worships Xuanyuan Hong's memorial tablet. This must be a contingency left behind by the Xuantian King."
"The Xuantian King controlled that whispering voice? Such a heaven-defying power?"
"Or perhaps... is that the true power a half-immortal is supposed to wield?"
Although Li Fan himself had reached the half-immortal stage, his only truly immortal-level abilities were in the art of formations.
Everything else was not qualitatively different from what he could do as a mortal cultivator.
"Imprinted within the Heavenly Profound Mirror?"
Li Fan's gaze pierced through the Darkest Star Sea, focusing on the Xuanhuang Realm.
He had entered the inner space of the Heavenly Profound Mirror on more than one occasion.
He had experienced all sorts of illusions depicting the Dharma Spreader's past.
"On the surface, it seemed I was just reliving the Dharma Spreader's past."
"But in reality... I was being corrupted by that whispering voice..."
Comments