Chapter 1412: The Secret of the Heavenly Venerate's Skull
Chapter 1412: The Secret of the Heavenly Venerate's Skull
Compared to Li Fan's current demigod cultivation, these few wisps of spiritual energy were truly negligible.
But their appearance was so abrupt, so utterly without warning, that Li Fan could not afford to ignore them.
After a moment of careful discernment, Li Fan began to understand. This inexplicable spiritual energy was a direct result of the changes that had occurred to He Zhenghao in this lifetime after he had activated the Mysterious Chant.
"The spiritual energy is generated by the feedback from the [Sitting Heaven Technique]," he mused. "And that feedback can only come from an increase in He Zhenghao's strength."
"But He Zhenghao has only awakened his memories. His cultivation hasn't made any substantial progress yet..."
Through the inexplicable connection forged by the Mysterious Chant, Li Fan's gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, landing directly upon He Zhenghao.
It could be said that Li Fan's understanding of He Zhenghao surpassed even He Zhenghao's own self-awareness.
With a single glance, Li Fan saw how different the He Zhenghao of this lifetime was from his past incarnations.
"But now..."
An inscrutable expression flickered across Li Fan's face.
In this lifetime, He Zhenghao's aptitude was so formidable that it ranked among the very best in the entire Xuanhuang Realm.
Moreover, his temperament had undergone a subtle transformation.
The He Zhenghao of the past, worn down by life's many trials, had been consumed by a desire for a simple, comfortable life. His greatest ambition had been to achieve some measure of success and fame, then return to the Heng family in Tianyu Province to finally hold his head high before Heng Ruoshui.
But now, he intended to fight for a place in this tumultuous era where heroes rise from the chaos...
If Li Fan hadn't personally orchestrated and witnessed this transformation, he would have suspected that another soul had possessed He Zhenghao's body.
"What caused such a sublime transformation?"
"Could it be just those extra memories?"
The Li Fan of today had countless methods to implant memories so realistic they were indistinguishable from the truth.
But to implant memories and simultaneously grant the recipient a near-sublimation of their very being...
That was no simple feat.
"The Mysterious Chant." Li Fan's expression slowly turned grave.
He refrained from rashly altering the other memory phantoms that surfaced in his mind. For now, He Zhenghao was a sufficient test subject.
"Is this my illusion, or a real change happening to you...?"
"Then let me add a little fuel to your fire!"
As the thought crossed Li Fan's mind, the ring binding the Heavenly Profound Mirror erupted in a blaze of brilliant white light.
The immortal array analyzed the properties of the Heavenly Profound Mirror and began to evolve accordingly.
A moment later...
Li Fan forcibly severed all the connections the Heavenly Profound Mirror had with the Xuanhuang Realm, connections it maintained through its nature as an immortal artifact!
The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was built upon two cornerstones: the Heavenly Profound Mirror and the Deduction Jade.
Now, with the disappearance of both artifacts and the Alliance's entire high command, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance plunged into even greater chaos. Any discerning eye could see that this behemoth, which once ruled over half the Xuanhuang Realm, was now teetering on the brink of collapse! Perhaps for a short while, the lingering awe for the Alliance and the former might of the Immortal Ancestor would keep cultivators in check.
But it wouldn't be long before chaos and slaughter inevitably descended upon the lands of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Naturally, the cataclysmic changes within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance could not be hidden from the Longevity Celestial Venerables of the Five Elders Council.
Li Fan, however, had no time to deal with them at the moment.
To prevent the Five Elders Council from disrupting his "observation," Li Fan flicked his finger, launching a shadow of a sword.
The sword's energy blazed across the Star Sea in an instant, descending upon the Xuanhuang Realm.
It traced the original border between the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council, slicing it open with a gentle touch.
Under the sword shadow's influence, the barrier of origin-devouring white mist at the provincial borders vanished without a trace. In its place, a bottomless chasm appeared.
Countless sword shadows seemed to permeate the air above the chasm.
The first thought that surfaced in the mind of any cultivator who laid eyes upon this chasm was the same.
Cross the line, and die!
This was no empty threat. It was the absolute suppression a demigod like Li Fan could exert over mortal lives.
Even the five Longevity Celestial Venerables of the Five Elders Council would have to meekly obey!
With a casual gesture, he had set the stage for He Zhenghao.
Li Fan's attention returned to the mysterious, almost demonic chant that had orchestrated these bizarre changes.
After some careful contemplation, Li Fan came to a realization. "If the True Immortal Scripts interpret the supreme principles of the Great Dao through the medium of text," he mused, "then the demonic chant from Xuantian King and the protective immortal art from the Tiandu Grandmaster must use [Sound] to analyze the Dao."
"If I were to make a direct comparison between them at the same level, the power they actually manifest..."
Li Fan frowned slightly, momentarily uncertain.
His understanding of this system of mystic sounds was simply too limited.
"The Immortal Scripts were created by the [Inscription Immortal]."
"Could it be that this Mystic Sound is also the work of some Nameless True Immortal?" Li Fan speculated with a frown.
Although his knowledge of the Mystic Sound was still fragmentary...
...the experiment on He Zhenghao had already ignited his boundless imagination regarding this mysterious power.
"Past memories and fantasies influencing reality."
"Theoretically, at its highest level, couldn't one change and distort reality by rewriting the actions within one's own memories?"
"Thereby achieving an effect similar to [Truth]?"
The more Li Fan thought about it, the more startled he became.
"However, that is merely the theoretical upper limit. Such a divine ability is by no means easily attainable..."
Li Fan's train of thought was interrupted by an ingratiating attempt at communication from the Heavenly Profound Mirror, which was still bound by the immortal array in his hand.
"This junior, [Jingxuan], greets the Exalted Immortal."
The Heavenly Profound Mirror's voice was identical to that of the human avatar he remembered dealing with in the past.
It was truly worthy of its past as an immortal artifact. Even though it had now fallen to the mortal realm, its insight remained sharp.
It had recognized Li Fan's current realm with a single glance.
"Jingxuan..."
Li Fan sneered inwardly and ignored the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
His divine sense clone within the Heavenly Profound Mirror completely ignored the manifested form of the spirit.
It flew right past it, heading toward the Museum of Divine Treasures.
An awkward expression crossed Jingxuan's face, uncertain of how he had offended the Exalted Immortal.
However, Jingxuan dared not offend a True Immortal who had appeared so suddenly. Since Li Fan was clearly displeased, he did not follow, choosing instead to observe from a safe, secret distance.
Naturally, nothing that happened within the Heavenly Profound Mirror could escape its notice.
Li Fan's divine sense clone moved with practiced ease, crossing through the Museum of Divine Treasures and heading straight for its center.
The Heavenly Profound Mirror housed countless treasures, and the Museum of Divine Treasures alone boasted a collection in the hundreds of millions.
Yet, the only item worthy of such attention from Li Fan was the skull of Mr. Bai, displayed in the very center of the museum.
As if he had known Li Fan's objective all along, a figure was already standing before the skull, having apparently waited for some time.
It was none other than the curator of the Museum of Divine Treasures, Di Sanmo.
Because he was merely a divine sense clone, the Li Fan standing before the skull did not feel the urgent, devouring hunger from [Truth].
Li Fan was in no hurry to take the skull. Instead, he studied Di Sanmo with great interest.
The old man's face seemed completely unchanged from the image Li Fan remembered from the Fallen Immortal Realm thousands of years ago.
"You knew I came for this?"
Di Sanmo clasped his hands in salute and replied, neither servile nor arrogant, "Though the museum's collection is vast, only this one item is worthy of a True Immortal going to such great lengths."
Li Fan reached out and took the skull of Mr. Bai.
He felt no wards or resistance. It seemed Di Sanmo had decided against any pointless struggle and had silently removed all the defensive measures.
"You know what's so special about this skull?" Li Fan asked, lightly tossing it in his hand.
"This humble one does not know," Di Sanmo replied, his insincerity obvious. "It is merely the remains of an old friend. Seeing them again fills my heart with sorrow, so I have kept them safe."
"Are you not afraid to lie before this Venerable One?" Li Fan's divine sense clone asked, his eyes narrowing.
Di Sanmo clasped his hands again. "This humble one... cannot die. Even a True Immortal cannot truly kill me."
"But I have countless ways to make you wish for death yet be unable to find it," Li Fan replied with a smile.
Di Sanmo's expression remained impassive, his ancient face as if he had seen through all worldly matters. "Pain has lost all meaning for me. Naturally, I have nothing to fear."
The divine sense clone nodded slightly, surprisingly not pressing the matter. He simply said, "Show me around this museum."
The skull in his hand vanished.
"This way, Exalted Immortal."
"If we were to follow the standard tour route set by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, the first stop would be the deduction-creation [Era]. However, this humble one has a different suggestion."
"A tour of the Museum of Divine Treasures should begin with a ruin."
The divine sense clone followed Di Sanmo, venturing deeper into the museum.
This was an area he hadn't reached during his last visit, a space seemingly not open to the public.
...
Outside the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Li Fan's true body held the skull of Mr. Bai.
He felt an overwhelming, eager impulse coming from [Truth].
This was not the first time he had felt this, but now that he had reached the demigod realm, Li Fan could sense that [Truth]'s craving was even more intense.
"Eternal Remembrance..."
"What secret is truly hidden inside Mr. Bai's skull?"
With a flip of his hand, he suppressed the Heavenly Profound Mirror. Then, under the protection of the immortal array's white ring, Li Fan began the process of letting [Truth] devour the Eternal Remembrance.
The process was somewhat similar to when he had absorbed Tianyang's Eternal Remembrance.
A faint wave of dizziness washed over him, and the scene before his eyes changed in a flash.
"Hm?"
Li Fan quickly came to his senses and surveyed his surroundings.
"This isn't like with Tianyang's remembrance, where I took his place and acted within his lingering obsession."
"Instead, it seems I have descended into this place myself?"
He seemed to still be in the void, surrounded by a vast and boundless darkness.
After flying forward for some time, Li Fan came to an abrupt halt, his gaze sharpening.
Not far away, a figure stood firm.
Li Fan was no stranger to this person.
His face was that of Su Bai—Mr. Bai.
But the very instant he laid eyes on the figure, Li Fan's heart began to pound violently.
It felt exactly like the internal alarm that sounded only when he faced a life-or-death crisis.
It was as if he had encountered some terrifying, supremely dangerous existence. Even though the figure remained perfectly still, the unease in Li Fan's heart grew steadily more intense.
"What is this situation?"
Li Fan was filled with shock and doubt.
Su Bai was merely a Longevity Celestial Venerable.
Never mind that he had already perished; even if he were at his peak, Li Fan, now a demigod, was confident he would not lose to him.
So why, within the illusion of his Eternal Remembrance, was he overcome with such a baseless sense of crisis?
He called out to [Truth] in his mind, but there was no response. Meanwhile, his divine sense clone confirmed that his true body remained stationary in the void of the Darkest Star Sea.
Only a sliver of his divine soul had entered Su Bai's Eternal Remembrance; it couldn't truly affect his life or death in the real world.
Yet even with this certainty, the heart-stopping sensation refused to subside.
Gradually, Li Fan finally came to a realization.
The strange feeling in his heart wasn't a warning of a mortal crisis. It was because...
...the instinctive fear that arises when facing a higher-level predator.
It urged Li Fan to flee as quickly as possible.
"Higher-level? Fear?" Li Fan was stunned for a moment, then felt an overwhelming sense of absurdity.
He was a demigod!
Su Bai was merely a Longevity cultivator from the Xuanhuang Realm!
How could he possibly feel fear toward him?
Filled with endless confusion and defiance, Li Fan once again carefully scrutinized the 'Mr. Bai' before him.
And then, he vaguely noticed that something was amiss.
Though they shared the same face, the Mr. Bai he remembered had eyes filled with compassion. Just as Xu Ke and the orphans from the dilapidated temple in Ningyuan City had described, Mr. Bai was the kindest, most wonderful person in the world, an embodiment of all that was good.
But this one...
...was unspeakably malevolent and bizarre.
Even with his eyes closed, Li Fan could sense the overwhelming killing intent and madness behind them.
"This difference, it's..."
Li Fan was still reeling in silent shock.
Not far away, the malevolent Su Bai suddenly opened his eyes!
There was no pain.
The scene before him flickered and changed.
Li Fan found himself back where he was just a moment before.
But he alone knew...
...that a moment ago, he had been instantly killed by the malevolent Su Bai!
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Li Fan's forehead.
"Could it be that my cultivation from reality wasn't brought into this Eternal Remembrance?"
This was the first thought that occurred to Li Fan.
But after a quick check, he immediately dismissed the idea.
"There's no mistake, I'm in the demigod realm."
"How exactly did I die just now?"
Li Fan was both shocked and enraged.
"No wonder that phantom didn't move for so long. It was giving me time to prepare."
He discovered that he could use all of his learned abilities within this illusion without any hindrance.
So this time, Li Fan chose to strike first.
"Nine Heavens Descending Dust Finger!"
A colossal palm descended from the sky.
It locked onto the malevolent Su Bai, poised to crush him like an ant.
But just as the divine ability was about to land, Su Bai's figure abruptly vanished.
Li Fan froze, then snapped to his senses and swiftly looked up.
He saw that at some unknown point, he had shrunk to the size of an ant and was now perched on the fingertip of the malevolent Su Bai!
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