Chapter 1422: The Secret of the Xuantian Sacred Envoy
Chapter 1422: The Secret of the Xuantian Sacred Envoy
Having already activated the [Fabrication, Hundred States of Sentient Beings] Array, how could Li Fan possibly stop now just because of Jingxuan's desperate pleas?
From his past simulations, Li Fan had already developed a fairly clear picture of Jingxuan's character. Perhaps, as a precaution, he would spare his life. But he was absolutely certain of one thing: Jingxuan would no longer be allowed to serve as the spirit of the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Back when the Dharma Spreader first acquired the treasured mirror, he chose to preserve the artifact spirit, leaving only the Mirror Holders to keep it in check. That was undoubtedly because he lacked the power to do otherwise. But Li Fan was different.
Not only was he empowered by the immortal array, but he also knew of—and had a firm grasp on—Jingxuan's human avatar.
This human avatar was, in essence, a copy Jingxuan had tailor-made for himself—one free from the constraints of an immortal artifact.
Jingxuan himself had once described this body, saying, "It possesses the gravitas of an artifact and the spirit of a human. Flawless, it is nearly a True Immortal."
This was an escape method, a path of liberation, that Jingxuan had meticulously devised over the thousands of years he was sealed by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. The ingenuity of this path lay not merely in the human body before them, but in the underlying principle that allowed for its constant regeneration. As long as the main body of the Heavenly Profound Mirror remained, a new human form could be quickly generated even if the current one was destroyed.
In his previous conversations with Jingxuan, the spirit had spoken in cryptic, roundabout ways, shrouding the truth in mystery.
"In principle, its mechanism is similar to Zhang Qianmo's Grand Wish Dharma Body. The only difference is that Zhang Qianmo's creation relies on the Great Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm for its existence."
"Jingxuan's avatar, on the other hand, is founded solely upon the Heavenly Profound Mirror itself!"
"Though the Heavenly Profound Mirror no longer possesses a trace of immortal spiritual energy, its status as an immortal artifact remains intact. Furthermore, it retains a vast repository of knowledge from the Immortal World, making its standing even more solid. The significance of this single artifact is no less than that of an entire realm—it may even surpass it."
Though his expression remained unchanged, Li Fan couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
But admiration was one thing; the task at hand could not be paused.
Before Jingxuan's horrified and despairing eyes, Li Fan produced a sliver of the Heavenly Profound Mirror's origin essence.
Di Sanmo and Transmitter Zhou, standing off to the side in feigned meditation, certainly had no idea what Li Fan had just revealed.
But how could Jingxuan fail to recognize it?
Staring at the familiar aura swirling in Li Fan's palm, an expression of utter shock spread across Jingxuan's face, as if he had just seen a ghost.
He frantically searched his memories, trying to recall when he could have possibly given away this sliver of his origin. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't find the answer.
Despair and gloom began to creep over him, a suffocating shroud.
The very essence he had once willingly gifted had now become the final thread sealing his self-made prison.
Jingxuan had once proudly declared that no one in the Xuanhuang Realm could truly harm him. That may have been true in the past, but now, Li Fan had reached the half-immortal realm!
Using the ancient Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation as its core, the Dissociation Disk instantly deduced an advanced, immortal-grade version, locking down the Heavenly Profound Mirror's main body.
It was a two-pronged attack, targeting both the mirror spirit and the human avatar simultaneously. Using the sliver of origin essence as a natural access point, Li Fan employed the fabrication array to create a brand-new "Jingxuan," which began to systematically usurp the original's control over the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Such an audacious act of substitution would be unthinkable for an ordinary mortal. Even for supreme beings of the Star Sea like the Heavenly Doctor or the Dharma Spreader, it was likely something that existed only in theory.
Yet Li Fan accomplished it with ease. Part of the credit, of course, went to the immortal-grade Dissociation Disk. But the crucial factor was Li Fan's own half-immortal state, which nullified the oppressive, top-down pressure exerted by the Heavenly Profound Mirror's status as an immortal artifact.
They were now on relatively equal footing, with no insurmountable chasm separating them. And with such an arsenal of techniques at his disposal, how could even the most formidable defenses hope to stand?
Even without the aid of the Dissociation Disk, Li Fan was confident he could have achieved his goal; it would have simply taken more time.
The analysis and replication of Jingxuan continued. Within the mirror's main body, Li Fan found the remnants of a few hidden seals, all of which he brushed away with ease.
Even if Jingxuan had made no suspicious moves before, the current disturbance within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance could not have been concealed.
"The Dharma Spreader and the Heavenly Doctor are already returning to the Xuanhuang Realm," Li Fan thought, glancing up nonchalantly. "Perfect timing. I'll catch them all in one go and suppress them for now." The thought was fleeting; he didn't dwell on it.
After encountering the Black Heaven Physician and Evil Su Bai—counterparts from beyond his own possibility—Li Fan had concluded it was safest for everyone in the Star Sea if their primary versions just stayed put.
While he waited for the analysis to finish, Li Fan reflected on his recent work: separating the Deduction Jade and replicating Jingxuan.
"With my current abilities, completely replicating a person is still somewhat difficult," he mused.
"But creating a copy that's eighty or ninety percent identical shouldn't be a problem. And this unavoidable imperfection, a result of my current limits, might actually be an advantage now that the possibilities are annihilating and converging."
"The true Heavenly Doctor cannot cross the High Wall. But what about a quasi-Heavenly Doctor created by me...?"
A glint appeared in Li Fan's eyes as he began to formulate and refine his plan for exploration.
Within the space of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, day and night were indistinguishable.
As expected of a truly complete immortal artifact—one that had merely shed its immortal energy—the difficulty of replicating its spirit exceeded Li Fan's initial expectations.
After a full three days, Li Fan finally managed to create a preliminary version of the fabricated Jingxuan.
It couldn't yet activate all of the Heavenly Profound Mirror's functions like the original, natural-born spirit, but it had no problem with basic operations, data retrieval, or even fending off enemies.
The first thing Li Fan did after seizing control of the Heavenly Profound Mirror was to look up the complete schematics for the [Mysterious Origin Primal Spirit Grand Array].
Li Fan had long coveted this complete, immortal-grade grand array, which held the power to recreate earth, fire, water, and wind—to forge a new world from the void.
"Hm? What a pity."
"The Heavenly Profound Mirror doesn't have the complete set of nine formation diagrams either," Li Fan sighed inwardly.
His search did yield some results. In addition to the [Mysterious Jade, Myriad Spirits Return to Number], [Desolate Fall, Void Room Generates Flowers], and [Boundless, Primordial Vision] arrays he had already mastered, the Heavenly Profound Mirror contained schematics for two others.
[Dao's Rise, Unending Life] and [Feather Transformation, The Ebb and Flow of Life and Death]!
Li Fan was not one to be greedy. After countless simulations, he had only managed to collect three of the diagrams. To suddenly acquire two more was more than enough to keep him occupied for a good while.
He studied the two new diagrams intently.
The [Dao's Rise, Unending Life] array detailed the mechanism for simulating the conception and evolution of life force within the formation, and how that boundless vitality would then circulate throughout a world.
"Life force, born from nothingness, manifesting simply because the Dao exists..."
"Brilliant," he murmured.
Li Fan's eyes glittered with a flash of sudden understanding.
Only after a long while did he reluctantly turn his attention to the other diagram.
[Feather Transformation, The Ebb and Flow of Life and Death].
"A world where only life force evolves would be fundamentally unnatural. Life and death must be intertwined, coexisting. Only then does it align with the Great Dao. This [Ebb and Flow of Life and Death] array seems to be an exposition of that very principle..."
As Li Fan studied it, he noticed that its underlying principles bore a slight resemblance to the [Life and Death Reversal Grand Array] he had encountered before. It was clear, however, that the sophistication of this magnificent immortal array was far beyond anything a mortal formation could ever achieve.
"It's not just about the flow of life and death within a world. It extends to the world itself, and perhaps even to the Star Sea beyond?"
The more he pondered it, the more astounded he became.
When activated, the [Feather Transformation, The Ebb and Flow of Life and Death] array could effortlessly drain the life force of an entire cultivation realm and condense it into a single white feather. Conversely, it could draw boundless life force back out of that feather, birthing a world from its form.
The same principle could even be applied to the entire Star Sea.
On his own, Li Fan couldn't fully grasp the intricacies of these two arrays. Just a superficial understanding was enough to give him a headache.
The reason was simple: at the level of the Mysterious Origin Primal Spirit Grand Array, it was no longer just a matter of formation theory. The arrays incorporated the supreme principles of the Great Dao. One could never master them with knowledge of formations alone, without a deep understanding of the Dao itself.
Fortunately, Li Fan had the immortal-grade Dissociation Disk.
"I may not fully comprehend the principles, but I can still make use of it for now."
"I'll learn as I go."
Of the nine diagrams, Li Fan now possessed five.
With more than half the set in his possession, perhaps the Dissociation Disk could deduce the remainder on its own, given enough time. But the computational requirements were simply immense.
Li Fan relied on the Dissociation Disk for nearly all his daily tasks, so he couldn't spare the processing power required for such a colossal undertaking.
Therefore, Li Fan only tasked the Dissociation Disk with a token effort, allocating a minuscule fraction of its power to the slow process of deduction. Perhaps one day, like a cultivator achieving sudden enlightenment, it would surprise him.
Li Fan attempted to search the Heavenly Profound Mirror's records for clues about the remaining diagrams of the Mysterious Origin Primal Spirit Grand Array.
"It seems... the Heavenly Profound Mirror has suffered some memory loss due to several major shocks."
Li Fan's brow furrowed.
After a careful inspection, he confirmed that this wasn't some trickery on the mirror's part. There were indeed hidden injuries within its core. Only then did Li Fan relax.
"The first shock occurred back in the Immortal World. It seems the mirror was fought over, changing masters several times and being subjected to repeated refinings." Li Fan began to piece together the past, using the ancient traces within the mirror's body and its own fragmented memories.
"The second shock was its voluntary transformation from immortal to mortal, undertaken with Xuanyuan Hong's help after he brought it back." Li Fan gazed thoughtfully at the image of the Xuantian King within the mirror's memory.
"The third shock..."
The next discovery sent a jolt through him.
It pertained to how the Heavenly Profound Mirror had fallen into the Dharma Spreader's hands after the destruction of the Xuantian Sect. The scene that unfolded before Li Fan's eyes answered a question that had long puzzled him.
Back in the illusion array of the One Heart Heavenly Venerate, Zhao Ruoxi, then Sect Master of the Great Dao Sect, had mentioned a certain Xuantian Sacred Envoy. This envoy had apparently escaped the pursuit of the Ten Great Immortal Sects and vanished without a trace, taking the Xuantian Treasure Mirror with them.
The Ten Sects had spared no effort in their search, even promising a path to Longevity in exchange for the mirror, yet they had never managed to find it.
Yet in all his dealings with Mo Rubin and his exploration of Ji Yuzhen's remnant soul, Li Fan had never found a single mention of this so-called Xuantian Sacred Envoy.
For the longest time, this had led Li Fan to believe that the so-called envoy was merely a figment of Zhao Ruoxi's dream—a fictional character who didn't exist in reality.
But...
As he watched the images flicker past, a strange expression settled on Li Fan's face.
The Xuantian Sacred Envoy was real.
But they were not one of the twelve Law Kings of the Xuantian Sect.
In fact, this person had never appeared at any of the sect's formal functions.
A familiar village scene appeared.
It was a village not far from the Fishing Pool.
A middle-aged woman of plain appearance awoke from a dream to find a mirror resting by her bed.
After receiving some unknown message, she suddenly burst into tears, clutching the mirror and weeping uncontrollably.
Through her sobs, she faintly cried out a name: "A-Hong."
It was the name of the Xuantian King, Xuanyuan Hong!
"No wonder Xuanyuan Hong always remained so distant from Ji Yuzhen and the other women among the twelve Law Kings. He never showed any official intentions."
"So he had a childhood sweetheart all along!"
"For a normal cultivator, the long years of cultivation would inevitably create a gulf between the immortal and mortal worlds."
"But the Xuantian King rose too quickly. And he possessed a supreme treasure like the Fishing Pool..."
"Protecting his childhood sweetheart would have been the easiest thing in the world!"
The images flashed by quickly.
When the Xuantian King gave the mirror to the woman, he had apparently taught her a suppression technique as well.
This was partly to prevent the mirror from overpowering its new master, and partly to conceal its aura, lest it bring disaster upon her.
The mirror's perception of the outside world was hazy.
But it could clearly sense that the woman who now held it was growing stronger at a staggering rate.
In just three short years, she had leaped from being a mere mortal to a Dao Integration cultivator.
Then one day, in a secret chamber in some unknown location, the woman performed a secret art on the Xuantian Treasure Mirror.
"A-Hong told me that you have an extraordinary origin, that you came from the Immortal World."
"But the Immortal World has been destroyed. Although A-Hong helped you transform from immortal to mortal, that faint connection has not been completely severed. If A-Hong were still here, it wouldn't matter."
"But now... A-Hong is in grave danger. I have to go find him."
"This journey is fraught with peril, a path of no return. I am not willing to lead you to your death."
"Stay here, in the Xuanhuang Realm."
"Remember, the immortal path is no more. Since you have already transformed into a mortal, do not try to return to the path of immortality."
"Not returning to the body of an immortal artifact does not mean there is no path forward. Your Great Dao lies in measuring the heavens and surveying the earth."
"This Xuanhuang Realm hides too many secrets. Even A-Hong could not fully unravel them back then. If you can comprehend all the secrets of this realm..."
"The Great Dao will be within your grasp!"
"I have shown you a path, so I have done you a great service."
"This journey ahead is treacherous, so I will need you to lend me your strength!"
The figure gently placed a hand on the mirror's surface.
Using some unknown method, an identical shadow suddenly floated out from the Xuantian Treasure Mirror!
"From now on, your name is [Tianxuan]."
"As for [Xuantian]... I am taking it with me."
Her voice faded into nothingness, and in that same instant, the seals binding the mirror dissolved.
Freed, the Tianxuan Mirror began to follow the woman's instructions, measuring the heavens and surveying the earth, searching for the secrets of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Then one day, it encountered the Dharma Spreader.
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