Chapter 1451: Seeking the Creation Forge Art Again
Chapter 1451: Seeking the Creation Forge Art Again
Besides the comprehension of the Great Dao, another formidable challenge in practicing the Great Dao Befalling Body Art was achieving the delicate balance between tempering the body through the Dao and ensuring the body remained unharmed.
Before the majestic Great Dao, the body of a mortal was more insignificant than an ant.
While one could certainly use the pressure of the Great Dao to temper the body, a single misstep could lead to being pulverized into dust.
This was why Nangong Hongzhao had repeatedly warned him before passing on the technique, emphasizing that its practice required caution and a gradual, step-by-step approach.
In fact, for an ordinary person without the experience and insights gained from practicing the Great Dao Befalling Body Art from scratch, even the initial step of mastering the basics would be exceedingly difficult.
However...
Li Fan was no ordinary person.
Though the path of body tempering had all but vanished in the Xuanhuang Realm, Li Fan had explored it long ago.
As Li Fan's experience grew, this technique was continuously enhanced.
The integration of concepts from the Myriad Phenomena Furnace, the flesh-and-blood factories, and the Heaven Mending Record led to several iterations of the Creation Forge Art.
But the limitations of the Xuanhuang Realm made it ultimately impossible to achieve the Dao through this path.
Consequently, Li Fan eventually turned to the conventional methods of immortal ascension.
And so, the grandly named Creation Forge Art had stagnated.
"Back in the Fallen Immortal Realm, in the Imperial Beast Sect scenario, I received guidance from Mr. Bai while in the body of the little black bird, a Heavenly Mandate creature."
"The perfect version of the Creation Forge Art."
"But due to the memory restrictions of the Fallen Immortal Realm, I was never able to bring that perfect method back. And as my power grew exponentially, even surpassing what I believed was Mr. Bai's Longevity realm cultivation, I became indifferent to the technique. Now, however, I know the hidden history of Mr. Bai being once possessed by Evil Su Bai from another possibility."
"Having obtained Evil Su Bai's memories, Mr. Bai's strength might still be at the Longevity stage, but his insight is likely beyond anyone trapped within the Primal Possibility. The fact that the projections he left behind in the world could deduce the rough outline of the New Method confirms this. If that's the case..."
"When I first saw the perfect version of the Creation Forge Art, I was stunned, feeling as if I had truly glimpsed the secrets of the Great Dao. This wasn't the naivete of my lower cultivation back then; the technique truly was that profound."
"It seems I must make another trip to investigate it thoroughly for reference."
Five years passed in the Shuo Xinghai.
In the Xuanhuang Realm, a little over ten days had gone by.
Li Fan's true self was still deep in thought, trying to devise a way to prevent his Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity from reflecting a Nameless True Immortal and meeting its gaze.
When he sensed his clone's experiences, his eyes flickered, a look of surprise on his face.
The Creation Forge Art was a distant memory for Li Fan.
He never imagined that after reaching the half-immortal stage, he would one day seek it out again.
"This also proves that my decision back then to let it go, rather than stubbornly insisting on obtaining it first, was the correct one. In the Fallen Immortal Realm, the more valuable something is, the harder it is to bring into the real world. If that Creation Forge Art is as profound as I now suspect, it would likely be no easy feat for my current self to extract it."
"I just don't know if my Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity can bypass the memory-wiping restrictions of the Fallen Immortal Realm."
One's perspective on the same thing can change drastically with different circumstances.
Li Fan wanted to explore the perfect, true version of the Creation Forge Art once more.
But now that he knew Mr. Bai and the master of the Fallen Immortal Realm were anything but ordinary, Li Fan naturally had to make some preparations.
For a long time, Li Fan had been unwilling to personally set foot in the Fallen Immortal Realm. He even had others undergo the trial to inherit the position of Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate on his behalf.
This was because he carried the supreme treasure, [Truth], and it seemed that figures from the Immortal World were already waiting there.
However, now that he had mastered the Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity in this life, things had changed again.
"At first, I entered the Fallen Immortal Realm out of ignorance, fearless because I didn't know the dangers. Now, I have more than enough power to protect myself."
His consciousness contracted, retreating entirely into the miniature Dao Net.
Then, the Dao Net bloomed with a myriad of lights, from which a new divine sense emerged.
However, everything contained within this wisp of divine sense was a fabrication, a disguise created by Li Fan.
Though fabricated, it was based on a world-line deduced by the Transformation Dao Stone, making it almost real.
Apart from the fact that such a person didn't actually exist, everything else was indistinguishable from reality.
He had wrapped another layer, another skin, around his own identity.
This was the method Li Fan had temporarily devised to reduce the chances of being discovered by the True Immortals within the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
And indeed, the moment this disguised divine sense appeared...
Li Fan clearly felt the gaze from the projection of the Nameless True Immortal within his miniature Dao Net diminish significantly for no apparent reason.
The pressing sense of crisis faded. Li Fan felt as if he had retreated behind the scenes, hidden in the darkness, and he instantly relaxed.
Of course, this was a temporary fix, not a permanent solution.
The disguise worked for now, but as his Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity grew stronger, he would inevitably attract the attention of the Nameless True Immortals within the Great Dao once more.
If one day the scale of the Great Dao projections in his mind surpassed even that of the Shuo Xinghai's Dao Net, stepping from behind the curtain onto the main stage would undoubtedly draw the eyes of every existing Nameless True Immortal.
Given Li Fan's cautious nature, he would never take that step without absolute confidence in his ability to handle the resulting crisis.
But that was a matter for the future. For now, after creating a disguise for his mind, Li Fan entered the Fallen Immortal Realm.
As he had predicted...
This fictional life he had created had not practiced the Xuanhuang Heart Refining Mantra, so when it entered the Fallen Immortal Realm, the scene it witnessed was not the "Taking the Longevity Fruit in Ningyuan City" scenario.
Li Fan promptly committed suicide and exited the Fallen Immortal Realm.
Then, he modified the backstory of his disguised persona.
In addition to changing the life story again, he added the experience of his real self: "By a stroke of luck, comprehended the Xuanhuang Heart Refining Mantra in the Pure Body Spirit Pool."
In the perception of the Fallen Immortal Realm, this disguised persona seemed to have truly become another person.
Without being subject to the time restriction between entries, he once again arrived in the Fallen Immortal Realm.
And this time, the scenario was indeed the one about taking the Longevity Fruit in Ningyuan City!
With his ample experience in clearing this stage, Li Fan resolved it in the fastest way possible.
With plenty of time still left in the Fallen Immortal Realm, Li Fan went directly to the Imperial Beast Sect scenario.
He repeated his old trick. Just as Mr. Bai was about to arrive, the Heavenly Mandate Black Bird soared into the sky and appeared before him.
The scene from the past replayed itself.
Mr. Bai studied the bird and shook his head slightly. "You child, why are you practicing so recklessly on your own?"
He then taught him the true Creation Forge Art, holding nothing back.
Time seemed to stand still. Even though he had already reached the half-immortal stage, Li Fan found himself once again immersed in the profound mysteries of this creation technique.
"My initial feeling was right. Even a mortal with absolutely no cultivation aptitude could use this method to transform step by step, advance, and eventually set foot in the immortal realm!"
"That is, if the world didn't have so many shackles, and if the Immortal World still existed."
"As for now..."
Li Fan was no longer the same person he was back then.
Amid his awe and fascination, he was even able to offer a few critiques.
At the same time.
Outside the Fallen Immortal Realm, Li Fan's true divine sense, hidden behind the miniature Dao Net, was trying to glimpse the real Creation Forge Art through the net's synchronized reflection.
It had to be said, the Fallen Immortal Realm was truly a remarkable creation.
It existed in the gap between reality and illusion. Even though Li Fan could bridge the vast distance of countless high walls and star seas with his miniature Dao Net, his perception of the events within the Fallen Immortal Realm was like looking through a distorted mirror.
What he saw and felt was all deformed to some extent.
There were even some parts that were completely distorted.
But still, he had truly broken the boundary between the Fallen Immortal Realm and reality.
He was able to gaze upon the illusory from within the real.
"If not for my heaven-defying method of Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity, I would probably need to surpass the creator of the Fallen Immortal Realm in strength to ignore such restrictions."
"A single thought reflecting the Xuanhuang, which then undergoes infinite derivations over countless years to come..."
"I am still incapable of such a feat."
Li Fan even strongly suspected that the True Immortal who created this realm must have possessed a supreme treasure like the Transformation Dao Stone Mother to achieve such a thing.
Inside the Fallen Immortal Realm, Li Fan's disguised divine sense was personally practicing the perfect Creation Forge Art.
In reality, Li Fan was trying to correct and restore the distorted parts he was perceiving based on his own comprehension.
Then, he began practicing the Forge Art himself.
By comparing the different sensations his body felt during cultivation, he calibrated it once more.
His Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity, borrowing the power of the omnipresent Great Dao, projected the illusory objects existing in the Fallen Immortal Realm into reality.
Through Li Fan's relentless efforts, he finally recreated the Creation Forge Art in the real world!
However, Li Fan did not have his divine sense withdraw from the Fallen Immortal Realm just yet.
He remembered that Mr. Bai would also appear in the next scene, the Sword Forging at the Heavenly Sword Sect. Perhaps he could glean more secrets from him.
Moreover, the Heavenly Sword Sect was closely related to the current Sword Domain in the Shuo Xinghai. It was worth investigating.
His true self synchronized the fully calibrated Forge Art with his "Ma Tiande" clone in the Shuo Xinghai.
Because that wisp of divine sense was operating deep within enemy territory, and because there were likely many Nameless True Immortals in the Shuo Xinghai, Li Fan had placed some minor restrictions on it.
The divine sense could not fully perceive everything that happened to his true self.
And the divine sense would not proactively use the miniature Dao Net to spy on events in the Xuanhuang Realm.
This was to ensure that if things went south, Li Fan's true self would have enough time to use [Truth].
Although the time difference between the Shuo Xinghai and the Xuanhuang Realm was one hundred and twenty to one, the flow of time within the Fallen Immortal Realm was also different from reality in the Xuanhuang Realm.
Therefore, by the time Li Fan finished calibrating the Creation Forge Art, only half a day had passed.
In the Shuo Xinghai, less than a month had gone by.
The group's vacation wasn't even over yet.
And even without the Creation Forge Art as a reference, Li Fan's Great Dao Befalling Body Art had already reached the preliminary stage of mastery.
Within his divine sense, the strings of the Dao Net were as thin as a cicada's wings.
They emitted a lustrous white light that shone upon this body.
Li Fan seemed to be sitting at the very center of the Dao Net, enduring immense pressure.
If he magnified his perception to its absolute limit, he could see that every bit of flesh and blood in this body was being ground to dust under the pressure of the Dao Net.
But almost at the very instant of their destruction, they would re-emerge from the miniature Dao Net.
This was Li Fan combining the True False Transformation with the Dao Net's creation function.
He was continuously generating and reorganizing all the flesh and tissue of this body.
"If I didn't have ample experience, I wouldn't be able to maintain this body's vitality."
"This body tempering technique is only at the initial stage, and while it's not as intense as carrying the Immortal Realm fragment back then, the pressure is almost comparable to shouldering an entire cultivation world."
"An ordinary person wouldn't just be unable to cultivate it; they would likely be crushed to death on the spot!"
Li Fan knew that his version of "mastery" was vastly different from the normal one.
But thanks to the foundation laid by his hundred reincarnations, he didn't need to start from the very bottom and slowly build his way up.
"The normal method of cultivation should be a gradual, step-by-step process. If one wished to speed it up, they would need a host of heavenly treasures at the very least. My simple and crude approach is absolutely not something an ordinary person could replicate."
With the Great Dao Befalling Body Art mastered to a preliminary degree, this body was completely renewed.
Li Fan also finally understood why the factions within the Shuo Xinghai placed so much importance on body tempering.
Take this body, for example.
Compared to its previous frail state, when issuing the same number of commands to the Dao Net, the new body could channel more than double the power.
"As the Dao Net operates, it takes into account the maximum limit the operator can withstand."
"Those with stronger bodies can naturally endure more."
With the same weapon, as the body grew stronger, manipulating it became increasingly smooth.
"Besides, this feeling..."
Li Fan stretched his stiff body, temporarily stopping the reflection from the miniature Dao Net.
He paced back and forth, seemingly walking within the courtyard.
But in reality, he was strolling within the Dao Net of the Shuo Xinghai.
"It's somehow familiar."
Li Fan frowned slightly, closed his eyes again, and carefully felt it out.
After a few breaths, he finally understood where this inexplicable sense of familiarity came from.
The Great Dao pressed down, continuously grinding and reassembling his flesh.
In this process, the body's flesh and blood naturally retained the imprints of the Great Dao.
Both Li Fan's miniature Dao Net within his divine sense and the Dao Net of the Shuo Xinghai were projections of the Great Dao.
They shared the same origin.
Therefore, the sense of familiarity Li Fan cultivated while practicing the Great Dao Befalling Body Art...
Was naturally carried over into the Dao Net itself.
"So this is a post-natal, forged Sacred Body."
"Following this method, if I temper it to the extreme..."
Li Fan's expression suddenly changed.
"The Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity is a projection of the Dao Net."
"And my entire body of flesh and blood is the mold formed under the constant pressure and hammering of the Dao Net."
"The theoretical, perfect limit would be to use the body itself to replicate every Great Dao that exists between heaven and earth."
(End of Chapter)
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