Chapter 1535: Taiyuan Rebirth Furnace
Chapter 1535: Taiyuan Rebirth Furnace
Li Fan could clearly feel that the "anchor point" he had in Bai Lishan was far more stable than the one he'd had with Elder Song. This wasn't simply because his relationship with Bai Lishan seemed closer.
Instead, it had to do with the boldness of the script an anchor point had written in the great river of time.
"Barring any accidents, Elder Song would have remained at the Nascent Soul stage for his entire life," Li Fan mused. "He wouldn't have been much different from the teeming masses of the Xuanhuang Realm, and his final fate would have been to perish like an ant in the great cultivation calamity that is soon to come."
"But Bai Lishan, having obtained the [Supreme Dao Scripture], will undoubtedly reach the pinnacle of the Xuanhuang Realm—the Dao Integration stage. She will live longer and leave a much deeper imprint."
Li Fan's gaze seemed to pierce through the mists of history, penetrating the vast, flowing river of time to glimpse a scene ten thousand years in the future.
...
With his suspicions confirmed, Li Fan changed his approach. He abandoned his previous method of using Fantasy Becomes Truth to conceal his identity and began to appear frequently in public. In the Verdant Valley Sect, Bai Lishan was the center of everyone's attention, and as her new friend, Li Fan naturally drew a great deal of notice himself.
Compared to a rising star like Bai Lishan, Li Fan was a nobody with no apparent merits. Thus, most disciples of the Verdant Valley couldn't understand why their relationship was so close. After some of the more malicious disciples tried and failed to drive a wedge between them, a few sordid rumors began to circulate quietly through the valley.
Sensing the insights on the [Supreme Dao Scripture] that Li Fan was sharing with her, she was overjoyed. "The Great Dao is truly like the heavens—viewed from different angles, it reveals different aspects. By sharing our insights and verifying them against each other, our cultivation efficiency is several times higher than studying in isolation!"
Initially, Bai Lishan had simply seen Li Fan as one of her own, a keeper of their shared secret. However, after witnessing his cultivation advance by leaps and bounds once he began to comprehend the Supreme Dao Scripture, her attitude underwent a subtle change.
She began to see him as a fellow seeker of the Dao, someone with whom she could mutually advance.
"Rumors are like a flood; if you don't manage them, they'll only spread more rampantly," Li Fan said, shaking his head slightly. "I don't mind, but you are the chief disciple of the Verdant Valley. You're destined to inherit the position of Sect Master."
"Allowing such gossip to spread... in the future..." Li Fan trailed off, shaking his head again.
The expression on Bai Lishan's face slowly stiffened. After a moment of thought, she frowned. "You have a point. I'll go report this to my master..."
Li Fan held up a hand. "Bai Lishan, you need to learn to recognize your own value. The situation now isn't that you're begging to stay in the Verdant Valley; it's that the Verdant Valley needs you to stay. If you can't even resolve a small matter like this on your own... then this place isn't worth staying in!"
"But..." Bai Lishan trailed off, clearly conflicted.
What Li Fan said seemed to make perfect sense, yet it ran completely contrary to the way she had conducted herself for so long.
Sensing her inner conflict, Li Fan volunteered, "Don't worry, my friend. You just continue playing the part of the brilliant, shining Chief Disciple."
"Let me be the villain."
Bai Lishan stared at Li Fan's nonchalant expression, utterly stunned.
Over the next few days, a wave of bloodshed swept through the Verdant Valley. In front of all the disciples, Li Fan used ruthless, decisive methods to execute every last person who had fabricated and spread the rumors, grinding their bones to dust. Just as he predicted, the gossip stopped in an instant.
As for Li Fan's blatant violation of the sect's rules, the Verdant Valley's Sect Master and all the elders chose to turn a blind eye. They all assumed that Bai Lishan, wanting to protect her own reputation, had been unwilling to act herself and had instructed Li Fan to do it for her.
Compared to Bai Lishan, the lives of a few rumor-mongers were insignificant. Naturally, no punishment was handed down. The leadership even stepped forward to publicly support the two of them.
The disturbance gradually faded.
But the image of Li Fan's cold-blooded killing remained deeply etched in the minds of the Verdant Valley disciples, like a lingering nightmare.
"Indeed, this method of leaving an anchor point is also effective."
"And it's even more effective than the usual methods." In his secluded chamber, Li Fan felt the numerous connections between himself and the mortal world gradually stabilizing. As a thought crossed his mind, a dangerous light began to gleam in his eyes.
But after a moment of consideration, the light slowly faded.
"It can be used occasionally, but it cannot be my primary method. The most crucial thing is to have people and events in this time and place to serve as anchors. If I were to slaughter them all, or if there were too few, the anchoring effect would actually diminish..."
He stood up and stretched, feeling the stability of the anchor points he had set. He nodded in satisfaction.
"Although the Verdant Valley is only a small sect, its influence radiates for thousands of miles. My fearsome reputation is now known throughout the valley. Using this as a foundation, the anchors I've established should be sufficient for my activities for now."
Li Fan had no intention of staying here for long.
During this time, he had also secretly gathered some information about the brutal war being waged by the Ten Great Immortal Sects.
The cultivation world at war with the Xuanhuang Realm was a place called the [Taiyuan Realm].
Compared to the Xuanhuang Realm, the Taiyuan Realm was not on the same level, neither in scale nor in the overall strength of its cultivators. When the war began, the masters of the Xuanhuang Realm, the Ten Great Immortal Sects, didn't take their opponents seriously at all, believing the conflict would be over quickly.
Just as everyone had expected, the Taiyuan Realm was caught off guard by the sudden invasion and suffered devastating losses. Several of its largest sects were nearly annihilated, leaving only a few survivors to band together and resist to the death.
At first, the Ten Sects paid little mind to this inconsequential resistance, focusing only on plundering the Taiyuan Realm's resources as quickly as possible.
But no one had anticipated that the survivor's resistance would grow so rapidly, dealing the Ten Great Immortal Sects a heavy blow.
They not only wiped out nearly all of the Xuanhuang vanguard but even managed to launch a counter-attack into the Xuanhuang Realm itself.
And all of this was thanks to a guardian immortal artifact within the [Taiyuan Realm].
The Taiyuan Rebirth Furnace!
The following was the information the Xuanhuang Realm had paid a great price to obtain.
Any cultivator who fell in the Taiyuan Realm could be reborn in peak condition within the Taiyuan Rebirth Furnace simply by activating its flames. It was said that the entire Taiyuan Realm was originally a testing ground for the furnace's abilities. After the Immortal World was destroyed, the furnace fell under the control of its own test subjects.
The enemy could be reborn endlessly, while our side lost one person for every death. How could they possibly fight such a war?
The moment this news spread, the morale of the Ten Great Immortal Sects plummeted. They were on the verge of abandoning the invasion of the Taiyuan Realm entirely.
However, at that critical moment, the Sect Master of the Primordial Unity Sect, Qu Yixing, revealed the hidden truth.
He declared that the information about the Taiyuan Rebirth Furnace had been deliberately leaked by the enemy to force the Xuanhuang Realm's forces to retreat.
It was true that the furnace had the power of rebirth, but all immortal artifacts required immortal spiritual energy to function. The Taiyuan Realm had no True Immortals, so the situation with their furnace was likely the same as with the immortal artifacts left behind in the Xuanhuang Realm.
Every use depleted its power.
The method of resurrection was not without limits.
They had already sacrificed so much in the invasion. Could they really just give up halfway?
Besides, if the furnace truly possessed such a divine power of resurrection, then after they conquered the realm and seized it, perhaps they could use it to revive the disciples of the Ten Sects who had fallen in the Taiyuan Realm.
Whether for profit or for honor...
...continuing the invasion became the only option for the Ten Sects.
And so, they chose to commit more forces, engaging the Taiyuan Realm in a war of attrition.
However, perhaps they had miscalculated the amount of immortal spiritual energy remaining within the furnace.
The cultivators of the Taiyuan Realm were reborn, wave after wave.
It seemed they could never be completely killed.
Thus, the war fell into a complete stalemate.
...
After organizing the information he had gathered, Li Fan's expression became rather thoughtful.
"Not being True Immortals, they don't understand the limitless nature of immortal spiritual energy."
"And they chose to throw lives at the problem..."
Not all so-called cultivation worlds were as special as the Xuanhuang Realm. As one of the most important experimental sites in the Rotten Axe Dojo, it was under strict supervision. Any immortal artifacts it possessed were merely half-finished products with crippled functions.
To speculate about other cultivation worlds based on the situation in the Xuanhuang Realm... the outcome was unlikely to be pleasant.
What made Li Fan curious was the location of this so-called [Taiyuan Realm]. As a disciple of Shou Qiu, Li Fan had once held the highest authority in the Rotten Axe Dojo, yet he had never found any trace of the [Taiyuan Realm] among its many experimental sites.
"Either it was conquered and then annihilated by the Xuanhuang Realm at this point in time..."
"...or the Taiyuan Realm is not within the High Wall."
Back when he was in the Great Dao Sect, Li Fan had closely observed the golden chains of the Floating Starry Sky Grand Array that stretched across the heavens.
Given the might it displayed, it was perhaps truly capable of piercing the High Wall and connecting to the starry sky beyond.
"It's just a pity that it seems to have been activated by force, at some great cost."
"It's already on the verge of breaking."
"They only have one chance. It's no wonder the Ten Sects are so desperate."
"All I can say is, their luck is truly terrible."
"An immortal artifact that can grant infinite resurrection..."
In Li Fan's knowledge, such an artifact would have been considered high-grade even in the ancient Immortal World. Only a ruling Immortal Emperor who wielded supreme power could forge such a thing, bestowing it upon the ministers of various star domains.
"Could it be the legacy of another hidden Emperor?"
Li Fan gazed at the faint image of the Floating Starry Sky Grand Array in the heavens, lost in thought.
"At this moment of crisis, someone is needed to turn the raging tide and prop up the collapsing mansion..." Li Fan murmured, a plan already forming in his mind.
After sending a brief message to Bai Lishan, Li Fan departed once more.
Getting to the Taiyuan Realm battlefield was not difficult. Lacking manpower, the Ten Great Immortal Sects were forcibly conscripting cultivators. After obtaining a token of verification from the Verdant Valley's Sect Master, Li Fan arrived at the gates of the Tai Shang Sect.
It was even more magnificent than he had seen in paintings.
Countless mountain peaks floated in the sky, forming a vast and majestic array. The disciples of the Tai Shang Sect were like celestials, looking down upon the mortal world from on high.
Unfortunately, the Tai Shang Sect was now rather desolate.
"You're here to volunteer?"
A Soul Transformation cultivator from the Tai Shang Sect named Duan Yuxiao stared at Li Fan in astonishment.
He studied Li Fan for a moment, and seeing that he matched the description given by the Verdant Valley's Sect Master, Zou Yunhao, Duan Yuxiao set aside his doubts.
His expression turned serious. "Excellent! In these times when the sects of the world pale at the mere mention of war, we need role models like you! Rest assured, the Ten Sects will not treat you unfairly!"
"Come with me!"
Duan Yuxiao was not lying.
He led Li Fan directly to the sect's treasury and, gesturing at the sea of cultivation techniques and magical artifacts, declared generously, "You may choose any three items from here!"
"If you return alive, I will report to the Sect Master-Uncle and have you accepted as a direct disciple of the Tai Shang Sect!"
Li Fan cupped his hands in thanks and began to wander through the Tai Shang Sect's treasury.
Clearly, this was only the outermost layer of the treasury.
It was said to hold countless treasures, but in reality, that was only true for cultivators below the Soul Transformation stage.
With Li Fan's current discernment, none of it was worthy of his notice. There was no dramatic discovery of a rare treasure to be had.
He casually picked one technique and two artifacts for appearance's sake.
Then, Duan Yuxiao personally led Li Fan to the battlefield.
Within the Tai Shang Sect, there were also golden chains from the Floating Starry Sky Grand Array.
However, the situation here seemed even more precarious than what Li Fan had seen before. To his eyes, these chains were clearly at their limit, liable to disintegrate at any moment.
Duan Yuxiao, however, was completely oblivious. Filled with enthusiasm, he led Li Fan along the golden chains, completing their journey through space.
The moment he stepped into the Taiyuan Realm, Li Fan keenly sensed the wisps of immortal spiritual energy flowing through the world.
"Without the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate making trouble, this world shouldn't resist my comprehension, right?"
Li Fan focused, sensing the manifest Great Dao of this realm.
A moment later, he couldn't help but frown slightly.
The situation was considerably better than in the Xuanhuang Realm, but it was far from optimistic. The Great Dao of this realm was incredibly solid and unified, as if it were a single entity.
Li Fan almost thought he was standing before an enlightened Nameless True Immortal!
"Furthermore, the Dao of this realm is actually in my blind spot. It's not one that my Myriad Phenomena Dao Net is familiar with..."
A pleasant surprise blossomed in Li Fan's heart.
Duan Yuxiao, in contrast, was not nearly as pleased.
He seemed to have discovered something, for his expression turned grim the moment he entered the Taiyuan Realm.
Grabbing Li Fan, he flew at top speed toward a structure standing on the plains ahead.
The place appeared to have once been the base of some sect in the Taiyuan Realm, but it had since been captured by the Xuanhuang forces. After countless brutal battles, its original appearance was almost unrecognizable.
"Senior Brother Duan, what are you doing here?" a surprised voice called out. The speaker was a female cultivator who reeked of blood.
She had an ordinary face, but the martial spirit in her eyes was unforgettable.
Duan Yuxiao pointed to Li Fan and explained the situation.
The woman glanced at Li Fan and nodded slightly. "His cultivation is a bit low, but we can still announce his arrival to boost morale."
"How is the battle going?" Duan Yuxiao asked.
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