Chapter 1575: Xuanhuang Engraves Eternity
Chapter 1575: Xuanhuang Engraves Eternity
The hall enshrined twelve Witch Gods. Eleven of them were shrouded in a gray mist, their true forms hidden from view. The remaining one was visible, possessing three eyes, four arms, and a placid expression. Its two side eyes were like unfathomable, deep-seated pools of cold, while the central, vertical eye seemed to reflect the countless living beings of the Divine Witch Realm.
The very cultivator guarding the entrance to the Shang Immortal Boat's passage was but one among the teeming multitudes mirrored in that divine eye!
Li Fan, utterly undaunted, met the gaze of this so-called Witch God.
Though it bore the name of "god," as Li Fan stood before it, its eyes were incapable of reflecting his image.
This allowed Li Fan to observe it in detail.
After a period of study, he came to a conclusion. "Though the twelve Witch Gods have perished, the Witch God Thrones they left within the bodies of the Divine Witch Realm's inhabitants have not dissipated. Cultivators from that realm can activate them, but the thrones they worship and pay homage to are all different; they can typically choose only one. Once activated, they can borrow a measure of the Witch God's power. Peeking into the Dao to gain enlightenment and drawing strength from it are merely the most fundamental abilities."
Li Fan attempted to project his divine sense into the Witch God Thrones that manifested above the azure sky. To him, however, the magnificent structures were like elusive phantoms, utterly nonexistent. His consciousness passed right through them, finding no entrance.
He could only resort to probing the Divine Witch Realm cultivator's memories to ascertain the various abilities one could obtain by worshipping a Witch God.
"While none of these abilities are overwhelmingly powerful, their greatest advantage is that they can all be obtained through a single act of worship. They become unique 'skills' that can even be integrated with one's own cultivation techniques, creating a powerful synergy."
"These countless Witch God Thrones, which the gods projected into the bodies of every living being in their realm, appear to be a way of dispersing their power. In truth, they function much like anchor points. Even if a Witch God should fall, as long as a single native of the Divine Witch Realm survives in the mortal world, the gods have a chance to be resurrected through continuous procreation and worship."
"The Divine Witch Realm was jointly created by the twelve Witch Gods, and all the laws within it are under their command..."
Li Fan felt a faint sense of familiarity. The Divine Witch Realm he glimpsed in Wu Xin's memories bore, to some extent, a striking resemblance to the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm he himself had forged.
Of course, the cosmic standing of the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm was far superior to that of the Divine Witch Realm, and Xuanhuang had but one master: Li Fan. Yet, the Divine Witch Realm had been born in the primordial past, its legacy stretching back tens of billions of years. It held many lessons from which Li Fan could learn.
For example, how could the Witch Gods ensure the loyalty of their people? While they remained in the Divine Witch Realm, their allegiance was guaranteed. But what happened when they left for other worlds, or even ascended to the Immortal Realm? The answer lay in the Witch God Thrones embedded within them.
A Witch God Throne was, in essence, a fusion of a Witch God's projected power and a being's own life source. With every increase in a cultivator's strength, the throne solidified, binding itself ever deeper to them. Should a cultivator betray the Witch Gods, it would be tantamount to renouncing the very foundation they had painstakingly built since the dawn of their cultivation. At best, their cultivation would be crippled; at worst, their body and soul would perish. Not even True Immortals were exempt.
As another example, thanks to the Witch Gods' blessing, the inhabitants of the Divine Witch Realm enjoyed extraordinarily long lives. However, their world was not connected to the Mountain and Sea; it lacked the property of infinity. To maintain the realm's enduring prosperity, it underwent a "reboot" every ten million years.
This was an apocalyptic tribulation unleashed by the twelve Witch Gods in unison. Below the gods themselves, all beings were equal; every soul had to face the calamity. Of the billions of lives, only the ninety-nine with the greatest fortune and strength would survive. The next cycle of civilization would then begin with these ninety-nine souls. It was a process of relentless refinement, like waves washing away sand to leave only gold. With each successive reboot, the "aptitude" of the Divine Witch Realm's cultivators showed a steady upward trend.
Naturally, there had been cultivators who attempted to shatter this cruel cycle of extinction and rebirth. But before the unified will of the twelve Witch Gods, all resistance was but a fleeting vanity.
...
"The Xuanhuang Immortal Realm is the very foundation for my journey across the Mountain and Sea. I must indeed manage it with greater care. I have been far too lenient. My approach has been hands-off, and while no major problems have arisen yet, that's only because it's still early and my control is absolute. But I cannot say the same for the future."
"After all, every ghost and demon imaginable has tried to meddle with the Xuanhuang Realm."
Li Fan had always been one to give credit where it was due. He never hesitated to praise the strengths of others, and if a better method existed, he would promptly learn from it.
"The inhabitants of Xuanhuang know only that their world is undergoing a monumental transformation; they are oblivious to the parent-like figure orchestrating it from behind the scenes."
"This is the perfect moment, as the Dao of Eternity imprints itself upon Xuanhuang, to announce my divine name."
Li Fan's divine sense withdrew from Wu Xin's body.
His gaze turned to the firmament, where the manifestation of the Eternal Dao sat enthroned.
After seven days of careful calibration, he had brought the overall state of the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm to its optimal condition.
Li Fan once again manifested the phantom of the Tiandu Grandmaster.
"This realm was forged by your martial nephew," he spoke in a respectful tone. "If you are satisfied, Martial Uncle, you may reside here for as long as you wish."
A moment later, the round-faced man heard his words and slowly opened his eyes.
In that instant, the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm seemed to freeze solid, plunging into a moment of absolute stillness. The round-faced man closed his eyes, and the stasis was broken.
A series of intense tremors followed.
The world thundered as strange visions filled the sky. Yet, these were not scenes native to the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm.
They were clearly the myriad sights the Eternal Dao had witnessed across other possibilities.
As the round-faced man opened his eyes and the Dao of Eternity was engraved upon the world, Li Fan, as the master of Xuanhuang, remained ever vigilant.
Although Eternity possessed almost no will of its own, acting purely on mechanical instinct, it was still an existence that could traverse the Mountain and Sea. Li Fan had to take precautions, lest its influence in the Xuanhuang Realm surpass his own and it become the world's new master.
At the very moment Eternity descended and began to influence the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm, a mysterious and ethereal figure appeared in the minds of all living beings in Xuanhuang.
Almost instantly, they all knew the identity of this figure.
It was the source of their world's transformation, the Progenitor of Xuanhuang's Heaven and Earth.
The Primordial Xuanhuang World-Ruling Empyrean Holy Sovereign!
An irresistible urge to kneel in worship bloomed in the hearts of all living beings.
Their bodies, moving beyond their control, slowly bowed down amidst the gentle trembling of their world.
With their collective worship, the figure in their minds solidified, transforming from an ethereal image into a tangible presence.
It stood like a divine statue erected within the sanctum of their minds.
With just a thought, they could perceive its presence again at any time.
To worship this Holy Sovereign was like coming face to face with the countless Great Daos of heaven and earth.
A single prostration yielded more enlightenment than three years of secluded cultivation!
Unfortunately, after that one act of worship, the divine statue of the Holy Sovereign grew faint once more. Only through devout faith could it be made to coalesce again.
The descent of the Primordial Xuanhuang World-Ruling Empyrean Holy Sovereign instantly changed the entire landscape of the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm.
In less than half a day, over a hundred new grotto-heaven stars materialized in the sky.
And with them, the very first Soul Transformation cultivator of the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm was born!
(End of Chapter)
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