Chapter 886: Replicating the Gray Blight
Chapter 886: Replicating the Gray Blight
"The Xuantian Sect..."
Li Fan gazed at the faceless divine statue before him, his expression shifting and uncertain.
No matter what method he used to inspect it, the result was always the same: the stone statue appeared utterly ordinary, containing not the slightest trace of transcendent power.
Yet this object, which seemed like a mortal creation, was somehow able to block his spiritual sense.
It could only be perceived with one's "eyes."
Clearly, the faceless Xuantian statue was far from being as simple as it appeared.
Moreover...
After Li Fan named it the "True Immortal of Worldly Compassion" in this life and began using it as a relay for the Sitting Immortal Technique's feedback, something strange happened. Every member of the Mutual Aid Association who swore an oath to the statue, without a single exception, felt an inexplicable sense of "restraint" emerge within them.
After all, the membership oath Li Fan had designed was merely a simple string of words, holding no additional mystical power of its own.
"And it wasn't some psychological effect, either."
"When faced with the oaths of cultivators, the Xuantian statue did indeed produce a unique reaction."
Li Fan's eyes narrowed, his gaze falling upon the statue's vacant face.
By placing the statue here in the main hall at the entrance of the Federation of All Worlds, it would face the reverence of countless future visitors.
Li Fan was almost certain that some unexpected complication was bound to occur!
"Will the statue gain self-awareness? Or will it attract the remnants of the Xuantian Sect?"
Despite these thoughts, Li Fan decisively set the Xuantian statue down.
With a low rumble, the faceless stone statue settled securely on the ground.
Countless white threads materialized around it. They emanated from the Spirit Wood Realm's central formation hub—Dissociation Disk sub-body number two—which was rapidly enveloping the statue in a protective array.
"With my current strength, I can already crush an ordinary Dao Integration cultivator. Add to that this grand array spread throughout the entire small world..."
"As long as a Longevity cultivator doesn't enter, I am invincible here in the Spirit Wood Realm."
A sharp glint appeared in Li Fan's eyes. "If they don't come, then so be it."
"But if they truly dare to track me down, then they'll get a taste of what I'm capable of!"
Li Fan had no doubt that followers of the former Xuantian Sect still existed within the Xuanhuang Realm.
After all, he knew for a fact that a Law King of the Xuantian Sect was slumbering in the ruins of the Purple Cloud Sect in Linlang Province.
There were surely other remnants lurking elsewhere.
However, Li Fan felt little fear in his heart.
"According to the information I've gathered, aside from the Xuantian King who reached the half-immortal realm, the other twelve Law Kings of the Xuantian Sect were merely at the combat level of the old-law Longevity stage."
"..."
Li Fan snorted coldly to himself. In the next instant, his figure blurred and reappeared in the space directly beneath the Spirit Tree.
This was the very core of the entire Spirit Wood Realm, a place even more crucial than the Spirit Tree itself.
It was a separate space that could be severed from the Spirit Wood Realm at any moment, allowing for a clean escape like a lizard shedding its tail.
Outside this space, layers of the Spirit Tree's grand array provided cover. The sub-body of the Final Dissociation Disk was housed here.
This was also the place Li Fan had prepared for his own secluded cultivation.
"An old-law Longevity cultivator... if I'm sufficiently prepared, I might just be able to fight one."
With that thought, Li Fan retrieved a ball of light, shrouded in a seven-colored rainbow glow, from his personal grotto-heaven.
The moment the ball of light appeared, the Spirit Tree above seemed to sense some fatal danger.
Its branches and leaves rustled without any wind, and its colossal trunk, which touched the very heavens, trembled uncontrollably.
The sudden movement immediately drew the concerned attention of every living being within the Spirit Wood Realm.
Li Fan hadn't expected the Spirit Tree's instinctive sense of mortal danger to be so intense.
Frowning slightly, he released more layers of seven-colored divine light around himself, forming yet another layer of isolation.
Only then was the Spirit Tree's fear assuaged.
Not much time had passed since his return from the Soul Yin World, but the gray mold inside the three-eyed skull had already corroded nearly the entire storage space it occupied.
The storage ring could shatter at any moment.
The seven-colored divine light originally enveloping it had also grown dim, its vibrant hues fading to a grayish-white.
It had severed its connection to Li Fan, making it impossible for him to replenish its energy, even if he wanted to.
Witnessing the destructive power of the mysterious gray mold firsthand, Li Fan couldn't help but be secretly alarmed.
"Theoretically, this three-eyed skull counts as one of my possessions. So, when I reset this time, can I choose to preserve it?"
"If I can, I should be able to uncover its secrets."
With this in mind, Li Fan took out a frozen strange beast he had plundered from the Empire's treasury.
He cautiously wrapped it in rainbow light and merged it with the seven-colored sphere ahead.
As if sensing the aura of life, the gray mold residing inside the three-eyed skull suddenly grew agitated.
When Li Fan withdrew the seven-colored divine light surrounding the frozen beast, he clearly observed the gray mold writhing as if it were a living creature.
However, the skull itself seemed to act as a shackle, restraining it.
Just as the mold was about to spread beyond the skull, it suddenly shrank back.
Li Fan carefully observed the dark golden patterns on the skull's surface during this process, watching for any changes.
To his disappointment, however, the mysterious patterns remained completely motionless.
"Could my theory be wrong? Is this three-eyed skull truly dead?"
With extreme caution, Li Fan maneuvered the frozen beast closer to the skull.
The gray mold grew even more frantic.
It swirled erratically inside the skull, looking as if it might pounce viciously at any second.
Yet, as if reluctant to part with something, it always stopped at the most critical moment.
Li Fan watched this scene, lost in thought.
Under the control of his will, the frozen beast's life force began to return.
The aura of life suddenly surged.
The gray mold finally succumbed to the temptation. From the main mass, a portion abruptly vanished.
There was no trace of movement.
Instead, it was as if space itself had been corrupted, forming a sallow, hollow cavity.
An instant later, the strange beast, which had just regained its vitality, dimmed completely, like a faded photograph.
Then it crumbled to ash, which drifted slowly down.
Amidst the gray flakes, Li Fan's sharp eyes spotted a new, small patch of gray mold!
Having waited so long, he naturally wouldn't let such a perfect opportunity slip by.
A torrent of rainbow light surged forward like a bolt of silk, instantly sealing the newly appeared patch of gray mold in layer after layer.
The gray mold, having just tasted freedom, saw that it was about to be sealed again.
It grew incomparably furious, ramming against the seven-colored divine light as if trying to corrode it away as well.
But Li Fan, who saw everything with perfect clarity, could hardly be fooled by its petty tricks.
While keeping the main body's feint in check, he unleashed another burst of infinite brilliance, sealing the nearly invisible speck of gray that had appeared in a distant corner of the space.
"Trying to play these little games in front of me... how laughable."
Li Fan thought to himself as he looked at the three spheres of seven-colored light before him.
(End of this chapter)
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