Chapter 930: Another Holy Blood Embryo
Which of these techniques should he choose?
Li Fan hesitated, uncertain.
They were undoubtedly true immortal techniques, but...
A shadow of doubt crossed Li Fan's eyes.
During his first experience in Senior Sister Zhao's illusion, he had practiced two of these techniques: the *Heaven and Earth Mutual Arising Ode* and the *Soul Severing Divine Radiance Art*.
Beyond their individual properties, they shared a particularly unusual trait.
Once practiced, they could never be abandoned.
Not even the secret arts of the Tai Shang Sect, like the *Tai Shang Primordial Scripture*, could undo them.
And there was something even more dangerous.
Furthermore, the Xuantian Sect possessed a secret art called "Take from Heaven and Replace." It could not only strip a person of their technique and cultivation entirely, but also transfer the realms and power they had gained to another, like grafting a branch onto a new tree.
Back then, he was just an ordinary cultivator who had wandered into the illusion; Senior Sister Zhao would have had no reason to deliberately alter information about the Xuantian Sect.
Therefore, he had to assume it was true.
And that was where things got strange.
Because among the memories gleaned from Ji Yuzhen's soul fragments, Li Fan had found nothing of the sort.
Combined with the almost perfect persona the Xuantian King projected...
The thought sent a chill down Li Fan's spine.
This was one of the main reasons Li Fan remained deeply suspicious of the Xuantian King's "benevolent" facade.
Of course, it was possible that Ji Yuzhen's soul was incomplete, and those memories were simply lost.
Regardless, Li Fan knew he had to be cautious with these Xuantian Sect techniques.
After all, he hadn't obtained these techniques from some ancient, isolated manuscript. They had been passed down from the Xuantian King, and then relayed to him by Senior Sister Zhao.
At their level of cultivation, if they had tampered with the techniques in any way, Li Fan would be completely unable to detect it.
"My goal is just to make the disguise more convincing, after all."
...
After a moment of thought, an idea struck him.
"Perhaps I can use the Deduction Jade to derive a new technique—one that mimics the external characteristics of a Xuantian art, but has an entirely different core."
"It's risky, but I can use the Holy Blood Embryo Transformation technique to create another clone to test it."
"If that fails, my true self will have no choice but to risk practicing the original."
"But that would mean I couldn't retain my cultivation after the next reset with [Truth]."
Li Fan's decision might seem overly cautious, but he knew from experience that when dealing with the old monsters of the Xuanhuang Realm, one could never be too careful.
A single moment of carelessness could plant the seeds of his ultimate failure.
Of course, regardless of the risks, his trip to the Great Dao Sect had yielded immense rewards.
Even if he couldn't practice them freely for now, these true immortal techniques had broadened his horizons, revealing just how profound and wondrous cultivation arts could be.
And secondly...
When his power grew and he eventually uncovered the secrets of the Xuantian Sect, these techniques would become true assets for his cultivation.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed these techniques to the back of his mind for the time being.
Following his plan, Li Fan began to activate the Holy Blood Embryo Transformation technique.
He still had the necessary materials left over from his time in the Empire, and before long, a body that looked remarkably like his own materialized before him.
His clone, Li Qing, who had no memory of the technique, couldn't hide the look of astonishment in his eyes.
As he had done before, Li Fan proceeded to alter the new embryo's memories and soul.
With his prior experience, his actions were increasingly practiced and fluid.
A moment later, the new Li Fan opened his eyes.
Originally, the greatest weakness of the Holy Blood Embryo Transformation technique was that the resulting embryo was merely a mortal body, completely devoid of cultivation.
It would have to start cultivating from scratch, step by step.
Without the kind of world-shaking talent possessed by Mr. Bai, the technique was largely impractical.
In this lifetime, however, the existence of the Faceless Immortal Statue allowed Li Fan to easily overcome this drawback.
Grabbing the new body, Li Fan teleported in a flash, appearing before the Faceless Immortal Statue.
As always, a tide of countless images washed over him.
This time, however, the most intense and sincere prayers were not coming from Su Yuqing.
They were coming from He Zhenghao!
"Great Red Dust Compassionate Immortal! Please, bless me with more insight into the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation..."
He Zhenghao prayed relentlessly, his devotion fervent.
Through the flickering images, Li Fan instantly understood what had recently transpired.
Just as Li Fan had anticipated, after he had used the statue to transmit the details of the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation into He Zhenghao's mind, He Zhenghao had casually shared some of his "conjectures" about the formation at the headquarters of the Alliance's Array Strategy Hall, which had immediately drawn immense attention.
He was hailed as a rare genius in the art of formations, and his treatment and status changed overnight.
He Zhenghao continued to reveal the "inspirations" that surfaced in his mind, hoping to secure an even higher position.
But a problem soon arose.
While He Zhenghao's talent with formations was considerable, it was nowhere near the level required to independently deduce an array as complex as the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation.
Even with the complete schematics in his head, he could only grasp a fraction of its true principles; the deeper mysteries remained beyond his comprehension.
He Zhenghao was shrewd enough not to reveal everything at once.
He offered up bits and pieces, perfecting small sections here and there to buy himself as much time as possible.
He hoped to use the time to study the formation and master it himself.
But as the days slipped by with agonizingly slow progress, He Zhenghao finally came to a realization.
The gulf between his understanding and the mastery of the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation was simply too vast.
He could never hope to grasp its true essence on his own.
And so, he placed all his hope in the Red Dust Compassionate Immortal.
Though he appeared to be hard at work deducing the formation each day, he was, in fact, repeating his prayers over and over in his mind.
His piety now surpassed that of any other member of the association.
Understanding the situation in an instant, Li Fan couldn't help but shake his head.
Still, He Zhenghao was a familiar face, and Li Fan still needed him as a pawn to attract Mo Rubin's attention. He wouldn't leave him to fail.
With a single thought, Li Fan sent a flood of annotations and detailed explanations about the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation streaming into He Zhenghao's mind.
The sheer volume of information was so overwhelming that He Zhenghao couldn't handle it and promptly passed out.
The prayers from the other followers held nothing of note. The new clone, Li Fan, turned his attention to the faceless statue.
Like any other member of the association, he began to pray with sincere devotion.
Before long, Li Fan felt a mysterious connection being established between his true self and the new clone, relayed through the faceless statue.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes. The next moment, a massive amount of cultivation power began to pour into the clone's body.
The clone's mortal body began to undergo a heaven-and-earth-shattering transformation.
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