After paying homage to the stone statue of the Faceless True Immortal, the relationship between the two seemed to grow considerably closer.
"Fellow Daoist Qiaogong, you went through such painstaking effort to establish the Lingyuan Sect and gather Source Power—what exactly is its purpose? To be honest, I only took over the sect's grand enterprise because I saw the convenience of having so many people cultivate the Common People Lingyuan Technique together. As for how to extract and utilize Source Power, I remain completely in the dark!"
Showing Layman Qiaogong around the Spirit Wood Realm to inspect the flesh-and-blood puppets used to automatically cultivate the Common People Lingyuan Technique, Li Fan asked with an affable smile.
"Having a dedicated pocket world as a base is indeed far more convenient. Back when I ran the Lingyuan Sect, I never dared to place these flesh-and-blood cultivator puppets out on an open square so brazenly. I always had to keep them hidden; otherwise, people's hearts would waver, and all sorts of turmoil would inevitably follow," Layman Qiaogong said with no small amount of envy during the tour.
Only then did he answer Li Fan's question: "Aside from using it to manufacture Tianji Puppets, the vast majority of the Source Power was stored away by me to prepare for unexpected needs.
"Theoretically speaking, purified vow power can be used by any cultivator to rapidly advance their cultivation. I wonder if Fellow Daoist has heard the legends of immortal sects bestowing rewards upon disciples who suddenly achieved the Dao in a single morning, breaking through multiple major realms in succession? That is precisely what Source Power can accomplish.
"However, in this Xuanhuang Realm..." Layman Qiaogong smacked his lips and shook his head slightly.
"This wretched place is indeed unfit for cultivators to dwell in. Leaving aside the resources required to break through each major realm, the bottleneck of the Heavenly Calamity alone is far harsher than in any other cultivation world," Li Fan agreed.
"Regrettably, we have long since had no other choice," Layman Qiaogong sighed.
"However, these restrictions exist only among cultivators. Pure creations like Tianji Puppets are not subject to them. By extension, dharma treasures and the like face no restrictions on their use either. Perhaps this is why the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals took a massive cut of Source Power from me each time," Layman Qiaogong added pointedly.
"You mean... the Heavenly Profound Mirror?" Li Fan caught on in an instant.
"Not just that. Without question, the Heavenly Profound Mirror is an entity at the level of an immortal artifact. For it, Source Power is merely better than nothing. But within the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, any dharma treasure that has not yet ascended to an immortal artifact can be enhanced by absorbing Source Power," Layman Qiaogong said with a smile.
"So it has such a wondrous use," Li Fan murmured thoughtfully, looking inward at the Terminal Dissociation Disc in his Sea of Consciousness.
Next, with the enthusiastic help of Layman Qiaogong, a Tianji Fortress was constructed beside the flesh-and-blood puppet square in the Spirit Wood Realm.
It was shaped like a sphere, encircled by two metal rings that revolved continuously.
Once Layman Qiaogong finished engraving the formations onto these two metal rings, Li Fan vaguely sensed that the overflowing Source Power that had originally been surging into his clone Li Qing's body was now diverting and converging toward the Tianji Fortress.
Like trickling streams swelling into a surging river, it condensed into golden droplets of solid matter, dripping down to be stored inside the sphere.
Upon closer observation, Li Fan discovered that this golden Source Power was noticeably lower in tier compared to the Source Power Essence formed through the stone statue of the Faceless True Immortal—that is, the Dao Flowers.
Yet for cultivators, it still possessed a lethal allure.
Though not intoxicating enough to make one lose their sanity like an anima of Heaven and Earth, waves of greed still welled up from the depths of the heart.
"Finally finished. Because the restrictions of Heaven and Earth are relatively weak in this pocket world, channeling Source Power here is considerably easier than in the Xuanhuang Realm," Layman Qiaogong said with delight, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"This construct is called the Tianji Fortress. Aside from channeling Source Power, I presume it also possesses defensive capabilities?" Li Fan hit the nail on the head.
Layman Qiaogong made no attempt to conceal it. "Indeed. Because our Tianji Realm had limited resources, we tended to pursue the ultimate integration of functions when developing our creations."
Layman Qiaogong pointed lightly toward the sphere not far away, and a burst of light flashed.
The newly built structure suddenly vanished right before Li Fan's eyes.
"Oh? Quite intriguing..." It was not only undetectable to the naked eye, but even divine sense could not sense it.
Only by flying forward and touching it with one's hands could its presence be felt.
"This is its Concealment Form, which requires a certain amount of Source Power to maintain. It achieves a level of stealth virtually on par with the Progenitor. Even if a mighty expert of the Longevity realm were to arrive in person, they might not detect any clue," Layman Qiaogong said with a proud look.
Next, Layman Qiaogong demonstrated the Tianji Fortress's offensive and relocation forms to Li Fan.
It truly lived up to the name 'Tianji.'
Li Fan was thoroughly satisfied.
"The only pity is that Source Power is hard to come by. It has to be painstakingly squeezed from every cultivator practicing the Lingyuan Technique.
"It cannot achieve the Progenitor's self-contained cycle of perpetual motion.
"When I fled for my life back then, I wasn't able to bring out the Progenitor's power core components. Perhaps I will never have the chance to unravel that mystery." Layman Qiaogong looked at the Tianji Fortress before him, seemingly reminiscing about his homeland once again, his eyes filled with regret.
"Haha, there will be opportunities," Li Fan said with a chuckle.
Layman Qiaogong did not take Li Fan's words seriously.
After finishing his explanation, Layman Qiaogong took the initiative to grant Li Fan supreme authority over the Tianji Fortress as well.
With a thought, information detailing how much Source Power was stored in the fortress, the projected duration each function could run, projected visuals of the conditions surrounding the Tianji Fortress, and more flashed into Li Fan's mind in an instant.
It gave Li Fan a peculiar sensation.
He increased the fortress's Source Power output to extend its protective barrier over the entire Spirit Wood Realm, then engaged its permanent Concealment Form.
Doing so left very little Source Power to be stored away, barely enough to break even.
Yet Li Fan was not concerned in the least; instead, he instructed his clone Li Qing to step up the promotion of the Common People Lingyuan Technique across various pocket worlds.
It was foreseeable that with the further expansion of the Common People Lingyuan Technique, it wouldn't just be the harvest of Source Power that grew.
Even the quantity of Source Power Essence generated through gratitude toward the Red Dust Compassionate Immortal would undergo a qualitative leap.
With this matter gradually on the right track, and adhering to his principle of putting everything and everyone to best use, Li Fan did not let Layman Qiaogong sit idle either.
He summoned Tianyang before him and had Layman Qiaogong examine him closely.
"Years ago, this junior brother of mine was unable to break through to higher realms due to the limitations of his physical aptitude. He thus took an unconventional path, transforming his body into an object and lodging his soul within a puppet. Later, by absorbing the power of thousand-year earth fire, he finally achieved Soul Formation.
"Although I later helped him devour an anima of Heaven and Earth and step over the threshold of Dao Integration, this may very well be his limit.
"Junior Brother Tianyang has stood by my side for many years, loyal and devoted. I cannot bear to see him halt his journey here...
"Fellow Daoist Qiaogong, please take a look for me. Is there any way to help Tianyang take another step forward?" Li Fan asked somberly.
Chapter 1014