Like some living creature, the withered yellow paper figure squirmed ceaselessly in Li Fan's grasp. Its face twisted with a furious, eerie expression, and faint, shrill shrieks escaped it as its body writhed frantically in an attempt to break free.
Yet it was doomed never to escape Li Fan's palm.
After briefly explaining the origins of the Crossing Adversity Sect's paper figures to Mo Rubin, Li Fan exerted a slight squeeze. The paper figure shrieked in agony. Its yellow hue slowly faded, turning translucent.
Yet its faint outline never vanished, lingering still within the fabric of the Xuanhuang Realm.
"Brother Xingwang, if you hadn't pointed it out, I truly wouldn't have noticed that the Xuanhuang Realm is infested with these paper figures!" Mo Rubin said, caught between astonishment and wrath. "This Crossing Adversity Sect is truly seeking death!"
"Despicable as their method is, you have to admit it works. They rooted themselves into the realm, coexisting with the very world of Xuanhuang. Even after a thorough purging like mine, they can regenerate through the imprints left across heaven and earth. No wonder even the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable couldn't find a decent way to deal with them back then." As he spoke, Li Fan pulled another paper figure from the depths of space and crushed it into nothingness.
"No matter the era, there are always parasitic worms like this in the world. That's why some within our cult opposed saving Xuanhuang back then, arguing we'd be better off leaving on our own."
"If we truly succeeded in saving the world only for this Crossing Adversity Sect to reemerge... that would be utterly revolting." Mo Rubin's expression was grim.
"No matter. Given the state Xuanhuang has fallen into, it is beyond salvation anyway. The Crossing Adversity Sect's fate will be nothing more than being buried alongside the Xuanhuang Realm in the Immortal Ruins," Li Fan remarked with absolute calm.
Mo Rubin composed himself as well. "Brother Xingwang, you're right. Getting our business done comes first."
"The restriction-breaking array is nearing completion. Make sure your preparations are ready on your end. We may take action at any moment."
Li Fan nodded in assent.
Watching Mo Rubin's retreating back, Li Fan harbored thoughts vastly different from his spoken words.
*Counting on the long-lost King of Profound Heaven to lead you out of the Pitch-Black Star Sea...*
*I fear disappointment is your inevitable end. Still, it is understandable. If he's alive, they want to see the man; if he's dead, they want the corpse. The King of Profound Heaven's charisma truly earned him the undying loyalty of his Twelve Dharma Kings, who still search desperately for his trace ten thousand years later.*
*A savior of Xuanhuang, is it?*
With an impassive expression, Li Fan quietly returned to the Spirit Wood Realm.
Compared to the desolate state it had started in this lifetime, the Spirit Wood Realm now genuinely boasted the grand demeanor of a "Union of Ten Thousand Realms."
Its spiritual energy density was no longer inferior to ordinary regions of the Xuanhuang Realm, and its technical reserves in array craft and artifact refinement stood well above those of Xuanhuang.
The various factions within the Spirit Wood Realm were all carrying out their duties strictly according to Li Fan's will.
After thoroughly synthesizing all the popular pill formulas of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, the Medicine King Sect had successfully developed a pill named the Deficiency-Mending Pill. Though the name sounded modest, it derived from the phrase, "Heaven's Dao has flaws; mend them with pills." Once a cultivator ingested it, they gained a massive surge of cultivation, and their realm advanced by leaps and bounds.
Better yet, the Deficiency-Mending Pill could delay the bottlenecks brought about by the Heavenly Calamity. As long as the pills kept coming, one would never be troubled by a bottleneck.
Naturally, the side effects were equally formidable. The more Deficiency-Mending Pills one consumed, the stronger one's dependence grew. This was not addiction in the ordinary sense; rather, after taking too many Deficiency-Mending Pills, the cultivation base gained through one's own efforts would dwindle further and further. In the end, one could only acquire cultivation through the pills. Yet the cultivation contained within a single Deficiency-Mending Pill was fixed, whereas higher realms demanded ever-increasing amounts.
According to the deductions of Liu Ruchen and the others, the Deficiency-Mending Pill could support a cultivator up to the Soul Formation realm at most.
Beyond that, even if one spent a lifetime swallowing pills, one could never amass enough cultivation.
And the drawbacks of the Deficiency-Mending Pill did not end there.
Though it boasted the ability to "mend the defects of Heaven's Dao," in truth, it was merely an elixir for acquiring cultivation, lacking any truly miraculous power to snatch heaven and earth's fortune. Nevertheless, upon consuming the Deficiency-Mending Pill, an overambitious impulse to mend the flaw of Heaven's Dao would unconsciously sprout in the cultivator's heart.
For a cultivator capped at Soul Formation to attempt mending the sky was nothing short of courting self-destruction.
According to Liu Ruchen, the name Deficiency-Mending Pill was not chosen at their whim. Instead, upon the pill's completion, its resonance with the laws of the Great Dao caused the name to emerge spontaneously from the unseen.
As for why a pill that merely boosted cultivation would be bestowed the words "Deficiency-Mending," everyone in the Medicine King Sect remained equally baffled.
Yet this did not hinder the pill's deployment.
Li Fan paid little heed to its side effects. With the widespread distribution of the Deficiency-Mending Pills, the strength of cultivators across the various pocket worlds soared.
Soon, over a hundred Core Formation cultivators emerged.
According to plan, his clone Li Qing led them into the Chaoyuan Sect Secret Realm.
This was their first feasibility trial. If it succeeded, the Spirit Wood Realm would be capable of mass-producing Nascent Soul cultivators in the future.
***
By comparison, Layman Qiaogong's progress on modifying Tianyang was considerably slower.
There was always a gap between theory and practice.
The obstacles encountered when attempting to construct a true immortal-grade puppet far exceeded expectations. Fortunately, Layman Qiaogong, Fang Zaiji, and Tianyang all took immense joy in the endeavor, so after observing for a while, Li Fan chose not to disturb them.
*I only need to acquire their research results before this lifetime ends.*
Inside the subterranean chamber, Li Fan settled his mind.
In a trance, his perspective ascended continuously, rising high into the sky to overlook the lands of the Spirit Wood Realm.
To Li Fan's eyes, the vast Spirit Wood Realm appeared no larger than the palm of a hand.
A translucent green light shimmered across every corner, while great formations traced intricate patterns over the world's surface, flickering in and out of view.
After the Terminal Dissociation Disc completed its upgrade and transformation, Li Fan had refined the Spirit Wood Realm once more using array methods.
It was fair to say that this pocket world could now be regarded as a colossal magical treasure of his own.
With a thought, Li Fan summoned the interface of True Reversion.
A prompt from True Reversion followed immediately:
"Replace bound items using an unused anchor?"
Li Fan pondered for a moment, ultimately choosing to hold off.
Although bringing the Spirit Wood Realm to its current scale had been no easy feat, if he lived another lifetime, he could absolutely rebuild it—perhaps even better.
Anchors were hard to come by. If he were to use one to replace a bound item, it had to be spent on something extraordinarily difficult to replicate, an item that once lost could never be reclaimed.
*I have already used three anchors. The initial anchor is set at the moment I first crossed over into this world.*
*The second anchor is at the peak of Mount Jieli, with the Vast Sea Pearl as the Foundation Establishment wonder, at the late Foundation Establishment stage.*
*The third anchor is likewise at Mount Jieli, with True Reversion as the Foundation Establishment wonder, also at the late Foundation Establishment stage.*
*Perhaps once this lifetime comes to an end, I can set another anchor.*
Chapter 1044