"Defying the laws of Heaven and Earth..."
Li Fan murmured slowly. Having said only half aloud, he finished the rest silently in his mind:
*...to attain longevity!*
Ever since stepping into the cultivation world, Li Fan had witnessed Soul Formation cultivators uprooting mountains in battle, and Dao Integration powerhouses burning the ocean with crimson flames.
Yet none of that compared to the shock of this moment, catching a glimpse of the Longevity Heavenly Venerable through all these signs that defied common sense.
A power that influenced and altered every cultivator in the world invisibly, intangibly, and without their awareness was vastly more formidable than mere destruction.
*It is only because the crimson flames burning the sea exist in my memory as a calamity yet to come that I was spared from this power's influence.*
*And that is why, by comparing the before and after, I can perceive the impact this Longevity Heavenly Venerable has exerted upon the world.*
After a long while, Li Fan finally shook off the dread born from suddenly realizing that he lived every waking moment beneath the shadow of a colossal behemoth.
In this cultivation world, Golden Core cultivators were generally honored as Masters, Nascent Soul cultivators as True Monarchs, Spirit Splitting cultivators as Immortal Lords, and Dao Integration cultivators as Immortal Venerables.
And at the very pinnacle, those supreme powerhouses were called Longevity Heavenly Venerables.
The world's Longevity Heavenly Venerables were mostly beings of legend, keeping their heads and tails hidden like divine dragons.
Ordinary cultivators could hardly even know how many there were in total, let alone their individual titles.
*Under this Longevity Heavenly Venerable's influence, the cultivators of the world will gradually forget the catastrophes that once occurred. Or perhaps not merely catastrophes. It seems as long as collective memories bring suffering, they fall under the influence of His authority.*
*It is almost as if this cultivation world is truly a paradise free of sorrow and care...*
Li Fan analyzed slowly in his heart, gaining a sudden clarity.
In this world, Heaven and Earth bore such malice toward cultivators, and the conflict between Heaven and immortals was so acute.
Yet among the cultivators he had met—Kou Hong, Dao Xuanzi, He Zhenghao, Yuwen Xing, and the like—almost none were bitter, vengeful types who constantly ranted about defying or destroying the heavens.
All of them, consciously or not, overlooked the malice of Heaven and Earth.
At most, they merely lamented the hardships of the immortal path, and some even went about their days cheerfully...
There was a good chance this was the handiwork of that Longevity Heavenly Venerable.
Was it so that the world's cultivators could cultivate better?
Or was there some other purpose?
Li Fan had never hesitated to presume the worst intentions in others.
...
Longevity was the ultimate pursuit of Li Fan's endless cycles of reincarnation.
Yet at present, he was still far too distant from that goal.
Keeping his feet planted firmly on the ground and cultivating steadily step by step was what he needed to do right now.
Recovering from the shock brought by the Longevity Heavenly Venerable, Li Fan began searching for records concerning the ancient Path of Bodily Transformation.
It was hardly a state secret, and relevant information was easy to find.
The Path of Bodily Transformation was not a sect dedicated solely to mechanism arts.
Rather, disciples of the sect cultivated a unique method: Self-Transformation into Another at Will.
It allowed one to lodge their mind, soul, and consciousness into an external object.
Once lodged, they could not only manipulate it, but also completely synchronize with the sensations of the vessel.
Upon reaching the highest realm, one could even abandon their own physical body and become the vessel itself.
The reason information on it was so easily accessible was not because the method was overwhelmingly powerful.
Rather, it was because...
Within the Heavenly Profound Mirror, there were quite a few "flowery essays" describing male and female cultivators using the Path of Bodily Transformation to inhabit all manner of bizarre objects to engage in the union of yin and yang.
The sheer variety of tricks left even Li Fan clicking his tongue in marvel.
After browsing for a bit, Li Fan shook his head and closed the window.
"From the looks of it, before his death, Master Tianyang buried his puppet in the undersea fire vein, set down his arrangements, and finally lodged his soul and consciousness into the puppet."
"Thousands of years passed, and the puppet grew by absorbing earth fire day and night. Meanwhile, Master Tianyang went from a cultivator halted at the Golden Core stage into a mighty powerhouse capable of battling a Soul Formation Immortal Lord."
"Though he seems to have lost his sanity by now and can only act on instinct..."
"He probably doesn't regret it either."
"'In all my life, Tianyang yields to no man.'"
"He can be said to have barely lived up to those words."
After sighing in reflection, Li Fan began his secluded cultivation.
Observing that Soul Formation battle had brought him insight.
He was surely not far from reaching his bottleneck.
Reality unfolded just as he anticipated.
As natural as water flowing into a channel, five days later, Li Fan felt the spiritual energy in his body reach saturation.
Both the *Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos* and the *Stealing Heaven Changing Sun Art* reached the peak of late Qi Condensation at the same time.
He could not advance an inch further.
Fortunately, to Li Fan's pleasant surprise, the moment he touched the bottleneck this time, he faintly foresaw where his opportunity lay.
Moreover, the journey ahead would surely be fraught with perils turned into blessings, bringing him safely through every danger.
After making brief preparations, Li Fan readied himself to set out.
Before he could depart, a profoundly mystical realization suddenly surged into his mind.
His clone, Lin Fan, who had been deep in enlightenment for so long, had finally emerged from seclusion.
A double blessing had truly arrived at his door; when one matter went smoothly, all went smoothly.
Li Fan could not help feeling as if time and the world were conspiring in his favor.
Calming his emotions, Li Fan carefully examined the divine ability his clone had comprehended from this enlightenment.
All things in the world were interconnected.
Linked ring by ring, from life unto death.
This divine ability Li Fan had comprehended—Life and Death Interlink—could be considered an enhanced and upgraded version of Formless Killing Intent.
Taking a designated person as the "death" target, one could trace back along the chain, sensing the frailest and most fatal "life" link from among countless connections.
Severing this sliver of life would push the designated target toward death without anyone ever noticing.
Formless Killing Intent required locking onto the opponent.
Furthermore, the opponent's strength could not exceed Li Fan's by too much, or Li Fan would suffer a backlash.
There was also the risk of being detected by the target.
Life and Death Interlink was different; it only required knowing of the target's existence.
Moreover, it could almost entirely disregard any difference in cultivation realm between them.
As long as the information was sufficient, even a Qi Condensation cultivator could slay a Nascent Soul.
Take Master Tianyang's cave abode this time as an example.
If Li Fan wished to execute a Nascent Soul True Monarch, he would not need to take action personally. He would merely need to activate Life and Death Interlink to trace back the various possibilities connecting that True Monarch to Master Tianyang's cave abode.
From there, he could find the most suitable thread.
He would covertly nudge the Nascent Soul True Monarch to develop the idea of exploring Master Tianyang's cave abode.
Then, this Nascent Soul True Monarch would perish within Master Tianyang's cave abode as a result.
Formidable though Life and Death Interlink was, activating it still required certain conditions.
Namely, one had to first establish the link of "death."
In other words, one had to determine how the target was to die before being able to trace backward.
And this "cause of death" had to be viable and effective.
For instance, if Li Fan posited that during flight, the Nascent Soul True Monarch's spiritual energy would accidentally fall into chaos, causing him to lose control, plunge from the sky, and crash to his death...
Such a possibility could indeed occur.
Yet the reverse deduction required to bring about such an outcome was far too complex for Li Fan to bear at present.
Thus, Life and Death Interlink could not be activated under those terms.
Chapter 105