"Do I really need your reminder? The moment those little fellows returned, I locked them up. It's just that I haven't interrogated any results out of them yet," Zhou said faintly.
***
After exiting Dharma Transmitter Zhou's pocket world, Li Fan reappeared at the border of Tianquan Province.
He cast a glance toward the Nether Prison not far off, but ultimately withdrew his gaze slowly.
"There will always be a chance to go down and have a look. No need to rush now."
He then sped off toward the Spirit Wood Realm.
"Junior Brother, is anyone following us?"
After flying for a while, Li Fan suddenly asked in his mind.
A transparent suit of armor materialized over his body in an instant, its distinct angles encasing Li Fan completely.
Tianyang's voice came from the armor: "Rest assured, Senior Brother. I have already severed the two divine senses tracking us. And I gave them a small warning in return."
Compared to five years ago, Tianyang's voice had grown far more lively and dynamic.
The aftereffects of being transformed into a puppet had been thoroughly eliminated; he was now no different from an ordinary cultivator.
And all of this was the transformation brought about by this Immortal-grade battle puppet.
This battle puppet—or rather, suit of battle armor—was precisely the source of confidence that had emboldened Li Fan to venture alone into the lion's den and confront two Dharma Transmitters face to face.
After being tricked by Mo Rubin, Li Fan had been heavily provoked.
As a result, he had passed that pressure down to everyone in the Spirit Wood Realm.
Not only had Layman Qiaogong performed beyond all expectations, completing the crafting of an Immortal-grade puppet in merely five years, but the Medicine King Sect had also yielded frequent breakthroughs, satisfying Li Fan greatly. That, however, could be passed over for the moment.
Following his thorough metamorphosis, Tianyang's strength had undergone an earth-shattering leap.
Even if Li Fan exerted his full might, he could not even break Tianyang's defense.
His divine abilities, such as Silk Pulling, Life Severing, and the Five Elements Annihilation Sword, could not shake Tianyang in the slightest.
Even divine sense attacks were like clay oxen entering the sea, failing to stir up the smallest ripple.
Only his replicated "Disorder" Formula could cause Tianyang a bit of trouble.
Yet it went no further than that.
Driven by the otherworldly power of Source Power Essence as its core engine, Tianyang's current strength was definitively not inferior to a new-technique Longevity cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm.
He might lack somewhat in offensive measures, but his physique was that of an Immortal-grade puppet. Even if he were bested, he could only be suppressed—never destroyed.
And with the Tianyang puppet, whose strength rivaled Longevity, shielding him as armor, why would Li Fan place a mere two Dharma Transmitters in his eyes?
Had he not unexpectedly learned that Mo Rubin had secretly seized control of the entire Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, Li Fan had originally intended to simply capture and subdue both Dharma Transmitters on the spot.
The protection Tianyang provided was all-encompassing. Not only did it cover physical harm, but even soul attacks had to dismantle Tianyang's divine soul and willpower before they could touch Li Fan.
And just how formidable was Tianyang's willpower?
Back when he was only in the Foundation Establishment realm, his crystallized resolve had endured unextinguished for thousands of years, becoming an Eternal Lingering Thought. Now, after becoming an Immortal Realm puppet, it had sublimated even further, leaving Li Fan feeling thoroughly outmatched.
In short, only beneath Tianyang's armor did Li Fan feel an unprecedented sense of security.
Even if he were to face Mo Rubin directly at this moment, he was brimming with confidence, devoid of fear.
Carrying Li Fan, Tianyang soon returned to the Spirit Wood Realm.
Five years had passed, and the Spirit Wood Realm had once again undergone a tremendous transformation.
The pocket worlds originally connected to the Spirit Wood Realm via spatial passages—such as the Li Realm, the Empire, and the Beast Seed Realm—had gradually begun to merge with it.
By falsifying the Heavenly Dao, Li Fan had gained insights from watching the Xuanhuang Realm stitch together and fuse with other cultivation worlds, grasping a method for worlds to devour and assimilate one another.
However, with his current strength, attempting to reach the scale of the Xuanhuang Realm remained somewhat forced.
He could only blaze a new trail through the method of array-refining.
Viewed from a macro perspective, the present Spirit Wood Realm resembled a misshapen monster grafted with numerous small worlds onto its body.
Yet aesthetics had never been something Li Fan cared about; practicality was all that mattered.
Moreover, this was merely Li Fan's first attempt. Practice made perfect; he believed his technique for "fashioning" and fusing worlds would only improve in the future.
Beyond the changes in the Spirit Wood Realm itself, the Myriad Realms Association had also been subdivided into several distinct departments based on function.
It truly had taken shape and was no longer just an empty shell.
There was Pill Refinement, built around the former members of the Medicine King Sect.
Artifact Forging, led primarily by Layman Qiaogong, Fang Zaiji, and numerous apprentices.
Nether Seeking, spearheaded by the clone Li Qing, with death-sworn warriors chosen from various pocket worlds serving as the backbone.
And Dao Illumination, populated mainly by exceptionally gifted young cultivators such as those from Shanhe Pavilion...
The foundation had taken shape, vibrant and full of vigor.
Without disturbing them, Li Fan headed straight past the underground secret chamber to a vast space excavated at a later date.
At present, he was the only one who knew of this space, its perimeter fortified by the Seven-Colored Divine Light.
Li Fan named this fledgling department World Extinction.
True to its name, what the cultivators in this department would research in the future were all manner of methods capable of destroying the Xuanhuang Realm.
This was truly too shocking and scandalous. Thus, even though the cultivators of the association were unconditionally obedient to Li Fan, he had temporarily kept them in the dark regarding this department's existence.
"It seems I can only look for people who are just as extreme."
"The Xuanhuang Realm is vast. If I truly search, they can be found."
Thinking this over, Li Fan looked toward the objects wrapped in spheres of seven-colored light within the World Extinction space.
The vast majority were gray mold cultured over these past five years to prepare for contingencies.
Yet there were also a few new items.
Li Fan reached out, and a cluster of seven-colored light that appeared somewhat faded flew listlessly into his hand.
"Heaven-Spiting Arrow..."
"After falsifying the Heavenly Dao and being able to clearly see the power of anomalies, I was finally able to replicate it."
The Heaven-Spiting Arrow had been the ultimate instrument used by the cultivators of the Heavenly Alliance in previous cycles to resist the Profound Net.
By drawing upon the destructive force of anomalies, it inflicted regional devastation upon the Profound Net.
Now, before the Heavenly Profound Mirror had usurped Heaven, the effect of the Heaven-Spiting Arrow was to trigger large-scale anomalous outbreaks and cause the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao to lose control.
The anomalous power within the Heaven-Spiting Arrow had not been generated by Li Fan himself.
Rather, he had personally journeyed to zones where anomalies erupted, gathering it bit by bit with his own hands before wrapping and sealing it in the Seven-Colored Divine Light.
Each one used was one fewer remaining.
Still, judging by the current density of anomalous outbreaks across the Xuanhuang Realm, there was no need to worry about running short anytime soon.
Aside from the Heaven-Spiting Arrow, the other major killing weapon within the World Extinction space was the "Disorder" Formula.
Borrowing from his experience with the automatic detonation in the 115th cycle, and incorporating Layman Qiaogong's ideas for refinement, the formula was engraved directly inside a puppet's body with a degree of artificial intelligence.
It could travel to a designated location at a specified time according to Li Fan's instructions and detonate the "Disorder" Formula.
Better still, this puppet possessed an inherent ability to interfere with karma.
This made any attempt to pinpoint the mastermind behind the scenes through deduction exceptionally difficult.
Chapter 1057