"If we are lucky, we might even find the Saint Emperor tomorrow," the Imperial Daughter said, a faint note of excitement in her voice.
"Once you find the Saint Emperor, do not make reckless contact with him. There must have been hidden reasons behind his abrupt departure back then. Report to the Association first, and I will make the final decision," Li Fan said in a deep voice.
The Imperial Daughter nodded in understanding.
Over these past five years, Li Fan had informed the Empire of all the explored grotto-heavens and pocket worlds in the Xuanhuang Realm.
Using a certain type of strange beast capable of freely traversing space, the Empire had screened through these pocket worlds one by one. The sole purpose was to uncover Xu Ke's hiding place.
In the 115th lifetime, before Heavenly Dao Bai's final battle against the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable, the figure carrying a coffin who had appeared at Heavenly Dao Bai's side ought to have been Xu Ke.
As for what was inside that coffin, why he had suddenly abandoned the Empire he had built with his own hands, and why he had not even spared a thought for his beloved pets...
All of these questions would have answers once he was found.
In truth, Li Fan did not particularly care about any of this. It was merely a means to placate the people of the Empire.
Only after he revealed news regarding Xu Ke did the Empire become truly subservient, more than doubling their efficiency—all without Li Fan needing to supervise or urge them on.
After finishing his instructions, Li Fan arrived at the deepest recesses of the Dome Laboratory.
Amidst pitch darkness, crimson threads drifted ceaselessly like swimming serpents.
This was the red string that Mr. Bai had left behind in the Empire long ago, given to Xu Ke for self-defense.
A single thread of it was enough to slay a pinnacle powerhouse of the demon race. It was scarcely weaker than a full-power strike from a modern new method Longevity cultivator.
Out of wariness toward Mr. Bai, Li Fan had avoided direct contact with it in this lifetime, leaving the Empire's personnel to conduct research directly instead.
On the surface, the red string appeared to be an embodiment of some form of the Dao of the Sword.
Yet after several years of uninterrupted experiments, the Empire had discovered that the red string was more like a living creature, endowed with its own spirituality.
Driving it required no spiritual energy at all, but rather the essence, energy, and spirit of living beings—something truly abstruse and profound.
Or, put simply, the lifespan of living things.
Furthermore, the red string looked down upon ordinary creatures. It only took an interest in devouring individuals of a species who possessed high vigor and soaring spirit.
After being nourished with large numbers of strange beasts, the red string—originally whittled down to a wisp—had grown into the size of a slender serpent inside the Dome Laboratory.
Even separated by multiple layers of protective arrays, it inspired dread at a mere glance.
With his clone having established its foundation using the black sword wonder of Heaven, Li Fan was relatively well-versed in the sword dao of the Xuanhuang Realm.
After careful study, Li Fan realized that this red string contained far more than just the Dao of the Sword.
Even more prominent was the Dao of Balance.
To harm another, one must pay a price; thus, one first harmed oneself.
In the eyes of Heaven and Earth, all living beings were equal.
There was no distinction between a mortal and a Dao Integration cultivator.
Therefore, wielding this sharp sword, a mortal vessel could cut down Dao Integration.
This was a classical ancient method doctrine, recorded in numerous ancient texts Li Fan had perused.
Mr. Bai was the last ancient method Longevity Heavenly Venerable of the Xuanhuang Realm, so it came as no surprise that the divine ability he passed down bore such characteristics.
However, with the changing of the eras, even in the eyes of Heaven and Earth, living beings were no longer identical to one another today.
The deeper a cultivator's cultivation, the greater the weight they occupied in Heaven and Earth, and the more they were loathed by Heaven and Earth.
For an ordinary person to achieve a "one-for-one trade" was no longer possible.
Consequently, the actual effectiveness of this red string had been compromised as well.
According to Li Fan's calculations, the power released by a single thread of the red string was sufficient to destroy the physical body of a Soul Formation cultivator. However, new method Soul Formation cultivators lodged their forms within Heaven and Earth, so they would not perish from it, only suffering heavy injuries. As for Dao Integration, they could easily deflect the red string's strike.
Yet that was merely the red string's smallest unit of measure.
If the full power of this red string—now thick as a bowl—were unleashed...
Even Li Fan was not confident he could survive before it, were it not for the protection of the Tianyang immortal puppet.
By now, the red string appeared to have reached its limit and refused to feed any further.
Watching the red string slithering in the dark, Li Fan fell into deep thought.
"The essence of the red string is utilizing the power of the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao against enemies. It is not an abuse of power, but an exchange conducted within the bounds permitted by the rules.
"Employing the red string's power still consumes the cultivator's own lifespan.
"Yet sacrificing merely a fraction of one's lifespan to defeat or even slay a Soul Formation cultivator...
"If word of this spreads, people will surely flock to it in droves.
"Perhaps it can serve as a signature calling card for the Myriad Realms Association.
"It could be called...
"Sword Bearers."
Light glinted in Li Fan's eyes. He ordered people to separate nearly a hundred strands from the red string, each sealed and secured with Seven-Colored Divine Light.
"As long as one joins the Myriad Realms Association, they may wield this sword to slay Soul Formation cultivators.
"Who would dare claim our Association lacks foundation?
"Moreover, executing new method cultivators aligns with the will of Heaven, eliminating any worry of heavy slaughter inviting the backlash of Heaven and Earth.
"Truly ingenious!"
Even after having a portion stripped away, the drifting red string still did not resume feeding.
It seemed the total volume of the red string in the Xuanhuang Realm was fixed; only by consuming some could more be regenerated.
Miraculous though the red string was, Li Fan would not use it himself.
It would only be distributed to members of the Myriad Realms Association as a protective treasure.
'Conveniently, among the deathsworn who previously explored the Crimson River, someone has managed to return alive. I can bestow this magical treasure upon them before formally imparting immortal methods to serve as an incentive,' Li Fan thought to himself as he left the Empire pocket world's grounds.
He arrived at the Nether Seeking area.
Upon one of the countless vacant plinths, the first monument had quietly descended.
Carved upon the stone stele were the name and likeness of the cultivator who had retrieved a fragment of lost history from the Crimson River.
Moreover, the projection of that history could be viewed through the stele.
The harvest from this first endeavor was, in fact, an inconsequential clip of footage.
The point in time was likely before the immortal path had been severed.
Visitors from other cultivation worlds arrived in grand, imposing fashion aboard more than a dozen immortal ships.
Sects across the Xuanhuang Realm dispatched retinues to welcome them, hosting a grand convention of exchange.
It was bustling with activity, brimming with boundless vigor and life—a stark contrast to the lifeless, stifling Xuanhuang Realm of today.
Every cultivator who beheld this scene could not help but feel a tinge of loss and sorrow welling up inside.
There was actually another intriguing detail within the projection.
Li Fan caught sight of the King of Profound Heaven, Xuan-Yuan Hong, amidst this exchange gathering.
Back then, however, he had merely been one of the many cultivators tasked with serving and receiving guests.
Standing like a peon, his expression tense yet thrilled as he gazed upon those senior cultivators.
Probably no one present could have ever imagined that this unremarkable little cultivator would one day become the Xuanhuang Realm's final ascender and shoulder the monumental burden of saving the world.
Chapter 1059