"Oh, and by the way, I even retained the memories of destroying her body before, and I slipped them in when I crafted her new body this time..."
"You should have seen the look on her face when she first woke up!"
Layman Qiaogong grew more and more excited as he spoke.
With the buffer zone of Source Power Essence gradually nearing completion, the surroundings had grown steadily brighter. Because of this, he could clearly see the looks everyone was giving him.
That only made him more pleased with himself.
"I should have known. Since you could duplicate and back up your own consciousness, keeping backups of other Tianji Realm cultivators' consciousnesses shouldn't be a problem either." Li Fan appeared abruptly, his frigid tone making Layman Qiaogong instantly freeze.
"Cultivators of the Tianji Realm are absolute geniuses at artifact crafting. Our Federation is right in the middle of a talent shortage. How could you keep something like this to yourself?" Li Fan's gaze was cold and hostile.
Layman Qiaogong could only manage an awkward smile.
"How many people's consciousness backups do you still have over there? Hand them all over, and I will let bygones be bygones. Otherwise..."
Layman Qiaogong felt waves of murderous intent radiating from Li Fan, and his heart leaped into his throat.
He even felt as though a pair of invisible, monstrous hands had locked tight around his throat, choking the breath right out of him.
Moreover, the suffocating grip only showed signs of tightening further.
He was like an insect caught in a web, entirely unable to struggle free, left with nothing to do but wait in vain for death.
Layman Qiaogong knew this was the power of the Compassionate Immortal of the Red Dust.
The moment he finished reciting the oath of induction, he had already fallen into the Web of the True Immortal.
Unless he could surpass it in sheer strength, Li Fan, as the High Envoy, could wipe him out with a single thought through that connection alone.
Fortunately, Li Fan did not actually intend to kill him here.
Just as Qiaogong's consciousness was on the verge of fading into blurriness, the strangling constriction vanished in an instant.
Like a man granted a new lease on life, Qiaogong gasped raggedly for air, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and hastily babbled an explanation: "It was just a few of the most central members of the Council of Elders!"
"I fled in such a rush back then that I only had time to retrieve that many!"
"The gloomy dark power is extraordinarily bizarre. When the time comes, release them and study it together," Li Fan said indifferently.
Naturally, Layman Qiaogong could only comply.
Having been terrified by Li Fan once, Qiaogong became far better behaved.
Three days later, the golden buffer zone was completed.
Watching the thick darkness not far away kept entirely at bay, the onlookers could not help but marvel once more at the divine might of the Compassionate Immortal of the Red Dust.
Strong as the gloomy dark power was, it still could not contend with a True Immortal.
Although buffer measures had been built, there remained a slight risk of this gloomy dark power slipping out of control.
Li Fan did not plan to bring it back to the Spirit Wood Realm for research.
Instead, he carved out a separate research facility within this subterranean world.
The four elders of the Tianji Realm were all released by Qiaogong as well.
Only then did Li Fan learn that the breathtakingly gorgeous female immortal puppet from earlier was actually the Tianji Realm's Chief Elder, Shangguan Tuo, whom Qiaogong had mentioned before.
Back then, Shangguan Tuo had sought to take complete control of the Ancestor, taking a perilous gamble by fusing her own divine soul into the Ancestor's broken core. Naturally, she had made a backup of her consciousness before doing so.
Yet her reckless actions had nearly brought about the collapse of the entire Tianji Realm, amounting to a grave sin.
Consequently, the Council of Elders at the time had voted down the proposal to awaken Shangguan Tuo anew.
They had merely stashed the backup of her consciousness deep away.
In the end, before the destruction of the Tianji Realm, Qiaogong had retrieved it and brought it out.
What surprised Li Fan even more was that Shangguan Tuo was actually the master who had taught Qiaogong his craft.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Layman Qiaogong did not show the slightest hint of guilt or embarrassment.
As for the other three elders of the Tianji Realm, they maintained silence regarding Qiaogong's behavior, which amounted to betraying his master and defying his forebears.
When Li Fan asked Shangguan Tuo whether she wished to seek her freedom, she gave a negative answer.
This piqued Li Fan's curiosity.
He glanced over at Qiaogong, who shivered violently and rushed to explain.
"This really doesn't have much to do with me."
"They are merely consciousness backups, after all. To prevent a situation where two 'selves' might slaughter each other, these backups had their subjective agency suppressed, so they cannot be fully equated with true personalities. Only the Grand Elder herself knows how to remove the restriction."
"This was a safeguard our Tianji Realm instituted to keep anyone from deploying consciousness backups on a large scale and endangering the realm's security."
"As for myself, well, the Tianji Realm is gone, so naturally I don't have so many qualms anymore."
Layman Qiaogong could not conceal the smugness in his tone.
"So to put it simply, they're second-class citizens in the Tianji Realm, which means they have to listen to a first-class citizen like you?" Fang Zaiji asked, stroking his chin.
Qiaogong nodded.
However, upon catching Li Fan's expression, he immediately thumped his chest and promised, "Please rest assured, High Envoy! Although they perceive themselves as one rank below me, their talent for research is no different from the originals. With the few of us pooling our efforts, figuring out how to use this gloomy dark power shouldn't be difficult at all."
"Then I leave it in your hands."
Li Fan could not be bothered to care about the Tianji Realm's sordid affairs.
As long as they proved useful to him, that was enough.
After handing down his instructions, Li Fan returned alone to the subterranean world.
Solitary, he stood amidst the gloomy darkness.
There was no fear in Li Fan's heart; he merely sensed his surroundings in quiet contemplation.
*Just as I thought. In the gloomy darkness, even the influence of the Faceless True Immortal is heavily suppressed.*
*While it isn't enough to break free entirely, to me, this place is already equivalent to a shelter of sorts.*
*Deep within the You Realm, I will be able to activate True Reversion and return at any time.*
At the thought, the threat that had weighed heavily on Li Fan's heart for so long finally lifted considerably.
*Yet blind evasion is useless.*
*Having prepared so much in this life, I already have great confidence in withdrawing safely from the clash between the Faceless True Immortal and the Immortal of the Immortal Ruins.*
*How, then, should I choose?*
It was a rare moment in this lifetime where Li Fan felt calm, pondering in solitude.
The gloomy darkness seemed like an umbrella that shut out everything, granting Li Fan an unprecedented sense of ease.
*The power of the Faceless True Immortal lingers perpetually in the Xuanhuang Realm. It isn't something I can avoid simply by not provoking Him.*
*Once I reach a certain realm of cultivation, I will inevitably draw His attention. That is an unalterable reality.*
*Unless I can find a way to escape the Xuanhuang Realm safely.*
*Yet beyond the High Wall, True Immortals still exist.*
*There is no hiding...*
A sharp light flashed in Li Fan's eyes.
*When facing a True Immortal, being weak is sometimes an advantage.*
*One can observe carefully while being overlooked by the other party.*
Li Fan looked once more toward the profound gloom around him.
*Just like this darkness. If there were some entity staring at me from the dark, yet its strength was vastly inferior to mine, incapable of posing the slightest threat...*
*...then how would I ever detect it?*
Chapter 1101