Backups of all the Empire's research achievements were preserved here.
Li Fan strolled through the colossal treasury, walking all the way to its depths where the Ten Thousand Beasts Melting Furnace stood before turning around.
He took out an object and presented it to the two of them.
It was a disk no larger than a palm, yet the pressure inadvertently radiating from it made Qing and Hong shudder, stirring an irresistible impulse to fall to their knees.
"This is...?"
Forcing down their bodies' instincts, they stared at the disk in Li Fan's hand, sheer terror washing over their faces. "The Ten Thousand Beasts Revolving Wheel?"
The sensation that their very lives hung on the other's whim instantly brought to mind that legendary treasure of the demon beast race.
However, after staring fixedly at the disk for a long time, they still noticed something amiss.
As demon beasts, their bloodline memories contained ancestral impressions of the Ten Thousand Beasts Revolving Wheel.
Yet it was noticeably different from what Li Fan held.
The true Ten Thousand Beasts Revolving Wheel possessed an aura far more ancient and weathered by the ages.
Whereas the one before them...
While it certainly exerted a degree of control over them, if they resisted with all their might, they were not entirely incapable of breaking free. There was still a considerable difference from the legends, where one's life and death were completely stripped of free will.
*A replica?*
The thought struck both Qing and Hong simultaneously. They looked at Li Fan, caught in startled uncertainty.
"You guessed correctly. It is indeed a replica crafted by the Federation elders, based on the research materials regarding the Ten Thousand Beasts Revolving Wheel that you previously provided.
"Beyond restraining all beasts, it possesses another function, which is also the primary purpose of my visit."
Li Fan let out a sudden sigh. "The Spirit Wood Realm has been destroyed. Although casualties were minimal, we fled in great haste, and much valuable material and research data could not be retrieved in time.
"Thus, having learned from this bitter lesson, the elders decided to activate the Realm Backup Plan, copying and preserving everything of value from each pocket world..."
Before Li Fan could finish, Qing and Hong's faces had already blanched.
Yet Li Fan continued impassively, "This is also for your own good. After all, the Empire's self-defense capabilities are far too meager. If the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals were to dispatch merely one or two Dao Integration cultivators, they could annihilate you entirely.
"By leaving a seed of civilization within the Federation, you can rebuild quickly even if misfortune strikes."
Toying with the disk in his hands, Li Fan looked toward the countless specimens of exotic beasts sealed in ice throughout the imperial treasury. "Your greatest wealth is actually the various exotic beasts you have bred over the years. I know you retain more than one backup of each; I will take only one."
With that, paying no heed to Qing and Hong's reactions, a ray of brilliance beamed from the disk and swept across the icebound exotic beasts.
Wherever the light touched, the beasts vanished on the spot in an instant.
Meanwhile, faint spectral silhouettes of those beasts seemed to emerge upon the disk in Li Fan's hand.
To all appearances, it looked as though the icebound beasts had been drawn inside for safekeeping. In truth, they had long been disintegrated by the beam of light. At the same time, information regarding their anatomy, bloodlines, tissues, and more was all recorded into the disk.
*All demon beasts under heaven originate from Di Yi.*
*And the Empire's exotic beasts were all bred and evolved from the demon beasts of antiquity. As the saying goes, ten thousand variations never stray from their origin. Once this data is mastered, all these exotic beasts can be created out of thin air.*
As the recorded data on exotic beasts accumulated, the spectral silhouettes on the disk multiplied.
Not only did the aura it radiated grow more majestic and formidable, but even the disk's physical appearance shifted accordingly.
It grew increasingly similar to the true Ten Thousand Beasts Revolving Wheel etched into the memories of Qing and Hong.
As Li Fan collected backups of these beasts, he could not help but marvel at the wonders of creation.
Aside from a portion that had been deliberately bred toward targeted traits, the vast majority of the Empire's exotic beasts had come into being through a myriad of coincidences.
Different bloodlines intertwined and mutated, and new species in turn mutated into distinct offshoots.
It seemed boundless.
*Infinite possibilities.* The phrase once spoken by the Beast Di Yi within the Fallen Immortal Illusion suddenly surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
Just as Li Fan was about to take in the data of another icebound beast as usual, he abruptly paused.
For from this creature, he sensed a familiar aura.
"Sky-Patrolling Arrow..."
Seeing Li Fan pause and noting where his gaze fell, Qing and Hong understood at once.
They hurriedly explained, "This beast is the very core of the arrow the Envoy instructed us to examine. We named it 'Liekong'. Back in the Beast Taming Sect, we once saw similar demon beasts, though they were nowhere near as ferocious or swift as this one. Moreover, they possessed a strong sense of self and were difficult to control.
"The offshoots we have currently bred still fall short of the original specimen the Envoy entrusted to us, which is why we had not yet reported it."
Li Fan searched around and indeed found similar strains adjacent to the Liekong beast.
*If the core is lacking, I can compensate with formations. Even if it cannot match the destructive power of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' true Sky-Patrolling Arrows, reaching half would already be immensely practical.* With this thought, Li Fan recorded all the data of these Liekong beasts into the disk.
...
His thoughts returned to the present.
The disk bearing the essence of the Empire's research was, of course, the Ten Thousand Beasts Condensed Crystal.
With the artifact-crafting prowess of the Tianji Realm, combined with the detailed and specific records regarding the Ten Thousand Beasts Revolving Wheel obtained from Xu Ke, forging a replica had been no difficult feat.
*Condensing physical forms of these beasts from the Ten Thousand Beasts Condensed Crystal requires massive amounts of spiritual energy. My current late Foundation Establishment cultivation cannot sustain it. But once Sun Erlang returns from the Xuanhuang Realm aboard the Taiyan Boat, that won't be an issue.*
*With the Daoyi bugs and Liekong, Great Xuan will possess the capital to conquer other pocket worlds.*
Traveling to the Nether Realm required the Nether race to activate a special ritual.
Though Li Fan had easily suppressed the Nether race in his previous life, that was because he possessed the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, his true combat power surpassing that of ordinary Dao Integration cultivators.
In this life, however, caught within the web of the True Immortal, Li Fan could not rashly elevate his cultivation realm.
Relying solely on Great Xuan, the Nether race would not be so easy to deal with.
Therefore, he needed to enhance the fighting strength of Great Xuan's military and populace as much as possible, while also elevating his own mastery of the Heavenly Emperor's Qi Canon.
Standing atop the Holy Emperor Throne, Li Fan began contemplating suitable targets for conquest.
One month later, Sun Erlang successfully returned at the helm of the Taiyan Boat.
This also marked the beginning of Great Xuan's first step toward ascending into a world of spiritual energy.
As the first Heaven and Earth Furnace was successfully forged, spiritual energy began diffusing across the city of Xuanjing.
Great Xuan's imperial guards were the first to sense the presence of spiritual energy.
Over the course of a single night, the hundred-plus imperial guards who possessed the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation all succeeded in drawing Qi into their bodies, embarking upon the path of cultivation from that moment forth.
And the standout among them, Sun Erlang, advanced straight to peak Qi Condensation in one go with the aid of the Immortal Sitting Technique's might.
Chapter 1130