Six Lifetimes to Expel Immortal Power

The boundless ocean of the water-attribute grotto-heaven began to freeze over for ten thousand li. In the scorching fire-attribute grotto-heaven, the flames grew dim. Yet they did not extinguish. Instead, they continually contracted and condensed, transforming into blossoms of bizarre, drifting flames. ... All manner of incredible transformations occurred within Li Fan one after another. His cultivation broke through the Nascent Soul realm as well, surging ahead wildly through the Soul Formation stage. Early Soul Formation, mid Soul Formation, late Soul Formation... It advanced ceaselessly, coming to a halt only upon reaching the peak of Soul Formation. Powerful. Vigorous. Overflowing with aggression. That was how Li Fan felt about himself at this moment. Yet Li Fan had no time to savor any of it. Just as he had anticipated, undergoing such a drastic transformation within the Web of the True Immortal in so short a time had already drawn the attention of the Faceless True Immortal beyond the High Wall. The surrounding darkness seemed to recede slightly as scattered specks of light flickered into existence. Surging waves appeared to rise and fall, and an uninvited guest had arrived in the silent Sea of Gloomy Darkness. "True Reversion," Li Fan said decisively. The surrounding scene froze, then rapidly dissolved into mist. Perhaps the Faceless True Immortal had not launched a thorough probe into the disturbances within the web, or perhaps the Sea of Gloomy Darkness had shielded against the vast majority of the immortal's power. In any case, this True Reversion proceeded exceedingly smoothly. The ethereal white mist did not linger long before dissipating with a rush. Light returned once more. Anchored Year 1, the peak of Mount Jieli! "A safe return." "It proves my method works." Li Fan breathed a sigh of relief, setting aside the notifications from True Reversion for now as he carefully inspected his face. After yet another True Reversion, the lingering influence of the Faceless True Immortal's power had indeed receded to a degree. Li Fan's face was no longer completely smooth and featureless. Instead, faint contours of facial features had begun to bulge outward slightly. However, this appearance looked even more eerie than being purely faceless. Li Fan did not mind in the least. "Next, I just need to follow the same formula." Following the familiar path, he flew toward the capital of Great Xuan. Over the days that followed, the events in Great Xuan and the other pocket worlds unfolded almost identically to his previous life—the 120th lifetime. The only difference was that Li Fan had grown even more practiced, eliminating many exploratory steps. To stay safe, Li Fan avoided creating any unnecessary complications. He even halted his research into harnessing the faith power of the You people, keeping all variables to an absolute minimum. In the 121st lifetime, True Reversion charged slightly faster, completing three months ahead of schedule. Hiding in the Sea of Gloomy Darkness, inheriting his cultivation, and initiating True Reversion—all performed in one smooth, uninterrupted sequence. Then came the 122nd lifetime, the 123rd... all the way to the 125th lifetime. In early Anchored Year 8, Li Fan arrived once more at the Sea of Gloomy Darkness. He had a premonition that after this True Reversion, he would completely cast off the Faceless True Immortal's influence. By now, his face was indistinguishable from that of a normal person. He merely sensed certain lingering deficiencies undetectable by the naked eye or divine sense. The influence of the Web of the True Immortal still remained, but it was fragile enough to shatter at a touch. Li Fan suppressed the reckless urge to push his luck. Taking a deep breath, he silently chanted, "True Reversion!" In an instant, illusion and reality shifted across his vision. Mist condensed and dispersed in a flash. The 126th lifetime, Anchored Year 1, Mount Jieli! "Whew!" A feeling entirely different from the past several lifetimes welled up in Li Fan's heart. It was true freedom, devoid of all shackles. "'Long held captive in a cage, I return at last to nature,'" Li Fan murmured softly, walking slowly to the cliff's edge. "Xuanhuang Realm, I have returned!" Facing the boundless sea of clouds, Li Fan chose to inherit his cultivation base. Above Great Xuan, the winds and clouds abruptly churned in turmoil. The entire world groaned as though buckling under unbearable pressure. Yet this disturbance lasted only a fraction of a second. The immense aura surging from Li Fan soon subsided and settled, and the sky returned to normal. "Peak Soul Formation is already putting a strain on the world of Great Xuan. If I were at peak Dao Integration, the sheer force of inheriting my cultivation might shatter this world to pieces in an instant. "No matter; when that time comes, I can inherit my cultivation within the Xuanhuang Realm, or perform a world elevation on Great Xuan first." Li Fan gave a slight shake of his head, turning his thoughts to his plans for this lifetime. "In this lifetime, I will remain behind the scenes. "Unless absolutely necessary, I will not personally make a move. "Everything else is secondary, meant only to verify that previous conjecture of mine." Li Fan narrowed his eyes and gazed into the distance, as if looking upon the sky of the Great Xuanhuang World. "What on earth is the connection between Chuanfa and the Heavenly Physician...?" Setting aside the argument that Chuanfa and the Heavenly Physician had never appeared at the same time, the reason Li Fan harbored suspicions about their relationship stemmed from the volume of the *Mending the Heavens Record* passed down by the Heavenly Physician. At the end of the *Mending the Heavens Record*, it described a purely theoretical method of Healing Heaven: "borrowing a shell to revive the soul, rebirth after destruction." Worlds—even the most powerful cultivation worlds—were like living beings in that they had an end to their lifespan. Once a world inevitably slid into ruin and decay, no medical art, however profound, could reverse heaven's decree. One could only watch helplessly as it perished. That was the natural, theoretical state of things. Yet the Heavenly Physician had proposed a way to save a world: finding another cultivation world still in its prime and carrying out an act of possession. "'Heavenly Dao changes hands, the world is overturned.' "Though it seems absurd and incredible, for the Heavenly Physician, it might not be impossible. "Moreover..." Every scene Li Fan had witnessed since stepping into the Xuanhuang Realm flashed swiftly before his eyes. "The various phenomena predicted in the *Mending the Heavens Record* during a world's shell-stealing reincarnation are far too similar to the current state of the Xuanhuang Realm. "Anomalies sprouting everywhere, sudden mutations in the Heavenly Dao... "More importantly... "The Heavenly Physician hailed from the Tianfa Realm, yet attached immense importance to the Xuanhuang Realm, desperately roaming the Pitch-Black Star Sea to gather fragments of other worlds. "Add to that all of the Heavenly Physician's past words and deeds..." Li Fan's eyes flickered. "The reality of the Heavenly Physician's plan to mend heaven can almost be confirmed. "What is truly terrifying upon deeper thought is Chuanfa's attitude. "If Chuanfa clearly knew that the Heavenly Physician belonged to another world and wanted to borrow the Xuanhuang Realm's corpse to revive a soul, yet Chuanfa never intervened to stop it from beginning to end... "And instead, just like the Heavenly Physician, ventured out into the star sea to gather world fragments..." Li Fan's heart could not help but grow heavy. "Either Chuanfa had no better way to save the Xuanhuang Realm and was forced into it by necessity... "Or... "Chuanfa and the Heavenly Physician are simply the exact same person! "Or rather, Chuanfa is an avatar of the Heavenly Physician!" A sharp gleam flashed in Li Fan's eyes. In the Xuanhuang Realm, countless cultivators harbored a question in their hearts: why had Chuanfa not left behind an avatar while his spirit roved through the cosmos? As long as a single avatar remained, it would have been enough to suppress all the petty schemers across Xuanhuang.