Thus, the moment Li Ping heard Master Yin's insights on foundation establishment, Li Fan's true body learned of them simultaneously.
"Bury all of one's past to forge an infinite path to the future?"
Li Fan pondered in silence.
He suddenly thought of his unique treasure, True Reversion.
Judging from his previous act of "establishing a true foundation across a hundred lifetimes," in which he had successfully forged part of True Reversion into a Dao Foundation of the new method, True Reversion should have already merged into one with him.
"In other words, if I want to accomplish 'establishing the foundation with oneself,' I must encompass the entirety of True Reversion within it..."
As soon as the thought arose, Li Fan himself found it somewhat absurd.
Whenever True Reversion activated, everything in the world turned from substance to illusion in an instant, returning to the recorded anchor.
Even true immortals were no exception.
"After Master Yin established the foundation with himself, he could freely wield the remnant world soul laws that built him. By the same logic, if I succeed in establishing my foundation...
"I would no longer need to rely on True Reversion. Constraints like anchors and charging could all be ignored; in a single thought, worlds would be born and perish, and I could return to any point in time whenever I wished...
"Such an ability.
"Could there possibly be a stronger Foundation Establishment cultivator than that?"
Li Fan shook his head inwardly.
"This creates a paradox.
"If I already possessed such power, why would I bother pursuing any new-new method? Punching Chuanfa and stomping Faceless underfoot would be nothing more than child's play.
"Unless there is some special method that helps me understand and analyze True Reversion's essence beforehand, this is fundamentally a dead end for me.
"Sometimes, having too formidable a foundation isn't necessarily a good thing."
Li Fan casually glanced in the direction of the Museum of Divine Archives.
During his earlier discussion with Master Yin, the other had proposed a feasible method for stealing Mr. Bai's skull.
Lure the tiger away from the mountain—trick Di Sanmo into leaving the Alliance Headquarters.
Then swap the original with a forged skull.
"After Mr. Bai reversed heaven and earth at the cost of his life, all spirituality within him dispersed as well. His bones became no different from those of ordinary mortals.
"Uh... except for being somewhat harder in texture.
"So as long as an identical skull is forged and swapped in without tripping the restrictions, it might be possible to retrieve Mr. Bai's skull unnoticed.
"Though that is the theory, in actual practice..."
Master Yin had shaken his head and never brought it up again.
Yet Li Fan had never forgotten it.
He was also certain that there was truly nothing unusual about Mr. Bai's remains.
Not only could Master Yin, a world specter, perceive nothing strange, but even the Heavenly Profound Mirror had appraised Mr. Bai's rib with the rock-bottom value of a single contribution point.
"But the skull is an exception.
"Possessing Mr. Bai's Eternal Lingering Thought, it cannot possibly be ordinary.
"During the process of using the Eternal Lingering Thought, True Reversion cannot be activated. Nor can the Eternal Lingering Thought be brought back to be used in the next life. Therefore..."
A dark glint flickered in Li Fan's eyes.
"The best approach is still like stealing the Imminent Transformations of Xuanhuang in the previous life—creating a relatively safe environment where no one can pay attention.
"As for how to lure the tiger from the mountain, what Di Sanmo truly cares about might be found in the Fallen Immortal Realm.
"And as for a scenario where Alliance Headquarters wouldn't even have time to worry about a theft...
"Chuanfa's conspiracy exposed, forcing him to show himself in the world and drawing the eyes of the entire Xuanhuang Realm."
A rough outline of a conspiracy instantly took shape, slotting into his original plan.
"Given Chuanfa's overwhelming might that dominates the world and his unfathomable power, trying to force him to appear and explain himself purely through raw strength is certainly unrealistic. The only way is to threaten the Xuanhuang Realm, which he cares about...
"Only this time, I won't have to be the villain."
On the chessboard, every piece was already in place, waiting only for Li Fan to make his moves.
...
While Li Fan hid in the shadows making all manner of unspeakable schemes, the wisp of divine sense he had previously split off and attached to Wu Ninglu discovered something quite intriguing.
Wu Ninglu was actually pregnant!
In the intervals of her concentrated cultivation, Li Fan's divine sense thoroughly examined the fetus in her belly, confirming that it was indeed the offspring of Sun Ang of the Sun Clan, whose identity Li Fan had occupied.
"However, she sealed it with a secret art, halting its growth.
"This woman is interesting."
Through this period of observation, Li Fan found that Wu Ninglu was not as ordinary and witless as Sun Ang had thought.
Her marriage into the Sun Clan seemed to serve another purpose.
Accidentally leaking the news of Sun Ang's breakthrough to the Dao Integration realm before, which forced him to take on the five-hundred-year task of garrisoning the Yanfa Jade, was done solely to send him away.
Yet all the benefits Sun Ang had traded his sacrifice for ended up falling right into this woman's lap.
With the help of these precious resources, she cultivated with all her might.
Her progress in a single month surpassed that of the previous three years combined.
Li Fan's divine sense even faintly sensed that before long, she would break through to Soul Formation Perfection.
And on this day, Wu Ninglu, who had been secluded at home in closed-door cultivation, finally gave herself away.
As if suddenly becoming a different person, Wu Ninglu walked over to the mirror in the room, her slender fingers caressing her face repeatedly.
Her eyes were unfocused, yet occasionally flared with a trace of malice.
"Dear sister, you've really been living the good life. Your cultivation speed is even faster than mine..."
Wu Ninglu's expression shifted once more, the smile vanishing. "Wu Ningjiu, have you lost your mind?! Possessing my body at a time like this—aren't you afraid of being discovered by the Sun Clan?!"
She kept her voice as low as possible, but her trembling body betrayed the fury in her heart.
Wu Ningjiu regained control of the body, her smile still radiant. "Sister, I'm not so bored as you think. Without the Elder's instructions, how could I dare contact you so lightly?
"Listen well: we've received the latest word that within three months, that treasure will return to the Sun Clan. When that happens, you need to find out where it's hidden."
Wu Ningjiu's voice grew softer and softer, finally fading into inaudibility.
Once back to normal, Wu Ninglu's face clouded with conflicting emotions. In the end, she stomped her foot viciously, as if making up her mind.
Having witnessed this scene from start to finish, Li Fan's divine sense was instantly intrigued.
"A Sun Clan treasure? I've never heard of the Sun Clan possessing anything extraordinary."
The divine sense turned into a gossamer thread and crept into Wu Ninglu's sea of consciousness.
Although she had undergone training and had robust defenses against divine sense intrusions, how could she ward off a deliberate assault by Li Fan?
Before long, Li Fan had found the answer he sought.
This made him, who had only been mildly curious out of sheer boredom, turn somewhat solemn.
"It's actually like the Kunqian Bone Hand—something suspected to be an immortal artifact incarnate?
"Intriguing."
This treasure of the Sun Clan also possessed the supreme might unique to legendary immortal artifacts.
Chapter 1156