Sun Luyuan spoke at length, while Li Fan seemed not yet to have recovered from the shock and grief of learning that his beloved wife had fallen.
"Time and fate. No wonder I have felt uneasy for some time now."
"Trapped here, I could not even see her one last time," Li Fan said, grief etched across his face.
"My son... does he have a name?"
Sun Luyuan replied impassively, "Sun Tianci. Ninglu chose it herself for him before she died."
After a brief silence, Li Fan said with a mixture of sorrow and solace, "Tianci... A good name."
Once the topic of Sun Tianci concluded, Sun Luyuan's expression gradually grew solemn as he turned to serious matters.
"Your eldest uncle, Sun Luchang, is leaving."
Sun Luyuan briefly recounted how the sword light had appeared in the vault of heaven, bearing news of the Xuanshang Celestial Vessel from beyond the sea of stars.
Li Fan seemed taken aback. "From the looks of it, journeying beyond the starry sky is not a good thing at all. Can he decline?"
Sun Luyuan shook his head. "As things stand, the upper-tier clans of the Alliance who know the truth avoid it like the plague, while the lower-tier garrison Dao Integration cultivators, completely in the dark, scramble for the chance to go. Naturally, the truth won't be revealed to them, all so they can find more scapegoats. It is rather ironic."
"Though Eldest Uncle is at the Dao Integration realm, he has grown used to ease over the years. I fear..." Li Fan said, sounding slightly worried.
"If not for my duty guarding this place, rendering me unable to get away, I would certainly take Eldest Uncle's place and make that journey beyond the starry sky."
Li Fan's words were resolute and decisive, perfectly matching the character Sun Ang had displayed in the past.
Sun Luyuan showed no suspicion, though displeasure flickered in his eyes. "Our Sun Clan has drawn too much attention. Guarding the Dharma Deduction Jade, voyaging beyond the stars... It is hard to say these arrangements aren't deliberate suppression by the Alliance."
"Do not dwell on it too much. Just stay here and cultivate in peace."
Without revealing the fact that the Sun Clan had already defected to the Sacred Dynasty of Great Qi, Sun Luyuan merely urged Li Fan to prioritize safety and prudence in all things.
"I have already spoken with Elder Xu."
"Perhaps you will not need to serve the full three hundred years before you succeed and are allowed out."
Before departing, Sun Luyuan offered these parting words.
"The Clan Head has gone to great trouble on my behalf," Li Fan said, looking grateful.
"By the way, during the years I have sat here in isolation, I synthesized everything I learned in my lifetime and gained some insights."
"Clan Head, would you kindly pass this treatise, 'Upright Dharma Soaring,' to Tianci on my behalf?"
As he spoke, an unremarkable passage of text surfaced in Sun Luyuan's mind.
Scanning it quickly, Sun Luyuan found nothing out of the ordinary about it.
It was merely an ordinary method for tempering the mind and clarifying resolve.
Sun Luyuan nodded and agreed on the spot.
He then bade farewell and departed.
Only after Sun Luyuan's figure vanished from the chamber did Li Fan sneer inwardly. *A hundred-odd years... Whether the Xuanhuang Realm can even survive that long remains a question.*
Knowing the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals kept covert surveillance here, he did not dwell on the matter, letting the thought flash through his mind for only a split second.
As for *Upright Dharma Soaring*, it was a seed planted for Sun Tianci's future rise.
Looking at the Dharma Deduction Jade, which was once again slacking off and pretending to work, Li Fan could not help but painstakingly urge and reprimand it anew.
...
The Sacred Dynasty of Great Qi.
The Sacred Dynasty Secret Martial Testing Grounds.
Li Ping stood alongside Qiaogong, watching Sun Erlang exert every ounce of effort to control a third Sacred Punishment Divine Puppet.
"Sacred Punishment Divine Puppet" was the name Li Ping had given those golden puppets to distinguish them from ordinary Sacred Army puppets.
"The Sun boy truly is exceptionally gifted. His adaptability is terrifyingly strong; he's already getting the hang of a third divine puppet. If this keeps up, he might just take control of our entire reserve of divine puppets," Qiaogong praised relentlessly.
"By comparison, the people in my Spirit Origin Sect are nothing but useless trash."
"Speaking of which, you've been staying in the Sacred Dynasty all this time. Is everything fine with the Spirit Origin Sect back in Jiushan Province?" Li Ping asked casually, his gaze fixed on Sun Erlang in the testing grounds, from whose brow sweat dripped continuously.
Qiaogong waved a hand. "I have a puppet stationed in Jiushan Province. Whenever those fools see me, they grovel and dare not even raise their heads. How could they tell real from fake?"
Here, Qiaogong paused. "Though calculating the time, that tax collector fellow from the Alliance is probably due to arrive soon. I might have to make a trip back when the time comes."
Li Ping knew that Qiaogong's harvesting of massive amounts of source power in Jiushan Province through the Common Lives Spirit Origin Technique had been sanctioned by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. The price was surrendering a portion of it.
A very large portion.
"The Alliance should not be lacking in consumables. Why are they so concerned about your meager share?" Li Ping asked.
Qiaogong replied nonchalantly, "Who knows? Perhaps because it's such an unscrupulous deed, it isn't convenient for them to step onto the stage openly."
"However..."
Qiaogong seemed to recall something. "Now that you mention it, I remember. When that Alliance envoy came previously, he let slip that the deficit within the Alliance was growing too large, leaving them no choice but to broaden revenue and cut expenses."
"Back then, I even teased him, saying that the Alliance looked wealthy on the surface, but was actually a pauper in reality."
Hearing this, Li Ping fell into deep thought.
*Source power is nothing more than pure, unowned cultivation. Normal cultivators have no need for it...*
*Interesting.*
"When the Alliance envoy arrives this time, I will go meet him in your stead," Li Ping decided.
"Splendid, splendid!" Unable to tear himself away, Qiaogong wanted nothing more.
He immediately transmitted the scenes and details of his previous meetings to Li Ping without omission.
"By the way, how is the puppet body I asked you to prepare coming along?"
A proud look spread across Qiaogong's face, and he clapped his hands.
Instantly, a faceless form appeared before Li Ping.
Unlike the Sacred Emperor's massive stature of thirty-three feet, this faceless body was the size of a normal human.
Yet it could be seen as an exact scaled-down replica, its outer appearance virtually indistinguishable from Li Ping.
Had the Sacred Emperor been overly suspicious, he might well have condemned Qiaogong for lèse-majesté.
At this moment, however, he merely scrutinized the puppet body with keen interest, somewhat surprised. "It's actually a genuine flesh-and-blood body?"
Qiaogong nodded. "Indeed. Didn't you say you intended to use it to journey into the starry sky? The sea of stars is fraught with peril; there are certain bizarre anomalies that only a genuine physical body of flesh and blood can perceive. Before I came to Xuanhuang all those years ago, I suffered a bitter loss on that front."
A glint of heartache flashed in Qiaogong's eyes before he continued explaining to the Sacred Emperor: "I drew upon Tianyang's Path of Bodily Transformation and your precious disciple's flesh-and-blood cultivation techniques."
"Don't expect any cultivation talent from this flesh-and-blood puppet, but a complete sensory link will be no issue at all. Furthermore, just like the Sacred Army puppets, it can assimilate Souls of Heaven and Earth and source power essence. Though its power will be somewhat compromised due to the inherent frailty of the mortal frame, it commands Dao Integration strength. So long as you are cautious, self-preservation in the starry sky shouldn't be much of a problem."
"Provided you don't run into bizarre void tribulations, that is," Qiaogong added prudently.
The Sacred Emperor nodded.
A fleck of golden light flew from his fingertip, pouring into the flesh-and-blood puppet before him.
A sensation like that of an avatar—commanded as effortlessly as his own limbs—welled within his heart.
The Sacred Emperor carefully experienced these sensations, both familiar and strange, as faint realizations dawned upon him.
"I will take this body."
With a flash of golden light, the Sacred Emperor and the flesh-and-blood puppet vanished together.
Qiaogong then refocused his attention onto Sun Erlang within the testing grounds.
Inside the Sacred Dynasty Treasury.
Away from Qiaogong, the Sacred Emperor was modifying the puppet body.
His venture into the starry sky this time was to comprehend the Dao.
He still had certain requirements for the aptitude of the vessel he would inhabit.
What Qiaogong could not achieve...
did not mean he, the Sacred Emperor, could not.
Placing his massive hand atop the head of the flesh-and-blood puppet, he slowly channeled Xuanhuang heavenly favor into it.
Suddenly...
A sense of déjà vu surged within the Sacred Emperor's heart, causing his movement to pause slightly.
After a moment's contemplation, he suppressed the anomaly.
The shell, which had appeared somewhat stiff, gradually grew lifelike.
As natural treasures from the Sacred Dynasty Treasury were smelted into liquid by source power essence and fused into the puppet's frame, the body appeared increasingly translucent and crystalline, giving off an overflowing fragrance.
Even Cat Treasure, who had been slumbering all along, was drawn by it. Startled awake, it looked around.
Upon realizing the source of the fragrance was the body Li Ping was refining, disappointment flickered in its eyes.
Just as it prepared to go back to sleep, it received an instruction from the Sacred Emperor.
Cat Treasure shook its head rather reluctantly, but in the end, unable to resist the tempting promise of source power essence, it let out a lazy mew.
Then, leaping up, it transformed into the shape of a blue, transparent glass cloche,
enveloping the body Li Ping was refining.
Wisps of blue light emanated from the vessel. After drifting for a moment, they burrowed into the puppet's interior.
At this moment, Li Ping had a sliver of consciousness attached to the puppet body, allowing him to tangibly perceive the specific transformations occurring as it bathed in the blue light.
*Reorganization of flesh and blood, a sublimation of the lifeform itself.*
*Even without cultivating, the physical strength of this body surpasses ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators in the Xuanhuang Realm.*
*Furthermore...*
The Sacred Emperor carefully sensed the differences between this body and his original form.
He could not yet understand all the consequences of these discrepancies, but he was nearly certain that these differences were created to deal with some specific circumstance.
As the blue light cover continued the transformation, a spark of insight flashed in Li Ping's mind.
Through this function of Cat Treasure, he could even infuse the special abilities of creatures Cat Treasure had previously absorbed and simulated into this body, turning them into innate divine abilities.
However, this was an artificially created body after all; doing so might trigger unpredictable mutations.
The divine abilities Cat Treasure currently possessed were entirely dispensable to Li Ping. With his departure into the sea of stars imminent, Li Ping did not bother with superfluous additions.
He could experiment with them slowly in the future.
The blue light cover grew increasingly dim until its brilliance faded entirely.
Cat Treasure looked as though it had fought a bitter battle for three days and three nights, its face haggard, its formerly lustrous fur turning somewhat sallow.
Li Ping fed it a large gulp of golden source power essence before Cat Treasure finally fell into a deep, contented slumber.
"Item replication, creature simulation—and now, Cat Treasure's third function:
"Cleansing marrow and altering sinews.
"Truly extraordinary!" Li Ping marvelled.
The puppet body had already awakened from its sublimation. Sensing the form, Li Ping found it even better suited to his soul than his original body.
*Why not simply switch bodies altogether?*
The thought surged uncontrollably from the depths of his mind, but was forcibly suppressed by the Sacred Emperor a moment later.
Cat Treasure's ability to cleanse marrow and alter sinews was not a one-time affair.
If the effect was this profound on a puppet body, it naturally would not be any worse on his true self.
There was plenty of time, and opportunities would abound.
Focusing his consciousness onto the puppet body, Li Ping began adapting to and testing its control.
...
Half a month later.
Before the puppet body could take flight out of Xuanhuang, Li Ping received a cautionary message from Qiaogong.
The Alliance envoy was due to arrive at the Spirit Origin Sect in Jiushan Province.
Golden light flashed over Li Ping, instantly transforming his appearance into that of Layman Qiaogong.
Silent and traceless, he appeared within the headquarters of the Spirit Origin Sect,
awaiting the arrival of the Alliance envoy.
Meanwhile, the puppet body left behind by Qiaogong had already prepared the vast quantity of harvested source power.
Li Ping naturally looked down upon such low-quality energy.
To say nothing of comparing it to source power essence, it fell far short even when compared to the source power cultivated by the citizens of Great Qi through the Spirit Origin Technique.
However, upon inspecting it, the Alliance envoy was overjoyed.
"The quality of this submission seems to have improved substantially, has it not?"
"Sect Master has truly been attentive," the Alliance envoy praised, carefully stowing away the light orb containing the source power.
Imitating Qiaogong's tone, Li Ping smiled and replied, "Recently, I learned a profound technique capable of imperceptibly purging the distracting thoughts of our congregation, allowing them to devote more time to cultivating the art."
The Alliance envoy's eyes lit up. "There exists such a miraculous technique?"
"Why? Is the envoy interested as well?" Li Ping asked.
The Alliance envoy looked somewhat embarrassed. "The Alliance's deficit has widened again recently. If it is convenient for Sect Master..."
Li Ping waved a hand. "No matter, it is merely a trivial knack. If the envoy is interested, I shall recite it for you."
"Mind without stray thought, dwelling in its own spirit. Untouched by myriad dharmas, touching the profound and subtle..."
As Li Ping spoke, incantations flowed from his lips as he directly chanted the profound technique aloud.
Overjoyed, the Alliance envoy hurriedly focused his attention to listen.
Yet he failed to realize that his mind and spirit were slowly succumbing alongside the other's gentle chanting.
When the Alliance envoy's eyes turned entirely vacant, sinking into complete dullness, Li Ping smiled faintly and flicked a dot of golden light straight into the envoy's sea of consciousness.
As expected, there were defensive restrictions from the Alliance.
Yet under the silent infiltration of source power essence, the defenses proved as flimsy as paper, breached without a sound.
Before long, Li Ping found the information he sought within the envoy's mind.
"The power of myriad cultivators, condensed into a penetrating spear."
"Reaching directly into the depths of Xuanhuang, into the Sea of Endless Gloom..."
"Just as I suspected."
Previously, Li Ping had always wondered how the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had located and maintained the entrance to the Sea of Endless Gloom.
According to the confessions of the You people, the passage excavated by the Alliance into the Sea of Endless Gloom differed markedly from the traditional method used by the You tribe.
Perhaps because they did not fully trust the You people, or perhaps because the Alliance wanted to firmly keep the passage to the Sea of Endless Gloom in their own hands.
In short, the Alliance had devised a method to use highly condensed source power to blast a passage directly between the Xuanhuang Realm proper and the Sea of Endless Gloom.
"It is precisely because the Alliance has been covetously eyeing the Nether Realm that the power of the Sea of Endless Gloom has been steadily dwindling."
"It seems it is time to sever some of their tentacles first."
Chapter 1261