"Carefree Dreamscape." The scene from the world they had just experienced, where myriad demonic cultivators fed on human beings, surfaced in Sun Erlang's mind once more. Try as he might, he could not associate it with the word "carefree."
The three turned their gaze back to the border of Qiuxi Province; where the demonic sect world had once been was now gone.
In its place stood the White Mist Barrier, blocking their vision.
"Can we go back?" Wang Xuanba said, ecstatic.
Yet matters were evidently not as simple as he thought. When the Great Xuan trio tried to pass through the White Mist Barrier to return home...
*Bang!*
What had previously been mere essence-devouring fog had now solidified into an impassable, iron-clad wall!
Wang Xuanba, rushing at the very front, crashed headfirst into it and was sent spinning, dizzy and disoriented.
"It seems leaving the Carefree Dreamscape completely won't be an easy task," Yue Zhenwei said heavily.
The three involuntarily looked toward the remaining two border worlds together.
They had a premonition that perhaps only by completing the trials of all three worlds would they learn what to do next.
...
The Great Xuan trio's experiences in the Carefree Paradise were relayed without the slightest omission into Li Fan's mind through the silver eye of the Preaching Platform.
"Interesting."
Having reincarnated through more than a hundred lifetimes, Li Fan had witnessed the destruction of the Xuanhuang Realm, the revival of the Sea of Stars, and the collapse of the High Wall.
Looking at the same experience, he could discern far more than his three Golden Core disciples.
"This should only be the shallow zone of the Carefree Paradise. The construction of the dreams is still modeled partly on happenings within the Xuanhuang Realm—such as that giant boulder on the coast of Shilin Province, or the purple thunder descending from the heavens to wipe out the demon beasts. A cultivator's experience and knowledge in the Xuanhuang Realm will provide some assistance when exploring a dream of this level. Passing the trials of the worlds in the peripheral dreams, slowly growing stronger, to earn the qualification to enter deeper dreams, is it...?" Li Fan smiled. To him, this pattern looked exceedingly familiar.
"Rules seem to govern the Carefree Paradise independently. To obtain more information regarding the paradise, Sun Erlang and the others can just explore it at their own pace."
Sun Erlang and the other two were merely the vanguard. In the days ahead, a steady stream of disciples under the Saint Teacher would head into the Carefree Paradise to gather intelligence.
As the saying goes, vast though the paradise may be, even ants can navigate it!
The reason Li Fan paid so much attention to the Carefree Paradise was that in his previous lifetime, when the immortal formation was activated to destroy the world, an extraordinarily conspicuous dark cloud had appeared within the Five Elders Association's territory.
Beneath the cover of those dark clouds, even creatures that had already perished were protected.
One had to know that when the grand array 'Immortal Descent, All Creation Returns to Emptiness' was unleashed, even Chuanfa could only struggle to survive.
Yet this expanse of dark clouds had not only remained intact within the world-destroying immortal array, but had even possessed the spare strength to rescue people...
In Li Fan's prior understanding, given the strength of the five Longevity cultivators of the Five Elders Association, achieving this was utterly impossible!
Throughout so many cycles of reincarnation, Li Fan had never uncovered this secret of the Five Elders Association. That alone showed just how deeply they had concealed it.
Yet in the storm of world destruction, these deepest-hidden secrets had all been laid bare.
"Over on the Five Elders Association's side, besides the Carefree Paradise, there was one other thing that resisted the onslaught of the immortal array."
Li Fan's eyes flashed.
The remains of the Dharma Transmitters: the Soul-Grinding Disk.
In his 119th lifetime, Li Fan had heard of and seen this object. In that lifetime, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had summoned the dharma manifestation of Heavenly Venerable Chuanfa through the Immortal Chosen to launch a surprise attack on the Five Elders Association, ultimately forcing the Five Elders Association to surrender this so-called lost treasure of the Alliance.
"Within the Soul-Grinding Disk are fifty-six remnant souls and one hundred and three bone fragments."
"Yet those remnant souls and bone fragments remained entirely undamaged amidst raging immortal power..."
"Even when the entire region preserving the Soul-Grinding Disk was reduced to nothingness, it remained unscathed. The Soul-Grinding Disk itself is merely an ordinary magical artifact..."
Four words flashed in Li Fan's mind.
Eternal Lingering Thought.
"Eternal Lingering Thoughts cannot be brought into Trueness. Neither an avatar nor a split soul can perceive their existence. Only I myself can absorb them through Trueness."
"Unfortunately, just like Mr. Bai's skull, it lies within the core territory of their power—not easily reached."
"In this lifetime, I can try scheming to see if I can get my hands on both. If that fails, I will simply take them by force once I reach Dao Integration!"
Li Fan gave a soft snort, pulling his thoughts back to the present.
Standing between heaven and earth in the Xuanhuang Realm, Li Fan held an ordinary mortal steel spear, his eyes slightly narrowed.
A chill that seemed capable of freezing all creation suddenly descended above his head.
Yet it vanished in an instant.
It was none other than an anima of the Heavenly Dao summoned by Li Fan's divine ability of falsifying transposition of Heaven and Earth's principles.
Before it could fully manifest in the mortal world, he cancelled the technique.
Though the anima of Heaven and Earth appeared and dissipated without seemingly leaving a trace, during this process, the steel spear in Li Fan's hand seemed steeped in its power, gradually transforming into something extraordinary.
Silver light flickered; piercing cold emanated from it. Around the spear shaft, illusory snowflakes drifted from time to time.
After only a few attempts, this steel spear had transformed from a mundane object into an absolute masterpiece of a divine weapon.
Once again, Li Fan used falsifying transposition of Heaven and Earth's principles—this time not for an ice anima, but for a leaping, fiery red flame.
*Sizzle...*
The crimson flames poured over the silver-white steel spear, instantly inscribing a lifelike illustration of nine dragons onto the shaft.
Sensing the gathering hostility of Heaven and Earth in this area, Li Fan shifted his form and moved to a different location.
"I'll call you the Flame Dragon Ice Soul Spear," Li Fan casually named the newly forged wonder of Heaven and Earth, then tossed it into the repository of tens of thousands of natural wonders inside the Preaching Platform.
Using the materialized laws of Xuanhuang's heaven and earth to forge natural wonders—
He had grown increasingly adept at this.
It was not merely to prepare Foundation Establishment materials for his students; more importantly, it allowed him to continuously gauge the Xuanhuang Realm's revival through these newly born wonders of Heaven and Earth.
The nourishing effect of the Xuanhuang malice on the realm had surpassed Li Fan's expectations.
After so much time, the Xuanhuang Realm's elevation was still ongoing.
And because this sublimation was primarily concentrated within Xuanhuang's inner core, conventional methods could not determine its exact progress. Thus, Li Fan had to find another approach.
He could not afford not to care.
The Heavenly Dao's feedback for helping the malice return to Xuanhuang had yet to arrive.
"Back then, after a portion of its will was separated to attach to Mr. Bai, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao actually became incomplete. This missing portion was never compensated for by absorbing other remnant worlds. Instead, as the realm grew stronger, the absence became even more... pronounced."
Li Fan observed carefully while forging artificial wonders of Heaven and Earth.
"In short, the Xuanhuang Realm previously always possessed a flaw. Returning the Xuanhuang malice is effectively mending that deficiency."
"Wonderful! It seems this lifetime's super Xuanhuang Realm will be even stronger than I deduced."
As his thoughts churned, another wonder was completed in his hands.
"Hm? This time, the increase is almost negligible. It seems the digestion is finally nearing completion." Li Fan's heart stirred slightly as he looked up at the sky.
A wondrous sensation gradually welled in his heart.
Nearly half a day later, that nebulous connection to the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao formed once more.
However, because his true body possessed the Xuanhuang World-Extinction Transformation dao foundation, the Xuanhuang Realm naturally harbored an innate hostility toward him.
The "heavenly favor" returned in this life merely offset that hostility, with just a slight surplus.
It was completely incomparable to that of the former Saint Emperor.
"Still, now that its attitude has turned around, there will be plenty of ways to improve favor in the future," Li Fan thought to himself.
In his perception, Master Yin, Qiaogong, and the others also sensed the arrival of Xuanhuang's heavenly favor one after another.
For otherworldly cultivators like Qiaogong and Baihua, the sense of estrangement from the Xuanhuang Realm that had persisted for so long finally vanished.
Xu Ke was originally a person of heavenly fortune. However, over thousands of years spent guarding the sealed Xuanhuang malice, and following the death of his companion spirit beast, Xiao Hei, that fortune had dissipated. Yet now, Xu Ke received heavenly favor once more. His white hair turned black, and his hunched back straightened. From a decrepit old man on the verge of death, Xu Ke transformed in the blink of an eye into a composed, middle-aged man.
Master Yin's reaction, on the other hand, was rather peculiar. As if something had exploded directly inside his head, Master Yin's head instantly burst into a cloud of bloody mist.
From the wound at his neck, one could faintly see the doll-like form inside his body disintegrating inch by inch.
The homunculus wore a hideous expression, continuously vomiting blood and gory fragments. The flesh of the outer body squirmed, reabsorbing the regurgitated matter.
Waving his hand, Master Yin stopped the others who moved forward to help.
A bizarre laugh escaped him.
Li Fan's figure materialized beside everyone right on cue.
"No need to worry; this is a good thing for him," Li Fan said reassuringly.
Master Yin was a World Ghost—an amalgamation of remnant worlds that the Xuanhuang Realm could not absorb, forced to parasitize it like a ghost.
Before this, the Xuanhuang Realm had been aware of Master Yin, but maintained an attitude of indifference.
Now, however, after Master Yin helped return the Xuanhuang malice, the realm's attitude had shifted.
In other words, Master Yin had been labeled "beneficial."
The consequence of this was that the Xuanhuang Realm began attempting to accept him, integrating him into the natural workings of its Heavenly Dao.
Barring outside intervention, years from now Master Yin would, as a Remnant World Ghost, become an entity subservient to the Xuanhuang Realm, similar to the Genesis Stone Slab or Ruomu.
Li Fan was not lying; for Master Yin, this truly was a blessing.
First, with the aid of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao's power, the other remnant world consciousnesses within his body could be crushed. He would become purer and would no longer fall into bouts of madness and delirium as before.
Second...
Within the Xuanhuang Realm, there remained a vast amount of "aberrations"—residue left behind from swallowing remnant worlds.
These laws incompatible with the Xuanhuang Realm originally required annihilative measures like Mo Sha to be purged completely.
Yet once Master Yin was integrated into the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao's system, he could feast upon these aberrations. While growing stronger himself, he would also help the Xuanhuang Realm cleanse its internal filth. It was truly a win-win situation.
Though it was a "good thing" in every sense, Li Fan noticed an impulse to resist within Master Yin.
If Master Yin himself fought back, it was very likely to interrupt the integration process.
Li Fan's expression turned solemn as he transmitted his voice: "Why harbor such reservations? Once integrated into the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao, you will be no different from cultivators of Inverted Principle Longevity."
"With the revival of the Sea of Stars, the Xuanhuang Realm is currently the sole pure land within it. In the future, relying on this power of revival, it may well break through mortal limits and sublimate into the legendary Immortal Realm. At that time, your achievements will be beyond measure!"
"This is the grand trend of the Dao: those who flow with it prosper; those who resist perish!"
Under Li Fan's steady exhortations, Master Yin's struggling expression gradually settled. Especially upon hearing the words "Immortal Realm," his final trace of resistance vanished.
His exploded head grew back.
The wound healed over, masking the sound of flesh and blood being chewed within his body.
Master Yin regained his original appearance.
Yet compared to before—where madness lurked beneath an ordinary exterior—Master Yin now truly bore a resemblance to the stone slab.
Ancient, profound.
"Congratulations, everyone," Li Fan said with a faint smile.
"Thank you for granting us this fulfillment, Saint Teacher!" Master Yin and the others no longer addressed him as "Fellow Daoist" as before. Instead, like the students upon the Preaching Platform, they referred to him as "Saint Teacher."
After all, whether it was leading them to the center of the Sea of Stars to witness the Dao of revival, or teaching them how to purify and return the Xuanhuang malice to obtain vast amounts of heavenly favor—
Either deed was equivalent to the grace of rebirth.
To Master Yin and the others, Li Fan fully deserved the title of Saint Teacher.
"Xuanhuang has completed its initial transformation. Next, we must lend our strength to guide it in digesting the remnant worlds scattered across its lands. Before that, however, some preparations are still required."
"Please instruct us, Saint Teacher."
"Though Xuanhuang has devoured its own malice and remedied its shortcomings, thousands of years of cultivators plundering heaven and seizing earth have left it somewhat depleted. Just like a starving person suddenly gorging on food, abruptly stimulating it to digest the remnant worlds might cause adverse effects," Li Fan explained patiently.
Baihua nodded slightly, understanding his meaning. "So what we must do now is help the Xuanhuang Realm digest one or two remnant worlds first? Where do we begin?"
"The remnant worlds within Xuanhuang have faintly formed an interconnected whole. Touch one hair and the entire body moves. Therefore, using the remnant worlds inside the Xuanhuang Realm as medicinal guides will not do." Li Fan smiled faintly, looking at the group.
Qiaogong could not help but glance toward the void outside the Xuanhuang Realm. "So, we need to go outside to look for world fragments?"
"Where could we possibly find any? When we crossed more than half the Sea of Stars earlier, all we saw was vast expanse after expanse of void. The remnant worlds across the entire Sea of Stars have likely all plunged into the Immortal Ruins!"
Master Yin sneered. "Then where did the remnant worlds swallowed by the Xuanhuang Realm all these years come from?"
Li Fan nodded slightly. "Indeed. There are still vast amounts of remnant world fragments within the Sea of Stars."
"At the frontier of the Sea of Stars, beneath the High Wall!"
Li Fan said in a low voice.
Hearing this, Master Yin and the others shuddered.
With a wave of Li Fan's hand, an image of countless contiguous remnant worlds, stretching out like a vast and magnificent Great Wall, appeared before them.
The group stood dazed.
"This..."
Even with their formidable strength, faced with such an unbelievable sight, they were rendered speechless.
Chapter 1311