It was not that the flow of time had truly shifted.
Rather, the rate at which the Xuanhuang Heaven and Earth around the Boundless Mirror evolved had multiplied countless times over.
As if an acceleration button had been pressed, light and shadow flickered erratically tens of millions of times in the space of a single breath.
The archaic Boundless Mirror grew visibly more weathered by the moment.
One could even see with absolute clarity as tiny, dust-like gray particles drifted off the mirror, carried away by the wind before dissolving into the air.
Having once hidden a divided soul within the Boundless Mirror for nearly an entire lifetime, Li Fan understood it even better than its original artifact spirit, Sun Luyao. Thus, he could discern the precise nature of the transformation unfolding upon the mirror.
"So this is the Xuanhuang Heaven and Earth's process of digestion..."
Although the Boundless Mirror's outer shell was gradually dissolving, the power of the deduction laws contained within lingered, refusing to disperse. Clearly, the energy tier of an immortal artifact remained above that of the current Xuanhuang Realm. Consequently, the Xuanhuang Realm lacked the capacity to digest it completely.
Spacetime continued to evolve at millions of times its normal speed. The archaic Boundless Mirror began to decay, eroded until only its reflective surface remained.
Eventually, it decomposed entirely. Only a phantom silhouette was left, floating quietly in midair.
As if sensing this stray law power of an immortal artifact, an uncanny transformation descended within the Xuanhuang Realm.
Although this change was nearly formless and incorporeal, Li Fan's current strength and familiarity with the Xuanhuang Realm allowed him to see everything unfolding before his eyes clearly.
A transparent human form arrived beside the silhouette of the Boundless Mirror. The force of flowing years and shifting eras seemed utterly unable to leave a mark upon it.
The transparent figure drifted closer, gradually overlapping with the phantom silhouette. It looked just as if it had swallowed the Boundless Mirror into its belly.
Then, like ripples spreading across water, the human form slowly melted into the Xuanhuang Heaven and Earth, disappearing from Li Fan's sight.
From beginning to end, this human figure had not spared Li Fan a single glance.
It was as though carrying away the Boundless Mirror's law power was the only thing it cared about in the slightest.
"A Heaven-and-Earth Essence, of a variety I've never seen before."
"And unlike all other Essences, a cultivator who sees it doesn't even feel the slightest greed to devour it..."
Li Fan retracted his World-Extinguishing Transformation divine ability and gazed far into the distance.
He seemed to see, at this very moment in some remote corner of the Xuanhuang Realm, that transparent human figure attaching itself inside a newborn infant.
As the infant grew, a new Boundless Mirror would be born. However, it would no longer be an immortal artifact. It would be a Heaven-and-Earth Strange Object of the Xuanhuang Realm!
Under normal circumstances, completing the full cycle of digestion and conversion would often take the Xuanhuang Realm thousands or even tens of thousands of years. But bolstered by Li Fan's World-Extinguishing Transformation, the entire process had taken less than half a day.
Logically, aiding the Xuanhuang Realm in devouring an immortal artifact ought to have earned him a slight increase in favorability. Yet Li Fan waited for quite a while without sensing the slightest rise in goodwill from the Xuanhuang Realm.
Pondering for a moment, Li Fan came to an understanding. For the Xuanhuang Realm, the accelerated turnover of shifting eras was essentially an expenditure of a portion of its "lifespan." Going back and forth, the merits and faults had merely canceled each other out.
Li Fan did not truly mind this. In any case, the Xuanhuang Realm's increase in strength was real and tangible. Every bit of power the Xuanhuang Realm gained would be mirrored in the future Xuanhuang Immortal Essence. And he would always be the ultimate beneficiary.
Withdrawing his gaze, Li Fan vaguely felt that as the Boundless Mirror's law power integrated into the Xuanhuang Realm, a qualitative leap—something emerging from nothingness—was brewing.
"The Boundless Mirror's Dao of deduction does not currently exist within the Xuanhuang Realm. Once the Xuanhuang Realm swallows it and makes it its own..."
"A Heavenly Dao capable of foreseeing the future. How interesting."
The Heavenly Dao likely possessed records of nearly everything that had occurred in the past and present within the Xuanhuang Realm. Backed by such an abundance of information, the accuracy of its future deductions might very well surpass that of the Boundless Mirror at the height of its power.
"This is the supreme realm of deduction mentioned in the Taiyan Sect's *Nine Scrolls of Heaven Deduction*: substituting human calculation with heavenly calculation."
"Devouring immortal artifacts does not merely elevate the Xuanhuang Realm's strength. More importantly, it completes its laws. With every immortal artifact it swallows, it takes another step closer to a true Immortal Realm." Subtle insights instantly welled in Li Fan's heart.
...
Ten days later.
At the Daxuan Dao Discussion Platform.
Master Yin, Baihua, Qiaogong, and Xu Ke had already arrived, waiting together for Li Fan.
Their determination to pursue the Dao had ultimately triumphed over their fear of unknown perils.
"Last time, making a round trip to the center of the sea of stars took us nearly a month and a half. I wonder how long it will take to reach the foot of the high wall this time," Qiaogong sighed.
"The Saint Teacher said the borders of the sea of stars are far more perilous. It might take several years for a round trip, and that would still be normal," Baihua said with a furrowed brow.
Master Yin smiled faintly. "Look on the bright side. Perhaps we'll run into some calamity along the way and never come back at all."
Both Qiaogong and Baihua were rendered speechless.
As the group conversed, Li Fan's figure materialized on the platform.
He did not set off immediately. Instead, he sat upright, his expression solemn, and began to preach the Dao.
This time, the teaching Li Fan imparted was the "Sword Dao."
"Under heaven, swordsmen fall into three realms."
"The lowest: wielding unyielding iron to forge one's will, gripping sharp edges to cultivate the self. Tempering the mind through the sword, uniting body and blade. Guiding the sword to slay foes, body and sword acting as one."
"The intermediate: the sword in hand is the sword in heart; the sword in heart manifests as the sword in hand. Wherever the mind reaches, all things between heaven and earth can become a sword."
"The supreme: the realm of no sword and no self."
...
After outlining the threefold distinction in his opening remarks, Li Fan delved into detailed explanations of each realm.
Below the platform, the audience gradually became entranced.
Even Qiaogong and the other three could not help being drawn in by Li Fan's sermon, temporarily casting aside the mission to the borders of the star sea.
As Li Fan's discourse deepened, various phenomena manifested in the sky. Aside from the routine spectacles that accompanied every sermon, the most striking sight was the countless swords streaking in from every corner of Daxuan.
Though they were made of nothing more than ordinary mortal iron, they now soared through the sky. Halting in midair as if paying homage to a sovereign and saintly master, their blades bent slightly in a respectful bow.
More and more swords gathered, blotting out the sky and sun, forming a veritable forest of swords above the platform.
Tens of thousands of swords stood quietly in array, seemingly listening to Li Fan's transmission of the Dao.
"Hands hold no sword, the mind harbors none; though form does not show, intent ever endures..."
Seven days later, when Li Fan uttered the final sentence, tens of thousands of flying swords resonated in unison, bursting with dazzling brilliance.
When the sword light subsided, the cultivators on the platform were astonished to discover that every single one of those countless swords had vanished!
The vast majority of cultivators were utterly bewildered, assuming the swords had simply returned to where they came from.
Only a few endowed with exceptional comprehension stared blankly into the sky, lost in thought, struck by sudden enlightenment.
"No sword and no self, sword intent ever endures..." Xu Ke muttered to himself, opening his palm. A phantom image of a longsword clearly emerged above it.
Seeing this, the other three narrowed their eyes.
Just as they were about to confer, Li Fan's voice drifted over: "Preparations are complete. It is time to depart."
"Be aware that once we embark, life and death are uncertain, and there will be no turning back halfway," Li Fan confirmed with them one last time.
All four nodded, indicating their understanding.
"Sword..."
"Rise..."
A gentle breeze swept past, and the phantom silhouette of a wooden sword, resembling a colossal flying skiff, enveloped Master Yin and the others.
Standing at the tip of the sword, Li Fan pointed into the void ahead.
The surrounding scenery changed abruptly. It stretched into countless distorted lines that streaked backward, the light subsequently blending and shifting into an array of warped colors.
The phantom wooden sword isolated Master Yin and the others from the bizarre, kaleidoscopic display outside.
Even though they could feel the wooden sword carrying them at blistering speed toward the depths of the star sea, the four nestled inside the sword silhouette could not detect any change in their own velocity.
Outside the sword silhouette, the flashing lights suddenly plunged into darkness. All color vanished, leaving behind only the occasional distorted shadow. Master Yin's expression shifted slightly. "Have we already left the Immortal Ruins' area of influence?"
The only answer he received was the stunned expressions of the other three.
"Weren't we told the road ahead would be fraught with danger..." Qiaogong remarked with an odd tone.
They could vaguely perceive the phantom wooden sword rampaging through the star sea, unstoppable and unyielding.
Ignoring the concealed powers of calamity, it accelerated again and again, hurtling toward their destination.
"No sword and no self... no sword and no self..."
"The sword never existed in this world in the first place. Even the calamitous power that obliterates the star sea is completely helpless against something that does not exist!" Xu Ke's eyes were fixed on the wooden sword silhouette, shining brighter by the moment.
At that moment, Li Fan's voice sounded once more: "Choosing to delve into the depths of the starry sky alongside me has already proven your courage and conviction."
"It wasn't easy for all of you to survive until today... unnecessary sacrifices are best avoided whenever possible."
"Saint Teacher..." The four gazed at Li Fan's back as he stood at the tip of the sword, their expressions complex.
Li Fan paid no attention to what the four behind him were thinking.
He was currently immersing himself in the experience of this sword-guiding technique, which had reached an absolute pinnacle of speed.
Ten days ago, after helping the Xuanhuang Realm digest the Boundless Mirror, Li Fan had visited the ruins of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
At the center of the sword mound, the wooden sword seemed to have become distinct and extraordinary due to the Xuanhuang Realm's recent transformation in this lifetime.
Compared to several thousand years ago when Mr. Bai fashioned it casually, the current wooden sword had grown far more profound, perhaps enriched by the settling of time.
"No one knows just how many immortal artifacts the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao has swallowed."
"Perhaps some of their law powers supplemented the Xuanhuang Sword Dao..."
Li Fan had encountered and sensed this wooden sword before, both in the Fallen Immortal Realm and in reality.
Each time, the insights he gained from it were different.
Especially now.
Having made close contact with immortal spiritual power and personally laid down the World-Extinguishing Immortal Array, gazing upon the wooden sword once more caused new thoughts to surface within Li Fan's mind.
"The more one knows, the more one sees within it."
"Or one could say that the projection of the Sword Dao descending from above into the Xuanhuang Realm has become somewhat more vivid."
Li Fan had meditated on the Dao in the sword mound for seven days. He had not taken the black sword from the mound, leaving it to continue soaking in the wooden sword's influence.
Upon returning, he imparted everything he had comprehended upon the Dao Discussion Platform.
Ultimately, it materialized into a divine ability that carried Master Yin and the others, rocketing toward the borders of the sea of stars.
This phantom form of no sword and no self was not merely the Dao of the sword.
Rather, Li Fan had synthesized it from his own experiences, integrating the Transformation of the Real and Unreal, the Concealing the World and Stashing Away Space restriction taught by the Heavenly Physician, and the Grand Star-Crossing Array's Golden Lock Traversing the Void.
Not only was its speed peerless, but it also hovered between reality and illusion, nearly ignoring the remnants of True Immortal seal character power along the way.
Even so, because it had not truly attained the realm of turning substance into sheer void, the wooden sword phantom was still slightly affected by the lingering might of the True Immortal.
However, the wooden sword's flight was simply so swift that it outpaced the speed at which the True Immortal's residual power could take effect, creating the illusion of an unobstructed, headlong charge.
As the sword's guide, Li Fan could clearly sense that the energy sustaining the phantom wooden sword was depleting at a tremendous rate.
Had his Dao foundation not been built upon the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven and the Xuanhuang World-Extinguishing Transformation—rendering it so immensely profound that it rivaled the scale of several former cultivation realms combined—he would never have lasted this long.
"Looking across the entire Xuanhuang Realm, aside from Chuanfa and the Heavenly Physician, even those Longevity realm figures of the Five Elders Association might not be able to unleash this sword strike." Watching the starry sky and spacetime warp past, Li Fan could not help feeling a surge of pride.
Aided by the phantom wooden sword, a journey that originally would have taken the better part of a year now brought their destination into distant view after only two or three days.
Upon spotting several familiar relics floating within the lifeless sea of stars, Li Fan reined in the sword and slowed down.
"Is this the sea of relics the Saint Teacher mentioned?" Qiaogong narrowed his eyes, peering ahead.
"It should be the accumulation of remnant items left behind by various realms after the ancient cultivation worlds were destroyed," Baihua explained, recognizing several decorative artifacts among the debris.
Ever since arriving here, Master Yin had remained completely silent. He pressed his knuckles to his temple from time to time, his expression dark and mercurial.
The wooden sword phantom drifted slowly through the sea of relics. Before long, it traversed the expanse.
Ahead of them, an even larger agglomeration of ruins abruptly surged into view.
It filled their entire field of vision, despite consisting of nothing but ruins and wreckage.
The accumulation of corpses from countless worlds still sent waves of trepidation through everyone's hearts.
A deathly silence descended inside the wooden sword phantom.
Just then, the sword silhouette suddenly came to a halt.
"Hmm?"
The group snapped to attention.
They saw Li Fan fly out from the silhouette, stopping in an open expanse between the sea of relics and the Great Wall of Remnant Worlds to begin laying an array.
Streams of golden lines seemed to come alive, swiftly tracing various patterns in the void.
After flaring with brilliance for only a fleeting moment, they faded into the darkness.
Item after item flew from Li Fan's person, merging seamlessly into the grand array.
A single glance was enough to tell that this array was extraordinary.
Despite standing so close, the onlookers could not perceive the slightest ripple of array fluctuations.
"Fellow Daoist Yin, what kind of array is this?" Qiaogong asked in astonishment, keeping his voice to a whisper.
Master Yin shook his head, but his gaze was not on the spot where Li Fan was setting up the array.
Instead, it drifted toward the distant Great Wall of Remnant Worlds every few moments.
Setting up the array openly before everyone without the slightest reservation, Li Fan was naturally constructing the immortal array he had recently learned from the primordial soul of the Xuantian Sect Dharma King Ji Yuzhen:
Worlds Apart Yet Close at Hand!
Ji Yuzhen herself had not been well-versed in arrays. She had merely observed the Worlds Apart Yet Close at Hand Array several times under King Xuantian's leadership.
Yet with the aid of the Terminal Dissociation Disc, Li Fan was capable of reconstructing its broad design.
Chapter 1316