"This 'Creation' is not the highest achievement of Great Qi's research into the True Immortal seal characters," Li Fan said, his expression somewhat wistful and melancholic.
Sure enough, as soon as these words left his mouth, they sent shockwaves through the hearts of the Celestial Vessel's elders.
They had personally experienced the wonders of "Creation." Even if it was merely a version recounted by Li Fan that had been weakened who knew how many times over, its might remained far superior to single True Immortal seal characters like "Xuan."
This made it plain to see that the genuine character for "Creation" truly possessed the mighty power to turn the corrupt into the miraculous.
Yet now, Li Fan was asserting that the civilization of Great Qi had actually comprehended a True Immortal seal character superior to "Creation"?
"Could... could Fellow Daoist's words truly be genuine?" Even Zhong Daogong, the most composed among them, could no longer maintain his calm and blurted out.
The other elders of the Celestial Vessel also fixed their eyes intently on Li Fan.
"How would I dare speak rashly?" Li Fan said solemnly.
"That character is the highest secret of Great Qi, something only those of my master's level are qualified to access. I merely heard him mention it casually a few times while attending at his side in the past."
"It seems... to involve the Transformation of Immortal and Mortal."
"The Transformation of Immortal and Mortal?" Li Fan's brief words stirred diverse expressions among the crowd of the Celestial Vessel, sending their imaginations racing.
Taking in everyone's reactions, Li Fan added to bolster the credibility of his words, "That character is indeed extraordinary. Ever since Master took part in its research, during his daily instruction to me, subtle changes occurred in certain structures of the True Immortal seal characters he was accustomed to inscribing."
"Yet it was precisely these seemingly inconspicuous alterations that brought about a near-total metamorphosis in the True Immortal seal characters as a whole..."
Before everyone's eyes, Li Fan moved his hand like flowing dragons and snakes, consecutively inscribing two character structures in the void.
Their shapes were completely identical, yet there were differences in subtle nuances such as their curvature and turns.
Looking at the two character structures, the elders of the Celestial Vessel stared blankly, lost in a daze.
As if possessing boundless magic, the structures completely captivated their attention.
Only after nearly half a day did Zhong Daogong become the first to regain his senses. Without disturbing the comprehension of the other elders, he turned his head away, deliberately avoiding the characters floating in the void as he attempted to imitate and write them himself.
Tracing them with his hand, an enlightened joy broke across his face.
This altered character structure was precisely derived from the True Immortal seal character Li Fan had obtained from the bloodline of the You people, which seemed to involve the Transformation of Immortal and Mortal.
That True Immortal seal character felt endless and boundless, encompassing the ultimate principles of heaven and earth. Although Li Fan had been fortunate enough in this life to catch a glimpse of a corner of it, his strength was insufficient to support reproducing it in full.
His memory of that mysterious character had vanished into thin air along with his failed attempt to peer into it. Only a few lingering impressions remained of the countless microscopic structures that composed the enigmatic character.
At this moment, Li Fan was using these character structures originating from the Transformation of Immortal and Mortal to bluff the members of the Celestial Vessel.
To call it a bluff was not entirely accurate, however.
The status of the Transformation of Immortal and Mortal was exceedingly exalted.
Even casually scraping out a tiny sliver of it was enough to benefit the Celestial Vessel's people endlessly!
Just like right now, the elders who were deep in enlightenment finally came to one after another, each looking as if they had received supreme illumination.
"Wrong, all wrong! To think our methods for the first half of our lives were entirely wrong!"
"It can actually be written like this! With just this subtle change, the efficiency of inscribing True Immortal seal characters has increased by more than ten percent!"
"Not merely the efficiency of inscribing. True Immortal seal characters written through this method seem to possess an inherently higher degree of completeness."
...
The elders buzzed with discussion, their hearts filled with delight. And just like that, Li Fan easily proved his worth once more.
Over the following month, Li Fan officially took up residence within the Celestial Vessel.
Within the Severing Immortal Tower at the crown of the Celestial Vessel's Divine Tree, Zhong Daogong specially opened up a new courtyard just for Li Fan, demonstrating the great esteem in which he was held.
And Li Fan did not disappoint the people of the Celestial Vessel.
By his own efforts alone, he virtually completed the Celestial Vessel's utterly barren formation system.
"With a predecessor lighting the way, the Celestial Vessel's formation research has leaped forward a hundred years overnight," sighed Celestial Vessel Elder Meng Xiaomeng.
He gingerly engraved the formation knowledge taught by Li Fan into jade slips one after another.
Meng Xiaomeng had always opposed staking all of the Celestial Vessel's bets solely on the Dao of True Immortal seal characters. Therefore, alongside studying seal characters, he dabbled in formations and alchemy, attempting to open other possible avenues of survival for the Celestial Vessel. But without guidance from a renowned master, relying purely on his own study of the ancient formations preserved in the vessel's records, his formation mastery was quite mediocre.
Having witnessed Li Fan's formation theories over this past month, he was instantly awestruck. Delighted by what he discovered, he threw his entire mind into studying it, even casting True Immortal seal characters to the back of his mind.
Zhong Daogong did not stop him either.
After all, there were too many elders studying True Immortal seal characters on the Celestial Vessel; losing one Meng Xiaomeng made no difference. On the other hand, gaining a whole lineage of formation inheritance was of considerable importance.
During this period, Li Fan did not merely establish a formation inheritance system for the Celestial Vessel.
Under his direction and assistance, all the protective formations across the entire vessel were thoroughly reconstructed.
Empowered by the brand-new formations, tests conducted by the elders revealed that the vessel's resilience against attacks had more than tripled. Important locations aboard the Celestial Vessel, such as the Severing Immortal Tower, the Immortal Pivot Court, and the Divine Tree, also saw their security capabilities substantially bolstered.
As it happened, there was an episode during this process.
Initially, the Celestial Vessel's elders had harbored reservations about reconstructing the formations. In particular, entrusting a matter concerning the vessel's very survival to Li Fan, a newcomer who had just joined, caused much disagreement among them.
However, after seeing with their own eyes how Li Fan dismantled the original grand protective formation in just a few breaths and walked through the numerous restrictions as if they did not exist, the elders broke into cold sweats and quickly reached unanimous agreement.
Establishing an orthodox lineage and building new defenses.
Through these two achievements, in a short span of time, Li Fan had earned the deep trust of the vast majority of people aboard the Celestial Vessel.
Furthermore, after integrating into the vessel, Li Fan carried himself with refined grace and treated everyone with great warmth. Whenever someone came to his door with questions, he shared everything he knew without holding back.
Before long, Li Fan had garnered an exceptional reputation among the elders' circle, and a steady stream of visitors called on him.
On this day, Li Fan was expounding the Taijia Divine Technique to several elders visiting his courtyard.
"As body merges into the cosmos, let intent gallop across the star river. Taijia Boundless, spirit wanders; Taijia Changeless, spirit transforms; Taijia Non-Void, spirit divines..."
The elders had all been obsessed with True Immortal seal characters and originally held little interest in this divine ability. But upon hearing the entire technique through, they all turned solemn.
"Brother Li, does this divine ability seem to be merely a fragment?" Celestial Vessel Elder Lu Yuzhi asked with a furrowed brow.
Having mingled aboard the Celestial Vessel for so long and won everyone's favor, their forms of address for one another had become quite familiar.
"Though it is a fragment, it does not prevent communication with the star sea's consciousness. Still, even with the consciousness in its near-annihilated state today, it is no easy task for us cultivators to make contact with it. Whether one succeeds depends on each person's fortune."
Having finished expounding the passage of the Taijia Divine Technique, Li Fan looked at everyone and spoke with a smile.
Lu Yuzhi nodded. "We naturally understand this. Communicating with the star sea can resemble the ancient realm of the Unity of Heaven and Man. Whether in comprehending the Dao or in the efficiency of deduction, it cannot be mentioned in the same breath as ordinary states."
"It will even be of immense benefit to our contemplation of True Immortal seal characters. Heh heh, those old fellows who didn't show up today will surely be filled with regret once they find out! The few of us must keep our lips sealed tight—unless they bleed profusely to pay up, we will never breathe a word of it," Gan Jingda teased, stroking his beard after grasping the subtleties of the Taijia Divine Technique.
"Brother Li's erudition is truly terrifyingly profound. Like an inexhaustible secret reservoir, every visit brings me new gains," Elder Nangong Lie remarked, prompting nods of admiration from everyone present.
Facing everyone's praise, Li Fan merely replied with calm detachment: "My lifelong wish is simply to empty out all the stores in my mind and leave them to the Celestial Vessel before I fall."
"And then, in the final moments of my life, to risk everything in a desperate gamble—to see the sights beyond the High Wall!"
Li Fan spoke with easy grace and composure.
Among the elders in the room, some looked on with pity, some with grief, and some with heartache.
"Brother Li, is there truly no way?"
"In the Celestial Vessel's vault, there seem to be some secret longevity medicines. Perhaps..."
Li Fan waved his hand, unconcerned. "After the reconstruction of the protective formations was finished, Elder Zhong already took me to the secret vault to try them. My lifespan has indeed reached its limit; taking any heavenly treasures or earthly herbs is useless. I have long since resigned myself to fate."
"One can only say that the backlash from beyond the High Wall is truly dreadful and terrifying."
"Yet it has only stirred my curiosity all the more. In this lifetime, I must see what lies beyond the High Wall!" Li Fan's gaze was resolute.
Hearing this, the people of the Celestial Vessel fell silent and sighed.
Suddenly, as if recalling something, Li Fan said, "Right, when I suffered the backlash before, Master said that if it hadn't been for that figurine I obtained from the Celestial Vessel's vault absorbing some of the power, I probably wouldn't even have twenty years of lifespan left, but would have perished on the spot."
"Just what origin does that figurine possess? When I picked it out, I merely thought its appearance was rather peculiar. Little did I expect it to have the capability to withstand the power from beyond the High Wall."
As he spoke, Li Fan displayed to the elders the image of the figurine standing with arms hanging down and eyes cast downward.
When Li Fan selected it in the vault, they had accompanied him throughout. With Li Fan mentioning it now, they all recalled it, their expressions turning strange.
"That figurine actually had such miraculous efficacy?"
Everyone looked at one another, yet none knew its origin.
"Wait, I will go look into the records," Lu Yuzhi said, rising with a grave expression.
After all, power capable of withstanding the backlash from beyond the High Wall demanded their utmost caution.
"Brother Li, why didn't you ask about such an important matter sooner?" Nangong Lie shook his head.
Li Fan gave a wry smile. "Back then, suddenly learning my lifespan was near its end and my glorious future had vanished like smoke, my mind fell apart. How could I have cared about such things? But having slowly composed myself, and with our casual mention of the Celestial Vessel's vault just now, I remembered it again."
With Li Fan putting it this way, the elders could hardly press the matter further.
Lu Yuzhi was not gone long before hurrying back.
"According to the records, this figurine came from an already annihilated cultivation realm, 'Xiaoyao,'" Lu Yuzhi said, waving his hand to display an image before everyone.
Hearing this somewhat familiar name, Li Fan felt a stir in his heart.
"The cultivators of that realm were not fond of strife. True to their name, they were naturally untamed, free, and unfettered, refusing to be bound by any constraints. This figurine was bought from a gambler when the Xuanshang Celestial Vessel passed by the Xiaoyao Realm back then."
The image shifted, and a disheveled man in tattered clothes appeared before everyone.
Because it was so ancient, the reproduction of the recording was not very stable, flickering intermittently, and the audio was cut up and patchy.
Yet this did not prevent everyone from understanding the beginning and end of what had occurred.
"This thing is an out-and-out treasure. If you buy it, you definitely won't lose out!" the scruffy man said brashly, scratching his crotch and bringing his hand to his nose for a sniff.
"This figurine does seem somewhat extraordinary. But asking for one hundred thousand superior-grade spirit stones is simply too high. It exceeds the scope of my authority," a crisp voice rang out from outside the projection.
"This was a merchant in the Xiaoyao Realm back then, named..."
"Jia Chu. Yes, Jia Chu. It was he who concluded this transaction, and strictly in accordance with the vessel's regulations, he recorded the entire transaction process and archived it. Only because of that do we have the privilege of viewing the scene from back then ten thousand years later," Lu Yuzhi explained to Li Fan.
"A pity that this Jia Chu chose to side with the Shang Celestial Vessel during the vessel's schism back then. Where he is now, no one knows," Lu Yuzhi said with some regret.
Li Fan nodded slightly and continued watching the unfolding recording.
Jia Chu rose as if to leave, showing not the slightest hesitation.
Meanwhile, the scruffy man, who had previously worn an indifferent expression, immediately panicked. Grabbing hold of Jia Chu, he said with an ingratiating smile, "If you think the price is high, we can talk it over! Eighty thousand, eighty thousand will do! A mere eighty thousand superior-grade spirit stones is just a drop in the ocean for your renowned Xuanshang Celestial Vessel!"
Jia Chu paid no heed to the disheveled man's hands clutching tightly onto him.
He merely said in an unhurried manner, "While our Xuanshang Celestial Vessel is vast and wealthy, we cannot spend eighty thousand spirit stones on a figurine whose background is unknown."
"Thirty thousand spirit stones is the absolute limit of what I can decide. Any higher amount would require reporting upward. That would be far too troublesome, so I would rather forgo this transaction altogether." Jia Chu's tone was exceedingly resolute.
"Thirty thousand? You're driving too hard a bargain," the scruffy man mumbled, deeply disgruntled.
"If you feel the price is low, you can also look to local merchant guilds in the Xiaoyao Realm to purchase it," Jia Chu said flatly.
The scruffy man scratched his head and did not respond.
"The local merchant guilds of the Xiaoyao Realm were actually inextricably tied to our Xuanshang Celestial Vessel. It would not be an exaggeration to call them our vessel's branches located in the Xiaoyao Realm. That disheveled cultivator knew this as well, which was why he fell silent in sulky defeat," Lu Yuzhi explained.
In the end, after another round of bargaining, Jia Chu ultimately bought the figurine for forty-five thousand spirit stones.
Before handing over the spirit stones, Jia Chu suddenly asked, "Where did you get this figurine?"
The scruffy man's expression instantly turned wary.
Jia Chu casually pointed to the recording orb to the side. "It is merely routine procedure; you need not say if you prefer not to."
"However, if any problems arise with this figurine later on, we will come looking for you."
Chapter 1339