"A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. Keeping the lifeblood of our Celestial Vessel exposed to enemy surveillance at all times is by no means wise!"
"Indeed. Though this gray Go stone is the creation of a True Immortal, it is not worth taking such a massive risk."
"Foolish! This set of Go stones surely conceals a great secret. Profit has always coexisted with crisis—how can we give up so easily!"
"Indeed, discarding them like this would truly be a pity. I have a plan: since that unknown enemy can track the gray Go stones' locations, why not turn their scheme to our advantage? We could send one elder to roam the void alone carrying a gray Go stone, while the rest of us lie in ambush on either side. Once they take the bait, we round them all up in one fell swoop."
"Don't underestimate the enemy! How can Elder Gan be sure our so-called ambush won't fall into an even larger encirclement of theirs?!"
...
The elders argued fiercely, clearly divided into two factions, neither able to convince the other.
Throughout the history of the Celestial Vessel, whenever similar situations arose, the Chief Elder would make the final decision. Regardless of past opinions, once a course was set, everyone aboard the Celestial Vessel had to support and execute it unconditionally.
This was also to prevent the Celestial Vessel from fracturing once again.
Yet this time, Zhong Daogong, who had always been renowned for his decisiveness, hesitated in a rare display of uncertainty.
He seemed to be pondering something, his gaze sweeping over everyone present before finally resting on Li Fan.
"Everyone, return and give this careful thought. We shall discuss it again tomorrow."
As the gathering dispersed, Li Fan was asked to stay behind alone by Zhong Daogong.
"What, does Elder Zhong intend to conduct a private interrogation of me?" Li Fan asked with a hint of mockery in his tone.
Zhong Daogong chuckled dismissively, unfazed. "Fellow Daoist, do not misunderstand. I asked you to stay because I have a matter to entrust to you."
Li Fan raised his brows, reining in his attitude a bit. "Speak freely, Elder Zhong."
"I hear that after being struck by the deathly aura storm, Fellow Daoist is left with only ten years of lifespan?" Zhong Daogong did not get straight to the point, asking a seemingly unrelated question first.
"Indeed. Ten years is merely my estimate; in truth... it will only be less, not more."
"However, whether it is twenty years or ten makes no difference to me. What I care about more is whether I can see the scenery beyond the High Wall before I die," Li Fan said with a cold snort.
Zhong Daogong cupped his hands slightly. "What I wish to entrust to you is precisely related to crossing the High Wall. Before today's council was held, Elder Nangong and the other two approached me in private."
Hearing this, Li Fan's gaze instantly hardened.
Zhong Daogong continued, "Does Fellow Daoist know what our Celestial Vessel's ultimate reliance for crossing the High Wall actually is?"
"Aside from the 'high ground' of the Great Wall of Remnant Worlds we showed you earlier. After all, you saw it that day: although that vantage overlooks the sea of stars, it is still an invisible distance away from the summit of the High Wall."
"The Celestial Vessel's explanation of the plan to me has always been to gather as much power of True Immortal seal characters as possible and detonate it, using that force to shake the barrier and leap over the High Wall like a fish..." Li Fan narrowed his eyes.
"That is indeed not false. But has Fellow Daoist ever considered: without a certain restraint, how could we be sure the Celestial Vessel would emerge unscathed from a raging storm of remnant True Immortal power?" Zhong Daogong smiled.
"Elder Zhong means that the Celestial Vessel actually possesses a method to control the remnant True Immortal power to a certain degree?" Li Fan asked in surprise.
"Calling it control would be an overstatement. It can only be described as... self-preservation."
"Moreover, every use requires paying an enormous price. That is also why Elder Nangong and the other two came to see me in secret." Zhong Daogong's expression turned enigmatic.
"What on earth is it? Could it also extend lifespans?" Listening, Li Fan grew increasingly curious.
"It is neither an immortal artifact nor a secret treasure. It is... the [Equalize Heaven Divine Technique]!" A sharp gleam flashed in Zhong Daogong's eyes.
"Equalize Heaven Divine Technique?" Li Fan pondered the meaning behind the words carefully.
A reminiscent look appeared on Zhong Daogong's face. "This technique is the crystallization of ten thousand years of painstaking wisdom from the elders of the fractured Xuan Celestial Vessel."
"The highest secret of the Celestial Vessel, with a classification level even above the True Immortal seal characters."
"The effect of the divine technique, as the name implies, hinges on the word 'Equalize'! Under the divine technique's shroud, all living beings are equal for a short duration."
"When a wild tide of remnant True Immortal power rages, under the mantle of the divine technique, we share the same status as immortals. When one of us is on the verge of death, under the mantle of the divine technique, we equalize and share our lifespans to purchase life for our brother!"
"The existence of this technique is the true cornerstone that has allowed the Celestial Vessel's Council of Elders to stand firm for ten thousand years," Zhong Daogong said solemnly, his tone deep and resolute.
"If what Elder Zhong says is true, then this divine technique could be hailed as the most formidable divine ability I have ever seen in the sea of stars. However, since the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique is so miraculous, why not cast it directly on the High Wall?"
Zhong Daogong smiled and shook his head. "Setting aside the fact that our so-called High Wall has no physical form—being merely a boundary trapping us—even if we could target it, once the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique is cast, as long as the state is maintained, no matter the external impact, we would only remain on the same level as the target."
"To leap over the High Wall, one must naturally surpass it. How could we do so if we are only as high as the wall?" Zhong Daogong sighed.
Li Fan nodded, accepting Zhong Daogong's explanation.
"Then what is the price of casting this technique?" Li Fan asked next.
Zhong Daogong stroked his beard and answered honestly, "Though the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique can defy the heavens, it also has its limitations. First, it requires long, meticulous preparation. Second, because it is about 'equalizing,' the more elders who cast it, the better. Yet the Celestial Vessel suffers from a dearth of talent, and the number of members on the Council of Elders has remained low over the years, naturally diminishing the technique's potency."
"Third, and most importantly, is the side effect. Everyone who casts the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique is affected by 'equalization' to a certain extent once the state ends."
"Specifically... it manifests as a certain tendency..." Zhong Daogong said in an eerie tone.
Li Fan understood in an instant. "This Equalize Heaven Divine Technique also stems from a True Immortal seal character?"
Zhong Daogong nodded. "Correct. You can think of the divine technique as a True Immortal seal character penned jointly by the elders of our Celestial Vessel."
"With all elders working together with one heart, it comes infinitely close to being written by a True Immortal's own brush."
"Because it touches upon the origin of the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique, the character 'Equalize' has also become one of the Celestial Vessel's highest secrets. Therefore, in our prior transactions, it was never revealed to you."
Li Fan said, "Yet now Elder Zhong has laid it all out before me... It seems that whatever you ask of me is something I must agree to whether I wish to or not."
Zhong Daogong waved his hand, adopting a humble posture. "Fellow Daoist, you overthink. Against a dying man who possesses peerless escape arts, our Celestial Vessel truly has no recourse."
"This is no coercion, but a sincere request."
"A request for what? Are you finally inviting me to join the Celestial Vessel's Council of Elders?" Li Fan snorted.
"That is one part of it. Besides that, there is another request," Zhong Daogong said with an impassive expression.
Li Fan stared intently at Zhong Daogong.
Zhong Daogong remained composed, cupping his hands and bowing slightly in salute.
Then he said slowly, "I ask Fellow Daoist to take a portion of the Equalize Heaven Technique back to Great Qi!"
"What?!" A murderous glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes as he abruptly rose, his eyes locking with Zhong Daogong's.
"Elder Zhong, do not jest. Didn't you just say that only members of the Council of Elders can participate in casting the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique?" Li Fan asked coldly.
"I also said that the essence of the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique is merely everyone writing a True Immortal seal character together. Having studied True Immortal seal characters for so many years, our Celestial Vessel naturally has plenty of ways to make other beings unknowingly participate in tracing the 'Equalize' formula—even if they are on opposite ends of the sea of stars."
"It is just that... accomplishing this requires your cooperation."
"The Council of Elders has too few members, making the consequences of casting the technique unbearable each time. But if Great Qi joins in to shoulder the burden..." Zhong Daogong finally showed his hand.
Li Fan remained silent for a long time.
For a moment, the room fell into complete, dead silence.
Zhong Daogong did not press further, quietly awaiting Li Fan's answer.
Li Fan's brows furrowed tightly, his expression hesitant and conflicted.
"I... need some time to think it over carefully," Li Fan finally said.
Hearing this, a faint smile finally touched Zhong Daogong's lips. "Then, before tomorrow's council, I shall pay a visit to you first."
Expressionless, Li Fan turned and walked away.
Once he returned to his courtyard and confirmed that no one was watching, though his face remained impassive, his inner thoughts surged.
"The Equalize Heaven Divine Technique? Truly extraordinary. Worthy of being the Celestial Vessel's ultimate trump card for crossing the High Wall."
"Requiring a vast number of living beings to cast the technique together to absorb the backlash of the True Immortal seal character?"
Li Fan sneered inwardly.
"If I can see the true form of the True Immortal seal character..."
"...then why not?"
"However, the elders of the Celestial Vessel possess extraordinarily long lifespans. Even including Nangong Lie and those three unfortunates, they would never be willing to equalize their lifespans with the living beings of Great Qi's civilization."
"So what would their target for casting the divine technique be?"
On the surface, he was motionless like a stone statue, but within, Li Fan was already quietly plotting.
When it came to understanding True Immortal seal characters, even the entire Council of Elders combined could hardly compare to Li Fan, who comprehended the transformations between immortal and mortal, real and unreal.
"As long as I can grasp the true form of the 'Equalize' character, I can sabotage and overturn the divine technique at any moment."
...
The next day.
As expected, Zhong Daogong arrived as agreed.
"How has Fellow Daoist's contemplation gone?" Zhong Daogong asked with a smile.
"I can agree. However..." Li Fan's expression was cold, "when will the Celestial Vessel cross the High Wall?"
"I require a commitment to a precise launch time."
"And I must participate throughout the entire execution of the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique."
"..."
Li Fan raised several demands in succession.
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhong Daogong readily agreed to all of them.
Such decisiveness caused Li Fan's wariness to deepen by several degrees.
"Then can Elder Zhong tell me: what is the target of the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique this time?"
"It can't be merely to extend the lifespans of Nangong and the others, can it?" Li Fan stared intently at Zhong Daogong.
Zhong Daogong replied, "There is no need to trouble the people of Great Qi with an equalization technique for longevity; our Celestial Vessel will shoulder that ourselves. As for the ultimate target..."
"Once you have finished establishing the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique, we will naturally inform you."
Li Fan stared at Zhong Daogong, unmoving for a long while.
After a long silence, he said, "Fine! I agree!"
"Great Qi... may be my former homeland,"
"...but why should I care if the deluge follows my death!" A ferocious glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes.
Zhong Daogong wore an inscrutable expression and offered no reply.
Li Fan did not attend the subsequent council meeting of the Celestial Vessel elders.
Instead, he focused wholeheartedly on studying the ritual of the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique given to him by Zhong Daogong.
Though called a ritual, it was actually a formation fused with the writing ceremony of a True Immortal seal character, seemingly intertwined with life force akin to the Celestial Vessel's Divine Tree.
"You need only engrave this ritual into a world. When the divine technique activates, the living beings encompassed by it will be drawn into the ritual automatically."
"Once the setup is complete, our Celestial Vessel will sense it as well. Fellow Daoist may then return. When the time comes, we will never go back on our promise!"
Zhong Daogong's instructions still rang in his ears.
Li Fan murmured under his breath, "It only accounts for the quantity of living beings involved, regardless of their cultivation level. That certainly saves me trouble."
"There is no need to place it in the Xuanhuang Realm; I only need to find a populated pocket world."
He stayed on the Celestial Vessel for a few more days.
Only after thoroughly deciphering the ritual of the Equalize Heaven Divine Technique did Li Fan depart amidst the hopes of the entire Celestial Vessel.
The wooden sword phantom unsheathed, and Li Fan returned to the Xuanhuang Realm.
He arrived in a mortal world known as [Great Gan].
"The Xuan Celestial Vessel has drifted alone in the starry void for too long and has lost any real sense of population scale."
"Three million people was already enough to meet their desired quota."
Li Fan's divine sense swept across the pocket world below.
"One hundred million souls. Without spiritual energy, flourishing to such prosperity is truly no small feat."
"I wonder if exceeding the quota will fetch any additional rewards from the Celestial Vessel," Li Fan sneered. He cared nothing for their so-called promises.
He merely wanted to witness what the casting of this Equalize Heaven Divine Technique looked like.
The ritual was quietly laid down, enveloping the entire world of Great Gan.
Li Fan could faintly sense the unease of heaven and earth.
In the air, heavy dark clouds were about to gather, but with a casual glare, Li Fan dispersed them.
Under Li Fan's suppression, the pocket world's meager resistance was entirely negligible.
The ritual's layout was swiftly completed.
A slight fluctuation of energy, like a gentle breeze rippling through the ritual, seemed to indicate that the Celestial Vessel at the fringes of the sea of stars had already received the signal.
Yet Li Fan was in no hurry to return.
Instead, he first traveled to Great Xuan.
The four gray Go stones recaptured by Master Yin and Baihua lay quietly upon the sermon platform.
"Saint Teacher." Seeing Li Fan return, they bowed slightly.
Then, alongside Li Fan, their eyes fell upon the four differently shaped objects.
Li Fan waved his hand lightly. Under the crushing pressure of spiritual power, the four objects fractured layer by layer,
compressed and ground into their most primordial particles.
At last, their original forms were revealed.
Four identical Go stones, mutually attracting one another, floated in the air and spun continuously.
Great Xuan Kingdom, Xuanjing, the Grand Preceptor's Manor.
Li Fan held his wine cup, looking out over the hall filled with civil and military officials who had come to celebrate his birthday. Even at the venerable age of seventy, he could not help feeling secretly proud.
One had to know: eight or nine out of ten ministers and nobles across the entire imperial court were present at the Grand Preceptor's Manor today! What staggering influence this was!
Thinking back, when he, Li Fan, had first transmigrated into this world, he had been nothing more than a destitute scholar.
Over fifty years, from having nothing to his name to becoming the Grand Preceptor whose authority dominated the realm, the events of his life were enough to fill an epic novel of millions of words.
With a life like this, what more could a man ask for!
Li Fan stroked his beard and drained the fine wine in his cup.
"To the Grand Preceptor's long life!"
The officials present congratulated him in unison.
Li Fan grew all the more pleased.
Just then, a flurry of discordant cries suddenly rang out from outside.
"Look! What is that?!"
"Fire raining from the heavens—it's an auspicious sign, an auspicious sign! Quick, inform the Grand Preceptor!"
"Why does it seem to be flying straight toward our manor?!"
...
Hearing the commotion outside, Li Fan frowned.
The bustling hall abruptly fell silent.
Li Fan stood up and led the way out.
Yet before he could reprimand the servants and voice his displeasure, his gaze was captivated by the sight in the sky.
In the distant sky, two streaks of silver light, one following the other like shooting stars, hurtled swiftly in this direction.
"This is..." Li Fan froze.
In the blink of an eye, the two shooting stars arrived over the city of Xuanjing and abruptly halted.
At the same time, a voice descended like thunder, exploding in everyone's ears.
"Dao Xuanzi! Do not push people too far!"
...
Everyone present was terrified beyond measure. Several even cried out "Immortal Master" and fell prostrate to the ground.
And a term buried deep in his memories, almost entirely forgotten, suddenly leaped into Li Fan's mind.
"Cul... Cultivators!" Li Fan was stunned, murmuring to himself, "How is this possible..."
The two cultivators in the sky naturally cared nothing for the thoughts of the mortals below.
Another voice rang out: "Kou Hong! Did you think that fleeing to this land severed from immortality would make me let you go? Hand over the technique you obtained that day, or else I will fight you to the death!"
"What a joke! Precisely because I lacked a Core Formation method, I have been trapped at the Foundation Establishment stage for nearly a century, watching my lifespan dwindle, about to turn into dry bones! Now that I have obtained this Core Formation technique, how could I ever give it to someone else!" Kou Hong snorted coldly, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Indeed!" Dao Xuanzi sighed deeply. "The Golden Core Grand Dao is a path where only one survives! Though there are many Core Formation methods in this world, there are far more cultivators trapped at Foundation Establishment!"
Dao Xuanzi's tone suddenly turned vicious. "Since the method of longevity is right before me, how could I let you go? How could I not push you too far?!"
Kou Hong laughed loudly. "Then let us fight it out! How laughable that we were brothers for a hundred years, yet now we draw our blades against each other for a mere sliver of hope!"
Dao Xuanzi sneered and gave no answer.
Kou Hong suddenly said, "I know I am no match for you, and today I will likely not escape alive. But with so many mortals gathered here, I wonder if you can withstand immortal-mortal miasma of such concentration!"
Dao Xuanzi's expression instantly changed. "Kou Hong! What do you think you're doing?!"
Kou Hong laughed maniacally. "Merely seeking a sliver of hope!"
Listening to the dialogue between the two cultivators overhead, Li Fan felt a dreadful premonition. But before he could react, he saw crimson flame explode above Xuanjing.
Rumble! Rumble!
Deafening roars continually erupted in Li Fan's ears. His vision turned instantly blood-red, and within moments, he blacked out.
...
He did not know how much time had passed before he awoke.
At first, he was somewhat dazed. Only after a long while did he recall what had happened.
Li Fan coughed, spitting up several mouthfuls of blood. Trembling, he scrambled to his feet and looked around.
It was still night. The once-luxurious Grand Preceptor's Manor had turned into a field of ruins.
The surrounding air was thick with the foul stench of charred corpses.
The court officials from moments ago had all died without whole corpses, their souls passing on.
Nor had Li Fan's wives, concubines, and five sons been spared.
Not a shred of expression remained on Li Fan's aged face. His eyes were glazed.
After standing in place for a long time, he dragged his frail body out of the manor.
Xuanjing, which had been so bustling and lively just moments before, had now become a hell of blood and fire. As far as the eye could see lay broken bodies and collapsed structures.
Presumably, not one in a hundred commoners had survived this catastrophe.
All of this, everything, was because of two suddenly descending "Immortal Masters"—two cultivators.
Drained of strength, Li Fan slumped against a shattered corner of a wall.
His hearing had long been destroyed in the violent explosion earlier. But that no longer mattered.
At this moment, he only wanted to laugh.
How could there be cultivators in this world?
From the moment he had entered officialdom, he had used his authority to search for any traces of the immortal path.
Once he became the Imperial Preceptor, standing above tens of thousands, he had scoured the entire realm!
To the Frozen Sea in the north, the ocean in the south, the Ruins Abyss in the east, and the Continuous Mountains in the west.
Across the entirety of Great Xuan, there was not the slightest trace of immortals!
Yet today, when he was already decrepit with age, many years after he had completely given up hope, two cultivators descended from the sky before his very eyes and, without explanation, crushed everything he possessed into dust.
Was this an immortal?
Where did immortals come from?
A chest full of fury and indignation ultimately turned into endless bewilderment.
Heaven makes fools of men!
At the same time, Li Fan felt immensely fortunate.
Fortunate that before his death, the existence of immortals had finally been proven!
Otherwise, when he began his next life, would he not have wasted another fifty years in vain?!
Indeed! How could he, Li Fan, a mere mortal, rise from a humble scholar to the Imperial Preceptor of the realm without something to rely upon?
This was also why he had narrowly escaped death at the hands of the immortals.
"Revert to the True!"
Li Fan silently recited the name in his heart. Immediately, the surrounding scenery dimmed, as if veiled by a thick sheet of water, illusory and indistinct.
"When the real is made false, the false becomes real."
Seven characters lit up in the darkness, then abruptly dispersed into a screen of light.
"Recharge complete."
"Virtualize the current scene and return to the original anchor?"
Two lines of small text appeared one after another.
At the same time, scenes appeared in rapid succession, swiftly covering the entire screen of light.
They depicted Li Fan's fifty years of life in this incarnation.
Li Fan watched himself in each scene, staring blankly for a long time.
[Revert to the True].
This was the name Li Fan had given to the wondrous treasure he carried.
It had only a single function: to turn the real into the unreal, to make the substantial illusory!
To make the substantial illusory meant transforming all of Li Fan's real experiences into a simulated, illusory experience, allowing him to return to his originally set anchor—the moment he had just transmigrated into this world.
In truth, this lifetime was already Li Fan's second.
In his first life, though Li Fan harbored grand ambitions, he was after all an ordinary mortal. Failing the imperial examinations repeatedly, he finally abandoned the idea of pursuing scholarship and officialdom after turning thirty. He ran a small business, lived as an ordinary wealthy merchant, took a wife, had children, and spent a mundane life. Only when he was old and decrepit, on the verge of dying of illness, did he finally awaken [Revert to the True].
Only then was Li Fan able to ride the wind in his second life, rising with unstoppable momentum.
What a pity that, in retrospect, he had directed his efforts toward the wrong goal.
Pondering for a moment, Li Fan did not choose to end this lifetime immediately. Before that, he still had a few things to do.
Closing the screen of light and returning to reality, Li Fan gathered his resolve to handle the aftermath of Xuanjing's devastation by the immortals.
After locating a few survivors, Li Fan, relying on the prestige he had accumulated over the years, managed to somewhat steady people's hearts.
Even though Li Fan could no longer hear, he could still find brush and paper. Although communication was cumbersome, it did not stop his orders from being conveyed one after another.
First, Li Fan ordered his trusted Garrison Battalion stationed outside the city to rush into Xuanjing to maintain post-disaster order. Then he sent word to neighboring cities to dispatch grain, provisions, and officials to Xuanjing.
With most of Xuanjing's buildings reduced to rubble, after the Garrison Battalion took control of the city, Li Fan simply remained in the military camp to oversee the relief efforts.
In accordance with Li Fan's decrees, supplies and capable hands from neighboring cities flowed continuously into Xuanjing.
A month later, the ruined city of Xuanjing finally regained a semblance of human vitality.
Only after the Great Xuan Kingdom finally caught its breath from the immortals' strike did Li Fan begin ordering various regions to gather intelligence on the two immortals who had appeared that night.
This included where the two had originally come from, where they had gone afterward, whether they had spoken along the way, and so forth.
Regrettably, after months of investigation, beyond learning that the two cultivators seemed to have appeared from the direction of the Ruins Abyss to the east, nothing else was discovered.
The mutual destruction Li Fan had hoped for between the two immortals had not occurred.
"I shouldn't have harbored expectations for such an outcome in the first place," Li Fan sighed inwardly. "In that case, there is nothing left in this life for me to linger over."
Standing within the newly built Grand Preceptor's Manor, Li Fan activated [Revert to the True] once again.
"Virtualize the current scene and return to the original anchor?"
Hesitating no longer, Li Fan selected yes.
On the light screen, countless vivid scenes froze simultaneously. Then, all the political maneuvering, glory, and wealth of this life shattered like dream bubbles, transforming into shooting stars that flew into Li Fan's mind.
Scene after scene flashed rapidly before Li Fan's eyes like a revolving lantern, until the final image froze on the two cultivators facing off high above the Grand Preceptor's Manor.
"Dao Xuanzi, Kou Hong," Li Fan whispered their names. "Fifty years from now, I will be waiting for you right here in Xuanjing."
"Wealth and honor are mere floating clouds to me." Li Fan's consciousness gradually blurred, but his will and purpose grew more resolute than ever before.
"In my next life, I will hunt immortals!"
The colors in his mind faded away, and Li Fan slowly sank into deep slumber.
Chapter 1345