In the Daxuan pocket world, on the Preaching Platform.
The Tianyang immortal puppet stood behind him, eyes closed and motionless.
Li Fan sat cross-legged, examining the insights concerning the flaws in the great wall that had been curated by the simulated heavenly persona from hundreds of millions of living beings in the pocket worlds.
"Is it in front of us? No, it is high above! Like a grand river dam leaping into the firmament! Severing my vitality, cutting off my road ahead!"
"The might of the dark high wall is perilous and unfathomable. Without divine, sacred immortal power, how could it be destroyed? Yet a dike of a thousand li can collapse from an ant nest!"
"A single body, the souls of tens of millions, the will of hundreds of millions. A blazing fire illuminating the deep dark."
...
It had to be said that in the face of the existential crisis of extinction, people truly could unleash unimaginable potential.
Among these mortals whose highest cultivation reached only the Golden Core realm, there were indeed a few who had faintly brushed against the truth. Li Fan even found himself faintly inspired by some of their insights and thoughts.
Yet, their tier was simply too far removed from the high wall.
Even with hundreds of millions of speculative musings, attempting to superimpose them and achieve a qualitative transformation to unravel the secrets of the high wall was by no means an easy feat.
At the very least, in the short term, Li Fan did not see the slightest sign of their success.
Still, Li Fan was in no hurry.
Pausing his inspection, he flicked his finger to send out a sword shadow, packaging all these useful thoughts together and transmitting them to Mo Rubin.
"I hope this peerless genius of the ancient cultivation world will truly gain something from them." Li Fan gazed into the distant starry sky, his expression inscrutable.
Although he had successfully forged the Tianyang immortal puppet in this life, Li Fan's deductions told him that relying on Tianyang alone would not be enough to protect him and ensure a successful Dao Integration with the celestial spirit of the Super Xuanhuang Realm.
"Beyond those I encountered in past reincarnations, I must also take into account what lies outside the high wall..."
Before Li Fan's eyes flashed the scene from the end of his previous life, when Cat Treasure descended, the high wall collapsed, and even the True Reversal visions began to flicker and dim.
"When the Xuanhuang Immortal Domain is born, will the high wall still be able to seal and isolate the interior from the exterior? If unknown forces beyond the high wall sense it and descend, then the time left for me will truly be very scarce."
Based on his experiences in the previous life, Li Fan estimated the buffer time available.
"Before planning for victory, plan for defeat. Though it may not necessarily occur, I must guard against it."
"Among all my strengths, True Reversal is undoubtedly the most fundamental. Second is my formation mastery that looks down upon the Star Sea. Third is the Ascendance Finger—Nine Heavens Dust Descent."
"Next come the various True Immortal seal characters."
Within Li Fan's sea of consciousness, the Terminal Dissociation Disc, having completed the task of deducing downgraded immortal formations, had not rested for a single moment.
It was currently deducing an earth-shattering formation. This formation represented the culmination of all the formation knowledge Li Fan presently possessed.
Using mortal power to enact the way of a True Immortal!
Li Fan took stock of the formations he had mastered.
Derived from the Origin Mystery Primordial Spirit Grand Formation were Xuanji, Myriad Spirits Returning to Numerical Order; Huangluo, Flowers Blooming in an Empty Chamber; and Boundless, Hongmeng Square.
Inspired by the ancient Xuanhuang world-protecting grand formation, Li Fan had independently deduced the formations Simulated, All Sentient Life and Immortal Descent, All Things Return to Emptiness. One creation and one destruction, their power was not in the least inferior to orthodox immortal formations.
And now, Li Fan intended to synthesize all these immortal formations, taking the concept of the "Infinite Method" as the core, to forge an ultimate defensive immortal formation!
Li Fan remembered well how the Holy Emperor in his previous life had used the Bright Moon Starlight Formation to completely encircle the four central provinces of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. Regardless of cultivation level, whoever stepped inside felt as though they had plunged into an endless sea of stars, trapped and unable to escape.
In this life, he intended to do the same.
Except the target Li Fan planned to encircle was the Xuanhuang Realm itself!
Outside the Xuanhuang Realm, he would construct another high wall of formations!
"If I can delay all unstable factors for just a little longer... that will be victory!"
The Dissociation Disc glowed, generating, combining, and evolving countless formation fractals within it.
With the foundation of downgraded immortal formations, the original barrier between immortal and mortal had been shattered.
The deduction of the immortal formation proceeded precisely in the direction Li Fan had anticipated.
"The Hongmeng Square Formation can adapt to circumstances and analyze those who enter the formation."
"With Flowers Blooming in an Empty Chamber and All Sentient Life, it can create boundless worlds hovering between illusion and reality."
"Xuanji, Myriad Spirits Returning to Numerical Order can adjust the formation world at will in an instant..."
"Any form of energy, any kind of life, has environments suited and unsuited to it. Combining the essences of multiple immortal formations creates boundless, constantly shifting adverse realms custom-tailored to their weaknesses!"
"Trapping people with realms, killing people with realms!"
It was just like Li Fan himself, who possessed a heaven-defying treasure like True Reversal, yet remained trapped within this world of Xuanhuang and the Star Sea.
A hundred lives had already passed, and it was plain to see that transcending it would take even more time.
The formation being deduced by the Dissociation Disc was designed to tailor-make a Xuanhuang Realm unique to every future intruder!
Mechanistically speaking, the fundamental principle of this formation was similar to the endless, lifetime-after-lifetime illusions Li Fan had experienced in the Immortal Severing Formation when leaving Daxuan.
However, the realism and intricate detail of the worlds constructed by this immortal formation were far beyond what ordinary illusions could compare to.
"Using the nightmare-difficulty experience of the Xuanhuang Realm as the foundational blueprint to simulate countless variants of the Xuanhuang Realm..."
"This formation shall be named 'Blurred, Xuanhuang Sentient Beings'!"
With its name decided, its intent congealed, and the formation was established.
The ceaselessly flashing light within the Terminal Dissociation Disc came to a halt in an instant.
Then, it erupted outward with sudden fury.
It formed what seemed like a perfect spherical orb of light composed of hundreds of millions of fragments. Within each fragment, scenes of worlds bearing uncanny resemblances to the Xuanhuang Realm played out.
At the center of these hundreds of millions of fragment worlds, the Xuanhuang Realm, encircled by the high wall, lay quietly amidst the Pitch-Black Star Sea.
It emitted a faint glow, reflecting onto all the surrounding world fragments.
Even Li Fan, the creator of this formation, stood momentarily entranced upon witnessing this miraculous sight.
In that fleeting glimpse, Li Fan caught sight of the worlds constructed by the Dissociation Disc.
Even after struggling in the Xuanhuang Realm for so many years, cold sweat broke out on his brow at this moment; he was somewhat unnerved by his own creation.
"If I were to accidentally lose myself within it, I fear I would be suppressed for hundreds of lives as well."
"Below the level of a True Immortal, even if one grasps the true essence of the world's composition, one would lack the power to break it..."
"In a certain sense, this Blurred, Xuanhuang Sentient Beings Formation is truly a high wall of the Dao of Formations!"
Amidst Li Fan's contemplation, the sphere of fragmented light surrounding the Dissociation Disc slowly collapsed inward.
Ultimately, it retreated into the core of the Terminal Dissociation Disc.
For now, the Dissociation Disc had only deduced the core portion of the Xuanhuang Sentient Beings Formation. There was still a long road ahead before perfecting the overall details.
Yet even just the formation's core was enough for Li Fan to make preparations in advance.
"To complete this Xuanhuang Sentient Beings Formation that shrouds the Xuanhuang Realm, the amount of source essence required is terrifyingly vast."
After a rough calculation, Li Fan's brow furrowed.
With the current population of the You people, no matter how hard they tried, they could never meet Li Fan's needs.
"It seems I must find another way."
"Either resort again to the flesh-and-blood factory breeding methods used for strange beasts, or locate an alternative energy source equivalent to source essence."
Thinking this, Li Fan separated a wisp of divine sense and sent it down into the subterranean depths of Daxuan.
Since being captured and corralled here by Li Fan, the population of the You people had tripled.
Every day, aside from eating, drinking, and sleeping, all they did was pray to the great Saint Teacher.
Curiously, not only did they not grow frail from the lack of physical activity, but their overall health was far superior to when they had been scurrying about, hiding to escape the pursuit of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
This phenomenon differed from what Li Fan had experienced before.
In the past, whenever the You people were exploited, they became exceedingly weak. Their lifespans shortened, and their reproductive capacity plummeted. Without meticulous care, they faced the danger of extinction.
Yet judging from their current situation, the You people seemed to have broken this cursed destiny.
Li Fan recalled and compared this life with the past.
"The breeding methods are not significantly different. Although I haven't excessively oppressed them and gave them sufficient rest, the Holy Emperor did the same in the previous life."
"The You people in Great Qi were likewise short-lived..."
"Could it be?"
Li Fan remembered how, in this life, he had used the Dao Pill method to possess a You person, attempting to peer into the True Immortal seal character hidden within the bloodline of their first-generation Great Heavenly Venerable.
"Does it have to do with that character involving the transformation between immortal and mortal?" Li Fan could not help but speculate.
"The You people were the handiwork of King Xuantian in the past. Their bloodline is the source capable of generating source essence, and it is also where their original sin lies."
"Now, the curse upon them has lessened..."
Li Fan faintly understood.
"Given King Xuantian's character, he would not necessarily act without leaving a way out. While punishing the You people, he might have left a glimmer of hope. If any You person awakens and discovers the secret within their bloodline, the shackles weighing upon them would be weakened."
To verify his hypothesis, Li Fan acted immediately.
The phantom of the Saint Teacher, before which the You people devoutly knelt, silently cast several rays of dim light.
They shone at random into the bodies of several You people below.
As if receiving a divine revelation, these You people suddenly froze.
Numerous images welled up unprompted in their seas of consciousness.
Overwhelmed with excitement, they first kowtowed in gratitude to the Saint Teacher phantom, then immersed themselves entirely in the Saint Teacher's enlightenment.
The prayers and murmurs from their lips grew louder and more rapid.
Just like the You person Li Fan had once possessed, their bodies aged rapidly.
Some turned white-haired in an instant, reducing to withered bones within moments.
Such a terrifying scene, rather than frightening the You people praying nearby, filled them with immense envy, and their devout faith grew even more fanatical.
In the end, amid waves of chanting, all the You people who had received Li Fan's divine revelation burned through their life force in their comprehension, turning to ashes.
At this cost, Li Fan keenly perceived that perhaps because their cursed shackles had loosened further, the remaining You people had indeed grown somewhat stronger.
Not only their physiques, but their souls and comprehension had all been comprehensively enhanced.
It was as if...
They were slowly reverting to what the bloodline of the first Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerable ought to be.
"How could a being chosen by an upper-realm True Immortal to serve as the first Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerable possibly be weak?"
"How could his bloodline be so pathetic?"
Li Fan narrowed his eyes and continued using the Saint Teacher phantom to disseminate several more revelations.
Given the current total population of the You people, they could still afford this life-burning enhancement.
"However, I must take care to maintain a proper measure when unlocking their shackles."
"I certainly don't want to face a suddenly revived Great Heavenly Venerable jumping out at a critical juncture in this life..."
Having suffered a loss once before, Li Fan was naturally exceptionally cautious in this regard.
In the days that followed, the You people, slowly atavizing and returning to their original forms, demonstrated their unbelievable vigor and reproductive capacity to Li Fan.
It was hardly slower than the production rate of the past flesh-and-blood factories.
Moreover, there were no defective products.
All the offspring born possessed unnaturally robust physiques.
Rather than humans, they resembled a race of demon beasts!
As the seals on the You people were gradually lifted, the quantity of source essence each person generated through prayer also multiplied.
To a certain extent, this resolved Li Fan's pressing need.
However, watching the population of the You people double again in a short period, a rare, inexplicable chill welled up in Li Fan's heart.
"Under heavy shackles, they are already at such a level. If they were in their prime back then..."
"I fear they were scarcely inferior to the reproductive capacity of the legendary insect race. Crucially, every one of these You people possesses such a formidable physique. It completely defies common sense."
With these thoughts, Li Fan quietly and appropriately pruned and controlled the somewhat swelling numbers of the You people.
He only stopped when the numbers looked agreeable.
"It seems I must keep an eye on them at all times to feel at ease."
Li Fan separated a simulated persona and quietly implanted it into the Saint Teacher phantom that the You people worshiped.
He also laid down a layer of the newly deduced Xuanhuang Sentient Beings Formation over the territory where the You people lived, ensuring they were completely sealed off before letting the matter rest.
"Truly, not a moment of vigilance can be spared."
He methodically regulated the population of the You people to maintain linear growth.
Using the source essence they produced, he constructed the Blurred, Xuanhuang Sentient Beings Formation.
Time flew by swiftly in this manner.
Until this day...
Li Fan suddenly raised his head, gazing into the heavens.
The Medicine King Cauldron had finally broken free from the Immortal Ruins, tumbling down toward the Xuanhuang Realm from the perimeter.
The resonance generated by the six-in-one Immortal Domain fragment within his body grew stronger and stronger, seemingly urging him to hurry forward and receive it.
A flash of sword light, and Li Fan had already exited the Xuanhuang Realm.
Arriving outside the world, he watched the Medicine King True Cauldron grow steadily larger and teeter precariously in his vision.
With a broad wave of his sleeve, he took it directly.
He returned smoothly and effortlessly, all in one breath.
From start to finish, not a single soul within the Xuanhuang Realm was alerted.
As if sensing Li Fan's suppression from the outside, the Medicine King True Cauldron continually emitted faint pulses of energy, attempting to break free from his grasp.
Yet it was merely a futile struggle.
An outer layer of the Xuanhuang Sentient Beings Formation, and an inner layer of the All Things Return to Emptiness Formation.
Intimidated by the pervasive power of the immortal formations, the Medicine King True Cauldron instantly behaved itself.
It stood quietly, motionless.
Li Fan separated a strand of divine sense and slipped into the cauldron.
Following a familiar path, he proceeded all the way to the core control center of the Medicine King True Cauldron.
Seeing the empty expanse within the central hub, Li Fan smiled coldly.
He reached out with his right hand and clenched his fist.
The entire space seemed to twist under that clawing grasp.
A blurred figure was hauled out directly by Li Fan!
"Senior, spare my life!"
This figure was naturally the hidden sect master of the Medicine King Sect, Liu Ruchen.
Pulled out by Li Fan, he displayed none of the dignity of a sect master, crying out in panicked haste!
It was not that Liu Ruchen was spineless, but rather that the methods Li Fan displayed were truly supernatural.
He had advanced all the way without triggering any of the cauldron's various restrictions, heading straight for the core hub.
What was more, he had seen through Liu Ruchen's hiding technique at a single glance...
Liu Ruchen's thoughts raced, wondering which master from the Ten Sects this person before him might be.
Yet Li Fan resembled a mortal, with not a shred of aura leaking outward.
He was utterly unfathomable.
Only that indifferent expression and casual glance made Liu Ruchen's spiritual instincts scream madly in warning, chilling him to the bone.
Just as he was about to speak, Li Fan pointed a finger directly between his brows.
Incomparably vast power surged like monstrous waves into his soul.
Already barely clinging to life in a heavily injured state, Liu Ruchen was struck so severely that he fell into a dying stupor, leaving only a wisp of a remnant soul.
Under normal circumstances, Li Fan did not resort to soul-searching methods.
Yet when it concerned the clues about the Immortal Realm fragment secretly left by Sun Piaomiao, the ancestor of the Medicine King Sect, Li Fan could not afford not to be prudent.
Countless scenes and Liu Ruchen's past memories flooded in.
Li Fan examined every detail thoroughly.
He paid special attention to any information concerning Sun Piaomiao.
In Liu Ruchen's era, the name Sun Piaomiao existed only in distant legends.
Even having inherited the mantle of the Medicine King Sect, Liu Ruchen's knowledge of Sun Piaomiao derived mostly from a travelogue left behind by the ancestor.
Previously, Li Fan had only heard various details about this travelogue from the people of the Medicine King Sect.
Now, within Liu Ruchen's memories, he read it word by word.
Looking back at certain details of the travelogue while already knowing the answer, Li Fan indeed noticed several peculiar points.
The travelogue began after Sun Piaomiao founded the Medicine King Sect.
Without any warning, as the sect master of the Medicine King Sect, Sun Piaomiao decided to leave Xuanhuang and travel across the various realms.
One had to realize that the Medicine King Sect was newly founded at the time, its foundations unstable, with countless tedious matters awaiting the sect master's attention.
Yet Sun Piaomiao simply dusted his sleeves and left behind a mess, leaving without a second thought.
Had the few direct disciples he took not been dependable, and had the primary tenet of the Medicine King Sect not been to aid the world and save people—rarely getting into disputes with other sects—the Medicine King Sect likely would not have survived until Sun Piaomiao's return.
Sun Piaomiao's abrupt departure could naturally be explained by his free-spirited and unconventional nature.
Yet to Li Fan, it seemed far more like he had suddenly received some mission and was compelled to do so.
Given Sun Piaomiao's strength at the time, the starry sky was by no means a smooth path for him.
This was evident from how he had encountered a Star Sea anomaly, nearly perished, and crashed heavily wounded into the Xiaoyao Realm.
With this foresight in mind, Li Fan read through Sun Piaomiao's travel records once more with great care.
Logically, since it was a travelogue, it ought to have recorded the memorable parts of the entire journey. Yet Sun Piaomiao did not write a single word about his personal experiences, not even mentioning how he had once been severely injured. All his ink was spent describing the characteristics of the cultivation realms he passed through.
It was as if he were merely an emotionless recording camera.
Terrified that future generations wishing to retrace his steps would be unable to find these cultivation realms.
"Most importantly, what is the purpose of the chess piece he left behind?"
"Since he left such obvious clues for descendants, he shouldn't have failed to mention a single word about it."
Li Fan searched through the travelogue carefully, yet failing to find what he sought, he furrowed his brow slightly.
To ensure nothing was missed, he searched through it once more.
Still yielding no results, Li Fan searched through Liu Ruchen's other memories.
His efforts paid off. At last, in an anecdote Liu Ruchen had heard during his youth, Li Fan found a possible lead.
This anecdote had merely been mentioned in passing by Liu Ruchen's master.
Even Liu Ruchen himself had long since forgotten it.
"Back then, a guest arrived at the Medicine King Sect, grievously injured and begging for help."
"His wounds were far too severe; no one in the sect could do anything. Even when the ancestor examined him personally, the conclusion was the same."
"Logically, there is no panacea in this world. Our Medicine King Sect had truly done everything within our power to save him. Who would have thought that in his despair, this guest would begin cursing our Medicine King Sect viciously? He even used his remaining strength to frantically attack the disciples. We of the Medicine King Sect save lives and aid the world, but we are not pedantic fools; we naturally have our tempers."
"The disciples immediately moved to strike him dead. Yet the ancestor stopped everyone, walked up to the dying guest, pointed a hand toward the heavens, and said something."
"The guest trembled slightly, all his malice vanishing. He stopped fighting, looked up at the sky, and the ferocity on his face dissolved into two lines of clear tears. Then, as if finding release, he passed away."
"The ancestor sighed softly and ordered us to bury the man properly."
The young Liu Ruchen back then, like everyone who heard this anecdote, had asked with natural curiosity, "What did the ancestor say to him that could dissolve such frenzied murderous intent so easily?"
Liu Ruchen's master had said in a distant, somber tone, "Birth, aging, sickness, and death—this is the eternal law of the Great Dao. Even this starry sky cannot avoid it. How could you?"
"That was what the ancestor said back then."
The young Liu Ruchen could not yet understand the weight behind those words, merely nodding in naive agreement: "Indeed! If you're going to die, then die; why throw a tantrum? Serves him right!"
Yet returning to the present, Li Fan could taste a different flavor within Sun Piaomiao's words.
"At that time, the immortal path had not been severed, and everyone aimed to ascend to immortality. Sun Piaomiao's words did not sound like something a Medicine King dedicated to healing and saving people would utter."
"Instead, they coincide perfectly with what I previously deduced: an Immortal Realm pessimist."
Li Fan pondered inwardly and sought to find more clues in Liu Ruchen's memories.
Sure enough, blessings did not come singly.
Li Fan actually uncovered another past event that appeared somewhat suspicious.
Under normal circumstances, cultivation sects would erect statues of their founding patriarchs for later generations to worship.
Yet throughout the Medicine King Sect, there was not a single statue of Sun Piaomiao.
"Master, Master, what did the ancestor actually look like? Why isn't there even a single portrait of him?"
"Heh, the ancestor said back then that rather than worshiping him, one would be better off worshiping our sect's Medicine King True Cauldron. Our pill concocting, our healing of people, our aiding the world—all of it relies on this cauldron! Without the cauldron, there is no Medicine King, and there is no future."
...
"Medicine King True Cauldron, future."
Li Fan exhaled slowly, gradually withdrawing from Liu Ruchen's memories and standing in quiet contemplation.
Liu Ruchen's remnant soul shivered nearby, not daring to disturb him.
"Perhaps it is merely my conjecture, but in my eyes, the hints Sun Piaomiao left behind are already very obvious."
"However, that is on the premise of already knowing the Medicine King Cauldron is extremely likely to be an Immortal Realm fragment."
"If my guess is correct, Sun Piaomiao must have hinted at the uniqueness of the Medicine King Cauldron in other places as well. It was just that his disciples failed to notice, and the information was lost to the long river of history."
"Had I not coincidentally discovered the anomaly in Sun Piaomiao's relics aboard the immortal boat, I fear this secret would have been buried forever."
Li Fan looked toward the Medicine King Cauldron.
Channeling the Transformation of True and False, he stirred his internal spiritual energy to divide out a wisp of power belonging to the Scripture of World Salvation and Longevity.
Li Fan had cultivated this technique in the past, and given that his current strength far exceeded that of ordinary Dao Integration experts, imitating it took virtually no effort, making it indistinguishable from the authentic Scripture of World Salvation and Longevity.
Under Liu Ruchen's utterly shocked gaze, Li Fan effortlessly dismantled the restrictions on the Medicine King True Cauldron, simultaneously seizing control of it.
"The disciples of the Medicine King Sect have degraded to such a state!"
"Failing to aid a world in crisis, fleeing for their own lives instead..."
"Scoundrels!"
Li Fan snorted coldly and berated them.
To Liu Ruchen's ears, it sounded like a clap of thunder.
Knowing everything about the Medicine King Sect intimately, and speaking in such an elder's tone...
In a split second, a bold guess surfaced in Liu Ruchen's heart.
"Senior, are you..."
Li Fan paid him no mind. Grasping Liu Ruchen, he flashed outside the Medicine King Cauldron.
At the same time, with a single thought, he directly shut down the Grand Dream of Spring and Autumn Formation inside the cauldron.
Then, like shaking a sieve, he shook the cauldron violently, dumping out all the sleeping disciples of the Medicine King Sect.
In an instant, cultivators of the Medicine King Sect plummeted from the sky like raindrops.
Fortunately, they had already begun waking up; sensing something was wrong, they hurriedly stabilized their stances.
Waking from their grand dream, the crowd from the Medicine King Sect was bewildered.
Exchanging bewildered looks, their gazes gradually locked onto Li Fan, the sole stranger present.
And especially onto the blurred figure of Liu Ruchen in Li Fan's grasp, which looked on the verge of fading away.
"Sect Master?!"
"Master?!"
The disciples, elders, and Liu San cried out in shock, glaring furiously at Li Fan.
Yet Li Fan turned a blind eye to the auras locking onto him, continuing to manipulate and shake the Medicine King True Cauldron.
Only when the secret stockpiles of materials and all manner of precious spirit herbs stored inside flew out as orbs of light did Li Fan stop.
He extended his hand, and the All Things Return to Emptiness Formation emerged from his palm.
It draped over the Medicine King True Cauldron.
Silently and without a sound, the Medicine King Cauldron—which had been able to withstand the Immortal Ruins for a time—was reduced inch by inch to fine powder!
"The Medicine King Cauldron!"
Watching the supreme treasure of the Medicine King Sect destroyed before their very eyes, the members of the Medicine King Sect felt their eyes split with rage.
Just as they sought to take revenge against Li Fan,
the aura of the world-destroying immortal formation that casually leaked from Li Fan's fingertips made them feel as though they had plunged into an abyss of ice, freezing them on the spot.
Chapter 1359