The Heavenly Physician's Secret

The Heavenly Physician's pale hair and beard drifted without wind. His face, heavily furrowed with wrinkles, suddenly began shifting among myriad different human countenances. For reasons unknown, the moment the Heavenly Demon broke free after ten thousand years of being sealed in ice, it sought to seize the Heavenly Physician's body! Yet as the current Great Venerable of All Laws, the Heavenly Physician was by no means someone a weakened Heavenly Demon could possess. With his left hand, he drove a long golden needle straight into the crown of his head. In an instant, his shifting countenance returned to normal, and the Heavenly Demon's illusory silhouette was forced out! At the same time, countless golden threads crisscrossed, weaving into a net that resembled the construction of a real world. Having just been expelled from the Heavenly Physician's body, the Heavenly Demon found itself unable to control its form and was slowly drawn into this golden net world! The Heavenly Demon let out low growls until it was completely subdued by the Heavenly Physician. Yet not the slightest hint of joy appeared on the Heavenly Physician's face. "It's entirely incapable of communication? Has being sealed in ice for so long stripped away all its sentience?" After probing it, his furrowed brow smoothed out. "All the better, then. Its fundamental nature of corroding human hearts remains intact, which actually makes it far easier for me to use." With a soft sigh, lamenting the passing of old acquaintances, the Heavenly Physician soon returned to business. He dragged the sealed Heavenly Demon and another suitable world fragment back toward the Tianfa Realm. Naturally, the Heavenly Physician did not waste the year-plus journey. While hurtling forward at breakneck speed, countless slender golden threads danced around him like tentacles, clearly sensing the residual True Immortal power encountered along his path. He had, after all, been swayed by the suggestion of Heavenly Venerable Dedao, Su Bai. "Indeed, if utilized properly, the power unleashed by these True Immortal seal characters might truly be able to shake the Immortal Ruins..." With this thought, the Heavenly Physician used his finger as a brush, tracing several characters in the empty air. Though they were merely phantom projections, the instant the characters took shape, waves of immense power reverberated continuously through the surroundings. And the intensity of this vibration only grew as he drew closer to the Tianfa Realm. This was the fruit of less than a year of comprehension. The Heavenly Physician's terrifying natural talent was clearly evident. When the Tianfa Realm came into distant view, the Heavenly Physician casually dispelled the True Immortal seal characters he had comprehended. He then fully released his aura, making a grand show of feeding the world fragment to the Tianfa Realm. While drawing the attention of the vast majority of Longevity realm experts within the realm, he silently split off a phantom figure bearing the sealed Heavenly Demon, rushing toward the location of Heavenly Venerable Nirong. It was unclear whether this Heavenly Venerable possessed absolute confidence in his own strength or was simply foolish. Virtually all other Longevity realm cultivators in the Tianfa Realm concealed their auras and shifted their locations unpredictably. Only Nirong remained completely exposed, without concealment. Thus, the Heavenly Physician easily crept up to Heavenly Venerable Nirong. At that moment, Nirong appeared to be in seclusion, jolted awake by the Heavenly Physician's act of feeding the Tianfa Realm. He looked up at the sky, a flicker of resentment in his eyes. Before Heavenly Venerable Nirong, a phantom projection of the Tianfa Realm caught the Heavenly Physician's attention. Several locations marked within the phantom were completely outside the perception of the Great Venerable of All Laws! The Heavenly Physician's heart chilled. After careful scrutiny, realization struck: *So it's the remnants of the Xuanhuang Realm!* *When this Heavenly Venerable Nirong attained the Dao, he inadvertently helped the Xuanhuang Realm cling to life, so the lingering Heavenly Dao consciousness of the Xuanhuang Realm sought him out!* *Courting death!* Killing intent flared within the Heavenly Physician. As his home, the Tianfa Realm carried his past and that of countless friends and kin. He would never allow anyone to covet or destroy it! "Constant Dao of Tianfa, Freeze!" Hesitating no longer, the Heavenly Physician unleashed his ultimate killing move from the outset. Within the Tianfa Realm, winds died down, rain ceased, all things and creatures—even the circulation of Heaven and Earth—ground to a complete halt. The Longevity realm cultivators, being embodiments of the principles of Heaven and Earth, were no exception! The Heavenly Physician appeared behind Nirong, slowly reaching out to press a hand onto the crown of his head. In a sudden burst of somber light, the Heavenly Demon tamed by the Heavenly Physician was poured into him! Across Nirong's face, just as on the Heavenly Physician's earlier, countless faces flickered and shifted frantically. Halting the operation of the Constant Dao across the entire Tianfa Realm was an extraordinarily taxing feat even for the Heavenly Physician. Once he successfully injected a split portion of the Heavenly Demon into Nirong's body, the Heavenly Physician immediately restored the world to its normal operation. In that single instant, the Heavenly Physician's hair turned even whiter, and the light in his eyes became tinged with cloudiness. As the Great Venerable of All Laws of the Tianfa Realm, the phenomena affecting him were likewise reflected in the world itself. Thousands of miles of parched earth appeared, glaciers melted, and countless living beings withered and died. It was as though the entire world had suffered severe damage to its vitality from that brief "pause." Yet seeing Nirong's previously contorted expression settle as his shifting faces finally grew calm—and that, facing the Heavenly Physician who had just assaulted him, Nirong showed not the slightest hatred and even nodded in acknowledgment—the Heavenly Physician finally breathed a long sigh of relief. With the return of the Dao of the Heavenly Demon and the nourishment from the newly added world fragment, the Tianfa Realm's lost vitality was quickly replenished. The fact that the Heavenly Physician had used the Heavenly Demon to possess Heavenly Venerable Nirong went unnoticed by anyone in the realm. To be safe, the Heavenly Physician also inserted eighty-one golden needles into Heavenly Venerable Nirong's body, completely cutting off any chance of Nirong's ego awakening or the Heavenly Demon running rampant. Once done, it could be repeated. Over the next thirty years, the Heavenly Physician used this method to bring every Longevity realm cultivator in the Tianfa Realm firmly under his control, save for Heavenly Venerable Yixin. As for Heavenly Venerable Yixin, Zhao Ruoxi, her avatars numbered in the myriad, and her bodies spanned every corner of the Tianfa Realm. Purging or possessing her presented too much difficulty, and she posed no immediate threat, so the Heavenly Physician left her untouched for the time being. Having consolidated the Tianfa Realm into his monolithic domain, the Heavenly Physician could finally devote himself entirely to his plan to save it. Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, a century passed. The Tianfa Realm devoured nearly a hundred world fragments meticulously selected by the Heavenly Physician, expanding to more than double its original size. The ceaseless infusion of vitality also allowed it to thoroughly digest the Xuanhuang Realm. Within the entire world, no hidden perils remained. The Heavenly Physician's power rose accordingly. He faintly touched the upper limit that this starry sky could bear. He was on the verge of advancing another step at any moment, yet no path lay ahead. That crucial step could not be taken no matter what. Even with the Heavenly Physician's disposition, he could not help but feel a flicker of frustration and despair. "Is this the so-called Supreme realm?" The Heavenly Physician remained silent for a long time. At last, he let out a cold laugh. "Supreme..." "Regrettably, it is nothing more than self-consolation for those who cannot achieve immortality!" "'Ahead lies the immortal path, yet none may tread; ahead lies the immortal path, yet none may tread...'" Sensing the restraint of being thoroughly shackled by some Great Dao law, the Heavenly Physician suddenly recalled his experiences over the years contemplating the High Wall. "The two seem somewhat similar." "And yet fundamentally different." With that thought, the vision in the Heavenly Physician's eyes shot rapidly upward. The vast Tianfa Realm shrank like a toy in his palm. Meanwhile, the High Wall at the cosmic border came into clear view, no longer so distant. The Heavenly Physician took a step forward. His figure vanished from the spot, and when he reappeared, he had traversed a vast distance within the miniaturized vista of the Pitch-Black Star Sea! This art of "shrinking ground to an inch" was one of the Heavenly Physician's insights over the past century. Having traversed the star sea year after year, keeping company with the powers of the High Wall and the Immortal Ruins, though his cultivation realm had not changed significantly, his strength had grown to an unfathomable degree. Originally, traversing the star sea took over a year. Now, it took less than two days. Furthermore, the Heavenly Physician had a premonition that his speed could continue to increase as his comprehension of the star sea's momentum deepened! Perhaps in the future, he might even cross the star sea in the blink of an eye! Arriving at the High Wall, the Heavenly Physician practicedly sent forth thousands of golden threads. Like mercury pouring across the ground, they probed to touch and perceive the invisible High Wall. He had done this countless times over the years. Even with nothing gained, he persisted in this seemingly futile endeavor. For the Heavenly Physician faintly sensed that he would surely discover something within this High Wall! As if answering his enduring wait, on this day, the thousands of threads sweeping like a golden cascading waterfall suddenly froze in unison! The Heavenly Physician's body trembled slightly, and a sudden brilliance erupted from his completely clouded eyes. It was as if a breach had opened in a boundless ocean. All the threads surged inward like seawater. "What a pity, it's not a breach." "Merely a flaw." "And it even bears traces of human doing..." After examining it closely, regret stirred in the Heavenly Physician's heart. "Perhaps it was left behind by some mighty cultivator of the star sea in antiquity." As his perception deepened, all extraneous thoughts vanished from his mind. He devoted himself entirely to contemplating this flaw in the High Wall. If throughout the past century he had explored the High Wall without ever seeing its true form, then now, through this singular flaw, the Heavenly Physician could finally glimpse the genuine High Wall! *Creak, groan...* Uncertain what spectacle met his sight, two lines of clear tears flowed involuntarily from the Heavenly Physician's eyes. Even with his physique as a Supreme expert, he could not withstand the crushing weight of the unknown force, his posture bowing inch by inch. Far across the star sea, the world of the Tianfa Realm began rumbling in distress. The sky seemed sliced open by invisible blades, riddled with cracks. At this critical juncture, faced with the choice between continuing his enlightenment and the survival of the Tianfa Realm, the Heavenly Physician chose the latter. He shot backward, instinctively breaking out of the state of contemplating the High Wall. The anomalies across the Tianfa Realm vanished in an instant. Touching the tear tracks on his cheeks, the Heavenly Physician felt a flicker of daze in his eyes. To his horror, he discovered that everything he had just witnessed and comprehended was slowly fading away now that his connection to the High Wall was severed. Moreover, a premonition surged within him: if he wanted to retain this memory, he had to reconnect with the High Wall before the sensations in his body completely ebbed away, and continue engraving it. "Yet the Tianfa Realm can bear no more; it has reached its limit..." In the Heavenly Physician's eyes, an extraordinarily rare hint of hesitation and struggle surfaced. In the end... He let out a long sigh. He did not step forward after all, allowing the bodily impressions of enlightenment to disperse entirely. *Spurt!* Having betrayed his Dao-seeking heart, the Heavenly Physician suffered immense trauma to his mind and spirit, violently spitting up a mouthful of fresh blood. Golden needles flew from his hands in rapid succession, plunging into vital acupoints across his body. Yet to his dismay, they were entirely unable to suppress the injury originating from the depths of his divine soul; he coughed up several more mouthfuls of blood. "A healer cannot heal himself..." Standing in the void for nearly half a month, the Heavenly Physician finally recovered. Refusing to give up entirely, he attempted once more to explore the flaw in the High Wall. Yet in the end, once lost, it was lost forever. Looking at it was no different from viewing any other part of the normal High Wall. The Heavenly Physician stood frozen on the spot, overwhelmed by a hollow sense of loss. He knew he had missed the secret of the High Wall forever. Still, the Heavenly Physician was the Heavenly Physician after all. After another dozen-odd days, he rallied his spirits once more. "My desire to attain True Immortality was only ever to save the Tianfa Realm." "To abandon Tianfa to destruction merely to attain the Dao is something I could never desire." "Moreover..." "Though I cannot pry into the secret of the High Wall, I can still grasp its power." With a thought, thousands of golden threads wove together before him into a long wall. Yet the moment it took shape, all the golden threads collapsed, shattering into countless motes of golden light! "The flaw in the High Wall has left an imprint upon me." "From now on, the High Wall is no longer invisible to my eyes." A glimmer of insight rose in the Heavenly Physician's mind. "Perhaps..." "I can erect a high wall outside the Tianfa Realm to block out the gravitational pull of the Immortal Ruins." Enlightened before the High Wall, the Heavenly Physician's strength took another stride forward. Over the next hundred-plus years, he laid down countless entwining golden threads. Miraculously, he truly wrapped the Tianfa Realm into a cicada chrysalis, slowly dragging it away from the periphery of the Immortal Ruins! Seeing that the Tianfa Realm was genuinely about to escape, this act of snatching food from the tiger's jaws ultimately drew the attention of the True Immortal comprehending the Dao in the Immortal Ruins. That towering silhouette suddenly appeared above the Tianfa Realm. He looked upon the Heavenly Physician standing in his path and the tightly wrapped golden chrysalis behind him, his expression indifferent. The pressure radiating from the True Immortal caused the Tianfa Realm, even cocooned within the threads, to tremble violently, its mountains and rivers crumbling. Yet facing this True Immortal before him... For reasons unknown, not the slightest dread stirred in the Heavenly Physician's heart. Instead, a faint doubt arose. "This..." "is a True Immortal?" The True Immortal phantom slowly extended a hand. Inexhaustible suction erupted from it. At this moment, the entire Pitch-Black Star Sea seemed drawn toward the True Immortal's palm. Even light itself was no exception. Yet as if nailed to the spot like a stake, the Heavenly Physician remained motionless. Holding fast to the Tianfa Realm, he was like a kite fluttering violently in a gale—buffeted ceaselessly, yet never severed. The doubt in the Heavenly Physician's eyes deepened further. Standing amid the True Immortal's overwhelming might, he made no move to resist. Then, as if realizing something, he slowly closed his eyes. ... Outside the Xuanhuang Sentient Beings Array, watching the formation spinning wildly on the brink of collapse, Li Fan let out a faint sigh. The Heavenly Physician's abilities were truly extraordinary. Moreover, a degraded immortal array was not a true immortal array. Furthermore, even an intact immortal array might not necessarily simulate the true might of the True Immortal of the Immortal Ruins. That the Heavenly Physician discovered its flaws was well within expectations. "No matter. I have already pried into quite enough secrets."