"The Supreme realm..."
"Is this the realm the Heavenly Physician now boasts of?"
Li Fan's thoughts churned rapidly. He laid down another array around the Heavenly Physician to delay him, while casting a glance at Mo Rubin not far away.
It was virtually identical to the Heavenly Physician's reaction when touching the High Wall within the Xuanhuang Living Beings Array.
Though no distinct aura emanated from his body, Mo Rubin looked as if he had truly witnessed the scenes beyond the High Wall—weeping torrents of tears like one who had suddenly attained the Dao.
Fortunately, at this moment Mo Rubin was gradually breaking free from the state of enlightenment, clarity returning to his eyes.
"Go!"
Several golden threads flew from Li Fan's hand, darting across the distance in an instant to bind tightly around Mo Rubin!
How astonishingly similar it was to the divine power the Heavenly Physician had used in the immortal array!
Pulling Mo Rubin to his side, Li Fan unsheathed the phantom wooden sword.
A moment later, both had departed the range of the Heavenly Physician's perception.
Mo Rubin still seemed immersed in the lingering resonance of his enlightenment, in a daze.
Li Fan did not disturb him for now. While speeding toward the Xuanhuang Realm, he sorted through the gains from trapping the Heavenly Physician with the Xuanhuang Living Beings Array.
As the architect of this peerless immortal array, Li Fan had been far more than a mere bystander.
The "Bewildering, Xuanhuang Living Beings" Array blurred the boundary between illusion and reality. Founded upon an immortal-grade array, it was further infused with a trace of Li Fan's profound comprehension of the Transformation of True and False. Rather than calling everything within the grand array an illusion experienced by the Heavenly Physician, it was more accurate to say that in history, there truly had existed such a possibility—where the Tianfa Realm triumphed over the Xuanhuang Realm.
However, this possibility could only exist while the immortal array was maintained.
Once the immortal array was broken by the Heavenly Physician, everything would be reduced to nothingness.
All living beings in the array aside from the Heavenly Physician were imbued with a wisp of Li Fan's will.
Su Bai, Nirong, and the others.
Even the so-called Tianfa Realm, the Heavenly Demon, and the High Wall were all structured with Li Fan's infused thoughts.
Consequently, Li Fan could feel the Heavenly Physician's myriad methods up close and personal.
He could even sense the Heavenly Physician's thoughts and emotional fluctuations.
This was the terrifying nature of an immortal array!
After all, the Heavenly Physician had once imparted the Heavenly Physician Immortal Scripture and the Record of Mending the Heavens to Li Fan, making him virtually half a master to him.
Li Fan also knew all of the Heavenly Physician's past experiences by heart.
With both theoretical foundations and concrete divine powers fully parsed, replicating them...
For the present Li Fan,
was not difficult!
In fact, after infusing the transcendent Transformation of True and False, the myriad golden needles displayed by Li Fan took on the flavor of the pupil surpassing the master.
The myriad golden threads wrapped around Mo Rubin seemed to vanish gradually.
In reality, they had already been quietly planted into Mo Rubin's body.
They were merely hidden away temporarily in a state of "False," kept as a contingency.
Not only was Mo Rubin completely oblivious, but in all likelihood, hardly anyone in the entire Pitch-Black Star Sea could have detected this technique of Li Fan's—seemingly trivial, yet profoundly transcendent.
Whenever Li Fan had need of it, the transformation of false becoming true would instantly trigger, and the myriad golden threads would turn from illusory to real, erupting within Mo Rubin in a flash.
"These golden threads, outwardly appearing as threads of gold, are in truth realizations of the principles of Heaven and Earth and the principles of the Great Dao."
"Though my current strength is still a notch below the Heavenly Physician's, when it comes to the depth of insight in this regard, I am by no means inferior to him!"
Aside from this golden thread divine power, Li Fan had also learned the Heavenly Physician's method for sealing the Heavenly Demon.
Eighty-one golden needles—though the technique differed from the Soul Sealing and World Substitution the Heavenly Physician had deployed in the previous life, they shared the same root origin.
Li Fan had already secretly learned the bulk of it.
With a bit more contemplation, unraveling and breaking it would be no difficult feat.
Beyond these two, the Heavenly Physician's actions as the Great Venerable of All Laws to save the Tianfa Realm also provided Li Fan with tremendous inspiration.
Especially that final move—condensing the Constant Dao of all laws to freeze the power driving the world's operation.
It gave Li Fan a nascent idea regarding the Heaven-and-Earth Essence with which he intended to achieve Dao Integration in this life.
"The Heavenly Physician truly is an inexhaustible treasure trove. A pity that the same immortal array likely won't be able to trap him again."
"I can wait until the next life to repeat the trick."
"Using 'Xuanhuang Living Beings' as the core, I will squeeze dry every bit of learning and heritage that the Heavenly Physician possesses!"
***
As they neared Xuanhuang, Mo Rubin finally regained complete lucidity.
He was dazed for a brief moment, but upon realizing his current predicament, he immediately moved to return to the High Wall.
Li Fan frowned slightly and locked him in place with the myriad golden threads.
Mo Rubin instinctively tried to break free to no avail, his expression shifting. He had not expected Li Fan to have concealed such a trump card.
"Brother Mo, calm down."
"You have already gained enlightenment from the High Wall twice. If you still cannot break free from its temptation, I fear you will never escape in this lifetime, drowning in it forever!"
Li Fan's chilling words finally jolted Mo Rubin awake.
His struggling gradually ceased.
Yet Li Fan did not release the golden thread restraints.
"The sensation of 'once lost, lost forever'—is it still there?" Li Fan asked in a deep voice.
With Li Fan's comprehension, he had yet to glean anything from that flaw in the High Wall. His words now were entirely based on what he had observed of the Heavenly Physician's insights into the flaw within the immortal array.
Mo Rubin's expression grew subtle. "'Once lost, lost forever.' That phrase could not be more apt."
He cupped his hands to thank Li Fan for holding off the enemy earlier, then let out a long sigh. "Thanks to you, Fellow Daoist, I was able to fully peer into the secrets of the High Wall's flaw."
"And yet, everything I comprehended..."
Mo Rubin paused for a long while before speaking slowly: "...is not something the current me can see."
"Hm?" Li Fan raised an eyebrow.
"I know it sounds convoluted, perhaps even unbelievable, but such is the truth."
"That is an insight that does not exist within the Pitch-Black Star Sea. Only through the medium of the High Wall can we perceive and become aware of it."
"Once away from the High Wall, even if I have 'remembered' and 'comprehended' it, I cannot manifest something that simply does not exist..." Mo Rubin looked somewhat dazed, explaining what he had experienced to Li Fan slowly and with great difficulty, word by word.
Li Fan could somewhat understand Mo Rubin's explanation.
It was just like how, if Li Fan were to explain the Transformation of True and False to Mo Rubin, without Revert to the True, Mo Rubin would never be able to touch or grasp a fraction of it.
He would only treat Li Fan as a fraud speaking nonsense.
Because to Mo Rubin, the so-called Transformation of True and False did not exist at all.
"Touching the High Wall allows one to recall the insight, but upon leaving the wall, all of it is lost..."
"Isn't that just a moon in the mirror, flowers in the water—utterly useless? It's worse, even; at least one can still see the moon and flowers." Li Fan deliberately feigned great disappointment in his tone.
Mo Rubin pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly. "Not entirely. Even if I cannot engrave that insight in my mind, these two bouts of enlightenment have allowed me to translate the form of the High Wall's existence into something I can comprehend."
As he spoke, Mo Rubin tapped his forefinger lightly, drawing a circle in the air before Li Fan.
It encircled Li Fan.
Within Li Fan's vision, Mo Rubin abruptly vanished.
Even the entire Pitch-Black Star Sea disappeared from his field of observation.
Moreover, his divine sense and the resonance from the golden needles he had previously planted both ceased functioning!
It was as if above, below, and in all four directions, a high wall had been erected around him, enclosing him completely and blinding his sight and senses.
"Interesting."
"A miniature High Wall."
Yet Mo Rubin's wall clearly could not compare to the High Wall encircling the Pitch-Black Star Sea.
Without even employing the Nine Heavens Dust-Descending Finger, Li Fan simply ascended and elevated his presence slightly, stepping over the barrier with a casual stride.
Mo Rubin was still standing in the same spot, unsurprised by Li Fan breaking free so quickly.
"My comprehension is still lacking," Mo Rubin said slowly. "If I were given more time, breaking free would likely not be so easy for you, Fellow Daoist."
Li Fan frowned and said, "Brother Mo, compared to that invisible High Wall, your divine power seems to lack some crucial element..."
"It is precisely the absence of this element that drastically diminishes the divine power's potency. If you could decipher that, you might truly be able to draw a prison on the ground at will!"
Hearing this, a glint of unwillingness and yearning flashed through Mo Rubin's eyes.
Having his emotions stirred so easily was nearly impossible for someone like Mo Rubin, who cultivated the Ten Thousand Tribulations Indestructible Demonic Heart Immortal Art. That it happened now only proved that the secret of the High Wall's flaw had thoroughly shaken the very foundation of his mind.
"I possess Revert to the True and do not need to fear its 'once lost, lost forever' nature. Yet up to now, I have never managed to comprehend anything from it. Can the disparity in natural aptitude really be so vast? It seems I will have to return later and continue borrowing the sentient beings of the pocket worlds to aid my comprehension. Though the time left in this life may not be much," Li Fan mused to himself.
Then Li Fan inquired about Mo Rubin's subsequent plans.
"Will you search the remaining areas of the Grand Star-Crossing Array for traces of King Xuantian?"
"While you were contemplating the High Wall, I searched the Xuanhuang Realm once more. Unlike the Eye of the Tian Beast and the Gathering Spirit and Ascending to Immortality arrays, the other sections of the Grand Star-Crossing Array seem severely damaged. They lack the conditions for King Xuantian to conceal himself..." Li Fan said slowly.
Mo Rubin looked at the Xuanhuang Realm nearby.
At the mention of King Xuantian once again, the shaken expression on his face gradually faded, reverting to that enigmatic demeanor fitting of one of the Twelve Dharma Kings of the Xuantian Sect.
Perhaps Li Fan's selfless stand earlier had added another layer of trust.
After hesitating for a moment, Mo Rubin spoke slowly, "There is one final place I wish to visit."
"However, ten thousand years have passed and the Xuanhuang Realm has been turned upside down. For a moment, it is somewhat difficult to identify..."
"That is easily resolved."
In an instant, a comparative map showing the ancient and modern changes of the Xuanhuang Realm appeared before Mo Rubin.
"Here."
Mo Rubin studied it carefully for a while and finally pinpointed a location.
Li Fan's expression instantly turned rather subtle.
"What is it?" Mo Rubin naturally caught the shift on Li Fan's face.
Li Fan shook his head slightly. "You will know once you get there."
As the phantom wooden sword flickered between brightness and dimness, Li Fan brought Mo Rubin to their destination.
It was none other than the small hill and Daoist monastery where the fishing pond was located!
In this life, Li Fan had not activated the fishing pond.
He had merely forcibly relocated Zhong Shentong, the Dao child Liuli, and the others from the monastery.
"This was once Big Brother Xuanyuan's homeland."
"It was also the place where he ultimately ascended."
"To think it has fallen into such desolation now."
Mo Rubin stepped slowly into the monastery, observing his surroundings closely as he sighed.
"This was actually the last place of ascension in the Xuanhuang Realm?" Li Fan was slightly startled.
"Indeed. Back then, Big Brother Xuanyuan was unusually attached to this place. Whenever he was nowhere to be found, one could always encounter him here in the end. I know not what wonders lay here, nor what he experienced here." Mo Rubin walked slowly, seemingly searching for King Xuantian's aura.
He walked all the way to the monastery's backyard.
Upon seeing that utterly ordinary small pond, Mo Rubin's pupils contracted violently.
He dashed forward immediately.
"This..."
"Ten thousand years have passed, yet this place has not changed in the slightest?!" Shaken to the core, Mo Rubin acutely sensed the extraordinary nature of this spot.
"Your strange expression earlier—did you mean this place?"
Mo Rubin turned his head sharply and asked.
Li Fan nodded slightly. "This small pond is something even I could not destroy. That was how I realized something was amiss about this place."
"However, though I searched it repeatedly, I was never able to find what makes it so peculiar..."
Hearing this, Mo Rubin looked toward the fishing pond again.
"The surrounding mountains and rivers have undergone drastic upheavals, yet only this pool of water remains unchanged. It must conceal something..."
"Strange, though... Big Brother Xuanyuan never mentioned any secret being here back then."
Having seized upon the sole clue, Mo Rubin naturally refused to let it go.
He tried every method imaginable, even diving into the water himself.
Yet in the end, he found nothing.
It was as though this truly was just a simple, perfectly ordinary small pond.
With the secret right before his eyes yet beyond his grasp, Mo Rubin's expression could not help but darken.
"This was King Xuantian's homeland? What kind of person was King Xuantian before his ascension?" Li Fan seized the opportunity to ask.
"Big Brother Xuanyuan's early life was truly ordinary. So ordinary that when he once walked past me, I didn't even cast a downward glance at him."
"Back then, I was the direct disciple of the Nine Refinements Monastery, while he was nothing more than a minor Qi Refining cultivator."
"Yet no one could have guessed the peerless talent concealed beneath Big Brother Xuanyuan's ordinary exterior. Rising suddenly in a single bound, relying not on sect resources but solely on himself, he became the first person to ascend from the Xuanhuang Realm back then—and the last..."
Infinite nostalgia colored Mo Rubin's expression.
Listening to these words, Li Fan fell into deep thought.
Li Fan naturally knew of the fishing pond's existence.
However, since when the fishing pond had existed in the Xuanhuang Realm remained completely unknown.
After all, the fishing pond was faintly the creation of a Nameless True Immortal, completely transcending the Xuanhuang Realm.
Even the Stone Slab that recorded the history of the Xuanhuang Realm contained no information regarding the fishing pond.
All along, Li Fan had subconsciously believed that the fishing pond had abruptly appeared in the Xuanhuang Realm only after the star sea calamity descended and the myriad realms were destroyed.
Yet now it seemed...
Could it be that the meteoric rise of Xuanyuan Hong, Dharma King of the Xuantian Sect, relied precisely on this supreme treasure, the fishing pond?
Such a thought could not help but surface in Li Fan's mind.
Chapter 1367