Previously, Li Fan had wondered why the Pitch-Black Star Sea, under the blockade of the High Wall, had developed an independent consciousness.
He had not expected the mystery to unravel so quickly this time.
"The fissure basin was constructed by Xing Wuque on the orders of King Xuantian. Tens of thousands of years of ceaseless toil, yet even now it remains incomplete, requiring Xu Ke to take over."
"Regardless of whether Xu Ke's obsession stems from his own will or the influence of Xing Wuque's legacy, in King Xuantian's plan, the fissure basin must satisfy the condition of being 'Complete.'"
"Earlier, I guessed that King Xuantian wanted to propel the entire Pitch-Black Star Sea into the Immortal Realm. But from the looks of it now..."
"Besides that, he might harbor other designs as well."
Layman Qiaogong continued to speak endlessly about how the fissure's diagrams turned the rotten into the miraculous, using his finger like a brush to trace out the shapes he had committed to memory before Li Fan.
At first glance, there was nothing wondrous about them; they looked merely like the meaningless scribbles of a child.
Li Fan also recalled the route map of the fissure he had traversed before.
He had once followed the guidance of the character "Manifest," delving all the way to the far end of the fissure basin. Consequently, the pattern he had recorded was far more detailed and concrete than Layman Qiaogong's.
Even so, after pondering it carefully, Li Fan still could not discern the wondrous mystery within these patterns.
"It seems to belong to an entirely different system from what I have encountered and understood so far."
"Could it be that only by carving it can its effects manifest?"
"Just a portion of it can give birth to an independent consciousness. But once all the patterns are complete, what effect will it actually possess?"
Li Fan frowned inwardly.
With a thought, a longsword quietly flowing like azure liquid appeared in Li Fan's hand.
It was precisely one of the five treasures Li Fan had obtained from the Celestial Vessel earlier under the pretext of gaining Great Qi's trust and facilitating the Juntian Ceremony.
From the second layer of the Celestial Vessel's secret reservoir, he had taken two: the Yin-Yang Jade and the Three-Pronged Tree.
From the first layer, he had taken three: the black starstone, the strange bronze mirror, and the liquid longsword.
The Three-Pronged Tree had mysteriously triggered a simulation within Revert to the True, aiding Li Fan in deepening his comprehension of the transformation of real and unreal.
The Yin-Yang Jade was planned to be transformed into Yin and Yang Qi soon to promote the sublimation of Xuanhuang.
The black starstone had already been merged into the body of the Tianyang immortal puppet.
Only the strange bronze mirror and the liquid longsword remained idle.
With Li Fan's current strength to traverse the Star Sea at will, even treasures randomly selected from the Celestial Vessel's secret reservoir could offer him such great assistance, proving how bountiful the secret reservoir truly was.
And this was merely the first and second layers of the Hundred Inquiries Immortal Record.
It was truly difficult to imagine what kind of exquisite treasures were stored in the third layer.
"What a pity that in this life, a vessel full of treasures has already gone beyond the wall."
"I can only wait for the future to explore them thoroughly."
"However, if I can successfully integrate with the Dao using the Heaven and Earth Immortal Soul, facing the Celestial Vessel again will not require such complications as in this life."
As his thoughts surged, Li Fan quietly carved the known patterns of the fissure basin onto the liquid longsword before him.
Clearly not the slightest ripple of energy had appeared, yet for some reason, the liquid longsword abruptly began to boil!
Li Fan narrowed his eyes and sent out a strand of divine sense to carefully perceive the changes in the liquid longsword.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The azure blade gradually turned pitch-black.
An embryonic, newborn consciousness emerged within it, chanting repeatedly as if possessed.
The patterns of the fissure basin gradually receded into the interior of the liquid longsword.
The longsword then transformed from a flowing liquid form into a sharp, solid sword radiating a chilling, menacing glint.
With a whoosh, it actually flew straight toward the nearest living target.
Like an ink brush drawing a straight line on white paper, surrounded by blooming patches of black ink.
"Kill!"
Space was torn open, and a surging, monstrous baleful aura surged straight toward Li Fan's face.
The entire Star Sea seemed to vanish from Li Fan's vision at this moment; all he could observe, see, and sense was this single airborne sword strike.
"Not bad," Li Fan praised softly.
Two gigantic index fingers pierced through the starry sky and descended from the heavens.
Blocking before Li Fan, they gently pinched the black blade between them.
"Kill..."
The black longsword still tried to struggle, but how could it move?
It could only roar in futile fury, letting out low, continuous growls.
Layman Qiaogong was stunned by this sudden turn of events, his words cutting off abruptly. The terrifying might he felt from the Nine Heavens Dust-Descending Finger left him thoroughly shaken, not daring to look directly at Li Fan.
"It truly birthed a consciousness of its own. Before this, the liquid longsword was purely an inanimate object, without the slightest fluctuation of consciousness."
"Unfortunately, whether because the pattern is incomplete or because it came from nothing, what was born within this sword cannot yet be called a complete intelligence."
Li Fan now had an initial understanding of the efficacy of the fissure basin pattern. The Nine Heavens Dust-Descending Finger then exerted a slight force.
Under the pressure, the patterns carved into the blade were wiped clean in an instant.
The black color receded, and the sword returned to its liquid form once more. The accompanying monstrous killing intent also vanished without a trace.
"Wait here a moment for me."
Putting away the liquid longsword, Li Fan instructed Qiaogong, then vanished from the spot.
Having witnessed Li Fan's might, how could Qiaogong dare disobey?
He obediently waited where he was.
At the same time, his eyes darted around as he recalled the patterns that had flashed across the liquid longsword's blade just moments ago.
"The completeness of the pattern grasped by the Saint Teacher is actually far greater than mine. What a pity the shape and details are too complex; in that brief instant, I only managed to remember less than half of it."
"Still, it should be enough. Hehehe, I wonder what I can turn Shangguan into this time?" Qiaogong's heart swayed with excitement.
The next moment, Li Fan's voice unexpectedly rang in his ear.
"You wish to know the complete pattern as well?"
"Of course," Qiaogong replied subconsciously.
Soon realizing what he had said, his face turned deathly pale. He shook his head frantically in a hurry: "Hehehe, Saint Teacher misunderstands. Such divine ability secrets, how could I dare pry into the whole thing? What I have now is already enough..."
Li Fan waved his hand, cutting off Qiaogong's babble. At the same time, he sent a pattern into the other man's sea of consciousness.
"Since you are interested, there is no harm in imparting this 'Form of Living Beings' to you," Li Fan said indifferently.
Qiaogong did not speak. His eyes went blank and dazed, clearly already lost in the intricate, marvelous pattern.
The so-called "Form of Living Beings" was not the original name of the fissure basin pattern; it was merely a name Li Fan had casually chosen. When Li Fan returned to the depths of the fissure earlier, he was attempting to obtain the complete pattern from Xu Ke.
As the actual builder of the fissure, Xing Wuque should have possessed relevant memories in his legacy.
Unfortunately, to Li Fan's slight disappointment, Xing Wuque's legacy was far too vast; had every single detail been imparted, Xu Ke's divine soul would never have been able to endure it. Therefore, in Xing Wuque's eyes, certain trivial matters had been discarded and excluded from the inheritance.
Among them were the construction memories of the parts of the fissure basin that were already completed.
Fortunately, the yet-to-be-constructed portion of the Form of Living Beings was contained within Xing Wuque's legacy.
After obtaining it from Xu Ke, Li Fan placed countless golden threads into the fissure's subterranean river.
Relying on the vitality of the subterranean river, they multiplied and spread continuously, pouring through like spilled mercury as they began a comprehensive exploration of the fissure basin.
Though the fissure basin had countless branches spread throughout the entire Star Sea, to Li Fan it was merely somewhat troublesome, not something impossible to figure out.
It was just that previously, Li Fan had lacked the motivation to do so.
Now, however, knowing that its complete pattern was very likely an entirely new, unknown, and powerful divine ability, Li Fan felt the desire to explore it to completion.
"Given the current search progress of the golden threads in the fissure basin, the exploration should be completed before this life comes to an end."
"Hopefully it will offer me a pleasant surprise," Li Fan thought to himself as he sensed the Form of Living Beings expanding outward in his mind.
Having just returned from the fissure basin, Li Fan also understood why Qiaogong had been able to escape.
It was likely another chain reaction caused by the Xuan Celestial Vessel crossing the High Wall.
The moment the Celestial Vessel crossed the High Wall, it drew the attention of the unknown existence beyond the wall. The Star Sea's consciousness had consequently sensed an intensely violent crisis.
Like some sort of catalyst, it had stimulated the immense vitality stored within the fissure basin.
"The revival of the Star Sea has once again been moved forward."
"The Form of Living Beings, the Star Sea's consciousness, the High Wall, the Immortal Realm..."
Grabbing Layman Qiaogong, who was still lost in comprehension, Li Fan returned to the Xuanhuang Realm in deep contemplation.
"Marvelous!" Only then did Layman Qiaogong awaken as if from a dream, crying out in delighted surprise.
"Though I have yet to behold its entirety, I already have a premonition that with this 'Form of Living Beings,' I can reshape Shangguan's mind according to my own thoughts! I will create a Shangguan Tuo that belongs solely to me, the Shangguan Tuo of my dreams!"
"Shangguan, wait for me, wait for me..." Layman Qiaogong's eyes had grown somewhat crazed with extreme ecstasy. At this moment, the sole thought in his mind was to immediately find a quiet, hidden place to construct a tailor-made Shangguan Tuo puppet.
"I hear that you possess several sets of combat memory data for the immortal puppet 'Progenitor'?" Li Fan chose this exact moment to step in front of Qiaogong.
"Yes, yes, yes! Saint Teacher needs them? Take them, take them!" Qiaogong, already overtaken by his desires, did not bother to question how Li Fan had learned of this secret. He tossed a seven-colored sphere of light directly to Li Fan.
Li Fan inspected it, smiled faintly, and stepped aside.
In a flash, Qiaogong scurried off to who knew where. Li Fan, holding the light sphere in one hand, went to Tianyang's place of seclusion.
Ever since his battle with the Thousand-Eyed Desolate God on the Celestial Vessel earlier, Tianyang had entered a state of secluded enlightenment. His aura surged like a sea of clouds, churning repeatedly—at times expanding outward unrestrained, at other times retracting rapidly into complete concealment.
Li Fan could even faintly sense from Tianyang the same terrifying dread he had felt when facing the Thousand-Eyed Desolate God back then.
"The power of Star Spirits, a complete Immortal Realm, the heritage of remnant worlds, the gathered remnants of True Immortal might..."
"In this life, I have prepared more and more means. Yet for some reason, the unease in my heart only grows by the day."
Before the Tianyang immortal puppet, Li Fan wore an inscrutable expression.
"My premonitions have always been accurate. Countless experiences across the cycles of reincarnation have proven this."
"It seems that promoting Xuanhuang's sublimation will inevitably encounter unforeseen crises..."
"I need helpers, even if they can only buy me a single moment."
Li Fan slowly implanted the entire ball of seven-colored radiance into the body of the Tianyang immortal puppet.
The moment the light sphere drew near, as if sensing a threat, the True Immortal flesh and blood on Tianyang's body actually surged upward like living things, baring fangs and brandishing claws.
Yet once they truly came into contact with Progenitor's combat memories, the flesh and blood quieted down briefly. Then, their reaction grew even more violent; like a ravenous beast, they impatiently dragged the light sphere into Tianyang's body.
A fleeting look of ferocity suddenly crossed Tianyang's originally calm face. Two entirely distinct auras appeared upon him simultaneously:
One was primeval, desolate, and sinister.
The other was resplendent with righteousness, unshakeable in all eight directions.
One came from the Thousand-Eyed Desolate God, the other from the immortal puppet Progenitor.
Both were beings that transcended the mundane. Though neither could compare to a True Immortal, they were certainly not something ordinary cultivators could withstand.
Normally, influenced by these two completely opposing auras, even a Supreme realm cultivator of the Star Sea would find their mind shaken and worn down beneath the onslaught of such a fierce storm.
Yet the core of this immortal puppet was an Eternal Lingering Thought!
In the wrestling of these auras, even Li Fan was forced to step back slightly. But Tianyang, at the heart of the storm, remained steadfast and unmoved despite the buffeting winds and rain.
Far from being diminished in the least by the raging auras, he was like gold refined in blazing fire, growing ever more brilliant and dazzling!
"Is this the Eternal Lingering Thought?"
This was also the first time Li Fan had truly witnessed what "eternal" meant.
Clearly it was merely a mortal's relic, yet it stood unyielding before immortal-grade power.
This extreme contrast left Li Fan's heart deeply shaken.
He suddenly recalled that within the Xuanhuang Realm, there remained another Eternal Lingering Thought that Revert to the True had yet to absorb: the Divine Treasury Museum, Mr. Bai's skull!
"It has been too long. After achieving the Immortal Soul, it will be time to retrieve it."
Though he now had few rivals within the Star Sea, he still occasionally felt constrained.
"Only by integrating with the Dao through an Immortal Soul and stepping into the Immortal Realm—even if merely as a half-immortal—can I truly roam unhindered!"
At this moment, Li Fan's resolve was firmer than ever before.
"The Tianyang immortal soul is one reliance. Perhaps this sword could serve as another."
Li Fan flashed away, arriving at the center of the Great Xuan Sermon Platform.
He took out the liquid longsword and laid it quietly before him.
Spiritual energy surged within his body as he carved all the currently discovered portions of the Form of Living Beings onto the blade.
Compared to the first attempt, the size of the Form of Living Beings pattern was nearly double.
The blade did not transform toward inky blackness this time, instead remaining purely azure.
Li Fan deliberately left large blank spaces in the unexplored sections so he could improve it at any time in the future.
Once the branding of the Form of Living Beings was complete, a fluctuation that Li Fan could not currently comprehend descended and enveloped the liquid longsword.
A glaring light shone, then slowly dimmed.
A naked, handsome young Daoist boy slowly appeared before Li Fan.
Only in the first instant of his birth did a trace of confusion show in the young boy's eyes.
A moment later, he surprisingly understood his own origins on his own.
"Thank you, Great Master, for granting me life," the boy said in a clear, crisp voice, bowing low before Li Fan.
Chapter 1377