The thigh bone of the Nameless True Immortal continued to be utilized according to plan, using the flesh and blood of the You people to decipher the characters representing the Transformation of Immortal and Mortal.
Li Fan first made specialized improvements to the simulated persona overseeing this place, granting it a concrete and detailed awareness of the unsealing degree of the You bloodline. Only after ensuring that the You people would not lose control even in the final moments of this life did Li Fan flash away.
Returning to the Daxuan Sermon Platform, he first reviewed the overall progress made by all living beings in exploring the Carefree Paradise over the past ten-plus years.
The sheer complexity of the Paradise's dreamscapes was indeed beyond imagination.
Nearly a million people had been sent in over time, yet so far there had been no qualitative harvest.
Among them, the deepest explorer had attained Paradise Experience Level 7. In the dream realm, he could already obliterate an entire world with a wave of his hand. Such terrifying destructive power was on par with a Longevity realm cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm, or perhaps even surpassed it.
This Level 7 explorer, named Hou Mingwu, had mediocre cultivation talent in reality. Only after listening to the sermon phantom for over a month had he barely broken through to the Qi Condensation stage. Yet unexpectedly, after Li Fan dispatched him into the Dream Paradise, by a stroke of luck in his very first dream world, he acquired a heaven-defying treasure capable of remolding shattered, defunct magical treasures: the Reunion Mirror.
In the Paradise dreamscapes, almost every potent magical treasure had a limited number of uses. Once all uses were exhausted, reusing them required either spending a vast amount of Paradise coins to recharge them, or feeding lower-tier magical treasures into them for power.
The cost of reactivation was simply too exorbitant, at times not even worth the trouble.
Consequently, some chose to sell these defunct treasures publicly at low prices just to recoup a fraction of their capital.
Hou Mingwu leveraged the Reunion Mirror's heaven-defying properties to repair the treasures and resell them.
After just a few cycles, his pockets were overflowing with profit.
The Dream Paradise was truly vast; each time a transaction concluded, Hou Mingwu would relocate to a different major dream region. Thus, for a long time, no one discovered his secret.
By the time the news of his possession of the Reunion Mirror finally leaked, Hou Mingwu had already grown formidable enough.
His treasures were endless; the sheer quantity of treasures carried by him alone rivaled that of the Paradise's top teams. Whenever undertaking missions in dream worlds, Hou Mingwu could bombard his way through with his treasures regardless of cost. Even in bizarre worlds where martial force was useless, he could rely on his myriad magical treasures to avert danger every single time. Consequently, Hou Mingwu's efficiency in conquering dream worlds far exceeded ordinary people.
Though others harbored endless greed, Hou Mingwu operated alone from start to finish, refusing all invitations to cooperate or team up. They had no way to touch him.
Once, several major teams joined forces, utilizing a tracking treasure to forcibly follow Hou Mingwu into a mission in order to conspire and seize the Reunion Mirror.
Yet Hou Mingwu seemed to have noticed their pursuit long beforehand and laid an ambush in that world in advance. When the pursuers had all assembled, before they could even strike, the entire world plunged into a horrific, apocalyptic collapse.
Who could care about hunting anyone down at that point? The major teams scattered like birds and beasts, suffering catastrophic casualties. In their post-mortem, they first suspected a traitor among the collaborating teams, and later speculated that Hou Mingwu had to possess another supreme treasure capable of predicting the future and seeking good fortune while avoiding calamity.
After this incident, plots targeting Hou Mingwu temporarily vanished in the Dream Paradise.
In truth, their guesses were not entirely wrong. Aside from the Reunion Mirror, Hou Mingwu indeed had a supreme treasure watching over him—though this treasure was not an object within the dream. It was Li Fan's gaze!
As his vanguard in exploring Wuyou's dreams, how could Li Fan allow Hou Mingwu to be harmed so easily?
The million-strong multitude dispatched into the dreams were all equivalent to pairs of eyes for Li Fan. Some of them were even members of the very teams plotting against Hou Mingwu; they simply had not realized that they themselves were traitors.
With Li Fan's protection, Hou Mingwu faced virtually no mortal peril within the Carefree Paradise.
And Hou Mingwu did not disappoint Li Fan.
The several worlds he traversed in the deep dreams validated Li Fan's deduction.
The reach of the Carefree Paradise's dreams had long departed the Xuanhuang Realm, spreading into the starry sky.
For in those worlds, Li Fan distinctly saw the shadow of the Xuan Celestial Vessel!
It was not merely the manifestation of the Celestial Vessel as a whole, but individual concepts: the Thousand-Eyed Desolate God, the Celestial Star Light Lotus, the Severed Divine Arm, the Dao-Chasing Giant, and more.
"The Celestial Vessel should be completely unaware of this. Wuyou's dream did not forcibly drag the vessel's people into the illusion, but merely used the fleeting thoughts and impressions that inadvertently surfaced in their consciousness as blueprints to construct the dreamscapes.
"The people of the Celestial Vessel are no ordinary folk. Even so, Wuyou easily captured their thoughts and reflections. Is Wuyou... this powerful?" Li Fan could not help but frown slightly.
"However, what is certain is that the existence of Trueness was not perceived by him. Perhaps at some point, the Xuan Celestial Vessel fell into Wuyou's trap."
Li Fan gazed into the distance, his vision seemingly piercing through the boundless starry sky to arrive at the foot of the High Wall.
"Having already enveloped the Celestial Vessel, perhaps he is not far from breaching the blockade of the High Wall.
"No wonder Wuyou seemed perpetually unconcerned with the happenings within the Xuanhuang Realm. Even when Xuanhuang faced world-ending catastrophes several times, he merely lay low and made no effort to stop them. Could he be seeking an indirect path, an alternative method to pass through the High Wall?"
Previous discoveries had virtually verified that the High Wall's blockade appeared to have a weaker effect on consciousness and spiritual energy.
Li Fan had long harbored faint suspicions about the petty maneuvers of the Carefree Paradise; they were merely corroborated now.
"Venturing beyond the wall in true form is too perilous. I might as well borrow the power of Wuyou's dreams to test the waters first..." Such a thought flashed across Li Fan's mind.
"Sun Erlang and the others on whom I placed high hopes couldn't match the exploratory progress of an unknown figure like Hou Mingwu at all. Indeed, resources must be used to their fullest, letting people do what they excel at."
Shaking his head slightly, Li Fan split off an additional strand of mind to monitor Hou Mingwu's every move.
In this life, Li Fan did not yet intend to come into contact with Wuyou.
Even though Li Fan was certain that Wuyou had definitely discovered that he—the array-layer of Xuanhuang—was the mastermind behind sending a million-strong multitude to invade the dreams.
Yet for reasons unknown, despite clearly possessing the ability to kick all of these people out of the dream in an instant, Wuyou had withheld action all this time.
"It seems he has achieved a degree of transcendence and simply does not care.
"Interesting.
"Pity that with his current power, his consciousness cannot exist entirely out of nothingness. If I destroy him in the waking world, the Carefree Dream will cease to exist as well!" A surge of disdainful pride also rose within Li Fan.
Wuyou did not care about the intruders in the dream, and Li Fan did not care about Wuyou either.
"All I need to do is proceed methodically and achieve Dao Integration steadily."
Reining in his thoughts, Li Fan's gaze turned profound and deep.
Fortunately, in this life, when he visualized and deduced the impending scene of Dao Integration in his mind, that indistinct sense of fatal crisis did not appear again.
"There shouldn't be any major unforeseen shifts."
However, for safety's sake, Li Fan still needed to make a trip to the Xuan Celestial Vessel.
"Since that drooping-hands figurine could still provide some effect, perhaps the Trifurcated Tree will do the same."
To gain a free simulation from Trueness was something that even Li Fan found deeply tempting.
After all, judging from the previous life, the simulation process did not seem to require Li Fan to experience it personally; rather, it would flash through his mind directly like slides.
Empowered by the wooden sword phantom, Li Fan quickly arrived outside the Xuan Celestial Vessel.
"The Trifurcated Tree is on the second level of the Celestial Vessel's secret reservoir, guarded by the Celestial Star Light Lotus. Forcibly seizing it would inevitably lead to a direct confrontation with the vessel...
"Let's see the current situation inside the Celestial Vessel first."
Thinking this, Li Fan moved like a specter, silently slipping into the Xuan Celestial Vessel.
Compared to over ten years ago, their protective measures had improved somewhat.
Not by much, however.
At the very least, for Li Fan, they remained practically non-existent.
After inquiring and probing around the vessel, Li Fan basically grasped the current internal situation.
Ever since his last pillaging of the vessel's secret reservoir, where he took away the vast majority of useful treasures from the first level of the Hundred Inquiries Immortal Record, the Celestial Vessel had first undergone internal strife, nearly splintering apart.
After the upheaval finally subsided with great difficulty, the high-pressure atmosphere inside the vessel never eased.
Because so many resources had been lost all at once, the sheer survival of the vessel's people became a primary crisis. Even though the overall population had decreased somewhat after the internal turmoil, life remained extremely tight.
The scarcity of resources did not dissolve the rift between the Immortal Severing Tower and the Immortal Pivot Court; instead, their struggle grew fiercer by the day. Though no elders had fallen, quite a few subordinate disciples had perished.
In the previous life, the sudden appearance of Li Fan as an outsider had diverted the internal conflicts of the vessel. Confronted with the fact that other civilizations existed in the Starry Sea, the Celestial Vessel appeared remarkably unified, and the vast majority of elders were even willing to sacrifice their lives for the vessel's future.
In this life, however, there was no external conflict to divert their attention; internal friction had only escalated. What the Celestial Vessel displayed to Li Fan had shifted from the goodness of human nature to its darkness.
Naturally, to Li Fan, the so-called "goodness" and "darkness" made no difference.
All he cared about were the treasures in the vessel's secret reservoir.
The treasures on the second level of the secret reservoir were all preserved inside the lotus seeds of the Celestial Star Light Lotus.
The Celestial Star Light Lotus was a wondrous entity collected by the Celestial Vessel back in ancient times. Parasitic upon the Starry Sea, it had endured countless tribulations and remained alive.
With Li Fan's current strength, destroying it would not be difficult.
However, destroying it while also retrieving the treasures preserved within its nearly one hundred lotus seeds would be rather tricky.
Hiding on the second level, Li Fan observed the Celestial Star Light Lotus at close range for a long time, finally settling on a strategy.
Although the Celestial Star Light Lotus appeared incomparably miraculous, and at its peak its main body was even vaster than a hundred cultivation realms combined, it ultimately fell under the category of a "living creature."
As long as it was alive, it was bound to possess weaknesses.
Li Fan did not need to search for this weakness himself.
He had the Dao-One Worms.
The Dao-One Worm was a peculiar beast capable of generating spiritual energy.
Extending his palm, a blurred shadow slowly flew near, attempting to infiltrate the dreamy hues of the light lotus.
What Li Fan released at this moment was one of the Dao-One Worm variants.
Its capacity to produce spiritual energy was halved; in exchange, its adaptability and survivability were astonishingly formidable.
Yet the instant it drew near, the faint radiance emitted by the light lotus evaporated the Dao-One Worm into nothingness.
Li Fan paid it no mind, continuing by releasing two Dao-One Worms.
Their fate remained unchanged.
Compared to the Celestial Star Light Lotus, creatures like Dao-One Worms were far too insignificant; the passing of their lives did not stir the slightest ripple.
Persevering, Li Fan released four at once.
Though they still perished in an instant, only Li Fan noticed that the duration the Dao-One Worms held out was a sliver longer.
The successive waves of Dao-One Worms did not die in vain; instead, they fed information about the Celestial Star Light Lotus back to their colony.
Subsequent generations would alter themselves according to this information, seeking to adapt and survive within the radiance of the Celestial Star Light Lotus.
The number of Dao-One Worms grew exponentially.
When the entire colony reached the million mark, the Dao-One Worms were already capable of evolving and assimilating themselves into the dreamy radiance of the Celestial Star Light Lotus.
"It seems that although it developed its own sentience, this Starry Sea creation ultimately did not transcend the scope of spiritual power. After tens of millions of generations of evolution, the Dao-One Worms can complete its deciphering."
Watching the continuous shadows seeping like ink into the Celestial Star Light Lotus, Li Fan nodded with some satisfaction.
"Perhaps only immortal spiritual energy—a power entirely transcendent and belonging to an entirely different conceptual realm—could completely prevent the erosion of the Dao-One Worms."
The miraculous effects of the Dao-One Worm naturally went without saying.
Generating something from nothing, evolving spiritual energy, even devouring grotto-heavens and worlds to replace them entirely with the swarm.
Yet as Li Fan's strength grew day by day, the endlessly useful Dao-One Worm had gradually become of marginal utility.
Only on special occasions like this could it still take the stage.
Li Fan had also once entertained the idea of breeding an even further evolved Dao-One Worm.
Unfortunately, once tainted by Source Power essence, the Dao-One Worm lost its defining characteristics. And as for immortal spiritual energy, which stood a tier higher...
Li Fan did not possess any himself, still having to count on the Great Heavenly Venerable's legacy.
"After I achieve Dao Integration, perhaps I can provide the Dao-One Worms with a suitable breeding environment."
In the Immortal Realm, beyond True Immortals, there were countless creations and servants.
He believed that after attaining the Dao, even his dogs and chickens would ascend alongside him!
The Dao-One Worms' erosion was like spring rain, moistening all things in silence.
When an entire lotus seed was quietly converted into Dao-One Worms, the main body of the Celestial Star Light Lotus did not even notice.
It merely felt a faint unease, the lotus's glow flickering erratically.
The lotus seed's defenses were thoroughly neutralized.
Li Fan first acquired his primary target: the Trifurcated Tree.
Sensing the reaction transmitting from Trueness, Li Fan's heart stirred. "It is indeed still effective.
"However, it isn't enough to support an entire lifetime of simulation.
"Only twelve shichen?"
A glint of sharpness flashed in Li Fan's eyes, and a very rare surge of excitement arose in his heart.
"If I am not mistaken, after using the Trifurcated Tree for a simulation, my current life will not directly end.
"Rather, everything that occurs in the next twelve shichen within the simulation will appear in my mind, as though experienced firsthand.
"I just don't know whether gains can be brought out.
"Even if not, this is equivalent to a life-saving insurance policy!"
Li Fan suppressed the urge to use the Trifurcated Tree immediately.
He continued manipulating the Dao-One Worms to corrode and pilfer the items preserved within the lotus seeds of the Celestial Star Light Lotus.
It truly lived up to being a Starry Sea treasure entrusted with heavy responsibility by the Celestial Vessel.
After Li Fan pilfered three items in succession, driven by instinct, the Celestial Star Light Lotus actually curled up voluntarily.
The second level of the secret reservoir instantly plunged into pitch darkness; the dreamy glow was no more.
Even Li Fan could no longer sense any aura belonging to the Celestial Star Light Lotus.
It was as though it had completely vanished!
The unusual movement of the Celestial Star Light Lotus also alerted the people of the Celestial Vessel.
Li Fan vaguely sensed several familiar auras rapidly approaching, led by none other than Celestial Vessel elders Jian Daosheng and Zhong Daogong.
"There's also a faint aura of the Thousand-Eyed Desolate God.
"It seems prolonged internal strife has kept their nerves strung taut."
With a slight smile, Li Fan flashed with a dim sword phantom and fled the scene of the crime.
With treasures from the second level of the secret reservoir stolen once again, another storm of blood and gore erupted within the Celestial Vessel.
The Immortal Severing Tower and Immortal Pivot Court accused each other, igniting the grievances accumulated over the past ten years.
A brutal conflict played out within the Xuan Celestial Vessel.
Meanwhile, the culprit, Li Fan, had already returned to the Daxuan pocket world within the Xuanhuang Realm.
Aside from the Trifurcated Tree, the other two items Li Fan had taken were the Small Medicine King Cauldron and the Broken-Winged Gray Bird.
All three items were relics of Sun Piaomiao.
The treasures on the second level of the secret reservoir were all cloaked by the Celestial Star Light Lotus, making their specific effects undetectable.
Yet the actual value of these three items—aside from the Broken-Winged Gray Bird—had all been verified in the previous life.
Under the time constraints, bringing them out was the sensible choice.
"The Trifurcated Tree and Small Medicine King Cauldron are by no means ordinary items.
"The Broken-Winged Gray Bird most likely harbors some wondrous use as well; I simply haven't discovered it yet."
As for the separate deduction enabled by the Trifurcated Tree, Li Fan would definitely save it for the crucial moment prior to Dao Integration.
For the Small Medicine King Cauldron, Li Fan still planned to feed it to the little turtle—assuming it could still stomach it.
Li Fan's attention was now focused on the Broken-Winged Gray Bird.
In the previous life, both Li Fan and the people of the Celestial Vessel had exhausted countless methods on this object, yet failed to find anything special about it.
It appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary item.
Li Fan observed it for a while and likewise found nothing out of the ordinary.
Thus, he resorted to the simplest and crudest method.
Extending his palm, a world-destroying immortal array enveloped the space within mere inches.
Like sharp blades, it slashed down upon the Broken-Winged Gray Bird.
To Li Fan's surprise, in almost an instant, the Broken-Winged Gray Bird was reduced to nothingness under the power of the immortal array.
It vanished completely from the world.
This left Li Fan, who had prepared for everything, momentarily stunned.
"Could it truly have been nothing more than a decoy left behind by Sun Piaomiao?"
Li Fan closely inspected the space before him, confirming that not a single fragment remained.
The Broken-Winged Gray Bird was annihilated without a trace.
"Seems I was overthinking things," Li Fan chuckled self-deprecatingly.
Yet a moment later, his expression abruptly shifted.
An ethereal voice transmission suddenly drifted in from beyond the heavens!
Chapter 1397