These few wisps of spiritual energy were indeed negligible compared to Li Fan's current half-immortal cultivation.
Yet they had appeared so abruptly, without any warning, that Li Fan had to take notice.
After examining them closely, Li Fan gradually realized the truth. This unheralded spiritual energy was the result of the changes occurring in He Zhenghao in this lifetime after Li Fan unleashed the profound sound of scripture chanting.
"The generation of spiritual energy stems from the feedback of the Sitting Heaven Technique. And that feedback only ever arises from an increase in He Zhenghao's strength.
"Yet He Zhenghao has only awakened memories; up to this moment, his cultivation hasn't made any substantive progress..."
Through the mysterious connection forged by the profound sound of scripture chanting, Li Fan's gaze seemed to pierce through space and time in an instant, falling upon He Zhenghao.
It could be said that Li Fan understood He Zhenghao better than He Zhenghao understood himself.
With just a single glance, Li Fan saw how different this lifetime's He Zhenghao was from his past iterations.
"Originally, He Zhenghao possessed some attainments only in formation arrays. Neither his cultivation aptitude nor his temperament could be considered superior.
"Yet now..."
A strange expression instantly surfaced on Li Fan's face.
In this lifetime, He Zhenghao's aptitude was formidable enough to rank among the very finest in the entire Xuanhuang Realm.
Moreover, his character and temperament had undergone a quiet transformation.
In the past, having weathered life's countless grinds and tribulations, He Zhenghao's mindset had been almost entirely dominated by a desire for modest comfort and settling down. His greatest ambition in life had been to return to the Heng Clan in Tianyu Province after achieving success and fame, holding his head high before Heng Ruoshui.
Yet now, in this life, he aspired to carve out a place for himself in an era of fierce contention where dragons and serpents rose from the land...
Had Li Fan not personally orchestrated and witnessed this transformation, he would almost have suspected that another soul had seized He Zhenghao's body.
"What brought about such a sublime transformation?
"Could it simply be those additional memories?"
At present, Li Fan possessed countless methods to instill fabricated memories that seemed utterly genuine.
However, instilling memories while simultaneously bestowing an effect akin to an elevation of one's very existence...
That was no simple feat.
"The profound sound of scripture chanting." Li Fan's expression gradually grew solemn.
He did not rashly alter any more of the other memory phantoms floating in his mind. For now, He Zhenghao alone was a sufficient subject of observation.
"Whether this is my illusion or a genuine transformation that has occurred within you...
"Allow me to add fuel to the fire!"
With a slight stir of Li Fan's will, the ring binding the Heavenly Profound Mirror suddenly erupted with blazing white light.
Analyzing the Heavenly Profound Mirror's characteristics, the immortal array underwent corresponding derivations.
Moments later...
The myriad connections between the Heavenly Profound Mirror and the Xuanhuang Realm, maintained through its properties as an immortal artifact, were forcefully severed by Li Fan!
The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had been founded upon two cornerstones: the Heavenly Profound Mirror and the Dharma Formulation Jade.
Now, with both gone and the collective disappearance of the Alliance's upper echelons, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals was plunged into even greater chaos. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that this colossal titan, which had once ruled more than half of the Xuanhuang Realm, was now teetering on the brink of disintegration! Perhaps for a brief time, out of lingering dread of the Alliance and Heavenly Venerable Chuanfa's past might, cultivators could maintain some semblance of rationality.
Before long, however, chaos and slaughter would inevitably sweep across the lands of Xuanhuang.
The upheaval in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals naturally could not be hidden from the Longevity Heavenly Venerables of the Five Elders Association.
For the moment, Li Fan had no time to pay them any mind.
To prevent the Five Elders Association from disrupting his "observation," Li Fan flicked his finger and loosed a sword phantom.
Sword qi surged crisscross, crossing the sea of stars in a fraction of an instant and descending upon the Xuanhuang Realm.
It lightly drew a line along the original boundary between the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and the Five Elders Association.
Under the sword phantom's influence, the Essence-Devouring White Mist Barrier at the provincial borders vanished without a trace, replaced by a bottomless chasm.
Above the chasm, countless sword phantoms seemed to linger and drift.
In the mind of any cultivator who laid eyes upon this chasm, a single thought would immediately arise:
Cross the line, and die!
This was by no means an empty threat. It was the absolute suppression exerted by Li Fan as a half-immortal over mortal life.
Even the five Longevity realm masters would have to obediently submit to its constraint!
With a casual flick of his hand, he had set the stage for He Zhenghao.
Li Fan's attention returned to the chanting demonic sound that had caused all these wondrous changes.
Pondering it carefully, Li Fan felt a glimmer of insight: "If True Immortal seal characters interpret the supreme principles of the Great Dao between heaven and earth through written script, then the chanting demonic sound originating from King Xuantian, Xuanyuan Hong, and Archmage Tiandu's sheltering immortal incantation analyze the Great Dao through 'sound.'
"If one were to draw a horizontal comparison between the two at the same grade, the power they actually manifest..."
Li Fan frowned slightly, momentarily unable to judge with certainty.
The truth was that, so far, his understanding of the profound sound system was simply too limited.
"Immortal seals were created by the Dao-Inscribing Immortal.
"Could this profound sound also be the work of some Nameless True Immortal?" Li Fan mused with furrowed brows.
Although he currently possessed only a rudimentary glimpse of profound sounds, the practical application on He Zhenghao had already sparked boundless imagination within Li Fan regarding this wondrous power.
"Past memories and illusions affecting reality.
"In theory, wouldn't the ultimate realm of this allow one to alter and distort reality simply by rewriting actions in one's own memories?
"Thereby achieving an effect similar to Revert to the True."
The more Li Fan pondered it, the more startled he became.
"Still, that is only the theoretical ceiling. Such a divine ability is definitely not something easily achieved..."
Li Fan's train of thought was interrupted by a fawning, communicative intent transmitted from the Heavenly Profound Mirror bound within the immortal array in his hand.
"Junior Jing Xuan pays respects to the exalted immortal."
The Heavenly Profound Mirror's voice was identical to that of the human avatar Li Fan had dealt with in his memories.
It had to be said that it truly lived up to having once been an immortal artifact. Even having fallen into the mortal realm, its discernment remained intact.
With a single glance, it had recognized Li Fan's current realm.
"Jing Xuan..."
Li Fan gave a cold snort in his heart and paid no heed to the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Within the mirror, his divine sense avatar completely ignored the body Jing Xuan manifested.
Passing right by him, the avatar flew straight toward the Museum of Divine Archives.
Jing Xuan wore an embarrassed expression, unaware of how he had offended this exalted immortal.
Yet when facing a True Immortal who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Jing Xuan dared not show the slightest disrespect. Since the immortal was displeased, he did not follow, merely watching from a distance in secret.
Naturally, nothing that took place within the Heavenly Profound Mirror could escape his gaze.
Li Fan's divine sense avatar traversed the Museum of Divine Archives with practiced ease, heading straight for its center.
Within the Heavenly Profound Mirror lay countless treasures, and the Museum of Divine Archives held hundreds of millions of artifacts.
Yet the only thing worthy of Li Fan's profound attention was the skull of Mr. Bai placed in the museum's center.
As if having foreseen Li Fan's objective, before the skull, a figure was already standing, having waited for quite some time.
It was none other than the curator of the Museum of Divine Archives, Di Sanmo.
Because this was merely a divine sense avatar, the Li Fan before the skull did not feel the urgent craving of Revert to the True seeking to devour it.
Rather than rushing to take the skull, Li Fan studied Di Sanmo with interest.
Compared to the image of this old man thousands of years ago in the Fallen Immortal Realm, his features seemed not to have changed in the slightest.
"You knew I came for this?"
Di Sanmo cupped his hands, neither servile nor haughty. "Though our collection is vast, only this single item is worthy of a True Immortal going to such great lengths."
Li Fan reached out and took Mr. Bai's skull.
He felt neither restriction nor resistance; evidently, Di Sanmo had abandoned all pointless struggles and quietly dismantled every defensive measure beforehand.
"Do you know what makes this skull special?" Li Fan weighed Mr. Bai's skull in his hand and asked.
"This humble one does not know. It is merely the remains of an old acquaintance. Seeing them again brought sorrow to my heart, so I simply kept them safe." Di Sanmo spoke with obvious insincerity.
"Lying before this deity—are you not afraid?" Li Fan's divine sense avatar said, narrowing his eyes.
Di Sanmo cupped his hands once more. "This humble one... cannot die. Even a True Immortal cannot truly slay me."
"Yet I have countless ways to make you wish for life as much as death," Li Fan said with a faint smile.
Di Sanmo's expression did not waver. His aged visage looked as if he had grown indifferent to all things. "Pain, to me, has long ceased to hold any meaning. Naturally, I have nothing to fear or dread."
The divine sense avatar nodded slightly and did not press him further, merely saying in an indifferent tone, "Show me around this Divine Archives."
The skull in his hand had already vanished.
"Exalted immortal, this way, please.
"If we follow the standard tour route prescribed by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, the first stop would be the derived creation, Era. However, this humble one holds a different view.
"A tour of the Museum of Divine Archives should begin with a ruin."
The divine sense avatar followed Di Sanmo slowly into the deeper recesses of the Divine Archives—spaces that had not been reached during Li Fan's previous visit, areas seemingly closed to the public.
...
Outside the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Li Fan's true body held Mr. Bai's skull.
He felt the intense, ravenous impulse transmitted from Revert to the True.
This was not the first time he had encountered it, yet compared to before, Li Fan—now having stepped into the immortal realm—sensed that Revert to the True's craving had grown even more intense.
"Eternal Lingering Thought...
"Just what secret lies hidden within Mr. Bai's skull?"
With a flip of his hand, he first suppressed the Heavenly Profound Mirror. Shielded within a white ring of the immortal array, Li Fan began attempting to let Revert to the True devour the Eternal Lingering Thought.
Much like when he had devoured Tianyang's Eternal Lingering Thought in the past, a faint dizzy spell washed over his mind, and the scenery before him suddenly shifted.
"Hmm?"
Li Fan quickly regained clarity and surveyed his surroundings.
"This isn't like Tianyang's lingering thought before, where I took Tianyang's place in the obsession to act.
"Instead, it seems I have descended and participated in my own right?"
He seemed still to be within the void, surrounded by boundless, pitch-black darkness.
After flying forward for some time, Li Fan suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowing.
Not far ahead, a figure stood upright.
Li Fan was no stranger to that face.
His features were precisely those of Su Bai, Mr. Bai.
Yet the moment he laid eyes upon him, Li Fan's heart began thumping violently.
It felt remarkably like the internal warning that surfaced only when encountering a mortal peril.
It was as though he had met some overwhelmingly perilous, terrifying entity; even though the figure had made not a single movement from beginning to end, the unease in Li Fan's heart steadily intensified.
"What is this?"
Li Fan was inwardly bewildered.
Su Bai had merely been a Longevity Heavenly Venerable.
Setting aside that he had already perished, even in his prime, Li Fan, now at the half-immortal realm, was confident he would not lose to him.
Why, then, in the illusion woven by his Eternal Lingering Thought, would such a sense of crisis surge without cause?
He silently invoked Revert to the True in his heart, but there was no response. However, his divine sense avatar also perceived that his true body remained stationary in the void of the Pitch-Black Star Sea.
What had entered Su Bai's Eternal Lingering Thought was merely a strand of his own divine soul; it would not truly jeopardize his life in reality.
Even after confirming this, the heart-pounding dread within Li Fan refused to subside.
Gradually, Li Fan finally realized the truth.
The abnormality in his heart was not a warning of mortal peril, but rather...
An instinctive dread that welled up when facing a higher-order predator.
Urging Li Fan to flee at once.
"A higher order? Dread?" Li Fan was initially taken aback, and then found it utterly absurd.
He himself had already reached the half-immortal realm!
Su Bai was nothing more than a Longevity cultivator of Xuanhuang!
How could he possibly feel fear toward him?
Filled with endless confusion and refusal to yield, Li Fan carefully scrutinized the "Mr. Bai" before him once more.
Only then did he vaguely discern something amiss.
Although they bore the exact same face, the Mr. Bai in his memory had eyes that brimmed with benevolence. It was just as Xu Ke and the orphans in the dilapidated temple of Ningyuan City had said: Mr. Bai was the kindest person in the world, the most beautiful person, embodying every virtuous quality between heaven and earth.
Yet the one before him...
Was unspeakably sinister and bizarre.
Even with the man's eyes still shut, Li Fan could seemingly sense the monstrous killing intent and madness lurking behind those lids.
"What could account for such a difference..."
Even as Li Fan was secretly marveling and questioning in his heart, not far away, the sinister Su Bai suddenly opened his eyes!
Without any sensation of pain, the scene before him shifted once, and then shifted again.
Li Fan seemed to have returned to a moment earlier.
Yet only he knew...
Just a moment ago, he had been instantly killed by the sinister Su Bai!
A drop of cold sweat slid down Li Fan's forehead.
"Could it be that my cultivation from reality wasn't brought into this Eternal Lingering Thought?"
That was the first thought that popped into Li Fan's mind.
Yet after checking, Li Fan immediately dismissed it.
"I am truly at the half-immortal realm, there's no mistake about it!
"How on earth did I die just now?"
Li Fan felt both shocked and furious.
"No wonder that phantom remained motionless for so long; it was prep time left for me."
He discovered that within this illusion, all of his techniques and abilities could apparently be unleashed without hindrance.
This time, Li Fan chose to strike first.
"Nine Heavens Dust-Descending Finger!"
A colossal palm descended from the heavens.
Locking onto the sinister Su Bai, it aimed to crush him like an ant.
Yet just as the divine ability was about to land upon him, Su Bai's figure abruptly vanished.
Li Fan froze, then snapped back to his senses and swiftly looked up.
He saw that, without his knowing when, he had become as small as an ant, resting atop the sinister Su Bai's fingertip!
Chapter 1412