Taking the Grand Daos of the myriad heavens as one's physical body.
Even for Li Fan, it was truly difficult to imagine just what kind of formidable realm this was.
Those acclaimed as Nameless True Immortals in the present age had merely attained the Dao through a single path among the countless Grand Daos of heaven and earth.
If the realm Li Fan surmised truly existed, then by comparison, even a Nameless True Immortal would be as different as an ant to a giant elephant—a world of difference.
"One who proves the Dao through sheer strength could traverse possibilities as easily as stepping across a brook..."
As Li Fan thought this, a scene from his previous life suddenly surfaced in his mind—the Black Heavenly Physician arriving abruptly from beyond the heavens, smashing through several Great Walls, and descending out of nowhere.
"The Black Heavenly Physician and Sinister Su Bai might very well be at such a realm.
"However, they probably did not take the path of physical sanctification. Instead, by relentlessly hunting down versions of themselves in other possibilities, they pushed a single Dao path beyond its limits to empower themselves.
"Making a single Dao path equal the sum of all other Grand Daos achieves the same end by a different route as uniting all laws into the physical body.
"It is just truly hard to imagine how many versions of themselves they slaughtered..."
Li Fan was momentarily dazed, a faint chill rising in his heart.
Yet the thought flashed by and soon receded deep into his mind. His focus returned to this Great Dao Body Descent Art.
While Li Fan's deduction and speculation were not wrong, they were merely an ideal state existing in pure theory.
"If one wishes to cultivate this method to perfection, one must first continually elevate Mind Soul Formation until it can reflect all Grand Daos between heaven and earth simultaneously. That single step alone is virtually impossible.
"If someone could truly reach such a realm, they would already be invincible in the mortal world. Why bother seeking physical sanctification?
"It comes back to the same phrase: going the long way around for what is close at hand."
Because he was still far too distant from the deduced realm, Li Fan naturally harbored many doubts in his heart.
Yet just like Mind Soul Formation, this method of tempering the body with the Great Dao Body Descent Art offered a tangible boost to Li Fan's current strength.
Therefore, Li Fan would not abandon it.
If problems arose later, he would deal with them later.
In any case, he possessed the capital to start over at any moment.
"The mind reflecting the Grand Dao is called Mind Soul Formation. If the physical body accommodates the Grand Dao, wouldn't that in a sense be a physical Nascent Soul?
"It seems that my new new method not only needs to be cultivated in reverse, but also requires cultivating various different realms simultaneously.
"Only when every realm reaches supreme perfection at the same time might I glimpse true Foundation Establishment with Myself!"
Li Fan shook his head inwardly.
He was certain that whether it was Master Yin, the Sacred Emperor, or Su Bai—all those who had contributed to perfecting the new new method—not one of them had ever imagined that such a way of cultivating it existed.
The only reason such a bizarre situation had arisen for Li Fan was that he possessed the supreme treasure of infinitely high status, Revert to the True.
"Revert to the True transcends the Grand Daos of heaven and earth. In common parlance, it steps outside the Three Realms and is no longer within the Five Elements.
"Hence, the difficulty of my Foundation Establishment surpasses even Dao Resonation. That is why I must do the exact opposite. As for others..."
The disparity between Li Fan and others in the Shuoxing Sea cultivating the Great Dao Body Descent Art at the same time, to some degree, spoke for itself.
With myriad thoughts running through his mind, Li Fan's current body gradually transferred the familiarity developed through constant tempering within his own miniature Dao Net entirely over to the Shuoxing Sea's Dao Net.
Like a fish entering water, or a bird taking to the sky.
Li Fan even felt a vague sensation as if he had returned to the Xuanhuang Realm, with which he was incomparably familiar.
"Splendid. Truly splendid."
Moreover, due to this familiarity, Li Fan could disguise himself at will, preventing his true progress in body refinement from being exposed.
"What I am using is purely rote effort and clumsy methods. If I refer once more to the Creation Furnace Art..."
Within his divine sense, the Creation Art transmitted from his true self surfaced word by word.
Li Fan took a deep breath, and the vital blood throughout his body surged incessantly, as if suddenly boiling.
His body seemed to transform into a towering, colossal furnace spanning heaven and earth, smelting his vital breath and flesh.
With a slight shift of thought, this furnace seemed to settle upon the illusory Dao Net.
One of the Dao strings suddenly flashed with blinding white light. Then the Dao Net trembled, and the power of the Dao string morphed into a colossal hammer that slammed thunderously against the massive furnace.
The furnace roared and reverberated endlessly.
A faint indentation was hammered into its exterior, while within, the tremendous force was harnessed to accelerate the smelting of flesh by several times over in a burst.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Upon the Dao Net, the tumultuous clamor rang without cease, the intervals between the strikes shortening at an extremely gradual pace.
In reality, visible flushes of red appeared on Li Fan's face.
As if he had suffered severe injuries.
Then the flush quickly turned blue-green, then deathly pale, and subsequently shifted to a blood-red hue.
It cycled like this over and over, appearing exceptionally bizarre.
"The Great Dao Body Descent Art and the Creation Furnace Art—these two complement each other wonderfully.
"The Creation Furnace uses oneself as a furnace to unlock all secret reservoirs and latent potential within the human body. Moving forward step by step, with every round of smelting, one's strength grows a fraction greater. The only shortcoming is its slowness.
"Meanwhile, the Great Dao Body Descent Art draws on the Grand Daos of the myriad heavens to temper and replenish oneself. When all Grand Daos belong entirely to oneself, the physical body attains sanctification. Its shortcomings are its difficulty and immense peril.
"Combining the two, striking the Creation Furnace with the colossal force of the Grand Dao, increases efficiency by more than a hundredfold compared to my previous simple cycle of shattering and reconstituting flesh!"
Li Fan visualized the shallow marks raised upon the surface of the Creation Furnace; they were the very imprints left by the Grand Dao.
Previously, flesh had to shatter and reconstitute hundreds of thousands of times under great pressure to leave an imprint of comparable depth. Now, driven by the Creation Art, it took merely a breath.
The Dao Net rumbled as tens of thousands of Dao marks manifested upon the Creation Furnace.
With every breath Li Fan took, the physical strength of this body grew at thousands of times its former speed.
Furthermore, from beginning to end, Li Fan did not feel the slightest hunger, as though the human body truly contained an inexhaustible spring of power replenishing itself.
Li Fan was immersed in the rapid surge of his physical prowess, almost unable to tear himself away.
Until Nangong Hongzhao came to visit.
"Brother Ma, how is your cultivation going?"
"I have just made initial entry. This technique is truly extraordinary, but it is indeed terribly difficult to practice," Li Fan said with a pale face, coughing softly and sounding somewhat weak.
Seeing Li Fan's unstable vital blood, as though he had just been battered by massive force and sustained substantial injuries, Nangong Hongzhao hastened to show concern: "There is no need to rush. The mysterious coffin case is still under investigation. Until a definitive conclusion is reached, our break will not end."
"Oh? So much time has passed; with the capabilities of the Immortal Hunt, they still haven't uncovered the truth?" Li Fan asked in slight surprise.
Nangong Hongzhao lowered his voice and sneered coldly. "If they poured in all their strength, it would naturally be no problem. Alas, someone is sabotaging it from within. Before the investigation even began, all of Yan Xuantai's records in the Dao Net had been mysteriously erased. Those capable of doing such a thing..."
Nangong Hongzhao fell silent for a brief moment.
Then he whispered again, "What is even more bizarre is that World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin. Analyzing the records left from our arrest attempt, they say the mysterious coffin at the scene of the incident was indeed the very one the Immortal Hunt had planned to use as immortal bait.
"The problem arose during the process of forging the immortal bait.
"What should have been forged merely as a decoy turned out to be a genuine vehicle for crossing the world. Most critically, the one responsible for forging that coffin..."
Li Fan's eyes flickered slightly. Seeing Nangong Hongzhao pause, he pressed, "What happened to him?"
"He's dead."
"Ah?" Li Fan immediately showed a look of horror.
"Not recently deceased. Back when he finished crafting the nine decoy mysterious coffins, he ceased to exist in this world. For all this time, these nine mysterious coffins had assisted the Immortal Hunt in sundering immortals dozens of times without a single mishap. That was why I was so certain back then...
"Moreover, the mysterious coffin we used this time had previously served as bait multiple times, yet a true world-crossing escape had never occurred..."
Listening to this, Li Fan rubbed his brow. "The more you say, the more intricate and convoluted this matter seems. Aside from the coffin's creator, it likely implicates high-level figures within the Governing Council. After all, being able to alter information in the Dao Net..."
Li Fan shook his head slightly. "No wonder so much time has passed without them turning up even a general picture.
"However... I have a thought."
Nangong Hongzhao started, then said, "There are only the two of us here. Brother Ma, speak freely."
"Why don't we simplify the complex and focus solely on the core of the incident? The World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin is used to flee to other possibilities to evade disaster. Yan Xuantai had resided in our Shuoxing Sea for many years, so why did he suddenly exert such tremendous effort and take such immense risks to escape?
"Yan Xuantai was once part of Shengshang. Back then, Shengshang disappeared mysteriously. I heard earlier that before vanishing, they had retrieved many rare treasures that were once scattered outside. Could Yan Xuantai have learned something from Shengshang back then, making his recent escape a desperate measure out of necessity?"
"You mean..." Nangong Hongzhao stared intently at Li Fan.
"Indeed. I suspect that a great catastrophe will soon befall the Shuoxing Sea..." Li Fan murmured.
"Brother Ma, do not speak recklessly!" Before he could finish, Nangong Hongzhao cut him off sharply.
Yet Li Fan's deduction was not without reason.
The more Nangong Hongzhao thought about it, the more it felt as though this was the truth behind the chaotic web of events. As if recalling something, his expression shifted several times within a few breaths.
"Brother Ma, it is fine to say these words to me, but under no circumstances should you utter them outside. Otherwise, if trouble breaks out, even I will not be able to help you." Leaving only this warning, Nangong Hongzhao hurried away.
Before leaving, he also left behind a scroll—a compilation of experiences and insights recorded across generations of the Nangong clan in cultivating the Great Dao Body Descent Art.
However, it went no further than the preliminary stage of how to comprehend the Grand Dao and reflect it onto oneself.
Evidently, Nangong Hongzhao intended to use this as bait to steadily cultivate "Ma Tiande's" goodwill.
Li Fan cast merely a glance at it before tossing the insights aside.
"Escaping in the mysterious coffin... an inside accomplice in the Shuoxing Sea? Interesting."
From all the information currently known, the faction holding actual power in the Shuoxing Sea should be those True Immortals who had transformed into mortals.
As for the mortals on stage, they were merely puppets under their control.
"However, that True Immortals would willingly let mortals serve as the public front shows there must be something about mortals that gives them pause..."
Li Fan suddenly thought of that invisible giant hand behind the Dao Net.
And the four Nameless True Immortals used as living stakes.
"A struggle between immortals who transformed into mortals, former immortals, and the group that remains True Immortals today.
"Yet now, a defector has abruptly appeared on this battlefield.
"Escaping not to either side, but to another world outside of possibilities."
According to what Nangong Hongzhao said, the immortals who survived the Dao Annihilation Tribulation harbored boundless terror toward that past catastrophe.
The supreme among them had long since fled far away.
Li Fan believed that among those remaining—whether human or immortal—this fear certainly persisted in their hearts.
It was merely that over tens of thousands of years, they had been misled by the illusion of false prosperity created by the Dao Net.
Believing that with the aid of the so-called Dao Net, they could truly withstand the Dao Annihilation Tribulation.
Yet Shengshang, and even Yan Xuantai's reckless escape this time, possessed the potential to jolt them awake from their illusory dream.
"Interesting.
"There are never permanent enemies in this world. Perhaps the Shuoxing Sea and those True Immortals might actually cooperate once more.
"After all, of the nine mysterious coffins, one was capable of crossing worlds to escape. Who is to say the others cannot do the same?"
Another month passed.
The break for the novice Immortal Hunters finally came to an end.
Li Fan and the others were gathered once more, addressed by none other than the burly man who had carried the massive pillar on his shoulder before.
The man delivered a harsh scolding to the novice Immortal Hunters, declaring that regardless of the reason, suffering such a colossal mishap on their very first mission amounted to sheer incompetence.
Therefore, moving forward, everyone was to "atone for their failure with meritorious service."
Hunt immortals once again!
"For this hunt of a True Immortal, I will accompany you.
"The target is an old adversary of our Immortal Hunt. On several past occasions, this person managed to escape by luck. But this time..."
"Hmph." The burly man sneered, a glint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
"Senior Qian, might I ask who our target is this time...?" It was once again Dao Yuan who spoke up first.
Dao Yuan was evidently already acquainted with the burly man, addressing him by his surname before the man had even introduced himself.
"This immortal's Dao arts can sever all connections with the outside world. He is exceedingly difficult to find and track. Even when shuttling and wandering within the Dao Net, he leaves behind no trace whatsoever. We do not know his background and refer to him simply as 'Wu.'
"Relying on the uniqueness of his Dao path, this immortal frequently infiltrates our Shuoxing Sea. Several of our Immortal Hunt's immortal-capturing operations were sabotaged by him. Therefore, we have finally resolved to apprehend this immortal no matter what!" the burly man said in a deep voice, his expression solemn.
"Such an arduous mission is being entrusted to us?" Dao Yuan was taken aback upon hearing this.
Not just Dao Yuan; the other novice Immortal Hunters felt the same way.
"Rest assured. It is precisely because you are newly recruited and unknown to this immortal that we hold an even greater chance of victory. You only need to follow my commands and coordinate in executing Dao Net instructions. That Immortal 'Wu' will surely be a turtle caught in a jar!" the burly man stated with supreme confidence.
Li Fan nodded in agreement alongside the rest.
His gaze casually brushed past Nangong Hongzhao, noticing that he appeared somewhat absentminded.
Yet what Li Fan cared about more was the target of this immortal hunt.
"Sever all connections with the outside world?"
For some reason, an insolent burst of laughter suddenly echoed in Li Fan's ears:
"What does it have to do with me! What does it have to do with me!"
Chapter 1452