"It seems the Saint Emperor did not simply tame Maobao with Source Power essence."
"Rather, Maobao instinctively felt close to the Saint Emperor, which is why it was willing to lie on his shoulder at all times and serve him."
Watching the black cat return to Nameless Shanhua's shoulder, Li Fan could not help but ponder the origin of his Saint Emperor avatar.
Saint Emperor Li Ping had been created using the essence blood of Wang Xuanba and Sun Erlang.
Yet during that lifetime as the Saint Emperor, Maobao had also had direct, face-to-face contact with both Wang Xuanba and Sun Erlang, and had shown neither of them any special affection.
*So, does the crux lie with this body of 'Li Fan'?*
Using the essence blood of those two during the creation of the avatar had merely been to strip them of their innate gifts.
What truly enabled the avatar to become an avatar was the connection forged by Li Fan's own essence blood.
Li Fan's eyes flickered, and a tremendous wave of shock surged through his heart. By "Li Fan," he did not mean himself. He meant the original owner of this body—the frail scholar from before he transmigrated, before he possessed the supreme treasure Revert to the True.
Even though, across a hundred cycles of reincarnation, Li Fan had long since completely fused with this body without the slightest discord, it could not be denied that he had indeed "stolen" someone else's body.
*If Maobao's original master was the original Li Fan...*
Li Fan gazed impassively beyond the Great Wall.
*The original body's aptitude for cultivation was indeed somewhat abysmal. But he wasn't completely incapable of cultivating.*
*And that was within the Great Wall, in the Xuanhuang Realm—a place where the Great Dao had withered away.*
*In a normal environment, he would definitely have been considered raw talent with potential.*
*Infinite possibilities...*
Li Fan's thoughts raced.
*Theoretically, there truly is a possibility where such a mortal rises and proves his Dao to the supreme peak.*
*In other words, in theory, anyone within the Great Wall—or even within the Primordial possibility—might hold another identity as a supreme powerhouse in other possibilities. Just like the Black Heavenly Physician and Sinister Su Bai.*
*Yet in reality, that is not the case.*
The Great Wall served as a barrier, shielding them from the attention of those supreme powerhouses who sought to devour their other selves. But ever since Li Fan entered the testing ground within the Great Wall, acquired the power of Mound-Guarding Lord's phantom, and completely took control of the Pitch-Black Star Sea, he had sent out batches of the so-called geniuses from within the wall.
None had provoked any abnormal ripples from beyond this possibility.
To say nothing of tearing through the void like the Black Heavenly Physician, not even mental resonance or control like Sinister Su Bai's had occurred.
Among these prodigies were Diyi Jinglun, Qiao Sidao, and others whose talents Li Fan considered absolutely top-tier.
*If there truly were infinite possibilities, supreme counterparts of them would certainly exist.*
*Yet in reality, there are none.*
*This also means that infinity is not truly infinite.*
*Because of the ravages of the Dao Annihilation Tribulation, the vast majority of possibilities have long since been obliterated.*
*The supreme avatars of the vast majority of people in this world can probably only be found in the past recorded within the Sea of Infinity.*
To survive to this day against the backdrop of a mortal world with only seven million years of lifespan remaining required either tremendous luck or, like Mound-Guarding Lord, power capable of resisting the Dao Annihilation Tribulation to a certain degree.
Neither scenario was good news for Li Fan.
Based on what had happened before with the Heavenly Physician and Su Bai, if Li Fan's hypothesis held true, the instant he stepped out beyond the Great Wall, he might be sensed by the Saint Emperor Li Fan of another possibility.
Between the two, it would surely be a fight to the death.
*If the other party truly can cross possibilities to come here, even if I play all my cards, I likely won't be his match. I would only be able to flee in disgrace via Revert to the True under the protection of Illusion is Reality.*
Testing this hypothesis was actually very simple. All it required was for Li Fan's true body to take one step outside the Great Wall.
Taking a deep breath, Li Fan suppressed this tempting urge for the time being.
Even if he could not wait to verify it, now was not yet the time.
*Fortunately, I have always been cautious and haven't lightly leaped outside the Great Wall.*
*Otherwise, I would have faced quite a shock.*
*For now, the best course is to steadily increase my strength. The remaining true and false in the Shuo Star Sea, that Guangwu Star Sea, and the thirteen Dao forms. If all of that combined is still not enough, then I shall suppress and devour every last remaining True Immortal in the Primordial possibility.*
*I refuse to believe that even then, I won't be a match for that 'Saint Emperor.'*
With that in mind, Li Fan spoke coldly to the trembling Shanhua before him: "I give you thirty days to handle this matter. If after thirty days you cannot deliver a satisfactory result..."
Li Fan cast a glance at Nameless Shanhua.
Shanhua's heart leaped into his throat, and he hastily gave his solemn assurance once more.
Without uttering any harsh threats, Li Fan simply flicked his wide sleeve, expelling Shanhua.
As his agitated emotions gradually calmed, Li Fan began to digest the spoils of this encounter.
What had surprised him most was naturally the *Chapter of the Initial Opening of Mountain and Sea* written by Sacred Lord Taiyi, which Shanhua had surrendered. But when it came to what could maximize Li Fan's current combat strength...
Li Fan extended his left hand, and a pair of blades—a saber and a sword shimmering with an eerie green light—appeared in his palm.
They were precisely the trump card unleashed by the Nameless True Immortal named Kuixing, who had possessed the black cat.
Fairly speaking, the immortals of the Shuo Star Sea had indeed possessed the confidence to come knocking at his door.
Even if all the living beings in the Primordial Immortal Realm joined forces alongside Li Fan himself, they might not have survived the pincer attack of that saber and sword.
*In the Shuo Star Sea, there are Blade Island and Sword Domain, which were formed from the materialized remnants of the Dao of the Blade and Dao of the Sword of the Primordial possibility.*
*Yet for this pair, the blade and sword are merely outward appearances.*
Gently caressing the green light in his palm, Li Fan closed his eyes. It felt as if he were standing within that deathly silent, chillingly murderous starry sky.
*Slaughter and devouring. Until the myriad Daos merge into one.*
*That is the true essence of this treasure.*
*It perfectly matches my Myriad Manifestations Dao Net!*
Delight surged in Li Fan's heart.
Opening his mouth slightly, he swallowed the pair of green blades directly into his belly.
Thousands of green rays instantly erupted from the blade and sword, fusing into Li Fan's Myriad Manifestations Dao Net.
Upon the grim, towering Dao Net, a transparent saber and sword now hung indistinctly. Among the many Dao manifestations appearing as human figures, they seemed utterly out of place. Yet precisely because of this, they invisibly imparted a distinct flavor to the Myriad Manifestations Dao Net.
*Weapons, slaughter, ending.*
A gush of brand-new Dao intent—a completely novel experience—flowed through Li Fan's heart.
This was a Dao path vastly different from the Primordial possibility, far more than simply originating from another possibility. It represented a completely new possibility where a Dao path attached to and was borne by an inanimate vessel.
In the Primordial possibility where Li Fan resided, although instances of the Great Dao manifesting as objects existed, those supreme treasures could not cultivate like humans.
Possessing a single Dao was an inherent trait they were born with, but it was also the lifelong ceiling of their existence.
Yet the Dao Sword and Dao Saber from the starry sky of ending had opened an exalted path for beings of their kind.
With a thought, a blood-red circular jade object appeared before Li Fan.
It was the true form of the Dharma Formulation Jade, taken from within the body of the Dharma Formulation Jade little girl.
Without infinite immortal power, the broken Dharma Formulation Jade could no longer be considered an immortal artifact. Its ability to formulate mortal arts was of no use to Li Fan now.
Li Fan had once considered repeating the process of Xuanhuang's sublimation and ascension into an Immortal Realm, propelling the broken Dharma Formulation Jade—just like himself—to transform from mortal to immortal once more. But now, he had found a better way.
*I can even forge a complete, superior replacement for the Dharma Formulation Jade.*
*The Dao Formulation Jade!*
Li Fan had long since examined the Dharma Formulation Jade thoroughly. Its ability to deduce all possibilities in the world largely stemmed from a kind of exhaustive search. However, its brute-force realization of countless possibilities was surprisingly efficient, as though it instinctively possessed the innate ability to discard impossible options.
*What the Dharma Formulation Jade represents in the first place is the Dao path of Formulation.*
*Though it is merely a projection of a part of the Dao, through the method of devouring and growing found in the Dao Sword and Dao Saber, it might well invert heaven and earth.*
*Transforming shadow into reality!*
Clutching the blood-colored jade ring in his palm, Li Fan took the imagery and insights of that ending weapon possibility absorbed by his Myriad Manifestations Dao Net and, after processing them, poured them into the jade.
The already eerie blood jade took on strands of chilling green light, becoming exceedingly uncanny.
As the saying went, true transmission takes but a single sentence.
With the Dao Sword and Dao Saber's exceedingly rich experience in devouring each other, the broken Dharma Formulation Jade mastered this advanced technique almost immediately. As if starved for tens of thousands of years, it instinctively lunged to attack its surroundings.
However, Li Fan slapped it mercilessly, knocking it senseless.
This was no ordinary slap; it carried a trace of the power of Wuji.
"You may eat only what I feed you."
"What I do not feed you, you can only watch."
After several attempts to feed were met with severe beatings, Li Fan successfully established rules for the Dharma Formulation Jade.
Looking at the ravenous blood-colored ring, Li Fan turned his gaze toward several short Heavenly Pillars sealed during this battle.
Those below the Nameless realm could scarcely bear the Dao. They merely resembled Heavenly Pillars in shape; in reality, they could not be called true Heavenly Pillars at all. And their insights into the Great Dao had already been rendered virtually useless after being devoured once by Li Fan's Myriad Manifestations Dao Net.
Standing there, they were somewhat an eyesore.
They were perfect for feeding to the Dharma Formulation Jade.
To the Dharma Formulation Jade, the leftovers of what Li Fan had already absorbed were absolute delicacies.
As the short Heavenly Pillars vanished one after another, the Dharma Formulation Jade grew increasingly translucent and lustrous.
Its blood-red hue was no longer glaring, but held within, warm and gentle.
Li Fan once again examined the Dharma Formulation Jade after its feast.
Sure enough, its ability to "formulate" was more than ten times stronger than before.
Moreover, just as Li Fan had anticipated, it had begun to surpass the boundaries of formulating arts.
It was advancing by leaps and bounds toward the broader Dao path of Formulation.
*What the Dao Sword and Dao Saber represent is a bottom-up process where a projection devours its own true Dao path step by step, even ultimately accommodating all three thousand Great Daos.*
*In truth, it can almost be viewed as an alternative Myriad Manifestations Dao Net.*
*However, there are subtle differences between the two. The Myriad Manifestations Dao Net is a true merging of myriad Daos. No matter how much it devours, it will only present the complete likeness of every devoured Dao. Whereas the devouring practiced by the Dao Sword and Dao Saber...*
*While devouring, it inevitably retains its original attributes. Just like them: even if they devoured the Dao paths of an entire possibility, in the end they could never escape their original nature as weapons.*
*The same holds for the Dharma Formulation Jade. No matter how it devours and evolves, in the end it will surely remain in the form of a Formulation Jade.*
Li Fan felt no pity for them. On the contrary, this made them far more useful to him.
*Drawing analogies, this applies not only to the Dharma Formulation Jade, but to any Great Dao projection.*
As he pondered, Li Fan had already found a method to cause trouble for the Black Heavenly Physician and Sinister Su Bai.
*I must conduct a proper experiment.*
***
Thirty days passed quickly.
And Shanhua did not disappoint Li Fan.
On the twenty-fifth day, Shanhua brought Chaos with him to pay a visit.
"Please forgive this junior for my past hesitation and guilt."
Before Shanhua could speak, Nameless Chaos took the initiative to plead guilty to Li Fan.
"I knew long ago that they intended to harm Senior, yet I did not step forward to stop them..."
Though Chaos remained expressionless, his words were laden with deep remorse.
Li Fan smiled. "You are a smart man, and I like smart men who are obedient."
Chaos was overjoyed, his trepidation vanishing entirely. "I am willing to serve Senior through thick and thin."
Li Fan glanced at Shanhua, who echoed the sentiment, and asked, "Shanhua keeps the *Chapter of the Initial Opening of Mountain and Sea* in his collection. Have you ever read it?"
Chaos glanced at Shanhua in some surprise and shook his head. "I have not had the fortune to feast my eyes upon it."
With a wave of his hand, Li Fan manifested the scripture left by Sacred Lord Taiyi before Chaos's eyes.
Chaos's reaction was like that of anyone seeing the scripture for the first time; he was drawn into it almost instantly.
Yet before he could savor it in detail, Li Fan put the scripture away.
Chaos wore a look of immense yearning, but before Li Fan, he dared not act presumptuously, forced to suppress his instinctive impulses.
"Merit is rewarded, faults are punished."
"Do the two of you wish to earn merit, or commit faults?"
Only now did Shanhua get the chance to speak: "Chaos and I have already investigated and confirmed that four Nameless True Immortals remain suppressed within the Shuo Star Sea's Dao Net. Including the 'Great Net,' we wish to offer them all to you, Great Venerable."
"Great Net?"
"That is the moniker for the master who created the Dao Net. Ashamed as I am to say it, he has been our foe for ten thousand years and our collaborator for a century, yet we still do not know his true identity or the Dao path he comprehended," Chaos explained.
"However, this person has certainly reached the Nameless realm. Furthermore, his strength is not below mine or Chaos's," Shanhua stated with certainty.
"So how do you plan to present these five to me?" Li Fan asked with great interest.
Chaos and Shanhua exchanged a glance, and finally Shanhua whispered, "Previously, our contact with the Guangwu Star Sea was conducted entirely through Divine Thought and my black cat."
"Divine Thought has already been captured by you..."
Shanhua looked toward the spot where the Heavenly Pillar once formed by Divine Thought had stood, only to discover with a start that it was now completely empty. His words broke off.
"Are you looking for him?"
Only then did Li Fan leisurely present the blood-red jade ring in his hand to the two Nameless True Immortals.
Immortal and unyielding as they were through countless tribulations, their expressions could not help but change drastically.
Chapter 1499