Because he had truly visited the Sea of Infinity, he was able to channel infinite immortal power through the technique of Illusion is Real.
Compared to the Immortal Realm of the past, this Primordial Continent perhaps fell short only in its Momentum.
The reason immortals could occupy high stations and look down upon all living beings was that, in bygone days, Holy Sovereign Lianshan had ascended Mount Shangfang, opening a path of ascension from nothingness for the world's mortals. The Immortal Realm itself had been built directly within the boundless Mount Shangfang.
Yet where Mount Shangfang truly lay, and what it actually looked like, were things few immortals in the world knew.
It was truly a case of not knowing the mountain's true face simply because one was in it.
Li Fan, this "half-immortal," was no exception.
Though he stood within the mountain, he could not see its true countenance. Though he could borrow its Momentum, he could not comprehend the reason behind it.
"The Sea of Infinity is already so breathtaking; the grandeur of Mount Shangfang surely cannot be inferior to it."
Whenever Li Fan wandered within the Sea of Infinity, he could not help but think this. He could only infer the existence of Mount Shangfang through the subtle differences in Momentum produced with each step he climbed.
Even without deliberately seeking the heights of the summit, the continuous infusion of infinite power caused the Momentum of the Primordial Immortal Realm to shift over time. This was perhaps the best proof that mountain and sea shared the same origin.
At that moment, Li Buren sat cross-legged at the very apex of the Primordial Immortal Realm's celestial canopy, inside a Dao palace perched above the halls of the Five Directional Heavenly Emperors.
Every stir of wind and blade of grass on the continent below lay within his sight, yet the vast majority of his attention was focused on a yellowed ancient scroll held in his hands.
The scroll seemed quite old and was incomplete, with many pages having been torn away. Even so, that did not stop Li Buren from reading it over and over again.
This text was none other than the Fables of the Mountain and Sea, the very book Liu Ruchen had read and which Li Fan had searched so painstakingly to find.
After the Medicine King Sect steered the Medicine King True Cauldron away from the Xuanhuang Realm, the text had been confiscated by the Taishang Sect, one of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao, and stored within their sect treasury.
Later, the Taishang Sect fractured. A faction took the opportunity to flee, carrying countless supreme treasures from the treasury with them—and this book of fables along with them.
Back then, outside the Great Wall in the Shuoxing Sea, numerous factions gathered in utter chaos. The survivors from inside the Great Wall, sharing an origin from the Pitch-Black Star Sea, instinctively banded together. In the end, they managed to survive, eventually evolving into the three present powers of the Shuoxing Sea: the Sword Domain, the Qiandu Dao Field, and the Abyss Origin Land.
The former Taishang Sect was located within the Qiandu Dao Field.
Li Fan now held absolute authority in the Shuoxing Sea; finding an object within these mortal realms was a trivial matter.
Without needing to step forward himself, a simple instruction to Shanhua saw the deed done smoothly.
Though this copy of the Fables of the Mountain and Sea was still incomplete, it described the relationship between mountain and sea in greater detail, along with their differing attitudes toward the various living beings that successively appeared in the world.
It gave Li Fan, who was only beginning to understand mountain and sea, tremendous inspiration.
Yet what provoked his deepest thought was a discussion between mountain and sea regarding the future.
*A creature was born between mountain and sea; it lived in a single day and died in a single day.*
*It was born within the sea and died upon the mountain.*
*The sea did not see its death, but the mountain did. Thus, the mountain was overcome with grief, weeping aloud.*
*Boulders tumbled down from the mountain, startling the sea.*
*"Mountain, why are you suddenly so sorrowful?"*
*"Sea, it is because I have seen our future fate."*
*"How could such tiny creatures compare to us?"*
*"Today, mountain and sea are indeed vast. Yet on the day of our demise, we shall be small. We will not perish because we are small; rather, in perishing, we shall become small!"*
*Mountain and sea shook, struck by an inexplicable terror.*
...
*After the terror, years passed before it subsided, and mountain and sea returned to as they were.*
*On another day, mountain and sea played together.*
*Suddenly, the mountain abandoned the sea and turned away.*
*Puzzled, the sea gave chase. Unwilling, the mountain drew farther away.*
*The sea roared and cried out, "Mountain, what temper are you throwing now?"*
*The mountain answered in a muffled voice, "Sea, have you never looked up?"*
*The sea raised its gaze and looked. Abruptly, a single star hung suspended high above mountain and sea. Like the eye of a god, it watched them.*
*Thereupon, the sea abandoned its chase.*
...
*The star hung above mountain and sea. One day, it was gone.*
*Mountain and sea reunited, filled with trepidation.*
*"Mountain, where do you think it went?"*
*The mountain did not answer, fixing its gaze upon the sea.*
*After a few breaths, the sea fled in horror.*
*Mountain and sea never met again.*
...
"Mountain, sea."
"Star."
Li Buren slowly closed the final page of the text, his expression inscrutable.
The vast majority of the fable depicted the exchanges between mountain and sea.
The appearance of this so-called "Star" occurred only in the final two short tales.
Yet it struck like a great bell tolled beside one's ear in the dead of silence, shocking the reader to the core.
Mount Shangfang and the Sea of Infinity—one represented infinity, while the other represented supreme Momentum. They were beings detached from the mortal dust, unimaginably vast and magnificent.
Yet according to this fable, above mountain and sea, there actually existed a "Star."
It was even capable of striking fear into mountain and sea themselves, keeping them from ever meeting again.
"If this fable isn't mere baseless fiction, then things become interesting."
"The star ultimately disappeared into the mountain and sea."
Li Buren could not help recalling the scene from when he first entered the Sea of Infinity.
*Could the anomaly at the bottom of the Sea of Infinity have originated from the 'Star'?*
*And what connection does Revert to the True have with the 'Star'?*
*Just who was Sun Piaomiao to know such secrets?*
Li Fan had once shown this text of fables to Chengdao. But that spirit stone born beside the mountain and sea had no memory whatsoever of the things depicted within.
He had even dismissed them.
In Chengdao's view, they were nothing more than the wild speculations of mortals concerning mountain and sea. After a cursory glance, he had handed the book back to Li Fan.
"To know the true secrets of mountain and sea, this Sun Piaomiao was by no means simple." Li Fan's perspective was the exact opposite of Chengdao's.
A figure capable of passing down a profound art like the Medicine King Dao Refining Sutra would never be bored enough to write outlandish, nonsensical stories.
In particular, the allegorical references to the "mountain" and "sea" were far too specific. To any True Immortal, there was no possibility they pointed to anything else.
"Perhaps the key clue lies within those missing pages."
Li Fan had investigated the matter: those pages had not been lost during the Taishang Sect's custody. From the moment the book entered the treasury, it had already been damaged.
"So someone deliberately tore them out and concealed them."
In the boundless sea of stars, searching for clues about those missing pages was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Yet a faint premonition lingered in Li Fan's heart.
Those remaining pages had to still be out there somewhere, waiting for him.
"It's like laying a trail of bait; there's no reason for it to vanish just before reaching the trap."
"Still, whoever laid it might not realize that what they lure in won't necessarily be prey, but a maneating beast."
His eyes gleaming, Li Buren crushed the Fables of the Mountain and Sea in his hand.
It disintegrated into tens of thousands of earthy-yellow threads, which he swallowed down into his belly in a single gulp.
"No wonder it could be preserved for so long without decaying."
"Sure enough, it was mixed with techniques of Dao refining."
"Transforming Dao into a pill, tempered a thousand times over; though the Great Dao decays, the golden pill remains imperishable."
Li Buren smacked his lips, carefully savoring the sensation.
"Splendid!"
A moment later, his figure drifted outside the Dao palace, standing suspended above the Primordial Continent.
Looking down at the immortal realm he had forged with his own hands, he nodded with satisfaction. "A miraculous herb difficult to find, rare throughout all eternity."
"Just the thing to practice my hand!"
Li Buren did not intend to outright destroy this continent he had worked so hard to develop.
In truth, thanks to the infinite nature of the Immortal Realm, even if he tempered the Great Daos of this world using Dao-refining techniques, as long as he regulated the heat and maintained a balance between generation and consumption, he could refine Immortal Realm Dao Pills one after another without harming the foundation of the Primordial Immortal Realm!
One could say the Primordial Immortal Realm was like a flesh lingzhi capable of endlessly regenerating its own tissue. It was utterly ideal for refining Dao pills.
Thus, Li Buren had no worries about failure, getting straight to work even though it was his first attempt at Dao refining.
"Five Directional Heavenly Emperors, heed my command."
"Fire..."
"Rise!"
Li Buren gave a low shout and cast an edict down toward the palaces situated in the five cardinal directions.
Across the Primordial Continent, five-colored profound light soared from the celestial canopy, blanketing the sky.
The living beings within the world could not help looking up at the sky, an indescribable sense of dread welling up in their hearts.
Yet above them was the decree of the Creator Father God, and below them stood the intimidating majesty of the Five Directional Heavenly Emperors.
Even in their terror, all creatures could only bow their heads and quietly comply.
The Thirteen Sky Scars swarmed forth like malevolent specters, patrolling every corner of the continent. Anyone who dared resist would be executed without exception!
Amidst boundless dread, the living beings of the Primordial Immortal Realm knelt and prostrated themselves one after another, pleading for the Father God's benevolence.
Yet the undulating ribbons of colored light upon the five celestial canopies surged relentlessly like waves of flame.
In Li Buren's sight, the various Dao principles within heaven and earth were vaporized by the firelight. Rising like wisps of blue smoke, they coalesced before him into a spherical pill.
Thanks to Senior Brother Chengdao's selfless guidance, Li Fan had already gained a general understanding of all Dao paths within the Primordial possibility.
It was like knowing every medicinal ingredient comprising a pill; refining it came naturally and smoothly.
The smoke rose incessantly. At last, a Dao pill slowly took shape in Li Buren's vision.
Like purple mist arriving from the east, it appeared incomparably noble.
Yet Li Buren shook his head slightly. "It actually failed."
With a flick of his sleeve, he tossed it toward the Heavenly Emperor palaces below.
"Thank you for the bestowal, Father God!"
The Central Juntian Wuji Great Emperor was the strongest among the Heavenly Emperors and thus snatched the Dao pill. Overjoyed, he did not forget to bow in gratitude.
The other Heavenly Emperors were filled with envy.
Just as Li Fan had once disciplined them using access privileges to the Sea of Infinity, even now that they had become so-called Heavenly Emperors, he still kept them thoroughly docile and obedient.
"To refine the next pill, seven days must pass to allow the Primordial Immortal Realm to naturally recover."
Li Buren calculated the expenditure of refining a Dao pill. He could not help marvelling at the miraculous nature of infinite power.
If this were an ordinary lower realm, no matter how deep its foundation, such a round of refining would have driven it into complete exhaustion.
Yet the Immortal Realm could flow without end.
Chapter 1505