Thousands of years ago, the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable emerged out of nowhere to impart unto all living beings the new method that plundered heaven and seized earth.
From then on, the people of the world were no longer bound by so-called aptitude—everyone could cultivate!
The course of history in the Xuanhuang Realm was altered because of it.
In the beginning, the cultivation world indeed saw a brief golden age following the rise of the new method.
Nascent Souls were treated worse than dogs, and Soul Formations walked the land in droves.
Yet, just like Li Fan's previous experiments with the Kunpeng vital blood, such reckless reproduction and devouring was bound to invite a counterattack from heaven and earth.
The emergence of the restriction that dharmas cannot be cultivated concurrently struck the cultivators of that era like a blow to the head.
Then the sudden descent of the immortal-mortal miasma dealt them a fatal blow.
Following that, the Xuanhuang cultivation world plunged into a long, dark age.
And at that juncture, it was Chuanfa once more.
Upon the wasteland of cultivation, he gathered the surviving cultivators and rebuilt the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
The origins of the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable had always been a mystery.
Neither the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao back then nor today's cultivators had ever been able to unravel where he came from.
Yet he possessed boundless learning bridging heaven and man, towered over the world, and was as elusive as a divine dragon showing only its head.
Even if the world wished to uncover his identity, it was like reaching out a hand to touch the azure vault of heaven—hopelessly out of reach.
Was he born with innate knowledge? Without a master's teachings, could he have created such a shocking, earth-shattering new method?
What was his purpose? If he truly acted for all living beings, why had there been no trace of him when the great catastrophe descended and plunged creation into ruin? Why did he suddenly reappear only thousands of years later? Where had he gone during all that time?
And where was he now?
Chuanfa harbored far too many secrets, none of which the world could know.
Yet as Li Fan gained sudden comprehension of the Bloodline Transfer divine ability, the inspiration he had previously forced down resurfaced.
And through it, he saw through the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable's likely methods.
Every cultivator practicing the new method was like "mutated vital blood" assimilated by Chuanfa.
What had originally been part of the world had turned around to become an anomaly devouring the world itself.
"Is Chuanfa trying to dominate the Xuanhuang Realm through this method?"
"Just as I manipulate cultivators through Bloodline Transfer?"
"Looking at the present outcome, one could say he has already succeeded. All affairs of Xuanhuang rest in the palm of his hand!"
Li Fan could not help but sigh in slight admiration.
Undoubtedly, the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable in the beginning had not been so powerful.
He might even have been merely an ordinary Dao Integration cultivator.
Yet by blazing this unorthodox trail, he had performed the feat of a snake swallowing an elephant.
In a mere thousand years, he had become a being transcending the Xuanhuang Realm.
However, Li Fan sensed that "dominating the Xuanhuang Realm" was not Chuanfa's ultimate objective. Rather, it was likely an indispensable step toward achieving a certain goal.
Just as Li Fan using Bloodline Transfer on the Medicine King Sect cultivator before him was by no means just for the sake of control.
It was so they could better help him refine Longevity Pills.
In that case, what could Chuanfa's ultimate goal be?
Li Fan could not help recalling the figure he had glimpsed in the Immortal Ruins, and a sudden chill ran through him.
Could it be that the immortal was not dead, and sought to be reborn using the power of a world?
"I cannot rule out that possibility. Even if so-called innate knowledge exists, it should have limits. To be monstrous to Chuanfa's extent..."
"He is either a transmigrator like me, or someone reincarnated to cultivate anew like Senior Brother Zhang."
"Or else he came from beyond! Whether an immortal descending to the mortal world or a clandestine traveler from another cultivation realm..."
...
Thoughts surged through Li Fan's mind, taking a long time to settle.
Only when the Medicine King Sect cultivator, who had been infiltrated by his vital blood, slowly awoke did Li Fan's attention shift.
"You are..." Xia Ye looked around in bewilderment, his mind in complete disarray.
He only remembered that not long after departing the Xuanhuang Realm, the Medicine King Cauldron underwent violent tremors. Afterward, the sect master activated the Spring and Autumn Great Dream Array, forcing him into a dormant slumber.
Judging by his surroundings, he did not appear to be inside the Medicine King Cauldron.
Where was this?
What was more...
Xia Ye looked at the figure not far away, feeling an inexplicable sense of closeness in his heart.
"You are awake," Xia Ye heard the person say in a very pleasant voice.
The tension in his chest dissipated substantially at once, and Xia Ye relaxed almost instinctively.
Then, the man explained what had happened from start to finish.
He claimed he had seen a fiery meteor plummeting from the vault of heaven. Sensing a resonance between the meteor and a small cauldron he had chanced upon earlier, he came to investigate.
Upon entering the cauldron, he found the doors to every compartment firmly locked.
Only the quarters where Xia Ye resided had opened for reasons unknown.
Finding Xia Ye grievously injured, he brought him outside for treatment.
...
"Thank you so much, Senior," Xia Ye said with deep gratitude, overlooking the many incongruities in Li Fan's explanation.
Over the course of their subsequent conversation, he was struck by shock after shock.
"What? This is the Xuanhuang Realm?"
"How did we end up back here?"
"Thousands of years have actually passed?"
Without suspecting Li Fan's words in the slightest, Xia Ye was beside himself, simply unable to accept this reality for the moment.
"I was thoughtless. I should have waited until you recovered a bit more before telling you the truth."
"Rest for now. I will look after things here, so you need not worry," Li Fan said with great gentleness, seeing the youth's shaken demeanor.
Xia Ye nodded, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the kindness. Lying back down on the stone bed in the secret chamber, it was not long before he sank into a dazed sleep again.
'He doesn't treat me like a stranger at all, even though we just met. Is this the power of Bloodline Transfer?' Li Fan's eyes flickered.
'The effect is unexpectedly good—immediate and decisive. However, that is likely partly because this kid is only at the Foundation Establishment stage.'
'The stronger the target, the more time it will likely take to completely transform their mindset.'
"Hmm..." Li Fan pondered for a moment, and ultimately retrieved an azure fruit from his grotto-heaven domain.
This azure fruit seemed to exist between reality and illusion; at regular intervals, it would vanish into thin air from Li Fan's palm, only to reappear shortly afterward.
"Truth Enticement Fruit." Looking at this treasure originating from the Five Elders Association in his hand, Li Fan took a step forward and returned to the Medicine King Cauldron.
Guided by Linghu Chang's memories, he arrived beside Liu San, a Dao Integration elder of the Medicine King Sect.
Proceeding with utmost care, he manipulated the array without waking him.
"I am Liu Yihang of the Medicine King Sect, adoptive son of Sect Master Liu Ruchen. Having now received the sect master's dying decree, I assume leadership of the Medicine King Sect..."
Li Fan pressed the azure Truth Enticement Fruit to his forehead between his brows and chanted softly.
A barely perceptible ray of light flowed from his sea of consciousness into the Truth Enticement Fruit.
Moments later, the Truth Enticement Fruit shed its ethereal state, becoming indistinguishable from ordinary fruit, save for an extraordinary fragrance it exuded—one that made even Li Fan involuntarily swallow a mouthful of saliva upon catching a whiff.
Resisting the temptation, Li Fan applied a slight exertion of force, crushing the Truth Enticement Fruit into an azure liquid.
He fed it to Liu San, the Dao Integration cultivator before him.
While deactivating the Spring and Autumn Great Dream Array in this chamber, Li Fan also activated the internal defensive array of the Medicine King Cauldron, then stepped outside the door to wait patiently.
Before long, Liu San stirred awake.
Unlike Xia Ye's groggy confusion, the moment Liu San awoke, he sensed something was amiss.
A sharp glint flashed through his eyes, and he sprang to his feet, sweeping his divine sense across his surroundings.
Upon seeing Li Fan standing at the doorway, a look of bewilderment surfaced on Liu San's face.
"Young Master?"
"You have awakened as well?"
Liu San asked instinctively.
Seeing this, Li Fan was instantly relieved.
Closing the array without leaving a trace, Li Fan said in a grave voice, "Something terrible has happened."
Chapter 612