"It seems some innate restriction exists, naturally preventing myriad beasts from fusing together," the Imperial Daughter said with considerable regret.
"However, our research into catalytic substances capable of promoting fusion has already made major progress. I believe the birth of our first fused beast is not far off." The Imperial Daughter soon regained her confidence.
"A furnace of myriad beasts, unifying flesh and blood..." In a flash, Xu Bai was reminded of Di Yi, whom he had met in the Fallen Immortal Realm.
Without question, the inspiration behind the Empire's Myriad Phenomena Furnace was this very progenitor of demonic beasts.
As the origin of demonic beasts in the Xuanhuang Realm, Di Yi's strength could not be beneath the Longevity realm.
If the Empire truly succeeded in mass-producing fused beasts—even heavily weakened versions—their might would undoubtedly be nothing to sneeze at.
"Have you evaluated the specific strength of the beasts smelted from it? If the experiment succeeds, will you be able to control it? Are you not afraid it might turn on you and destroy the Empire?" Xu Bai fired off a series of questions.
The Imperial Daughter replied with absolute confidence, "Every strange beast placed into the Myriad Phenomena Furnace is an individual controlled by us through the Concentric Heart Art. Once the furnace refines them, their physical bodies vanish, but the bond remains.
"By gathering all the mental fluctuations of the Concentric Heart Art into one place, we can construct a device to control the fused entity. As for losing control, you have no need to worry.
"And based on our previous evaluations of power, the fused entity we can currently create should be no weaker than a Dao Integration cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm..." The Imperial Daughter hesitated slightly, but spoke slowly in the end.
Xu Bai nodded slightly; this outcome was within expectations. However, he offered no warning regarding the Empire's baffling overconfidence.
He simply took out his folding fan with practiced ease and fluttered it gently. "Not bad. The Void Warp and Weft Track Determiner, the Spirit Crystal Marrow, and potential Dao Integration combat support in the future...
"With these, I believe it will be enough to convince the Association to grant you protection.
"By the way, hand me a few more Spirit Crystal Marrows. Seeing is believing, and I fear those old fogies won't be easily convinced."
The Imperial Daughter thought nothing of Xu Bai's request. With a casual flick of her hand, she tossed over ten Spirit Crystal Marrows.
Xu Bai wasted no words either. Stowing them away, he flew out toward the exterior of the Imperial Treasury.
"Make your preparations. Barring any surprises, an elder from the Association will accompany me next time for the final inspection.
"Those fellows aren't nearly as easy to talk to as I am."
Leaving the treasury, he returned to the high tower palace. Decisive and efficient, Xu Bai gave a few parting instructions and lingered no longer.
Transforming into an escaping light, he soared into the sky. In an instant, he vanished from the sight of the imperial people.
"Master Qing..." The Imperial Daughter looked toward Xiao Qing, her eyes filled with unspoken questions.
Xiao Qing, however, remained fixed on Xu Bai's departing figure, her gaze lingering for a long time.
"It is difficult to discern truth from falsehood in this person's words. Yet one thing is certain: he bears no malice. Moreover, the entrance to our world was indeed hidden by an unknown formation.
"Make the preparations as he said. After all, we are the weak. And the weak have little room for choice," Xiao Qing said in a faint, wistful tone.
...
Outside the Empire, in the dark void.
As Xu Bai flew along, he suddenly detected a ripple in the surrounding space.
Immediately afterward, a Void Wandering Dragon materialized at his side, nuzzling its head affectionately against his thigh.
It looked rather familiar—in fact, it was the very one he had casually subdued on his way here.
Seeming to sense that Xu Ke was about to depart, it had actually come to bid farewell.
"You little fellow have quite some spiritual awareness. Very well, the Beast Seed Realm happens to lack a chieftain, so come along with me!" Xu Bai smiled and said.
The Void Wandering Dragon grew ecstatic at those words. Twisting its body, it took the initiative to carry Xu Bai upon its back.
Then, guided by Xu Bai, it repeatedly darted through the void, heading toward the Xuanhuang Realm.
Returning to the deep ravine at the entrance, Xu Bai first stored the Void Wandering Dragon into his own grotto-heaven. Then, using the Terminal Disc, he dispelled the illusion of secluded cultivation he had maintained all this time to deceive the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror.
Passing by the entrance to the Valley of Longevity, he did not enter.
He merely released the Void Wandering Dragon in secret, then returned alone to Tianliang Province.
Outside the Valley of Longevity, Liu San, who had received word in advance, marveled at the strange beast before him with clicking tongue.
"So unassuming, yet it possesses the ability to shuttle through space." Leading the Void Wandering Dragon into the valley, he concealed the entrance once more.
As for how the wandering dragon, having received Xu Bai's permission, would stir up trouble and lord over the Beast Seed Realm, that is passed over without further mention.
"We have ample reason to suspect that the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror is constantly monitoring the state inside cultivators' bodies. If it did not grasp the physical form to a certain degree, its so-called cultivation guidance could never be so precise and effective," Fang Zaiji said with a solemn expression.
"Do you really need to tell us that? Which cultivator in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals doesn't know?" Liu San rolled his eyes. "Yet every one of them still swallows it gladly. After all, compared to advancing their cultivation, none of that matters."
"No, no, no, you don't understand what I mean." For once, Fang Zaiji refrained from mocking Liu San and instead explained in all seriousness, "If the Heavenly Profound Mirror can achieve an upgrade by measuring the heavens, earth, and worlds, then after acquiring the bodily data of so many cultivators, what kind of change will occur?"
Hearing this, Liu San could not help but be startled.
"In the ancient cultivation world, there was a saying: the human body is the most perfect creation in the world. If one wishes to ascend to immortality, regardless of whether one was originally human, one must first take human form.
"Though it is merely a rumor whose veracity has long since been lost to time, the fact that humanity could defeat the demon beasts and become the true masters of the Xuanhuang Realm is itself proof of human potential.
"That Heavenly Profound Mirror might well harbor aspirations of taking human form," Fang Zaiji said in all earnestness.
"So, Mister Fang, is this the conclusion you've arrived at after studying it for so long?" Li Fan spoke up, interrupting Fang Zaiji.
In his hands, the Dissociation Disc was several times more translucent and lustrous than before.
Perhaps because the campaign against myriad worlds had begun and some owners of Dissociation Discs knew they were outmatched, they had abandoned feeding formations to their discs. In a short span of time, the one in Li Fan's hand had devoured three other Dissociation Discs in succession.
Winning the final contest was likely not far off.
Li Fan cared little for the various rewards issued by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals for conquering myriad worlds. Thus, he was still able to devote himself wholeheartedly to the transformation of the Dissociation Disc.
Even now, as he came to inquire about Fang Zaiji's research progress on the Terminal Disc, he had not ceased feeding it formation data.
Dividing his mind between two tasks.
"Have you found a way to block the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror from scanning a cultivator's body?" Li Fan asked.
Fang Zaiji gave an awkward laugh. "I have an idea, but to actually accomplish it... might be somewhat difficult."
Fang Zaiji slowly explained the reason.
"To block the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror's perception of the outside world, one need only use divine sense to temporarily fabricate a single scene.
"By the same logic, if one wishes to interfere with the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror prying into one's own body, one simply needs to fabricate a false body.
"But... that is precisely where the difficulty lies.
"Though it is merely a single body, it contains countless tissues, blood, and even traces of spiritual energy circulation. It is truly like a world of its own. Unless one understands the minutiae of the body to a degree comparable to the Heavenly Profound Mirror, flaws will inevitably be exposed."
Fang Zaiji said rather helplessly, "The Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror resides in a cultivator's Sea of Consciousness. The moment it forms, it has already completed a scan of the body. If a glaring discrepancy suddenly appears later, it will surely notice at once.
"Furthermore, everyone's constitution is different. Finding a universal solution is virtually impossible."
Hearing Fang Zaiji's answer, Li Fan finally understood where the crux of the difficulty lay.
Even a Dao Integration cultivator could hardly guarantee complete knowledge of their own body, let alone those beneath Dao Integration.
Asking them to weave a false body to deceive the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror would inevitably be riddled with flaws.
"To achieve total mastery over one's own body... unless..."
"Establishing the foundation with oneself."
The term sprang into Li Fan's mind instantly.
Yet soon he shook his head slightly. The difficulty of establishing the foundation with oneself was simply too great. In all these years across the Xuanhuang Realm, he had never heard of anyone succeeding. Even a monstrous genius like Master Yin had been left with severe lasting consequences...
Hm? The difficulty of cultivation? A flash of inspiration struck Li Fan's mind, giving birth to a brilliant idea.
Didn't the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror claim to guide cultivators in their cultivation?
What would happen if the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror were made to guide establishing the foundation with oneself?
After pondering for a moment, Li Fan explained the concept of establishing the foundation with oneself to Fang Zaiji and the others, then put forward his conjecture.
"Establishing the foundation with oneself, relying on no external objects. Ingenious, truly ingenious! Wouldn't this break the limitations of the new method to a certain degree?" Fang Zaiji drew a sharp breath upon hearing it and gasped in admiration again and again.
"To think that the person who conceived such a stroke of genius was merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Truly..." He found it almost hard to believe.
"Still, thinking it through carefully, with the aid of the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror's comprehensive scanning capability, perhaps establishing the foundation with oneself truly could be achieved." Fang Zaiji pondered for a moment, suddenly growing quite excited.
Liu San was also deep in thought. "Cultivators cannot know themselves fully, but they can use the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror to forge a new path. If successful, going back to synthesize a method for establishing the foundation with oneself should reduce the difficulty considerably.
"If someone of remarkable talent emerges, they might even deduce a method effective for everyone.
"One where they can achieve establishing the foundation with oneself relying solely on their own power."
"Entirely viable! Well worth a try! If I weren't already at the Dao Integration realm, I'd almost want to disperse my cultivation right here and start over to try this miraculous foundation establishment method!" Fang Zaiji was overjoyed.
Li Fan nodded. "To use the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror for guidance, one must acquire merit points from conquering myriad worlds. I must trouble you, Elder Liu, to arrange some disciples to undertake this. Qi Condensation cultivators have humble strength, so it would be best to send some others to travel alongside them in groups."
Chapter 752