"Just as the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable went against the principle of cultivation, ensuring that from then on no cultivator under heaven could ever surpass him."
"The Rebirth Heavenly Venerable goes against the Principle of Life and Death."
"And once a cultivator has been revived by him, they can never attain the Longevity realm from that point forward."
Xu Bai felt a moment of realization.
"Still, for the vast majority of cultivators in the world, the Longevity realm is already an unattainable dream. Even if they knew about this, they probably wouldn't care much."
Suddenly, Xu Bai seemed to think of something, his brows furrowing slightly.
He pinched his fingers, deducing what would happen to the Xuanhuang Realm years down the line.
"In the original Xuanhuang Realm, cultivators were nurtured naturally by heaven and earth, living and dying by the natural course. As the years rolled by, even though the probability was minuscule, a new Longevity Heavenly Venerable would always be born every once in a while. Even if that interval spanned several millennia or ten thousand years."
"Yet now, with the existence of the Manor of Rebirth, revived cultivators are gradually taking up the quota meant for naturally born cultivators. This causes the number of naturally nurtured cultivators to dwindle."
"And the already minuscule chance of attaining the Dao and reaching Longevity will inevitably become even rarer."
"Until finally..."
"Not a single new Longevity cultivator will ever emerge in the world."
Xu Bai rubbed his chin. "A plan to sever Xuanhuang's future entirely. Walk your own path, then leave everyone under heaven with no path left to walk."
"Such overbearing methods truly carry quite a bit of the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable's style."
"However, for the existing Longevity Heavenly Venerables, this is actually a good thing. Perhaps that is why those figures in the Five Elders Association never stepped forward to stop the Rebirth Heavenly Venerable."
...
After all, not every pocket world was guarded by a terrifying existence like the white-browed elder.
The minor setback encountered during the Alliance cultivators' expedition was quickly forgotten. Pocket worlds that occasionally mounted frenzied resistance were swiftly suppressed once reinforcements were summoned.
Fifty, one hundred, one hundred and thirty-six...
The tally of explored pocket worlds rapidly grew.
Within the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror, Xu Bai compiled footage of these pocket worlds being conquered, along with their current conditions.
Seeing that the time was right, he arranged to return to the Empire's pocket world together with Liu San.
Shielding themselves from the perception of the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror, the two entered one after another and met up in the dark void.
Having gone over the precautions beforehand, Liu San had also altered his appearance, and the two sped continuously through the void.
"To think this is a branch of the Beast Taming Sect. How truly curious." Reaching the Empire's perimeter, their spiritual senses swept downward.
Beholding the countless, bizarre exotic beasts, Liu San couldn't help clicking his tongue in admiration.
"It's merely a branch of the Beast Taming Sect. The true lineage of the Beast Taming Sect appears to be hiding in the Lingxu Realm. Thousands of years have passed, and there is no telling what state they are in now," Xu Bai casually transmitted.
"The Lingxu Realm? That sounds familiar... where have I heard that before?" Liu San froze for a moment.
After a long pause, Liu San shook his head slightly. "Strange, I actually can't recall. Could it be that I've grown so old?"
"No matter. Now that the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals is sweeping through myriad realms, they are bound to be exposed sooner or later. Elder Liu, did you have any acquaintances in the Beast Taming Sect back then?" Xu Bai asked.
"I merely heard of their reputation. I had no dealings with them." Liu San seemed troubled by his lost memory and answered absentmindedly, still searching his mind for the source of that faint impression.
Right at that moment, Li Fan in the Valley of Longevity suddenly felt a wave of restlessness.
"Hmm?"
It had been a long time since such a sensation had occurred, and Li Fan dared not be careless.
Halting the process of feeding formation data to the Dissociation Disc, his expression turned grave. The Dao Transformation Stone crystal in his mind whirred at full tilt as he pondered the origin of this sense of crisis.
Before long, he arrived at a possible answer.
As a Dao Integration expert, Liu San would certainly not forget events that had happened to him. Even if he temporarily couldn't recall, a search with his spiritual sense should have readily brought it back.
Yet this very lapse had occurred.
"It's because the memories regarding the Lingxu Realm in his mind were altered by someone."
"To silently alter the spiritual consciousness of a Dao Integration expert, only the Longevity realm could manage it. But Liu San never came into contact with any Longevity realm powerhouse in his earlier life."
"So the issue lies in the Truth Enticement Fruit I used on him back then."
Reflecting on the memories he had tampered with in Liu San, Li Fan understood. "The Lingxu Realm must have been mentioned during a conversation between him and the true Young Sect Master of the Medicine King Sect, Liu Yihang."
To be safe, Li Fan had not executed Liu Yihang at the time.
Instead, he had concealed him within an inconspicuous chamber inside the Medicine King Cauldron that only Li Fan could open.
Liu Yihang was still slumbering under the effects of the Spring and Autumn Great Dream Array.
With all three elders of the Medicine King Sect away, Li Fan acted without restraint.
He released Liu Yihang from the Medicine King Cauldron and pulled him into his own grotto-heaven.
Without the formation's influence, Liu Yihang slowly woke up.
In an instant, however, he realized something was wrong with his situation.
He could not control his body, unable to make even a sound.
His expression shifted drastically as he tried to struggle, but to no avail.
Within his own grotto-heaven, Li Fan did not even need his true self to appear in person to suppress him completely.
Employing the soul searching technique, Li Fan effortlessly extracted the information regarding the Lingxu Realm from the man's mind.
There was nothing special about it. Liu Yihang had simply chanced across the realm's name while perusing ancient texts long ago.
A plant named Lingxu Grass grew within the Lingxu Realm, which served as an essential ingredient for concocting the Spirit Nourishing Pill.
Thus, Liu Yihang had once consulted Liu San about it.
The person involved had likely forgotten the matter long ago, yet thousands of years later, it had brought about an unforeseen calamity.
Originally, he could have slept peacefully in the Spring and Autumn Great Dream Formation for several more decades.
Having sorted out the cause of the matter, Li Fan paid no further mind to his actions.
Leaving him suppressed inside the grotto-heaven, his true body returned to the Medicine King Valley while his clone Xu Bai spoke up to interrupt Liu San's contemplation.
"I just recalled something. Long ago, I seem to have read a secret record that detailed the recipe for the Spirit Nourishing Pill."
"One of the primary ingredients, Lingxu Grass, appeared to grow in the Lingxu Realm. I believe I even consulted you about it back then, Elder Liu."
Upon hearing these words, Liu San looked dazed at first.
Then he slapped his own forehead. "Look at my memory! There was indeed such a thing. I almost forgot completely!"
With the doubt in his heart resolved, Liu San immediately shifted his attention back to the Empire's pocket world below.
Alongside Xu Bai, he flew down to the front of the towering palace.
The formidable spiritual sense of a Dao Integration expert had long since alerted Qing.
She, the Imperial Daughter, and another woman dressed in red flew forward to greet them.
"This is Elder Liu of our Federation!" Xu Bai introduced with a solemn expression.
The three bowed toward Liu San.
"Greetings, Senior!"
Chapter 754