Falsifying the Principles of Heaven and Earth

Without resting for long, Xu Bai, having just advanced to the Soul Formation realm, made another move. And this time, it caused Li Fan—who was still immersed in shock—to feel his heart race and a wave of suffocation wash over him. As was universally known, in the Xuanhuang Realm, ever since the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable established the new method, achieving the Dao Integration realm required offering sacrifice to the anima of Heaven and Earth. Before this, Li Fan had envisioned the path Sacred Embryo Xu Bai might take into Dao Integration: Crimson Flame, Azure Wind, black mire... or perhaps the incomparably formidable Mo Sha, whose heavenly duty was world destruction. Yet at this moment, when Li Fan truly perceived what was transpiring with Sacred Embryo Xu Bai, his understanding was thoroughly overturned once again! Sacred Embryo Xu Bai stood quietly in midair, motionless as a stone sculpture. Yet something seemed to descend from the heavens, falling upon Sacred Embryo Xu Bai! Boom! In Li Fan's mind, flashes of imagery instantly flickered. A fertile land, teeming with vitality. A blurry silhouette descended, and then a thousand miles were sealed in ice. As far as the eye could see, everything fell into complete, utter stillness. Anima of Heaven and Earth: Bright Ice! Amidst Sacred Embryo Xu Bai's jet-black hair, a strand of frosty white suddenly emerged. Though it soon returned to normal, this phenomenon shook Li Fan to the core. For according to the sensations transmitted from Sacred Embryo Xu Bai's body, in that very instant, he had astonishingly grasped the authority of the anima of Heaven and Earth, Bright Ice! The animas of Heaven and Earth were born bearing heavenly duties, each possessing distinct might. Once a cultivator slew, sacrificed, and supplanted one, they could instantly usurp and master a power that originally belonged to Heaven and Earth. This was why the combat prowess of Dao Integration cultivators of the new method generally far surpassed those of the old method. Yet now, something that seemingly violated the iron law of the new method had occurred with Sacred Embryo Xu Bai. Without slaying an anima of Heaven and Earth, the authority of an anima had simply transferred onto him! And this was only the first! Silently, a second ripple seemed to span tens of millions of miles, descending upon Sacred Embryo Xu Bai's body. Visions surged before Li Fan's eyes once more. A barren expanse of a thousand miles, overrun by exotic insects, devoid of a single blade of grass. Suddenly, patters of fine rain fell upon the world. The barren land, nourished by the moisture, gradually turned fertile. Meanwhile, the exotic insects seemed to encounter a terrifying natural predator. Amid desperate, shrill screeches, their bodies slowly dissolved, washed away by the rainwater to become fertilizer for the earth. Anima of Heaven and Earth: Indigo Rain! Sacred Embryo Xu Bai's hair seemed to grow slightly longer. Li Fan's heart stopped beating for an instant. Because in that moment, Sacred Embryo Xu Bai had likewise grasped the authority of Indigo Rain. In mere moments, two animas of Heaven and Earth had already graced his body. Yet Sacred Embryo Xu Bai remained unsatisfied. He closed his eyes, outstretched both hands toward the sky, and opened his embrace. From east to west, from south to north, animas of Heaven and Earth flocked to him, one after another. "Fuck!" Li Fan cursed inwardly. Snapping out of his dazed spectatorship, he accelerated his pace. "At this rate of Dao Integration, there won't be enough time to deploy Luan puppets in every single province. I can only pick the provinces densely populated with cultivators. Once finished, I must return to the Valley of Longevity as fast as possible." As Li Fan sped toward the nearest Heavenly City, his thoughts raced as he reflected on and observed everything unfolding within Sacred Embryo Xu Bai. "Gaining the authority of an anima of Heaven and Earth without slaying it... This is the falsified transfer of heavenly principles... Even for an avatar of the Heavenly Dao, this is a bit too outrageous! Ordinary cultivators can inherit the might of an anima of Heaven and Earth through slaying because of the empowerment granted by the Heavenly Venerable's new method. Whereas Sacred Embryo Xu Bai's actions... This isn't offering sacrifice to the anima of Heaven and Earth at all—this is turning his own body into the anima of Heaven and Earth!" In an instant, Li Fan realized Sacred Embryo Xu Bai's intentions. Even with the innate gifts of an avatar of the Heavenly Dao, defying the principles of Heaven and Earth was not something achieved overnight. In fact, from what he had overheard between Sun Liancheng and Sun Qi earlier, the deeper one was favored by Heaven, the harder it was to reverse the principles of Heaven and Earth, and the harsher the backlash. It was highly probable that Sacred Embryo Xu Bai could not attain the Longevity realm at all. Yet after reviving, his opponents would inevitably include those Longevity Heavenly Venerables. Between Dao Integration and Longevity, a single realm apart, lay a chasm like heaven and earth. How could he possibly match them? The only way was to push the power of Dao Integration to its absolute pinnacle. A single anima of Heaven and Earth was equivalent to the power of a Dao Integration realm cultivator. If one Dao Integration was insufficient to contend against the might of a Longevity Heavenly Venerable, then what about ten? A hundred? The various powers of different animas of Heaven and Earth merged into Sacred Embryo Xu Bai's body. With every one integrated, his aura surged upward by another tier. Meanwhile, the imagery Li Fan sensed gradually grew hazy. From the vivid immersion at the start, to feeling separated by a thin membrane, to gazing at flowers through mist. Li Fan was losing his absolute control over Sacred Embryo Xu Bai. Which meant... Mr. Bai was awakening! Li Fan seized this final opportunity to extract as much information as possible from Sacred Embryo Xu Bai. "So that's how it is... Grasping the might of these animas of Heaven and Earth does not mean they no longer exist in the Xuanhuang Realm. Rather, through falsified transfer, the power that originally belonged to the animas is temporarily shifted onto him. Countless alien energies blend together without the slightest repulsion. Except for an avatar of the Heavenly Dao, no one else could ever withstand such a method, no matter how immense their talent... No, this isn't even a matter of talent." Li Fan also keenly noticed another point. As more and more authorities of the animas of Heaven and Earth underwent falsified transfer, Sacred Embryo Xu Bai's physique underwent subtle changes as well. His height and silhouette came to resemble the phantom manifestation of an anima of Heaven and Earth! The oppressive pressure grew ever heavier, and Li Fan keenly felt the imminent, life-and-death crisis looming over him. Fortunately, once Sacred Embryo Xu Bai finished falsifying the transfer of the authorities of all the animas drifting freely throughout the mortal realm, the pace of his Dao Integration actually slowed down. Because next, it was time for those animas of Heaven and Earth that did not normally exist in the world and only descended at critical junctures to make their appearance. The sky over Tianling Province suddenly dimmed. A barely perceptible shadow attached itself to Sacred Embryo Xu Bai's body. Boom! As though struck hard on the head, Li Fan—having finished all his preparations and rushing toward the Valley of Longevity—nearly stumbled and plunged straight out of the sky. Anima of Heaven and Earth: Nether Shadow! Sensing the transmitted information, a drop of sweat rolled down Li Fan's forehead. Not out of fear, but because sharing a body with Sacred Embryo Xu Bai had already subjected him to immense strain. To put it bluntly: "Who do you think you are, sharing a body with me?" The imagery flickered in and out. Li Fan sensed that in Tianling Province, another extraordinarily formidable anima of Heaven and Earth seemed to be descending. ----- P.S.: So-called falsified transfer refers to transferring the stat values of one item onto another.