Even after beholding the scenery from the highest peak in this world, to still clearly understand one's place upon returning to the foot of the mountain—this, too, was a manifestation of an immortal's heart.
Setting aside for now the deeds of the True Immortal beyond the Xuanhuang Realm, Li Fan composed his feelings and opened the True Reversion panel.
This was now the one hundred and nineteenth lifetime he had experienced.
Time: Anchored Year 2.
Location: The summit of Mount Jieli.
Lines of small text cascaded down like a waterfall:
Name: Li Fan
Realm: Mid-Golden Core
Physiological Age: 21/599
Psychological Age: 1368/9999
Reversion Charging Progress: 16%
Anchor Charging Progress: 0%
Current Anchors: 3
Current Available Anchors: 2
Bound Items: Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos, Taiyan Boat, Step-Halting Broken Stele, Essence-Blood of Ten Thousand, Dao Transformation Stone, Terminal Dissociation Disc
Cultivation Methods: Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation, Immortal Sitting Technique, Cloud Water Illusory Dream Technique, Path of Bodily Transformation, Wondrous Profound True Spirit Transformation, Crucible Myriad Forms Technique, Creation Furnace Technique
Divine Abilities: Chaos, Limitless Waxing and Waning Method, Thread-Pulling Life Reduction, Sky Alteration, Reverse Five Elements Creation-Destruction Sword, Life-Death Interlink, Formless Killing Intent, Insect Binding...
Because he had not chosen to retain his cultivation realm, but had instead chosen to keep the item Terminal Dissociation Disc, Li Fan remained at the mid-Golden Core realm.
The upper limit of his physical lifespan had also dropped back from 999 to 599. Yet to Li Fan, something like a lifespan cap was practically meaningless. Across all these lifetimes, except for his mortal days, he had rarely lived long enough to die of old age. Furthermore, having unlocked the Avatar function now made it all the more trivial.
The upper limit of his psychological age, on the other hand, had not decreased with the drop in cultivation. This likely had something to do with Li Fan's inner mind and divine soul.
"Now it only takes six years for True Reversion to finish charging. This means I can enter the Xuanhuang Realm two years ahead of schedule."
Li Fan's gaze drifted downward, settling on the six items bound to True Reversion, and his brows furrowed slightly.
"The Golden Chapter of the Jade Cosmos, the Taiyan Boat, the Step-Halting Broken Stele... These were all things I preserved during my struggles as a mortal to escape the Great Xuan world. Although they were incomparably precious to me back then, they are of little use now. Above all, having them constantly displayed on the True Reversion panel is an eyesore. If only there were a way to remove them."
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a faint prompt from True Reversion drifted into his awareness.
"I can expend one anchor point to replace an already bound item?"
Li Fan froze for a moment, his eyes narrowing.
"That is indeed a welcome change. But there was never a replacement function before. The reversion charging time has decreased as well... Has True Reversion's capability grown stronger?"
Li Fan pondered for a moment, then carefully sensed for any other functions of True Reversion. To his slight disappointment, he could detect no other changes for now.
"Earlier, I speculated that True Reversion's charging speed was tied to my divine soul and willpower. Looking at it now, it might also be linked to other unknown factors. Could it be because seeing a True Immortal broadened my horizons? Has the so-called degree of exploration increased?"
Inadvertently recalling the existence of the True Immortal, Li Fan's mind wavered once more.
Only after nearly half a day did he fully gather himself. He returned his focus to the True Reversion panel. There was little to say about the remaining cultivation methods and divine abilities. Though they looked magnificent—and their actual performance was indeed extraordinary, allowing him to reign supreme among his peers and even kill those of higher realms—having witnessed Mr. Bai, Chuanfa, and even the True Immortal make a move, Li Fan now felt they were somewhat flashy and insubstantial.
"It seems realm reigns supreme above all else in this world. A single realm higher represents an absolute, crushing disparity in strength—one that defies all reason. An ordinary Dao Integration cultivator cannot withstand a single strike before the Longevity Heavenly Venerable. And a True Immortal of the Immortal Ruins can annihilate Xuanhuang with a mere glance. So-called killing enemies above one's realm is nothing more than big fish eating small fish within the same pond..."
Li Fan fell silent for a long while, any lingering pride thoroughly washed from his heart. Yet his spirits soon rallied.
"With True Reversion in my hands, even the likes of True Immortals are not necessarily beyond my reach. Yet a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I must advance methodically.
"The Immortal Sitting Technique has already been raised to the Dao Integration realm, so I will not need to worry about a primary cultivation method for a long time to come.
"The Limitless Waxing and Waning Method is a divine ability that strengthens the divine soul. My soul is my sole vulnerability. Whether facing Ruomu or Mr. Bai, I stood virtually defenseless... Hopefully, this divine ability deduced by the Heavenly Profound Mirror will prove somewhat useful."
Having gained a clear grasp of those old monsters' power, Li Fan harbored no illusion that relying on a single divine ability would allow him to withstand them entirely. If it merely let him detect anomalies the moment he was tainted, he would already thank the heavens.
Still, judging by the events that followed his object transformation in the previous lifetime, Mr. Bai seemed to be a genuinely benevolent person with no intention of snatching his True Reversion. Compared to him, Li Fan's own string of cautious maneuvers made him look more like a clown, inviting ridicule.
Yet... who could guarantee that Mr. Bai, knowing he could not locate Li Fan's transformed object, had not deliberately put on a show for Li Fan to see?
Therefore, even if given another chance, Li Fan would still act the same way. He consistently placed his own safety above all else and would not lightly trust anyone.
Then again, risk was proportional to reward. Though fraught with peril, the previous life had yielded abundant gains.
First and foremost, he had confirmed one fact: as mighty as the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable was, holding supreme dominion over the entire Xuanhuang Realm, she was not omniscient.
After Li Fan detonated numerous Chaos puppets across the realm, Sacred Embryo Li Fan had used the distraction to pilot the Medicine King Cauldron and slip quietly out of the Xuanhuang Realm. Had the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable truly possessed complete awareness of everything within the realm, then even with divine sense shielding cloaking the Medicine King Cauldron and the Chaos glyph causing disruption, the cauldron could never have escaped her grasp. Yet it had succeeded.
This proved that the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable still fell within the definition of a cultivator—merely one possessing supreme, terrifying power. Her actions could still be predicted through experience and logic.
As for the True Immortal... that was an existence beyond all comprehension, best left undisturbed if at all possible.
"The reason Chuanfa appears completely unrivaled is that she attained the Dao through the new method. Any cultivator who practices the new method subsequently contributes a measure of strength to her. Several thousand years of accumulation have been enough to elevate her to an unfathomable height.
"To defeat Chuanfa, one must first dismantle her foundation. That was why, when the method of establishing the foundation with oneself emerged, she did not hesitate to appear in person just to wipe it from existence."
Chapter 801