“Still, the new method has existed for a thousand years. Trying to overturn it will be exceedingly difficult.
“Even with Mr. Bai's terrifying talent of uniting with the Heavenly Dao, he only managed to deduce up to the Foundation Establishment stage.
“Beyond Foundation Establishment, everything remains in the realm of theoretical conjecture. Even a peerless prodigy like Gu Xinghan exhausted his entire life without making any further headway...
“I won't waste my energy on that.”
When it came to his own talent, Li Fan was well aware of his limitations.
“Research into the brand-new method is definitely necessary, but I can borrow the hands of others. The Xuanhuang Realm never lacks brilliant talents; someone will eventually find a way to make a breakthrough.
“If one lifetime isn't enough, then two; if two aren't enough, then ten!
“Perhaps I could also share this method with Master Yin...
“Little Gu is another candidate worth continuing to consider.”
If he wished to transcend the Xuanhuang Realm, even with the power of endless reincarnation granted by True Reversion, fighting alone would never suffice.
He needed to harness the strength of all living beings in this realm.
Just as, for instance, had he not previously comprehended the Avatar function from Tianyang,
he likely would have perished long ago.
Familiar faces flashed through Li Fan's mind one after another.
A plan gradually took shape in his thoughts.
“Three more years must pass before I can return to the Xuanhuang Realm.
“This time cannot be wasted either.”
With a slight shift of thought, a jade disc that looked like an ordinary mortal object instantly appeared in Li Fan's hand.
It was none other than the Terminal Dissociation Disc—the very treasure he had chosen to preserve even at the cost of giving up his mid-Nascent Soul cultivation realm.
The Dissociation Disc after merging all nine discs, combined with the Terminal Disc capable of shielding against the Heavenly Profound Mirror's perception:
this was the ultimate creation forged from their union.
Its birth had truly been a stroke of sheer fortune, practically impossible to replicate.
As for Nascent Soul cultivation...
Now that he knew of the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, reclaiming it
would be effortless for Li Fan.
“To think that the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals wasn't lying after all.
“The Heavenly Profound secondary bodies really have no covert connection to the Heavenly Profound Mirror.”
A strange look appeared in Li Fan's eyes.
Back in the 115th lifetime, facing the menacing arrival of Mr. Bai, he had prepared a contingency plan.
He had intended to record the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation and the Reversal of Life and Death Great Formation into the Dissociation Disc,
hoping to draw the attention of the Heavenly Profound Mirror and even the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, thereby driving the tiger to swallow the wolf and repelling Mr. Bai.
It had been a fine idea, but a hitch arose along the way.
Even after Li Fan transformed into an object, and the Dissociation Disc had lain quietly beneath the gravel and ruins for more than half a month,
no one from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals ever showed up.
It was practically certain that the so-called Heavenly Profound secondary bodies were genuinely independent entities, completely severed from the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
“At least that's the case for the Dissociation Disc.
“After nine discs merged into one, the Dissociation Disc's deduction capability is hardly inferior to the Heavenly Profound Mirror's, though specialized purely for formations.
“Coupled with the Terminal Disc that shields against the Heavenly Profound Mirror's perception...
“With this Terminal Dissociation Disc, and with the diagrams and blueprints of so many great formations crystal clear in my mind, the defensive formation lines built by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals here in Anchored Year 2—rooted in the computational power of the Heavenly Profound Mirror—
“in my eyes, these formations can be broken with a snap of my fingers.”
A glimmer of confidence flashed in Li Fan's eyes. “This is a strike bridging several eras. It's also the time for my harvest, ever since I began studying formations back in the tenth lifetime.”
Stroking this seemingly unremarkable treasure with his right hand, Li Fan narrowed his eyes.
“However, I must not underestimate the speed of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' progress.
“The greater the lead, the better!
“With my current formation mastery...
“No, at this point in time, not a single so-called formation grandmaster in the Xuanhuang Realm could help the Terminal Dissociation Disc take another step forward.
“Fortunately, I possess another extraordinary treasure...”
Having thought this through, Li Fan drew it into his sea of consciousness and placed it beneath the Dao Transformation Stone crystal.
He would use the computational power of the Dao Transformation Stone to help accelerate the iteration of the Terminal Dissociation Disc.
Originally, the speed of the Dissociation Disc's self-iteration could not be called slow—it was practically nonexistent.
Under the waves of blue light radiating from the Dao Transformation Stone, however, the originally unadorned surface of the Terminal Dissociation Disc once again began to shimmer with a faint, lustrous white light.
“Spirit Unity with Dao Transformation is truly useful. It's just a pity that after fusing so many Dao Transformation Stones, there is still no sign of it advancing to medium grade.
“Speaking of which, Jiao Xiuyuan relies on this very thing to sustain his mind across thousands of puppets. I wonder if he has any spares on his end...
“I have a premonition that if the Dao Transformation Stone transforms to medium grade, there might even be unexpected rewards.”
Although he already knew the current hiding place of the Taiyan Sect,
Li Fan had no intention of provoking them for the time being.
If his guess was correct, then of the two final streaks of light he had seen tearing through the void and fleeing at the end of the 115th lifetime,
one was the informationalized Taiyan Sect.
To be able to survive a world-destroying catastrophe—even if merely scraping by—was enough to prove that this Taiyan Sect was anything but ordinary.
As for the other streak of light, Li Fan guessed it was very likely the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
After more than two hundred years, it must have long since gathered enough data to complete its self-transformation.
“Does it seem that once elevated, it severed ties with the Xuanhuang Realm and was no longer bound to it?”
With too little information, Li Fan could only make idle conjectures.
He descended the mountain to the tomb of Yi Hang and absorbed the Dao Transformation Stone, accelerating the Terminal Dissociation Disc's self-iteration—a boost that was better than nothing.
Afterward, returning once more to the summit of Mount Jieli, Li Fan began cultivating the Limitless Waxing and Waning Method.
“The five elements converge, limitless waxing and waning; their power never ends, the divine soul never perishes.”
Although the sheer volume of data contained in this divine ability was so immense that it had nearly brought Li Fan's thoughts to a standstill back then,
it ultimately originated from the Inverse Five Elements Birth and Death Sword, with which Li Fan was intimately familiar, serving as a variant application of the power of the five elements.
Thus, getting started was not nearly as difficult as he had imagined.
His mind settled. Three years passed.
When True Reversion had finished charging, Li Fan had also achieved initial mastery of the Limitless Waxing and Waning Method.
It was as though, amidst a torrential downpour, he had draped on a coir raincoat.
Li Fan instantly felt as though a thick protective shell had enveloped his divine soul, making it considerably sturdier.
“It's just a shame that the power of the five elements is limited within the Great Xuan pocket world. Without the endless supply of power from the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, its strength hasn't grown all that much.
“To cultivate it further, I'll have to wait until after reforming my Nascent Soul. At that point, not only will my divine soul become even tougher, but most crucially, it will be able to repair itself after sustaining severe damage.”
...
At this thought, Li Fan rose abruptly to his feet.
Habitually, he brushed off the nonexistent dust from his robes.
Paying no heed to anything in the secular world of Great Xuan, he headed straight for the eastern Abyss of Ruins.
With practiced ease, he passed through the Immortal Severing Formation. After traversing a swath of brilliance...
Li Fan returned once more above the vast, rolling jade waves of the Congyun Sea!
Drawing a deep breath, Li Fan looked upon this vibrant world, yet in his mind flashed the scene of the black sun devouring everything.
“Xuanhuang Realm, I have returned!”
he thought to himself.
Chapter 802