From the intelligence currently available, aside from the Dharma Kings of the Profound Heaven Sect, Senior Sister Zhao was perhaps the only person in the Xuanhuang Realm who might know those techniques passed down from the Immortal Realm.
"The foundation of Senior Sister Zhao's cultivation is the *Eternal Sole Self Incantation*. As for the rest..."
"Perhaps I can trade something with her."
"One Heart Immortal Sect—Great Dao, Only Me."
Li Fan pondered for a moment and had already formulated a plan.
"I'll deal with this after my clone retrieves the black sword from the Sword Tomb. I modified its divine soul so it holds no memories of True Reversion. Even if it gets lost and wallows in her illusion, I lose nothing."
"It's only a year; there is no need to rush."
Departing from the crater mountain for the time being, Li Fan was approaching the Spirit Wood Realm when he suddenly drew to a halt.
He gazed toward a certain direction in the center of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Just a moment ago, the Terminal Dissociation Disc inside his sea of consciousness had stirred with a faint resonance.
Somewhere out there, the nine Dissociation Discs of this lifetime had been born.
Perhaps because it was the ultimate creation forged from the fusion of nine Dissociation Discs, the Terminal Dissociation Disc could clearly sense the existence of the newly born child discs in this world, even across tens of millions of li.
Even more...
Li Fan could sense thoughts of hunger and greed emanating from the Terminal Dissociation Disc.
"The nine discs merged into one, already forging a flawless, true Dissociation Disc. If it can devour another version of itself once more..."
"To what extent will the Dissociation Disc evolve?"
Even having witnessed countless treasures, Li Fan could not help feeling his heart leap at the thought.
He could not help it—the Dissociation Disc was simply of too great a help to him.
In this Xuanhuang Realm where old monsters lurked everywhere, when compared against them in terms of foundation, cultivation, or divine abilities, Li Fan held virtually no advantage despite reincarnating through multiple lifetimes.
Only in arrays...
Relying on the accumulation of lifetime after lifetime, combined with the presence of a heaven-defying creation like the Dissociation Disc, the mastery of array formations Li Fan could display was enough to crush anyone else.
It could practically be called an entire era ahead—leading by leaps and bounds!
Not long ago, he had laid down a recording array right before a Dharma Transmitter and Mo Rubin, a Dharma King of the Profound Heaven Sect, yet neither party had noticed in the slightest. That fact alone proved it.
"Overtaking them on the path of formations might be the only way to break the deadlock sooner."
"When ordinary arrays are deduced to the utmost limit, the next step is..."
"Immortal-grade arrays!"
"A qualitative chasm separates Immortal-grade arrays from ordinary ones. For the Dissociation Disc to complete this metamorphosis, it requires data from at least one Immortal-grade array..."
The design of the Grand Star-Crossing Array flashed through Li Fan's mind at once.
Designed personally by Xuanyuan Hong, the King of Profound Heaven, it had borne the hope of carrying the Xuanhuang Realm over the high wall. This Grand Star-Crossing Array was likely the closest thing to an Immortal-grade array the Xuanhuang Realm had ever seen.
"Though the array was damaged as far back as the era of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao, there must still be some remnants left."
"Even back in the 114th lifetime, the obelisks scattered across the Xuanhuang land were probably tied directly to this Grand Star-Crossing Array."
"The Dissociation Disc, the Grand Star-Crossing Array..."
"Every single one is a top-level secret accessible only to the upper echelons of the Alliance."
Thus, the road ahead in this lifetime was clear.
Namely, find a way to contact Mo Rubin and win his trust.
Then, using Mo Rubin's identity as a Dharma Transmitter, obtain all the secrets Li Fan needed.
Compared to this, advancing his cultivation was actually far less critical.
With Li Fan's current combat strength, so long as no Longevity realm figures intervened, he could come and go freely with his life assured.
And the gulf between Dao Integration and Longevity was far too vast; even if Li Fan broke through one or two realms higher, he would likely still be no match for a Longevity cultivator.
Therefore, it was better to take a different path and adopt an indirect approach.
"Success or failure will depend on Senior Sister Zhao."
"Still, I cannot stake everything on a single path."
Musing on this, Li Fan returned to the Spirit Wood Realm.
Before long, Shang Tianci came looking for him.
"Senior..." he stammered, looking as if he hesitated to speak.
"What is it?"
"Yan Fangzhou's condition seems rather bad. Could we... perhaps release him?" Shang Tianci asked cautiously.
Li Fan's expression did not waver, revealing neither anger nor pleasure. "I will handle that matter myself. You may leave."
Shang Tianci dared not argue and could only bow and withdraw.
Li Fan's divine sense instantly focused on Yan Fangzhou.
Speaking of which, this "prodigy" had been imprisoned by Li Fan for quite some time now.
Trapped inside an enhanced Liangyi Microcosmic Formation, no matter how he struggled, he was met with nothing but endless, repetitive, dreary sights, unable to escape.
The formation cut off spiritual energy between inside and out, preventing him from cultivating.
He could not even calm his mind or focus his thoughts. At every critical juncture, the formation would accurately send disruptions, leaving him distraught, conflicted, and driven near madness.
Under such torment, Yan Fangzhou had been pushed near the brink of insanity.
He attacked the surrounding scenery indiscriminately, venting his fury wildly.
Yet it was nothing more than impotent rage.
Not only did it change nothing, but it also made his own condition deteriorate further.
By the time Yan Fangzhou came to his senses, all his power had been completely exhausted.
Like a mortal, he sat slumped, sealed within the formation.
Helplessly awaiting death.
After passing through stages of howling at the heavens, weeping bitterly, and turning ashen-faced with despair, this "prodigy" now seemed to have completely lost all his vigor and spirit.
Slumped on the ground with dull, glazed eyes, he sat motionless like a statue.
Li Fan did not appear to mock him, instead observing Yan Fangzhou thoroughly.
Soon, a faint smile played at the corner of his lips.
Although Yan Fangzhou acted well, trying to fool a cunning old fox like Li Fan was still a bit beyond him.
Evidently, Yan Fangzhou had never seen what someone who was truly and utterly broken looked like.
Deep within those hollow eyes, a flicker of spirit still remained.
"Playing dumb to pull the wool over my eyes, waiting for me to lower my guard before striking back."
"A pity. You might fool a silly boy like Shang Tianci, but you won't fool me."
Li Fan shook his head slightly. "If you still have the energy for petty schemes, you're still far from truly breaking."
"We'll talk once you've truly gone mad."
With a light tap toward Yan Fangzhou's motionless body before the black gate tower, Li Fan reinforced the formation once more.
Only then did he depart, satisfied.
Utterly unaware that his cleverness had backfired, Yan Fangzhou continued playing dumb in the formation, waiting for someone to arrive.
...
Having resolved this minor interlude, Li Fan arrived before the faceless divine statue.
Since he planned to win the trust of Mo Rubin, the Dharma King of the Profound Heaven Sect, Li Fan naturally had to play his part well.
His recruitment efforts could not be halted.
The closer he drew to the statue, the more scenes unbidden appeared in his mind.
They were all members of the Mutual Aid Association who had sworn oaths before the faceless stone statue in the name of the Compassionate Immortal of the Mortal Dust.
Chapter 905