There's no rush. I can do this once I return to the summit of Jieli Mountain. I have nine years of waiting time while Return to Truth charges.
As for what the being hovering over Yuandao Province truly is... perhaps only by reaching the level of an Eternal Heavenly Venerable in the future will I be able to investigate It thoroughly.
Until then, I'll just steer clear of It.
With one matter temporarily resolved and this lifetime drawing toward its end, Li Fan began to take stock of his current circumstances.
Thanks to the Unity of Dao Transformation and Mind, he had not neglected his other pursuits over the last ten-plus years of uninterrupted array construction.
He had finally finished reading the Heavenly Physician’s Immortal Scripture in its entirety.
From this monumental work, Li Fan could vaguely discern the Heavenly Physician’s underlying philosophy.
The Heavenly Physician believed that all things in the world could be healed.
Stones and plants, birds and beasts, humans, mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, and even the world itself—in the eyes of a true “physician,” there was no fundamental distinction between them.
A practitioner of the healing arts should begin with the smallest things and gradually work upward, summarizing experience and refining understanding along the way.
Through perseverance, one could ultimately complete the transformation from healing people to healing the heavens.
Although the Heavenly Physician’s Immortal Scripture did not contain a single word on cultivation methods, countless profundities seemed to be hidden between its lines.
Unfortunately, my talent is still lacking. A true genius might be able to comprehend a technique directly from this.
Perhaps I could borrow a hen to get eggs.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes as a dangerous thought flashed through his mind.
But he suppressed it almost immediately.
Forget it. The risk is still too great.
The Heavenly Physician is unfathomable. If he were to sense that the Heavenly Physician’s Immortal Scripture is circulating in the world, who knows what kind of anomaly it might set off?
I’ll study it myself instead. It will only cost me some time.
Drawing upon the insights into living beings gained from the Heavenly Physician’s Immortal Scripture , Li Fan had been continuously revising and refining the Creation Forge Technique.
I have one final use of Reverend Tian Yang’s Eternal Remnant Will. I’m still not confident that I can resolve his obsession successfully. I’ll make one last attempt when my lifespan is nearly exhausted.
As for Zhang Zhiliang’s Unlimited Art, I have gradually grasped its core essence over time. Through years of array construction, my attainment in the array path has advanced by leaps and bounds. By combining theory with hands-on practice, even ordinary Nascent Soul array masters would likely fall short of my current level.
Then there are the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra and the Life-Death Profound Canon. Together, they can rapidly strengthen the soul. Although I am still recovering from the initial experiment, time is the one resource I have no lack of.
Within his sea of consciousness, the blue crystal radiated a brilliant light.
Enhanced by his divine abilities and secret arts, Li Fan's thoughts remained clear and well-ordered even as he absorbed and processed immense amounts of new information.
Aside from these, I also have two useful abilities.
Thinking of this, Li Fan used his finger as a brush and, in a single fluid motion, wrote the word "Chaos" in the empty air before him.
An unusual energy seemed to gather towards the brushstrokes.
Li Fan stared intently at the changes occurring within.
Unfortunately, his comprehension seemed insufficient. The word "Chaos" ultimately failed to fully materialize.
After persisting for a moment, it dissipated into nothingness, leaving not a trace behind.
“Chaos”
With a casual flick of his hand, he released a Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword to erase the lingering aura.
Li Fan fell into deep thought.
This "Chaos" was an imitation of the word on the “Chaos” Stone from the Lost Domain Li Fan had been trapped in before.
It was by tracing the word “Chaos” that Li Fan had managed to open a passage through the Lost Domain and escape.
But afterwards, Li Fan had always felt that the word was far more than just a simple door mechanism.
That bizarre, alien scene at the heart of the Lost Domain was undoubtedly connected to it.
If I could truly comprehend it, no... Perhaps just being able to replicate this “Chaos” would itself be a divine ability no less formidable than my Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword.
Beyond “Chaos,” there were also the scenes he had witnessed not long ago: the five elements converging, the great explosion that annihilated everything, and the reversal of five elements convergence by the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array.
Currently, my Five Elements Annihilation Sword only uses the mutual generation of the five elements as a source of power.
But in truth, the very flow and cycle of the five elements themselves can generate immense destructive force.
Perhaps I can integrate this power that destroys all things to refine a new version of the Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword.
Li Fan contemplated the power of five elements within his dantian, gradually sinking deep into thought.
***
In the Xuanhuang World, where cultivation techniques could not be shared, true mentors and worthy companions were a thing of the past.
All cultivation knowledge was a precious treasure, and to obtain it, one had to pay a corresponding price.
Those true secret arts, never to be passed on, were locked away in high towers, impossible to catch a glimpse of.
In such a cultivation world, if Li Fan wanted to obtain power far surpassing others, he had to rely on personal exploration.
Unfortunately, his worldly affairs were not yet concluded. Two days later, Li Fan was startled from his contemplation by a message.
It was from Qi Buyi.
First, she asked how his recovery was going, then instructed him to go to the Thousand Stars Branch Academy.
Li Fan did not pause his comprehension process, simply splitting off a strand of consciousness to control his body as he headed over.
"From now on, you need not push yourself so hard or personally participate in the construction of the arrays.
"You just need to follow along and be responsible for inspection and approval.” Qi Buyi said to Li Fan with a smile.
"Your partner will be Huangfu Song. You are acquaintances, so it's convenient for you.
"The points won't be much less than what you earn from constructing arrays, and should be sufficient to maintain your second-place ranking.
"Normally, this duty wouldn't be given to array masters like you who are competing for the rankings. But if it's you, I imagine others won't have much to say." As she spoke, she handed over another Celestial Oversight Ledger.
He had turned the previous Celestial Oversight Ledger and Sky-Soaring Shuttle in when leaving the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens.
This one was different from his previous one. It no longer contained information on the distribution of various resources; only a simplified map of the various provinces of the Xuanhuang World.
It was very similar to the miniature model within the long-distance teleportation array space.
"Work-related details and information on your fellow colleagues can all be viewed through the Celestial Oversight Ledger," Qi Buyi remained very dutiful in her explanations.
With the majority of his mind immersed in comprehending the divine ability, Li Fan appeared somewhat stiff as he nodded.
Seeing this, Qi Buyi could only sigh inwardly. His condition is deteriorating further.
It seems he truly isn't far from death. I wonder when those life-extending treasures will arrive.
After bidding farewell to Qi Buyi, Li Fan used the Celestial Oversight Ledger to contact Huangfu Song.
The fat man's tone had grown increasingly polite.
The two met at the Dao Transmission Plaza in Tianchen Province, then used a teleportation array to arrive at Lanlin Province, where the Soul-Locking Array was nearing completion.
This province was located in the far south of the Xuanhuang Worlds and was relatively remote, so they had to transfer several times along the way.
For Li Fan, who already appeared on the verge of collapse, passing through the White Mist Barriers took a great toll on him, like adding frost to snow. His eyes looked murky and dull, utterly devoid of spirit.
In truth, Li Fan was deeply immersed in contemplating a divine ability, but that did nothing to prevent outsiders from misinterpreting his state. At the very least, Huangfu Song was rather alarmed, fearing that Li Fan might just happen to expire right beside him.
"Heh, Fellow Daoist, you should rest as much as you need later," Huangfu Song said. "Leave everything to me."