Moving an entire world demanded a staggering, almost incomprehensible expenditure of power.
Only the Celestial Alliance, having unified the Xuanhuang World, could marshal the necessary resources. And even then, perhaps only with the Tianxuan Mirror's extraordinary capacity for calculation and planning could such a feat be realized.
This explained why the Eternal Heavenly Venerables turned a blind eye to the Tianxuan Mirror's various actions, and even actively facilitated the merger of the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council.
Because if they succeeded, they too would be free from the threat of the Immortal Ruins.
The void was vast; they could roam free and unfettered from then on, no longer confined to this tiny patch of land that was the Xuanhuang World.
What did the life or death of ordinary cultivators matter to them?
Even if they failed, the Eternal Heavenly Venerables would lose nothing.
When one came down to it, the Celestial Alliance wasn't simply slaughtering cultivators; it was imprisoning all the cultivators who maintained the Xuanhuang World's weight within the Eternal Immortal Wall.
Not having to bother with regulating the cultivator population probably seemed far more convenient to the Heavenly Venerables!
As for whether the Xuan Net's plan to break free from the Immortal Ruins ultimately succeeded...
Li Fan felt that it was likely.
Because in his previous life, before he used Return to Truth, he had clearly sensed vitality beginning to return to the Xuanhuang World after thousands of years of deathly silence.
Long-lost sunlight had reappeared.
Although the living beings within the world were nearly extinct, the world itself had regained its vigor.
Li Fan didn't believe that after falling into the Immortal Ruins, the Xuanhuang World could simply lie dormant for a thousand years and then revive.
If that were the case, then the so-called Immortal Ruins wouldn't be something the Eternal Heavenly Venerables feared so deeply.
For cultivators, the Xuan Net is naturally an unforgivable evil.
But in a certain sense, it saved the Xuanhuang World, and conveniently cleaned out all the cultivators as well.
Perhaps that is why, when the Xuan Net acted in place of heaven, this world's Heavenly Dao did not put up much resistance.
After pondering for a long time, Li Fan slowly set aside these thoughts for now.
Beyond these destined events, many others had come to pass as a direct consequence of the Xuan Net's establishment.
The root cause of it all lay in my slaying of the giant Liuli Fish and subsequent orchestration of the Spirit Grass incident.
The great war in Tianling Province, one that should never have occurred, left a profound mark on both the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council.
Sensing the disappearance of the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher, the Five Elders Council began probing the Alliance for days.
Pressed by the Five Elders Council, the Myriad Immortals Alliance created a monster in its desperation to protect itself—the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array.
Perhaps without the Tianling Province war, conflict would still have erupted elsewhere, such as Tianpan Province or Jiushan Province. But the timing of the war's outbreak could send the future down an entirely different path.
Infinite futures, limitless possibilities. The birth of the Xuan Net was just one among them.
The world after the Xuan Net's universalization was far too perilous for cultivators. The slightest misstep meant capture and imprisonment within the Eternal Immortal Wall, making it utterly hostile to cultivation. It seems that in this life, I must find a way to prevent its creation.
Li Fan contemplated privately.
However, whether it's the Spirit Grass incident or the competition to implement the Soul-Locking Array universally, I can profit from both.
With my foreknowledge, to give that up would be a shame.
In that case...
After a moment's thought, Li Fan had an idea.
Balance and mutual restraint bring stability to the greater situation.
The Xuanhuang World is better off not being too chaotic!
Having reviewed his previous life, the next step was to plan for this one.
The goal was clear: reach the Nascent Soul realm.
First, I must reach the final-stage Golden Core realm before the great war in Tianling Province.
After the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens are relocated, I will venture into that void where they keep manifesting to investigate.
If possible, I’ll use it for my breakthrough.
If not, then I'll have to find a way to obtain the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens from the Myriad Immortals Alliance.
However, before that, there is one more matter I must attend to.
Li Fan soared up into the sea of clouds, bathing in the morning light.
All distracting thoughts vanished from his mind as he began operating the Purple Firmament Righteous Resolve, the secret technique he had obtained from Zhang Qianmo in the Fallen Immortal Realm in his past life.
Li Fan hadn't forgotten that traces left by the entity from Yuandao Province still lingered on him.
He vaguely sensed that, through his embodiment of an object and numerous simulation cycles, these traces had likely already dissipated.
Still, an extra layer of precaution wouldn't hurt.
As the secret technique began to operate, Li Fan felt his consciousness rise, ascending ever higher.
Breaking through the firmament, he arrived at a sacred realm beyond description.
No other beings existed there; only the boundless, righteous will of heaven and earth, saturating the space without end.
This vast and immaculate presence flowed over him like clear water, cleansing his very soul.
Li Fan slowly surrendered himself to it.
The lingering shadows left by the entity above Yuandao Province and the Heavenly Physician quietly dissolved.
Even the weariness and scars accumulated over three thousand years of embodiment were gradually washed away.
***
Anchor Year 3.
Li Fan halted the divine ability, feeling his mind clear and his body light.
The secret inheritances of the Purple Firmament Sect art are truly extraordinary.
Li Fan nodded in satisfaction.
Casually glancing at Return to Truth’s panel, he was pleasantly surprised.
The charging speed of Return to Truth was much faster than before.
Originally, it would have taken nearly nine years. Now, it only needs a little over seven years to charge fully.
It seems that inversely refining the Dao Heart and strengthening the soul with the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra are indeed useful.
The faster charging means I can leave Great Xuan for the Xuanhuang World earlier, in Anchor Year 8.
Just in time for the Myriad Immortals Alliance's once-a-decade recruitment examination.
Li Fan smiled slightly, thought for a moment, and made a minor adjustment to his plan.
Then, as usual, he descended the mountain and visited Yi Xing's tomb.
He retrieved the Dao Transformation Stone, slowly absorbing it while waiting for Return to Truth to finish charging.
Soon, Anchor Year 8 arrived.
Before setting off, Li Fan opened Return to Truth’s panel.
Name: Li Fan
Realm: Mid-stage Golden Core realm
Biological Age: 27/599
Psychological Age: 1326/4200
Virtualization Charging Progress: 100%
Charging Progress of Next Anchor Point: 0%
Anchor Points In Use: 3
Available Anchor Points: 1
Bound Items: Thousand Mechanisms Jade Cosmos Scripture, Taiyan Boat, Halt Stele Fragment (Damaged), Myriad Mortal Essence Blood, Dao Transformation Stone
Techniques: Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra, Cloudwater Dream Illusion Art, Embodiment Transformation Dao Sect, Arcana True Spirit Transformation, Furnace of Myriad Forms, Creation Forge Technique, Mountain-Sitting Art
Divine Abilities: “Chaos,” Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword, Interlocking Chains of Life and Death, Formless Killing Mechanism, Insect Binding, One Congyun Sword Strike, Heaven-Overturning Palm
Even after embodying an object for three thousand years, my psychological age only increased by a little over a century. It seems there's no need for concern on that front, at least for now.
As for that divine ability, “Chaos”...
Li Fan recalled the terrifying side effects of activating it and gave a slight shake of his head. Even a puppet vessel forged through much tempering had completely disintegrated.
The power is immense, but employing it now is still far too taxing.
He closed Return to Truth’s panel. In this lifetime, he would neither disperse his cultivation of the Mountain-Sitting Art nor return to the Great Xuan Empire to plunder its treasury.
Instead, he shifted form, taking on the appearance of that black-feathered, crimson-tailed bird, and shot like an arrow toward the eastern Abyssal Chasm and the Immortal-Severing Grand Array.