After meticulously studying the history of the Xuanhuang World and conducting thorough research and verification with the Empire's few cultivators, the think tank arrived at a bold conclusion: these rules and restrictions likely only held sway within the Xuanhuang World itself.
This was because the techniques stolen by the Empire's technique thieves, while still subject to the exclusivity rule, did not grant the same clear, precise awareness of other practitioners' locations as they did within the Xuanhuang World.
In other words, the restriction was weakened.
This was likely because the Empire was not located in the Xuanhuang World proper, but in one of its subsidiary minor worlds.
Thus, the solution to their problem became glaringly obvious: they must sever their shackles, break away from the Xuanhuang World, and become an independent minor world.
For an ordinary mortal civilization, this would be an impossible task.
But for the Empire that commanded the power of exotic beasts, it was absolutely worth attempting.
Back when the first generation of technique thieves crossed the Immortal-Severing Grand Array to reach the Xuanhuang World, the pods of Realm-Splitting Whales swimming through the void had already captured the Empire's attention.
After a century of attempts and the sacrifices of countless warriors, the Empire finally succeeded in capturing a single Realm-Splitting Whale.
And in the years that followed, they achieved the large-scale husbandry of the creatures.
Realm-Splitting Whales were different from other exotic beasts. They reproduced through a peculiar method of solitary propagation.
Any individual within the pod seemed capable of producing offspring on its own, simply by absorbing some unknown energy from the void.
However, prior to this, the Empire had not conceived the idea of using the Realm-Splitting Whales to break away from the Xuanhuang World.
The numerous, colossal whales served one primary purpose in the Empire: food.
Realm-Splitting Whale meat was rich and flavorful, and consistent, long-term consumption was known to improve one's physical constitution.
It was quite popular among the Empire’s citizens.
But once the plan to sever their connection with the Xuanhuang World was set, the Empire issued a decree protecting the Realm-Splitting Whales, prohibiting their private consumption.
They went on to marshal the entire nation's strength to breed the whales.
Furthermore, they once again dispatched elite technique thieves to infiltrate the Xuanhuang World and steal techniques.
Previously, the most advanced techniques the Empire possessed were only at the Nascent Soul level.
Considering they intended to make a complete and permanent break from the Xuanhuang World, it was necessary to reference techniques beyond the Nascent Soul realm. Otherwise, attempting to deduce higher realm techniques from nothing would be far too difficult.
Therefore, the Empire decided it was imperative to acquire a Dao Unity technique.
Failing that, they must at least secure a Spirit Transformation technique.
To achieve this goal, the Empire dispatched over a dozen of its most loyal warriors to infiltrate the Xuanhuang World.
To avoid the risk of losing them all at once, they were sent in small teams. Apart from their own team members, none knew the others' identities.
Zhu Shaotang and Xiao Jin were originally part of the same team.
The third member of their original team died in an accident. Li Chenfeng was later sent as a replacement.
For years, the three of them had steadfastly pursued their mission, accumulating contribution points. Once they obtained a Dao Unity technique, they would then escape to their homeland.
Of course, everything ended the moment Li Fan descended from the heavens and captured them all in one sweep.
Through Li Chenfeng's memories, Li Fan also learned that debate still raged within the Empire over whether to separate from the Xuanhuang World.
The primary opposition's reasoning was simple: such an act, once discovered, would bring utter annihilation upon the Empire.
So what if they could control exotic beasts? Could they withstand a single strike from an immortal?
The decapitated nine-headed divine bird was still staring at them with dead, unblinking eyes!
Fueled by this innate fear of immortals, the opposition held significant sway within the Empire.
It was only because the Empire's ruler, the Imperatrix, forcibly suppressed all dissenting voices that the technique theft plan could ultimately be implemented.
This Imperatrix was a descendant of that first individual who awakened the ability to control exotic beasts.
The imperial family's surname is Xu...
Exotic beasts. The surname Xu. These two terms appearing together made it difficult for Li Fan not to connect them to Xu Ke of the Beast Taming Sect, whom he had encountered in the Fallen Immortal Realm.
Though it could also simply be a coincidence.
I've read ancient texts stating that primordial demonic beasts possessed those crystalline cores within their bodies. There were even cultivators who could absorb the power within them for cultivation.
I thought they were extinct, but it seems a small number of exotic beasts still retain them. It appears today's exotic beasts truly are the evolved descendants of the primordial demonic beasts.
Sword qi that lingered for thousands of years, and a faint connection to the Beast Taming Sect in the ancient era.
Li Fan couldn't help but feel a flicker of interest toward this minor world.
Perhaps in the future, I can spare some time to investigate this Empire. But for now, pressing matters take priority.
Li Fan looked at Li Chenfeng and his companions, lost in their illusory dream, and snapped his fingers softly.
Instantly, the beautiful dream was shattered. The three returned to reality.
Their faces were first filled with confusion. Then, as they looked around, they gradually came to their senses.
Everything they had just experienced—their successful theft of the technique, the Empire's secession from the Xuanhuang World, the development of their own Dao lineage—was all an illusion.
“Your audacity is truly immense." Li Fan's soft words fell upon their ears like thunderclaps.
The faces of Li Chenfeng and the other two turned ashen, despair flooding their hearts.
Their own deaths mattered little. Their only fear was that their homeland would be implicated. If an immortal's wrath were incurred, the death toll would likely not be a simple matter of thousands or tens of thousands.
The tragic part was, they couldn't even kill themselves now.
Yet, to their surprise, the powerful cultivator before them said something utterly unexpected.
"Excellent! I quite admire you." Li Fan nodded in satisfaction and released the restraints on Li Chenfeng and the others.
The three exchanged glances, ultimately not daring to act rashly.
Zhu Shaotang cautiously asked, "Senior, does this mean you intend to let us go?"
Li Fan gave a slight, derisive laugh. "I never intended to pursue this matter in the first place. What does the Myriad Immortals Alliance losing a technique have to do with me?
"You were the ones who came at me first. If I didn’t have some ability of my own, a single lapse would have been enough to get me killed here."
A hint of a smile played on Li Fan's lips as he looked at Li Chenfeng. Li Chenfeng took a deep breath and hurriedly said, "It was my recklessness. Senior, please forgive my offense."
As he spoke, Li Chenfeng actually began to kneel and beg for forgiveness.
Li Fan shook his head, stopping him.
"No need for such formalities. Let's go. Take me to your hidden chamber. I have words for you."
Zhu Shaotang and the others exchanged glances, their expressions shifting subtly. They hadn't expected their supposedly secret hideout to be so easily discovered by this man. Hearts uneasy, the three of them followed Li Fan into the concealed chamber within the courtyard.
Then Li Fan spoke a single sentence that instantly dissolved the anxiety in their hearts, replacing it with the wild, desperate joy of salvation found at the brink of ruin.
"To be perfectly honest," Li Fan said slowly, "I, too, hail from a minor world beyond the Xuanhuang World."