The Life-Sealing Treasure Box. So the Empire truly is the legacy of the ancient Beast Taming Sect.
With Tian Yang, now possessing Spirit Transformation strength, standing guard, Li Fan finally felt secure enough to examine the gains from his recent transaction with the Empire.
The detailed records of numerous exotic beasts, along with the frozen specimens sealed within the Life-Sealing Treasure Box, would have been of limited use to most cultivators.
But for Li Fan, who practiced the Furnace of Myriad Forms Art, they constituted nothing less than a vast treasury.
One by one, he could master the myriad abilities of these exotic beasts after morphing into them through his art.
The beauty of living things—nothing surpasses it!
Perhaps even the Heavenly Physician’s Immortal Scripture does not encompass the full breadth of all living things in this world.
With a light flick of his finger, Li Fan retrieved all the Bookworms from his storage ring.
His divine sense swept through the books simultaneously, and in an instant, countless images were projected across the ceiling of his cave dwelling.
The Dao Transformation Stone within his mind erupted with a sapphire radiance more intense than ever before. Li Fan narrowed his eyes, straining to absorb every character and image into his consciousness.
A tidal wave of information surged in, swiftly categorized and archived within the Dao Transformation Stone.
Amidst the rustling of turning pages, the images shifted without pause.
When the last of the content had been recorded, Li Fan felt a dull ache in his temples.
He rested briefly, swallowed a Dao Comprehension Pill, and began "reading" once more.
Over thousands of years of evolution, the Empire had given rise to countless unique species.
Most were creatures Li Fan had never encountered in the Heavenly Physician’s Immortal Scripture , nor did they exist anywhere in the present-day Xuanhuang World.
Their bizarre and varied abilities drew astonished clicks of the tongue even from the well-traveled Li Fan.
The Wisdom Worm, which parasitized the human brain and enhanced cognitive ability. The Mimic Beast, capable of perfect camouflage after devouring another creature. The Thousand-Spirit Bird, which fed on human emotions...
Each one expanded his horizons further than the last.
The Furnace of Myriad Forms... This is what the true myriad forms of living beings should look like.
Murmuring in quiet awe, Li Fan let the pages keep turning.
Millennia of the Empire's accumulated knowledge poured into his mind in a remarkably short span of time.
Ten days later, Li Fan let out a long breath, massaged his throbbing temples, and returned the Bookworms to his storage ring.
Sensing Tian Yang's concerned gaze, he waved a hand to indicate he was fine.
After half a day's rest to recover his energy, Li Fan retrieved the red wooden box once more.
From what he had previously seen in the Tianxuan Mirror, this Life-Sealing Treasure Box was indeed a unique artifact of the ancient Beast Taming Sect. It was said to be crafted from Myriad Transformation Spiritwood, capable of sealing and preserving living demonic beasts.
Millennia had passed. Myriad Transformation Spirit Trees were now nearly extinct, and Life-Sealing Treasure Boxes had become exceedingly rare treasures.
It seems my hunch was correct. That faint sense of familiarity I felt from the woman in green robes likely stemmed from the Azure Luan Bird that Xu Ke once rode in the Fallen Immortal Realm.
I wonder if that Red-Crowned Crane is still around. Does this mean the Empire's founder, that pioneer who first comprehended the Beast Taming Method, was Xu Ke himself?
In Li Chenfeng's memories, Xu Ke had long since passed. But things might not be as simple as they appear on the surface.
Li Fan pondered to himself.
From what is known so far, it seems that Xu Ke was the only member of the Beast Taming Sect to arrive in that minor world, laying the foundation for the Empire that exists today.
Where did the other members of the Beast Taming Sect go? What about Lu Ya?
Why did Sovereign Tapir Tertius come to the Myriad Immortals Alliance and become the Curator of the Museum of Divine Treasures?
How is all of this connected to Mister Bai's mission back then?
There were far too many questions, and for now, he had no answers.
Perhaps some of them will be resolved during the next journey to the Fallen Immortal Realm. Li Fan calculated the time. Not long now.
Setting aside the Life-Sealing Treasure Box, he took out a Foundation Establishment-level Beast Soul Pearl.
It could be said that the Empire's generosity this time had far exceeded his expectations.
Once equipped with Divine Beast Armor, it was equivalent to fielding five hundred Foundation Establishment combatants, four hundred and ninety at the Golden Core level, and nine at the Nascent Soul level. Utilized well, they could certainly stir up quite a storm.
Though these were only theoretical figures, the actual combat prowess of cultivators in the present-day Xuanhuang World was shockingly poor. Outside of the rare few who had dedicated themselves to the path of combat, the average cultivator considered themselves fortunate to know a handful of offensive or self-preservation arcane arts.
For such cultivators, the Divine Beast Armor, which was capable of interfering with divine sense, withstanding the vast majority of arcane art attacks, and possessing astonishing speed, was an absolutely devastating weapon.
Even so, how best to deploy them in this lifetime to maximize their value still requires careful thought.
Li Fan set the question aside for now. Holding a Beast Soul Pearl in his palm, he pressed it against his brow.
Suddenly, his vision flooded with crimson. In a daze, he seemed to see a fierce one-eyed leopard lunging toward him.
Hmph . Li Fan sharpened his will to a needlepoint and drove it into the apparition.
The leopard let out a mournful cry, and the illusion collapsed in an instant.
The Beast Soul Pearl dissolved into a red liquid in the blink of an eye. As though alive, it flowed from his brow down into his limbs and bones.
Li Fan sensed a peculiar energy attempting to invade his body and alter his physical form.
Unlike the Creation Forge Technique, which drew purely on the hidden reserves of one's own body, the Divine Beast Armor worked more like grafting power that originally belonged to an exotic beast onto a human frame. One's abilities were temporarily strengthened, but the body would henceforth be tainted by the beast's power, rendered impure.
A heretical path—not part of the orthodox way.
Li Fan shook his head. The power of his hidden reserves surged through him like a flood, instantly expelling the invasive energy.
The leopard's mournful cry echoed in his ears once more as the red liquid was vaporized in an instant.
It seems this is indeed only suitable for mortals who cannot cultivate. Or perhaps...
A strange light flashed in Li Fan's eyes.
He thought of Ye Feipeng from his previous life, who had awakened his Kun-Peng bloodline. Those who already possessed demonic beast bloodlines would naturally have nothing to fear from such contamination.
In this lifetime, He Zhenghao made his fortune after following my instructions—he probably won't be thinking about that smuggling business anymore. Su Xiaomei and the others are still in the Li World. Without me, they likely wouldn't have a chance to come here.
Li Fan smiled faintly.
The grand play of this lifetime cannot be complete without these youngsters.
He rose to his feet, bid farewell to Tian Yang, concealed his presence, and quietly made his way to the Li World.
As before, he went first to the volcano at the center of the Li World and observed it for a time.
Strange. Li Fan shook his head.
Ever since his first visit to the Li World, he had sensed that this volcano was somehow unusual. Yet on every subsequent visit, no matter how carefully he investigated, he could never discern the reason. As his cultivation advanced, the premonition only deepened, but the cause remained beyond his grasp.
Perhaps after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, I will discover something.
Li Fan filed the matter away and headed straight for the capital of Great Li.