NOVPUBLi Fan followed behind Gongsun Qixuan for a while, but ultimately did not disturb him and quietly slipped away.
As he passed by Ten Thousand Immortals Island, Li Fan glanced down at the deep, mysterious place below.
The Heaven and Earth Entity Gold Seal, which he had banished under the guise of a divine mandate, had reappeared at some point, suppressing the Pass Ghost Tunnel again.
All strange phenomena, big and small, had been dealt with and sealed at their source.
It seemed that Misthaven Ocean had returned to its previous calm days.
However, under the Heavenly-Earthly View, Li Fan could see the consequences of the strange phenomena’s eruption.
The Heavenly Earth’s Fiery Red Flame, which had accepted the Seaflame’s command, had evidently become more powerful than before.
The faint sensation of heat that emanated from it even made Li Fan feel a secret chill.
A sudden insight arose in Li Fan’s heart, "Severe illness requires strong medicine; it seems the Profound Yellow Celestial Way has indeed become ruthless. Perhaps in no time at all, Misthaven Ocean will completely vanish."
Before his eyes, there seemed to emerge a purgatorial scene where the seawater was evaporated, leaving the ocean bed starkly exposed.
Li Fan shook his head slightly and did not linger in Misthaven Ocean any longer.
"The experimentation of divine techniques under the guise of the False Heavenly Path is complete. Once the time is ripe, I will be able to instantly extract a huge amount of Heaven and Earth’s energy of life, transforming it into my own sustenance."
"What I plan to do next is to push these two great gods to struggle against each other."
Li Fan involuntarily looked toward the invisible position of Immortal Ruins in the sky.
Calculating against immortals as a mortal is naturally a very dangerous affair.
Not to mention immortals, even Li Fan could vaguely sense the secretive schemes of his enemies.
"All arrangements need to erupt at the same time. After the two immortals cast their gaze, the first thing they see should be each other."
"They should then neglect me. Hmm..."
Li Fan pondered for a moment, "It’s possible that one of them may dispense a bit of their power to crush me, this mere ’insect,’ in passing."
"..."
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t dismiss this speculation.
Li Fan’s heart grew heavier.
After all, a True Immortal could destroy the Xuanhuang World in a glance.
With his current strength, resisting the might of a True Immortal was still too difficult.
"I need to accumulate more."
"Being entangled in this affair in this lifetime is truly an act of helplessness."
"To survive from the aftermath of a True Immortal, perhaps my only option is to use their own strength against them."
As Li Fan’s thoughts churned, he unknowingly had already returned to the Spirit Tree Realm.
"Hmm?"
He then noticed that a group of newcomers had apparently arrived in the Spirit Tree Realm.
Sweeping his spiritual sense across, he immediately knew that Shang Tianci and Yan Fangzhou had, after much persuasion, finally brought their companions from Shanhelixuan to visit.
These people were all under fifty years of age, yet the lowest of them were at the Nascent Soul Realm, truly considered prodigies.
They were mostly from prestigious families, with extraordinary perspectives.
While their eyes flickered with curiosity when they saw the scenery inside the Spirit Tree Realm, there was not much shock.
"Brother Shang, Brother Yan. Is this the unparalleled view of the Ten Thousand Realms that you spoke of? Hehe, isn’t this a bit of an exaggeration?"
"Indeed, my family’s Cave Heaven may not match this place in grandeur, but in terms of scenic beauty, it definitely does not lose to this place."
Thirteen young cultivators spoke one after another, teasingly.
With smiles on their faces, it was just a normal discussion without any hint of mockery.
Shang Tianci was about to explain, but suddenly he heard Li Fan’s message transmission.
"Bring them in front of the True Immortal Stone Statue."
Shang Tianci’s expression changed slightly, and the words he was about to speak were immediately altered, "Hehe, actually, there is another sight within the Spirit Tree Realm that you all have yet to see. If the wonders of the Spirit Tree Realm could be encapsulated in a stone, this sight would take nine parts of it."
Upon hearing this, the group immediately became interested.
"Brother Shang, stop beating around the bush and take us there already!"
"Exactly, exactly! Now that we’re here, how can we miss it?"
The crowd was clamorous. Shang Tianci then revealed a slight smile, "Very well, follow me."
Soon, the group arrived at the circular Grand Hall at the entrance of the Spirit Tree Realm.
Seeing Shang Tianci stop here, the crowd suspiciously asked, "Brother Shang, what are you up to? What’s so great about this dilapidated hall?"
"Indeed, wasn’t this the very building we saw the first time we came here?"
"Could there be... more to it inside?"
The crowd buzzed with discussion.
Shang Tianci then bowed his hands, "Come inside, and you will see."
Saying so, he took the lead and strode into the Grand Hall.
The others looked at each other but, driven by the courage that comes with skill, they followed without much hesitation.
The brilliant sunlight instantly vanished as they entered the Grand Hall.
Their vision grew dim.
Yet in the darkness, a stone statue was distinctly visible.
It as if possessed some magical power, firmly capturing their gaze.
...
After a short half-day.
The group of twelve slowly walked out of the Grand Hall.
They seemed unchanged from when they had entered, but they were now devout followers of the Crimson Compassionate Immortal.
Li Fan watched the backs of these young people and slowly nodded.
"Although their talents are not much different from those from the Li Realm. Fortunately, they now have formed their strength, sparing me the trouble of nurturing them further."
Li Fan had assigned them the first and only task for their initiation.
Deriving the method of the [Primordial Golden Pill] after Building Foundation with Me.
As a means to completely break away from the Celestial Dharma Bearer’s cultivation system, Li Fan had not forgotten this.
Even though each life was bound to yield only small gains, accumulating like sand forming a tower, one day they might finally find the way to break the code.
"Or perhaps, if I could meet the King of Mystic Sky in this lifetime, it might significantly accelerate the derivation process," Li Fan silently thought.
...
Peacefully uneventful, another month passed.
The vibrations coming from the Final Separation Disk made Li Fan’s gaze intensify, "Finally, there are results."
It was the breakthrough in the derivation of the Celestial Dharma Bearer’s forbidden formations.
The time it took was far beyond Li Fan’s expectations.
Li Fan squinted his eyes, sensing the continual proposals emanating from the Dissociation Disk.
The Celestial Dharma Bearer’s forbidding of the Tianxuan Mirror was essentially described as "deep-rooted entanglement, penetrating to the marrow. Rooted in the Fabric of Xuan Huang Heavenly Earth, becoming one with it."
Therefore, the solution provided by the Dissociation Disk was to carve off the flesh, cut to the bone, let blood, and draw sinews.
Though it sounded somewhat horrifying, it essentially meant following the channels left by the Tianxuan Mirror in the fabric of the world, tracing the vines to uncover the melon, and meticulously lifting each restriction.
It wasn’t about being cunning but a brutal directness in breaking the barriers.
And, it seemed that in the derivation process of the Final Separation Disk, this was the only way to break the Celestial Dharma Bearer’s restrictions.
This was why even with the current capabilities of the Dissociation Disk, it required such an extended amount of time.
"Perhaps when the Celestial Dharma Bearer laid down these restrictions, he never anticipated someone would break them in this manner," Li Fan thought.
"Because to do so, likely only the power near that of an immortal is capable. One could easily destroy the restrictions outright rather than using this simplest, most direct method."
