NOVPUBIn the somewhat dim mural, the Nine-Star Red Beads were strikingly conspicuous. They appeared like a multitude of eyes, all eerily staring straight at Li Fan.
As this thought emerged in Li Fan’s Spirit Consciousness, he truly felt, as if the myriad of Red Beads in the mural had come to life, with a strange aura abruptly surfacing from them.
Neither righteous nor evil, they were both ancient and desolate, and yet as if newly born. What shook Li Fan the most was that, through the mere phantom left by the mural, his Divine Soul incarnation experienced a part of itself being absorbed and attached.
Moreover, Li Fan had tried numerous methods, all to no avail. Only by using the Essence of Source Power was he finally able to block the influence brought about by the Nine-Star Red Beads.
"What on earth are these Nine-Star Red Beads?"
"If this is just the image, if the actual Red Beads were here, I’m afraid even the Essence of Source Power wouldn’t be enough for protection." 𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
"Hmm..."
Li Fan considered the potential outcomes if his essence were to be absorbed by the Red Beads.
"While not enough to cause substantial harm to Living Beings, it would leave a special mark on the Divine Soul and even the life essence of every absorbed being. And this is only the function of the Nine-Star Red Beads."
"The Circular Array is present, yet its shadow is unseen..."
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the bizarre device.
"An indecisive number, infinite possibilities."
"Mark of the Nine-Star Red Beads."
This device, after all, was part of the Xuanhuang Guardian Array.
Its profound principles would certainly not diverge too much from the main principles of Array Techniques.
Li Fan simply simplified the Circular Device, treating it as part of an unknown Array Technique unit. Then, he incorporated it into the Realm Defensive Array model that had been corrected with actual Array Technique data from the Dissociation Disc.
After tens of thousands of data iteration derivations, Li Fan deduced the most likely use of this Circular Nine-Star Device in this place.
"Creation of a myriad of Living Beings..." A peculiar light shone in Li Fan’s eyes.
According to his deduction, the function of this central part of the Xuanhuang Original World Defense Array was to brand all newly born creatures of the Xuanhuang World with a special imprint using the Nine-Star Circular Beads. Then, through the numerically indecisive Circular Array, the imprints in the essence of these creatures’ lives were regulated to some extent.
Thus giving rise to differences in temperament, talents, and so on.
"This..."
"What a profoundly mysterious Array Technique?!"
Even though he had seen the Mysterious Beginnings, a device deemed capable of reconstructing Terrestrial Flame, Water Wind, and recreating the world—an Immortal Level Formation—Li Fan, having understood the principles behind this Array Technique, couldn’t help but exclaim in genuine admiration.
After all, this was the first time he truly saw an Array Technique powerful enough to manipulate "life" itself.
"Even if realized through the numerically indecisive Circular Array and the Nine-Star Red Beads, it’s still quite amazing."
"On the other hand, perhaps the original prototype of this Array in the Immortal World was even more powerful. It’s just that without the support of Immortal Spirit Energy, some critical Array nodes lost their function and had to be replaced with these extraordinary items."
"But now..."
Li Fan’s gaze once again focused on the vacant area where the Nine-Star Red Beads were supposed to be.
"The Nine-Star Red Beads are the key."
"Based on my previous findings, it’s very possible that the Red Beads were recalled by the ’Return Character Curse.’ But if this event occurred after the Great Calamity of the Immortal World, since there was no place to return, the Red Beads should have come back to the Xuanhuang World. It was during this process that someone forcibly took them."
"Such an elaborate effort indicates that the mastermind behind this could not directly use the Return Character Curse, but instead, like myself, borrowed power to make power..."
The Return Character Curse, unlike the True Immortal Seal Characters such as Chaos and Famine, not only has a distinct manifestation of power, but it also cannot be used in a weakened form through poor imitation.
It was as if some invisible force in the universe was obstructing it; with Li Fan’s current Cultivation Base, he was simply not qualified to write it, let alone trace it.
"The laws of Immortals are strict, which can be seen. Even though the Immortal World has been destroyed for so many years, the rules still exist."
After realizing the principles, Li Fan grew even more curious about the current whereabouts of the Red Beads.
"The Nine-Star Red Beads, if things are as expected, perhaps have been in existence since the birth of the Xuanhuang World. All native XuanHuang Living Beings have been forcibly marked by it. In other words, it’s very likely that the unique life data of all Xuanhuang World’s creatures are stored and recorded within the Nine-Star Red Beads..."
This deduction, at first hearing, seemed unbelievable. But when combined with the current exploration of the Xuanhuang Original World Defense Array, it was the conclusion that most fit the facts.
"This is the true method of the Immortals, unfathomable, a privilege only the gods of creation could possess."
"With the information of unique creatures recorded, it means that, if both energy and technical means meet the conditions, it is not an issue to recreate any historical figure that has ever appeared in the Xuanhuang history."
"Indeed, the entities created by this method would only be akin to cloned replicas, and an individual’s ultimate achievements are closely related to their own experiences."
"But..."
Li Fan’s mood suddenly turned heavy.
Realizing that a life like his was nothing but an existence that True Immortals could effortlessly create, modify, and replicate, even with the possession of the [Real] Supreme Treasure, he couldn’t help but feel an indescribable sensation arise.
"I regard the XuanHuang beings as trifles. Indeed, True Immortals must view me the same way~"
Li Fan gave a self-deprecating smile.
Of course, this was just an exclamation Li Fan made during a moment of overwhelming emotional impact upon his spirit. It wasn’t his true inner belief.
