Chapter 1655: 1383: Formation Refining the Xuanhuang World

Chapter 1655: Chapter 1383: Formation Refining the Xuanhuang World

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the Xuanhuang World once again entered its fifteenth year of stability.

On this day, Li Fan repeated his old tricks, once again capturing the Medicine King Cauldron that had returned from Beyond the Heavens.

Just as before, he subdued the members of the Medicine King Sect to serve him loyally.

At the same time, he quietly captured Ruan Tianxiao and returned to the old site of the Medicine King Sect, forcing him to swallow the “Stone Pill” once more.

Just like the previous life.

After consuming the elixir, Ruan Tianxiao’s appearance and aura transformed, becoming ethereal and transcendent, like a Demoted Immortal descending from the heavens.

He began to preach the “Alchemy Emperor’s Classic” to those around him.

The profound and mysterious sounds resonated endlessly.

Even though this was not Li Fan’s first time hearing this peerless scripture, myriad mysterious insights still surfaced in his mind.

It felt as if his path of alchemy had imperceptibly advanced to a higher level.

The lingering echoes of the scripture seemed to hover in the air, never fading.

Combining his newfound understanding of the Medicine King Scripture, Li Fan further refined his plan to elevate the Xuanhuang World.

“After over ten years of nurturing and countless subtle methods of cultivation, the Xuanhuang World has gradually recovered from its former decline.”

“The time is ripe; it’s time to begin the first step of alchemy.”

A glimmer flashed in Li Fan’s eyes as his sight pierced through the heavens of the Xuanhuang World, reaching countless Small Worlds connected to it.

“All realms and countless worlds shall belong to Xuanhuang.”

“All laws converge, and true unity under Heaven shall be achieved!”

His tone carried a hint of eerie menace, as his whispered commands determined the fate of those myriad Small Worlds.

At this moment, the Simulated Heavenly Patterns within these Small Worlds began to mobilize world energy.

Their forms extended autonomously, like countless arms reaching outward along pathways pre-arranged by Li Fan.

Connecting, merging with the Xuanhuang World.

First, a single point of light in the darkness was touched, tainted by the hues of Xuanhuang.

Soon, hundreds, then thousands of golden stars lit up, surrounding the Xuanhuang World in radiant brilliance!

“Distorting Heaven and Earth’s Reason…”

Li Fan split off a projection of himself, drifting toward the sky.

He murmured softly as he acted.

The return of so many Small Worlds naturally required the cooperation of the Xuanhuang World.

Otherwise, they risked being perceived by the Xuanhuang Realm Celestial Way as external enemies and attacked.

“Although the power of an individual Small World is negligible compared to the Xuanhuang World, the sheer volume of them is enough to bring about qualitative change.”

“Like a torrential flood directly injected into the Xuanhuang World, it could very well provoke resistance.”

“The same principle applies; a ‘Medicinal Guide’ is still required.”

As Li Fan’s thought flashed, indistinct phantoms of the Essence of Heaven and Earth descended.

After a moment’s hesitation, they quickly flew off to various regions of the Xuanhuang World.

Their “Heavenly Duty” was to absorb the gathered Small Worlds into their dominion.

Li Fan roughly assigned them their respective areas of responsibility. With the capacity of each Essence of Heaven and Earth, absorbing several dozen Small Worlds posed no issue.

Even so, to carry out Li Fan’s initial plan, hundreds of new Essences of Heaven and Earth were continually generated at this moment.

It was as if Heavenly Demons had descended, stirring turbulence within the Xuanhuang World.

Compared to the normal ones, these pseudo-Essences fabricated by Li Fan were even more indistinct.

They possessed little to no power of laws.

Merely empty shells, acting as vessels to contain the return of all realms to the Xuanhuang World.

Yet, even as hollow forms, they still belonged to the category of Essences of Heaven and Earth.

Such an abnormal phenomenon, akin to thousands of spirits roaming the night, naturally drew the attention of the cultivators in the Xuanhuang World.

As more people noticed these aberrations, speculation abounded.

Was this the Xuanhuang World’s own Heavenly and Earthly Changes, or was someone manipulating events behind the scenes?

The masses were uncertain.

Yet many cultivators, seized by ambition, began forming groups to hunt down these Essences of Heaven and Earth.

After all, for the vast majority, achieving Unity-Path was already an unattainable dream. The quality of the Essence used for this purpose hardly crossed their minds.

As cultivators formed small groups and began tracking the Essences, ominous dark clouds suddenly enveloped the Xuanhuang World’s skies.

Night fell upon the land.

An unease took root in the hearts of every cultivator.

But its source remained elusive.

Soon, the clouds scattered, and the mortals and cultivators resumed their interrupted pursuits.

Everything seemed to return to normal.

However, in Li Fan’s eyes, the living beings of the Xuanhuang World had already fallen into an endless Illusion Dream.

The “Bewildering Xuanhuang Living Beings Great Array” had truly descended upon the inhabitants of the Xuanhuang World!

Save for a few locations like Dao Origin State and the Fishing Pond, all life in the Xuanhuang World had been ensnared within the array.

Bolstered by the Star Sea Infinite Force and the vast reserves of Essence of Source Power amassed by the ancestral Ghost Tribe over a decade, Li Fan had unleashed an unparalleled Immortal Array encompassing the entire Xuanhuang World.

This array surpassed even the one used in the previous life to ensnare the Celestial Doctor.

Although the derivation of the Final Separation Disk had reached a bottleneck, Li Fan incorporated his insights into Refining Dao and the True and False Changes.

Thus further upgrading the “Xuanhuang Living Beings Great Array.”

It was no longer a mere Illusion Array.

If someone were to die within the illusory realm, their death would manifest in reality.

Yet if they gained anything in the illusion over time, those gains would not transfer to reality.

Instead, the peerless Illusion Array would absorb such benefits, converting them into nourishment for Li Fan.

Under the shroud of this Immortal Array, the living beings of the Xuanhuang World would stagnate perpetually.

Every bit of progress they made toward a “better” future would be intercepted and harvested by Li Fan.

Unless the array was broken, they would remain bound as Li Fan’s diligent slaves for eternity.

Of what was harvested, Li Fan only retained a small portion for himself.

The vast majority of the gains were turned over to the Xuanhuang World.

But this wasn’t out of some newfound altruism on Li Fan’s part.

Firstly, it was to further earn the trust of the Xuanhuang Realm Celestial Way. Through his various manipulations this lifetime, Li Fan’s favorability in the eyes of the Xuanhuang Realm Celestial Way had reached unprecedented levels. This goodwill only continued to grow as the “Xuanhuang Living Beings” Great Array ensnared all cultivators parasitizing the world as Heavenly Worms. Even summoning countless Essences of Heaven and Earth through deceptive means did not provoke the slightest anger from the Xuanhuang Realm Celestial Way. On the contrary, faint traces of fawning intent radiated from it, as if it were inquiring whether Li Fan desired more.

“With each moment the Xuanhuang Living Beings Array operates, the Xuanhuang Realm Celestial Way’s trust in me grows deeper.”

“Until…”

“Hehehe.”

Li Fan’s heart brimmed with a cold laugh.

Ignoring the fawning intent from the Celestial Way, he narrowed his eyes, staring at the Xuanhuang World ensnared within the array.

“As for the Five Elders Organization, apart from those under the protection of the Worry-Free Paradise, none were spared.”

“When the array descended, it seemed as if Wuyou intended to disperse their power and shield all the organization’s living beings, much like during the advent of the Doomsday Fairy Array. But for some reason, they ultimately retreated.”

Li Fan pondered, choosing not to engage Wuyou directly.

“As for the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals…”

“The Tianxuan Mirror at their headquarters seems to have evaded the array’s influence. As expected of an Immortal Instrument.”

“Several other locations also eluded the array’s effects.”

Li Fan grew intrigued, investigating each one.

He discovered that most were safeguarded by specific spatiotemporal circumstances—such as hidden Secret Realms or remnants from the Xuanhuang World’s merger with prior Residual Realms of Cultivation.

“A few minor adjustments will ensure none escape next time.”

Li Fan showed little concern for these exceptions. None of them housed even a single Integration Cultivator, hardly enough to stir a ripple.

Among all the anomalies, only one caught Li Fan’s attention.

In the Liuguang Prefecture, under the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals, a small mortal town saw nearly a hundred residents unaffected by the illusion’s influence.

To be precise, they weren’t entirely unaffected. They too had fallen into the array’s illusions at first.

Yet astonishingly, they soon broke free from the illusion.

Even the Celestial Doctor had not awoken this swiftly!

Cautious, Li Fan split a trace of his divine sense to closely investigate.

“In this world, there is no shortage of peculiar phenomena. The Storytelling Master’s old teachings… they’ve come true!”

“But a dream, after all, is still a dream. The master once told us: always remember, when something seems entirely too perfect, there is a problem. Only then can you awaken from the dream!”

“Wait a moment. According to what you just said, hasn’t our smooth awakening also been ‘too perfect’? Could it be we’re still in a dream?”

…

Before the words left his mouth.

The hundreds of townsfolk were reclaimed by the Xuanhuang Living Beings Great Array, falling once again into illusion.

“Storytelling Master.” Li Fan muttered thoughtfully, his divine sense sweeping through the town until it located the one in question.

At that moment, the Storytelling Master too was awakening from the illusion.

He seemed neither startled nor frightened.

Gazing upon the world frozen in stillness, his face showed a hint of delight.

“This man… his cultivation base is beyond my ability to see through.”

“Could it be that the Xuanhuang World hides some hidden expert?”

“Impossible. Over the last two apocalyptic events, this person showed no signs of abnormality.”

Li Fan slightly shook his head, dismissing the thought.

With a wave of his hand, he captured the Storytelling Master.

“Greetings, Immortal Teacher.” The Storytelling Master, though momentarily surprised, responded with neither fear nor resistance, greeting Li Fan with an unexpected air of joy.

Li Fan confirmed that this individual was indeed an ordinary mortal, utterly devoid of cultivation.

“How did you awaken from the illusion?” Li Fan asked in a soft tone.

The Storytelling Master, appearing somewhat bewildered, shook his head. “I do not know. I simply felt that the world before my eyes was inexplicably… discordant.”

“Discordant?”

After a moment of deliberation, the Storytelling Master looked at Li Fan, hesitated slightly, then explained, “A dream, however vivid, remains unlike reality.”

“I know my own abilities. No matter how hard I try, no more than a hundred people would ever attend my performances. Yet in the dream, nearly half the town came to listen…”

At these words, Li Fan’s expression tightened.

It was impossible for the Xuanhuang Living Beings Great Array to make such a rudimentary mistake.

“What interfered with the array’s judgment?”

A thought flickered in Li Fan’s mind as he resumed his meticulous search of the Storytelling Master’s being.

—————–

That concludes today’s tale.