Chapter 1683: 1397: Xuan Huang Ascends to the Immortal Domain

Chapter 1683: Chapter 1397: Xuan Huang Ascends to the Immortal Domain

All the patterns shifting across the stone tablet suddenly settled, concealing themselves within.

It appeared like an ordinary stone tablet from the mortal realm, plain and unremarkable.

But Li Fan had witnessed the divine might of the tablet firsthand earlier—how could he possibly be deceived by its current guise?

“The key is figuring out how to unleash the stone tablet’s power,” Li Fan pondered aloud.

The tablet he held in his hands no longer responded to any external stimuli. Whether it was spiritual power, Source Power Essence, True Immortal flesh, Obliteration Storm Calamities—none of these forces could provoke any reaction from it.

Li Fan could even faintly sense that, in the face of all these probing attempts, the tablet seemed truly defenseless.

Should those forces come into direct contact with the stone tablet, in that instant, it would likely be torn to pieces.

“This…” Weighing whether he could achieve Unity-Path and ascend to immortality in this lifetime, Li Fan’s gaze flickered. He finally chose to abandon the idea of testing by destroying the tablet outright.

Casting his eyes over the stone tablet again and again, he recalled its display of divine might earlier, at the center of the bizarre formation, and a thought suddenly emerged in his spirit consciousness.

“Could it be that this stone tablet, in its ordinary state, is indeed as mundane as it now appears—a perfectly unremarkable object? And only when placed within that unknown formation is its myriad wonders activated?”

Li Fan couldn’t help but glance toward the nearby formation, which seemed to have dissipated into the heavens and earth after the tablet was removed.

“After so much effort to extract it, do I now have to consider putting it back?”

His expression grew conflicted, alternating between determination and hesitation.

At that moment, he unexpectedly began to miss Kitty Treasure.

“If only Kitty Treasure’s duplication ability were here, I wouldn’t be so torn right now.”

Placing the tablet back into its original position was absolutely not an option. With the Tian Beast currently on the verge of death, there was no way it could pass through the formation again to retrieve the tablet.

“It seems that the stone tablet and the formation mutually stimulate each other—neither can function without the other. Although I cannot duplicate the stone tablet, I can replicate the formation.”

“Even if it’s just a partial reconstruction…”

Li Fan temporarily set the stone tablet aside—this object carved by the King of Mystic Sky from the Ascension Platform of the Immortal Domain—and fixed his focused attention on the mysterious formation buried deep beneath the Xuanhuang earth, one million li away.

Without the tablet to amplify it, the formation was veiled, though not truly gone.

At the very least, compared to the “formlessness” of the High Wall, Li Fan could still faintly sense the formation’s presence.

With a thought, countless golden threads shot forth, embedding themselves within the bounds of the formation’s lingering traces, transforming into endless tendrils to aid in perception and analysis.

Within his spirit sea, the Dissociation Disc suddenly erupted in dazzling brilliance.

It wasn’t that the load had reached its limit, but rather that it seemed to faintly recognize an entirely new type of formation—a rare occurrence—which caused it to release waves of longing and excitement.

Standing calmly, Li Fan synchronized everything he had discerned with the Final Separation Disk.

At the same time, he adjusted his observation methods based on the disc’s feedback.

Over and over.

Even though his core could already deduce Immortal Laws, the Dissociation Disc still struggled mightily with parsing this formation.

Minute after minute passed, and the time remaining until the Unity-Path breakthrough point within the branched simulation dwindled to just six hours.

In truth, Li Fan could ignore the simulation’s results; there was no need to rush the Unity-Path breakthrough within the twelve-hour time frame.

Yet that would entail more unpredictable variables.

Within the timeline covered by Hai Zhen’s branched simulation, everything unfolded as though Li Fan had personally lived through it. Law Transmission, the Celestial Doctor, the Grand Master, Hungry Immortal—all of their movements were within his grasp, allowing Li Fan to accelerate the sublimation of the Xuanhuang Realm without worrying about external disturbances.

But if events extended beyond the simulation’s temporal coverage…

Anything could happen. The unpredictability would be akin to walking on thin ice.

“If not for the faint feeling I have sensed—a certain [once lost, forever lost] quality within the immortality ascension attempt—I wouldn’t be so cautious. After all, with Hai Zhen’s ability to turn the tide, even if unforeseen calamities arose, I could at least guarantee my survival.”

“Were my pursuit limited to True Immortal status, then that would be an entirely different matter. Hundreds of attempts would inevitably secure me a place among the True Immortals.”

“But what I seek is Longevity!” Li Fan’s gaze turned profound, his emotions unreadable.

“True, unending longevity! During the Great Calamity, the True Immortals who die helplessly like ants; or the Nameless True Immortals whose leg bones were sealed and forged into the Immortal Heavenly Pillars…”

“None of them come close to my ultimate ambition!”

“To ascend to carefree longevity, free from all shackles—that is the goal I have tirelessly sought!”

With the clarity of understanding his deepest inner desires, Li Fan’s previous uncertainty and apprehension melted away.

Miscellaneous musings about possibilities dispersed like smoke. Here and now, all that remained in his mind was the purest, most resolute determination—seeking the path to ascension and swearing to achieve true longevity.

The Final Separation Disk immediately responded to its master’s intent. Its radiance surged to an unprecedented level.

Disregarding its capacity limits, it pushed forward without reservation. Innumerable formation unit data rapidly shifted; cracks spread across the surface of the Dissociation Disc.

Li Fan, however, remained indifferent to the imminent collapse of the Dissociation Disc, risking everything in one last gamble.

His entire focus stayed locked on the comprehension of the formation.

Through the cycles of a hundred reincarnations—studying He Zhenghao’s [Hundred Meridians Formation], Zhang Zhiliang’s [Infinite Method], the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals’ [Tianxuan Spirit Locking Array], the Ancient Xuan Tian Sect’s [Floating Star Crossing Formation], and even the Immortal Array’s [Mysterious Beginnings]…