Like a child who had just received a new toy, Li Fan delved into the vast information stored in the Tianxuan Mirror, exploring every corner to his heart's content.
He only regretted that the quality of the Dao Transformation Stone in his Sea of Consciousness was not high enough to record and preserve everything he saw and heard. After all, these were top-secret materials that every monk regarded as priceless—but now, Li Fan could access them at a glance.
Not only that, he could see all transaction records of materials circulating in the Xianmeng market, stretching back as far as the records went. The sheer volume was dazzling, almost overwhelming.
Even more valuable were the data records of every monk practicing with the help of [Enlightenment]. Li Fan could observe, at a glance, the practice efficiency of each monk, the methods they employed, and the subtle differences in their progress.
The Tianxuan Mirror was like an endless sea brimming with treasures, and Li Fan lingered within it. Unfortunately, the data was too vast—even expanding with every passing moment—so he had no choice but to prioritize.
He knew the mirror was actively monitoring him, yet he no longer cared. Most of this information would not be used in his current life—but in every future reincarnation in the Xuanhuang Realm, it would be invaluable.
The mirror was like an infinite ocean, and Li Fan was a canal digging tirelessly along its shores, channeling seawater into himself. Though the progress was gradual, it was steady and unrelenting.
Li Fan held the small Tianxuan mirror close and continued reading. When the volume of information reached the limits of his mid-grade Dao Transformation Stone, the recording slowed slightly. Undeterred, he turned to examine the existing transformation stone items of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
"One piece of the Mother Stone…""Three of the best grade, sixteen of top grade…""Mid-grade, huh? No mid-grade pieces left?"
At first, Li Fan thought there must be an error. But after repeatedly checking, the records were accurate.
Then he realized the cause: all transformation stones originated from the Mother Stone and could be upgraded by fusion.
"Monks in the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance have clearly mastered the secret techniques of transformation stones. They've already claimed all stones in circulation. Even if a new one appears, it will be snatched immediately. No wonder I can't buy it, even with contribution points."
Li Fan's eyes gleamed as he scanned the list of monks possessing Taoist Stones.
At first glance, absurdity struck him. The holder of the Mother Stone fragment was merely a foundation-building monk. Other top-grade Taoist transformation stones were held by foundation-building or golden elixir monks—identities clearly disguised.
"Every one of them claims innocence, but such treasures cannot belong to a foundation-building or golden elixir monk. The disguises may deceive some, but all clues are faithfully recorded in the Tianxuan Mirror."
Li Fan stopped pretending before the mirror. He revealed all detailed information about twenty of these empty-shell monks, including their transactions, communications, and introducers.
The web of connections expanded layer by layer. By the fifth hierarchical level, over 100,000 monks were linked to this network.
"Some of these can be excluded immediately," Li Fan muttered, pressing his tingling head. After resting briefly, he resumed the search.
Through repeated comparisons and eliminations, the list narrowed to fewer than a hundred people, with cultivation levels ranging from Nascent Soul to Dao Integration.
"It's still too cumbersome to investigate alone. First, monitor their recent movements in the Tianxuan Mirror, then ask Mo Rubin for help in a secret investigation," Li Fan planned.
Almost all of these monks served the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, making solo investigation nearly impossible. Without a top-down approach, he might never encounter them.
"The Dao Transformation Stone is extremely valuable. If the Stone Mother of Taiyan Sect had not been informatized, I wouldn't even have thought of acquiring one through drastic measures."
Yet recalling the white light that escaped when the world was destroyed in his 115th life, Li Fan accepted reality. Escaping a true immortal's destructive crisis was beyond his current ability.
In the following period, Li Fan's life became fulfilling.
The Final Dissociation Disk worked at maximum efficiency, absorbing the essence of the Great Formation of All Souls and continuously deducing new formation possibilities. The Dao Transformation Stone classified and integrated information from the Tianxuan Mirror, extracting only the most valuable data.
Meanwhile, Li Fan wandered the mirror as a transparent observer. No one could see him, but he could observe everyone: their conversations, practices, and transactions.
Under the cover of the mirror, monks revealed a truer nature than in reality. Friends who had just called each other brothers could suddenly curse one another after a falling out. Many monks pursued wealth recklessly, investing all their resources and losing everything, only to repeat the cycle when fortune returned.
Others, realizing their limitations, abandoned ambitious cultivation paths and performed only basic tasks to ensure survival within the Tianxuan Mirror. There were no natural disasters, diseases, or hunger—life in the mirror was safe, free, and unencumbered by desire.
Li Fan quietly observed these varied lives. With each passing moment, his understanding of the world—and of human nature—deepened, shaping his mind in ways he barely noticed.
"All living things have appearances…"
Countless distinct, vivid individuals poured into Li Fan's mind. It was as if sparks slowly ignited within him, melting away the state of detachment that had encased him for thousands of years through countless reincarnations.
It should be noted that Li Fan was never truly heartless. It was simply that, through the cycle of endless reincarnations, the joy, anger, sorrow, fear, laughter, tears, and the life-and-death struggles he witnessed all began to feel like illusions—dreams and bubbles.
Whenever Li Fan activated Huazhen, all their experiences immediately became meaningless, snapping back to a neutral anchor point.
If they were mere illusions, how could he take them seriously?
Over time, this perspective hardened him, leaving him indifferent to all living things in the world.
But now, with the help of the Tianxuan Mirror, Li Fan observed that, even without his attention, the sentient beings of the Xuanhuang Realm lived according to their own paths. They had friends, rivalries, plans, and destinies. Their existence was not illusory—it was real and meaningful.
The more Li Fan observed, the stronger the feedback from these living beings became. A desire to witness even more of their fates grew steadily within him. Gradually, his previously indifferent eyes began to show signs of change.
…
At that moment, a sudden palpitating shock ran through Li Fan's heart, breaking him from his absorption and epiphany. His eyes solidified once more, sharp as ice, warding off any external influence.
Looking at the countless monks in the Tianxuan Mirror, wariness returned. He realized he had not been deceived by anyone—he had merely lost himself momentarily in the intensity of a monk's real life.
"No wonder the legendary gods and immortals sit high above the clouds, regarding mortal indulgence as calamity," he murmured.
"With my current mindset, if I let myself immerse too deeply, I might lose control…"
Li Fan recalled the first scene of the Fallen Fairyland, when Ning Yuan seized the longevity fruit and Song Hesong sacrificed blood from tens of thousands of mortals to force Zhang Qianmo Zidan to reveal his true strength through the technique [All Living Beings Refine the Gods].
"From today's perspective, that formation seems crude and simplistic—but judging from what I just experienced, perhaps I could still learn something from it…"
He pondered the phrase, "Use all living beings to refine the gods."
Following this, Li Fan continued to study [The Number of All Souls], and his understanding of formation derivation improved rapidly. He attempted his first large-scale derivation, using the insights he had gained.
However, he soon noticed a strange phenomenon. Unlike previous formations, which he could manipulate almost instantly, this derivation caused involuntary lags. The process seemed burdened, as though the task exceeded the limits of the Final Dissociation Disk.
After careful observation, Li Fan understood why.
"This is caused by the mismatch between the Dissociation Disk's capabilities and the plan," he mused. "It's no longer enough to deduce ordinary formations. The goal now is to analyze fairy-level formations, or at least formations infinitesimally close to that power. But this is just a secondary body projected by the Tianxuan Mirror—it's naturally difficult to accomplish."
He sighed, temporarily suspending the task and letting the Dissociation Disk continue its analysis of the All Souls Return Formation.
"It seems that to break the restrictions left by the Heavenly Master of Transmission, I may have to upgrade the Dissociation Disk… I wonder how Mo Rubin is progressing."
Just as he hesitated, a sudden disturbance in his clone, Li Qing, caught his attention. Li Fan's expression stiffened as he instantly teleported to the clone's location.
The air was thick with the smell of blood, and faint traces of exploded flesh floated in the cave. Li Qing's body had disappeared, now seemingly contending with an invisible force that crushed with overwhelming power. Roars of destruction echoed through the cavern. If it weren't for the quality of [the Wonders of Heaven], the cave itself would likely have disintegrated under the pressure.
"What happened?" Li Fan muttered.
Reviewing the clone's recent experiences, he realized: with the proliferation of countless [Heaven and Earth Ovens], spiritual energy in these small worlds had grown richer, suitable for cultivation.
Li Qing had been overseeing large-scale instruction of [Common People's Lingyuan Gong] in these worlds. Occasionally, he plundered mortals from several cities under the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance to supplement the population in his small worlds.
Today, more than one million practitioners cultivated Lingyuan Gong simultaneously. The technique, which scaled in speed with the number of practitioners, had reached its maximum potential.
Recently, Li Qing, coordinating general management, felt a sudden impulse to practice alone, attempting to unlock the mysteries of [Cang Sheng Lingyuan Gong]. He was preparing for future reincarnations; the original master of this commoner technique had been eradicated due to a mistake in the Heavenly Lord's Dharma.
With the clone's talent, cultivating the technique to the realm of Yuanying required little effort.
But Li Qing suddenly sensed millions of streams of spiritual energy from across the world converging in his body. The influx was immense, accumulated over a long time, and each contribution was extremely potent.
The clone's body could not withstand the pressure—it exploded, tearing apart the Black Sword Cave itself.
"This… is the qualitative change brought by quantitative accumulation," Li Fan murmured, frowning.
"Could it really be… all these cultivation energies come from those practicing the Common People's Lingyuan Gong?"
Li Fan's mind raced.
"Isn't this similar to the Transformation Chapter in the [Tai Shang Yuan Sutra]? They siphon off a little bit. But why are the benefits only reaching the highest-level practitioners?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Does the Leader of Lingyuan have such confidence in himself? Or is there some hidden mechanism I haven't noticed?"
Li Fan's brow furrowed as he contemplated the anomaly.