Ever since Tianyang appeared before him, Layman Qiaogong had not looked away for even a moment.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
Layman Qiaogong sized him up repeatedly, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"Amazing, truly amazing."
"This is actually a perfect fusion of person and object…"
"Back then, our Heaven's Secret Realm's chief elder, Shangguan Tuo, once attempted to completely control the [Ancestor] by taking the risk of integrating his soul into the Ancestor's shattered core."
"The result was naturally a failure and nearly led to the destruction of the Heaven's Secret Realm. Since then, all similar attempts have been strictly forbidden. Although our Heaven's Secret Realm's artifact-refining techniques are exceptional, achieving something like this—an almost natural, flawless state…"
Layman Qiaogong's eyes were filled with astonishment, gradually revealing a look of obsession.
Although Tianyang had once been dull, he had already emerged from his dazed state.
He looked warily at Layman Qiaogong and quietly moved closer to Li Fan.
"Haha, the methods of cultivation across the myriad realms each have their own secrets," Li Fan said with a smile. "This technique is called the Way of Body Transformation. It allows one to turn the body into an object, perfectly merging self and artifact. Fellow Daoist Qiaogong has observed for so long—do you have any ideas on how Tianyang might be strengthened further?"
"I have ideas—far too many ideas! I'm just…" Layman Qiaogong seemed to have discovered a novel treasure, his face flushed with excitement.
"If fellow Daoist Tianyang had appeared in our Heaven's Secret Realm back then, it would have caused a tremendous sensation! It might even have completely changed our history!"
"The Heaven's Secret Puppets we created by imitation are still far from their prototype, the [Ancestor]. The greatest limitation lies in materials and in the fact that we must rebuild and compare them repeatedly. Because we cannot truly communicate with the puppets. But if we had assistance from fellow Daoist Tianyang…"
"Many of the Ancestor's functions might be realized one by one…"
"Of course, this would likely require assistance from fellow Daoist Daoist Flowers," Layman Qiaogong said as he turned to Li Fan.
"Haha, fellow Daoist Qiaogong, feel free to proceed," Li Fan replied generously.
Sensing Tianyang's doubts about Layman Qiaogong's reliability, Li Fan secretly reassured him, finally dispelling his misgivings.
Watching Layman Qiaogong depart together with Tianyang, Li Fan slipped into the central underground chamber.
"Can source power act upon and sublimate magic treasures?"
Li Fan summoned the Terminal Dissociation Disk.
After some thought, he chose not to use the source power essence generated by the faceless stone statue.
Nor did he use the source power gathered from the Common People's Spiritual Energy Art.
Instead, he relied solely on the feedback obtained from cultivating the Immortal Seated Art.
One calamity body within his dantian shattered.
A vast amount of stored cultivation surged forth, guided by Li Fan toward the Terminal Dissociation Disk.
Li Fan observed carefully and found that most of the source power was not absorbed.
Instead, it returned unchanged.
If there were no cultivators to store it, it would eventually dissipate naturally between heaven and earth.
However, Li Fan keenly noticed that a tiny portion of the source power vanished without a trace upon contact with the Terminal Dissociation Disk.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, generated a new calamity body, and gathered the scattered source power once more.
He continued washing the Terminal Dissociation Disk with source power.
Like waves scouring sand, little by little—
The Terminal Dissociation Disk finally began to change.
From the outside, no obvious transformation could be seen.
Yet the increased speed at which the disk derived formations was undeniable.
"Some magic treasures, when used by cultivators for extended periods, gradually develop spirituality—becoming like an extension of one's limbs and exerting greater power. This process is somewhat similar."
Sensing the bond between himself and the Terminal Dissociation Disk growing ever deeper, Li Fan gained sudden insight.
Unfortunately, all things have limits.
After absorbing source power, the Terminal Dissociation Disk's capabilities increased by roughly one-fifth.
Beyond that point, source power was ineffective.
"Better than nothing. I just wonder whether, after absorbing the nine disks in this lifetime and undergoing a qualitative transformation, the dissociation disk can still be tempered this way," Li Fan thought.
No sooner had the thought arisen than—
Three days later, Li Fan received a summons from Mo Rubin.
The meeting location remained the same hidden cave, and the nine dissociation disks had been acquired.
When Li Fan saw Mo Rubin again, he immediately noticed something different.
"Hm? You seem… changed?" Li Fan asked directly.
Mo Rubin laughed openly. "Hahaha, nothing escapes your eyes, Brother Xingwang!"
"I worked tirelessly for the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, resolving problem after problem. My merits were clear to all, so the Council naturally rewarded me," Mo Rubin said proudly.
"Isn't the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance entirely under the control of the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Lord? You can take whatever you want—why would you need rewards?" Li Fan said with a half-smile.
"You can't put it that way," Mo Rubin replied solemnly. "The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance has always belonged to the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Lord. We—Dharma Masters, Mirror Masters, and Huanzhen Sages—are merely acting on his behalf."
Then he laughed again.
"Still, everything within the [Treasure House of Ten Thousand Worlds] is extraordinary. Gaining access this time was an unexpected delight."
Mo Rubin did not specify what he had obtained, instead introducing the Treasure House of Ten Thousand Worlds.
This treasure house contained countless artifacts seized by the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Lord from fallen cultivation realms that had merged into the Xuanhuang Realm.
In the Darkest Star Sea, only the Xuanhuang Realm survived.
All other cultivation realms had either fallen into the Immortal Ruins or been swallowed by Xuanhuang.
Their accumulated treasures all ended up here.
The name "Ten Thousand Worlds" was well deserved.
Any item worthy of the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Lord's attention was naturally priceless.
Li Fan even saw an image of the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Lord personally retrieving fragments of immortal realms from the starry sky—first collecting their treasures, then melting the remnants into Xuanhuang.
"It's a pity that the Treasure House of Ten Thousand Worlds can only be opened through joint decision by the Dharma Transmitter Council. Otherwise, I could line my own pockets and let Brother Xingwang enjoy the benefits," Mo Rubin said with a grin.
Li Fan replied coldly, "They are merely external objects. Just like these nine dissociation disks—they are tools. In the end, we still must rely on ourselves."
Mo Rubin's expression changed.
Then he said solemnly, "Brother Xingwang is correct. I allowed myself to become distracted."
Li Fan snorted and said nothing further.
He merely looked at the nine dissociation disks Mo Rubin had casually handed over mid-conversation, each glowing with crystalline white light.
At the same time, Li Fan forcefully suppressed the surging desire erupting from the final dissociation disk deep within his sea of consciousness.
Pretending to be nonchalant, he put away the nine dissociation disks.
Li Fan asked Mo Rubin about his cooperation with Cameraman Cang.
"This fellow Cang is truly interesting. If you hadn't explained it beforehand, I really wouldn't have noticed that he had already become a slave of the Xuantian Mirror," Mo Rubin shook his head slightly.
"However, with his covert cooperation, the plan to persuade the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance to establish a grand formation and completely control the Xuantian Mirror progressed much more smoothly."
"But the most crucial point still depends on you, Brother Xingwang. Can you really help Tianxuan Mirror escape from the formation laid down by the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Lord?"
"Are you truly confident?" Mo Rubin asked, doubt evident in his voice.
Li Fan did not respond immediately.
After pondering silently for a moment, he slowly said, "It shouldn't be a major problem. The little thing you just gave me seems significantly stronger than the previous inanimate crown."
"Still, to be on the safe side, if possible, you should inquire further into the forbidden information left behind by the Dharma Transmission."
Feeling that this suggestion was reasonable, Mo Rubin immediately agreed.
"By the way, I recently encountered something that you might find interesting," Mo Rubin suddenly said before leaving, after the two had finished discussing details of the plan's implementation.
"Oh?" Li Fan paused.
"Didn't you once release a million divine and demonic thought-forms, occupying many cultivation bodies and causing quite a stir?" Mo Rubin said with excitement.
"Ah?" Li Fan looked confused, as though he had completely forgotten about it.
After Mo Rubin explained further, Li Fan pretended to nod, as if he had just remembered.
"The consciousness of those cultivators was completely destroyed, leaving behind only their physical bodies. However, because they were involved in the operation of the Floating Starry Sky Formation, they couldn't be executed directly. Thus, all of them were imprisoned at the time."
"The original plan was to incarcerate these cultivators—maintaining the first batch in a state where their bodies lived on while their consciousness was gone. But after extensive discussion, we concluded that a number in the millions was still excessive."
"After all, many of them were cultivators above the Nascent Soul realm. As long as they remained alive, they would continue to occupy resources such as cave-heavens and longevity transformations. This would permanently reduce the number of cultivators the Xuanhuang Realm could support."
"So, after careful consideration, we decided to permanently seal only five hundred thousand of them."
"As for the remaining five hundred thousand…" Mo Rubin paused at the crucial moment.
"Kill them all? No—I didn't sense any tremors in the Xuanhuang Realm," Li Fan responded cooperatively.
A gleam of excitement appeared in Mo Rubin's eyes. "The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance has actually mastered a technique that can extract a cultivator's cave-heaven, longevity transformation, and even the soul of heaven and earth, returning them directly to the world itself!"
"Huh?" Li Fan's eyes lit up. "How is that different from a cultivator naturally returning to heaven after death?"
Mo Rubin explained, "When a cultivator dies naturally, their return to heaven is a slow process. It takes many years before those elements are reborn into the world, and the cave-heavens and heaven-and-earth souls they once possessed undergo irreversible transformations during that time."
"But the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's technique—called [Fate-Sealing]—is different. Within half a day at most, all the world resources consumed by the cultivator are extracted intact and returned to the Xuanhuang Realm."
"However, although it is called 'returning to heaven,' it is not natural evolution. The most critical difference is that the Alliance has prepared a resettlement zone for these extracted heaven-and-earth resources."
Mo Rubin's tone carried awe. "This place lies within the white mist at the intersection of the Immortal Alliance's four central states. It is extremely distant from the Xuanhuang Realm. Though still under the Heavenly Dao's jurisdiction, after transformation, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance gains far greater control over it."
"You mean that these extracted and preserved heaven-and-earth resources can be reused at any time?" Li Fan asked, visibly startled after a moment's thought.
The implications were terrifying.
"Yes. In other words, as long as the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance desires, it can instantly rebuild a massive cultivator force using these reserves. But that isn't the most important part."
"What matters is that the Alliance can continuously expand that boundary, slowly gathering all the portions of the world that cultivators have consumed over time."
The scene Mo Rubin described was chilling.
"Consider the consequences if this plan proceeds smoothly. In the future, even cultivation itself might require permission from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. The Alliance would no longer need ordinary cultivators to sustain the Xuanhuang Realm."
"There is a high probability that vast numbers of cultivators would be forcibly reduced to mortal status…"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
"To think the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance still has such a method." Li Fan's expression darkened.
"Haha, Brother Xingwang, don't worry excessively. With the opposition of Dharma Transmitter Jiang and more than half of the Council, the use of Fate-Sealing has been strictly limited. It's simply too dangerous."
"If mishandled, it could easily lead to a complete monopoly over cultivation itself," Mo Rubin said, attempting to reassure him.
"In my view, Dharma Transmitter Jiang truly considers the welfare of the world's cultivators. As for those who oppose him, it's mostly because they're wary of the Five Elders Assembly."
"After all, if the number of cultivators drops too low, and a full-scale war erupts with the Five Elders Assembly, even the combat strength provided by the Huanzhen Sages might not suffice."
"As for the one who developed Fate-Sealing—Dharma Transmitter Zheng—he is extremely dissatisfied with the Council's decision."
"This man has held power for far too long and genuinely believes cultivators are unnecessary. In his view, the world would be better off filled with obedient, livestock-like mortals. Hahaha…"
"It's only because of the authority of Dharma Transmission that Zheng is restrained. If I were to meet him…" An indescribable light flickered in Li Fan's eyes.
"Brother Xingwang, don't underestimate him," Mo Rubin warned solemnly. "Dharma Transmitter Zheng is extraordinarily talented. Otherwise, he couldn't have devised such a sinister technique as Fate-Sealing."
"Didn't you witness the condition of those cultivators during the sealing process?"
Mo Rubin sighed softly. "Even with my experience, I couldn't bear to watch. And that was only because their spiritual consciousness had already been erased."
"If Fate-Sealing were applied while a cultivator's consciousness still existed…"
"I fear it would surpass every torment across past and present."
Mo Rubin ended with a heavy sigh.