The Hill Watcher's Dao comprehension from observing the Mountain and Sea, the Profound Heaven King's Daoist Sound echoing across time, and now this Dao of Paper Folding… all could serve as stepping stones for Li Fan. Comprehend them, learn them, feel them, transform them… and step by step, touch the ineffable Interplay of Truth and Illusion.
With his plan solidified, Li Fan flicked his finger across the Heavenly Profound Mirror. The half-formed mirror spirit instantly disintegrated.
Jing Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. But as Li Fan continued to stroke the mirror's surface, a sense of unease crept into his heart.
It wasn't his imagination. Power flowed from the nearby Two-Part Immortal Seed, its tendrils wrapping around the Heavenly Profound Mirror, binding it tightly. Countless smaller tendrils branched out, meticulously scanning every inch of the mirror's surface under Li Fan's guidance.
A sense of deja vu washed over Jing Xuan.
"Profound Heaven… I'm taking it with me." The words spoken by the Profound Heaven King's companion echoed in his mind.
"Could it be…?" The Heavenly Profound Mirror trembled instinctively. The binding force of the Two-Part Immortal Seed pulsed violently, like boiling mud bubbling relentlessly. Jing Xuan struggled against it, but he was powerless. He could only watch in horror as another him slowly formed within the "mud."
A third mirror, counterpart to Profound Heaven and Heavenly Profound, came into existence.
But after examining it, Li Fan shook his head. "The form is there, but it lacks spirit. Useless." His voice was cold. With a slight exertion of force, the newly created mirror shattered into dust, returning to the Two-Part Immortal Seed.
Jing Xuan faintly heard its agonizing cry. Breaking out in a cold sweat, he forgot his own predicament as a test subject. Under Li Fan's scrutiny, he quickly pointed out the subtle differences between himself and the copy, desperate to prove his value.
"I see. Well done," Li Fan nodded, offering rare praise.
Learning from the previous attempt, he began a second experiment. The result was better, but still far from a true replica.
"This Paper Folding technique… is truly profound. I can't master it just by studying its traces. It requires repeated practice."
He wasn't surprised. He had both the Two-Part Immortal Seed and the Heavenly Profound Mirror. He had time. The only concern was the finite nature of the Seed's power. It diminished with each use.
If it were ordinary immortal spiritual qi, he could easily replenish it. But the Dao of Paper Folding… he could only recreate it through his Interplay of Truth and Illusion, generating it from nothing. It was slow, especially now, with True Return dormant and relying solely on his own comprehension.
"But at least I can replenish it. And it strengthens my understanding of the Interplay." He wasn't rushed.
Occasionally, during his experiments, the image of Mao Bao flashed through his mind. "I wonder if Mao Bao's replication ability is related to this Dao of Paper Folding."
"There's always a reason, always logic behind the seemingly impossible. What appears miraculous is often just a lack of understanding."
"Mao Bao's three transformations: item replication, creature simulation, and essence refinement… The other two…" He frowned. A thought occurred to him. If he fully mastered their underlying Daos, he could replicate Mao Bao itself.
While Li Fan's original body focused on Dao comprehension, the Grand Celestial Venerable immortal puppet wasn't idle. With the next Grand Celestial Venerable yet to emerge, Li Fan had to maintain order in the Xuanhuang World, not out of obligation, but for his own sake.
His first task was to reinforce the Xuanhuang World. It was too fragile. Not just against Dao Obliteration, but even the slightest disturbance from the Hungry Immortal in the Immortal Ruins could spell doom.
He had ample experience. And this time, his plan was even more ambitious: to transform the Xuanhuang World into an immortal ark, capable of surviving Primordial Possibility's destruction, capable of navigating the void in search of a new beginning.
Besides elevating it to an Immortal Realm and creating Heavenly Pillars, he planned to integrate the Fallen Immortal Realm.
At this point in time, the Fallen Immortal Realm was still sealed, inaccessible to ordinary cultivators, requiring the Grand Celestial Venerable's permission to enter. Li Fan observed it and found it much smaller than its future self, mostly just a projection of the Xuanhuang World with minor variations generated over time. It was still developing, many future timelines yet to be born.
But he noticed something interesting. A large new section had recently appeared, corresponding to the time of the brutal war between the Xuanhuang and Taiyuan Worlds.
"Could it be…?" He sent his consciousness into this new section.
Returning, his expression was thoughtful. "As expected. The connection between the Xuanhuang and Taiyuan Worlds… allowed the Fallen Immortal Realm to expand into Taiyuan."
The bloody battlefield now existed within the Fallen Immortal Realm as well.
To his relief, this new section didn't contain his future self, the Xuanhuang True Immortal.
"Otherwise, I wouldn't be planning to reinforce the Xuanhuang World, but fleeing in terror."
He sent the immortal puppet back to the Taiyuan World. As expected, he found the ethereal, dreamlike cloud hovering above it.
"Not just mirroring the world at a single moment, but growing over time. In the original timeline, the Xuanhuang World, struggling on the edge of the Immortal Ruins, couldn't sustain its growth. But now…"
His gaze swept across the Taiyuan World and the surrounding starry sky, where the Ten Sects were eagerly exploring. He saw the ghostly cloud of the Fallen Immortal Realm trailing behind them.
"I need to contain this." His instincts warned him that letting it grow unchecked was dangerous.
"Though illusory, it's real. It doesn't need a physical foundation. It can float above Dao Obliteration like a wooden ark." The First Grand Celestial Venerable's words echoed in his mind.
He used the Interplay of Truth and Illusion to simulate the Mo Annihilation Immortal Soul's power, creating ethereal chains that sealed the space around the Taiyuan World, containing the Fallen Immortal Realm's expansion, while remaining invisible to ordinary cultivators.
The expanding Fallen Immortal Realm sensed the sudden restriction. It didn't react emotionally, but mechanically adapted. It ceased its outward expansion, instead focusing its growth within the confines of the Taiyuan World.
The number of timelines within the Taiyuan section of the Fallen Immortal Realm increased rapidly. It wasn't just mirroring the Xuanhuang cultivators active within Taiyuan, but also the imprisoned Taiyuan cultivators, and even the two immortal servants guarding the Rebirth Furnace!
This was the first time the Fallen Immortal Realm had actively "mirrored" specific beings. Those mirrored were unaware. But Li Fan, observing, felt a chill.
He sent a sliver of his consciousness into the newly formed Taiyuan section of the Fallen Immortal Realm, seeking to understand the nature of the mirrored formation and servants. Did they possess the infinite nature derived from the Infinite Sea?
The Endless Samsara function of True Return could also create timelines out of nothing, but those were closed systems, disconnected from the Mountain and Sea. This Fallen Immortal Dreamscape, however… He felt the oppressive presence of the Infinite Sea, his expression turning grim.
"It's truly connected to the Mountain and Sea?"
He was shocked, but also puzzled. Connection to the Mountain and Sea was a prerequisite for creating True Immortals. This meant the seemingly illusory timelines within the Fallen Immortal Realm could potentially produce True Immortals.
"But…" Theoretically possible, yet something felt wrong. The mirrored formation and servants, compared to their real counterparts, were subtly different, crucially different.
"The Infinite Sea, but not the Upper Mountain?" He stared at the illusory Taiyuan World, and the answer dawned on him.
To confirm his theory, he approached the two mirrored immortal servants, deliberately revealing his True Immortal aura. In reality, immortal servants were obligated to pay respects to True Immortals. But these mirrored servants ignored him, even attacking him.
"As I thought." He easily deflected their attacks.
"They possess infinite power, but lack the 'potential' of the Upper Mountain."
"Without ascending the mountain, one cannot know the height of the heavens. Without being on the Upper Mountain, one cannot know what it means to be Immortal."
Though possessing infinite energy, without the support of the Upper Mountain's "potential," their power was significantly reduced, only a tenth of their real counterparts'.
This discovery relieved him.
He suppressed the two inadequate immortal servants and destroyed this particular timeline within the Fallen Immortal Realm. It had no major impact on the Fallen Immortal Realm as a whole. The destroyed timeline was quickly replaced.
"The Fallen Immortal Realm, though illusory, is built upon reality. Unless reality itself is consumed by Dao Obliteration, it will continue to grow. And even if reality falls, the Fallen Immortal Realm can survive for a time." He wasn't sure which was the more "advanced" existence.
"Since it's connected to the Infinite Sea, theoretically, it should connect to the Upper Mountain as well. But it doesn't…"
"Was this intentional?" In the Fable, the mortal realm's destruction began when life crossed from Sea to Mountain. Perhaps abandoning the Mountain, embracing only the Sea, was a way to avoid calamity.
"Does a counterpart exist, embracing only the Mountain?" he wondered. "Possessing the potential of Immortality, but lacking infinite power? Which is superior?"
"Perhaps… that's the original state of Immortality."
The contained Taiyuan section of the Fallen Immortal Realm showed no signs of resisting his restrictions, simply continuing its internal growth.
For the Fallen Immortal Realm, physical space wasn't a limitation. As long as there were living beings within its range, it could expand indefinitely. Its previous outward expansion had been instinctual. Now, restricted, it simply focused its growth inwards.
Li Fan hesitated, observing this strange creation. It lacked subjective consciousness, operating purely on instinct. But it was the remnant of a fallen immortal being. It could potentially become a vessel for their rebirth. And its ability to float above Dao Obliteration reminded him of the Immortal Coffin, though far more advanced.
He cursed internally. Choosing the Xuanhuang World as his anchor point had its pros and cons. His knowledge of its past allowed him to establish himself quickly. But its countless secrets required constant vigilance.
"Regardless, I can't tolerate such a presence beside my stronghold." A cold glint flashed in his eyes. In the past, with True Return, he could simply restart, avoiding confrontation. But now, he had nowhere to retreat. Though the Fallen Immortal Realm was strange, he wouldn't surrender his hard-won foundation.
They would have to settle this.
(End of Chapter)