Through the formation patterns rooted deep within Zhao Ruoxi's soul, Li Fan went through all of her memories in an instant.

As expected of the One-Heart Heavenly Sovereign, who had gathered the myriad beings into a single person, the scenes she had experienced were truly astonishing.

But that was not the important part.

Li Fan quickly found what he was looking for.

"Seize Heaven and Replace It..."

This was one of the secret inheritances of the Grand Dao Sect, as well as one of the rich legacies left behind after the destruction of the Xuantian Sect. It was said that it could completely strip members of the Xuantian Sect of their cultivation techniques and cultivation. It could even transfer the realm and strength obtained through cultivating Xuantian Sect techniques onto the caster himself, like transplanting flowers and grafting trees.

Li Fan remained skeptical of the description of this secret technique.

After all, existences like the Twelve Dharma Kings should not have been so easily restrained by a technique as simple as this.

But regardless, the vast majority of the Xuantian Sect's cultivation techniques originated from the Azure Firmament Pearl. For the pearl to reclaim them was not necessarily beyond reason. What Li Fan needed to do now was verify whether the secret technique Seize Heaven and Replace It was connected to the Azure Firmament Pearl.

By feeding his cultivation base back into the Azure Firmament Pearl, he would pull it back from the brink of total collapse. Afterward, Li Fan could supplement this with the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood, repairing it step by step.

As for the cultivation power infused into the Azure Firmament Pearl...

Zhao Ruoxi, who cultivated the Eternal Sole Self Art, was naturally the best source.

From Zhao Ruoxi's memories, Li Fan already knew that although she had attained the Dao through the principle of ‘Myriad Beings as One Heart,’ the core of her cultivation technique still followed the path of the Eternal Sole Self Art.

"Addicted to games, with no thought of making progress."

"She managed to succeed in reversing the principles only because she took advantage of the heaven-defying nature of this cultivation technique."

Li Fan snorted inwardly as he evaluated her. In the blink of an eye, he had already returned to the depression beneath the High Wall, where the Azure Firmament Pearl was located.

The Final Dissociation Disc had long since translated the Seize Heaven and Replace It secret technique into a formation.

Fine points of light carrying the formation's information silently entered Senior Sister Zhao's soul.

The points of light spread along the densely packed formation patterns. As they circulated, they slowly extracted Senior Sister Zhao's cultivation.

Meanwhile, within Li Fan's hand, drops of liquid glowing with a strange green light were slowly taking shape.

Zhao Ruoxi naturally sensed the sudden loss of her cultivation with great clarity.

For an existence in the Longevity Immortal realm like her, there was nothing more terrifying than becoming a mortal overnight.

Her face turned pale. She had no idea how she had offended that unpredictable True Immortal.

The speed at which Zhao Ruoxi's cultivation drained became faster and faster. Yet she had no means of resisting and could only watch helplessly as the essence she had painstakingly accumulated over thousands of years vanished before her eyes.

Soon, she realized something even more terrifying.

Ever since she had reversed the principles and become the Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereign of the Xuanhuang Realm, she had become a part of the Xuanhuang Realm.

Although she was still in the Longevity Immortal realm, as a massive amount of cultivation power drained away, her increasingly feeble body seemed to be unable to support the Xuanhuang Principles she had reversed.

As if crushed beneath an enormous weight, her soul and body both began to ache faintly.

"Ugh..." Zhao Ruoxi could not suppress a muffled groan. Countless tiny bloodstains appeared across her body.

And it was not merely this one body of hers.

Every single version of her stood on the very brink of collapse.

The pain continued to intensify.

The spiritual power within her body was almost completely drained, leaving her even weaker than an ordinary Qi Condensation cultivator. Zhao Ruoxi felt an unprecedented weakness. The sensation of her soul and body being crushed and torn apart inch by inch was amplified a hundredfold, even a thousandfold, as her strength declined.

Blood gushed from the countless cracks covering her body, soaking her into a bloodied figure and concealing the tears and mucus streaming down her face. The pain was so overwhelming that she could not utter a single cry, producing only faint, hoarse sounds from her throat.

The terror of possibly becoming a mortal at any moment, combined with the ever increasing and omnipresent pain in her soul and body, caused Zhao Ruoxi to drift into a trance, as if she had returned to Mount Daqing in her childhood.

Back then, bandits had burned, killed, and looted the village, with blood staining the sky.

Hiding outside the village, Zhao Ruoxi watched in panic as the vicious bandits who seemed to have discovered her came running toward her with sinister smiles.

Then she noticed a figure that had somehow been standing silently nearby for who knew how long.

As if grasping the only possible lifeline, Zhao Ruoxi cried out in desperation.

"Immortal Master, save me! Immortal Master, save me!"

The hoarse cries from her throat seemed to overlap with those from her memories of the past.

Only, the figure Zhao Ruoxi had once regarded as her savior was no longer Zhang Rong, the fourth generation disciple of the Moonlight lineage of the Grand Dao Sect, whom she had long since taken revenge upon and devoured.

It had become Li Fan.

The blurred appearance of the figure within Zhao Ruoxi's heart gradually became clear. As if responding to her plea, Li Fan smiled faintly.

From the center of the countless formation patterns within Zhao Ruoxi's soul, within the phantom image of the Xuanhuang Realm, streams of incomparably pure energy began to seep out.

At first, it was merely like a trickling stream. But in an instant, it transformed into great rivers surging and roaring without end.

In the blink of an eye, it filled Zhao Ruoxi's body.

The One-Heart Heavenly Sovereign, who had been on the verge of death only moments ago, instantly became vigorous and full of life once more.

Feeling the enormous power within her body, seemingly inexhaustible and originating from the phantom image of the Xuanhuang Realm, Zhao Ruoxi felt that she had become even stronger than before.

The bloodstains on her fair skin disappeared without a trace. Zhao Ruoxi respectfully bowed in gratitude toward the figure standing deep within her soul.

...

Li Fan paid no attention to the minor disturbances on Zhao Ruoxi's side. At this moment, all of his attention was focused on the extremely fragile Azure Firmament Pearl before him.

All the cultivation Zhao Ruoxi had accumulated throughout her life through cultivating the Eternal Sole Self Art had only transformed into four drops of green liquid.

Li Fan did not need to manipulate them much. Relying on the mysterious connection between them and the Azure Firmament Pearl, the moment the green liquid appeared, its energy slowly began to drift toward the Azure Firmament Pearl nearby.

Nearly ten thousand years of painstaking cultivation from a Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereign finally allowed this Immortal Artifact to successfully escape the brink of destruction.

Li Fan was delighted. His divine sense followed like a shadow, quickly enveloping the Azure Firmament Pearl completely.

On the surface of the Azure Firmament Pearl, layers of azure radiance resembling the vast blue heavens continuously flowed, attempting to prevent Li Fan from probing it.

This layer of protection might perhaps have been effective against ordinary mortals. Or perhaps, at the Azure Firmament Pearl's peak, it might even have been capable of stopping Li Fan.

But at present, it had only just escaped the state of imminent destruction and was barely clinging to life. How could it possibly stop Li Fan, whose body was already half immortal?

His divine sense became like a needle, piercing through the azure heavens. It advanced straight inward and stabbed into the interior of the Azure Firmament Pearl.

Boom!

The scene before Li Fan's eyes shook violently. In the next moment, he seemed to arrive in a strange realm.

Twelve solemn palaces stood high above the clouds, arranged in a circle and occupying the firmament of the world.

Within each palace, a statue was enshrined.

Cultivators continuously came from the earth. They knelt and prayed.

Yet from time to time, the faces on the statues actually manifested as living faces. They seemed to be communicating with the cultivators kneeling before them.

...

The Divine Shaman Realm!

After the images in his mind faded, Li Fan finally understood what he had just witnessed.

That strand of divine sense had already been forcibly expelled by the Azure Firmament Pearl.

Li Fan did not attempt to enter again. With the contact he had just made and relying on the unique aura of the Azure Firmament Pearl, he could use the Transformation of Truth and Falsehood to reproduce it within a short period of time.

But Li Fan did not leave to attempt it.

He already had a premonition that using the Transformation of Truth and Falsehood to create another Azure Firmament Pearl out of thin air would undoubtedly place a far greater burden on him than before. He needed to make some preparations in advance.

The Azure Firmament Pearl could not be moved for the time being, so Li Fan laid down layer upon layer of formations around it.

Points of light representing Immortal-grade formations continuously flickered around him. Only then did Li Fan feel somewhat at ease.

“Falsehood Becomes Truth!”

Li Fan silently intoned in his heart. However, the target of his divine ability was not the Azure Firmament Pearl, but himself!

His cultivation, divine soul, and various aspects of his power all surged, doubling in an instant.

Li Fan looked at the Azure Firmament Pearl, yet still felt that it was not enough.

After catching his breath for a while, he once again used the divine ability Falsehood Becomes Truth.

The threefold increase in his cultivation could not be maintained for long.

Li Fan merely waited until his body adapted to the burden it was carrying, then focused his mind and locked onto the Azure Firmament Pearl.

Using its brilliant azure color, like the boundless blue heavens, as a reference, Li Fan recalled the scene of the Divine Shaman Realm that he had glimpsed only briefly.

He visualized the existence of another Azure Firmament Pearl.

“Falsehood…”

“Becomes Truth!”

Li Fan felt that this was dozens of times more strenuous than when he had previously recreated the Ancient Cang Primal Essence.

This was probably because the Ancient Cang Primal Essence existed merely as a single form of energy, whereas the Azure Firmament Pearl before him was a convergence of countless laws.

Veins bulged across Li Fan’s forehead. In the very next moment, he felt as though his entire body had been drained empty.

An overwhelming weakness washed over him.

However, when he saw that the color of the Azure Firmament Pearl seemed to have become even more vivid and lifelike, Li Fan knew that his attempt had succeeded.

The accumulated cultivation from Falsehood Becomes Truth slowly disappeared. Exhaustion of both body and mind crashed over him like a collapsing mountain.

But Li Fan merely closed his eyes and rested for a moment before beginning to replicate the Azure Firmament Pearl once again.

With every use of the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood, his comprehension deepened slightly. Yet, just like those things created out of thin air, most of these insights would gradually dissipate as time passed. Only a very small portion would remain.

“The Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood is ethereal and elusive, yet it is the foundation upon which I stand.”

“Relying solely on the insights gained from each [Truth], as well as the auxiliary comprehension of the Unceasing Reincarnation, is far from enough.”

A trace of determination flashed through Li Fan’s eyes. While the insights from his previous use of the divine ability were still fresh, he endured his exhaustion of both body and mind and once again used Falsehood Becomes Truth.

Within the underground river of the depression, indescribably wondrous auras descended and vanished one after another.

Time slowly passed. Although Li Fan's appearance remained completely unchanged, his aura somehow became increasingly difficult to fathom.

He truly seemed like an ethereal True Immortal of the present age, transcending the mundane world!

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Li Fan finally felt that his body and divine soul had reached their limits.

He let out a soft sigh as overwhelming fatigue surged over him like a tide.

Without even having the energy to care about the Azure Firmament Pearl beside him, which had been restored and was almost reborn, Li Fan first closed his eyes and sat in meditation, resting properly.

His mind became empty, devoid of thought or sensation, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Yet faintly, it seemed that countless points of light were continuously lighting up, only to return to darkness shortly afterward.

Again and again.

When Li Fan regained his spirit, three days had already passed.

Through these short bursts of high intensity, near-limit uses of Falsehood Becomes Truth, Li Fan had obtained nearly as much comprehension of the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood as he would normally gain from using [Truth] five times.

“This is also because this was my first time attempting such continuous, limit-pushing use.”

“It awakened the insights I had gained from using the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood in the past but had since forgotten. The effect will certainly not be this good the next time I attempt something like this.”

“But its significance remains immense.”

Through this attempt, Li Fan had already sensed that the insights into the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood obtained each time he activated [Truth] seemed to be different from those he gained by imitating and using it himself.

Without a doubt, the insights gained through [Truth] were purer and closer to the truth.

The insights Li Fan gained through his own attempts, although a level weaker, were much easier for him to control.

“There is still a stretch of road between comprehension and practice.”

“Each use of [Truth] deepens my comprehension, but the actual practice still has to be carried out by me personally.”

Li Fan seemed to have realized something.

At this moment, [Truth] actually sent out a faint fluctuation, as if saying that he was teachable after all.

Li Fan pondered for a while and continued trying to communicate with [Truth].

What he received, however, was silence.

Li Fan shook his head slightly and temporarily put the matter aside. He looked toward the Azure Firmament Pearl not far away.

He reached out and drew it toward him.

Perhaps because Li Fan had restored a small portion of it, he did not sense any resistance. The immortal artifact lightly fell into his hand.

“Although it has barely escaped its shattered state, its power has still declined severely.”

“After all, the life force contained within it was extracted and used to repair the Darkest Star Sea.”

Li Fan looked at the abundant life vitality filling the underground river of the depression and thought to himself.

However, what Li Fan valued was not the vitality of the Azure Firmament Pearl, but rather its legendary and miraculous functions.

“The Azure Firmament Pearl can devour other immortal artifacts and transfer their functions into itself.”

“It can also extract the cultivation techniques a cultivator practiced during their lifetime from their corpse.”

After carefully investigating it, Li Fan discovered that there was no longer any artifact spirit within the Azure Firmament Pearl.

If not for Li Fan repairing it, it would now be nothing more than a completely functionless empty shell.

But now…

“The function can still be used.”

Li Fan's heart stirred. Carrying the Azure Firmament Pearl, he returned to the Xuanhuang Realm.

To prevent the Hunger Immortal of the Immortal Ruins from noticing anything, the surrounding concealment Immortal formations had not been dispersed. Instead, they had transformed into a layer of white mist.

It made Li Fan appear especially ethereal, almost like an Immortal.

“Devour an immortal artifact…”

Li Fan looked toward the underground secret chamber of the Sun family, where the Boundless Mirror was located.

He reached forward with one hand, and the Boundless Mirror pierced through spacetime and appeared in Li Fan's palm.

“Who is it!”

Ignoring the cry of the Boundless Mirror spirit, Sun Luyao, Li Fan directly fed it to the Azure Firmament Pearl.

Although both had once been immortal artifacts and both were severely damaged, the Boundless Mirror was clearly not on the same level as the Azure Firmament Pearl.

Furthermore, with Li Fan suppressing it from the side, the Boundless Mirror did not have even the slightest ability to resist.

It disappeared into the vast azure radiance of the Azure Firmament Pearl.

The surface of the Azure Firmament Pearl seemed to be struck by a torrential downpour, sending waves of ripples across it.

Perhaps because it was too weak and had suddenly been forced to devour something, causing it to be unable to digest the nourishment properly, the Azure Firmament Pearl took almost half a day to complete this digestion.

When the torrential rain finally subsided, a peculiar aura was born from within the Azure Firmament Pearl.

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