Chapter 1017: Morning Primordial Blood Secret

Having savored the taste, Li Fan now understood the true power of a high-grade Daostone. He immediately went on to capture the other two individuals without stopping. They hadn't hit the jackpot; the Daostones they carried were still only of high-grade quality. Li Fan replicated the process.

After absorbing a total of three high-grade Daostones, Li Fan once again experienced a long-lost qualitative transformation, akin to breaking through a major cultivation realm. Despite this, he did not become overconfident. Instead, he meticulously re-analyzed his experiences in this world. Utilizing his enhanced planning capabilities, he performed rough deductions on how to successfully break free from the True Immortal's net, smoothly revert to his true form, and even extract benefits from the process.

"However, it still hasn't reached the level of the Mother Daostone, which allows for deductions about the real world's intricacies. I will still need to adapt to circumstances." Li Fan remained silent, his mind abuzz with numerous thoughts.

After three full days of secluded cultivation, he first summoned his clone, Li Qing.

"You should go to Congyun Sea first and preemptively scare away the Chaoyuan Sect. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Chaoyuan Sect ruins will still drift towards Jiushan Prefecture."

"Once cultivators from various small worlds have forcefully elevated their cultivation to the Golden Core realm by consuming Yaowang Sect elixirs, you can then lead them there."

"With your protection, they should be able to carve a path through the Chaoyuan Sect's mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Once they emerge, they will collectively advance to the Nascent Soul realm. At that point, exploring the secrets within the crimson river will be considerably easier."

Memories concerning the Chaoyuan Sect instantly surfaced in the clone's mind. The Chaoyuan Sect was an ancient cave dwelling located in Congyun Sea, specifically within the three undersea fault lines. Before Congyun Sea was struck by calamity, it fled far away, eventually settling in Jiushan Prefecture. Shuofeng, Zhang Haobo, and Su Xiaomei once embarked on an adventure together, seeking opportunities for breakthroughs. Through their experiences, Li Fan was able to uncover the secrets of the Chaoyuan Sect.

The Chaoyuan Sect was an indigenous sect of the Xuanhuang Realm. Since the great calamity descended, it had vanished without a trace, as if it had evaporated from existence. In reality, the entire sect had been transformed into a peculiar state, existing between reality and illusion, isolated from the outside world. Time within it also seemed to have stagnated, presumably to evade the impending disaster. This was the Chaoyuan Sect's original plan.

However, various unforeseen circumstances inevitably arose. First, their region was transformed into Congyun Sea by the Heavenly Venerable of Transmission's single blow, burying the Chaoyuan Sect deep underground as a result. Subsequently, perhaps influenced by the merging forces of the two realms, various bizarre transformations gradually unfolded within the Chaoyuan Sect. When Su Xiaomei and her companions entered the Chaoyuan Sect ruins, the cultivators within appeared to be living normal lives. However, in reality, they had all transformed into faceless, blood-stained visages, losing their original appearances. Furthermore, they were completely oblivious to this change.

If anyone were to expose their true nature as faceless, blood-stained visages in front of these Chaoyuan Sect cultivators, they would suddenly launch a frenzied attack. As if they had lost their minds, they would attack like wild beasts, using only their physical claws, regardless of their cultivation level. While they wouldn't employ divine abilities, these faceless, blood-stained visages were genuinely difficult to contend with. They were incredibly fast and recovered rapidly from injuries. Only by completely severing their blood-stained visages could they ultimately be killed.

After a faceless, blood-stained visage was eliminated, it would transform into a red light and attach itself to the cultivator who defeated it. These red lights were, in fact, the fundamental power of the Chaoyuan Sect's world. Upon leaving the Chaoyuan Sect, these absorbed red lights would accompany the cultivators. Acting like a powerful tonic, it was sufficient to allow cultivators below the Nascent Soul realm to directly advance an entire major realm. Moreover, the red light would naturally evolve into the rare Foundation Establishment artifacts, Golden Core methods, and Nascent Soul grotto-heavens required for advancement under the new cultivation system. Furthermore, if one mastered a special refining method, they could directly absorb the red light's essence within the Chaoyuan Sect world, thereby growing stronger through continuous combat. As for why such a bizarre phenomenon occurred within the Chaoyuan Sect, it remained unknown for now. However, Li Fan surmised that it was likely still a consequence of the Xuanhuang Realm's integration with other worlds.

Li Qing reviewed the full history and implications of the Chaoyuan Sect, then nodded in understanding.

"If that red light essence is also beneficial to me, then perhaps my cultivation realm might even surpass yours?" Li Qing remarked with a smile.

"Then you'll need to defeat many more. The advancement of a Heavenly Wonder is unlike any other. The resources you'll require to reach the Soul Transformation realm might even exceed what ordinary cultivators need to achieve Dao Integration," Li Fan said dismissively.

"If you truly achieve the Soul Transformation realm, with the Black Sword Heavenly Wonder, you might indeed last two or three rounds against me."

The clone simply smiled, offering no reply. Accepting the command, she departed.

From this point forward, the exploration of the crimson river would be entirely the responsibility of the clone, Li Qing. After all, whatever secrets the clone uncovered, he would simultaneously learn them. There should be no complications.

Supported by the upgraded Daostone, the Ultimate Disintegration Disc could now finally unleash its maximum computing power. While deducing and breaking the Heavenly Venerable of Transmission's restrictions, it also began to create an entirely new array formation, as conceptualized by Li Fan.

Li Fan himself, meanwhile, began to examine the mass of white light within his body. This was the Mirror Essence that the Heavenly Profound Mirror had previously bestowed upon him. Although the Heavenly Profound Mirror asserted that this Mirror Essence was intrinsically linked to it, neither increasing nor decreasing, Li Fan was eager to know what would happen if he chose to retain this item after reverting to his true form.

"It's highly probable that a new Mirror Essence would suddenly appear out of thin air in the world."

"If the Heavenly Profound Mirror doesn't detect this newly created Mirror Essence..."

Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly. During the time he possessed the Mirror Essence, Li Fan reaped numerous benefits. The mere fact that the Heavenly Profound Mirror was almost entirely defenseless against him made it worth using an anchor point to retain the item.

"During the final moments of this world, I can test the Heavenly Profound Mirror's reaction."

"If it's detected, I'll revert to my true form immediately anyway, so there will be no adverse impact."

"However, if the Heavenly Profound Mirror fails to detect this suddenly appearing essence, its utility would be immense."

Of course, all of this was predicated on the item swapped with an anchor point being generated out of thin air within the true self's inventory space, instead of absorbing an existing item from the world.

"This, in essence, also represents the true potential of reverting to one's true form." Li Fan fell into deep contemplation for a moment. "However, it is absolutely worth a try."

Currently, Li Fan only had two blank anchor points remaining. However, Li Fan already had a theory on how to acquire more anchor points. Previously, anchor points increased as Li Fan absorbed cultivators' Golden Cores. And at the very beginning, it was by absorbing cultivators' rare Foundation Establishment artifacts. Thus, it was evident that the next step to acquire more anchor points would likely involve absorbing what cultivators needed to form their Nascent Soul — specifically, grotto-heavens. As for why Li Fan had personally visited numerous grotto-heavens, yet there was no prompt from his 'true self' to absorb them, Li Fan hypothesized that it might be due to the requirement for newly formed grotto-heavens.