Chapter 1123: Dark Faith Power

To reach the highest level of the Qi Canon of the Heavenly Emperor and become a peerless emperor comparable to an Immortal Realm powerhouse, Li Fan estimated he would need to establish a vast dynasty whose influence spanned the entire Profound Yellow Great World.

"Hmph, if I had that kind of power, why would I even need to practice the Qi Canon of the Heavenly Emperor?"

However, since it was merely a temporary measure to anchor himself, Li Fan didn't harbor many illusions about it.

In fact, his objective had already been achieved.

As the Great Xuan Dynasty grew more prosperous, the strange phenomenon of his body intermittently appearing and disappearing had almost ceased.

Even the face he had once lost showed signs of reappearing.

"The Faceless True Immortal — His power seems to be severing all ties with the world."

"And I, as the Mandated Saint Emperor of Great Xuan, with hundreds of millions of lives bound to me, have, to some extent, unexpectedly influenced the power of the True Immortal's Web."

Li Fan carefully observed the interplay of these two powers within himself and suddenly had an epiphany.

"The correct way to use the Myriad Spirit Grand Formation of Heaven and Earth might not be simply to block. Rather, it is..."

"To douse it with the lingering thoughts of those billions of beings, as one would splash a basin of dirty water."

"To put it plainly, it means forcibly linking those billions of lingering thoughts with the Faceless True Immortal."

"For example, to make those who died unjustly believe that the Faceless True Immortal is the true culprit."

Li Fan's thoughts raced. After some deductions by the Disk of Final Dissolution, he quickly made subtle adjustments to the Myriad Spirit Grand Formation of Heaven and Earth.

He then summoned Lin Ling.

"Master."

Soon, Lin Ling, clad in battle armor and looking valiant and spirited, appeared before Li Fan.

Unlike her experiences in the previous life, in this life, ever since awakening her consciousness, Lin Ling had constantly borne the heavy responsibility of leading the Great Xuan Imperial Army to conquer myriad worlds.

She traveled extensively, and especially under Li Fan's instructions, she had never made contact with the Ancient Earth Vein Tree.

Her disposition also became uninhibited and informal, much like that of a seasoned soldier.

After Li Fan informed her about the subtle modifications to the Myriad Spirit Grand Formation, Lin Ling was about to depart to execute her mission when she suddenly remembered something.

"Hmm?" Li Fan looked at Lin Ling.

"Master, while I was flying through the Profound Yellow Primary World, a certain consciousness discovered me and kept trying to communicate."

"Was it the Ancient Earth Vein Tree?" Li Fan frowned slightly.

"No. But it was very similar..." Lin Ling replied truthfully.

Noticing Li Fan's expression, she quickly added, "However, I always strictly followed your teachings and paid it no mind."

"That consciousness was erratic and didn't even reveal its identity. It just told me to go meet it..."

As soon as Li Fan heard this, he immediately knew what was going on.

He just didn't know why Ruomu had discovered Lin Ling's whereabouts.

After inquiring about the exact location of the encounter, Li Fan designed an array for Lin Ling to shield her from external perception.

Only then did he dismiss her.

After some thought, the primary task in this life was still to break free from the Faceless True Immortal's influence.

Li Fan merely noted down the time and location of Ruomu's appearance, without any intention of further contact.

"Later, I can give the Ancient Earth Vein Tree a surprise."

Li Fan let out a cold snort.

His figure flickered, and Li Fan arrived in the secret chamber beneath the Saint Emperor's throne.

It was pitch black within, where over ten You clansmen were imprisoned.

After the Great Xuan first gained combat strength, Li Fan ordered Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba to launch an attack on the You clansmen.

Even with the assistance of the Heaven-Patrolling Arrows, it was a balance of wins and losses.

The Great Xuan Imperial Army suffered hundreds of casualties, but they also captured some You clansmen alive.

After some coercion, they recognized reality and agreed to open a passage to the Nether Realm for Li Fan.

But the "Return to True" recharge was not yet complete, so Li Fan was not in a hurry to enter.

Seeing Li Fan approach, the You clansmen hurriedly knelt.

Li Fan, however, stood motionless, sensing a statue of himself not far away in the darkness.

After becoming the Mandated Saint Emperor of Great Xuan, Li Fan had also wished to reproduce a power similar to the Essence of Origin Power.

As it was somewhat similar to the power of faith, Li Fan ordered the construction and erection of his statues in various places, hoping to achieve the condensation of Essence of Origin Power through the sheer number of the populace.

But it was clear he had been a bit naive.

Although the Essence of Origin Power was said to be something discarded by True Immortals, it was subtly a tier higher than ordinary spiritual energy.

Without special means, relying solely on the pure collective prayers of mortals was clearly insufficient to collect and refine it.

But things changed after these You clansmen were captured and brought back.

Perhaps these You clansmen inherently possessed an extremely strong faith in the Nether Realm; almost the moment they submitted, Li Fan faintly sensed a strange aura appearing within his body.

It was scarlet, similar to the national destiny of the Great Xuan Dynasty, and to Li Fan, it felt...

...extremely similar to the golden Essence of Origin Power of the previous life's Red Dust Benevolent Immortal!

Later, Li Fan simply moved one of his statues into this dungeon and ordered these over ten You clansmen to pray day and night.

The effect was also quite significant.

The Essence of Origin Power produced by these You clansmen was astonishingly more than that produced by all the hundreds of millions of citizens of Great Xuan combined!

Li Fan studied their prayer methods and had the Great Xuan Imperial Army learn and imitate them.

Yet, without exception, they all failed.

After much thought, Li Fan could only attribute it to the You clansmen's special physique.

"It seems it's still related to the dark power of the Nether Realm. King Xuantian..."

The Nether Realm, which could interfere with the True Immortal's Web to some extent, clearly still held many secrets.

However, these were beyond the scope of this life's exploration.

"It's a pity that the You clansmen's reproductive capability isn't very strong."

"Otherwise, without relying on the Faceless True Immortal's statue, I could also weave a network of faith."

The ability to freely bestow, strip away, and even transmit across space was simply too powerful and convenient.

Having experienced its advantages, Li Fan naturally found it difficult to abandon it.

Therefore, even though the "Return to True" was not far off, Li Fan still had not given up on researching this power.

Clearly, Li Fan did not possess talent in this area.

"I'll just have to wait until it's completely safe, then let those guys research it."

Li Fan sighed slightly.

"Great Saint Emperor..." Just then, one of the You clansmen, who was prostrating in prayer, suddenly trembled and spoke, as if having something to say.

"Hmm?" Li Fan immediately became interested.

This was the first time they had actively tried to communicate with Li Fan.

After receiving Li Fan's permission, the You clansman tremblingly continued, "During my prayers, I discovered that the master I originally served..."

He cautiously glanced at Li Fan: "That is, the Nether Realm, it seems, isn't particularly angry about our rebellion."

He swallowed, "The ancestral teachings passed down through generations in our clan all stated that we must not betray the darkness. Otherwise, divine punishment would surely follow."

"But I've tried it now, and it's completely baseless."