Chapter 1251

Cat's Precious Three Transformations

Sun Luyuan was speaking voluminously, but Li Fan appeared to be still reeling from the shock and grief of learning his beloved wife had passed away.

"It's fate, it's destiny. No wonder I've felt so restless lately."

"Trapped here, I couldn't even see her one last time," Li Fan said with a mournful expression.

"My son, has he been given a name?"

Sun Luyuan replied calmly, "Sun Tianci. Ning Lu herself chose the name for our son before she passed."

After a brief silence, Li Fan, with a mix of grief and relief, murmured, "Tianci... a good name."

After they finished discussing Sun Tianci, Sun Luyuan's expression gradually became serious as he moved on to more important matters.

"Your eldest uncle, Sun Luchang, is departing."

Sun Luyuan briefly explained the phenomenon of the sword light appearing in the sky, which brought news of the Xuanshang Immortal Ship from beyond the sea of stars.

Li Fan was somewhat surprised. "It appears journeying beyond the stars is not a favorable prospect at all. Can it be declined?"

Sun Luyuan shook his head. "Currently, the situation is that the upper-echelon families of the Immortal Alliance, who understand the full implications, are desperately avoiding this mission. Meanwhile, the lower-tier Harmonized Dao guardians, who are unaware of the truth, are eagerly vying for the opportunity. To secure more expendable pawns, the full story is naturally kept from them. It's quite ironic, really."

"Although eldest uncle possesses Harmonized Dao cultivation, he's grown accustomed to a life of ease over the years. I'm afraid..." Li Fan said, expressing slight concern.

"If I weren't stationed here and unable to leave, I would certainly go on this journey beyond the stars in eldest uncle's stead."

Li Fan's words were decisive, perfectly fitting the image Sun Ang had previously projected.

Sun Luyuan showed no suspicion, but his eyes revealed displeasure. "Our Sun family's prominence is too great. Guarding the Yanfa Jue, journeying beyond the stars... it's hard to deny these arrangements might be the Immortal Alliance's deliberate attempt to suppress us."

"You shouldn't overthink it. Just live peacefully here."

Without revealing the Sun family's defection to the Great Qikai Holy Dynasty, Sun Luyuan simply advised Li Fan to prioritize stability in all matters.

"I've already spoken with Elder Xu."

"Perhaps you won't even need to complete the full three hundred years before you achieve success and are released."

Sun Luyuan said this just before his departure.

"The Family Head has gone to great lengths," Li Fan replied with gratitude.

"Oh, and by the way, after several years of isolated meditation here, I've summarized my lifelong studies and made some gains."

"Family Head, perhaps you could pass this chapter, 'The Upright Dharma Resounds,' to Tianci on my behalf."

As he spoke, a seemingly unremarkable text appeared in Sun Luyuan's mind.

He scanned it, finding nothing particularly noteworthy.

It was merely a common technique for cultivating one's mind and clarifying one's aspirations.

Sun Luyuan nodded, agreeing immediately.

He then bid farewell and departed.

Once Sun Luyuan's figure vanished, Li Fan scoffed inwardly, "Over a hundred years? It's questionable if the Xuanhuang Realm will even last that long."

Knowing that the Myriad Immortal Alliance secretly monitored this place, he didn't dwell on it, merely letting the thought pass through his mind.

As for "The Upright Dharma Resounds," it was intended to plant a seed for Sun Tianci's future ascent.

Li Fan observed the Yanfa Jue, which had again become somewhat lax and was feigning idleness. He couldn't help but painstakingly prod and admonish it to resume its duties.

The Great Qikai Holy Dynasty.

The Holy Dynasty's Secret Martial Arts Testing Ground.

Li Ping and Qiaogong watched as Sun Erlang strenuously operated the third Holy Punishment Divine Puppet.

Li Ping had named the golden puppet "Holy Punishment Divine Puppet" to differentiate it from the standard Holy Army Puppets.

"Young Sun is truly gifted, with frightening adaptability. He's already mastering the third Divine Puppet," Qiaogong praised profusely. "He might even be able to control all our reserve Divine Puppets."

"In comparison, everyone in my Lingyuan Sect is utterly useless."

"Speaking of which, you've been in the Holy Dynasty for quite some time now. Is everything alright with your Lingyuan Sect in Jiushan State?" Li Ping asked casually, though his eyes remained fixed on Sun Erlang in the testing ground, watching the beads of sweat trickle down his forehead.

Qiaogong waved a hand dismissively. "My puppet is stationed in Jiushan State. Those fools are so obsequious and dare not even look up whenever they see me; how could they possibly tell the difference between the real me and a mere duplicate?"

At this point, Qiaogong paused. "By my calculations, the Myriad Immortal Alliance's tax collector will likely be arriving soon. Perhaps I'll need to return for that."

Li Ping knew that Qiaogong's collection of vast amounts of source energy in Jiushan State, facilitated by the Cang Sheng Ling Yuan Gong, was sanctioned by the Myriad Immortal Alliance. The cost, however, was relinquishing a portion of it.

A significant portion.

"The Myriad Immortal Alliance shouldn't be short on resources. Why are they so particularly interested in your relatively small amount?" Li Ping asked.

Qiaogong shrugged it off. "Who knows? Perhaps they find it inconvenient to openly engage in such unsavory practices themselves."

"However..."

Qiaogong suddenly seemed to recall something. "Now that you mention it, I remember. The previous Immortal Alliance envoy unintentionally remarked that the Myriad Immortal Alliance seems to have a massive internal deficit and must resort to increasing revenue and cutting expenses."

"I even joked with him at the time, saying the Myriad Immortal Alliance appeared opulent but was actually quite poor."

Upon hearing this, Li Ping fell into deep thought.

"Source energy is merely pure, unowned cultivation. Normal cultivators don't require it..."

"Interesting."

"When the Immortal Alliance envoy arrives this time, I'll meet with him in your stead," Li Ping decided.

"Excellent, excellent," Qiaogong exclaimed, delighted to be spared the trouble.

He immediately transmitted every detail of their previous encounters to Li Ping.

"By the way, how is the puppet body I asked you to prepare coming along?"

Qiaogong's face lit up with triumph as he clapped his hands.

Instantly, a faceless body materialized before Li Ping.

Unlike the Holy Emperor's imposing height of roughly ten meters, this faceless body was the size of an ordinary human.

Nevertheless, it appeared to be a perfectly scaled miniature, with an appearance almost indistinguishable from Li Ping's own.

If the Holy Emperor were overly suspicious, he might very well charge Qiaogong with a crime of immense disrespect.

However, at that moment, he simply stared at the puppet body with keen interest, a hint of surprise in his voice. "It's actually a genuine flesh and blood body?"

Qiaogong nodded. "Indeed. Didn't you say you intended to use it to travel to the stars? The sea of stars is fraught with peril, and some of its more anomalous regions can only be perceived by a genuine flesh and blood body. I suffered a significant setback because of this before I ever came to Xuanhuang."

A flicker of pain crossed Qiaogong's eyes before he continued to explain to the Holy Emperor, "I referenced Tianyang's Body Transformation Dao and your precious disciple's flesh cultivation techniques."

"While this flesh puppet's cultivation aptitude is not something to rely on, full sensory perception is certainly possible. Furthermore, just like the Holy Army Divine Puppets, it can integrate the essence of heaven and earth along with refined source energy. Although its inherent physical weakness will somewhat reduce its overall strength, with Harmonized Dao power and a cautious approach, self-preservation in the starry void should not be an issue."

"That is, as long as it doesn't encounter any peculiar disasters in the void," Qiaogong added very cautiously.

The Holy Emperor nodded.

A point of golden light flew from his fingertip, infusing itself into the flesh puppet before him.

The sensation of it being a perfect extension of himself, like a limb, surged within him.

The Holy Emperor carefully absorbed the complex sensations, both familiar and alien, as a subtle realization dawned upon him.

"I'll take this body."

A flash of golden light, and both the Holy Emperor and the flesh puppet vanished.

Qiaogong then redirected his attention to Sun Erlang within the testing ground.

Inside the Holy Dynasty's Treasury.

The Holy Emperor, having bypassed Qiaogong, began modifying the puppet body.

His journey to the stars was for the purpose of seeking enlightenment.

Thus, he still had certain requirements for the aptitude of the body he would inhabit.

What Qiaogong couldn't achieve...

Did not mean the Holy Emperor couldn't.

Placing his hand on the flesh puppet's head, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Favor slowly poured into it.

Suddenly...

A sense of déjà vu welled up within the Holy Emperor, and his hand movements paused for a moment.

After a moment of contemplation, he suppressed this anomaly.

The once somewhat stiff shell gradually became more lifelike.

As various heavenly treasures from the Holy Dynasty's treasury were refined into liquid by concentrated source energy and infused into the puppet's body, the body became increasingly crystalline and emanated a delightful fragrance.

Even the perpetually slumbering Cat Treasure was drawn by the scent, jolting awake to survey its surroundings.

Upon realizing the fragrance originated from the body Li Ping was refining, a hint of disappointment flickered in its eyes.

Just as it was about to drift back to sleep, it received an instruction from the Holy Emperor.

Cat Treasure reluctantly shook its head, but ultimately, unable to resist the allure of the promised refined source energy, it let out a lazy mewl.

Then, with a leap, it transformed into a blue, transparent, bell-jar-like cover.

It enveloped the body Li Ping was refining.

Wisps of blue light emanated from the container. After hovering for a moment, they seeped into the puppet body.

A sliver of Li Ping's consciousness was currently attached to the puppet body, allowing him to personally perceive the specific changes occurring as it bathed in the blue light.

"Flesh and blood recombination, a sublimation of life form."

"Even without cultivation, this body's strength would surpass that of an average Nascent Soul realm cultivator in the Xuanhuang Realm."

"Moreover..."

The Holy Emperor meticulously sensed the differences between this body and his original form.

He couldn't yet fully grasp the implications of these differences, but he was almost certain they were designed to contend with particular circumstances.

As the blue light shield continued its transformation, a flash of insight also struck Li Ping.

He realized he could even leverage Cat Treasure's function to infuse the special abilities of creatures it had previously absorbed and mimicked into this body, transforming them into innate divine abilities.

However, as it was an artificially created body, doing so might lead to immeasurable, unforeseen changes.

The divine abilities currently held by Cat Treasure were, to Li Ping, entirely dispensable. With the journey to the sea of stars imminent, Li Ping saw no need for such an additional step.

He could always experiment later.

The blue light cover grew progressively dimmer until its radiance completely dissipated.

Cat Treasure appeared utterly drained, as if it had fought for three days and three nights straight. Its face was gaunt, and even its normally lustrous fur seemed somewhat yellowed.

Li Ping fed it a large amount of refined golden source energy, and only then did Cat Treasure contentedly fall into a deep slumber.

"Item replication, creature mimicry—this is Cat Treasure's third function."

"Marrow Cleansing and Bone Strengthening."

"Truly astonishing!" Li Ping exclaimed.

The puppet body had already awakened from its sublimation. Li Ping sensed that this body was even more suitable for his divine soul than his original form.

"Why not simply switch bodies?"

An irrepressible thought surged from the depths of his mind, only to be forcibly suppressed by the Holy Emperor moments later.

Cat Treasure's Marrow Cleansing and Bone Strengthening function wasn't a one-time ability.

If the effect was so potent on the puppet body, it would naturally be no less effective on his true form.

There was still ample time; opportunities would abound.

Li Ping focused his consciousness on the puppet body, beginning to adapt and attempt to control it.

Half a month later.

Before the puppet body could even depart Xuanhuang, Li Ping received a message from Qiaogong.

The Myriad Immortal Alliance envoy was due to arrive at the Lingyuan Sect in Jiushan State.

A flash of golden light, and Li Ping instantly transformed into the likeness of Layman Qiaogong.

He silently appeared within the Lingyuan Sect headquarters.

There, he awaited the Immortal Alliance envoy's arrival.

The puppet body left behind by Qiaogong had already prepared the vast amount of collected source energy.

Li Ping naturally disdained this low-quality energy.

Not only did it pale in comparison to refined source energy, but it was also far inferior to the source energy cultivated by the citizens of the Great Qikai Holy Dynasty through their Lingyuan Arts.

However, after inspecting it, the Myriad Immortal Alliance envoy was unexpectedly overjoyed.

"The quality of this submission seems to have improved considerably, wouldn't you say?"

"The Sect Master has truly been diligent," the Immortal Alliance envoy praised, carefully putting away the orb of light that contained the source energy.

Mimicking Qiaogong's tone, Li Ping replied with a smile, "I recently learned a profound technique that can subtly clear the various distracting thoughts of the disciples, allowing them to dedicate more time to cultivation."

The Immortal Alliance envoy's eyes lit up. "There's such a divine technique?"

"Oh? Is the envoy interested as well?" Li Ping asked.

The Immortal Alliance envoy seemed a bit embarrassed. "The Immortal Alliance's deficit has recently widened even further. If it's convenient for the Sect Master..."

Li Ping waved a hand. "It's nothing, just a minor technique. If the envoy is interested, I shall explain it to you."

"With an unburdened mind, one resides within their spirit. Myriad laws cannot infringe; its touch is profound..."

As Li Ping spoke, he chanted, directly revealing the profound technique.

The Immortal Alliance envoy was overjoyed and immediately listened intently.

He failed to notice, however, that his mind was slowly succumbing as the other man softly chanted.

When the Immortal Alliance envoy's gaze became vacant and he fell into a completely dazed state, Li Ping smiled faintly, flicking a golden speck that flew into the envoy's sea of consciousness.

As expected, there was protective warding from the Immortal Alliance.

However, beneath the silent infiltration of refined source energy, the defenses proved to be mere paper, effortlessly breached.

Soon, Li Ping located the information he sought within the envoy's mind.

"The power of myriad cultivators, condensed into a penetrating spear."

"Piercing directly into the depths of Xuanhuang, into the boundless Sea of Gloom..."

"Just as I thought."

Previously, Li Ping had always been curious about how the Myriad Immortal Alliance located and maintained the entrance to the Sea of Gloom.

According to the confessions of the Specter Clan, the passages the Myriad Immortal Alliance had excavated within the Sea of Gloom were markedly different from those opened by the Specter Clan's traditional methods.

Perhaps it was due to their complete distrust of the Specter Clan, or perhaps the Myriad Immortal Alliance simply desired to maintain absolute control over the passage to the Sea of Gloom.

In any case, the Myriad Immortal Alliance devised a method to directly forge a passage between the Xuanhuang Realm and the Sea of Gloom using highly condensed source energy.

"It is precisely because the Myriad Immortal Alliance covets the Netherworld that the power of the Sea of Gloom has been continuously diminishing."

"It seems it's time to sever some of their tentacles first."