Chapter 1253: Establishing the True Xuanhuang Orthodoxy

"The profound meaning of the Star Sea's origin..." Li Fan savored the insights he had just received from the Holy Emperor. At the same time, he faintly sensed the Xuanhuang Realm's ongoing recovery, both internally and externally.

"If there were no cultivators of new methods consuming the world from within, and no Immortal Ruins from without, perhaps the Xuanhuang Realm truly could be reborn." He sighed. "It's a pity, though... this is destined to be a temporary solution, not a fundamental cure."

As he slightly shook his head, a trace of doubt arose in his mind. Logically, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao couldn't be unaware of this. Instead of accumulating this power of recovery for a decisive battle in the future, it was spreading it out impatiently. What could be the reason for that?

"Hmph, I shall wait and see."

The perspective shifted back to the Great Qí of the Holy Dynasty.

Upon noticing the unusual activity in the Xuanhuang Realm, the Stone Tablet immediately sought out the Holy Emperor, whose body also exuded a profound aura. The Stone Tablet was instantly surprised.

"You are aware of what's happening in the Xuanhuang Realm?"

"There's no need to panic; it's beneficial, not harmful," the Holy Emperor replied.

The Stone Tablet's expression relaxed slightly. "I thought the Xuanhuang Realm was on the verge of disaster, experiencing a final burst of light before collapse..."

"What you said isn't entirely wrong. This power of recovery, born from a sudden enlightenment, is indeed not destined to last long. However, for us, it might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," the Holy Emperor said slowly after a brief silence.

"Are you referring to the Xuanhuang Orthodox Plan?" the Stone Tablet paused for a moment before quickly realizing.

"Precisely."

The Holy Emperor nodded, and a miniature representation of the Xuanhuang Realm appeared before them. The primordial part of the Xuanhuang Realm glowed yellow. Meanwhile, since the collapse of the Immortal Dao, the Grotto-heavens and worlds captured by the Xuanhuang Realm's native forces, the Xuantian Sect, and the Ten Immortal Dao Sects using the Floating Void Star Array appeared in an eerie green. After the Great Tribulation spread and the Star Sea was shattered, the remnants of other cultivation realms forcibly stitched together by outsiders were a deathly black.

This was information transmitted by the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao. It was evident that the yellow color occupied less than one-thirtieth of the entire miniature Xuanhuang Realm landscape. Green accounted for one-tenth. The rest was vast expanses of pitch black. It seemed as if the Xuanhuang yellow was the anomaly.

However, unlike the green and black, the glowing color representing the Xuanhuang Realm seemed to possess its own life force. It pulsed, constantly overflowing and spreading into the surrounding areas of different colors. Visually, it meant that the green and black areas were not pure; they were mixed with scattered flecks of dark yellow. Over thousands of years, however, this erosion, in a sense, had become increasingly slow. There was even a tendency for it to be reversed.

But... with the recent sudden revival of vitality in the Xuanhuang Realm, the spread of the Xuanhuang color unexpectedly accelerated.

"Xuanhuang Orthodoxy..." The Stone Tablet mused, "As for the regions originally belonging to the Xuanhuang Realm, needless to say, everything that occurred within them has been meticulously recorded by the Genesis Stone Tablet. Regarding the green areas..." The Stone Tablet carefully distinguished: "Some are within the Stone Tablet's records, others are not."

"As for the black areas, they are pure blind spots."

Holy Emperor Li Ping stated, "If we do nothing, the Xuanhuang Realm's ultimate fate will be to be swallowed by the overwhelmingly dominant black areas. In the future, these black areas might even transform into something else entirely."

"Therefore, we need to act preemptively and deeply implant the Xuanhuang orthodoxy into these external remnants." The Holy Emperor's voice was low, but his resolute intent was unmistakable.

"How do we do it?" the Stone Tablet asked, intrigued.

"By observing the Way of Heaven, one acts according to its will..." The Holy Emperor spoke slowly, and the Stone Tablet listened attentively, nodding occasionally. After explaining the method in detail, the Holy Emperor's tone became somewhat solemn: "When carrying this out, you must be careful and cautious to prevent discovery by the instigator."

Although the Holy Emperor didn't explicitly name anyone, the Stone Tablet understood his meaning. The Stone Tablet, rarely, showed a playful smile. "As the saying goes, 'subtle influences.' This method is so covert, and with the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao actively cooperating and concealing it, I doubt even someone with peerless cultivation would be able to detect it."

The Holy Emperor said sternly, "Don't be careless. Even if they are not in Xuanhuang, we must guard against the various contingencies they might have left behind."

The Stone Tablet nodded, acknowledging.

"The fewer participants in this operation, the better. It would actually be most efficient if Ruomu were to handle it, as he is an innate tree spirit and has a closer connection to the Xuanhuang Realm." The Holy Emperor continued, "It's not that I don't trust him, but Ruomu's every move is watched by other powerful individuals in this realm. As an operative, he would be too conspicuous. Conversely, everyone believes you are constantly oppressed by the Genesis Stone Tablet, which makes them unconsciously overlook you." Perhaps because it concerned the future of Xuanhuang, the Holy Emperor spoke with rare garrulity. It seemed as if he was speaking to the Stone Tablet, yet also to Ruomu.

"This is what they call 'darkness under the lamp'," the Stone Tablet agreed, nodding. "Now that I've shed the Stone Tablet's burden, and after a few more changes, I guarantee no one in the Xuanhuang Realm will associate me with my former appearance."

"Then let's wait a few days until this burst of recovery power in Xuanhuang reaches its peak. We can then act and achieve twice the results with half the effort."

The Stone Tablet immediately assented. It did not leave, but quietly stood in the Holy Emperor's grand hall, observing the miniature Xuanhuang landscape conjured by the Holy Emperor.

The light at the center of Xuanhuang continuously pulsed. Like a beating heart, it transported wisps of Xuanhuang's essence to various parts of the Xuanhuang Realm, including the green and black regions. Even within these areas, there was a gradual trend towards assimilation. However, under the constant supply of powerful recovery energy, they could temporarily maintain their original colors. Slowly, finally, even the outermost pitch-black areas of the Xuanhuang Realm had become tinged with an almost imperceptible hint of Xuanhuang.

"We can begin," the Faceless Holy Emperor said in a deep voice.

The Stone Tablet smiled faintly, its form flickering. In an instant, within the Holy Emperor's throne chamber, it split into two identical bodies. Then two became four, four became eight, and eight increased to sixteen. In the blink of an eye, countless densely packed, identical Stone Tablet figures filled the grand hall.

"Change! Change! Change!" the Stone Tablets exclaimed in unison.

In an instant, the Stone Tablet avatars transformed into various real, distinct individuals from the Xuanhuang Realm. There were dashing scholars in white robes, hunched woodcutters, women of breathtaking beauty, and carefree old men... Each person's appearance was incredibly vivid, with no hint that they had all originated from the same individual.

"I'm off then." They each bowed to the Holy Emperor, all smiling, and their forms vanished.

Simultaneously, in various states and regions of the Xuanhuang Realm, without anyone noticing, some special presences appeared. When they were all gathered in the Holy Emperor's throne chamber, it was naturally quite crowded. But once they dispersed throughout the Xuanhuang Realm, they caused not the slightest ripple.

"Observe the Way of Heaven, execute its will."

"When heaven and man act in concert, the foundation for all changes is laid..."

They murmured these words as they made their way towards the mortal cities in various states. The Holy Emperor's plan was, in essence, simple. It was about using human will to establish the heavenly foundation. Leveraging the Stone Tablet's ability to disguise itself as anything, countless avatars would be created and infiltrated into mortal communities. They would subtly propagate the existence of the "Xuanhuang Realm" to all mortal beings within it.

Current mortals only knew of their immediate corner of existence. They had no particular awareness of the world as the Xuanhuang Realm itself. The very concept of the Xuanhuang Realm did not exist in their minds. The first step in establishing Xuanhuang orthodoxy was to educate them about the existence of the Xuanhuang Realm, the world they lived in.

Naturally, this was not an overnight task; it would require years, even decades, of dissemination. Furthermore, to prevent anyone from noticing abnormalities, they would need to painstakingly integrate into mortal communities and spread the information through word-of-mouth. However, with the Stone Tablet's power, even with thousands of avatars, achieving this would not be difficult. A single mortal, or even hundreds or thousands, might be as insignificant as an ant, but the combined might of all mortals in the Xuanhuang Realm would be an absolutely formidable force.

Once the mortal population of the Xuanhuang Realm reached a consensus, the second phase of the plan could commence. This involved using the collective will of all beings in heaven and earth to simultaneously counterattack, encircle, and absorb the remaining consciousnesses of those foreign fragmented cultivation realms. This step would require the assistance of Reverend Yin. As a being akin to a world spirit, he possessed profound knowledge of how to absorb world consciousness.

After completing the encirclement and absorption of the fragmented cultivation realms with the cooperation of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao, the final step would be to help these remnants fully integrate into Xuanhuang. In fact, most areas of the Xuanhuang Realm had already undergone superficial integration. Only a very few states and regions still experienced frequent anomalies due to improper integration. Such "festering wounds," so to speak, would require thorough surgical cleansing, breaking down to build anew.

While the first and second steps might still be carried out under the radar, the third step would inevitably alert the Myriad Immortals Alliance, and even the Heavenly Venerate of Transmitting Dharma from beyond the Star Sea. At that point, conflict would be unavoidable. However, according to the Holy Emperor, as long as the second step was completed, even if they ultimately failed, the general trend would be set, and no one would be able to reverse it—unless they could find even more fragmented cultivation realms and spend another ten thousand years on a new round of dismemberment and recombination.

The Stone Tablet, which hadn't been excited about anything for a long time, felt a surge of exhilaration at the Holy Emperor's plan. Besides saving the Xuanhuang Realm, the benefits, if successful, would be self-evident. It would gain control over more of heaven and earth's authority, becoming an existence even mightier than those with eternal life. For whatever reason, the Stone Tablet would not refuse this plan. A mere ten-odd years was but a fleeting moment to him.

Li Ping summoned Ruomu. True strategists don't put all their eggs in one basket. Naturally, he wouldn't entrust the crucial task of establishing Xuanhuang orthodoxy solely to the Stone Tablet. Even if the Stone Tablet was trustworthy, and the plan's risks were low. He spoke similar words to Ruomu as he had to the Stone Tablet, just with a different approach. The primary agent for achieving the goal became Ruomu. And the myriad spirits of heaven and earth, into which the concept of the Xuanhuang Realm would be instilled, became the ordinary plants, birds, and beasts of the Xuanhuang Realm.

"As the ancestor of all beings under heaven, you should also be able to subtly influence them."

"The will of the Xuanhuang Realm must be established."

For Ruomu, this matter was a trifle. The fact that his withered branches had sprouted new shoots had also reinvigorated him. Rarely so enthusiastic, he readily agreed.

"Ruomu, Stone Tablet. They alone are not enough."

"Ultimately, I must personally take action in this matter."

"Only with triple insurance can it be considered foolproof." The Holy Emperor's thoughts flowed slowly. "Confronting the Myriad Immortals Alliance in battle is the overt battlefield. However, establishing the Xuanhuang orthodoxy is the covert war. Comparatively, this covert war is even more crucial. There is only one chance; to lose it means to lose everything."

As the Holy Emperor pondered, his forehead slowly began to swell. Amidst the expanding flesh, a tumor steadily grew larger. Li Ping remained motionless, as if completely unaware. It wasn't until half a day later that the flesh burst open, and a mass of Xuanhuang Qi sprang forth. The Xuanhuang Qi swirled, and its internal image was indistinct. It seemed somewhat like Mr. Bai, and yet also somewhat like Li Ping himself.

"Maobao." The Faceless Holy Emperor woke the dozing Maobao. He pinched its nape, which reluctantly prompted it to activate its replication ability. Another identical mass of Xuanhuang Qi appeared.

"Go!" With a soft command from the Holy Emperor, these two masses of Xuanhuang Qi tore through the void, leaving the Holy Dynasty's pocket world and flying into different regions of the Xuanhuang Realm. They did not directly merge with the Heavenly Dao but instead lay hidden in secret.

The Holy Emperor coughed lightly. Even with his power, he felt a slight, temporary weakness at that moment. The Xuanhuang Qi separated from his body could, in a sense, be seen as the Xuanhuang malevolence he had absorbed in the past. However, after being refined by him and mixed with the Holy Dynasty's providence from the Heavenly Emperor's Qi Canon, it had transformed into something akin to a tangible form of Xuanhuang's providence. Had it not been for this deep foray into the Star Sea, allowing him to perceive the true meaning of the Star Sea's origin, it would have been difficult for him to condense this tangible form of providence.

"Each tangible mass of providence can integrate with and govern approximately three states."

"Leaving aside the Council of Five Elders for now, encompassing the entire Myriad Immortals Alliance wouldn't take long with Maobao's assistance."

After a few breaths, the Holy Emperor's aura returned to its powerful peak state. But Li Ping knew this was due to the support of the Holy Dynasty's providence reserves, coupled with the feedback from his own enlightenment. If he were to condense them too frequently, he certainly wouldn't recover so quickly.

"When Xuanhuang's providence integrates with heaven and earth, it is akin to reasserting sovereignty."

"Even if Ruomu and the Stone Tablet fail, the Xuanhuang orthodoxy will still be firmly under control."

"Of course, it would be even better if they succeed."

In Li Ping's calculations, the battle with the Myriad Immortals Alliance would ideally take place after the establishment of the Xuanhuang orthodoxy was complete. Because by then, in confronting the "heretics" of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, he would be fighting on home ground. Every thought and intention could bypass spatial distance, mobilize the power of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao, and bring down endless heavenly retribution. Victory could be achieved without losing a single soldier.