Chapter 1312: God Tree Hides Immortal Characters

"This person's eyes are full of compassion; he doesn't seem like a treacherous villain," Li Fan commented.

Jian Daosheng scoffed, "We on the Immortal Ship thought the same at the time. That's why they say, 'You can know a person's face, but not their heart!'"

Zhong Daogong, on the other hand, asked, "Can tracking be achieved just by this person's appearance, or are other methods needed to assist?"

"It would be best if this villain has a personal token. If not..."

"It's fine," Li Fan said with a confident expression regarding the "Great Qi Immortal Artifact." "Based on appearance and life's deeds, it's sufficient for deduction and tracking."

"However, I'll need to return to Great Qi and report the information."

Li Fan's words created a slight divergence of opinion among the elders of the Immortal Ship.

Jian Daosheng explained, "Actually, we don't necessarily have to kill this person. The Great Qi civilization's research into True Immortal Inscriptions is no less advanced than ours. If we can use this opportunity to maintain communication and exchange resources, it might not be a bad thing for our Immortal Ship."

Several elders agreed with Jian Daosheng's words: "Exactly. The reason we previously intended to eliminate him was our concern about the leakage of the True Immortal Inscriptions studied by the Immortal Ship. But from the current situation, it appears the Great Qi civilization's research shares many commonalities with ours. Furthermore, they don't guard their heritage as strictly as we do."

"Moreover, judging from his words, the cultivation world where the Great Qi civilization resides is quite large and not lacking in various resources. Everyone, let's not forget the core business the Immortal Ship relies on! Trading across all realms, mastering myriad ages. This has been the Immortal Ship's creed since ancient times. Killing him would bring no benefit. If we could establish good relations, we might even escape the Immortal Ship's current predicament!"

"Don't forget that plan! The more True Immortal Inscriptions we collect, the better. Originally, at our Immortal Ship's collection pace, it might take several hundred more years to complete. But if we can get supplementary information from this Great Qi civilization, we might be very close to achieving our goal!"

The elders' arguments were both reasonable and logical. Gradually, those who had initially insisted on killing Li Fan after the matter was resolved began to hesitate. After all, weighing the pros and cons is essential to guide the Immortal Ship further. Being rigid and unadaptable would only lead the Immortal Ship to ruin. This was a lesson the Profound Immortal Ship had learned after enduring many tribulations and barely surviving until now.

Ultimately, Zhong Daogong made the final decision and unified their opinions: "Let's first see just how powerful that True Immortal Inscription truly is."

While the Immortal Ship's members were discussing, Li Fan had already finished making his selections in the secret vault. These were the three items he had been interested in earlier: the bronze immortal crane, the multicolored flowing light, and the drooping puppet.

"Fellow Daoist, are you sure about these items? Once selected, they cannot be changed," Zhong Daogong reminded him with a smile, his gaze sweeping over the objects.

Li Fan nodded in confirmation.

Zhong Daogong then, along with the other elders, cast a spell in the void, summoning a blank sheet of paper. The Severed Immortal Arm from the Myriad Knowledge Immortal Record was manipulated, its limb pressed onto the white paper. Instantly, the blank paper was stained black with ink. Three mysterious patterns formed, highly similar to True Immortal Inscriptions, yet simpler, and their shapes bore the characteristics of the three chosen items. At the same time, Li Fan noticed that the three items he had selected in the secret vault disappeared into thin air after a wave of fluctuations, as if they had been engraved onto the white paper.

Zhong Daogong waved his hand, rolled up the inscribed white paper, and held it. He looked at Li Fan and said, "The items you requested, Fellow Daoist, are right here. Once the transaction is complete, I will present them to you with both hands!"

"Good! Straightforward!" Li Fan's eyes showed appreciation.

"Originally, I intended to reveal everything after seeing the Immortal Ship's authentic True Immortal Inscriptions. But now it seems there's no harm in letting you feast your eyes first," Li Fan said, his tone even slightly excited. "Since we are both researchers of True Immortal Inscriptions, I believe the heartfelt excitement we feel after witnessing these great inscriptions must be mutual. As the saying goes, 'If one learns the Dao in the morning, one can die in the evening without regret!'"

"It might be difficult to fully display it within the Immortal Ship. Shall we go to the outer void instead?" Li Fan suggested eagerly.

Having finally managed to lure Li Fan into the Immortal Ship, how could the elders possibly let him go free? Zhong Daogong waved his hand. "Right here, various methods can be used. Don't worry, the Severed Immortal Arm in this secret vault has integrated countless incomplete characters. Under their mutual restraint, the influence of the True Immortal Inscriptions can be reduced to a minimum."

Li Fan sounded a little disappointed: "I was hoping to showcase my knowledge in front of you all..."

Zhong Daogong performed another incantation, and the Severed Immortal Arm then burst open before everyone. It transformed into countless incomplete character structures, resembling swimming tadpoles, sealing off all directions to form a True Immortal Inscription cage.

"Fellow Daoist, you may begin."

As soon as Zhong Daogong spoke, all the elders of the Immortal Ship fixed their gazes firmly on Li Fan.

Li Fan cleared his throat, his expression solemn: "Fellow Daoists, I must reiterate that the True Immortal Inscription I am about to depict is generated from my own comprehension and memory of it. Compared to the original from the immortal realm, and even to the one stored in the Great Qi Immortal Artifact's memory, there will be some deviation..."

"However, please rest assured, my skill level is top-tier throughout Great Qi. I will not disappoint you!"

After saying a lot of seemingly unnecessary words and building up the Immortal Ship members' anticipation, Li Fan finally displayed once again the image of the endless green field with surging arcs of light. Amidst the shifting light and shadows, an extraordinarily mysterious character officially appeared before everyone's eyes.

The moment "Creation" descended, the characters that had been continuously drifting in the surrounding cage instantly erupted in a synchronized frenzy. Many flew directly out of the cage structure, converging towards the central, shimmering "Creation" character. Even though it was just a fleeting light projection, it still drove the inscription fragments into a frenzy. The Severed Immortal Arm spontaneously disintegrated, forcing the Immortal Ship elders to divert some of their attention to maintain its stability. In reality, however, just like the characters, the elders' attention was uncontrollably fixated on the two characters for "Creation"!

"He truly wasn't exaggerating; this single character is worth the sum of all the others!"

"'Creation'... it's actually 'Creation'!"

"The Immortal Ship is saved!"

The Immortal Ship elders had immersed themselves in True Immortal Inscriptions for most of their lives, so their comprehension was naturally profound. Upon seeing the true appearance of "Creation," they all quickly discerned its true meaning. Without exception, they all cried out in astonished exclamations, losing their composure. What was called 'composure' or 'scheming' became mere illusion before the ultimate truth of the Great Dao.

With the Immortal Ship elders' attention completely captivated, Li Fan quietly observed and analyzed the guardian of the Immortal Ship's secret vault, the Severed Immortal Arm. It must be said that the anti-theft method of integrating all treasures through incomplete characters was indeed somewhat ingenious. Even Li Fan, who harbored intentions of theft, possessing vast experience from many reincarnations and augmented by the "Disk of Final Disintegration," couldn't find a suitable way to crack it for a while. However, at this moment, as the two characters for "Creation" were revealed, the characters forming the Severed Immortal Arm began to disintegrate and spontaneously converged towards "Creation." This allowed him to glimpse the specific structural composition of the Severed Immortal Arm.

"It's a bit difficult to completely break this severed arm in an instant. However, abducting some key items from it should still be possible," Li Fan mused and deduced internally.

The True Immortal Inscription of "Creation" was truly extraordinarily mysterious, something that could not be fully comprehended overnight. The Immortal Ship elders were completely engrossed. Seeing Li Fan merely waiting quietly at the side, they didn't pay him much more attention. This gave Li Fan ample time to analyze the Myriad Knowledge Immortal Record.

"This one, this one, and also this one, it would be best to take them all away later..."

Li Fan naturally perceived the elders' hidden murderous intent towards him. However, Li Fan himself wasn't harboring entirely good intentions either. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by "Creation" within the secret vault, Li Fan had quietly laid down his plundering methods. These were incomplete True Immortal Inscription characters, identical to the originals, which he blended into the Severed Immortal Arm to create confusion. The longer the Immortal Ship elders remained engrossed in comprehending "Creation," the more extensively Li Fan could implant his hidden tactics. This meant he could plunder more items later.

"No need to act rashly just yet," Li Fan murmured, his eyes slightly narrowed, his hands continuously working in secret.

In a flash, over thirty days had passed.

Zhong Daogong was the first to awaken from his comprehension, his expression slightly dazed, then he let out a long sigh. He then bowed to Li Fan: "Thank you, Fellow Daoist!"

"To witness 'Creation' with my own eyes is truly a divine blessing! If not for your benevolence, Fellow Daoist, I might never have had such an opportunity in this life!"

Li Fan accepted it calmly, then waved his hand, saying, "It was merely a transaction!"

Zhong Daogong shook his head: "How can ordinary things be compared to this 'Creation'? In this transaction, our Immortal Ship has gained an immense advantage!"

Li Fan chuckled and said nothing more.

The other elders of the Immortal Ship also gradually awakened from their insights. They, too, first gave Li Fan a slight bow, then their gazes intertwined before collectively settling on Li Fan again. The meaning conveyed in their eyes was almost perfectly consistent: the desire to see a more pristine, more complete form of "Creation." As the saying goes, 'Greed knows no bounds.' After witnessing the True Immortal Inscription written by Li Fan and vaguely experiencing the infinite power contained within it, a deeper need inevitably arose in their hearts.

"Fellow Daoist," Jian Daosheng asked very courteously, "we wonder, could we perhaps see the 'Creation' within the Great Qi's realm-guarding immortal artifact?"

Hearing this, Li Fan showed a troubled expression: "Even in our Great Qi, only direct descendants, after passing rigorous reviews, are qualified to glimpse the true memories of the immortal artifact. Others learn through layers of recounting..." Li Fan looked at the expressions of the Immortal Ship elders and said with a smile, "I fully understand your feelings. However, this is only our first transaction. When we have more interactions in the future, perhaps we might agree to your request to visit and observe?"

The Immortal Ship elders' expressions varied upon hearing this. They began to discuss among themselves in private once more.

"Elder Zhong, what do we say now?"

"We definitely cannot kill him! We must maintain contact with Great Qi, hoping to obtain a more complete 'Creation'..."

"Indeed, compared to this 'Creation,' the other True Immortal Inscriptions seem rather insignificant."

"Great Qi can even transmit 'Creation' externally, whereas our Immortal Ship, by comparison, truly seems narrow-minded."

After witnessing the power of "Creation," all the Immortal Ship elders' attitudes underwent a unified change. Seeing this, Zhong Daogong already had a decision in mind.

"As agreed, we will now lead Fellow Daoist to see the authentic True Immortal Inscription," he said to Li Fan with a smile. "Although this authentic work is not as profound as the 'Creation' you displayed, it is, after all, the work of a True Immortal, and I'm confident it will inspire you," Zhong Daogong said with full assurance.

"Oh? Then I'm quite eager to see it." Feeling the hidden tactics he had left within the Severed Immortal Arm, Li Fan smiled in response.

Following the Immortal Ship elders, he temporarily left the secret vault. They traveled from the very top of the divine tree all the way to its core. In the hazy green space, a ruin floated. Thousands of branches extended from above, spreading into the divine tree's trunk. Engraved on the ground of the ruin was a True Immortal Inscription. However, due to the obstruction of the divine tree's branches, its full appearance could not be seen.

The moment he saw the ruin, Li Fan's heart stirred. This was because the architectural style of the ruin was remarkably similar to what he had seen on the Immortal Ruins' land.

"An immortal realm ruin?" Li Fan couldn't help but turn and ask, looking very surprised.

"Fellow Daoist has keen insight." The Immortal Ship elders were also surprised that Li Fan recognized the origin of the ruin. Their estimation of the Great Qi civilization's capabilities increased once more.

"Indeed, this ruin fell from the upper realm when the Immortal Path was severed long ago," Zhong Daogong said in a low voice. "At that time, the news of the Immortal Path's severance had not yet spread across the star sea. Therefore, no one expected this suddenly appearing structure to be related to the immortal realm. It was merely the True Immortal Inscription engraved within it that caused a great catastrophe."

"It was only ten thousand years later that our Immortal Ship discovered the source of this catastrophe among the star sea ruins."

The Immortal Ship elders jointly performed incantations, and the divine tree branches entwined around the ruin's ground slowly loosened, revealing the true form of the True Immortal Inscription. Perhaps because too much time had passed, and due to the divine tree's continuous absorption day and night, the fluctuations emanating from the character were almost imperceptible. But this did not prevent Li Fan from instantly discerning the character's meaning.

"Gu..." Li Fan murmured, using his hand as a brush, attempting to copy and write it. The "Gu" character on the ruin's ground seemed very similar to the "Luan" (Chaos) character he had seen in the White Mist Maze. True Immortal Inscriptions are descriptions of the Great Dao. However, unless it is the Great Dao itself manifested, characters inscribed by different people will exhibit distinct characteristics. Having studied True Immortal Inscriptions for many years, Li Fan could naturally distinguish these characteristics clearly. This "Gu" character and the "Luan" character were written by the same person. However, it was not from the same source as the "Ji" (Hunger) character on the Immortal Ruins' land.

"If I'm not mistaken, the 'Gu' and 'Luan' characters, as well as the True Immortal Inscriptions that caused countless world-ending catastrophes in the Abyssal Star Sea, were all the work of the same person. Their purpose was to bring chaos to the star sea."

"As for the 'Ji' character within the Immortal Ruins, it might merely have been for a True Immortal's enlightenment."

"Although their original intentions differed, both paths led to the same outcome: the destruction of the star sea and its complete descent into dead silence."

"In the eyes of a True Immortal, cultivators like us are truly like ants..."

Numerous thoughts flashed through Li Fan's mind instantly.

"Although the energy fluctuations on this authentic work have all dissipated, it still has marvelous uses."

At this moment, Li Fan suddenly heard Zhong Daogong say this.