Chapter 1314: Blood-Seen True Immortal Memory

Unlike the situation when the elders of Xianzhou came into contact with the ancient characters, Ouyang Tian's already young body did not experience any backlash. Inside him, the hidden Kunqian Bone Hand emitted subtle, almost imperceptible tremors, absorbing and assimilating all the power of the ancient characters.

Li Fan wasn't sure if "absorbing and assimilating" was the right way to describe this process. However, in his perception, the ancient characters and the Kunqian Bone Hand seemed to form a resonance. This caused the True Immortal Seal Script power, which should have acted on Ouyang Tian's body, to be entirely drawn into the Kunqian Bone Hand, this miraculous object. Meanwhile, another wondrous item within Ouyang Tian's body, the Tome of Ten Thousand Deaths, remained completely still.

Stirred by the ancient power, the Kunqian Bone Hand subtly transformed. On the originally bare white bone, faint reddish-brown flesh surprisingly appeared. These were just fine lines, almost imperceptible. But Li Fan, having observed the entire process from the beginning, immediately noticed this anomaly. The emergence of flesh made the Kunqian Bone Hand appear even more mystical, as if it instantly became imbued with sentience and came to life. Without Ouyang Tian's manipulation, the bone fingers actually twitched slightly on their own.

"Ugh..." Ouyang Tian, in his slumber, let out a muffled groan. Clearly, the strange movements of the wondrous item within him caused him considerable pain. Li Fan placed his hands on Ouyang Tian's head; he had just fallen back into a heavy sleep.

A golden light emerged from Li Fan's hand, transforming into a sharp surgical knife. He moved it towards Ouyang Tian's arm. The flesh did not tear; the golden surgical knife directly entered Ouyang Tian's body, reaching the Kunqian Bone Hand. As if sensing the approach of an external enemy, the Kunqian Bone Hand continuously trembled violently. It even seemed intent on breaking free and escaping, regardless of its host's life or death. But how could Li Fan allow it to have its way?

Fine lines branched out from the small golden knife, forming chains that firmly secured the Kunqian Bone Hand in place. The knife's light shimmered and changed, very quickly scraping off every inch of the newly grown flesh from the bone. Sharp, resentful wails seemed to echo in his ears, but Li Fan remained unfazed. He wove a golden net from refined Source Energy, carefully collecting and sealing all the flesh. Without the influence of the new flesh, the Kunqian Bone Hand became quiet and peaceful once more. Ouyang Tian, however, looked as if he had suffered severe internal injuries, his face terrifyingly pale.

With a casual wave, Li Fan sent a stream of spiritual energy to nourish Ouyang Tian's body. Li Fan then, holding the seemingly lifeless flesh curled within the refined Source Energy net, flashed to the area beneath the preaching platform.

On the preaching platform, the lecturing phantom continued its uninterrupted discourse. In the large hollow excavated beneath, Li Fan had already begun his research on this flesh.

"The appearance of the Kunqian Bone Hand is identical to that of the Bone Vanguard Realm. According to He Daozimiao, the master of the Vanguard Realm, the Bone Vanguard Realm was replicated from an atlas he once saw, which depicted the remains of a True Immortal..." Li Fan mused. "This means, it's highly probable that this is True Immortal flesh?"

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, gazing at the reddish-brown tissue in the golden net. He had escaped from True Immortals several times before and had even personally witnessed a True Immortal being devoured whole by Cat Treasure. Any awe Li Fan once held for True Immortals had long vanished. By chance in this life, the charging progress for "Return to Truth and Transform into Void" had doubled, allowing him to activate "Return to Truth" three times consecutively. With his safety assured, Li Fan began to attempt researching this True Immortal flesh.

First, it could be confirmed that this mass of True Immortal flesh did not possess its own "consciousness." Its ability to move was more like an instinctive biological reaction. "However, the amount of accumulated flesh is still very small. If there were more, it might be a different story." Li Fan remained very cautious on this point. This mass of flesh was certainly enough for research. Once it was nearly consumed, he could just take more from Ouyang Tian.

First, Li Fan conducted a rough analysis of the True Immortal flesh's composition. A small knife made of refined Source Energy cut off a small piece. Then, the golden light spun continuously, transforming into a mincer, pulverizing this small piece of flesh.

"No Immortal Spirit Power." This was not unexpected by Li Fan, so he wasn't disappointed. "The body tissue separated from the blood. The tissue's vitality was clearly inferior to that of the True Immortal blood. Within this blood, there seems to be some special energy hidden..." Li Fan's eyes lit up. He separated a wisp of his divine sense, attempting to penetrate the separated blood. To his surprise, the moment his divine sense touched the True Immortal blood, it felt as if it had slammed into an intensely hot iron door. It vibrated intensely, causing dizziness, and more than half of it was directly evaporated by the intense heat contained within the blood.

"Hmm?" Although it was only a wisp of divine sense he had separated, the vibrations and burning sensation it experienced were still synchronously felt by Li Fan's main divine sense. His head felt as if it had been struck by a blunt object, and then a raging inferno ignited within his soul. The agony was almost equivalent to his soul being scattered, and if an ordinary cultivator encountered this unprepared, they would likely have been instantly annihilated.

But Li Fan was no ordinary person after all. Under the blessing of the Boundless Emptiness Art, his soul regenerated continuously, rendering it almost indestructible. Even as if he were in purgatory, Li Fan slowly endured it. With Li Fan's current endurance, after undergoing this round of True Immortal blood's backlash, cold sweat poured from his forehead and his muscles continuously spasmed. The burning sensation in his soul gradually disappeared, and after everything subsided, Li Fan exhaled deeply, dispelling all discomfort.

"Immortal and mortal separated..." "True Immortals, untouchable." This was the feeling Li Fan got from the recent experience. Even just a drop of blood, it still demonstrated the vast chasm between immortals and mortals in its own way.

However, this small warning, far from making Li Fan hold back, only made him more interested. The more he was forbidden to see, the more Li Fan wanted to peek. Burning the soul? With the Five Elements United, Boundless Emptiness, and the blessing of the Indestructible Soul state, he could withstand the backlash and forcefully probe the mysteries within the True Immortal blood. Endless pain? Having come this far, Li Fan could long since treat it as nothing.

With a slight thought, he instantly split off thousands of wisps of divine thought. Like fearless warriors, they all charged towards the True Immortal blood in the golden net. Boom! Boom! Boom! The backlash from the True Immortal blood continuously reverberated within Li Fan's soul. It was like a giant hammer relentlessly pounding. Thousands of impacts also brought thousands of backlashes. Within Li Fan's soul, it seemed to be instantly ignited, with countless sparks and raging flames spreading.

This pain was indescribable. Even with the Immortal Heart Charm's blessing and his own extraordinary willpower, he was still on the verge of collapse, barely holding on. Li Fan first glanced at his Return to Truth panel. The "Transform into Void" charging progress still remained at 400, not decreasing due to the True Immortal blood's backlash. This indicated that the backlash from just one drop of blood was still insufficient to threaten Li Fan at his current strength.

Safe and sound, Li Fan tried his best to maintain the operation of the Emptiness Art, while simultaneously focusing his attention on the True Immortal blood, which resembled a wall of fire. Attacked by countless divine senses, the protection within it also seemed to develop faint cracks. The stalemate lasted for an unknown period, until finally, the True Immortal blood's protection was breached by Li Fan. The backlash vanished into thin air, and his soul instantly became cool and calm. A ray of light emerged from the True Immortal blood, enveloping Li Fan's divine sense.

Then a sequence of light and shadow appeared before him. It was as if shrouded in a misty light, making all surrounding sights unclear. An angry voice came from a tall figure in the distance. It was fragmented, only roughly audible: "...Qionglang Star Domain...annihilation...guard." "...find the target." "Your subject, accepts the order." A low voice emanated from himself.

The light and shadow changed again. The next moment, he was already within the Xuanhuang Realm. Standing high in the sky, looking down at the myriad beings within the realm. However, the body's attention did not seem to be on the Xuanhuang Realm below, but on the starry sky beyond. Seemingly waiting for something. After an unknown passage of time, a ray of light suddenly descended from outside the heavens. The body's gaze instantly locked onto it. But it did not interfere, allowing the light to land within the Xuanhuang Realm. Only when the light completely dimmed and subsided did the figure descend to the world to examine it closely.

"Not yet." "But it's not bad. If it were back then, ascending to immortality would be possible. What a pity..." The body seemed accustomed to this outcome, its tone devoid of joy or sorrow. It shook its head slightly, sighed, and then returned to the Xuanhuang Realm's sky. Silently watching, waiting for the arrival of the next target. The scene suddenly froze, then rapidly faded and dispersed like a decaying photograph.

Li Fan awoke from the illusion, returning to the present. Although what he experienced in the True Immortal blood's memory was only a few fleeting scenes, Li Fan felt as if he had lived through a dozen lifetimes. And this prolonged experience genuinely manifested in his physical body. His long, flowing hair had unknowingly reached his waist. It was also streaked with black and white. His face, palms, and even the skin all over his body had become somewhat wrinkled.

Li Fan looked at his age on the Return to Truth panel. His mental age hadn't changed. But his physiological age limit had been directly reduced to 50 years. He was still in his thirties, yet his lifespan was already nearing its end. "This is the price of prying into a True Immortal?"

After trying to confirm that the Xuanhuang Realm's lifespan-extending heavenly treasures could not increase this reduced lifespan limit, Li Fan felt an even greater chill. "If it were an ordinary cultivator, they would probably be directly forced into a desperate situation." He continued, "Fortunately, I have 'Return to Truth' with me. A 50-year lifespan limit makes little difference to me. I still have 20 years in this life, which is enough to complete my arrangements."

Li Fan calmed his emotions and couldn't help but recall the scenes he had seen earlier in the True Immortal blood. "The True Immortal to whom this blood belongs must have been ordered to come to Xuanhuang. To search for a certain target..." He mused, "The word 'subject' is quite interesting. And that ray of light from beyond the heavens..." Li Fan narrowed his eyes. Combining this with the information he had previously investigated in the ancient immortal formation of the Xuanhuang Realm and the Nine-Star Red Pearl, a guess couldn't help but surface in Li Fan's mind: "Ancient Xuanhuang Realm was also being hunted. Unlike the later capture of other cultivation realms, the target at that time was... people?"

Li Fan's eyes flickered. He repeated the True Immortal's words several times, "But it's not bad. If it were back then, ascending to immortality would be possible..." "Even external light with potential for immortal ascension was not the target He was waiting for. What exactly..." Suddenly, for some reason, Li Fan thought of himself. Although the True Immortal's memory was vague and it was an event from countless years ago, Li Fan inexplicably felt a faint sense of having survived a great calamity. When he came to his senses, his back was drenched in cold sweat. This was by no means Li Fan being timid. Rather, it was an instinctive fear and relief that arose after he belatedly realized what had happened. "This..."

His pounding heart slowly calmed. Li Fan temporarily left the underground space of the preaching platform and flashed back to the sky above the Grand Xuan Small World. Clouds stretched for miles, obscuring the sight of the creatures on the ground. Li Fan savored the premonition he had just had. "Although it's somewhat unbelievable... but a faint premonition tells me that, many years ago, the target of that True Immortal in Xuanhuang might actually have been me?!" "Or rather, not me. But Return to Truth!" Li Fan closed his eyes to prevent his inner turmoil and shock from being exposed. "Return to Truth, Return to Truth..." As he spoke, the surrounding scenery once again became ethereal and indistinct. Being isolated from the real world brought Li Fan a slight sense of calm.

"Return to Truth involves the Grand Dao of Truth and Falsehood, Reality and Illusion." Li Fan's thoughts churned, and he calmly considered. "Be it wondrous items of heaven and earth, or True Immortal Seal Scripts. Even the mysterious symbol that created the Great Heavenly Venerate of Xuanhuang, all are partial projections of the Grand Dao. But only Return to Truth transcends everything. It can be said that it is almost the Grand Dao of Truth and Falsehood, Reality and Illusion itself..."

"For a True Immortal to refer to themselves as a 'subject,' the tall figure in the distant memory must naturally hold an extraordinary status." Li Fan tried to deduce the possible truth of the matter from these fragmented words. "Qionglang Star Domain...annihilation. It seems the Immortal Realm was already facing a crisis at that time. Annihilation..." He pondered, "With the might of a True Immortal, perhaps they could deduce that one of the ways to resolve the Immortal Realm's crisis was 'Return to Truth.' Is that why they waited in the Xuanhuang Realm like setting a trap? However, for some unknown reason, I arrived here tens of thousands of years too late."

After a long time away from the True Immortal's memory, the lingering sense of surviving a great calamity in Li Fan's heart finally slowly dissipated. Without the influence of that inexplicable emotion, Li Fan looked at his previous guess again, and found it almost absurdly laughable. "What is the truth after all?"

With his emotions calmed, Li Fan flashed from the sky back underground. He looked at the remaining True Immortal blood in the golden net, pondering for a long time. "In this life, I cannot probe again. I'll see in the next life if I can find more clues. Even if the guess proves true, it doesn't really matter. After all, the Immortal Realm suffered a great catastrophe, and all those True Immortals who wanted to hunt me have already vanished!" A gleam flashed in Li Fan's eyes, and his state of mind became stable once more.

Although he could no longer peek into memories from the True Immortal blood in this life, it did not prevent Li Fan from continuing his research on True Immortal flesh. "Next, let me see how resistant the True Immortal flesh is to the power of the True Immortal Seal Script."