Chapter 1340: Really a Disturbance

"Collecting more is merely an added layer of security."

"The most crucial aspect remains the number of sacrifices for the Juntian Ceremony..." Zhong Daogong emphasized, his gaze intense.

"If you feel some pressure, you can also choose an elder to assist you." Li Fan pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "The Grand Qi's world-protecting immortal artifacts monitor the heavens and earth. If an outsider rashly intrudes, it will definitely cause an alert, which would hinder the plan's execution."

"I alone am enough! The optimal time window will arrive within thirty years..."

"It won't take that long! If all goes well, I'm confident I can succeed within three to five years," Li Fan declared, full of confidence.

"However..." Li Fan suddenly furrowed his brows.

"Speak freely. Whatever help you need, just ask! The elders will certainly cooperate fully," Zhong Daogong said generously, having received Li Fan's assurance.

Li Fan nodded. "My reason for going out this time is to search for treasures in the star sea ruins. If I return empty-handed, it might arouse suspicion. I need to select some items from the Immortal Ship's secret vault to bring back. Of course, things from the first layer of the vault would suffice to fulfill the pretense." Seeing this, Dao Sheng suddenly asked, "If the items you bring back are more valuable, would it be more beneficial for the subsequent ceremony arrangements?" Li Fan subconsciously replied, "That's natural... but frankly, the help would be truly limited. The class stratification of the Grand Qi scholarly factions is far more entrenched than our Immortal Ship's Elder Council. A few treasures alone are far from enough. It still relies on time and hard-earned seniority." The elders exchanged glances, and finally, Zhong Daogong spoke, "Even an extra shred of certainty is good. You can choose from the second layer of the treasure vault. Everything stored there is of extremely high value but does not affect the Immortal Ship's survival or continuation." Li Fan did not feign modesty; he cupped his hands and said, "That would be good." Surrounded by the others, Li Fan once again arrived at the second layer of the Immortal Ship's secret vault.

He observed the rare treasures, one after another, sealed within the light spheres of the Heavenly Star Light Lotus. The Immortal Ship's Elder Council agreed for him to select two items here, and then three more from the first layer of the secret vault.

With a total of five treasures, he could dispel the Grand Qi's doubts while also promoting the smooth progress of the Juntian Ceremony.

Li Fan browsed around and, in the second layer of the secret vault, first chose a Yin-Yang Jade. It was formed from an immense quantity of Yin and Yang energies, condensed into a tangible substance after reaching a delicate balance.

Li Fan had a premonition that if these Yin and Yang energies were incorporated during the process of advancing the Mysterious Yellow realm's sublimation, there might be some unexpected effects.

As for the second treasure he chose... it was naturally one of the three relics left by Sun Piaomiao in the past, the three-pronged divine tree, which had indeed shown strange reactions!

The Immortal Ship elders had all used the "Display Character Incantation" to observe Sun Piaomiao's relics. Neither the broken-winged gray bird nor the three-pronged tree seemed to have the subtle external connection that the Medicine King Cauldron possessed.

Having ruled out the possibility of it being a gray chess piece, the Immortal Ship elders deemed it a smokescreen left by Sun Piaomiao.

Li Fan explained, "Although this item has no practical value, it was also left by Sun Piaomiao. It originates from the same source as the Drooping-Hand Tomb Figure that protected my life last time. My teacher will certainly be very interested in it." The Immortal Ship elders hesitated for a moment but ultimately agreed to Li Fan's request.

Afterward, Li Fan went to the first layer of the secret vault and retrieved a black star stone, a peculiar bronze mirror, and a liquid longsword.

Only then did he bid farewell to the Immortal Ship, and with a flash of sword light, he vanished into the dark star sea. After Li Fan departed, the Immortal Ship's elders gathered together.

"Although he gave us his guarantee, we cannot fully place our hopes on him," Zhong Daogong said solemnly.

"Indeed, we must also prepare other methods to mitigate the backlash from the star sea."

"Perhaps, it's time to open the third layer of the Hundred Sages Immortal Records..." As soon as this was said, the chamber fell into immediate silence.

It was as if something within the third layer of this secret vault filled everyone with extreme trepidation. The elders' expressions varied, but no one voiced agreement for a long time.

"Let's wait a bit longer. Let's give it five years and see if anyone can think of a better solution."

"If he can successfully return within this period, that would be even better."

"Otherwise..." A hint of gloom flashed in Zhong Daogong's eyes as his gaze drifted towards the now-closed Hundred Sages secret vault.

...Far from the Immortal Ship, Li Fan did not immediately return to the Mysterious Yellow Realm. Instead, he headed for the location of the Broken Realm Great Wall, where Senior Yin and Baihua were.

Along the way, Li Fan took out the three-pronged tree. The strange reaction from "True" (还真) appeared just then. Li Fan temporarily suppressed the surging desire within him and first examined the creation before him.

This three-pronged tree was made of unknown material, neither quite copper nor quite wood. It possessed both the hard, cool texture of metal and the vitality and antiquity of an ancient tree.

From each fork, what grew was not a branch but another entirely new tree. And from these secondary branches, new three-pronged forks continued to emerge.

It was endless, seemingly without end. Even with Li Fan's current divine sense, continuous observation and tracking failed to determine the total number of branches on this three-pronged tree within a short time.

"Truly exquisite," Li Fan nodded slightly, then no longer suppressed True's desire. An unknown power enveloped the three-pronged tree, and then this ancient artifact was covered in a faint light.

It gradually dematerialized, then completely vanished into the air. Li Fan intently watched the changes on True's panel.

But after a long wait, the good fortune of directly increasing the "Virtualization Charge" progress to 400, as had happened last time, did not occur.

In fact... Li Fan found no tangible changes at all.

"Could it be that True swallowed it for nothing?" This thought flashed through Li Fan's mind. However, Li Fan quickly dismissed this speculation himself.

Based on his understanding of True, it was extremely picky. Every time it consumed something, it would definitely bring about substantial changes.

This time was no exception. Li Fan abandoned observing True's panel and instead focused all his attention on True itself.

Even the Wood Sword Escape Technique, which allowed him to traverse the void, came to a halt. Standing silently in the void, Li Fan quietly meditated and perceived.

Half a day later, Li Fan suddenly opened his eyes. "Indeed, this time, True's change wasn't directly reflected on the panel."

"But..." Li Fan conjured another illusory wooden sword. Outsiders wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but only Li Fan, the practitioner of the divine ability, could discern that this illusory escape technique was superior to its previous iterations.

Such significant progress in a short time was entirely due to Li Fan's deeper comprehension of the transformation between true and false.

"It can actually help me comprehend the true essence of the transformation between true and false?" Li Fan was quite shaken.

The transformation between true and false was the highest-level power Li Fan had encountered in his continuous cycles of reincarnation, bar none.

It was extremely difficult for Li Fan to comprehend and utilize. He relied solely on his connection with True, using the scenes of worlds virtualizing and reappearing each time True was activated, slowly gaining insight through his own understanding.

There were no other shortcuts. But now, the three-pronged tree, one of Sun Piaomiao's relics, could actually assist in enlightenment!

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, carefully pondering how this incredible event had occurred. After a long while, Li Fan had a vague realization: "The Dao of True and False is like a supreme principle of the heavens, lofty and distant."

"Only when I activate True each time can I ascend to the sky and observe its changes up close."

"And the absorption of this three-pronged tree is..." Li Fan was silent for a moment. Then, a sharp glint burst forth in his eyes. "True initiated a simulation without my involvement?"

"The generation and virtualization of the true and false worlds happened in an instant. It didn't even affect the current world; it existed solely within True!"

"A transformation of true and false occurred without anyone in the world noticing. Only I, through an inexplicable increase in my understanding of the true and false transformation, fortuitously discovered it..." Becoming the unique enlightened one in the world, Li Fan felt no excitement whatsoever.

Instead, he felt an unprecedented heaviness. So much so that his previous plan to rendezvous with Senior Yin was temporarily put on hold.

"True..." Li Fan silently murmured in his heart. His surroundings instantly dimmed. It was a gloom even more pronounced than the already pitch-black, dead silent ultimate dark star sea.

The seven bright characters, "When True acts as False, False is also True," then appeared. As always, True's ability was unaffected and could still be activated at any time.

But for some reason, Li Fan's heart remained uneasy and unsettled for a long time. In Li Fan's view, there were two kinds of things in the world.

One kind was within the scope of True's ability. The other was True itself, and anything that could influence True.

Everything in the star sea, even the High Wall, True Immortals, and Cat Treasure, all belonged to the first category. As long as he possessed True, Li Fan would someday be able to overcome them all.

But the other category... was beyond Li Fan's control. Being able to influence True meant that Li Fan's greatest trump card had lost its effectiveness.

Although this time it seemed to be beneficial without harm, the occurrence of an uncontrolled event was definitely a warning to Li Fan.

In the future, when True had abnormal reactions and desires to devour... would he have to satisfy it every time? What exactly did this devouring by True represent?

These were questions Li Fan had to consider carefully. True, which had inexplicably awakened in Li Fan after his transmigration, was a supreme exotic treasure seemingly fused with his very being.

To say he wasn't afraid of losing it someday would be an absolute lie. But his smooth journey through previous reincarnations, even successfully using True to partially establish his foundation within the Mysterious Yellow Realm over hundreds of lifetimes,

had made Li Fan gradually forget his past sense of gain and loss. Now, with the changes after True devoured the three-pronged divine tree, Li Fan was jolted awake again.

After a long while, Li Fan finally calmed down completely.

"From the current perspective, it's not a bad thing for me yet."

"But I must quickly figure out what exactly this three-pronged tree is. Why did it cause True to initiate a world's creation and destruction without my involvement?"

"What exactly happened in that momentary world of creation and destruction?"

"And what's so special about it that would cause True to undergo such a change?" Numerous questions simultaneously flooded Li Fan's mind.

"Sun Piaomiao..." Li Fan was now certain that this three-pronged tree must also originate from the Immortal Realm.

"Its value might even be higher than that gray chess piece."

"But even Sun Piaomiao might not have understood the secrets behind it." Li Fan pondered methods to research this three-pronged tree.

He couldn't be certain whether True would still feel the desire to devour the three-pronged tree in his next life after seeing it.

From previous experience, True wouldn't devour something it had already consumed once. But perhaps this exceedingly strange three-pronged tree would be an exception.

So the question arose: if True's strange reaction still occurred in the next life, should Li Fan allow it to continue devouring?

For the first time, Li Fan, who was always decisive, fell into a long period of hesitation. This indecision persisted even after he found Senior Yin and Baihua at the Broken Realm Great Wall.

While continuing to ponder carefully, Li Fan activated his Wood Sword Illusion Escape Technique, enveloping the two who were struggling under the influence of the echoing stellar energy.

Their current location was a node that Senior Yin had mentioned earlier, generated by the Broken Realm Great Wall to maintain its self-stability.

Here, the echoing stellar energy resembled giant waves crashing against rocks, with energy fluctuations so violent that they were among the most extreme in the fringes of the star sea.

It was even comparable to the area at the foot of the High Wall. With their current strength, exploring here was quite challenging.

"How is it? Are there any clues about Xu Ke?" Li Fan asked. Senior Yin regulated the somewhat chaotic life-and-death aura within her body before responding, "It's basically confirmed that Xu Ke was drawn into this place. We found the last mark Xu Ke left, which, although extremely faint, was exactly as we had agreed upon beforehand." Upon hearing this, Li Fan diverted some of his attention to observe his surroundings.

His vision suddenly shifted from a normal perspective to a higher-dimensional one. Li Fan clearly saw that this node was not a high platform within the Broken Realm Great Wall.

Instead, it was a depression! The majestic, continuous Great Wall abruptly broke off here. However, this break did not actually affect the Great Wall's connection.

It was as if... within this depression, there was an unknown, invisible force maintaining the continuous Broken Realm Great Wall!

"Interesting," Li Fan finally perked up. The scope of this depression, in the actual star sea, was a very small area.

It was barely enough for one person to stand alone. Trying to drift precisely into it amidst the violent energy fluctuations was indeed quite difficult.

"Perhaps only Xu Ke, the fated one, would have such luck," Li Fan thought, as his illusory wooden sword, like a small boat on a river, surged towards the depression.

The closer it got to the fractured zone of the Broken Realm Great Wall, the stronger the external interference the illusory wooden sword experienced. Lights flickered erratically, seeming as if they could burst like bubbles at any moment.

Li Fan slightly frowned, concentrating his mind to maintain the escape technique. *Boom!* The moment the illusion left the normal area of the Broken Realm Great Wall and completely plunged into the fractured depression, it felt like plummeting from a ten-thousand-foot cliff.

Under the violent impact, the illusory wooden sword almost disintegrated directly!