Chapter 1369: Life Forms Transforming into Immortal Shapes

Li Fan had previously wondered why the Dark Star Sea, sealed by the High Wall, had developed an independent consciousness. He hadn't expected the mystery to unravel so quickly this time.

"The Fissure Depression was constructed by Xing Wuque under the orders of King Xuantian. Tens of thousands of years of continuous, diligent work, and it's still not fully completed. Xu Ke will need to take over." "Whether Xu Ke's dedication is his own will or influenced by Xing Wuque's legacy, the Fissure Depression must meet all conditions as part of King Xuantian's plan." "I previously speculated that King Xuantian intended to elevate the entire Dark Star Sea to the Immortal Realm. But now it seems... there might be other motives at play."

Artisan Qiaogong continued to eloquently describe how the fissure pattern transformed decay into wonder, using his hand as a brush to draw the shape he had memorized before Li Fan. At first glance, there was nothing mystical about it; it looked like a child's meaningless scribble. Li Fan also recalled the map of the fissure routes he had once traveled in his mind. He had followed the revealed guidance, journeying deep into the Fissure Depression until its end. Therefore, the pattern he recorded was much more detailed and specific than what Artisan Qiaogong had. Even so, Li Fan, despite careful contemplation, couldn't discern the mystery of these patterns.

"It seems this is a completely different system from anything I've encountered or understood so far," Li Fan mused, frowning slightly. "Only when inscribed can it manifest its effects?" "Just a part of it can give rise to an independent self-consciousness. But what kind of power would it hold if all the patterns were complete?"

With a thought, a longsword, flowing serenely like azure liquid, appeared in Li Fan's hand. This was one of the five treasures Li Fan had obtained from the Immortal Boat, ostensibly to gain the trust of Daqi and facilitate the smooth execution of the Juntian Ceremony. From the second layer of the Immortal Boat's secret vault, he had taken two items: the Yin-Yang Jade and the Trident Tree. From the first layer, he had taken three: the Black Star Stone, the peculiar bronze mirror, and this liquid longsword.

The Trident Tree had inexplicably triggered a simulation for Huanzhen, helping Li Fan deepen his understanding of the transformations between truth and falsehood. The Yin-Yang Jade was planned to soon transform into Yin and Yang qi, facilitating the Xuanhuang's sublimation. The Black Star Stone had already been integrated into Tianyang's Immortal Puppet body. Only the peculiar bronze mirror and the liquid longsword remained unused.

Given Li Fan's current strength, capable of traversing the Star Sea at will, it was remarkable that even treasures randomly selected from the Immortal Boat's secret vault could be so helpful to him. This spoke volumes about the vault's immense wealth. And this was only from the first and second layers of the Hundred Senses Immortal Record. It was truly difficult to imagine what treasures lay within the third layer of the vault.

"Unfortunately, in this life, the ship's full collection of treasures has already gone beyond the wall," Li Fan thought. "I'll just have to wait to explore them in more detail later." "However, if I can successfully achieve Dao integration with the Heavenly and Earthly Immortal Souls, facing the Immortal Boat again won't be as complicated as it is now."

As his thoughts surged, Li Fan subtly engraved the known Fissure Depression pattern onto the liquid longsword before him. Although no energy fluctuations were apparent, the liquid longsword inexplicably began to boil violently! Li Fan narrowed his eyes, separating a wisp of his divine sense to carefully observe the changes in the liquid longsword. "Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The azure sword body slowly turned completely black. Within it, a nascent, muddled consciousness emerged, repeating the word "kill" obsessively. The Fissure Depression pattern gradually receded into the interior of the liquid longsword. The longsword then transformed from its flowing liquid appearance into a sharply solidified sword, emanating a chilling glow.

With a whoosh, it flew towards the nearest living target. It was like an ink brush drawing a straight line on white paper, with diffused black ink spreading all around it. "Kill!" Space ripped open, and an overwhelming surge of malevolent energy rushed directly at Li Fan. At that moment, the entire Star Sea seemed to vanish from Li Fan's sight; all he saw, perceived, and felt was this single sword strike in mid-air.

"Not bad," Li Fan praised softly. Two enormous index fingers pierced through the starry sky, descending from above. They blocked the black sword's path before Li Fan, gently clamping its blade.

"Kill..." The black longsword still tried to struggle, but how could it move? It could only roar in helpless fury.

Artisan Qiaogong was startled by this sudden turn of events, and his words abruptly ceased. The power he sensed from the Nine Heavens Dustfall Fingers left him utterly shocked, making him afraid to look directly at Li Fan.

"It truly developed a self-awareness. Previously, that liquid longsword was purely an inanimate object, with no trace of consciousness," Li Fan murmured. "It's a pity, perhaps because the pattern is incomplete, or because it's generating consciousness from nothing. What was born within this longsword cannot yet be called a complete sentience." Li Fan had already gained a preliminary understanding of the Fissure Depression pattern's effects. With a slight exertion of force from the Nine Heavens Dustfall Fingers, under a squeezing pressure, the patterns engraved on the sword's body were instantly erased. The black receded, and the longsword reverted to its liquid form. The overwhelming malevolent energy that accompanied it also vanished.

"Wait for me for a moment," Li Fan instructed Artisan Qiaogong as he put away the liquid longsword, then vanished from the spot.

Having witnessed Li Fan's power, how could Artisan Qiaogong dare to disobey? He obediently remained in place, waiting. Meanwhile, his eyes darted around, trying to recall the pattern that had briefly appeared on the liquid longsword's blade.

"The completeness of the pattern the Saint Master possesses is so much greater than mine," Artisan Qiaogong thought. "It's just that the intricate details were too complex; I only managed to remember a small fraction in that instant." "But it should be enough. Hehehe, I wonder what kind of Shangguan I can create this time?" Artisan Qiaogong's heart swayed with excitement.

The next moment, Li Fan's voice suddenly rang in his ear. "You also want to know the complete pattern?"

"Of course," Artisan Qiaogong responded subconsciously. But he quickly realized his mistake, his face instantly turning pale. He frantically shook his head. "Hehehe, Saint Master must have misunderstood. How dare I pry into the entirety of such a profound and secret divine ability? What I possess now is more than enough..."

Li Fan waved his hand, stopping Artisan Qiaogong's rambling. At the same time, he sent a pattern into the other's sea of consciousness. "Since you're also interested, there's no harm in teaching you this 'Form of Living Beings'," Li Fan said indifferently.

Artisan Qiaogong, however, remained silent, his eyes glazed over, clearly immersed in the complex and wondrous pattern. The "Form of Living Beings" was not the original name for the Fissure Depression pattern; it was merely a name Li Fan had chosen arbitrarily.

Li Fan had previously returned to the depths of the fissure, attempting to obtain the complete pattern from Xu Ke. As the actual builder of the fissure, Xing Wuque's legacy should have contained relevant memories. To Li Fan's slight disappointment, however, Xing Wuque's legacy was too vast; if every detail were to be fully imparted, Xu Ke's divine soul would certainly be unable to bear it. Therefore, in Xing Wuque's view, certain unimportant matters were abandoned and not included in the transmission of knowledge. This included the construction memories of the completed outer regions of the fissure.

Fortunately, the part of the Form of Living Beings that remained uncompleted in construction was present within Xing Wuque's legacy. After obtaining it from Xu Ke, Li Fan then laid down thousands of golden threads in the fissure's subterranean river.

Utilizing the vitality of the subterranean river, these threads continuously multiplied and evolved. Like mercury spreading across the ground, they began a comprehensive exploration of the Fissure Depression. Although the Fissure Depression had countless branches spread throughout the entire Star Sea, for Li Fan, it was merely a minor inconvenience, not something that couldn't be thoroughly understood. It was just that previously, Li Fan lacked the motivation to do so.

However, now that he knew its complete pattern might be a brand-new, unknown, and powerful divine ability, Li Fan became intent on fully exploring it. "According to the current progress of the golden threads' search within the Fissure Depression, the exploration should be completed before the end of this lifetime," he mused.

"I hope it brings some surprises," Li Fan thought to himself, sensing the 'Form of Living Beings' continuously spreading throughout his mind.

Having just returned from the Fissure Depression, Li Fan also learned why Artisan Qiaogong had broken free. It was likely a chain reaction caused by the Mysterious Immortal Boat crossing the High Wall. The moment the Immortal Boat traversed the High Wall, it attracted the attention of unknown entities beyond the wall. Consequently, the Star Sea's consciousness perceived an incredibly intense crisis.

It was as if a catalyst had ignited the immense vitality stored within the Fissure Depression. "The Star Sea's revival has advanced once again."

"The Form of Living Beings, the Star Sea's consciousness, the High Wall, the Immortal Realm..." Gripping Artisan Qiaogong, who was still deep in enlightenment, Li Fan slowly pondered as he returned to the Xuanhuang Realm.

"Wonderful!" Artisan Qiaogong exclaimed in delight, as if waking from a dream.

"Although I haven't yet seen its complete form, I have a premonition that, by following this Form of Living Beings, I can modify Shangguan's consciousness according to my own desires. I can create the Shangguan Tuo of my dreams, uniquely tailored for me!" "Shangguan, wait for me, wait for me..." Artisan Qiaogong's eyes had become somewhat frenzied with extreme joy. At that moment, his sole thought was to immediately find a quiet, secluded place to construct his custom-made Shangguan Tuo puppet.

"I heard you possess several sets of combat memory data from the Immortal Puppet Ancestor, Artisan Qiaogong?" Li Fan unexpectedly interjected at that moment, blocking Artisan Qiaogong's path.

"Yes, yes, yes! Does Saint Master need them? Please, take them!" Artisan Qiaogong, increasingly dominated by his desires, didn't bother to ponder how Li Fan had come to know of this secret. He simply tossed a seven-colored light cluster to Li Fan.

Li Fan inspected it, smiled slightly, and cleared the path. Artisan Qiaogong darted away, disappearing to an unknown location. Li Fan, meanwhile, held the light cluster in one hand and went to Tianyang's meditation retreat.

Ever since his battle with the Thousand-Eyed Desolate God on the Immortal Boat, Tianyang had entered a state of secluded meditation and enlightenment. His aura surged and receded like a sea of clouds, sometimes spreading freely in all directions, sometimes rapidly retracting and becoming completely concealed. Li Fan even faintly felt the same chilling terror from Tianyang that he had experienced when directly confronting the Thousand-Eyed Desolate God.

"The power of Star Spirits, a complete Immortal Realm, the essence of a shattered world, the convergence of true immortal remnants..." "In this life, I'm preparing more and more methods. But for some reason, the unease in my heart is growing day by day." Before Tianyang's Immortal Puppet, Li Fan's expression was unreadable.

"My premonitions have always been accurate. Countless experiences throughout my cycles of reincarnation have proven this," Li Fan thought. "It seems that promoting the Xuanhuang's sublimation will inevitably lead to unexpected crises..." "I need help, even if they can only buy me a moment's time."

Li Fan slowly implanted the entire seven-colored light cluster into Tianyang's Immortal Puppet body. The moment the light cluster approached, as if sensing a threat, the true immortal flesh on Tianyang's surface surged up like living matter, baring its fangs and claws.

However, upon actually contacting the Immortal Puppet Ancestor's combat memories, the flesh quieted for a brief moment. Then, its reaction became even more violent, akin to a riot, eagerly pulling the light cluster into Tianyang's body.

A hint of ferocity suddenly flashed across Tianyang's originally serene face. Two distinctly different auras appeared on him simultaneously. One was ancient, desolate, and sinister. The other was righteous and magnificent, unmoving in all directions.

One originated from the Thousand-Eyed Desolate God, the other from the Immortal Puppet Ancestor. Both were transcendent beings, though not comparable to True Immortals. Nevertheless, they were not something ordinary cultivators could withstand.

Normally, under the influence of these two completely opposing auras, even a Grand Superior Realm cultivator in the Star Sea would find their mind wavering and eroding amidst the violent storm. But the core of the Immortal Puppet was the Eternal Remnant Will!

In the struggle of auras, even Li Fan was forced to subtly retreat. Yet Tianyang, at the center of the storm, remained steadfast and unmoving, enduring the assault as if unperturbed by wind and rain. Far from being diminished by the raging auras, he shone ever brighter, like gold refined by intense fire!

"Is this the Eternal Remnant Will?" Li Fan wondered. It was his first time truly witnessing what eternity entailed.

Despite being merely a mortal relic, it could stand firm against immortal-level power. This extreme contrast deeply shook Li Fan's mind.

He suddenly recalled that there was another Eternal Remnant Will in the Xuanhuang Realm that Huanzhen had not yet absorbed: Mr. Bai's skull from the Divine Repository Museum!

"Too much time has passed," he thought. "Now that I've achieved the Immortal Soul, it's time to collect it."

Although he now had few rivals within the Star Sea, he sometimes still felt restricted. "Only by integrating with the Immortal Soul and stepping into the Immortal Realm—even if only as a half-immortal—can I truly move unhindered!"

At this moment, Li Fan's resolve was firmer than ever before. "Tianyang's Immortal Soul is one reliance. Perhaps this sword can also serve the purpose."

Li Fan flashed to the center of the Grand Xuan Sermon Platform. He took out the liquid longsword and placed it quietly before him.

The spiritual energy within him surged as he meticulously engraved all the currently discovered 'Form of Living Beings' onto the sword's body. Compared to his first attempt, the size of the living patterns had almost doubled.

The sword body no longer transformed into an ink-like black; instead, it remained azure. Li Fan had also deliberately left large blank spaces in unexplored areas, so he could complete them at any time in the future.

Once the 'Form of Living Beings' was fully imprinted, a fluctuation that Li Fan currently couldn't comprehend descended, enveloping the liquid longsword. A dazzling light shone forth, then slowly extinguished. A naked, fair-faced young Daoist boy slowly appeared before Li Fan.

In the instant of his birth, the young Daoist boy's eyes showed a hint of confusion. A moment later, he seemed to grasp his own origin. "Thank you, Great Master, for bestowing life," the young Daoist boy said in a clear, crisp voice, bowing before Li Fan.