Chapter 1409: Rescuing Qiao Sidao

It was just as I had seen in the previous life.

So, Hazhen really did activate. Not only did it create something out of nothing, opening up a new possibility within a false space-time, but it also reset all time nodes in the mortal realm to a predetermined anchor point. Such immense power... Li Fan felt a shock he had never experienced before. This was especially true after witnessing beings like Xie Subai and Heitianyi, whose power seemed to surpass even that of an unknown True Immortal. No matter how powerful they appeared, before Hazhen, everything was an illusion! With a single thought, it could turn true into false, and false into true! Based on the estimated power of Hazhen, theoretically, even Heitianyi should not be able to operate within the Dao Concealment region after Hazhen is activated. The only possible explanation seemed to be that Li Fan, as the vessel, was too weak, which affected Hazhen's efficacy.

“Weak...?” Li Fan, who had already ascended to the Half-Immortal realm, suddenly felt a sour taste in his mouth. But then he remembered that under the Tribulation of Dao Annihilation, even countless True Immortals perished like ants. In comparison, the "weakness" of a Half-Immortal was not so difficult to accept.

Recalling the wildly surging age limit he experienced in the previous life when he encountered Heitianyi, Li Fan's heart stirred. The Transformation of True and False abruptly activated. Thanks to personally witnessing the entire process of Hazhen creating a completely new possibility, Li Fan's understanding of the Transformation of True and False advanced by leaps and bounds. He visualized his Half-Immortal cultivation from the previous possibility. As he thought, the cultivation descended upon his body, stacking. Unlike before, when it could only last for a very short time, Li Fan could now maintain this false cultivation for nearly the time it takes to brew a cup of tea! Even... Li Fan narrowed his eyes, and with full concentration, attempted to stack the false cultivation once more. It was indeed possible. However, the mental burden brought by this act instantly expanded more than tenfold. The duration of the stacked cultivation also plummeted accordingly, and it exhibited significant fluctuations.

“Just replicating my own cultivation was already so difficult. It was truly hard to imagine the realm of creating an entire possibility out of nothing...” Li Fan sighed, looking at the numbers on the panel. Even with three times the Half-Immortal cultivation, his strength had not yet directly surpassed that of a True Immortal, but it was probably very close. However... 7,365,864 years, 13 days, and 8 hours! Such a significant increase in strength, according to Hazhen's deductions, could only delay the Great Tribulation of Destruction in the mortal realm by one hour! Better than nothing, but barely! “It seems my current strength is still far from sufficient to get involved.” Li Fan's heart immediately grew heavy.

Indeed, Hazhen could reset the entire mortal realm again and again, preventing complete destruction. However, the decline of the mortal realm was an unstoppable trend. No matter how Hazhen tried to turn the tide, the Tribulation of Dao Annihilation would eventually swallow everything. It was much like the endless cycle of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only for it to inevitably roll back down to the bottom each time. Only by reaching the level of power seen in Xie Subai and Heitianyi did there seem to be a chance to break the cycle. But the problem was that the appearance of these two was too sudden and unreasonable, and it was completely beyond Li Fan's expectations.

The existence of Heitianyi, in particular, filled Li Fan with a subtle sense of dread. “Once the Celestial Physician inside the wall is sensed, Heitianyi will instantly descend. Doesn't that mean that for all these years, the entire Darkest Star Sea has been teetering on the brink of life and death? If the Celestial Physician hadn't been preoccupied with his homeland, dedicating most of his energy to reviving the Celestial Law Realm, Heitianyi would probably have been summoned long ago! Furthermore, based on the progress the Celestial Physician showed in his understanding in the previous life, it seemed he wouldn't need much longer to completely decipher the secrets of the High Wall. Even without the variables I introduced, once the Celestial Law Realm successfully resurrected, the Celestial Physician would still eventually try to understand the High Wall. The day of his successful revival would then not be far from his demise... It truly is ironic.”

Li Fan's thoughts raced. He suddenly recalled the life where he was the Heavenly Xuan Spirit Lock. At that time, he transformed into the Array-Breaking Jade Plate and existed for thousands of years. In the year 2078, the world became completely silent. It wasn't until the year 3024 that the long-awaited sunlight returned. “It seems that due to the existence of Heitianyi, under normal circumstances, the Profound Yellow Realm will eventually face a dead end. But when Heitianyi took action, the Profound Yellow Realm, or the nascent Celestial Law Realm, did not entirely turn to dust; there was still a possibility of life recovering after a thousand years... Heitianyi must have been moved by something he saw, and held back.” Li Fan pondered to himself. Because of the terrifyingly powerful beings inside the wall—Heitianyi and Xie Subai—Li Fan's plans for this life also needed to be significantly altered. At the very least, he absolutely could not let the Celestial Physician approach the High Wall again.

“What the situation is like beyond the High Wall is still unclear. In the previous life, within the Dao Concealment Black-White Domain, through the straight, empty path created by Heitianyi's impact, I vaguely glimpsed the scene beyond the High Wall. It seemed to be a normal star sea, with life scattered like stars. But at the end of my sight, something blocked my view. Is there another High Wall beyond the High Wall?” Li Fan couldn't help but wonder. “To understand the current situation beyond the High Wall, perhaps I should start with that descendant of the Heavenly Sword Sect.”

Turning his attention back to the Hazhen inheritance options, Li Fan pondered for a moment before choosing to accelerate the charging speed. Hazhen's charging speed had always been closely linked to Li Fan's strength. After achieving Half-Immortal status, this was the first time he chose this option, and Li Fan was pleasantly surprised to notice a difference from before. On the Hazhen panel, after his realm changed to Immortal, the moment Hazhen returned, the False Transformation charging progress was already at 50. When Li Fan chose to accelerate charging again, this progress bar jumped dramatically, going straight to 99! “The waiting time required has been greatly reduced. Unfortunately, it's still not 100. A 1% difference makes a world of difference!” If he could fully charge the progress bar every time he chose to accelerate charging, it would mean Li Fan could activate Hazhen continuously. Even if he encountered enemies capable of traversing possibilities in the future, he could calmly escape in an instant. But this 1% difference meant he still had to endure a waiting period of at least seven days. “Until I can achieve 100% charge instantly, I must act with extreme caution.” As Li Fan's strength increased, the beings he encountered also became increasingly difficult to fathom. Especially Heitianyi, who could pursue across possibilities and operate within the Dao Concealment region, posed an enormous threat to Li Fan. “I wonder if, by ascending to the True Immortal realm, I could suppress him?” With Heitianyi's extremely cold, strikingly similar eyes appearing in his mind, Li Fan couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Seven days later. With Hazhen fully charged, Li Fan's figure flickered, and he silently slipped into the Profound Yellow Realm. His destination was naturally the soul named Qiao Sidao, hidden within the Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters, in the Museum of Divine Treasures. Having experienced hundreds of billions of reincarnations, he could still maintain his independent consciousness and could even deduce the possible truth of the Tribulation of Dao Annihilation based on Emperor Sanmo's descriptions. Li Fan was very interested in him.

“If possible, perhaps I can let him explore beyond the High Wall in my stead. But I also need to be wary of whether there's another Qiao Sidao outside the wall.” As Li Fan passed by Mr. Bai's skull, his footsteps paused. As expected, Hazhen, which had already been absorbed once, no longer transmitted any prompts. Li Fan also deliberately avoided Xie Subai's trial illusion within Mr. Bai's skull. Ignoring it, he headed straight for the ruins of Mount Nanming Sacred Beast within the Museum of Divine Treasures. “Speaking of which, Hazhen can generate possibilities out of thin air with a single thought. Yet, it still needs to consume certain rare items from these possibilities...” Li Fan's thoughts drifted. Hazhen seemed to sense his thoughts, and a wave of what seemed like mockery, mixed with a hint of helplessness, emanated from it. But after that, no matter how he tried to sense it, no further fluctuations appeared.

Upon arriving at the Mount Nanming ruins, Emperor Sanmo had already been waiting for a long time. Just as in the previous life, he respectfully said, “Greetings, Senior!” Although Li Fan hadn't displayed his actual combat power in this life, his ability to silently bypass all restrictions of the Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters and reach the Museum of Divine Treasures undoubtedly proved his strength. From Emperor Sanmo's changing expression, Li Fan could tell that he had no memories of the previous life. Feeling a sense of relief, he said nothing, merely nodded, and began to observe the ruins before him. Indeed, just as Emperor Sanmo had said, there were faint traces of mysterious energy remaining. And within these sparse energy remnants, an extremely weak soul was concealed. Hidden by the mysterious energy, even Li Fan, a Half-Immortal, would not have easily detected it without Emperor Sanmo's specific reminder. The soul's appearance was no different from what Emperor Sanmo had described in the previous life.

Li Fan reached out and directly seized half of Qiao Sidao's life-saving energy. It was as if he was barely surviving in a nearly dried-up pond, and now, the water in the pond had inexplicably diminished so much at once. Qiao Sidao's soul immediately trembled, as if experiencing immense pain. Emperor Sanmo seemed about to speak but hesitated. However, facing the subtle imposing aura emanating from Li Fan, he ultimately chose to remain silent. Li Fan, however, had no intention of deliberately making things difficult for Qiao Sidao. On the contrary, Li Fan intended to save his life!

Li Fan absorbed the mysterious energy into his body and carefully comprehended it. It was different from the spiritual energy of the Profound Yellow Realm, and even from immortal spiritual qi. However, Li Fan still felt a faint sense of familiarity. This sense of familiarity seemed to stem from the inherited memories of transforming into a Profound Bird back in the Immortalfall Realm. But beyond that, Li Fan knew nothing about it. Nevertheless, this did not prevent Li Fan from using the Transformation of True and False on it! He compressed and encased this mass of energy within his Dantian. He stood for a while, and when his comprehension was sufficient, the Transformation of True and False descended abruptly. Under the extremely mysterious fluctuations, an identical small sphere instantly appeared in Li Fan's hand! It glowed with an eerie bronze-green light, tinged with faint silver. While the Transformation of True and False was still active, Li Fan flicked his finger lightly, injecting the bronze-green sphere into Qiao Sidao's soul. Like a timely rain after a long drought, Qiao Sidao's extremely fragile soul visibly strengthened. After Qiao Sidao had fully absorbed the energy sphere, Li Fan, with a thought, canceled the Transformation of True and False. His divine sense enveloped Qiao Sidao, observing every subtle change in him. It was just as Li Fan had expected. Although the augmentation from the Transformation of True and False vanished, the energy generated out of thin air, after being absorbed during the Transformation's duration, did not completely dissipate. Because it had a vessel, a slight remnant persisted. Although the proportion was not large, it was still of great significance to Li Fan.

After resting for a short while, Li Fan activated the Transformation of True and False again, taking out a second sphere. When Li Fan took out the first energy sphere, Emperor Sanmo had only assumed it was the energy Li Fan had just extracted. But now, seeing Li Fan take out a new one after seemingly exhausting the energy, Emperor Sanmo's usually calm face could no longer maintain its composure. Li Fan also noticed that, from beginning to end, the other party seemed completely unaware of the Transformation of True and False in action, even though the fluctuations of the Transformation of True and False were so obvious to Li Fan. “However, I cannot afford to be complacent. Perhaps besides me, the vessel, there are other powerful beings in the world who can detect the activation of the Transformation of True and False. In the future, when using divine abilities, I must always be mindful of my own safety.”

While pondering, and through the continuous activation of the Transformation of True and False, under the unceasing infusion of numerous mysterious energy spheres, Qiao Sidao finally showed signs of recovery. He awoke from his slumber. “Uncle San, what’s happening to me...?” Qiao Sidao quickly realized the unusual scene before him. Reacting swiftly, despite his weakened state, he expressed gratitude for Li Fan's rescue. Li Fan nodded slightly, his actions continuous. Using local materials, he crafted a temporary body for Qiao Sidao from the Museum of Divine Treasures' collection. Only after injecting Qiao Sidao's soul into it did Li Fan cease his actions. Continuously using the Transformation of True and False was no small burden for him. He stood catching his breath, yet showed no trace of weariness. At the same time, he waited for Qiao Sidao to adapt to this new body.

In less than half a day, Qiao Sidao recovered from his near-death state. All of Emperor Sanmo's past efforts had been futile, like drawing water with a bamboo basket. But now, this senior before him, with just a slight action, could turn decay into wonder... How could Qiao Sidao not understand the terrifying power of the person before him? Bowing slightly, Qiao Sidao sincerely thanked him, “Many thanks, Senior, for saving my life!” Emperor Sanmo, meanwhile, still seemed to be reeling from his recent shock, his body still trembling slightly.

Li Fan extended his right hand and placed it on Qiao Sidao's head. A divine thought entered Qiao Sidao's soul. Facing his savior and the absolute disparity in strength, Qiao Sidao's expression subtly changed, but he ultimately did not resist. He allowed Li Fan to observe the memories within his soul.