Chapter 1423: Le Tu Approaching Xuan Huang

Chapter 1426

Under normal circumstances, the divine abilities of ordinary cultivators could not withstand such rapid improvements brought about by enlightenment. Their fate was to grasp the truth in the morning and die contentedly by evening.

But at this moment, the Realm of Guixu was entirely under Li Fan's control. Life and death were dictated not by Heaven, but by Fan (Li Fan)!

Mysterious and unfathomable power descended, sculpting and strengthening the soul in Li Fan's palm. The speck of light grew increasingly crystalline and brilliant, its emanating aura becoming more and more astonishing.

Unlike others present, in Li Fan's vision, a string of numbers floated above this speck of soul light. It was Xuan Ji and Wan Ling Gui Shu, components of the Xuan Yuan Primordial Spirit Grand Array, specifically quantifying the soul's strengthening degree. It rapidly climbed from 23, and only after reaching 80 did the growth rate slow down.

"Without the infinite properties of immortal spiritual power, even with the numerous phantom powers of the Xuanhuang Realm within me, it's not enough to use the Desolation and Void Bloom Grand Arrays without restraint. But this Wan Ling Gui Shu can be applied without issue."

"However, approaching the Longevity Realm, yet only barely reaching an intensity of 90?" Li Fan couldn't help but glance above his head. A hundred times the Longevity Realm. But this was not Li Fan's actual combat power, but the maximum quantifiable strength of the Wan Ling Gui Shu Grand Array.

"If a True Immortal were to enter the array, it would probably only be represented by a string of question marks for now." The Heaven-Penetrating Grand Array combined with the Wan Ling Gui Shu Grand Array could quantify cultivators' strengths in illusions using numerical values. It could even infuse insights into the Grand Dao to cultivators in a quantified "experience value" manner. This facilitated the birth of a large number of Longevity Realm powerhouses within the Dream Paradise.

The difference between the Dream Paradise and an illusory realm is that an illusory realm can be arbitrarily fabricated and distorted with little cost. However, conversely, it is almost impossible for things from an illusory realm to manifest in the real world. In contrast, the Dream Paradise is built upon reality. Everything within the dream can quickly manifest in reality, provided sufficient energy.

"The True Immortal level aside for now. If I forcibly connect to the power of the Infinite Star Sea, countless Longevity and below-Longevity powerhouses could be summoned into reality overnight."

"This is already very close to the Meteor Immortal Realm." Within the Meteor Immortal Realm, there exist countless worlds that are both extremely real and illusory. Among them, there are many Longevity cultivators. Since objects from the Meteor Immortal Realm can be brought into reality, then theoretically, cultivators from the Meteor Immortal Realm should also be able to.

However, throughout history, only the consciousnesses of Xuanhuang Realm cultivators have journeyed to the Meteor Immortal Realm. There has never been a record of Meteor Immortal Realm cultivators breaking the barrier between reality and illusion to descend upon the Xuanhuang Realm. Li Fan believed this was a restriction set by the True Immortal who originally created the Meteor Immortal Realm.

"Perhaps only by achieving True Immortal status within the Meteor Immortal Realm can one overcome this restriction."

"Unfortunately, it's almost impossible." Li Fan, who had only just achieved Half-Immortal status after immense hardship, naturally understood the difficulty. At the very least, such a figure would not appear in the Xuanhuang Meteor Immortal Realm for the next several millennia.

The Meteor Immortal Realm, formed from the True Immortal's lingering thoughts, the Abyssal Sea, created from the True Immortal's corpse, and the True Immortal's will to survive, slumbering deep within the Abyssal Sea—all still held significant meaning for Li Fan. After all, the opportunity for further transformation and achieving True Immortal status might be hidden within them. Although becoming a True Immortal might attract pursuit from forces beyond the Wall.

But Li Fan could not shrink back or abandon his progress because of this. Moreover, he had the assistance of the Return to Truth ability. At worst, he could first attain True Immortal status to personally experience what it was like. If the situation was indeed critical and a True Immortal's plight precarious, he could simply revert to his Half-Immortal anchor point and start anew.

As Li Fan pondered, the soul in his palm, purely in terms of strength, was no longer weaker than Zhao Ruoxi's. Such astonishing methods naturally deeply impressed everyone present.

Chapter 1431

Wuyou, however, quietly asked with a hint of worry, "If so many powerhouses suddenly appear in the Dream Paradise, I'm afraid I won't be able to sustain it..."

Before she could finish, Li Fan interrupted, "No matter. With my assistance, the Dream Paradise will remain safe and sound."

Wuyou's heart sank, knowing that from now on, the control of the Dream Paradise would likely no longer be in her hands. But she also knew that this might also be a great opportunity for her. Her strength was closely tied to the scale of the Dream Paradise. Even if control was forcibly transferred, the Paradise, which would undoubtedly grow stronger under a True Immortal's management, would certainly feed back immense benefits to her. As her thoughts raced, Wuyou could only express gratitude for the True Immortal Senior's grace.

The transformation of Wuyou's Dream Paradise was undoubtedly a massive undertaking. The most crucial aspect was ensuring the safety of the billions of existing beings within the Paradise. Under Li Fan's command, Emperor Sanmo and several other Longevity Venerables from the Five Elders' Council entered different regions within the Dream Paradise to oversee the integration of the arrays.

Wuyou, meanwhile, released her mind, allowing Li Fan to manipulate it. Following the Ink-Slaying Dao Annihilation Aspect, which had been previously implanted and had silently permeated every corner of the Dream Paradise, Li Fan channeled the combined power of the Heaven-Penetrating, Grand Dao As Me, Xuan Ji, and Wan Ling Gui Shu arrays into the dream. With several Longevity cultivators acting as nodes, the array power quickly took root within the Paradise.

The gradual infiltration of the Dissolution Disc's immortal spiritual power, through the parasitic arrays, began to transform the Dream Paradise. With every bit of transformation, Li Fan's control over the Dream Paradise increased. Although Venerable Wuyou was the original creator of the Paradise, she was now helpless regarding the transfer of her creation. She even faintly felt that she was still able to gain benefits from her subtle connection to the Paradise, which was due to the True Immortal Senior's benevolence in not completely severing the link.

Little did Wuyou know that Li Fan retained her connection to the Paradise precisely because he intended to use her as a scapegoat at a critical moment. After all, exploring beyond the Wall in this lifetime might attract the attention of some supreme powerhouses, who could then trace it back through the Dream Paradise. With Wuyou serving as the nominal master, Li Fan would have a brief buffer of time to calmly escape, avoiding a desperate situation.

The process of taking over the Dream Paradise seemed extremely smooth. Through the Dissolution Disc's perception, in Li Fan's view, a translucent band of illusory light, like a veil, floated within the Darkest Star Sea. It intertwined with reality but did not overlap. From time to time, faint specks of light were drawn from reality, flying towards the Dream Paradise. Within the light band, a new thread quickly formed, indicating a new dream was being generated.

Seated in Xuanhuang, Li Fan's consciousness rapidly advanced with the help of the Dream Paradise. It was even several times faster than the escape art of the wooden sword phantom. In an instant, it reached the fringes of the Star Sea, beneath the Great Wall. It was vastly different from the invisible and formless scene seen through normal vision. What Li Fan saw now was a distinct, dim, curved boundary line, separating the inside and outside of the Great Wall. The boundary line, acting as an obstruction, still gave an insurmountable feeling. But since it now had a materialized form, it appeared that crossing the Great Wall might not be impossible.

"Is this the Great Wall's seal, weaker when interacting with consciousness?"

"No wonder several members of the Five Elders' Council were determined to escape beyond the Great Wall through Wuyou's Paradise."

After observing closely for a long time, Li Fan suddenly felt something was amiss. Previously, when he probed the Great Wall in reality, he would experience its pressure. More critically, comprehending the principles of the Great Wall came with the characteristic of "lose once, lose forever." However, this characteristic was absent in the Dream Paradise.

Li Fan pondered deeply, remaining still for a long time. Gazing at the dim line nearby, a sudden, inexplicable thought emerged in his mind.

"Perhaps it's because only consciousness exists within the Dream Paradise, and it's not complete."

"The Great Wall is like a mirror, reflecting oneself."

"The state in which one perceives the Great Wall influences what one sees and feels."

Li Fan also recalled that a mere Great Wall could block the prying of powerful beings like Black Heavenly Doctor and Evil Su Bai. "This realm of the Great Wall is also a one-way mirror."

Gazing at it, Li Fan suppressed his restless urge to cross the Great Wall within the Dream Paradise. Based on Mo Rubing and Heavenly Doctor's previous insights into the Great Wall in reality, Li Fan had faintly guessed that this Great Wall might be like a Dragon Gate. Although it was an insurmountable chasm for all beings within the Wall, for those capable of leaping across, it also meant immense benefits. With a thought, he instantly traversed thousands of mountains and rivers, returning to the Xuanhuang Realm.

The transformation of the Dream Paradise was initially complete. Next was to open up more interfaces. Previously, due to Wuyou's own strength limitations and the deterrent presence of the Dharma Transmission Heavenly Venerable, only beings living in a small part of the Five Elders' Council territory could enter the Dream Paradise. But now, under Li Fan's instructions, the illusory band of light floating above the Xuanhuang Realm emitted thousands of light tentacles. Radiating across the entire Xuanhuang Realm, as well as several affiliated minor worlds and grotto-heavens. The illusory light and shadows flickered in and out, seemingly there one moment and gone the next. At this moment, countless beings were drawn into a phantasmagorical dream.

As they fell into slumber, the beings' physical bodies in reality were subsequently absorbed by the Dream Paradise and temporarily stored. What moved within the Paradise were entirely new conceptual bodies, fabricated and created based on their souls. The number of cultivators was considerable, but compared to the vast number of mortals, it was insignificant.

The biggest change in the updated Dream Paradise compared to before was that each area now had a huge floating city in the sky, an enhanced version of the Myriad Immortal Alliance's Heavenly City. It was fully equipped with various functions like combat training, rest, and trade. One could even actively choose dream regions. Newcomers, seeing everything before them, immediately felt dazzled. For veteran players of the Dream Paradise, the biggest surprise of this update was the removal of death penalties. No matter how many times one died in the dream world, they would respawn in the "main city."

Furthermore, compared to previous cultivation methods which were the same as in reality, the dream now featured "Enlightenment Value." Enlightenment Value could be acquired by completing dream quests and various other methods. Using Enlightenment Value could directly enhance one's cultivation and realm. Now, the speed at which cultivators grew was incomparable to the past. Moreover, according to the announcement, a batch of entirely new dream worlds would soon open. Those who achieved initial success would also receive additional rewards. With the injection of so many new elements, the Dream Paradise presented a flourishing scene.

In reality, however, Venerable Wuyou's state was not as good. Even with Li Fan's modifications, which expanded the dream nearly a hundredfold, it was an unbearable burden for Wuyou. Had it not been for the protection of the Xuanhuang Realm phantom image bestowed by Li Fan, Wuyou would likely have been instantly crushed by her own creation. Now, to maintain her mental focus, Wuyou had regressed to an infant state, falling into a deep slumber. However, her tightly furrowed brows and occasional cries highlighted her suffering.

Everything has its pros and cons. If Wuyou bore most of the hardship of establishing the dream, then Li Fan reaped almost all the benefits. As the de facto master of the dream, Li Fan was able to observe so many beings up close. Their every action, joy, anger, sorrow, and delight — indeed, every emotional fluctuation — Li Fan could perceive with absolute clarity.

Li Fan gradually gained a deeper understanding of "humans" as a species. If, previously, due to the Return to Truth cycle of a single thought, all beings in the world had gradually become meaningless symbols or codes in Li Fan's eyes, now, through the close observation afforded by the Dream Paradise, these "symbols" in Li Fan's eyes became vivid and distinct once more. Although still symbols, they were more pronounced.

Li Fan realized that this more concrete and practical understanding was of great help in comprehending the transformation of truth and falsehood. Ultimately, to turn falsehood into truth, or truth into falsehood, one must at least have a complete understanding of the essence of things. Although Li Fan could successfully perform the truth-falsehood transformation with the aid of the Return to Truth's immense power, even without fulfilling this prerequisite, if Li Fan could inherently comprehend the essence of things himself, perhaps the "saved" power of Return to Truth could help him achieve even more.

With this thought, Li Fan split his mind into countless strands, his consciousness immersing itself in the Dream Paradise. Exploring beyond the Great Wall was not a task for a single day. With the current strength of the Xuanhuang Realm, it still needed time to accumulate power. The countdown to the arrival of the Doomsday Calamity steadily shortened.

In the blink of an eye, ten years passed.

The absence of death and the presence of Enlightenment Value allowed cultivators in the Dream Paradise to increase their strength at an astonishing rate. In just ten short years, the Paradise nearly collapsed over thirty times. Li Fan personally intervened several times to barely maintain the stability of the dream. And after dozens of iterations, the Dream Paradise now completely filled the space within the Great Wall. Some of its pioneering tendrils had even broken through the Great Wall! Though it was only on the conscious level.

The significant difference between the inside and outside of the Great Wall still greatly surprised Li Fan. Simply put, in the dream worlds outside the Great Wall, the "Enlightenment Value" that the Heaven-Penetrating Grand Array could draw upon was generally five or six times higher than inside the Great Wall.