Chapter 1431: Mind Manifesting God

Li Fan vaguely sensed an aura similar to the Celestial Pillar of South Immortal from several key nodes of the Dao Web.

Before he could ponder further, the magnificent Dao Web suddenly faded and vanished from his sight.

In Elysium City, the bustling sounds seemed to collectively vanish for a moment, then instantly returned to normal. Perhaps only Li Fan, as the maintenance personnel in charge of the Dao Web, or the Lord of Elysium City, could perceive the changes occurring above the city.

If the Dao Web were a blank sheet of paper laid over the surface of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, then its maintenance would be akin to first spilling ink onto that paper and then pressing down firmly.

"The traces of the Dao Web are becoming clearer. What is caught in the net cannot escape its binding."

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, as if seeing Scholar Zhu's grim face. Yet, he did not prevent the Dao Web's encroachment on Elysium City; he merely watched in silence, allowing his "toy" to sink deeper and deeper into this web.

After the hum of the Dao Web subsided, Scholar Zhu cast a final glance in Li Fan's direction.

Li Fan bowed slightly, feigning a tense expression.

Only after three full breaths did Scholar Zhu look away, his figure disappearing into the city.

Li Fan paid no attention to the other party's threat, even temporarily casting aside all distracting thoughts. He recalled every detail of the Dao Web he had seen just moments before.

Ma Tiande, as one of the Dao Web's grassroots operators, was not merely a consumable. In fact, gaining access to and observing the Dao Web up close was itself an unparalleled opportunity coveted by all cultivators!

The Dao is formless and invisible.

Cultivators strive tirelessly to approach the Dao, the origin of all things.

Although Ma Tiande was a so-called Dao Controller, his actual cultivation was only equivalent to the Nascent Soul realm. At this level, let alone seeing the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, he couldn't even comprehend a single one of the countless Daos.

However, precisely because of his special status as a Dao Controller, he could frequently glimpse the Dao Web, which was a reflection of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

"Ma Tiande's aptitude is truly mediocre; in the Darkest Star Sea, he probably couldn't even reach the Qi Condensation stage. Furthermore, the Directorate of the Star Sea intentionally did not impart any concepts or knowledge about cultivation. So, even after countless times of being so close to the Great Dao, his cultivation remained unremarkable."

"He possesses a great treasure yet is unaware!"

Li Fan sighed, slowly digesting the profound insights that lingered in his mind.

"True Immortal Sigils are transmissions from the Engraving Dao Immortal. By studying True Immortal Sigils, people can glimpse the Great Dao of the world through the Engraving Dao Immortal's eyes."

"The Dao Web, however, is directly a shadow of the Great Dao. Or rather, a replica."

"It is even closer to the Dao itself than True Immortal Sigils."

"Remarkable!" The well-informed Li Fan genuinely praised.

Li Fan's comprehension was naturally incomparable to Ma Tiande's.

During his initial glimpse, inspiration surged like never before. Li Fan compared and verified the fragmented 'Dao' reflections he had seen through various channels in the past against the real Dao Web.

His comprehension of the Dao ascended steadily, like furious ocean waves, each surpassing the last.

This was, in a sense, a culmination of deep accumulation, a natural unfolding that was bound to happen.

Although it was merely a wisp of divine sense, once it could align with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, it could bring about wondrous transformations. The divine sense was like a thin membrane, upon which countless blurred, horizontally and vertically interwoven lines emerged.

It was remarkably seventy to eighty percent similar to the Dao Web Li Fan had seen!

Evidently, Li Fan had used his divine sense as paper and performed another impression upon the Dao Web, a replica of the Great Dao!

Though it was a replica of a replica, the original source was, after all, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth!

Even if Li Fan's divine sense membrane had only just managed to reproduce the most basic shape, it was enough to manifest the true power of the Great Dao.

Lights flickered on the membrane, seemingly echoing the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth from afar.

As if possessing infinite vitality and power, the flickering light and shadow completed Li Fan's "weak" divine sense.

Slowly, this wisp of divine sense gradually incubated into a complete likeness of Li Fan!

Only the finer details remained somewhat blurry.

"This is... Mind-Transformed Deity?"

The moment the Divine Sense Transformation Deity was born, Li Fan's true body, far away in the Profound Yellow World, also changed dramatically. He sensed everything happening in the Star Sea and Elysium City.

He had clearly severed all connections with his divine sense, losing the link to the Dream Paradise's power, and was separated by a distance equivalent to dozens of Darkest Star Seas, with an invisible high wall standing between them.

Yet, Li Fan could still establish a synchronous connection with this ethereal divine sense clone of his.

Li Fan's expression gradually became fascinating.

"It's not a direct connection between us, but rather through the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth as a relay."

"All things in the world, from top to bottom, are projections of the Great Dao. My part, its projected position within the Great Dao, is also unique."

"Though separated by immense distance and various obstructing methods, as long as we both exist under this Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, this synchronization cannot be affected."

Li Fan quickly understood why this seemingly incredible outcome was possible.

Relying on his profound understanding of the Great Dao, he astonishingly used the Dao Web as a template to construct another miniature Dao Web within himself!

As he connected with the divine sense in the Star Sea, Li Fan's main body's divine sense also underwent corresponding changes.

The difference between his true body and his clone did not result in a clearer pattern on that membrane. Everything depended on his comprehension of the Great Dao.

In his Sea of Consciousness, after the Mind-Transformed Deity was born, a phantom of Li Fan stood upright.

The Dao Transformation Stone suddenly erupted with dazzling blue light, then transformed into thousands of rays of light, surging into the phantom.

Further completing the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth patterns upon it!

Some of the Dao Transformation Stone's light rays perfectly merged into the phantom of the Mind-Transformed Deity. Others circled around but found no suitable place to reside. Unable to usurp the nest, they aimlessly spun for a few rounds before emerging from the phantom.

Reverting back into a Dao Transformation Stone.

However, due to the missing components of the Great Dao it formed, the quality of this Dao Transformation Stone had dropped from a Mother Stone grade to a mid-grade.

But this was not what Li Fan cared about.

Given some time, he could effortlessly restore the Dao Transformation Stone's quality by continuously stacking the True-False Transformation.

"This phenomenon of the Dao Transformation Stone confirms my previous judgment."

"The Mother Dao Transformation Stone is indeed formed from a potential, complete Great Dao. However, that potential Great Dao is not the same as the original one I am in; it's even significantly weaker. Thus, only a part of the Great Dao within the Dao Transformation Stone emerged to complete the Dao pattern in my Mind-Transformed Deity."

"But even so, with the Dao Transformation Stone's supplement, this miniature Dao Web I constructed instantly transformed from being unsightly to quite presentable."

Li Fan's mind revelled in the Great Dao Web within his divine sense, unable to extricate himself.

Due to the large amount of external aid, Li Fan momentarily couldn't achieve the initial feeling of perfect control, like moving an arm. This had both advantages and disadvantages.

However, as it was built relying on Li Fan's divine sense, he still maintained absolute control.

After indulging in it for a long time, Li Fan finally came back to his senses and let out a long breath: "This is already very close to the theoretical Mind-Transformed Deity."

"To support the shadow of the Great Dao with one's own mind."

"By chance, I somehow skipped several steps preceding the New Method and arrived directly at this stage."

"Although it has some flaws..."

If it were the theoretically perfect state of the New New Method, what would appear on Li Fan's divine sense phantom at this moment would not merely be a deformed, distorted copy. Instead, his divine sense would be like a mirror, reflecting and manifesting the entirety of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth within it.

"Divine sense, from bottom to top, traces back to the origin of the Great Dao. Every thought and intention has the power to invoke the Great Dao."

"It's a pity that what I reflect is merely an incomplete replica."

Li Fan felt a slight regret in his heart.

However, he also knew that even at his current semi-immortal realm, attempting to glimpse the true Great Dao of this world would be an absolute pipe dream.

"A counterfeit manifested with the help of a peerless expert is not a bad temporary alternative."

After his mind manifested the miniature Dao Web, its benefits were far more than just enabling real-time communication regardless of distance.

At the very least, Li Fan also gained the ability to directly summon the power of the Great Dao against enemies, much like the Immortal Hunt cultivators of the Star Sea.

"However, the power of my miniature Dao Web cannot be compared to the Dao Web constructed by the Star Sea."

"But its efficiency is still more than a hundred times higher than directly using True Immortal Sigils."

Now that Li Fan had mastered his own unique Dao Web, he naturally understood the operational difference compared to conventional methods.

"Perhaps only now, with the destruction of the Immortal Realm and the absence of immortals, is this method without risk."

"In ancient times, if several nameless True Immortals had merged with the Great Dao, they would undoubtedly perceive me if I used the Dao Web to invoke the power of the Great Dao."

"I would become a public enemy to all nameless True Immortals... At the very beginning of my Dao validation, I would likely attract a joint pursuit. I truly wouldn't even know how I died."

After integrating the Great Dao contained within the Dao Transformation Stone, even though his own Dao Transformation Stone's quality decreased, the swiftness of Li Fan's thoughts remained unaffected.

He thought of many things in an instant.

"As for now, I don't know how many nameless True Immortals remain. And there's another larger Dao Web acting as a cover, drawing their attention."

"It's simply impossible to attract the attention of the nameless True Immortals."

"Even..."

Suddenly, a surge of baseless confidence rose in Li Fan's heart. After his Mind-Transformed Deity recreated his own Dao Web.

Even when facing a nameless True Immortal, he was no longer utterly powerless to retaliate.

"Nameless True Immortals completely grasp a Great Dao of Heaven and Earth."

"While my Mind-Transformed Deity is merely a replica of an incomplete impression of the Great Dao, the power of the Great Dao I can invoke is extremely limited."

"However, it triumphs in sheer quantity. And ultimately, it is still the power of the Great Dao. Theoretically, it's the same power that nameless True Immortals use, just with much less force," Li Fan realized in his heart.

This was certainly not arrogance born from a momentary breakthrough by chance.

Instead, it was a reasonable deduction based on his understanding of the Great Dao.

"Mine is still a half-baked Mind-Transformed Deity."

"If it were the truly ideal state of the New New Method, perhaps the Mind-Transformed Deity could genuinely contend with nameless True Immortals."

"If the Deity Transformation realm is already like this, what about Star Sea Dao Merging and Dao Chanting Longevity?"

"Could that be the realm where Black Heaven Physician and Xie Subai reside?"

Li Fan indulged in an almost uncontrollable fantasy.

Only much later did the flood of thoughts recede.

"My ability to achieve Mind-Transformed Deity was purely coincidental."

"Throughout my past hundred reincarnations, I not only encountered numerous True Immortal Sigils but also glimpsed complete Immortal Realms, True Immortal leg bones, and even scenes of black qi descending and the Great Dao's annihilation. The birth and destruction of the Dao allowed my comprehension of it to accumulate to an unimaginable degree for ordinary people."

"However, these alone were far from enough. Only with the Star Sea's Dao Web as a springboard could I fully transform my past accumulations into reality. A replica of a replica, though far inferior to the original, was the best method for a 'novice' like me to achieve this imitation."

"Besides that, more crucially..."

Li Fan's divine sense phantom thoroughly examined itself.

For the first time, he vaguely sensed the true existence of 'Still True'.

As elusive as the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, it was merely an ineffable, blurred outline in Li Fan's perception. Yet, Li Fan, who had been accompanied by 'Still True' for so long, felt certain in his heart.

That was Still True.

"The True-False Transformation contained within 'Still True' seems to encompass all Great Daos of Heaven and Earth."

"My comprehension of the True-False Transformation continuously deepens. To some extent, this means my understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth is also continuously deepening."

"Now, I can briefly maintain the existence of things that are 'false yet true'. Perhaps this is the fundamental reason why my divine sense phantom can accept a potentially complete Great Dao."

"If it were someone else..."

Li Fan mused, then after a moment of thought, slightly shook his head.

"Only a peerless genius, with perfect alignment of timing, location, and human harmony, might be able to achieve it."

"I originally thought I had truly pioneered a path for the New New Method."

"But it turns out I still relied on 'Still True' as a cheat, directly skipping the earlier stages. It's an isolated case, impossible to replicate."

However, Li Fan didn't really care whether others could cultivate it.

As long as it worked for him, that was enough.

"Although it's just a half-baked Mind-Transformed Deity, it has inadvertently pointed out my next direction."

"To interact with the Dao Web as much as possible, to refine my imitation."

"The True-False Transformation and the comprehension of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, pursuing both simultaneously. This will allow my reflection of the Dao Web to gradually approach the fundamental essence of the Great Dao..."

Li Fan's heart overflowed with joy.

Although the Immortal Path was severed, under the inspiration of the Star Sea civilization beyond the high wall, he had found a new possible path in such a short time.

"This is not merely the achievement of a mortal, or a single lifetime."

"Leaving aside the involvement of True Immortals for now, there's also a difference in time flow between inside and outside the wall..."

Li Fan slightly furrowed his brows, calculating.