Chapter 1456: Pity World Reincarnation Sect

This hidden method, where an object's secrets can only be unveiled by recognizing its specific characteristics, was precisely what Sun Piaomiao's relics possessed.

The statue before Li Buren shared a similar style with several relics Sun Piaomiao had left on the Xuanxian Boat, immediately prompting his realization.

"Almost all items left by Sun Piaomiao possess unique functions," he mused. "The humanoid puppet can double Huanzhen's charge. The Three-pronged Tree grants Huanzhen an additional simulation opportunity. And the bronze crane, once destroyed, even transmits a secret message to one's ear."

"Era of Heavenly Net, 213. Beginning with Shangzhang Dayuanxian, then Zuoe E'feng, and ending with Zhuoyong Chifenruo, Yanmao Xuanyue..."

As Li Buren thought this, he slowly approached the humanoid statue.

The items that had suddenly appeared in the hall seemed connected to the experiments conducted at this testing ground. Although Li Buren had permission to view them, their physical forms were not in the same space-time as his. He could only observe them from a distance, unable to make any contact. Only the humanoid statue, due to the subtle connection formed between Li Buren and other relics of Sun Piaomiao, allowed him a faint touch.

His fingers seemed to penetrate a layer of cool mist, rather than making contact with the statue's solid form. Even with only a hazy sensation, Li Buren still felt the profound and mysterious feeling he’d experienced when encountering Sun Piaomiao's relics. "If my true form were here," he mused, "perhaps I could directly absorb it through Huanzhen, bypassing the restrictions of this place. Unfortunately, this location appears to be specifically designed to capture Huanzhen. Until its secrets are fully uncovered, my true form would never risk entering such a perilous environment."

He had no choice but to find another way. Although he had established a preliminary connection with the humanoid statue, he found himself unable to proceed with any further actions. No form of energy, nor even his spiritual sense, could affect the statue, which seemed to exist between reality and illusion.

After countless futile attempts, Li Buren recalled various aspects of Sun Piaomiao. Suddenly, the whispered secret message resurfaced in his mind.

"Era of Heavenly Net, 213..."

*Bzzzz!*

The instant that phrase replayed in Li Buren's mind, the puppet emitted a heavy sound, like a long-dormant machine reactivating after many years. The humanoid statue seemed to shift from illusory to real, its formerly hanging hands slowly rising to its chest. Its right hand extended, pointing to the center of the circular mural ahead. The myriad block-like star systems and miniature worlds displayed on the cylindrical hall's walls underwent a dramatic transformation with this gesture from the puppet.

The circular mural, a mosaic of light and shadow, flashed rapidly. It resembled the pages of a book being rapidly flipped forward, or a video being rewound. Star systems that had extinguished their life force, becoming dead and dark, once again glowed brightly. The continuously flashing block-like star systems gradually ceased their pulsation, becoming stable. The few remaining pockets of life suddenly burst forth, transforming from faint specks of light into dazzling constellations.

Imperceptibly, Li Buren found himself enveloped by a vast, vibrant stellar sea. The entire expanse of stars monitored by the testing ground seemed to have returned to the period before the outbreak of the Dao Annihilation Calamity. The light and shadow of the star sea flickered and shifted erratically. Finally, at one point, it suddenly froze. After a brief pause, the scene on the circular mural resumed normal playback.

The scenes changed with extreme rapidity. Even with Li Buren's spiritual sense strength, it was somewhat taxing to fully analyze and discern everything. However, after gazing for a moment, Li Buren quickly realized that this was a recorded scene being played on a continuous loop.

"It's not that space-time has been reversed, returning to an era before the great calamity," he thought. "Instead, this humanoid statue has accessed the surveillance data previously recorded by this testing ground."

"Era of Heavenly Net, 213..."

"Then the next part of the phrase must correspond to..."

Li Buren silently recited again in his mind: "Beginning with Shangzhang Dayuanxian, then Zuoe E'feng."

Following this command, the humanoid puppet underwent another transformation. Its previously lowered left hand also slowly rose. This time, it wasn't a simple gesture; rather, as if drawing the circle of a great void, it delineated a specific range within the continuously replaying scenes. Li Buren observed that not only was a portion of the recorded imagery from Era of Heavenly Net 213 truncated from its beginning, but even the block-like star sea on the circular mural was reduced by ninety percent with this single gesture. The brilliant, vibrant stellar sea abruptly dimmed.

Li Buren then recited the final phrase from the whispered secret message.

"Ending with Zhuoyong Chifenruo, Yanmao Xuanyue."

The time range of the looping recorded imagery was further reduced. According to Li Buren's calculations, the original display for Era of Heavenly Net 213 covered approximately one thousand years of Xuanhuang Realm time. However, after filtering by the two commands, the time frame was significantly shortened. Li Buren observed the repeating scenes before him and calculated that it now spanned approximately fifty years.

Likewise, this time it wasn't just a precise time lock. The humanoid puppet waved its hand again, dividing the starry sky. This time, surprisingly, only three block-like star systems remained, still brightly flashing. These three originally inconspicuous small blocks were suddenly magnified, now occupying the entire circular wall. Within these magnified star systems, events that had occurred during this fifty-year period were rapidly replayed, scene by scene.

One of these star systems was extremely familiar to Li Buren. It was the Darkest Star Sea, home to the Xuanhuang Realm!

With a subtle mental command, his spiritual sense attempted to delve into the recorded scene before him. This time, there was no longer any protective resistance; it felt as if he were truly traversing the starry sky. Li Buren quickly pinpointed the Xuanhuang Realm's location.

"There are no Ten Immortal Sects."

"There is no Xuantian Sect."

"The Desolate God, Reincarnation, and Divine Wood sects. This is a distant era when the Immortal Realm still existed. There are no signs whatsoever of a great calamity impending, and the immortal cultivation sects are still able to communicate with the Immortal Realm."

Over the full fifty-year period, Li Buren couldn't meticulously observe every single event that occurred on the Xuanhuang Continent. He could only concentrate on particularly unusual occurrences.

"The Desolate God Sect's ability to summon Desolate Gods reached its peak in the fifth year," he noted. "A total of twelve distinct Desolate Gods appeared simultaneously, quashing all resistance. In the Xuanhuang Realm, their prestige was unrivaled. However, in the forty-third year, one of these Desolate Gods suddenly lost contact with the Desolate God Sect—an unprecedented event in their history."

"Although a new Desolate God was reconnected eight years later, this incident still left the Desolate God Sect's master and elders deeply concerned."

"Compared to the Desolate God Sect, the Reincarnation Sect was far more discreet," he observed. "The Reincarnation Sect didn't establish a grand cycle of reincarnation in the Xuanhuang Realm; rather, it created individual, smaller cycles. Through the Immortal Reincarnation Body, one could continuously reincarnate and be reborn. Although each reincarnation resulted in the loss of all cultivation, certain crucial memories were always retained."

"And their continuous cycle of reincarnation and rebirth was not pursued for ascension to immortality, but rather for..."

Li Buren narrowed his eyes.

The scenes recorded on the circular mural of this testing ground seemed to encompass almost every historical event. He wasn't sure what methods were employed, but even in secret chambers or enclosed formations, Li Buren's spiritual sense could explore freely and without hindrance. He could even hear some spiritual sense transmissions with absolute clarity. However, not everything was recorded. Whenever the Xuanhuang sects communicated with the Immortal Realm, the recorded images would become distorted. Furthermore, in certain mysterious regions, the recorded scenes would also become invalid; some grew blurry, while others were entirely blank.

The Sect Master of the Reincarnation Sect surprisingly seemed to have some awareness of this omnipresent surveillance. Whenever he imparted the Reincarnation Sect's profound techniques to his direct disciple, he would bathe, burn incense, and connect with the upper realm. The recording would consequently cut out.

"This Sect Master of the Reincarnation Sect is named Jiang Lianshi."

"I don't recognize his direct disciple, Chu Zhiyi. However, one of Chu Zhiyi's apprentices looks somewhat familiar."

This apprentice, named Zhang Ruyu, was currently just a child in his early teens. Yet, in his features, Li Buren could faintly discern the likeness of Zhang Qianmo.

"The Reincarnation Sect."

Although the ultimate cultivation achieved by the Reincarnation Sect's secret techniques remained unknown through surveillance, Jiang Lianshi's actions were indeed highly suspicious. In addition to evading surveillance by connecting with the Immortal Realm, Jiang Lianshi also frequently meditated on the top floor of a high pavilion within the Reincarnation Sect. The top floor consisted of only one large hall. Tens of thousands of Jiang Lianshi's own paintings hung there. These paintings appeared to be all self-portraits by Jiang Lianshi. In each painting, his expression, attire, and demeanor were distinct. Aside from painting, Jiang Lianshi simply spent his time in the pavilion, facing tens of thousands of his own portraits. Throughout this entire process, there were no spiritual energy fluctuations. Yet, as an observer from years later, Li Buren still perceived a hint of strangeness in this peculiar cultivation scene. At times, he even had the illusion that, for a fleeting moment, all the paintings within the pavilion sprang to life.

Over the fifty-year period, Jiang Lianshi did not achieve any notable breakthroughs. The entire Reincarnation Sect consistently remained low-key and quiescent. His only intervention occurred when an elder from the Divine Wood Sect arrived, seeking to borrow the Reincarnation Sect's treasure, the "Eye of Ten Thousand Years Pearl." According to the Divine Wood Sect elder, the Eye of Ten Thousand Years Pearl could accelerate the growth of the Divine Wood Sect's sacred trees without any side effects. He sincerely requested to borrow it, offering anything in exchange. Jiang Lianshi, however, rejected him with a single word. The Divine Wood Sect elder pleaded repeatedly, but the outcome remained unchanged. In a fit of rage, he attempted to seize it by force, only for Jiang Lianshi to tap him between the eyebrows with a single finger. The sixty-year-old elder's body seemingly reversed through time, returning him to the stage of a babbling infant. Not only had he lost all his cultivation, but even his intellect seemed to have reverted to that of an infant. Jiang Lianshi did not take the elder's life; he merely ordered him to be sent back to the Divine Wood Sect, along with a talisman he had personally inscribed. It was an ordinary-looking piece of yellow paper with a grotesque, almost scribbled, drawing of an eye.

Upon receiving this talisman, the Divine Wood Sect apologized and expressed its gratitude to the Reincarnation Sect, intending to send a gift of equivalent value. Jiang Lianshi politely refused and strictly ordered his disciples to minimize interaction with the Divine Wood Sect.

"This Jiang Lianshi's cultivation..." Li Buren had, in effect, observed Jiang Lianshi for fifty years. Yet, even with his current insight, he still found him somewhat inscrutable. On the surface, he appeared to be simply at the Dao Harmonization realm. However, that single finger, capable of reversing time, already spoke volumes. Considering the Reincarnation Sect's ability to continuously reincarnate and cultivate anew, Jiang Lianshi's true age was unknown. Moreover, the tens of thousands of self-portraits hanging on the top floor of the pavilion made Li Buren consider the concept of "possibilities."

"Could it be that the Reincarnation Sect's ultimate secret involves the self in other possibilities?" he wondered. "Unable to cross over, yet subtly connected?"

Li Buren grew increasingly curious about Jiang Lianshi's eventual fate. However, with the recorded scene fixed to these fifty years, further insight was impossible.

Within these fifty years, besides the various events unfolding within these powerful sects, one other matter in the Primordial Xuanhuang Realm particularly caught Li Buren's attention. In the thirtieth year, a True Immortal was suspected to have descended to the mortal realm in the southeastern corner of the Xuanhuang Realm. The large area of distorted light and shadow rendered all details within it unclear. Furthermore, this True Immortal did not descend alone; someone was already prepared to receive them in the Xuanhuang Realm. The individual responsible for the reception appeared to be merely a mortal. For the first thirty years, he had lived as an exceedingly ordinary old farmer in a mountain village. However, in the thirtieth year, he abruptly left his wife and children and ventured deep into the mountains. There, he arranged a reception ritual. After completing everything, he returned to his hometown, behaving as if nothing had happened. He died just half a year later. As for the True Immortal who had been received, they seemed to have escaped the unseen surveillance and vanished without a trace thereafter.

What greatly concerned Li Buren was that the mortal's dwelling place was extremely close to the fishing pond. However, there were no traces of the fishing pond in this recorded imagery. Thus, it was impossible to determine whether the Fishing Immortal was involved in this event.

"In this span of time, neither the Medicine King Sect nor Sun Piaomiao exists."

"What exactly did he intend to reveal with this secret message left by the bronze crane?" he wondered. "Or perhaps, he himself didn't fully grasp it, only managing to roughly pinpoint the time frame?"

Li Buren's gaze temporarily shifted away from the Xuanhuang Realm. He looked out beyond the star sea. It had to be acknowledged that the Primordial Immortal Cultivation Realm was indeed vastly different from its present state. Life force surged, and anomalies frequently appeared within the star sea. Li Buren finally understood why rumors persisted that even True Immortals had to retreat when stellar anomalies erupted.

"If my perception is correct," he thought, "the outbreak of stellar anomalies, to some extent, interferes with a True Immortal's connection to the Infinite Sea."

"Deprived of their infinite nature, True Immortals might not be able to emerge unscathed from these bizarre and unpredictable anomalies."

Over these fifty years, the Darkest Star Sea experienced a total of seven anomalies of a scale capable of deterring True Immortals. The blurry recorded light and shadow narrated these magnificent scenes that had historically unfolded within the star sea. Li Buren's spiritual sense roamed through this fifty-year period of the Darkest Star Sea. He secretly noted down every anomaly within the various immortal cultivation realms.

"Indeed, the Xuanhuang Realm is unique."

"Setting aside other matters, simply being able to establish contact with the Immortal Realm is something ordinary immortal cultivation realms cannot achieve."

"Moreover..." Li Buren distinctly felt that the "spiritual essence" of beings in other immortal cultivation realms seemed considerably weaker compared to those in the Xuanhuang Realm.