Chapter 1474: The Real Purpose

“Could it be that you understand Huanzhen better than I do?”

Li Fan's true self perceived the Tian Du Archmage's rather stubborn words and couldn't help but find them amusing.

Yet, for some unknown reason, a trace of inexplicable irritation accompanied the feeling.

This was certainly unusual for Li Fan in his current state.

Li Fan paused slightly, and after careful deliberation, though somewhat reluctantly, confirmed the source of his inner agitation.

"Could it be that the Archmage wasn't wrong after all?"

His expression grew solemn.

After a moment's thought, Li Fan attempted to communicate with Huanzhen, but received only silence.

"Huanzhen's recall limit, anchored to one year, is from when I first transmigrated."

"With Huanzhen on me, no matter how it returns, it can only start from this specific point in time."

"But what exactly determines this?"

After a brief reflection, a thought irresistibly emerged in Li Fan's mind.

"It's 'me,' the host of Huanzhen, whose existence serves as the starting point."

"If this conjecture is true, then..."

Li Fan gazed across the distance at the Archmage still full of hope above Yuandao Continent.

"The Archmage was born before the Grand Easiness, before the mortal realm came into being."

"If it were truly possible to trace back to that time, perhaps everything could indeed be reversed."

"Stopping the arrival of the Dao Annihilation Tribulation and the destruction of the Immortal Realm at their very source would undoubtedly be far easier than dealing with the colossal disaster it is now." Li Fan could barely contain the shock in his heart.

However, when the Black Celestial Doctor tried to seize Huanzhen, the lifespan of the mortal realm also surged. From the perspective of this outcome, it seemed to make no difference whether Huanzhen was handed over to the Black Celestial Doctor or the Archmage.

But Li Fan would never just hand Huanzhen over.

No reason would suffice.

The reason for Li Fan's unease was that he suddenly thought of the legendary Retrograde Boat.

"All this time, I've had a lingering regret. Even with the power of infinite recall, I've always been confined to the time after the anchor point. What if..."

"What if I could use some method to return to a time before the anchor point of one year? Would that mean I could reconstruct an even more ancient past?"

He had never thoroughly considered this question before because every reincarnation Li Fan experienced had begun from the one-year anchor. His long-standing experiences had created a strong mental inertia, making him subconsciously believe it was impossible.

Until today, when the Archmage inadvertently enlightened him.

"What exactly is Huanzhen's true purpose?"

Naturally, Li Fan thought of this question.

He couldn't help but recall the complex and intertwined strange emotions Huanzhen had displayed in the Infinite Sea.

Huanzhen, without a doubt, possessed its own consciousness.

Li Fan had confirmed this over countless past reincarnations.

Compared to Huanzhen's immense power, even Li Fan, now in the Half-Immortal realm, was merely a slightly larger ant.

Perhaps even less than an ant.

Huanzhen's "willingness" to attach itself to Li Fan's body was naturally due to Li Fan's exceptionally abundant "spirituality," which seemed never to diminish, no matter how much Huanzhen was activated.

"Therefore, what Huanzhen wants is a vessel capable of supporting its continuous recall."

"Thus, it must have its own purpose."

Understanding this, Li Fan's mood paradoxically calmed.

Regardless, being valued by Huanzhen was indeed his fortune. Otherwise, he would have long since died of old age as a mere mortal in the Great Profound Small World of the Xuanhuang Realm.

Li Fan felt no repulsion towards Huanzhen's purposeful attachment.

In fact, he even felt a faint sense of joy.

In the past, he had often harbored a hidden worry that Huanzhen might suddenly leave him. This concern had not vanished with his increasing strength; on the contrary, it had grown heavier.

But now...

"Only a union of shared interests can bring true peace of mind."

Li Fan closed his eyes, forcefully suppressing the myriad thoughts that surged like angry waves in his mind.

After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze was as calm as before.

Although Huanzhen possessed immense power, its actions and intentions, based on their current interactions, seemed at least logical. Therefore, it was possible to infer and speculate about them to some extent.

While the results of such speculation might not be entirely accurate due to the lack of most information, they could at least reveal the general outline of the truth.

"That terrifying unknown entity submerged beneath the Infinite Sea is an old acquaintance of Huanzhen."

"Something once transpired between them."

"The resulting consequences are something even Huanzhen itself cannot reverse."

"Therefore, it seeks external assistance."

The moment this thought arose, Li Fan felt as if struck by lightning.

Within his soul, a great storm raged.

Countless lights and shadows swept over him like an overwhelming tide.

Every raindrop condensed billions of years of time. Just like the magnificent miracle Li Fan witnessed in the Infinite Sea, it was enough to fill anyone who glimpsed this scene with profound awe.

This was a volume of information Li Fan's soul could barely withstand.

Every inch of his soul felt as though it were being continuously crushed by the entire cosmos, and his memories subtly blurred. He seemed on the verge of losing himself in the pervasive light and shadow.

Li Fan had once created the Array of All Beings Refining Spirit.

This array condensed the will of billions of living beings throughout heaven and earth into a colossal force, used to resist and even refine True Immortals.

What he was experiencing now was the highest theoretical degree of the All Beings Refining Spirit's power.

Within that torrential storm were not just the beings of the world.

But also the past memories of everything that had ever existed!

Even with his extraordinary spirituality, Li Fan was on the verge of losing himself completely in that deluge.

Fortunately, at a critical moment, the storm abruptly ceased.

The terrifying rain of light and shadow vanished instantly without a trace, as if it had never occurred.

Only Li Fan's near-exhausted state indicated that none of this had been his imagination.

After a long time, Li Fan slowly recovered, still feeling a lingering apprehension.

"What was that just now...?"

All the anomalies had occurred within Li Fan's body.

Although caught off guard at the time, after a review, Li Fan vaguely understood what had happened.

His heart leaped, filled with unspeakable dread.

"Did my deduction finally trigger Huanzhen's true thoughts?"

"Its will is so immense that even the ripples from its fluctuating thoughts are enough to tear me into countless pieces!"

Li Fan struggled to calm himself.

However, hearing about the terror of a supreme being and experiencing it firsthand were two entirely different concepts.

It felt as though his body and soul had been imprinted by the recent tempest; every recollection was as vivid as if he were still there. He struggled to breathe, his heart rate plummeted, and he was drenched in sweat...

All sorts of instinctive reactions occurred one after another.

After another baptism by the storm, Li Fan finally settled down.

He controlled his mind, no longer letting it wander.

"No wonder Huanzhen, despite having consciousness, has always been very taciturn. The few times its consciousness fluctuated, it only expressed simple emotions."

"It's not that it disdains communicating with me."

"It's that..."

"I simply cannot bear the cost required to communicate with it!"

One must remember, Li Fan was now in the Half-Immortal realm. Aside from not possessing the infinite nature of Immortal Spirit Power, his strength was even far greater than that of an ordinary True Immortal.

Yet, even so, he lacked the ability to withstand Huanzhen's mere thoughts...

Not even Old Man Shouqiu, who could resist the Dao Annihilation Tribulation, had made Li Fan feel such an abyssal gap.

Only when facing the Infinite Sea did Li Fan experience such a sense of powerlessness.

"Huanzhen's true power, unexpectedly..."

Li Fan remained silent for a long time.

Every time he thought he had seen Huanzhen's limits, reality would tell him that what he had glimpsed was merely an insignificant peak among continuous mountain ranges.

Because he was within the mountains, his view was obscured by the towering peaks surrounding him, preventing him from seeing the entire mountain range.

Now, the mountain range subtly trembled, nearly turning the world upside down.

Only then could those within the mountains glimpse the true face of the ranges.

"At the very least, it clarified one thing."

"My recent conjecture, which could stir Huanzhen's thoughts, indicates that I'm getting closer to the truth."

Li Fan let out a long breath.

When he looked at the Archmage again, his mindset was completely different.

"It's not that I'm selfishly clinging to a treasure."

"On the contrary, we have a union of interests."

"Though you claim to be an incarnation of the Limitless, to think you can just barge in like this... is truly too naive!"

"Do you really think Huanzhen hasn't scrutinized you?"

"It merely found you unworthy!"

Amidst the storm of Huanzhen's thoughts, Li Fan vaguely saw the memories of the entire mortal realm that had once existed.

"When the real becomes fake, the fake is also real. Perhaps these memories are the very reason the transformation of true and false can be realized."

The Archmage, being a primordial being, naturally fell under Huanzhen's observation much earlier.

But since Huanzhen didn't choose him, it meant this Archmage was simply not qualified!

"It seems achieving Huanzhen's goal will be no easy feat."

"The further back one attempts to recall and reconstruct the past, perhaps the greater the repulsive force encountered."

"Furthermore, it won't succeed in just one or two attempts."

"Tian Du Archmage..."

"The Limitless existed even before the Grand Easiness. You certainly talk big, wanting me to hand over Huanzhen."

"Then let me first see how much of Huanzhen's power you can truly withstand!"

Within a few breaths, Li Fan, who had already returned to his peak state, lightly pointed a finger at the Tian Du Archmage from afar.

His finger moved like a pair of scissors, slicing through the air.

"I've witnessed the rise and fall of countless Immortal Realms by my master's side. This treasure was rumored to exist in the Ancient Immortal Realm, known to the most ancient and powerful beings. However, it was too ethereal; it was always merely heard of, never truly seen by anyone."

"Consequently, the entire Immortal Realm gradually forgot its existence. Only when my master occasionally chatted with the two Saint Lords, Lianshan and Guihai, recalling past times, would they sometimes mention it."

"When the Dao Annihilation Tribulation drew ever closer, and all conceivable methods had been tried and proved useless, the Immortals of the Immortal Realm finally remembered this rumor from the forgotten corners of history..."

The Tian Du Archmage continued to chatter, displaying his "heritage" to Li Buren.

As he spoke, his figure suddenly froze, and his face was filled with surprise and doubt.

Ordinary individuals would not perceive such a slight weakening of their own spirituality.

But the Archmage, truly a primordial being, had a body and soul perfectly integrated as one.

He immediately sensed this missing sliver.

"What did you do?!"

The Archmage's voice was somewhat sharp, a mix of anger and fear, as he demanded.

Li Buren remained expressionless and shrugged.

He still uttered the old familiar phrase: "I don't know anything."

This time, Li Buren wasn't speaking idly.

He truly had no idea about Li Fan's action.

When Huanzhen's thoughts erupted, the subtle connection between him and his main body had been temporarily severed. It hadn't resumed even now.

Even though the connection between this clone and the true self was established upon the projection Dao Net, and also carried the inheritance of Old Man Shouqiu's Conferred Dao phantom.

It still couldn't prevent this isolation.

The Archmage's expression shifted countless times in an instant. He seemed to search thoroughly but couldn't retrieve the lost wisp of "spirituality."

For a primordial being like him, the integrity of his spirituality seemed to be an extremely crucial matter.

Fear gradually crept onto the Archmage's face.

His expression began to contort, and he started cursing at Li Buren.

He even forgot about the "treasure" he so ardently coveted.

"Give it back to me, now!"

He just kept screaming.

The shrill screams echoed around, and Li Buren frowned slightly.

He realized that these screams were not merely the Archmage's impotent rage.

The power of Old Man Shouqiu's phantom that he was channeling became somewhat chaotic amidst the reverberating sounds.

The characteristic of all Great Daos dissipating was activated to its extreme.

Even if Li Buren tightly grasped the other party's throat, he couldn't stop them from speaking.

It seemed like a roar from before the birth of heaven and earth, growing louder and louder. It had echoed since the mortal realm's creation, intending to revert this newly born world back to its original, formless state.

To return everything to the time of primordial chaos, the limitless.

After all, Old Man Shouqiu's phantom was not Old Man Shouqiu himself. The five phantoms he left behind had not transcended heaven and earth; they served the purpose of "conferring the Dao."

Amidst the Archmage's furious roars, which sought to cleanse all the Great Daos from heaven and earth, even the phantom began to waver.

But Li Buren remained unperturbed.

His connection with his true self had been re-established.

He knew his true self had acted again.

On the Xuanhuang Continent, Li Fan delivered another slash through the air.

As if violently kicked, the Archmage's voice abruptly ceased.

Li Fan gave the Archmage no chance to breathe, continuously wielding the Blade of True and False.

Each time the ethereal blade struck the Archmage, it felt as though a real, solid object had landed.

The pain suffered by the Archmage was strangely thousands, even tens of thousands of times more intense than what an ordinary person would experience!

When Li Fan had experimented on cultivators in the Xuanhuang Realm previously, even if their spirituality was completely depleted, they showed almost no special reaction.

But for the Archmage, it was like having his flesh brutally carved away!

After a few breaths, the Archmage was already in a dying state.

Only then did he react.

With a faint voice, he tried to call for help.

But Li Fan mercilessly struck him down with one final blow.

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