Chapter 1543: Stacked Paper Two Immortals

Xuanyuan Tuo had previously considered the other party a true immortal because, in his worldview, the strongest beings in the world were known by that title. However, Li Fan unveiled an even more magnificent and expansive world to him. True immortals, in reality, were no more significant than ants. There were transcendents, those who journeyed against the current, and even those powerful enough to contend with mountains and seas.

This revelation left Xuanyuan Tuo feeling dizzy, his mind reeling. It was fortunate that Xuanyuan Tuo was no ordinary person. Otherwise, such a forceful injection of new concepts, coupled with the realization of the vast disparity from his previous understanding, could easily have caused him to lose heart permanently.

Struggling to steady his mind and process the enormous amount of information, Xuanyuan Tuo asked cautiously, "What exactly was the Xuan sound message left by Ancestor Xuanyuan about? For the ancestor to go to such lengths, even crossing mountains and seas, to convey it to us, his descendants, it must be something of paramount importance..."

Only a short time ago, Xuanyuan Tuo had been meticulously planning how to exploit the negligence of the Xuanhuang World's Ten Immortal Sects to expand the influence of the Myriad Immortals Alliance. Now, however, having witnessed the true nature of this world, his perspective had shifted dramatically. Xuanyuan Tuo suddenly found everything in the Xuanhuang World utterly devoid of meaning. As the saying goes, "If the skin is gone, what can the hair attach to?" If the entire mortal realm were to be annihilated, then all his efforts in the Xuanhuang World would become utterly meaningless. Xuanyuan Tuo suddenly understood why his ancestor had abruptly vanished and never returned.

Observing the shifting expressions on Xuanyuan Tuo's face, Li Fan nodded inwardly. "You are correct," he said. "Xuanyuan Hong's sole concern was the survival of all beings across the mountains and seas. His message to summon you is likely deeply connected to this matter. He simply could not have foreseen the profound changes that would sweep through the Xuanhuang World after his departure, making it a pipe dream for even his own descendants to fully grasp his message."

Li Fan's words left Xuanyuan Tuo feeling somewhat ashamed. He then couldn't help but add, "Even with your guidance, and having realized the truth, my power is far too meager. Though I earnestly wish to follow in the ancestor's footsteps, I fear I am utterly powerless."

Li Fan waved a dismissive hand, interrupting Xuanyuan Tuo with an air of authority. "With me present, what cause do you have for concern?"

Xuanyuan Tuo was naturally surprised and pleased by this assurance. Yet, Li Fan's subsequent words made his heart sink. "However, you are indeed too weak at present, not merely in cultivation level but also significantly lacking in disposition," Li Fan continued. "You need rigorous tempering. Otherwise, even if you could journey against the current and traverse the expanse, you would be incapable of bearing significant responsibilities or lending Xuanyuan Hong any meaningful aid."

"Your wisdom is absolute, Grand-ancestor," Xuanyuan Tuo replied, his expression subtly shifting as he hesitated, ultimately uttering only that single sentence.

Li Fan continued, "The Ten Sects of the Xuanhuang World comprise the realm that Xuanyuan Hong once seized. Now, you should first emulate Xuanyuan's past deeds and sweep them aside. If you cannot even overcome this initial hurdle, any further lofty ambitions would merely lead to your pointless demise."

Xuanyuan Tuo's expression turned solemn. "I will not fail to live up to the Grand-ancestor's command," he vowed.

"You must understand one thing, however," Li Fan stated. "This is a task you must accomplish yourself, and it has no bearing on me. Naturally, you are free to prove yourself through other means; I will not compel you. The ultimate objective is for you to forge a path of strength akin to Xuanyuan's in his prime. You are currently merely a Dao Integration cultivator, but the crucial point is how you choose to proceed."

Xuanyuan Tuo seemed to grasp the implication. Recalling the various exploits he had heard about Xuanyuan Hong, a fervent dedication to the affairs of the Xuanhuang World rekindled within him. "The Ten Immortal Sects..." A cold glint flickered in his eyes.

"Xuanyuan Hong's Xuan sound is more than just a mere message," Li Fan explained. "It possesses the power to intervene in the future from the past, and to alter reality from illusion. Watch closely!"

As Li Fan uttered these words, Xuanyuan Tuo suddenly felt a slight dizziness. Moments later, to his astonishment, he discovered subtle alterations in the memories within his mind. He realized that these very words had been spoken by Li Fan the instant he first appeared before him. Naturally, he had been somewhat perplexed by them at the time. It was only now, as time flowed normally to the present moment and the loop closed, that Xuanyuan Tuo was jolted awake by the realization.

"Is this... the ancestor's divine ability?" Xuanyuan Tuo's mind reeled. Compared to this Xuan sound capable of reversing time and space, all the so-called new methods he had devised seemed no more significant than child's play.

"The essence of the Great Dao lies in refinement, not in quantity," Li Fan stated as his form gradually faded, leaving behind only a thin fragment. "If you can master the profound mysteries of this Xuan sound, sweeping aside the Ten Sects will be as simple as a flick of a finger."

"Once your task is complete, hold this Supreme Dao Scripture and call out in your heart; I will then manifest myself."

As the voice slowly faded, Xuanyuan Tuo, holding the thin fragment, beheld before him the magnificent and brilliant starry expanse of the Great Dao. "The Supreme Dao Scripture, it seems..." Xuanyuan Tuo narrowed his eyes, connecting it to the various rumors he had previously heard about the Xuanhuang True Immortal. "So it is," he mused. "I had previously been perplexed by the emergence of that Xuanhuang True Immortal. Now, it's clear that with the assistance of someone like the Grand-ancestor, achieving true immortality would be a simple feat."

Filled with confidence in his own future, Xuanyuan Tuo had already begun to strategize in his mind on how to deal with the Ten Sects. Suddenly, Xuanyuan Tuo realized something. His expression subtly shifted as he gazed in the direction Li Fan had vanished. "My Heavenly Xuan Mirror..."

Holding the Supreme Dao Scripture, Xuanyuan Tuo's expression flickered through several changes. Ultimately, he lacked the courage to directly summon Li Fan and demand the return of his Heavenly Xuan Mirror. "Never mind," he decided. "It's merely an immortal artifact. True power lies within oneself; that is the righteous path." Xuanyuan Tuo took a deep breath, attempting to calm the turmoil in his heart.

Unbeknownst to Xuanyuan Tuo, at that very moment, Jing Xuan, the artifact spirit of the Heavenly Xuan Mirror, was wailing repeatedly, "Have mercy, Exalted Immortal!" Jing Xuan had initially believed that losing his accumulated cultivation as he transitioned from an immortal to a mortal was already the height of misfortune. Yet, only upon truly falling into Li Fan's hands did he grasp that his suffering had, in fact, just begun. The other party seemed to understand the Heavenly Xuan Mirror even better than Jing Xuan, its own artifact spirit. The mirror's restrictions proved utterly ineffectual. Almost instantaneously, Li Fan's presence inundated its core. Then, a figure nearly identical to Jing Xuan, though lacking a certain vibrancy, materialized before him. In an instant, Jing Xuan understood Li Fan's intent: to create a new artifact spirit and replace him. An unprecedented sense of profound crisis surged within Jing Xuan. He knew his time was running out. Once this new artifact spirit fully materialized, only annihilation awaited him. Before that happened, he had to prove his unique value to the other party—a value the nascent artifact spirit could not offer.

Jing Xuan's thoughts raced, and associating this with the Exalted Immortal proactively seeking out Xuanyuan Tuo, an answer immediately formed in his mind. "Exalted Immortal, please spare my life! I might be able to help you locate King Xuantian's former companion!"

Sensing that the process of the new artifact spirit's creation had finally paused, Jing Xuan breathed a long sigh of relief. Li Fan's cold voice resonated, "Why Xuanyuan Hong's companion, and not Xuanyuan Hong himself?"

Jing Xuan hastily explained, "King Xuantian's departure was indeed too abrupt. I genuinely do not know his whereabouts. However, as for his companion... Before she departed, she utilized a divine ability, and surprisingly, she separated an identical mirror artifact from me. She named that one 'Xuantian,' and changed my name to 'Tianxuan'." Jing Xuan's tone carried a hint of resentment. "Although they have departed to an unknown location, I can use this connection to faintly sense their whereabouts. I can feel that my other self has become far stronger than before," he continued. "If I was once a dim star, she is now like the radiant moon in the sky. It was this immense disparity that instilled fear in my heart, accelerating my process of fading from immortal to mortal. I knew that if I fully shed my immortal nature, I would no longer be the same entity as her, and would forever lose any chance of competition." Jing Xuan's resentment toward his other self seemed to outweigh his fear of Li Fan. As he spoke, he appeared to fall into a daze, rambling incessantly.

Li Fan had not anticipated that Jing Xuan possessed the ability to track Xuanyuan Hong's childhood companion. He temporarily halted the process of creating the artifact spirit, choosing instead to meticulously examine the immortal artifact, the Heavenly Xuan Mirror, at this specific point in time. Although the traces were exceedingly faint, Li Fan's careful scrutiny still allowed him to discern subtle "imprint" marks on the immortal artifact.

"Even for me now, perfectly replicating the Heavenly Xuan Mirror and creating another individual almost identical to the original artifact spirit would not be a simple feat."

"Xuanyuan Hong truly possesses profound capabilities. His various methods are seemingly endless."

Xuanyuan Hong's childhood companion, though her name was unknown, likely had no complex background, being merely a mortal. Her ability to wield such a divine power must have been a gift from Xuanyuan Hong. "Given Xuanyuan Hong's character, even if he found himself in peril, he would never allow her to accompany him. Therefore, it is highly probable that the two of them are not currently in the same location."

Frankly, Li Fan had little interest in tracking someone's companion. However, he was quite intrigued by the imprinting divine ability she had utilized. Among the myriad immortal artifacts, the Heavenly Xuan Mirror was considered rather unique. To be so easily replicated by a mere mortal... This particular technique bore a resemblance to the 'truth-false transformation' that Li Fan himself wielded.

Li Fan meticulously examined the traces remaining within the Heavenly Xuan Mirror. Since it had not undergone the 'fading to mortal' process, the traces previously left on this immortal artifact remained preserved. Though exceedingly faint, they could not escape Li Fan's ability to track and reconstruct them.

A scene seemed to unfold before Li Fan's eyes. A blank sheet of paper suddenly drifted through the heavens and earth, slowly settling upon what was once the Xuantian Mirror. A slender, jade-like hand slowly pressed down upon the paper. On the white paper, the imprinted Heavenly Xuan Mirror slowly materialized into the world.

"This is immeasurably superior to the First Great Heavenly Venerate's method of 'splitting immortal and mortal'."

"It bears some resemblance to an immortal artifact the Ten Sects once discussed: the 'Two-Part Immortal Seed'?"

He had initially paid little attention to the remnant immortal artifacts held by the Ten Sects. However, the possibility that they were techniques left behind by King Xuantian now piqued Li Fan's interest. With a slight flicker of his form, moments later, Li Fan had retrieved the Two-Part Immortal Seed from the strict custody of the Ten Sects. He placed it beside the Heavenly Xuan Mirror for a direct comparison.

"Hmm, this thing..." Jing Xuan's voice came, filled with surprise and uncertainty, further solidifying Li Fan's assessment.

According to the Ten Sects, this Two-Part Immortal Seed was captured during a war against the Twin Heavens Realm. Though not vast in scale, the Twin Heavens Realm exhibited peculiar phenomena. It did not possess a conventional heaven-and-earth structure, but rather a "heaven-heaven" configuration. At the world's center, a mirror-like surface seemed to divide it into two halves. Not only the landscapes but also the living beings within the world existed in pairs. They were aware of each other's existence, with their destinies and even their very lives intertwined. In moments of life-threatening peril, they could achieve exponential increases in strength through brief "fusions," thereby surviving calamities. The side effects, however, were intense: they would uncontrollably gravitate toward their other half in the opposing world, meaning their own existence would slowly fade away.

The Twin Heavens Realm's unique nature stemmed from the existence of this Two-Part Immortal Seed. Legend has it that in ancient times, the Twin Heavens Realm, like other cultivation worlds, possessed a normal heaven-and-earth structure. However, one day, the world abruptly inverted, as if forcibly folded. Countless inhabitants perished or were injured. When the survivors regained their senses, they were horrified to discover another sky beyond their earth, and with it, another version of themselves. From that point onward, the ultimate destiny of all beings in the Twin Heavens Realm became one of convergence and fusion, ultimately surging towards the Two-Part Immortal Seed located between the heavens and the earth.

The Twin Heavens Realm had been destroyed after its conquest by Xuanhuang. However, the Ten Sects had acquired this Two-Part Immortal Seed, which they kept as a trump card. Its ability to create another self significantly reduced the risk associated with making crucial decisions.

Li Fan gazed at the immortal seed quietly floating before him. If the traces remaining on the Heavenly Xuan Mirror were imprints, then this immortal seed was entirely covered with marks left by folding.

"To use the Great Dao of heaven and earth as paper..."

"...and to alter it with a single hand. What extraordinary courage, what remarkable skill."

Even though Li Fan possessed the cultivation to reverse the flow of time, upon witnessing such a paper-folding divine ability, he could not help but express his awe. This path of paper folding was clearly no longer part of the original remnants. Li Fan had never encountered it in his previous cycles of reincarnation. It was only by journeying against the current this time, reaching back ten thousand years, that he caught a glimpse of its traces.

"In that case, King Xuantian's childhood companion is also no ordinary mortal," Li Fan mused, stroking his chin. "However, it's too soon to draw a definitive conclusion."

For Li Fan in his current state, the most crucial step toward further advancement was to forge his own pure path. Yet, this path was not easily achieved. Whether it was the horizontal possibility of transcendence, the reverse act of tracing back the river of time, or even the truth-false transformation where the false becomes true when truth is made false, all seemed like viable directions for progress. However, progress on all these fronts proved incredibly challenging. It was as if he had arrived at a crossroads, and Li Fan found himself uncertain of his next step.

From a rational standpoint, the truth-false transformation was clearly the most suitable and powerful Great Dao, being an existence comparable to mountains and seas. However, Huan Zhen remained in slumber. Without the insights gained from each activation of Huan Zhen, comprehending the truth-false transformation had become exceedingly difficult. It was akin to a sky castle built upon a crumbling foundation. Li Fan desired to touch it once more, even to continue his ascent. Inevitably, he required steps to tread upon.