Chapter 1549: 凡血养天地

"When the Black Yellow World was first created, it inherently contained the supreme path of alchemy. Its ability to self-evolve, to recreate immortal artifacts, and even to nurture Mo Sha—all these capabilities are intricately linked to this innate path of alchemy."

Li Fan's gaze swept across the Black Yellow World.

In his vision, there were no longer ordinary landscapes of mountains, rivers, and lakes. Instead, he saw countless intersecting and interwoven Grand Dao principles.

Such a sight often appeared to Li Fan when he previously sought enlightenment. However, in the past, the Grand Dao of the Black Yellow World resembled a vast, intricate net. Now...

All the principles twisted and converged, ultimately transforming into an ethereal, flickering pill—almost there, yet not quite.

The image of the pill shattered, and the scene in Li Fan's eyes returned to normal. Yet, Li Fan knew that what he had just seen was no illusion. It was a glimpse of the Black Yellow World's essence, captured during his current alchemy process.

"It seems Sun Piaomiao also participated in the construction of the Lanke Daoist Temple..." A realization flashed in Li Fan's mind.

As the reincarnation of a transcendent true immortal, Sun Piaomiao's origins were unfathomable. The items he left behind could even activate "Returning to Truth," possessing numerous wondrous uses. For example, the Three-Forked Tree could initiate a "Returning to Truth" simulation deduction, while the Downcast Puppets could increase the "Returning to Truth" charging limit and provide protection against death. There was also the Broken-Winged Grey Bird, which indicated a specific time interval within the Lanke Daoist Temple.

And there was the square alchemical stone, which concealed the "Medicine King Scripture of Dao Refining."

All these clues pointed to Sun Piaomiao's extraordinary nature.

"Unfortunately, besides these, no other items were found, not even at this point in time, eight thousand years ago."

"After all, Sun Piaomiao's active era was too remote—a grand era of cultivation before the Immortal Path was severed..."

"Perhaps, only by reversing the flow of the River of Time for another ten thousand years could more relevant clues be found."

As various thoughts flashed through his mind, Li Fan's alchemy actions never ceased.

Perhaps Sun Piaomiao had left some hidden trick within this half-formed pill that was the Black Yellow World. But the current Li Fan had his own methods to counter it!

Just as the swirling mist from the Great Celestial Venerable Immortal Puppet's mouth was about to dissipate, and the furnace fire reached its peak but lacked sustained power, on the verge of weakening.

His true self suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, silently scattering it across various parts of the Black Yellow World.

"The furnace seals heaven and earth, condensing wondrous essence...""I refine the Black Yellow with my blood!"

Li Fan's essence blood transformed into countless invisible red light points, completely enveloping the Black Yellow World. As it condensed into the rudimentary form of a pill, it also isolated the entire Black Yellow World from the outside.

This "outside" did not merely refer to the connection between the Black Yellow World and the Lanke Daoist Temple.

It also referred to the Mountains and Seas, and the Mortal Realm!

And yet, with Li Fan's current strength, he was able to achieve this...

This was entirely because that single expulsion almost drained all the essence blood from his body. The power of the Grand Dao of Longevity, hidden within his essence blood, was also slowly refined and transferred into the Black Yellow World along with it!

In his previous life, Li Fan suffered the calamity of the Three Dao Confluence. Although protected by "Returning to Truth," he narrowly escaped death. However, the price was severe.

Not only did "Returning to Truth" fall silent, but most crucially, Li Fan had not fully extricated himself from the state of the Three Dao Confluence.

The fact that, in this life, his mortal body could survive even if a single drop of blood was shed was the best proof.

If anyone else gained such immortal power, they would undoubtedly be overjoyed. However, Li Fan, who had already suffered a hidden setback from it once, wished nothing more than to get rid of it quickly!

After all, the Grand Dao of Longevity ultimately belonged to Lord Shouqiu. Even if he gained Lord Shouqiu's acknowledgment and received a share of the immortal power, he was merely a guest.

Since there was currently no hope of turning the tables and becoming the master, Li Fan simply chose to abandon it.

"As long as 'Returning to Truth' is in hand, even if the Grand Dao of Longevity is a true Grand Dao comparable to the Mountains and Seas, I will have no regrets!"

Lord Shouqiu's Grand Dao of Longevity truly deserved its reputation as one of the greatest creations in the Mountains and Seas and Mortal Realm. Even after Li Fan experienced the Three Dao Confluence, with only faint remnants of its marks left in his body, it still possessed unimaginable divine abilities.

At that moment, all the essence blood in Li Fan's body was drained. Yet, Li Fan himself felt no discomfort whatsoever. In just the span of a single breath, essence blood brimming with vitality and power regenerated from various parts of his body.

Perhaps it was this complete expulsion and regeneration that truly activated the remaining power of longevity within Li Fan.

The newly generated essence blood surged within his body, emitting sounds like dragon roars and tiger cries, exhibiting a momentum of surpassing its origin.

After expelling all his essence blood and refining the Black Yellow World with alchemy, Li Fan did not experience any weakening of vitality. Instead, he felt as if he had enjoyed a wonderful sleep and consumed numerous tonics, becoming even more vigorous and formidable.

"Is this what longevity is like..."

Feeling the hidden vitality within him, like an boundless ocean, Li Fan couldn't help but let out a cold snort.

He had attained this Grand Dao of Longevity in an instant, as it were. Yet, to expel it now seemed incredibly difficult.

"The Three Dao Confluence, for me, was a curse, not a blessing."

"While this alchemical refining of the Black Yellow World cannot completely eliminate it, it can minimize its influence as much as possible!"

Li Fan had long wished to resolve the hidden danger of the Three Dao Confluence. Only after much deliberation did he temporarily conceive of this method, which served two purposes with one action.

Without further hesitation, he actively stimulated his body again, and his entire essence blood surged out.

It scattered throughout various parts of the Black Yellow World.

The essence blood, nourished by the power of longevity, was even more beneficial to the Black Yellow World than the vitality of the Star Sea or immortal spiritual power.

After the Black Yellow World absorbed it, the strength of the entire world ascended almost exponentially.

Li Fan precisely controlled his alchemy techniques while continuously expelling his essence blood.

"My essence blood surpasses all heavenly materials and earthly treasures in the world. It is sufficient to thoroughly solidify the foundation of the Black Yellow World."

"Truly worthy of being the Grand Dao of Longevity, on par with the Mountains and Seas." Li Fan secretly praised it.

He expelled essence blood, condensing and refining the pill.

This process repeated.

After three repetitions, the Black Yellow World's strength had already surpassed that of the former Sublimation Immortal Domain.

After five, it far exceeded the Primordial Immortal Realm of his previous life.

However, Li Fan realized that his extraction of the Grand Dao of Longevity from his body had only just begun.

Nevertheless, as the Black Yellow World gradually grew stronger, the power of longevity within Li Fan also showed a subtle but very steady decline.

Li Fan therefore had ample patience.

"It's merely a matter of time and persistent effort."

With the Great Celestial Venerable protecting him, Li Fan sat cross-legged above the Black Yellow World.

With every breath, blood mist erupted, nourishing the Black Yellow World.

Thus, a century quietly passed.

The Black Yellow Immortal Pill was not yet complete; all changes were condensed within the pill itself and had not yet formally manifested in the Black Yellow World.

In the entire world, only a handful of beings could vaguely perceive the changes occurring.

But even with their utmost imagination, they could not truly glimpse the future of the Black Yellow World.

At the Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters, Chuan Fa looked up at the sky, his mind uneasy.

A century ago, he learned about his ancestor, King Xuantian, from his grand-ancestor. He also received the inheritance of the "Tai Shang Dao Scripture." He had originally intended to use this to sweep through the Ten Sects and avenge the past.

However, he had not anticipated that the war would drag on for a century. Although the Ten Sects were repeatedly at a disadvantage, they were never completely defeated.

This caused Xuanyuan Tuo, usually composed, to gradually become restless.

"If I can't even clear out a mere Black Yellow World, how can I follow in my ancestor's footsteps?" Xuanyuan Tuo sighed deeply.

Theoretically, having received King Xuantian's profound sound inheritance and with the aid of the "Tai Shang Dao Scripture," his power and divine abilities had long transcended the mundane. The Ten Immortal Sects should have been utterly powerless to resist.

Indeed, that was the case at first.

Wherever the Myriad Immortals Alliance went, the Ten Sects fled upon hearing their approach.

They almost entirely abandoned their outer territories, retreating into their own sects and a few important grotto-heavens.

At that time, it seemed they were just one step away from annihilating the Ten Sects and unifying the Black Yellow World.

But then, one day, the situation suddenly changed.

The Ten Sects seemed to have a sudden change of heart overnight, launching an incredibly fierce counterattack against the Myriad Immortals Alliance.

As if they had been suppressed for a long time, the killing intent of all Ten Sect disciples was astonishingly strong.

The seemingly weak rabbits, previously thought to be utterly incapable of resistance, instantly transformed into man-eating tigers. Caught off guard, the Myriad Immortals Alliance suffered heavy losses.

In barely a month, they lost all the advantages accumulated over the past several years of victories.

They only barely managed to survive by relying on the exceptionally strong vitality of the new-method cultivators.

Xuanyuan Tuo was utterly baffled by such a bizarre shift in the Ten Sects' attitude.

But what troubled him more was his own inability to take the final step in the new method.

Without achieving longevity, despite possessing wondrous techniques and divine abilities, he was ultimately still only a Dao Confluence cultivator.

He could contend with ten, but not a hundred.

The Ten Sects had deep foundations; he alone lacked the power to completely suppress them.

Xuanyuan Tuo gazed at the Black Yellow World's firmament: "To attain longevity by defying the principles of heaven and earth."

"Given the number of peak new-method cultivators in the Myriad Immortals Alliance, I should have attained longevity long ago. Yet, I have consistently failed."

"I originally thought that something in the mysterious unknown was obstructing my path to Dao."

"But after a century of contemplation, I finally realized."

"It's not that there's an issue with the new method I deduced. Instead, the Black Yellow World itself is continuously growing stronger."

"And its rate of strengthening is even far greater than the combined power of all new-method cultivators."

"While cultivators across the world can use my methods to devour heaven and earth, currently, the rate at which cultivators devour resources is far outpaced by the rate at which heaven and earth grow. Even if the number of new-method cultivators increased tenfold, it would still be a drop in the bucket."

A flicker of alarm crossed Xuanyuan Tuo's eyes: "What on earth..."

Such a situation already far exceeded his scope of understanding.

After much hesitation, Xuanyuan Tuo ultimately decided against seeking help from his grand-ancestor once more.

He gritted his teeth inwardly: "It's not yet a dead end. There must be another way!"

"Since heaven and earth have changed, the new method must also change again!"

As if returning to the day he first gained insight into the new method, Xuanyuan Tuo felt a stir in his heart and once again sat down to ponder.

While Xuanyuan Tuo was lost in bewilderment, the people of the Ten Immortal Sects were in a similar state.

"Brother Xingji, what's the verdict? After such a long deduction by Mother Stone, is there any result?" The voice of Dao Sect Master Fang Dingge, rarely revealing such emotions, now showed an undeniable urgency.

Even when he was surrounded on the Taiyuan battlefield in the past, he had never lost his composure like this.

Daoist Xingji sighed, and after a long silence, he spoke softly: "My Taiyan Sect has possessed the Stone Mother of Dao Transformation for nearly ten thousand years, but such a bizarre situation as this has never occurred before."

"The Stone Mother's computational power is almost entirely depleted. Even by overdrawing itself, it cannot deduce a scenario that aligns with reality."

As these words were spoken, a deathly silence immediately fell upon the scene.

"Bizarre, too bizarre."

"We initially thought King Xuantian's return was just a false alarm, but unexpected strange occurrences have been endless in this past century."

"Ruomu went out of control, the Longevity Dao Fruit ceased to exist. The Star Path to the Taiyuan Realm was inexplicably severed, and the Black Yellow World fell into isolation."

"More critically..." Situ Yao, the senior disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, raised his wine gourd to his lips but then dejectedly lowered it. The aged brew no longer seemed sweet.

Fang Dingge continued: "As cultivators, our comprehension and control over the Grand Dao of Heaven and Earth are growing weaker. If it were just one person, it could be dismissed as an illusion."

"But it's the same for all of us..."

The few people present exchanged glances, each seeing the heavy burden in the others' hearts.

"If the situation continues to deteriorate like this, I fear one day we won't even be able to fly through the air," said Xiahou Yan, the Lord of Boundless Prison, with an astonishing declaration.

"It wouldn't go that far, would it?" The Ten Sect members exchanged bewildered glances upon hearing this, then felt an irrepressible sense of unease.

In comparison, the problems with the Myriad Immortals Alliance no longer seemed important.

"Fortunately, before the Black Yellow True Immortal attained Dao, he left behind many improved cultivation methods for the Ten Sects. Using these as a reference has slowed our rate of losing control over the Grand Dao," said Jiang Yingyue of the Tai Shang Sect. At her words, everyone once again felt a sense of relief.

They all couldn't help but recall that figure who once stood firm on the Taiyuan battlefield.

As if sensing the myriad thoughts swirling around him throughout the Black Yellow World,

Li Fan, who had closed his eyes and focused his mind on alchemy for a century, finally opened them that day.

In his vision, the previously ethereal, flickering pill phantom that had appeared outside the Black Yellow World had long since become substantial.

Although it condensed an unknown amount of essence blood expelled by Li Fan, it bore no trace of a bloody aura whatsoever. Instead, it radiated an incomparably clear, warm, and pure white light.

From this radiance, Li Fan felt an immense familiarity, along with an indescribably vast convergence of vitality.

Even Li Fan himself was momentarily entranced.

"I didn't expect that the power of the Grand Dao of Longevity, seemingly so scarce within me, would still be so abundant."

"I've been drawing it out and expelling it with every breath, repeating this process. And it has continued for a full century!"

Along with his astonishment, Li Fan finally gained a concrete, quantifiable understanding of Lord Shouqiu and the immense power of the Grand Dao of Longevity.

"Fortunately, after a century of arduous effort,"

"the hidden danger of the Three Dao Confluence has been temporarily resolved."

Having lost the resonance of the Three Dao Confluence, Li Fan's keen perception of the Mountains and Seas' boundless immortal power and the true/false transformations of "Returning to Truth" had diminished significantly.

Specifically, Li Fan found that his comprehension in all aspects had greatly decreased.

It was as if, overnight, he had transformed from a brilliant mind into a dull one.

Although he was somewhat unaccustomed to it, Li Fan had no regrets whatsoever.

"The Mountains and Seas are boundless; only I can be my own vessel."

"While the Grand Dao of Longevity is good, it ultimately belongs to someone else."

"Unless I can become the master, it's better to not have it at all."

Li Fan's expression was indifferent; his heart remained unshaken by the loss of the Grand Dao of Longevity.