Chapter 405: Laying to Rest Tianyang's Wish

After swallowing the medicine, Li Fan felt a little more energetic. The medicinal effects leveraged a hidden power within him.

With a "Puff!", he spat out a mouthful of blood, startling his master, Guang Yangzi. The Creation Furnace Technique had already begun to circulate. Guang Yangzi hurriedly went to prepare more medicinal ingredients for Li Fan. Seizing this opportunity, Li Fan carefully examined his physical condition. While recalling relevant case records from the "Celestial Physician's Immortal Sutra," he pondered countermeasures. His body was too weak; after only a short while, he felt dizzy and disoriented. He could only clear his mind and rest peacefully. After accumulating a bit more strength, he continued to ponder. This cycle repeated.

Three days later, Li Fan, synthesizing information from the "Celestial Physician's Immortal Sutra," improved the prescription he had taken during his second simulation attempt. After much persuasion, he finally convinced Guang Yangzi to change the medication. The new prescription was remarkably effective. Combined with the continuous body-improving effects of the Creation Furnace Technique, within two months, Li Fan was already able to walk with some effort.

"Junior Brother, you're amazing! I can't believe the prescription actually worked! How did you know?" Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao asked, supporting Li Fan.

"It just appeared in my mind!" Li Fan replied, wide-eyed and full of innocence.

"Junior Brother is truly extraordinary! Perhaps he's the hope for the revival of our Body Metamorphosis Sect!" Third Senior Brother Lian Chang exclaimed from the side.

Li Fan just chuckled foolishly. "The first step is a success," he thought. "The key now is to become stronger than Senior Brother Si Xing within six years, before the Immortal Conscription Edict arrives. I must replace him in going to war and prevent witnessing the tragic scene of everyone in the Body Metamorphosis Sect perishing one by one. This is the true obsession of Reverend Tian Yang." Li Fan pondered to himself. "Senior Brother Si Xing is at the Golden Core cultivation level. To surpass him within six years through conventional training is utterly fanciful. I must find another path." Li Fan's eyes flickered.

That day, he privately sought out his master, Guang Yangzi.

"Body Metamorphosis into Self?" Guang Yangzi's expression changed dramatically when faced with his young disciple's question. "Where did you hear that from? Did that little rascal Ling Xiao go around spreading rumors again?" Guang Yangzi fumed, stroking his beard and glaring, then began to curse.

"Master, I thought of it myself," Li Fan said earnestly. "The wondrous aspect of our Body Metamorphosis for Self-Mastery Technique, which our Body Metamorphosis Sect cultivates, lies in its ability to embody external objects. But then I suddenly wondered, what exactly constitutes an external object? Senior Brother Si Xing's sword, Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao's brush, Third Senior Brother Lian Chang's bell—these are all external objects. So, can my own weak body also be considered an external object? Through continuous tempering by the technique, the senior brothers' embodiment objects grow stronger. If I could treat my own body as an embodiment object, wouldn't that mean I could change my own physique? Then I would never be as weak as I am now." Li Fan spoke slowly, enunciating each word.

Guang Yangzi's expression kept changing. After a long while, he sighed deeply. "Tian Yang, you are truly a natural genius! To have such insight at such a young age, it's truly..." Guang Yangzi gently stroked Tian Yang's head, saying with some relief, "With a disciple like this, our Body Metamorphosis Sect is sure to prosper! Indeed, cultivating the Body Metamorphosis for Self-Mastery Technique can theoretically achieve Body Metamorphosis into Self."

Guang Yangzi's expression suddenly turned solemn as he looked at Li Fan and said gravely, "However, my disciple, you absolutely must not attempt it."

Li Fan looked up at his master, his young face full of confusion: "Why not, Master?"

Guang Yangzi seemed lost in thought for a moment, then began to explain to Li Fan: "The most important aspect of Body Metamorphosis for Self-Mastery is the unity of object and self. Body Metamorphosis into Self is indeed theoretically feasible. It's also the most perfect choice within the technique. But..." Guang Yangzi sighed. "It's too difficult! Too difficult! Compared to ordinary objects, how infinitely complex is the human body? With objects, one can continuously experiment to achieve compatibility with oneself. If there's a mistake during cultivation, only the embodiment object is damaged. However, with Body Metamorphosis into Self, one must constantly use their own physical body as the testing ground. Even a slight error will result in severe injury. Physical damage is secondary. The most terrifying aspect is the damage to one's spirit."

A flicker of sadness crossed Guang Yangzi's eyes: "Once, I had an incredibly brilliant senior brother. His talent was unsurpassed by anyone I've ever seen. At the time, he was widely regarded within the sect as the 'foremost talent of the Body Metamorphosis Sect in a thousand years,' and our master placed great hopes on him. However, he was arrogant and believed he could definitely succeed in cultivating Body Metamorphosis into Self. Ignoring everyone's dissuasion, he forcibly cultivated it. The result was..." Guang Yangzi paused. "At first, he was just a bit deranged, and everyone still thought about healing him. But later, his madness grew more severe. He became completely unable to distinguish between reality and illusion. One night, he went on a rampage. The dead were countless. From then on, our Body Metamorphosis Sect never fully recovered..." Saying this, Guang Yangzi shook his head slightly. "So, my good disciple, remember this. You absolutely must not try it!" Guang Yangzi sternly admonished him.

Li Fan nodded emphatically: "Understood, Master!"

Bidding farewell to Guang Yangzi, Li Fan returned to his room. After much thought, Li Fan abandoned the idea of forcibly cultivating Body Metamorphosis into Self. Just like using himself to establish his foundation, Body Metamorphosis into Self was indeed not something an ordinary person could achieve. Judging from Reverend Tian Yang's later circumstances, he also didn't choose this path.

"A puppet..." Recalling the Spirit Transformation puppet from many years later, an idea gradually formed in Li Fan's mind.

The next day, Li Fan found his senior brothers and told them he wanted a puppet.

"Don't worry, Junior Brother. Leave it to me! Recently, my thoughts have been flowing like a spring, and my brushwork has blossomed. I've written several books in a row. They're masterpieces of my career!" Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao guaranteed, patting his chest. "I'll take them to the market to sell and pick out the coolest puppet for you!"

A few days later, Li Fan got his wish and received a mechanical puppet. Ling Xiao's face showed a triumphant look: "Junior Brother, this puppet is said to have Golden Core strength. It took me a great deal of effort to acquire it!"

"Senior Brother, you're amazing! Thank you, Senior Brother!" Li Fan praised, then picked up the puppet and ran off like a flash.

"Junior Brother's body is recovering better and better!" Ling Xiao exclaimed.

In the secret chamber. Li Fan placed the puppet before him and cut an incision on his hand. He let drops of his blood fall onto it. Simultaneously, he activated the Body Metamorphosis for Self-Mastery Technique, feeling the subtle changes occurring within the puppet as he refined it.

Li Fan had abandoned the idea of Body Metamorphosis into Self, but he hadn't entirely given up. His plan could actually be seen as a form of Body Metamorphosis into Self under special circumstances. In fact, it was even more extreme. It involved abandoning his physical body and completely transforming himself into a puppet. Just as the true Reverend Tian Yang did in history. However, Tian Yang later chose to absorb earth fire to temper and upgrade his puppet. Li Fan's answer, however, was to become a puppet first, and then undergo Body Metamorphosis into Self.

Without a doubt, this was a self-destructive approach. The gap between a Golden Core puppet and the human body's ultimate potential was immeasurable. But for Li Fan, who desperately wanted to increase his combat power, it was the best option. Cultivating Body Metamorphosis into Self with a puppet body drastically reduced the difficulty. Firstly, a puppet's complexity was far less than a human body's, making the unity of object and self easier to achieve. Secondly, there was no need to worry about self-injury. Repairing a puppet was much simpler, provided enough materials were available. And once the puppet's Body Metamorphosis into Self cultivation was complete, the combat power it could unleash in a state of unity between object and self would be several times stronger than simply using a puppet as an embodiment object.

"The first thing to do is to abandon the physical body and merge with the puppet." This specific method within "Body Metamorphosis for Self-Mastery" proceeded exceptionally smoothly for Li Fan. "It must be because Tian Yang's body was premature, and his spirit and body were not well-coordinated to begin with," Li Fan mused.

And so, without the knowledge of the others in the Body Metamorphosis Sect, Li Fan began his cultivation plan. This plan was so bizarre that even Guang Yangzi didn't notice the changes happening to his young disciple. He merely thought that Li Fan genuinely liked the puppet Ling Xiao had bought for him, to the point of never letting it out of his sight.

Thus, time flowed by. In the blink of an eye, six years passed. The Immortal Bell chimed, and the Immortal Conscription Edict arrived. The three senior brothers of the Body Metamorphosis Sect began to argue over who should answer the conscription. Just then, Li Fan, accompanied by his puppet, suddenly appeared before them.

"Senior Brother Si Xing, Senior Brother Ling Xiao, Senior Brother Lian Chang," he addressed them. "I think I should be the one to go."

Ling Xiao and the other two looked at Li Fan's earnest face, utterly bewildered. "Junior Brother, what are you saying? This isn't a joke..." Ling Xiao started, then suddenly froze, because the voice that had just spoken came from the puppet following behind Li Fan.

"Thump! Thump!" The puppet strode forward, coming before the three of them. "Going to war is a matter of life and death. If someone must go, it should naturally be the strongest among us! Senior Brothers, what do you think?" Li Fan looked at Si Xing and the other two, asking softly.

"Tian Yang! You! This is preposterous!" Guang Yangzi was the first to clearly see the change in Li Fan's body. His face turned ashen. He wanted to step forward, but stopped, as if something had occurred to him. Only his slightly trembling hands revealed his extreme inner turmoil. "You... you foresaw this day?" Guang Yangzi stammered, asking.

Li Fan smiled, offering no reply. Looking at his senior brothers, he said, "Please, senior brothers, instruct me!"

The three senior brothers gradually came to their senses. Looking at their junior brother, who had transformed into a puppet, their eyes filled with regret and sorrow. For a moment, they stood rooted to the spot, unsure what to say.

It was the senior brother who moved first. He summoned his longsword, thin as a cicada's wing and dripping with emerald green, pointing it at Li Fan from afar. "Junior Brother, actually, this kind of matter, just leave it to me. What kind of senior brother sends his junior brother to his death?!"

Li Fan's figure flickered, and he arrived beside Senior Brother Si Xing, swinging his fist. "Senior Brother, don't underestimate me!"

Feeling the immense force of the attack, Si Xing's expression changed slightly. His longsword danced, attempting to block Li Fan. But the normally invincible sword blade, striking Li Fan, left not even a tiny mark. The puppet's body was not only extremely hard, its speed was also slightly faster than that of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator. Between its wide, sweeping moves, it would also shoot out various strange mechanisms from different parts of its body. For a time, Si Xing could only dodge awkwardly.

"Junior Brother Tian Yang, it seems you've put a lot of effort into this. But if that's the case, I certainly can't let you go in my stead!" Si Xing exclaimed. "Watch out!" Si Xing raised his eyebrows, and his figure transformed into a streak of light, merging with his green sword.

"Clang!" The longsword trembled slightly, emitting a crisp sound. Then, the sword body extended forward and backward like flowing water. "Sword Water Heavenly Heart!" Senior Brother Si Xing's soft cry resounded from within the sword. The stream-like sword light arrived in an instant. Upon hitting Li Fan's puppet body, it didn't dissipate as before. Instead, it refracted like light, bouncing back. It flowed in the air for a moment, then instantly changed direction, attacking Li Fan again from another side. It was still bounced back by Li Fan's hard body. It traced an arc and returned in a flash. The flowing sword lights became faster and faster, appearing like a giant water-shaped net slowly enveloping the clumsy puppet in its center.

At this moment, being only a puppet body, most of his divine abilities could not be used. Under Si Xing's continuous onslaught, Li Fan gradually fell into a disadvantage. "Ancient cultivators are indeed not to be underestimated." As Li Fan thought this, his expression turned solemn.

The puppet let out a heaven-shaking roar, and its body emitted a dark red glow. It transformed amidst vibrations; in an instant, the humanoid body disappeared. In its place was a colossal hand. Skillfully bypassing the sword light blockade formed by Sword Water Heavenly Heart, the giant hand came above the water net. It expanded further. Its shadow enveloped all the water swords, then pressed down directly. This was the Overturning Heaven Palm he had comprehended himself. Executed through the puppet's massive body, it possessed a distinct aura of suppressing everything.

"What a divine ability!" Senior Brother Si Xing shouted excitedly. "I also have a move; please enlighten me, Junior Brother! Heaven's will like water, supreme and formless! Sword Name: Heavenly Form!"

The flowing water swords beneath the Overturning Heaven Palm instantly vanished. Li Fan, however, felt an inexplicable sense of crisis.

"Swish!" An invisible sword light flashed by. Before the giant palm could press down, a fine mark appeared on its back. Li Fan stared at the space around him, but he couldn't find any trace of Si Xing. Another sword mark appeared. Li Fan mobilized his spiritual energy, attempting to repair his injuries. However, he found that invisible sword energy seemed to adhere within the marks, suppressing the wounds' recovery. The sword marks appeared at an increasing speed. In an instant, Li Fan's body became covered in scars.

"Junior Brother, surrender!" Si Xing's voice came from all directions, yet he himself remained nowhere to be seen.

"Senior Brother also has an excellent divine ability!" Li Fan genuinely praised. "However..." Li Fan suddenly raised his voice. "I have one more move. If Senior Brother can block it, I will immediately concede!"

"Good! I shall await it!" Si Xing replied.

Li Fan reined in his aura. After a moment, he said to Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao, "Senior Brother Ling Xiao, please lend me your brush!"

"Huh?" Ling Xiao was startled at first. "Oh, alright!" A black brush then flew towards him and was caught by Li Fan. Pouring spiritual energy into it, Li Fan swished it through the air. It was... the character "chaos."

The moment the character for "chaos" descended, terrifying cracks abruptly appeared on Li Fan's body. Unable to maintain the giant hand form any longer, he reverted to a humanoid puppet and collapsed onto the ground. "Such consumption..." Li Fan felt a sense of dread. His hard body, crafted from special stone materials, was disintegrating. Many areas even directly exploded. This was a divine ability Li Fan had comprehended from the chaotic character stone in the mystic realm. Its power far exceeded Li Fan's expectations. The caster himself had suffered such terrible side effects, not to mention Senior Brother Si Xing, who directly faced the character for "chaos."

The Heavenly Form state receded, and he reappeared, looking disheveled. But before the character for "chaos," he was immobile. His spiritual energy ran wild throughout his body, beyond his control. And his embodiment object, the green sword, darted around like a headless fly. "Thwack!" Si Xing's arm unnaturally bent in the wrong direction, and a hint of terror flashed in his eyes, because he realized that this kind of change was about to happen throughout his entire body.

"Enough!" At this critical moment, Guang Yangzi finally made his move. His embodiment object, surprisingly, was a willow tree. The green willow blocked Si Xing, its branches instantly flailing wildly. After a long while, everything slowly subsided. The willow tree vanished, and Guang Yangzi's hands, clasped behind his back, trembled slightly.

Si Xing looked with complex emotions at Li Fan, who was sprawled on the ground and also severely injured. "You won, Junior Brother," he said softly.

Li Fan breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Tian Yang, that move you just..." Guang Yangzi looked at his young disciple, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping himself. After a moment, he sighed deeply, giving up on asking further. "Never mind. I can see you have a great secret. However, your willingness to stay with our Body Metamorphosis Sect is a fortunate thing for our struggling little sect." Guang Yangzi, feeling deflated, waved his hand and departed.

Si Xing was at a loss for words for a moment. Only Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao, shouting loudly, rushed to treat Li Fan's injuries. A puppet body, as long as there are enough materials, can be repaired quite easily, no matter how severe the injury. Ling Xiao made another trip to the market, and soon after his return, Li Fan fully recovered.

Under the watchful eyes of his master Guang Yangzi and his three senior brothers, Li Fan departed from the Body Metamorphosis Sect with the Immortal Conscription Envoy who had come to urge him. He stepped onto the battlefield.

The surrounding scenery abruptly froze. Then, like shattering glass, it burst apart, transforming into specks of flowing light that poured into Li Fan's mind. The memories belonging to Reverend Tian Yang from thousands of years ago emerged with perfect clarity. This included the Body Metamorphosis for Self-Mastery Technique, methods for refining puppets, and even the Earth Fire Ascension Array for tempering and upgrading puppet ranks with earth fire. All of these were now etched in his mind as if he had personally experienced them.

But Li Fan had no time to examine these at the moment, because his entire attention was drawn to the notifications from the 'Return to True' system.

"Though dead, yet present; True Spirit, inextinguishable.""Transforming body into object, traversing eternities.""Avatar function unlocked."