Chapter 406: Monster Skillfully Sheds Its Shell

Li Fan’s heart was greatly stirred. He hadn't expected that after resolving the Heavenly Yang True Man’s lingering thought, not only did he gain a lot himself, but even Huanzhen unlocked a new function. No wonder Huanzhen had felt waves of hunger when encountering the Eternal Remnant before.

Li Fan immediately began to carefully study this so-called ‘Avatar’ function. A moment later, his brows furrowed slightly.

“Consuming 100% of the Void Transformation charge, one relinquishes their physical body and entrusts their true spirit entirely to an item…”

“Once transformed into an item, one cannot retain independent consciousness; only a trace of spiritual essence will remain.”

“Correspondingly, the duration of existence will be greatly extended.”

“When the duration reaches its limit, the Huanzhen function will automatically activate, returning one to a pre-set anchor point.”

“What use is this?” Li Fan was initially a little disappointed.

However, after careful consideration, he vaguely realized the uses of the Avatar function. Most basically, after a lifetime’s lifespan is nearing its end and one is about to die, they can still remain in the world by transforming into an object, gathering information.

Although the specific details of many events might not be clearly known, regarding the future trends of the world, as long as it’s entrusted to a reliable person, understanding them should not be difficult. Furthermore, according to Huanzhen’s feedback, if Li Fan were to activate the Avatar function now, it would allow him to persist for nearly three thousand years. Even if the duration might be shortened due to damage to the transformed object, it would still greatly enhance Li Fan’s foresight, allowing for better planning in his next life.

Over a thousand years, those who could leave their mark in history were certainly not ordinary individuals; they were true heroes. He could record their names and invest in them when he returned. This would be far more efficient than Li Fan’s previous method of slowly scouting for talents within a single province, relying solely on his personal contacts and inquiries. Li Fan was subtly moved.

“For instance, in this lifetime, what will the Xuanhuang Realm become under the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array? Perhaps this method could reveal the truth…”

For caution, Li Fan once again confirmed many details about the Avatar transformation.

“Transforming into an object and transforming reality into void are powers of the same level. Once transformed into an object, as long as one cannot resist Huanzhen’s void-transforming power, the trace of true spirit entrusted to the item cannot be identified.”

“After transforming into an object, the Void Transformation charge progress will still automatically increase, and its upper limit will be raised to 1000. This greatly enhances self-protection capabilities.”

“Besides the duration reaching its limit, automatic Huanzhen will also be triggered if the avatar object faces the danger of complete destruction.”

Before long, Li Fan had made his judgment. The safety of this Avatar function was indeed assured.

“Coincidentally, my lifespan in this world is ending, and with my identity as a formation builder for the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array, even if I could live for a few more years, my freedom would be restricted.”

“It would be better to transform into an object, like a cicada shedding its skin, and quietly observe the changing tides of the world. However, before that, I need to select the object for transformation and the person to entrust it to.”

Li Fan scanned his storage ring. His gaze stopped on a translucent disc.

“The Array-Breaking Jade Plate, a special artifact crafted by the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s Strategy Formation Hall, specifically for array masters at the God Transformation stage and above. It was a reward for being among the top one hundred in the final assessment at the Grand Universe Institute. However, for these past years, he had been busy constructing the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array, so this item hadn’t seen much use. Compared to other items of unknown origin, an artifact produced by the Myriad Immortals Alliance itself would certainly arouse much less suspicion.”

“Next, what I need to consider is how to get this Array-Breaking Jade Plate into the hands of the designated person.” Li Fan pondered deeply in the secret room.

Time slowly passed. During this time, Li Fan received messages from Huangfu Song, Qi Buyi, and even Ji Hongdao. They asked when he would emerge from the Museum of Divine Artifacts. They wanted him to go directly to the Strategy Formation Hall at the Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters after leaving, as the reward for placing second on the Grand Competition’s Golden Ranking was ready. He could claim it anytime. In addition, longevity-extending treasures had also been prepared, just waiting for his arrival.

Li Fan merely scoffed upon seeing them and ignored them all. He wasn't afraid of them coming to his door and forcibly taking him away.

Within the Museum of Divine Artifacts, there was an area called the Myriad Forms of Xuanhuang. It preserved samples of all living beings in the Xuanhuang Realm, frozen. Recalling the existence of the Immortal Ruins above the Xuanhuang Realm, which devoured everything, Li Fan had vaguely guessed during his visit that this so-called Museum of Divine Artifacts, rather than being a mere museum, was more like a place for preserving the "seeds" of the world. If the Xuanhuang Realm truly faced its day of destruction, this place would likely bear the responsibility of preserving the embers of civilization, hoping for future reconstruction. He later asked the guide, Bing Yin, and it turned out to be true. The Museum held an extremely special status, forbidding all conflict within. Even the Strategy Formation Hall had no authority to forcibly remove anyone. As long as Li Fan stayed hidden inside and didn't leave, Ji Hongdao and the others would have no way to reach him.

Before activating his Avatar, Li Fan checked on his clone’s situation. Han Yi had hopefully explored the Heavenly Capital ruins with him. Not only did they find nothing, but they also encountered many inexplicable dangers along the way. Both were severely injured and returned to Yuandao City in disarray to recover. On the way back, Han Yi kept looking at the clone, Xiao Fan, with suspicion, several times appearing as if he wanted to speak but hesitated.

“What a pity. I thought I could gain something by leveraging this person’s luck,” Li Fan thought, shaking his head slightly. He then manipulated the clone, who returned alone to the Heavenly Capital ruins they had previously explored. Finding a forbidden area, the clone deliberately sought death, ending its life.

“This way, I can proceed with the next plan.” Li Fan’s eyes flickered.

As the Avatar was activated, a trace of his true spirit entered the Array-Breaking Jade Plate in his storage ring. Li Fan’s consciousness suddenly went black, and the aura around him rapidly weakened.

At the same time, He Zhenghao, far away in Tianyun Province, and Huangfu Song, in Tianyu Province, both received Li Fan’s final message.

“A will?” Huangfu Song’s expression changed, full of disbelief. He quickly contacted Ji Hongdao.

A few hours later, when Qi Buyi rushed over with Huangfu Song, they found Li Fan’s corpse.

“He just… died?” Huangfu Song was stunned.

Qi Buyi stepped forward with a serious expression, inspected the body, and nodded. The two looked at each other, both speechless.

“I noticed his complexion wasn’t quite right earlier. He said he was fine, just needed some rest. But it turns out…” the guide Bing Yin shook his head and sighed.

Huangfu Song transmitted a message: “What do we do now?”

“He’s dead, what else can we do?” Qi Buyi looked displeased, glanced at him, and then swept his sleeve and departed.