Chapter 438: Reestablishing Oneself and Transforming into the Dao

After nine years, Tianyang's cave mansion had not yet appeared. It was deeply hidden within a dormant underwater volcano, unknown to outsiders. Li Fan spent considerable effort to determine the cave mansion's location, relying on the Earth-Fire Reversion Array he had obtained from Tianyang's lingering will. After activating several protective talismans, Li Fan carefully entered the cave mansion.

Currently, True Lord Tianyang was in a peculiar state, neither fully dead nor truly alive. From the Eternal Reminiscence, Li Fan learned that back then, all members of the Body Transformation Dao, except for Tianyang, had gone to participate in an ancient war and never returned. Tianyang, however, firmly believed that his master and senior brothers would surely return. Fearing they wouldn't find him upon their return, Tianyang stayed within the Body Transformation Dao cave mansion, unwilling to leave.

Unexpectedly, several years later, outsiders broke into the cave mansion. Tianyang tried to resist but was no match for them. He barely managed to save his life, relying only on the magic treasures his senior brothers had left behind before their departure. Afterward, the young Tianyang began a life of wandering in the cultivation world. Through his struggles and experiences, he slowly realized that his aptitude was by no means as extraordinary as his senior brothers had claimed, and he was not the hope for the revival of the Body Transformation Dao. He feared he couldn't even compare to ordinary Golden Core cultivators, let alone stand shoulder to shoulder with his senior brothers.

But even so, his master and senior brothers still left the last shred of hope for life to him. Whenever he recalled them saying, "Tianyang, your aptitude is second to none in the world. Get well quickly; the Body Transformation Dao depends on you," and similar words, then reflecting on his current inability even to protect his sect's cave mansion, Tianyang's heart would fill with self-loathing for his incompetence.

But facts do not yield to human emotions. Tianyang estimated that without further fortuitous encounters, the Golden Core stage would likely be his limit in this life. To live up to the trust of his master and senior brothers, Tianyang decided to stake everything, defying fate by abandoning his physical body and completely transforming into a puppet. The rest of his life was spent preparing for this undertaking. He sought a suitable location to establish the Earth-Fire Reversion Array, collected materials, and refined puppets.

Once everything was prepared, Tianyang resolutely completed his transformation into a puppet. He then slumbered deep within the earth's ley lines, intending to use the power of the earth fire to temper the puppet and elevate its grade. If all went as planned, Tianyang would complete his transformation within five hundred years at most. He would ascend into a powerful being, whose might would be no less than that of a Spirit Transformation Immortal Lord.

But as fate would have it, things did not go as planned. Within five hundred years, great upheavals occurred; mountains became seas. Changes in the earth's ley lines caused the Earth-Fire Reversion Array's effectiveness to greatly diminish, and the materials Tianyang had used to refine the puppet were merely ordinary. This also led to the unusually slow advancement process of Tianyang's puppet. The predicted five hundred years stretched into several millennia. Over the long passage of time, even in slumber, Tianyang's consciousness slowly eroded. He lost most of his subjective will, with only the persistent obsession of "Tianyang's life, second to none" remaining in the world.

Li Fan guessed that the cataclysmic palm strike that had transformed the Congyun Mountains into the Congyun Sea might have been the cause of Tianyang's plan's failure.

"Tianyang's life, second to none..." Li Fan shook his head and arrived at the plaza outside the cave mansion. After carefully observing for a moment, Li Fan, his figure like a ghost, transformed into a thin line and safely navigated the intricate paths. Without triggering any mechanisms or restrictions, Li Fan smoothly reached the depths of the cave mansion. There, a child-sized skeleton sat upright. In true history, because Tianyang's innate deficiency was never fully rectified, he had always maintained his childhood body size.

Li Fan, on guard, slowly approached. Suddenly, creaking sounds emanated from beneath the ground. Li Fan's heart stirred, and he swiftly retreated. Immediately after, seventeen black-and-red intertwined puppets surged out. Li Fan activated the Body Transformation Dao cultivation method and loudly called out, "Little junior brother, do you not recognize me?"

The mechanical puppets paid him no heed, attacking mercilessly. They all attacked Li Fan simultaneously. Fortunately, they possessed the characteristic of 'weakening against the weak, strengthening against the strong.' A flash of sword light repelled the puppets, and Li Fan moved through the gaps between them, continuously calling out Tianyang's name. Slowly, the mechanical puppets' movements grew hesitant. At this point, Li Fan took out a projection stone and displayed Ling Xiao's posthumous work in the air. At this, the mechanical puppets gradually ceased their attacks. They looked up at the text and images floating in the air.

"Se..."

"...nior brother?"

A slightly sluggish, composite mechanical voice sounded.

Li Fan chuckled, "Little junior brother, a millennium has passed, I trust you are well!"

"Senior...brother!"

Cracks appeared on the seventeen puppets, and then they all shattered like broken porcelain. The fragments on the ground dissolved and writhed, eventually forming a small Tianyang puppet. It flew to Li Fan's front, tilting its head to examine him. Looking at the man before him, who now seemed somewhat unfamiliar, Tianyang felt a little bewildered.

Li Fan patted Tianyang's shoulder, "Come, your senior brother will take you home!"

The Tianyang puppet froze. A rumbling sound emanated from deep beneath the sea, causing violent tremors, as if something was about to burst forth from the earth.

Li Fan chuckled, "Junior brother, don't be so excited. There are still many bad people out there in this era. It wouldn't be good if you were discovered."

As if processing Li Fan's words, after a long pause, the puppet nodded. In an instant, the seabed grew quiet once more.

With Li Fan's help, Tianyang spent three days retrieving all the deeply buried and broken body components. Re-merged into one, it quietly followed behind Li Fan. Li Fan cast a secret technique to conceal both their auras. He also took Tianyang's skeletal remains from the cave mansion, which carried the Eternal Reminiscence. The two hurried along, arriving at the nameless barren island where the people from the Separation Realm had resided in Li Fan's previous life.

It took another ten days or so for Li Fan to simply open up a cave mansion, mimicking the appearance of the original Body Transformation Dao sect's headquarters. After setting up concealment and protective formations, Li Fan looked at Tianyang and instructed, "Little junior brother, wait for me here. I'll be back soon."

Tianyang obediently nodded. After Li Fan left, it went to its original room and sat down quietly.

Within the Tianxuan Mirror:

"Waking Tianyang a few years early still has some drawbacks."

"He hasn't fully completed his tempering and is still a bit short of peak Spirit Transformation."

"However, I can help him complete it."

After some searching and research, as various rare materials were purchased, contribution points flowed out like water. Two days later, Li Fan returned to the nameless island with supplies filling several storage rings.

"Gray Profound Diamond, Willow Profound Stone, Scarlet Spirit Copper..."

"Little junior brother, these are materials your true body can absorb to strengthen itself."

"As for your regular activities, stay within this Return-to-Origin Array. It will aid in your tempering..."

Li Fan meticulously guided Tianyang. Tianyang listened attentively.