Chapter 583: Looking Ahead on the Path to Transformation

“Are the materials Jiao Xiuyuan used to create his clones from Ruomu?”

With a thought, Li Fan held the withered branch of Ruomu in his hand and carefully sensed it. After a long time, he shook his head slightly, deep in thought.

“It’s similar yet different, as if from the same origin, but with clear distinctions.”

“Furthermore, given the Rottenwood Daoist’s extreme hatred for cultivators, it’s unlikely he would have traded with Jiao Xiuyuan.”

“So this is…”

Suddenly, before Li Fan’s eyes, the scene of Ruomu being besieged by cultivators, its trunk splitting open, and many branches falling from the sky, flashed again.

“Perhaps, after these detached branches fell into the Xuanhuang Realm back then, they found a new destiny.”

The vitality of plants is always unexpectedly tenacious. Even ordinary vegetation often experiences severed branches regenerating. Let alone a strange existence like Ruomu, which can bear longevity fruits.

“However, it’s hard to tell for now whether Jiao Xiuyuan himself truly transformed from a branch that fell from Ruomu, or if he merely found the remnants of those branches and used them as materials for refining his clones.”

Li Fan’s mind stirred, and the withered Ruomu branch in his hand suddenly sprouted a new bud. In an instant, the bud grew into a tender new branch. Like a fruit, a small golden spherical object hung from the branch tip.

Li Fan’s eyelid twitched. This “golden fruit” was, naturally, the Core Elixir that the Rottenwood Daoist had promised to gift him as an extra. However, the method of dispensing it was quite peculiar.

Li Fan reached out, intending to pluck the Core Elixir. A slight resistance came from the “fruit.” Li Fan applied a bit more force, and the Core Elixir was smoothly removed. Due to the recoil, the new branch whipped backward fiercely, then continued to sway in the air. But it didn't sway for long before it swished and retracted back into the withered Ruomu branch. Before Li Fan could ponder further, it emerged again, bearing another Core Elixir.

Li Fan looked at the withered Ruomu branch, which seemed like a living creature, and his heart grew heavy. He didn’t act rashly; he simply plucked the Core Elixirs one by one, as if harvesting fruit, until he had taken all it produced.

It took almost an incense stick’s worth of time. A total of three hundred and seventy-two. Once all the Core Elixirs were handed over, the withered Ruomu branch also completed its mission, turning into fine dust that scattered into the wind without a trace.

During the “fruit picking” process, Li Fan seemingly stored the Core Elixirs in his storage ring, but in reality, he had already quietly begun absorbing them using the Reversion. As he had previously guessed, single-method Core Elixirs only increased his anchoring charge progress by 0.25, while dual-method Core Elixirs yielded 0.5. However, triple-method Core Elixirs showed a qualitative leap, with one increasing his progress by 2. Among these over three hundred Core Elixirs, triple-method ones were a minority. The vast majority were single-method and dual-method, and there were no four-method or higher ones at all.

Therefore, after Li Fan unlocked the fifth anchor point, only sixteen specially chosen Core Elixirs remained. However, Li Fan did not select them based on the number of methods condensed within the Core Elixir. Instead, he judged them by the rarity of the Core Elixir methods. For instance, some ordinary Five Elements methods were not as subtle as those Li Fan had comprehended himself, so there was no need to keep them. However, some involved areas Li Fan currently knew little about, which were quite valuable to him as someone who had just entered the Nascent Soul stage.

The entire Nascent Soul stage is a process of cultivating and perfecting one’s own Grotto-Heaven and Dharma Domain. The more complete one’s Grotto-Heaven and Dharma Domain, the stronger the combat power a Nascent Soul cultivator can display. When one can make it almost identical to the external environment of the Xuanhuang Realm, they can then aspire to the Soul Transformation stage. Li Fan was not yet entirely clear on the specific details, but he had a vague understanding of the general process.

This involved drawing the “Marrow of Heaven and Earth to obtain its spirit.” The Marrow of Heaven, as the name suggests, functions roughly like human bone marrow. The most important function of human marrow is blood production, while the Marrow of Heaven, on the other hand, creates laws. The laws between Heaven and Earth are like the blood in a human body, the cornerstone for the stable existence of the world. Humans die without blood; Heaven perishes without laws.

By disguising one’s Grotto-Heaven as the core environment of the Xuanhuang Realm, one could deceive the Marrow of Heaven’s instinctive law-bestowing behavior, thereby appropriating a tiny wisp of law that was originally meant to appear in the world. Of course, just as human marrow, besides producing blood, also performs immune and defense functions, the Marrow of Heaven also possesses certain counter-abilities. Therefore, during the process of drawing the Marrow of Heaven, one must constantly be wary of backlash from Heaven and Earth. Often, only one law can be extracted at a time, and one must not be greedy, but act according to measure.

If sacrificing the Soul of Heaven and Earth is about openly claiming laws as one’s own after gaining sufficient power, then drawing the Marrow of Heaven is about secretly stealing laws when one’s power is still weak. It’s a method of strengthening oneself and weakening the opponent, narrowing the gap between them, thus preparing adequately for the future process of Dao Confluence. Now at the Nascent Soul stage, Li Fan mentally re-enacted the process of drawing the Marrow of Heaven, and indeed, compared to when he was at the Core Elixir stage, he gained a different, more profound understanding.

“The Law Bestower is truly a heaven-gifted genius.”

“Starting from feigning the wonders of Heaven and Earth and observing its laws, an ordinary person unable to cultivate is gradually enabled to integrate into the entire cultivation system of Heaven and Earth.”

“Then, through seizing the essence of Heaven and Earth and drawing its marrow, the gap between Heaven and Earth and one’s self is narrowed.”

“Sacrificing the Soul of Heaven and Earth grants the power to contend with Heaven and Earth.”

“Finally, defying the principles of Heaven and Earth, replacing them, and attaining eternal life.”

“Step by step, with clear objectives…”

“It’s truly impossible to guard against. No wonder even with its might, Heaven and Earth were utterly defeated before the cultivators of the New Law, forced to retaliate.”

Li Fan sighed once more. Looking back at these cultivation steps again, a thought suddenly stirred in Li Fan’s mind; he felt that this process seemed extremely similar to something in his memory. However, just as he wanted to ponder it more deeply, the inspiration that had so fleetingly appeared in his mind suddenly vanished without a trace. Even using the Dao Transformation Stone, he couldn’t recall it. A feeling of loss and bewilderment involuntarily surged in Li Fan’s heart.

“Strange…”

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, instantly falling into deep thought. He was almost certain that the sudden enlightenment he just had, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t have dissipated so quickly without a trace. It must have been influenced by some kind of power, causing that flicker of inspiration to vanish abruptly.

“Just like what I experienced in Senior Sister Zhao’s illusion.”

“When I was imprisoned in the secret chamber, whenever I wanted to cultivate, the walls of the chamber would deliberately emit noisy, mocking sounds, trying to prevent me from entering cultivation and recovering my state.”

“And the shackles of the Xuanhuang Realm are even more silent and unnoticed.”

“Law Bestowing Heavenly Venerate, is that you…?”

Li Fan suddenly looked up at the sky, his expression unreadable.