Chapter 675: Memory Leaves Its Marks

From the information currently available, Mr. Bai's status has become increasingly elevated. He subtly surpassed the power limit of ordinary immortal cultivators, and it's even highly probable that he is connected to the True Immortal who created the entire Fallen Immortal Realm. Although Situ Yao's sword strike was powerful, before an immortal, it was destined to pale in comparison.

After a long while, the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect finally awoke from the shocking scene they had just witnessed. They dared not speak loudly, fearing they might disturb Mr. Bai, who was still within the sect. Instead, they whispered amongst themselves, some even hysterically expressing the shock in their hearts.

At this moment, a figure suddenly flew over to the wooden sword that Mr. Bai had thrown, under the watchful eyes of everyone. It was Li Fan.

Ignoring the murderous gazes of the other cultivators, Li Fan took a deep breath and gripped the wooden sword tightly. In a trance, he seemed to see a beam of white light illuminating heaven and earth. Countless profound mysteries related to "sword" instantly evolved within his mind. Li Fan was immediately captivated.

But the next moment...

A violent tremor occurred, causing Li Fan's hand, which had been clutching the wooden sword, to be emptied. Li Fan was also jolted out of his enlightenment. A trace of annoyance and reluctance flashed through his mind, and only then did Li Fan realize that he had, for some unknown reason, been flung several feet away.

Seeing this, other cultivators also followed Li Fan's example, attempting to pull out the wooden sword. However, without exception, they were all flung away by the wooden sword after merely holding it for a moment.

“Ah, I suppose it makes sense. How could an item belonging to such a powerful being be so easily taken by us?”

“Perhaps only Senior Brother can pull it out.”

Everyone spoke with regret, gazing longingly and greedily at the solitary wooden sword in the field, wiping away the drool from the corners of their mouths.

Just as it happened in the true history, Mr. Bai did not take the wooden sword. He quietly departed from the Heavenly Sword Sect. It was unknown what he and Situ Yao spoke about. But from that day on, the Heavenly Sword Sect had a mission: to forge a Divine Realm-Splitting Weapon, an artifact that only existed in the sect's legends. At all costs.

As an inner sect disciple, Li Fan naturally had to contribute to this effort. Like the tasks assigned to other disciples, he was to draw insights from the wooden sword and infuse them into primordial stones called 'Sword Embryos'. Then, they continuously cast countless primordial stones, imbued with everyone's sword dao insights, into a massive pit in the back mountains of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Using molten fire, they forged the prototype of the Divine Realm-Splitting Weapon.

Although they didn't know the purpose of forging the Divine Realm-Splitting Weapon, Senior Brother Situ Yao's prestige was extremely high. Moreover, Mr. Bai's earth-shattering power had completely won over everyone in the Heavenly Sword Sect. Therefore, the disciples had few complaints regarding this matter. On the contrary, they could use the insights gained from the wooden sword to improve their cultivation realms and sword dao proficiency. Why wouldn't they?

Time swiftly passed in these days. Li Fan still felt unfulfilled, but his journey in the Fallen Immortal Realm had already come to an end. The surrounding visuals faded, and Li Fan returned to the distorted, transparent bubble space.

All three scenes became dim and unselectable. Li Fan did not immediately exit, but instead reflected on what he had experienced in the Heavenly Sword Sect during this visit.

“From the timeline, the Heavenly Sword Sect's sword forging should have occurred after Ning Yuan obtained the Longevity Fruit and before the changes at the Beast Taming Sect.”

“I hadn't expected that the Heavenly Sword Sect forging the Divine Realm-Splitting Weapon was also at Mr. Bai's behest. Cultivating Realm-Splitting Whales, forging Divine Realm-Splitting Weapons...”

“What exactly is Mr. Bai plotting?”

“On the surface, it seems he's making various preparations and escape routes for the impending great calamity. But is that truly the case?”

Judging others by himself, Li Fan always felt that behind Mr. Bai's actions, there might be other unknown secrets. However, Mr. Bai was extremely mysterious. His thoughts were beyond what Li Fan, in his current state, could fathom. After a long period of thought, Li Fan ultimately gained no insights and had to temporarily set it aside.

“In the Fallen Immortal Realm, there's also a condensation of sword law. If I could bring it out of the Fallen Immortal Realm, what kind of consequences would that have?”

Back when he was in the Mortal Great Profound Minor World, Li Fan had conducted similar experiments. He knew that there couldn't be two identical Heaven and Earth Wonders between heaven and earth. If, for some special reason, two were to exist, then the two would merge and sublimate. The weaker would perish, and the stronger would survive.

“Although the wooden sword in Shuo Feng's hand is hailed as a Heavenly Wonder, I always feel that the one Mr. Bai held thousands of years ago was its complete form.”

“After enduring thousands of years, its power might have diminished.”

“So, if I could bring the wooden sword out, wouldn't that mean...”

“Interesting.”

As if envisioning Shuo Feng suddenly losing his Foundation Establishment wonder item, Li Fan slightly shook his head.

“I'm thinking too far ahead. Let's first see what I gained this time.”

Leaving the Fallen Immortal Mirror and returning to Changsheng Valley, Li Fan tried hard to recall his experiences within the Heavenly Sword Sect. A moment later, a hint of disappointment appeared on his face.

“Since I didn't complete the obsession, does that mean I can't bring out the insights?”

“Wait a moment...”

Li Fan's eyes flashed. With a flick of his finger, countless blue sword lights suddenly flickered in the void before his cultivation chamber. Staring intently at the constantly leaping Sky-Breaking Heart Sword, a familiar sensation welled up in his mind.

“So that's how it is. Although memories and insights cannot be brought into the real world, the traces of enlightenment remain.”

“It's like the ebb and flow of the tide, eventually returning to the sea. Yet, on the beach, it leaves behind its unique imprint.”

“This way, even if I don't directly gain the insights, it's still greatly beneficial for my deduction of divine abilities. It's like gaining a lot of proficiency for free.”

Li Fan was slightly pleased. While the familiar sensation had not yet faded, he immersed his mind in the comprehension of the 'sword' dao.

He didn't know how much time had passed until a message from Fang Zaiji startled him awake. Apparently, his seclusion had already lasted over half a year, and the protective artifacts, such as the white robe and folding fan, that Li Fan had instructed him to forge were now complete.

“Indeed, cultivation knows no time,” Li Fan murmured with a slight sigh, not rushing to exit. Instead, he first checked the status of the Fallen Immortal Realm. The time limit for entering the Heavenly Sword Sect's sword training seemed a bit longer than the previous two entries. Even though half a year had passed, it would still be about five months before he could enter again.

“Perhaps it's because the level of power he encountered was significantly higher?” Li Fan speculated.

Without dwelling on it, Li Fan simply noted the next entry time and then exited his seclusion to meet Fang Zaiji, who was beaming with excitement and pride.

“Haha, Sect Master, I truly outdid myself this time. Even Liu San wouldn't be able to easily break through the defense of these artifacts I've forged!”