Chapter 783: Misrepresenting Geography

Xu Bai rested only briefly. Having just ascended to the Soul Transformation realm, he moved again. This time, however, Li Fan, who was still immersed in shock, felt his heart pound and a wave of suffocation wash over him.

It was well-known that in the Xuanhuang Realm, to achieve the Dao Integration realm after the Dharma-Preaching Celestial Venerables established the New Law, one had to sacrifice the Heaven and Earth Souls. Before this, Li Fan had considered the possible paths Saint-embryo Xu Bai might take to enter Dao Integration. Perhaps it would involve the Red Flame, Green Wind, or Black Marsh... Or even the immensely powerful Ink Kill, who carried out the celestial duty of annihilation.

However, when Li Fan truly perceived what was happening to Saint-embryo Xu Bai at that moment, his understanding was completely overturned once again! Saint-embryo Xu Bai stood motionless in the air, like a stone statue. But it was as if something was descending from the heavens, landing directly on him!

Scenes flashed instantly through Li Fan's mind. A fertile land, teeming with life. A shadowy figure descended, then froze everything for a thousand miles. As far as the eye could see, complete stillness reigned. Heaven and Earth Soul: Hoarfrost Ice! Suddenly, a wisp of frosty white appeared in Saint-embryo Xu Bai's otherwise jet-black hair. Although it quickly returned to normal, this phenomenon brought immense shock to Li Fan.

Because according to the insights transmitted from Saint-embryo Xu Bai's body, he had, in that very instant, remarkably grasped the authority of the Hoarfrost Ice Heaven and Earth Soul! Heaven and Earth Souls are born with celestial duties, each possessing unique power. Once a cultivator slays and sacrifices one, taking its place, they can instantly seize and control the power that originally belonged to heaven and earth. This is also why the combat power of New Law Dao Integration cultivators generally far surpasses that of Old Law Dao Integration cultivators.

However, something that seemed to violate the ironclad rules of the New Law was now happening to Saint-embryo Xu Bai. He had not slain the Heaven and Earth Soul, yet its authority had simply transferred to him! And this was just the first one!

Silently, a second wave of energy, seemingly traversing tens of thousands of miles, arrived. It descended upon Saint-embryo Xu Bai. Illusions once again surged before Li Fan's eyes.

A thousand miles of desolate land, ravaged by strange insects, where not a blade of grass grew. Suddenly, drops of fine rain fell upon the world. The previously barren land was nourished, gradually becoming fertile. Meanwhile, the strange insects seemed to encounter a terrifying natural enemy. Amid desperate squealing, their bodies slowly dissolved, washed away by the rain and turning into fertilizer for the earth. Heaven and Earth Soul: Azure Rain!

Saint-embryo Xu Bai's hair seemed to subtly lengthen. Li Fan's heart abruptly stopped beating. Because in that instant, Saint-embryo Xu Bai had also grasped the authority of Azure Rain.

In just a moment, two Heaven and Earth Souls had already been integrated into him. Yet, Saint-embryo Xu Bai remained unsatisfied; he closed his eyes. He stretched out his hands towards the sky, opening his embrace. From east to west, from south to north, Heaven and Earth Souls arrived one after another.

“Damn it!” Li Fan cursed inwardly, instantly stopping his stunned observation and accelerating his actions. “At this rate of Dao integration, I probably won’t have time to set up 'Chaos' puppets in every state,” he thought. “I can only choose states with many cultivators.” “Once done, I need to get back to Longevity Valley as quickly as possible.”

As Li Fan flew towards the nearest Celestial City, he recalled and observed everything happening to Saint-embryo Xu Bai, his thoughts racing. “He gained the authority of the Heaven and Earth Souls without slaying them.” “This is a distortion of heavenly principles…” “Even for an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, this is a bit too outrageous!”

“Ordinary cultivators can inherit the power of Heaven and Earth Souls by slaying them, thanks to the blessings of the Celestial Venerables’ New Law.” “But Saint-embryo Xu Bai’s actions…” “He’s not sacrificing the Heaven and Earth Souls at all; he’s transforming into them!”

In an instant, Li Fan understood Saint-embryo Xu Bai’s plan. Even with the talent of a Heavenly Dao incarnation, reversing the principles of heaven and earth was not something that could be achieved overnight. Furthermore, from the previous eavesdropped conversation between Sun Liancheng and Sun Qi, the deeper one was affected by the Heaven Scroll, the greater the difficulty in reversing heavenly principles and the stronger the backlash. It was highly probable that Saint-embryo Xu Bai would not be able to achieve the Longevity realm at all. However, after his revival, his opponents would undoubtedly include those Longevity Celestial Venerables.

Dao Integration and Longevity were separated by just one realm, yet the difference was like heaven and earth. How could he contend with them? He could only push the power of Dao Integration to its absolute limit. One Heaven and Earth Soul was equivalent to the power of a Dao Integration realm cultivator. If one Dao Integration cultivator wasn’t enough to contend with the power of Longevity Celestial Venerables, then he would need ten, or even a hundred!

Various powers of different Heaven and Earth Souls merged into Saint-embryo Xu Bai’s body. With each fusion, his aura leaped up another level. Meanwhile, the scenes Li Fan perceived slowly became blurry. From an immersive experience, it shifted to being viewed through a thin membrane, then to seeing flowers through fog. Li Fan was losing absolute control over Saint-embryo Xu Bai. This could only mean one thing… Mr. Bai was awakening!

Li Fan seized this last opportunity to extract as much information as possible from Saint-embryo Xu Bai. “So that’s it…” “His mastery of the Heaven and Earth Souls’ power doesn’t mean that these Heaven and Earth Souls no longer exist in the Xuanhuang Realm.” “Instead, through this distortion, the power originally belonging to the Heaven and Earth Souls is temporarily transferred to him.” “Countless types of anomalous energies are blending without the slightest repulsion.” “This method is beyond the endurance of anyone else, no matter how talented, except for an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao…” “No, this isn’t an issue of talent at all.”

Li Fan also keenly noticed something else. As more and more Heaven and Earth Soul authorities were distorted and transferred, Saint-embryo Xu Bai’s physical form was subtly changing. His height and silhouette were becoming more like the ethereal forms of the Heaven and Earth Souls themselves! The oppressive sensation grew stronger, and Li Fan completely felt the pressure of impending doom, a matter of life and death.

Fortunately, once Saint-embryo Xu Bai had distorted and transferred all the free-roaming Heaven and Earth Soul authorities in the world, his pace of Dao integration slowed down. This was because it was now time for the Heaven and Earth Souls that did not originally exist in the world, appearing only at crucial moments, to make their entrance.

The sky above Tianling State suddenly darkened. An almost imperceptible shadow attached itself to Saint-embryo Xu Bai. As if his brain had been violently struck, Li Fan, who had just completed all his preparations and was hastily rushing towards Longevity Valley, nearly stumbled and fell from the sky. Heaven and Earth Soul: Nether Shadow!

Sensing the transmitted information, drops of sweat trickled down Li Fan’s forehead. It wasn't out of fear, but because sharing the same body with Saint-embryo Xu Bai was already exerting immense pressure on him. In simple terms, it was like being told, “What level are you? To share a body with me?”

The scene flickered in and out, and Li Fan sensed that another extremely powerful Heaven and Earth Soul seemed to be descending upon Tianling State.