Chapter 951: Balancing the Power of the Two Immortals

Just like prescribing the right medicine, the golden needle gifted by Tianyi transformed after coming into contact with Li Fan's divine soul. It formed a tightly wrapped protective layer around it, conforming to the shape of Li Fan's divine soul.

“No wonder it can be controlled so easily without any refinement,” Li Fan mused. “It’s like a tailor-made magic treasure, perfectly suited for the divine soul.”

“And…”

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, mobilized his divine soul power, and launched an attack from within against this golden needle protection layer. The moment the divine soul attack collided with the protective layer, Li Fan felt a soft force ripple outwards, spreading like waves around the point of impact. It evenly distributed the impact force and then easily dissolved it.

If the internal protection was so robust, the external toughness of the layer was even more impressive. After continuous testing, Li Fan described it as "impregnable."

“However, the golden needle’s protection is limited to the divine soul,” he noted. “For purely physical damage, its protective effect isn't as good as ordinary armor-type magic treasures.”

“As long as the needle isn't destroyed, the person won't perish…”

“Tianyi’s words weren't an exaggeration,” Li Fan concluded. “As long as the divine soul remains intact, given Tianyi’s power, it would be a simple matter for him to help reconstruct the physical body.”

“But to destroy the divine soul, one must first break through the golden needle’s protective layer.”

“Furthermore…”

A scene suddenly appeared in Li Fan’s mind. He imagined that at the moment of a fatal blow, just before the golden needle was about to shatter, a golden light would surge into the sky, carrying Li Fan's divine soul and flying back into Tianyi’s hands.

Li Fan was certain that Tianyi still maintained some control over the golden needle he had given away. While this was undoubtedly a gesture of care for the “sole successor of the Tianfa Realm,” it was not good news for Li Fan.

Li Fan was not one to tolerate another's influence so intimately. Given Li Fan’s personality, he could never allow something he couldn't fully control to envelop his divine soul. Other matters aside, if his divine soul were to be frozen, preventing him from returning to his True Form, that would truly be an irreversible catastrophe!

“Is there a way,” he wondered, “to enjoy the golden needle’s protection while also ensuring absolute safety?”

In front of the Faceless Stone Statue, Li Fan began to ponder.

In truth, he possessed few trump cards that could counter Tianyi’s power. Moreover, they were all uncontrollable variables. For instance, Chaos, Hunger, and the Gray Mold. Even a slight misstep could lead to the destruction of the Xuanhuang world and mutual annihilation.

After much deliberation, Li Fan finally focused on the golden power of wishes generated by the Faceless Stone Statue. The golden power of wishes had previously been stored by Li Fan within the Tribulation Body in his dantian. Whenever it approached full capacity, it would compress itself without Li Fan’s manipulation. Therefore, although the golden power of wishes accumulated during this time was immense, it still hadn't managed to fill even one Tribulation Body. This Tribulation Body, shaped like Li Fan, simply appeared to shimmer with golden light, looking extraordinarily sacred.

The golden power of wishes was an existence that transcended the power systems Li Fan had encountered so far, and he had not yet found a way to use it. The only thing he could do was guide it.

“Power of wishes, power of wishes…”

“Could I invoke its power by activating it according to my will?” Li Fan suddenly had an idea and began to experiment.

The result was clear: the golden power of wishes was completely unresponsive to Li Fan’s calls, as if they were two entirely different entities.

After the attempt yielded no results, Li Fan reluctantly changed his approach. He created another Tribulation Body and slowly guided the golden power of wishes into it. Concurrently, he activated the Tribulation Body, transforming it into a long rope. It acted like a conduit, filled with the steady flow of golden power of wishes. This conduit then began to slowly weave an outer layer around the golden needle protection that enveloped Li Fan's divine soul.

Throughout this entire process, Li Fan exercised extreme caution. Both Tianyi’s golden needle and the golden power of wishes were forces he currently could not fully control. Only by guiding them to create a mutual restraint could he feel some sense of ease.

Indeed, performing such an action outside his own divine soul was extremely perilous. Even a slight misstep could lead to the annihilation of his divine soul. However, with the True Form available, Li Fan was confident enough to attempt it boldly!

“Should a situation arise,” Li Fan reasoned, “these two colossal entities would undoubtedly perceive each other first, instinctively overlooking me, a mere ant. This is simply their nature.”

“On the contrary, it would be safer than confronting either of them alone.”

“This is the principle of checks and balances.”

Li Fan observed the Tribulation Body, now resembling a golden thread filled with golden power of wishes, intertwining with the golden needle protection, and nodded with satisfaction. If Tianyi’s golden needle were to erupt, it would inevitably first trigger the golden power of wishes. And vice versa. Furthermore, if Li Fan were to suffer a fatal blow from an external source, the attacker would face a dual counterattack from both Tianyi’s golden needle and the golden power of wishes.

To use an unconventional analogy, Li Fan was now essentially wearing two bombs strapped in series. Any action capable of harming Li Fan would utterly detonate these bombs. Li Fan believed that even the Longevity Celestial Venerable would not fare well if attacked simultaneously by these two forces! Moreover, in crucial moments, Li Fan could even actively detonate these two bombs to achieve unexpected results!

“Guiding the situation to my advantage, maneuvering with strategic skill—this truly reflects my nature…”

After the balance between the two was finally achieved, Li Fan quietly admired his masterpiece, feeling a hint of satisfaction. However, he quickly sobered up.

“This is merely a temporary, last-resort measure,” he thought. “If I can thoroughly research Tianyi’s golden needle and develop my own divine soul protection…”

“Since Tianyi can achieve this, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to as well.”

Li Fan carefully sensed the energy attributes of Tianyi’s golden needle outside his divine soul, secretly pondering them in conjunction with the contents of the *Heavenly Doctor Immortal Sutra* and the *Heaven-Mending Record*. An unknown amount of time passed in this manner.

Li Fan was then roused by an image in his mind. It was a lead for a task he had previously assigned to the followers of the Red Dust Benevolent Immortal: to find someone capable of reconstructing a cultivator’s appearance from a skull. Li Fan had initially thought this would be a simple task, but in reality, no one else in the vast Xuanhuang world had this particular need, apart from him. Since there was no practical value in such a technique, naturally no cultivators had bothered to study it. Only after Li Fan offered a bounty and the incentive of profit did cultivators begin to attempt such a feat.

“Tongyan Prefecture, Luo Suzhen.”

After acquiring information about the target cultivator, Li Fan pondered for a moment and ultimately decided to go in person with his true body. As it concerned something greatly desired by his True Form, he had to take it seriously.

His figure darted away like a phantom. Soon, Li Fan arrived in front of Luo Suzhen’s cave dwelling. Like other eccentric individuals such as Master Yin and Ximen Yu, Luo Suzhen also preferred solitude.