Chapter 955: World Upgrading Theory

Li Fan was completely immersed in his study of the "Records of Mending Heaven."

Unsure how much time had passed, a slight tremor throughout the Spirit Wood Realm jolted him awake.

"What is this...?"

Li Fan directed his gaze towards the center of the Spirit Wood Realm.

The giant tree, already verdant, towering, and reaching into the clouds, now displayed an astonishing phenomenon. Its branches and leaves swayed slightly without wind, enveloped in a hazy, pearlescent white glow.

From the top of the ancient tree, a beam of light shot straight up, piercing a hole directly through the sky. This was no mere exaggeration; a genuine void had appeared in the sky above the Spirit Wood Realm.

The void seemed to possess a terrifying suction force, drawing in and swirling the surrounding clouds.

Beneath the giant tree, all the treants ceased their work and knelt in worship. Their faces showed no panic, only a profound, heartfelt joy.

"World ascension?"

The Spirit Wood Realm could now be considered half of Li Fan's magical artifact. With a slight perception, he understood exactly what was happening.

Lin Ling's nourishing feedback, Shang Tianci's transformation using the Sky-View Gourd, and most importantly, the thousands of Heavenly Earth Furnaces continuously releasing spiritual energy day and night—these factors combined to finally bring about the Spirit Wood Realm's metamorphosis.

This was a rare and peculiar sight, seldom recorded even in cultivation scriptures, occurring perhaps once every few millennia. Li Fan and everyone else in the Spirit Wood Realm held their breath, observing and trying to comprehend.

Outside the world, in the void, it seemed as if something was being extracted and channeled into the Spirit Wood Realm through the void in the sky.

A faint rumble echoed through the heavens and earth. On the surface, the Spirit Wood Realm's appearance seemed largely unchanged. However, as the master of the Spirit Wood Realm, Li Fan keenly perceived that the realm's overall strength was rapidly increasing. Most notably, the giant tree that formed the foundation of this realm was undergoing the most significant change.

Originally, Li Fan could have easily destroyed the giant tree with a single move. But now, from its roots to its trunk and leaves, every part of the giant tree was continuously becoming tougher and more resilient. By the end, it had become strong enough to withstand a blow from Li Fan without being destroyed at the root.

The void vortex gradually shrank, then finally vanished. The Spirit Wood Realm's ascension was finally complete.

Although the actual size of the Spirit Wood Realm appeared unchanged, everyone who had witnessed the ascension within the realm felt an inexplicable sensation. The sky felt vaster, the land wider. Even the air was more invigorating. Vitality, though invisible, was palpably present.

In this ascension, the greatest beneficiary, aside from the Spirit Wood Realm itself, was the treant matriarch. She finally broke through that threshold, her combat power now equivalent to a Dao Integration cultivator from the Xuanhuang Realm. She had almost shed her treant appearance, becoming nearly indistinguishable from a human cultivator. Only the natural patterns on her face hinted at her original treant identity.

Transforming into a verdant green dress, the treant matriarch issued commands, ordering all treants to continue prostrating themselves and praising the benevolence of Li Fan, their Spirit Wood Lord.

Shortly after, Li Fan's calm voice resounded from above.

"With the Spirit Wood's ascension, you are reborn. From this moment forth, your destiny shall no longer be confined to this single realm..."

"I bestow upon you the name..."

"Lin Xin!"

Lin Xin's face revealed her excitement as she led the treant tribe in another round of prostrations and worship. Shang Tianci, Tian Yang, and others also showed expressions of deep emotion.

After instructing everyone to continue manufacturing Heavenly Earth Furnaces, Li Fan's attention shifted to the Spirit Wood Realm itself.

"In fact, if it hadn't already been captured by the Xuanhuang Realm, the Spirit Wood Realm, at its current level, should have met the minimum requirements for a true cultivation world." Li Fan mused to himself, combining this thought with the descriptions of worlds found in the "Records of Mending Heaven."

"Before the Immortal Path was severed, a world's ascension like this one would leave an imprint in the ascension channel. Cultivators within such a world, once their cultivation reached a certain realm, could ascend to immortality in broad daylight. Unfortunately..."

"With the Immortal Path severed, and this realm now a vassal of the Xuanhuang Realm, even after ascension, it remains merely a small subsidiary world of the Xuanhuang Realm." Li Fan shook his head slightly. "The Xuanhuang Realm truly causes immense harm!"

"However, that brings up another point: since the Spirit Wood Realm can still achieve world ascension, what about the Xuanhuang Realm?"

Li Fan frowned and pondered for a long time, eventually reaching a conclusion: "Theoretically, the Xuanhuang Realm still possesses the potential for ascension."

"That is... ascending to become an Immortal Realm!" Li Fan's eyes gleamed with insight.

"However, the leap between a cultivation world and an Immortal Realm is simply too vast. Even though the Xuanhuang Realm has already devoured countless other cultivation worlds, it has only expanded its territory slightly. It's still far from meeting the requirements for ascending to an Immortal Realm."

"Perhaps..."

"Only when it is a hundred times the size of the current Xuanhuang Realm might there be a slight chance of it ascending to an Immortal Realm."

"Even then, it might not truly deserve the term 'Immortal Realm.' 'Immortal Domain' might be a more fitting description." Li Fan couldn't help but muse.

It should be stated that all of the above were merely Li Fan's conjectures, formed by summarizing the fragmented descriptions of Immortal Realms found in the "Records of Mending Heaven." As for the actual truth, even Tian Yi, the author of the "Records of Mending Heaven," had never personally seen an Immortal Realm. Verification would be impossible. However, based on Li Fan's understanding of Tian Yi, the author was extremely rigorous in his scholarship. If it were merely a simple conjecture without substantial supporting evidence, he would not have easily included it in his book.

"Perhaps the Venerables of the Heavenly Law Realm, who enforce the law on behalf of Heaven, might possess some hidden secrets from before the Immortal Path was severed."

Observing this world ascension brought Li Fan further inspiration. This inspiration concerned the fundamental nature of how worlds operate, and the ultimate cultivation method best suited for himself.

Li Fan was not one to act without benefit. Although he had encountered a considerable number of cultivation methods during his cycles of reincarnation, he still felt that only the "Sitting Immortal Art," derived from the "Sitting Mountain Art," was truly best suited for him.

However, with Li Fan's cultivation reaching its current level, he now had to contend with old monsters like Tian Yi, Ruomu, and Senior Stone Tablet. Simple cultivation methods alone could no longer significantly help him. If his foundational cultivation technique was already a step behind others, how could he possibly contend with them?

Tian Yi's guidance once again surfaced in Li Fan's mind. "Remember, cultivation methods are secondary. What's truly important is contemplating the operation of the Heavenly Dao and the essence of the world."

"No matter how powerful a cultivation method, it is ultimately someone else's. Only the one truly suited for you is the most perfect."

Li Fan's eyes flickered, his gaze distant.

The "Records of Mending Heaven," the "Sitting Immortal Art," the world ascension... A violent storm seemed to rage in his mind, and all his past experiences and insights were swept into it.

After being tempered as if in a crucible, it finally erupted! It coalesced into three large characters in Li Fan's mind!

The "Sitting Heaven Art!"