“But Senior Sister’s path to Immortality, wanting to use as the price…”
“I refuse!”
“I will not allow Senior Sister to be so lonely from now on!”
Li Fan’s loud laughter echoed through heaven and earth.
“Over the years, Senior Sister has comprehended ‘The All as One’ Although I am slow-witted, I have not been idle either.”
“I have one move. Senior Sister, please teach !”
Amidst the blinding light, Li Fan's voice, as firm as iron, resounded.
“Heaven!”
“Earth!”
“Shared!”
“Life!”
Li Fan’s body was completely annihilated in a radiant flash of light.
At that mont, Senior Sister Zhao’s expression finally changed for the first ti. No longer indifferent and fully in control, she now had a mix of frustration and amusent: "No wonder you've made such slow progress over the years, Junior Brother. You've been putting all your thoughts into finding ways to restrict ?"
"You and I have cultivated the ‘Heaven and Earth Converging Manual.’ We are practically inseparable now. This move of ‘Shared Lifespan of Heaven and Earth’ indeed poses a threat to …"
"If only your cultivation level were higher, Junior Brother."
Countless versions of Senior Sister Zhao watched as endless streams of white light emanated from Li Fan's body, and together they extended their arms to absorb it.
“Junior Brother, don’t resist anymore. Beco one with !”
Cracks began to appear on the faces of her countless bodies, but they quickly healed. anwhile, the white light dimd and gradually vanished between heaven and earth.
When all traces of Li Fan’s presence disappeared from the Grand Dao Sect, it felt as though everything had co to a halt.
“Heh, Junior Brother Li Fan.”
“I really have to thank you. That was quite the entertaining ga.”
“It’s been years since I’ve had such an interesting experience.”
Senior Sister Zhao looked into the sky, her expression dreamy, mumbling to herself.
——
“Immortal Guidance Light! That’s the Immortal Guidance Light!”
“Who is it? Has another cultivator from our Canhong State caught the eye of the Heavenly Sovereign so soon?”
“Hahaha, in just one month, three disciples from the Immortal Sect have ascended! Canhong State’s reputation is truly about to soar!”
Noisy voices seed to co from afar, and suddenly Li Fan woke up.
Looking around, sowhat confused, he realized his surroundings were both familiar and unfamiliar.
After a brief mont, mories that had been sealed for ages, as if from a different lifeti, surged back like a tidal wave.
The Five Elders Association, the One Heart Immortal Sect, Canhong State.
The Immortal Guidance Light.
So, he was still in the mont of being summoned by the Immortal Guidance Light.
But what were those hundreds of years of experiences that felt so real just now?
An illusion?
Li Fan couldn’t help but look up.
Through a rift in the sky, he could faintly see a vast mountain range with a sect nestled within.
It was none other than the Grand Dao Sect, one of the ancient Ten Great Immortal Sects.
At this mont, it seed that the disciples of the Grand Dao Sect were also looking in his direction, perhaps to welco him as a new mber.
Unlike in the illusion, this Grand Dao Sect was full of life. The expressions on each disciple’s face were no longer stiff and lifeless; they were varied, as real as any human.
They conversed with each other, discussing enthusiastically.
It wasn’t the dead silence that Li Fan had encountered in the illusion.
While ascending in the Immortal Guidance Light, Li Fan’s body gradually beca rigid and numb.
He also felt his consciousness slowly fading.
“So, this is a wooden puppet…”
Li Fan thought as he slowly dissipated into the wind.
All that remained was a decaying wooden puppet body, drifting toward the Grand Dao Sect.
The disciples of the Grand Dao Sect reacted in various ways upon seeing this scene.
So were furious.
So were thoughtful.
So clapped their hands in joy.
So smiled faintly.
…
It was impossible to discern where exactly the so-called "All as One" lay.
Who made the final decision, no one knew.
A white light shot out from the rift, completely annihilating the puppet body.
Then, the Immortal Guidance Light was retracted, the rift slowly closed, and the image of the One Heart Immortal Sect faded from the world.
All that remained were the puzzled cultivators of the Five Elders Association, silently sighing.
anwhile, in the Congyun Sea.
Li Fan’s true body, overseeing the reconstruction Immortal Congyun City where the Island of Ten Thousand Immortals once stood, was stunned.
“What is it, Lord Island Master? Is sothing wrong?”
“I’ll have them correct it right away!” Gao Yuan quickly said.
After a mont, Li Fan waved his hand.
“It’s nothing. You’ve done well. Keep up the good work!”
He continued his inspection with a calm expression, and after half a day, returned to his temporary quarters.
After sealing the area around him, Li Fan’s expression turned solemn.
“Heh, Junior Brother, I’m very much looking forward to our official eting.”
Senior Sister Zhao’s soft laughter seed to still linger in his ears.
Was it the last ssage from that wisp of divine consciousness, or had Li Fan’s true body actually heard it?
He couldn’t tell for the mont.
“Senior Sister Zhao… quite the illusion.”
Li Fan reflected on the countless experiences he had in the Grand Dao Sect over the past century.
Though so details were fuzzy, most of the events felt as real as if he had lived through them, indistinguishable from reality.
It even made Li Fan believe that he had indeed been Senior Sister Zhao’s junior brother and a mber of the ancient Grand Dao Sect, only to reincarnate and regain his mories after decades.
He even entertained the idea of seeking out Senior Sister Zhao for a reunion.
If he only had mories of one lifeti and didn't have the [Truth] he might have actually done so.
Li Fan shivered at the thought.
Even with just a wisp of divine consciousness, being imrsed in Senior Sister Zhao’s illusion had such a profound effect on his true body…
No wonder the cultivators of the Five Elders Association were so utterly loyal to her.
He activated his 'Xuanhuang Heart Refining Mantra', using the occasional thoughts of "submitting to Senior Sister Zhao" as fuel to strengthen and nourish his Dao Heart.
After three days and nights, Li Fan finally seed to have eradicated the influence of his trip to the One Heart Immortal Sect.
At least, on the surface.
Having freed himself completely, Li Fan began to analyze and organize his gains from the experience.
Without a doubt, his ti in the Grand Dao Sect had been a fabrication by Senior Sister Zhao.
In fact, from beginning to end, Li Fan didn’t even know her real na.
Yet within the illusion, he hadn’t felt the slightest inconsistency.
But amid the falsehoods were truths.
At the very least, figures like Ji Changxi and Mo Zhiren, disciples of the Grand Dao Sect in the illusion, had truly existed once.
The cultivation techniques, 'Heaven and Earth Converging Manual' and 'Soul-Severing Divine Radiance Art', might not be fakes either.
It was a pity that, just like after returning from the Fallen Immortal Realm, the specific details couldn’t be rembered clearly.
Then, there were the world-altering events he had experienced as “Junior Brother.”
“So, the Immortal-Mortal Miasma was really the handiwork of a Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereign, not a natural evolution of heaven and earth.”
Li Fan thought of Yin Shangren of Yin Island.
“Could it be that this person discovered the hidden Heavenly Sovereign and was silenced as a result?”
Recalling Yin Shangren’s inexplicable suicide in past lifetis, Li Fan couldn’t help but speculate.
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