The exact appearance of the Heavenly Beast, whether it truly resembles a tortoise, is now impossible to verify.
However, with a specific name, it becomes much easier to search for related information.
Though most of the records are fragmented, it can generally be confirmed that the Heavenly Beast was a “totemic” existence in the distant ancient era, seemingly tied closely to a certain form of faith.
Li Fan mused, “The Heavenly Beast likely belonged to the Xuantian Sect.”
“During the war in which the Ten Great Sects of the Immortal Dao annihilated the Xuantian Sect, the Heavenly Beast fell and transformed into Nine Mountains.”
“Senior Sister Zhao once mentioned that the Xuantian Sect usurped heavenly authority and could grant mortals [marks], enabling them to wield supernatural powers that only cultivators possess.”
“And if they could grant such powers, naturally, they could also revoke them.”
“Perhaps on the battlefield of Tianling Prefecture, the reason those cultivators locked onto by green light lost their ability to fly and plummeted from the skies was due to this very mechanism.”
“In my past life, the ‘Mysterious’ Net’ I remember hardly exhibited such [revocation] abilities. To suppress rebellious cultivators, they often had to dispatch the black-robed [Heavenly Sorcerers] instead.”
After a moment’s thought, Li Fan frowned to himself. “The Tianxuan Spirit Locking Formation and the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation might just be two facets of the Xuantian Sect’s divine power.”
“The so-called [Bestowment] and [Revocation] are essentially wielding heavenly authority, acting in place of the heavens.”
With this thought in mind, Li Fan took out a blank encrypted jade slip. The Dao Deviation Stone in his mind hummed faintly as it activated.
The complete formation diagram for the Tianxuan Spirit Locking Formation, deeply etched in his memory from his past life, was imprinted onto the jade slip.
However, Li Fan made a few deliberate omissions, concealing the fine details of the central core formation.
It took him half a day to complete engraving the formation diagram.
Holding the jade slip, Li Fan’s expression fluctuated. “While the Tianling Prefecture has achieved a great victory, and the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance appears to have the upper hand, all of this perceived advantage is but an illusion.”
“The Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereigns of the Five Elders Association have refrained from taking action solely because of the agreement made with the Dharma Transmission Immortal Ancestor in the past.”
“In truth, the Immortal Ancestor has already…”
Suddenly, Li Fan froze mid-thought.
Previously, he believed that the Immortal Ancestor had left the Xuanhuang Realm. If this became known, with the Five Elders Association boasting the strength of five Longevity Heavenly Sovereigns, the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance would be nearly defenseless. If he were to leak the ‘Spirit-Locking Formation Diagram’ to the Five Elders Association, it might accelerate the collapse of the alliance, exposing his own fragile position.
But soon, Li Fan realized a flaw in his assumptions.
In his past life, it was only in the 41st year, when Senior Sister Zhao tested the waters, that they confirmed the Immortal Ancestor had indeed departed.
However, no one knew exactly when the immortal ancestor had left.
The only hint lay in the 24th year, when the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance decided to universally implement the Tianxuan Spirit Locking Formation, which might reveal some clues.
Still, Li Fan recalled that in the initial stages of training talents in formation techniques, the alliance showed no urgency.
Perhaps this was because they were unaware of the Immortal Ancestor’s departure, or perhaps the Ancestor had genuinely not yet left at that time.
“Should I add fuel to the fire and test the situation?”
For a moment, Li Fan hesitated.
After pondering for a long while, he ultimately chose to set aside the idea for now.
In this life, his main goal was still to achieve Nascent Soul.
Only if the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance triumphed in the Tianling Prefecture War and successfully relocated the Five Elements Great Cave -Heaven would Li Fan have the opportunity to explore the mysterious void continuously birthing these cave-heavens.
If the alliance were to fall, everything would crumble, and he would lose his freedom of action.
“Still, the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance cannot be allowed to feel entirely unpressured. Otherwise, if the Five Elders Association faces defeat after defeat, and the alliance grows complacent, feeling no need to relocate the cave-heavens, it would be problematic.”
After a long contemplation, Li Fan crushed the encrypted jade slip in his hand.
He took out another blank slip and began engraving once more.
This time, he omitted even more details, leaving only the outermost formation structures.
“Even a fragment speaks volumes. The Five Elders Association surely has its share of geniuses in formation techniques. With the portion of the formation I reveal, they may not fully dismantle the ‘Spirit-Locking Formation’, but countering it should not be an issue.”
After completing his intricate work, Li Fan’s eyes gleamed as he stored the encrypted jade slip in a separate storage ring.
—
Three days later.
Li Fan met again with the Five Elders Association’s spy.
“Daoist Zhou, what’s the verdict?”
As soon as Li Fan appeared, the spy impatiently asked.
“We can obtain the diagrams,” Li Fan replied bluntly.
The Five Elders Association cultivator froze in shock before his face lit up with joy.
However, Li Fan quickly doused his enthusiasm. “But it’s only the outer structure diagrams.”
“And it’s the initial version. The Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation has undergone countless iterations and advancements since then; it’s likely unrecognizable now.”
“It can only serve as a reference.”
Li Fan spoke indifferently.
Hearing this, the spy’s initial excitement dimmed, but he soon regained his composure.
Acquiring even the original formation’s outer structure was a major breakthrough.
It was also a reasonable outcome within expectations.
After all, the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation was one of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance’s most closely guarded secrets, ranking among their top confidential assets.
The Five Elders Association had lost several deeply embedded spies without obtaining even a shred of information.
If Li Fan had promised the complete formation without reservation, the spy would have suspected a trap—or even questioned whether Li Fan himself was the Dharma Transmission Immortal Ancestor.
“No matter. Even the original diagrams are excellent.”
The Five Elders Association cultivator looked at Li Fan with anticipation. “What are your terms?”
Li Fan’s tone turned grave. “The value of these diagrams is beyond any contribution points or measurements. But our terms are simple.”
Li Fan’s eyes gleamed, his expression unreadable. “The Five Elders Association must cooperate with our actions at certain critical moments.”
The spy froze, frowning. “What does that mean?”
Li Fan ignored the question and continued, “With the power of contracts, I trust you won’t renege on the deal.”
“Rest assured, our requests won’t be excessive.”
“At key moments, all we ask is for your association to lend its support within one prefecture.”
The spy fell silent.
“Wait a moment.”
Turning his back, he closed his eyes as if consulting with higher-ups.
After a long while, he turned back, drenched in sweat.
“We agree to this deal.”