Perhaps it was due to the [Root of Heaven and Earth] fearing damage to the newly-formed Five Elements Cave Heaven.
When Li Fan approached the five clusters of light, the external suction force abruptly lessened.
This prevented him from completely disintegrating in a short amount of time.
At this moment, although Li Fan’s body was reduced to half of its original size, he still retained all his limbs. However, his overall stature had shrunk, making him look like a seven- or eight-year-old child.
It was both comical and eerie.
Fortunately, this did not affect his ability to move.
He quietly gazed at the flickering five-colored clusters of light in the distance. Instead of hastily using a secret technique to devour them, he carefully observed.
The Root of Heaven and Earth was weaving energy and laws of the same attribute into the five elemental domains—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—through flickering flashes below.
These newly-born, fragile elemental domains gradually became more complete and resilient.
Now existing in a line-based form, Li Fan’s perception of the surrounding laws was far sharper than when he was in human form.
Witnessing the initial formation of the Cave Heaven, insights flooded his mind.
In his previous life, when the “Five Elements Great Cave Heaven” that had been relocated out of the city was eventually annihilated due to the imbalance of the five elements, Li Fan was able to realize that the five elements of the Five Elements Great Cave Heaven were not in harmony with each other.
Li Fan had personally witnessed the terrifying, near-apocalyptic black-and-white vortex.
Now, seeing the birth of the Five Elements, he noticed an unexpected similarity between the two.
“Life and destruction…”
“Life is the beginning of destruction; destruction is the source of life,” Li Fan murmured, seemingly enlightened.
“I used the principle of the Five Elements’ mutual generation—endlessly cycling—to create the ‘Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword’ based on the methods of Ink Kill and Heaven Calamity.”
“But this principle of life and destruction…”
His thoughts raced to their peak.
Without any external aid, Li Fan appeared to enter a state of epiphany.
He stood motionless beside the clusters of five-colored light, as still as a statue.
Yet his body reacted instinctively.
When stray particles occasionally hurtled toward the Five Elements Cave Heaven and threatened to pierce through him, his body twisted bizarrely, evading the particles with ease.
After avoiding danger, his body instantly reverted to its original form.
Meanwhile, Li Fan remained immersed in contemplation, oblivious to his movements.
Time passed.
Gradually, the five-colored clusters of light revealed more intricate details.
Oceans, molten fire, forests…
Various postnatal creations of the Five Elements began to form within the Cave Heaven.
It was like an embryo maturing over ten months, transforming from an indistinct cluster into a fully developed infant.
Distinct scenes started evolving within the Cave Heaven.
The radiance enveloping the Cave Heaven’s exterior began to retract inward, flowing back into its interior.
The light, akin to a perfect natural supplement, was absorbed, accelerating the transformation of the scenes within by hundreds or thousands of times.
A faint rumbling echoed.
The Cave Heaven itself began to “grow,” expanding outward.
It expanded until it touched other Cave Heaven, halting its growth only then.
The internal force driving its growth, however, did not vanish.
Amidst the creaking and pressing sounds, the five Cave Heaven intertwined and merged into a natural formation, inseparable from one another.
The Five Elements Cave Heaven was on the verge of forming completely.
“Excellent!” At this moment, Li Fan finally awakened.
The pure line-based form of his face revealed no discernible expression of joy.
Yet clearly, he had gained much from this experience.
“This divine ability is not suitable for use here. I’ll address it once I leave!”
“For now, I must focus on the task at hand!”
Li Fan reviewed the recorded imagery in his Dao Deviation Stone, which captured the moments he had missed during his epiphany, and nodded to himself.
“My guess was correct. The Five Elements Cave Heaven has not yet completely detached from the [Root of Heaven and Earth].”
“Just like a mother’s natural instinct to protect her offspring, any attempt to devour it would undoubtedly trigger a full-scale attack from the Root of Heaven and Earth.”
“Even a Dao Integration cultivator would perish in this domain.”
“My only chance is the fleeting moment when the Five Elements Cave Heaven separates from the mother body but has not yet descended into the void of the Tianling Prefecture!”
Li Fan understood this with clarity, free of any joy or sorrow, as he awaited that critical moment.
For other cultivators, missing such an opportunity would be a lifelong regret. Even with outstanding mental fortitude, they might still feel some anxiety.
But for Li Fan, endowed with the [Truth] ability, it was merely one of countless “ordinary” attempts.
Thus, his heart was undisturbed.
Like an exceptional hunter, he patiently and quietly awaited his prey.
It was unclear how much time passed.
The previously vivid Cave Heaven scenes gradually grew translucent.
In the [Root of Heaven and Earth], only the circular outlines of the five interconnected Cave Heaven remained, suspended in space.
Boom…
The Five Elements Cave Heaven began to tremble violently.
Even the internal space of the [Root of Heaven and Earth] shook incessantly.
It seemed as if the Five Elements Cave Heaven were trying to break free of its mother’s constraints.
In Li Fan’s vision, the interwoven lines grew distorted.
“Ping!”
A sound like a snapping string echoed.
Li Fan noticed that a line seemed to break out of thin air around the Five Elements Cave Heaven.
Even though it disappeared in an instant, he was sure it wasn’t an illusion.
Indeed, the snapping sound repeated like a chain reaction.
Above the Five Elements Cave Heaven, countless broken lines swayed in the wind, dissolving into nothingness in moments.
The Cave Heaven’s trembling intensified.
“The time is now!”
At that moment, Li Fan’s body completely disintegrated.
Twisting, wriggling lines shielded the Golden Core in his dantian as they sped toward the Five Elements Cave Heaven.
This seemed to alert the [Root of Heaven and Earth].
As Li Fan advanced, the dissolution rate of his fine lines accelerated.
Yet it couldn’t stop him from drawing closer.
When the Five Elements Cave Heaven finally broke free from the [Root of Heaven and Earth], Li Fan’s Golden Core began to crack.
It appeared on the verge of shattering but somehow held together.
From the cracks emerged writhing “tentacles,” menacingly reaching for the Five Elements Cave Heaven like ravenous serpents.
These tentacles also represented the “Root of Heaven and Earth.”
Not the primordial creation root of this domain.
Rather, it is the “Root of Heaven and Earth” that the cultivators of the world have formed within their bodies according to the new method of the Immortal Ancestor.