Thousands of years ago, the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor appeared out of nowhere, teaching the masses a new method to seize the heavens and plunder the earth.
From that moment onward, people no longer needed to be troubled by so-called talent. Everyone could cultivate!
The trajectory of the Xuanhuang Realm’s history was thus altered.
At the beginning, the world of immortal cultivation indeed experienced a brief golden age due to the popularity of the new method.
Nascent Souls were as common as dogs, and Soul Transformation cultivators roamed everywhere.
However, just like Li Fan’s earlier experiment with the Kunpeng’s essence blood, such reckless proliferation and devouring inevitably invited retaliation from heaven and earth.
The emergence of the restriction against practicing multiple technique simultaneously was like a thunderbolt to the cultivators of that era.
Later, the unexpected descent of the immortal-mortal miasma dealt a fatal blow to the cultivators.
Subsequently, the Xuanhuang Immortal Cultivation World entered a prolonged dark age.
In the desolate lands of immortal cultivation, he gathered the surviving cultivators and reestablished the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.
The origin of the Immortal Ancestor has always been a mystery.
Neither the Ten Great Immortal Sects in ancient times nor modern cultivators have ever managed to uncover his background.
Yet, the Immortal Ancestor, who was both scholarly and peerless, remained elusive like a dragon’s head glimpsed but its tail hidden.
Even if the world wanted to probe his identity, it was as futile as “raising one’s hand to touch the heavens,” a goal out of reach.
Was he born with innate knowledge? Did he create this groundbreaking method without a teacher?
What was his purpose? If he truly acted for all beings, why was he absent during the great catastrophe that ravaged lives? Why did he only appear thousands of years later? Where had he been during that time?
Where is he now?
There are far too many secrets about the Immortal Ancestor that the world cannot unravel.
At this moment, as Li Fan meditated on comprehending the divine power of [Bloodline Transmission], the suppressed inspiration resurfaced.
Thus, he began to deduce the potential methods of the Immortal Ancestor.
Every cultivator practicing the new method seemed like a “mutated essence blood” assimilated by the Immortal Ancestor.
Originally part of the world, they had turned into aberrations devouring the world itself.
“Does the Immortal Ancestor aim to dominate the Xuanhuang Realm through this method?”
“Like how I manipulate cultivators using [Bloodline Transmission]?”
“Judging by the current results, one could say he has already succeeded. The myriad affairs of Xuanhuang lie entirely within his grasp!”
Li Fan couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
Without a doubt, the original Immortal Ancestor wasn’t so powerful.
He might have even been just an ordinary Dao Integration cultivator.
Yet, through this method, he carved out a unique path, akin to a snake swallowing an elephant.
In less than a millennium, he had already transcended the Xuanhuang Realm.
However, Li Fan believed that “dominating the Xuanhuang Realm” wasn’t the ultimate goal of the Immortal Ancestor. Instead, it might have been a necessary step toward achieving another objective. ŔᴀNỒВЕʂ
Just as Li Fan didn’t simply control the cultivators of the Medicine King Sect for the sake of control itself.
Rather, he aimed to use them to refine the [Longevity Pill].
Then, what might the ultimate goal of the Immortal Ancestor be?
Li Fan suddenly recalled the silhouette he had glimpsed in the Immortal Ruins, and his heart shuddered.
Could it be that the immortals weren’t dead and sought to use the world’s power to resurrect themselves?
“It’s not impossible. The so-called innate knowledge, even if it exists, should have limits. To be as monstrous as the Immortal Ancestor…”
“He must either be a transmigrator like me or a reincarnated individual like Senior Brother Zhang.”
“Or they come from the outside! Whether it’s immortals descending to the world, or others smuggling in from other immortal cultivation realms…”
…
Li Fan’s thoughts churned in his mind, refusing to settle.
It wasn’t until the Medicine King Sect cultivator, whose essence blood he had eroded, slowly awakened that his attention shifted.
“Who are you…” Xia Ye muttered in confusion, glancing around at his unfamiliar surroundings. His mind was a chaotic mess.
He vaguely remembered that shortly after leaving the Xuanhuang Realm, the Medicine King Cauldron underwent violent tremors. Following that, the sect master activated the [Great Dream of Spring and Autumn Formation], forcing him into dormancy.
From the look of this place, it didn’t seem to be inside the Medicine King Cauldron.
Where was he?
Moreover…
Looking at the figure not far away, Xia Ye felt an inexplicable sense of closeness.
“You’re awake.” He heard a voice that was extraordinarily pleasant.
The tension in Xia Ye’s heart instantly dissipated, and he instinctively relaxed.
The figure then began explaining the cause and course of events.
Upon encountering a fiery meteor falling from the sky, [he] felt a resonance between the meteor and a small cauldron he had accidentally obtained before. Thus, he came to investigate.
Entering the cauldron, he found that all the cabin doors in the rooms were tightly sealed—except for the one where Xia Ye resided, which was inexplicably open.
He discovered Xia Ye severely injured and decided to bring him out for treatment.
…
“Truly, thank you, senior,” Xia Ye expressed his gratitude, ignoring many of the illogical aspects of Li Fan’s words.
In the subsequent conversation with Li Fan, Xia Ye was repeatedly shocked:
“What? This is the Xuanhuang Realm?”
“How did I return here?”
“It’s already been several thousand years?”
Without doubting Li Fan’s words at all, Xia Ye was left soul-shaken, struggling to accept this reality for the time being.
“I was inconsiderate. I should have waited until you recovered more before telling you the truth.”
“For now, rest. I’ll watch over things here. You can be at ease,” Li Fan said gently, seeing Xia Ye’s distraught expression.
Xia Ye nodded, somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected care. Lying on the stone bed in the secret chamber, he soon fell into a deep sleep again.
…
Li Fan observed thoughtfully, “To completely disregard me, a stranger, this must be the power of [Bloodline Transmission].”
“The effect is unexpectedly good—immediate, even. However, this might also be because this kid is only at the Foundation Establishment stage.”
“The stronger the target’s power, the longer it might take to fully transform their mindset.”
After pondering for a moment, Li Fan finally retrieved a green fruit from the Cave Heaven Domain.
This blue fruit appeared to exist somewhere between reality and illusion, disappearing from Li Fan’s palm at regular intervals before reappearing.
“The Fruit of True Temptation,” Li Fan murmured as he looked at this treasure from the Five Elders Association. He stepped forward again, returning to the Medicine King Cauldron.
Using Linghu Chang’s memories, he located Elder Liu San of the Medicine King Sect, who had reached the Dao Integration stage.
Carefully controlling the formation, Li Fan avoided waking Liu San.
“I am Liu Yihang of the Medicine King Sect, the adopted son of Sect Master Liu Ruchen. By the late master’s decree, I now oversee the Medicine King Sect…”
Li Fan pressed the green Fruit of True Temptation to his brow and began chanting.
A faint, imperceptible light flowed from his Sea of Consciousness into the fruit.
Moments later, the fruit shed its illusory nature, becoming an ordinary-looking fruit. However, it now emitted a peculiar fragrance that made even Li Fan swallow involuntarily.
Resisting the temptation, Li Fan carefully crushed the Fruit of True Temptation into green liquid and fed it to Liu San.
As he deactivated the Great Dream Spring and Autumn Formation, Li Fan also activated the internal defense formation of the Medicine King’s Cauldron. Standing outside the door, he waited patiently.
Soon after, Liu San stirred.
Unlike Xia Ye’s initial dazed confusion, Liu San immediately sensed something was amiss upon waking.
His eyes flashed with a sharp glint as he sprang to his feet, his divine sense scanning the surroundings.
When he saw Li Fan standing at the door, Liu San’s face revealed a trace of astonishment.
“Young Master?”
“You’re awake too?”
Liu San instinctively asked.
Seeing this, Li Fan relaxed and calmly deactivated the formation. In a deep voice, he said, “Something major has happened.”