Li Fan sensed the departing figure of Dongfang Yao through his formless killing intent and pondered.
“That man, Dongfang…”
“Not bad.”
Retracting his gaze, Li Fan quietly arrived at a desolate stone forest.
This place was located in Zhuhuai Prefecture, an area barren of resources. It had already been explored and confirmed to lack entrances to small worlds or cave heavens, making it a rarely visited place for cultivators.
Perfect for Li Fan.
Like Dongfang Yao, he too needed to set up contingency plans across the Xuanhuang Realm in the coming days.
Descending three thousand zhang underground, he carved out a small space.
Then, he took out a pile of broken puppet parts.
Upon closer inspection, the red threads on each puppet fragment seemed to form part of a written character.
This was precisely what Li Fan had conceived—the method of dismantling the Chaos Character Technique!
He laid down a formation and placed the puppet’s core at its center.
Then, he randomly scattered the puppet fragments throughout the formation.
“When a specific condition is triggered, the formation will activate the puppet’s core, instantly reassembling it.”
“The Chaos Character Technique will be complete.”
“After that, the puppet will self-destruct, serving as energy for casting a divine ability.”
With this thought in mind, Li Fan finished scattering the puppet parts.
Thin strands of silver light within the formation connected the fragments like nodes, linking the entire array together.
With a gentle tap, the formation fell into silence, with not a single trace of energy leaking.
“This site is set up.”
“Although it’s a bit crude, that makes it even harder to detect.”
Satisfied, Li Fan nodded slightly and, without even placing a concealment formation, quietly left.
After all, he had crafted no fewer than a thousand of these Chaos Character Puppets.
Even if some were discovered, it wouldn’t be a significant loss, nor would it affect his overall plan.
Upon emerging from the underground, Li Fan scanned his surroundings to ensure he wasn’t being followed.
He then buried more Chaos Character Puppets in two other locations across Zhuhuai Prefecture.
Once he was done, he headed towards the neighboring Shouyi Prefecture.
His goal was to plant three or four puppets in every Prefecture controlled by the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.
“When the chaos erupts, even the Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereign will be forced to take notice, diverting their gaze.”
Li Fan moved swiftly.
By the time he had methodically set up formations in thirty-five different continents…
He suddenly paused.
“Finally… Are you finally about to advance to Soul Transformation?”
Li Fan looked into the distance.
At that moment, Holy Embryo Xu Bai had reached the final step of his journey across the Xuanhuang Realm.
The last world transforming phenomenon piece he absorbed into his personal Cave Heaven was the [Heavenly Spirit Flower of Impending Birth.]
“I once thought that, tainted by baleful energy, the Heavenly Spirit Flower would never bloom again.”
“But it seems that the Xuanhuang Realm’s self-recovery ability is truly remarkable.”
Li Fan mused.
As Holy Embryo Xu Bai absorbed this worldly phenomenon, a spring-like vitality spread through his Cave Heaven.
Flowers bloomed in succession, creating a breathtaking spectacle.
Even Li Fan, countless miles away, seemed to catch a faint whiff of the fragrance emanating from Xu Bai’s Cave-Heaven.
It was as if the final piece of a grand puzzle had fallen into place.
The entire Cave-Heaven had finally ascended to the level of a Small World.
A peculiar energy circulated within the Cave-Heaven.
From the sky, to all living things, to the very earth itself—
Flowing in an endless cycle.
A deep rumbling came from the depths of the land.
The sound of rain, the whisper of the wind, the chirping of insects and birds—all fused into a grand symphony teeming with life.
Li Fan could almost see the future, where the Cave-Heaven would continue to expand and evolve.
In the Tianling Prefecture, Holy Embryo Xu Bai stood in midair.
Though no other cultivators sensed his presence, the subtle changes in Tianling Prefecture did not go entirely unnoticed.
For example, Sun Qi, who was reporting his progress on the [Reverse Evolution of Heaven and Earth Record] to Sun Liancheng, suddenly stopped speaking.
He lifted his head and gazed at the sky outside the building.
“What’s wrong?” Sun Liancheng followed Sun Qi’s gaze but found nothing unusual.
Sun Qi furrowed his brows and, after a long pause, shook his head slightly.
“Perhaps it was just my illusion.”
“For just a brief moment, I seemed to sense the revival of heaven and earth.”
“But it was only for an instant.”
“Now that feeling has completely disappeared.”
Sun Qi spoke slowly, emphasizing each word. Yet, from the lingering hesitation in his eyes, it was clear that it wasn’t as simple as a mere illusion.
“The revival of heaven and earth…” Sun Liancheng narrowed his eyes slightly, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, through the Formless Killing Intent, Li Fan perceived the scene from Sun Qi’s perspective. His heart grew heavy.
Only he knew that Sun Qi’s intuition was correct.
The transformation caused by Tianling Prefecture’s revival had been extracted by the Holy Embryo Xu Bai and infused into his own Cave-heaven.
Without this transformative power, it would take a long time for Tianling Prefecture to regain its former prosperity.
The revival force of Tianling Prefecture was somewhat different from that of Congyun Sea.
Congyun Sea underwent a process from life to death, from destruction to rebirth—a cycle of creative transformation.
In contrast, Tianling Prefecture’s change was a transition from desolation to flourishing, a return to the normal cycle of vitality.
With this additional transformation, the Holy Embryo Xu Bai’s Cave-Heaven had now completely evolved into a Small World.
Since they shared the same body, Li Fan could now clearly observe every detail of this newly born Small World.
His spiritual sense swiftly scanned the vast and thriving land below.
A sudden wave of familiarity surged in his heart.
“This terrain layout…”
“I’ve seen it somewhere before.”
To confirm his suspicion, he quickly pinpointed several distinctive mountain ranges and water systems.
“As expected. It’s exactly the same.”
Li Fan was deeply shaken.
“This is…”
“The landscape of the Ancient Xuanhuang Realm?!”
Through Ximen Yu’s writings, Li Fan had learned about the differences between the ancient and present-day Xuanhuang Realm.
By removing the White Mist Barrier and reassembling the fragmented zones, the resulting form was none other than the original appearance of the Ancient Xuanhuang Realm!
This was precisely what the Holy Embryo Xu Bai had been doing all this time!
“Ordinary Soul Transformation cultivators rely on the transformation of a single state or a single phenomenon.”
“But the Holy Embryo Xu Bai has transformed through…”
Li Fan’s heart trembled.
“The transformation of Xuanhuang’s rebirth!”
“Using his Cave-Heaven to simulate the changes that will soon occur in the Xuanhuang Realm!”
“A process untainted by cultivators or Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereigns, allowing the Xuanhuang Realm to evolve naturally!”
“This…”
The more Li Fan thought about it, the more shocked he became.
“Without the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao and the direct support of the world itself, this would have been impossible!”
“Even with the power of [Truth] and if i kept attempting, it would still be unachievable!”
Li Fan understood this completely.
Although Xu Bai had ascended to the Soul Transformation stage, his aura remained unchanged.
He stood quietly in the void, as ordinary as a mere mortal.