Sun Luyuan spoke incessantly, while Li Fan seemed still not to have recovered from the shock and grief of learning that his beloved wife had already perished.
"Time and fate. It's no wonder I've been feeling restless lately."
"Being trapped here, I couldn't see her for the last time," Li Fan said with a look of sorrow.
"My child, does he have a name?"
Sun Luyuan answered nonchalantly, "Sun Tianci, Ning Lu personally named our son before her death."
After a brief silence, Li Fan said with sadness and some solace, "Tianci... What a good name."
Having finished the topic about Sun Tianci, Sun Luyuan's expression gradually turned serious and he began to discuss formal matters.
"Your great uncle, Sun Luchang, is leaving."
Sun Luyuan briefly recounted the incident about Sword Light appearing in the Sky Dome and bringing news of a Merchant Immortal Boat from beyond the Star Sea.
Li Fan was somewhat surprised: "It seems that traveling beyond the starry sky is hardly a good thing. Is there a way to refuse?"
Sun Luyuan shook his head: "Under the current circumstances, the high-ranking families of the Immortal Alliance who know the details are avoiding it at all costs, while the lower-ranking guardians of the Unity-Path are competing for the opportunity. To find more scapegoats, they certainly won't tell them the truth. It's quite ironic, actually."
"Although my great uncle is at the Harmonization Cultivation level, he has gotten used to a life of comfort over the years. I fear..."
"Were I not tied down to guarding this place and unable to leave, I would have taken his place and ventured to the outer reaches of the Star Sea," Li Fan said resolutely, a response very consistent with Sun Ang's previous demeanor.
Sun Luyuan did not doubt him, but his eyes betrayed his discomfort: "Our Sun family has been too prominent, guarding the Yan Fajue, venturing to the outer starry sky... these arrangements probably aren't without the Immortal Alliance's intention to suppress us."
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"Don't overthink it. Just live peacefully here."
Without revealing to Li Fan that the Sun Family had already defected to the Sacred Dynasty Daqi, Sun Luyuan simply advised Li Fan to prioritize safety in everything.
"I've already spoken to Elder Xu on your behalf."
"You might not need to wait a full three hundred years to accomplish your goals and leave," Sun Luyuan said as he was about to depart.
"The family head has taken much trouble," Li Fan said with gratitude.
"By the way, having sat idly here for several years, I've summarized my life's learning, gaining some insights."
"Consider passing on this 'Stately Righteous Method' to Tianci for me."
As he spoke, a seemingly unremarkable piece of writing appeared in Sun Luyuan's Spirit Consciousness.
A quick scan revealed no special features.
It was simply an average method for cultivating the heart and clarifying intent.
Sun Luyuan nodded and readily agreed.
Then he took his leave.
After Sun Luyuan's figure disappeared from the place, Li Fan snorted coldly in his mind, "One hundred years more — it's doubtful whether the Xuanhuang World will even survive that long."
But he knew there was covert monitoring by the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals here, so he didn't dwell on it; his thoughts passed through his Spirit Consciousness fleetingly.
As for the 'Stately Righteous Method,' it was a seed sown for the future rise of Sun Tianci.
Li Fan looked at the Yan Fajue who was becoming somewhat lax and pretending to be lazy and could not help but to earnestly urge and admonish him again.
...
Sacred Dynasty Daqi.
The secret military testing ground of the Holy Dynasty.
Li Ping was with the Artisan, watching Sun Erlang struggling to control the third Saint Punishment God Puppet.
The Saint Punishment God Puppet, a name Li Ping had given to the golden Puppet to distinguish it from the ordinary Sacred Army Puppets.
"Kid Sun really has extraordinary talent, frightening adaptability; he has already mastered the third God Puppet. He might well take control of all our reserved God Puppets," the Artisan couldn't stop praising.
"In comparison, everyone in my Elemental Spirit Sect is worthless."
"Speaking of which, since you've been in the Holy Dynasty all the time, is there no trouble with the Elemental Spirit Sect in Jiushan Province?" Li Ping asked casually, but his gaze was fixed on Sun Erlang in the testing ground, whose forehead was constantly dripping with sweat.
The Artisan waved his hand dismissively: "Over in Jiushan Province, I've got a Puppet guarding the place. Those fools bow and scrape every time they see me, they wouldn't dare to raise their heads, much less discern the truth."
Having said that, the Artisan paused: "But according to the time, the guy from the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals who comes to collect taxes is probably due to arrive. Maybe I'll have to go back for a bit."
Li Ping was aware that the Artisan's collection of a vast amount of source energy in Jiushan Province, through the use of the Vital Element Art of the Myriad Beings, was permitted by the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals. The cost was to pay a portion of it.
A significant portion.
"Why would the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals be especially concerned about your small share when they surely don't lack resources?" Li Ping asked.
"Who knows?" The Artisan responded nonchalantly. "Perhaps such mean deeds, they can't handle outright themselves."
"But..."
As if something had come to mind, the Artisan continued, "Now that you mention it, I recall that last time the Immortal Alliance Envoy was here, he inadvertently mentioned the internal deficit of the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals was so great that they had to start economizing."
"I even teased him about it, saying it looked like the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals was thriving, but they were actually broke."
Deep in thought after hearing this, Li Ping mused, "Source energy is nothing more than pure, ownerless cultivation base. Normal cultivators don't need it..."
"Interesting."
"When the Immortal Alliance Envoy comes this time, I'll go meet him in your place," Li Ping decided.
"Good, good, good." The Artisan, unable to get away himself, was only too glad.
He immediately shared with Li Ping everything about the previous few encounters in detail.
"By the way, how's the Puppet Body I asked you to prepare?"
The Artisan showed a proud smile and clapped his hands.
Following a faceless body emerged abruptly before Li Ping.
Unlike the robust stature of The Emperor, which measured three Zhang, this faceless body was merely the size of an ordinary person.
However, it could be considered a miniature at perfect scale with hardly any difference from Li Ping in appearance.
If The Emperor had been more suspicious, he might have accused the Craftsman of great disrespect.
But now, he was merely looking at the Puppet Body with great interest, somewhat surprised, "Is it actually a real body of flesh and blood?"
The Craftsman nodded, "Yes. Didn't you say you wanted to borrow it to travel to the Starry Sky? The Star Sea is fraught with dangers, and there are strange places where only a real body of flesh and blood can sense them. I had my own bitter experiences before I came to Xuan Huang."
A hint of pain flashed through the Craftsman's eyes, then he continued to introduce to The Emperor, "I referred to Tianyang's Body Transformation Dao and the flesh cultivation technique of your prized disciple."
"The cultivation potential of this Flesh Puppet can't be expected, but complete sentience is no problem. Plus, just like the Holy Army God Puppet, it can integrate the Essence of Heaven and Earth and Essence of Source Power. Although limited by an inherently frail body, strength is somewhat compromised, but with Unity-Path strength, if cautious, self-preservation in the Starry Sky should be no problem."
"Provided we don't encounter any strange Catastrophes in the Void," the Craftsman cautiously added.
The Emperor nodded.
A dot of Golden Light flew from his fingertips, infusing into the Flesh Puppet ahead.
A sensation of an avatar, as natural as commanding one's own limb, arose within him.
The Emperor pondered closely this familiar yet unfamiliar taste, a slight enlightenment emerging in his mind.
"I'll take this body with me."
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With a flash of Golden Light, both The Emperor and the Flesh Puppet vanished.
The Craftsman then turned his attention back to Sun Erlang at the test site.
Inside the Imperial Treasure Vault.
The Emperor, away from the Craftsman, was modifying the Puppet Body.
His trip to the Starry Sky was in pursuit of Enlightenment.
He still had certain requirements for the potential of the possessed body.
What the Craftsman couldn't achieve...
Did not mean The Emperor couldn't.
His hand resting atop the Flesh Puppet's crown, Xuanhuang Celestial slowly infused within.
Suddenly...
The Emperor felt a sense of déjà vu, pausing his movements slightly.
After a moment of reflection, he suppressed this unusual feeling.
The originally somewhat stiff shell of the body gradually became lively.
As item after item of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in the Imperial Treasure Vault were melted by the Essence of Source Power into liquid and incorporated into the Puppet Body.
This body also appeared increasingly crystalline and translucent, fragrant and overflowing.
Even the perpetually sleeping Kitty Treasure was attracted, suddenly waking up and looking around.
Upon discovering that the source of the fragrance was the body crafted by Li Ping, a hint of disappointment flashed in its eyes.
Just as it was about to sleep again, it received an instruction from The Emperor.
Reluctantly shaking its head, Kitty Treasure, ultimately unable to resist the temptation of the Essence of Source Power, lazily stretched.
Then it leapt up, transforming into a blue, translucent glass dome.
Encapsulating the body crafted by Li Ping within.
Strands of blue light emanated from the container, wandering briefly before penetrating the Puppet Body.
At this moment, Li Ping indeed had a sliver of consciousness attached to the Puppet Body, thus he could vividly feel the specific changes occurring as the body bathed in blue light.
"Flesh reorganization, the Ascension of life form."
"Even without cultivation, the strength of this body now surpasses that of an ordinary Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator in Xuanhuang World."
"And..."
The Emperor keenly sensed the differences between this body and his original one.
He couldn't yet understand the consequences these differences would bring, but he was almost certain these alterations were created to counter a peculiar scenario.
As the blue light dome continued the transformation, a flicker of enlightenment also passed through Li Ping's mind.
He could even utilize Kitty Treasure's ability to infuse the innate abilities of the Mimicked living beings it had absorbed into this body, turning them into Innate Divine Abilities.
However, given that this was an artificially created body, such a move might lead to unpredictable changes.
Currently, all the Divine Techniques that Kitty Treasure controlled were dispensable to Li Ping. With his departure to the Star Sea imminent, Li Ping didn't bother with extra efforts.
That could be experimented with slowly in the future.
The blue light dome grew dimmer, eventually its light completely fading.
Kitty Treasure looked as if it had fought someone for three days and three nights, its visage gaunt, even its originally lustrous fur appearing somewhat yellowed.
Li Ping fed it a large mouthful of Golden Source Energy Essence, and Kitty Treasure was finally content and drifted off to sleep.
"Item replication, Mimicry of living beings—this is Kitty Treasure's third function."
"I Ching Marrow Cutting."
"It truly is impressive!" exclaimed Li Ping.
The Puppet Body had awakened from its sublimation. Li Ping sensed this body and found it even more suitable for his Divine Soul than his original body.
"Why not just switch bodies?"
The thought emerged uncontrollably from the depths of his Spirit Consciousness, but the Emperor swiftly suppressed it.
The I Ching Marrow Cutting function of Kitty Treasure was not for one-time use.
The effects were so good on the Puppet Body; naturally, it wouldn't be any worse on the original body.
There was still plenty of time; opportunities were plentiful.
Li Ping focused his thoughts on the Puppet Body, beginning to adapt and trying to manipulate it.
...
Half a month later.
Before the Puppet Body could escape from Xuanhuang, it first received a communication alert from the Craftsman.
Envoy from the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals was about to visit the Elemental Spirit Sect in Jiushan Province.
A flash of golden light adorned Li Ping's body as he transformed into the guise of the Craftsman.
Silently, he appeared inside the headquarters of the Elemental Spirit Sect.
Waiting for the arrival of the Envoy from the Immortal Alliance.
Meanwhile, the Puppet Body left by the Craftsman had already prepared a large amount of collected Source Power.
Li Ping naturally disdained these low-quality sources of energy.
Not to mention compared to the Essence of Source Power, even the Source Energy cultivated by the people of Sacred Dynasty Daqi from the Elemental Spirit Technique was far inferior.
However, after inspecting, the Envoy from the Immortal Alliance was unexpectedly overjoyed.
"The quality of the resources handed over this time seems to have improved quite a bit?"
"The Sect Hierarch has been thoughtful," praised the Envoy, carefully collecting the balls of light containing the Source Power.
Li Ping mimicked the Craftsman's tone of speech and laughed as he responded, "Recently, I have learned a Mysterious Skill which invisibly eliminates the followers' chaotic thoughts, allowing them to spend more time on Cultivation Arts."
The eyes of the Immortal Alliance Envoy brightened, "Such Divine Skills exist?"
"Oh? Are you interested as well?" asked Li Ping.
The Envoy was slightly embarrassed, "The Immortal Alliance has been experiencing a larger deficit recently. If it's convenient for the Sect Hierarch..."
Li Ping waved his hand dismissively, "No worries, it's a minor matter. If you're interested, I'll share it with you."
"Mind devoid of distractions, inhabits its divinity. All laws do not invade, touching the profound mysteries..."
As Li Ping spoke, he chanted softly and directly revealed the Mysterious Skill.
The Immortal Alliance Envoy, delighted, listened intently.
Yet, he did not realize that his own mind, following the other's gentle chanting, was slowly sinking.
When the Envoy's eyes turned vacant and he fell into a completely stunned state, Li Ping smiled faintly, flicked his finger, and sent a speck of golden light flying into the other's Spirit Consciousness.
As expected, there was the protection of the Immortal Alliance's Forbidden Formation.
But under the stealthy infiltration of the Essence of Source Power, the defenses were as flimsy as paper, silently penetrated.
Soon, Li Ping found the information he had sought in his mind.
"The Power of Ten Thousand Cultivators, the Solidifying Piercing Spear."
"Reaching deep inside Xuanhuang, the Endless Dark Sea..."
"Just as I thought."
Previously, Li Ping was curious about how the the tenThousands of Immortals Alliance had found and maintained the entrance to the Dark Sea.
Based on the testimonies from the people of the Ghost Tribe, the Alliance of Immortals...