Chapter 1549: Compassion Controls the Healer

Though the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was growing stronger, rivaling even the Ten Sects, the Legacy Transmission himself had become increasingly reclusive, rarely appearing in public. Officially, he was said to be in secluded cultivation, inspired by the True Immortal's ascension.

But Li Fan knew the true reason was to avoid the Ten Sects' assassins. Their ruthlessness was now common knowledge after the Taiyuan War.

Despite his seclusion, finding the Legacy Transmission was trivial for Li Fan. He didn't even need to actively search. As the acting Grand Celestial Venerable, he could instantly locate him through the connections the Legacy Transmission's new cultivation method had forged with the Xuanhuang World.

"The Legacy Transmission used 'Profound Heaven Myriad Spirits' to build his foundation, the 'Heavenly Derivation Method' to achieve Golden Core, the 'Primordial Grotto-Heaven' to reach Nascent Soul, the 'Myriad Transformations of the Universe' to enter Deity Transformation, and the Celestial Soul 'Golden Control' to achieve Dao Integration…"

"His foundation rivals even my own, accumulated over countless lifetimes. A true prodigy, destined to dominate the Xuanhuang World for the next ten thousand years."

Golden Control was one of the fundamental Daos governing the Xuanhuang World. Though absorbed and refined by the Legacy Transmission, it still retained its connection to the world, granting him partial control over it. This connection, however, was also his weakness.

"Found you."

Li Fan appeared beside him in a flash, like a phantom.

Xuanyuan Tuo, disguised as an old cattle herder, his whip in hand, riding backwards on a green ox, suddenly straightened, his expression turning serious.

"Xuanyuan Tuo…" Li Fan said, a knowing smile on his face.

Before he could finish, Xuanyuan Tuo attacked. Countless golden chains erupted from the ground, converging on Li Fan. Xuanyuan Tuo raised a small, ancient bronze mirror, its surface reflecting a distorted image of the Xuanhuang World.

The golden chains were Golden Control, and the mirror… the Heavenly Profound Mirror!

"Interesting." Li Fan was surprised. According to the Heavenly Profound Mirror's own memories, it had been subdued by the Legacy Transmission and the Healer after the Legacy Transmission achieved Longevity. But the Legacy Transmission hadn't reached Longevity yet, and the Healer shouldn't be fully awake.

"My actions have caused a deviation. But it's irrelevant. Irrelevant to the End." He remained calm.

The chains of Golden Control, capable of binding any being within the Xuanhuang World, passed harmlessly through him, as if he were a phantom. And the Heavenly Profound Mirror, capable of revealing all secrets, couldn't reflect his image. Sensing danger, it even flashed with green light, trying to escape Xuanyuan Tuo's control.

Seeing his attacks fail, Xuanyuan Tuo's expression shifted from surprise to understanding. He was facing a True Immortal.

Before he could react, Li Fan effortlessly subdued him and the mirror, then examined them closely.

Though his target was the Legacy Transmission, his gaze was drawn to the mirror. It was different from the version he had seen in the future, still retaining traces of its immortal nature, not yet fully adapted to the mortal realm.

"You've chosen the wrong path. The greater the calamity, the more you must face it head-on. That is the only way to survive. You can't run forever," Li Fan said, shaking his head.

He waved his hand, repairing the mirror, undoing millennia of its efforts to adapt to the mortal realm, severing its connection to the Upper Mountain and the Infinite Sea. Its ancient patina vanished, replaced by the radiant glow of a true immortal artifact, a wondrous transformation.

The Heavenly Profound Mirror, though now stronger, was filled with an indescribable frustration. If it weren't completely suppressed, it would have attacked Li Fan. For an immortal artifact, adapting to the mortal realm was far more difficult than for a True Immortal. Artifacts were created by True Immortals, tools designed to serve them. Control over them couldn't be relinquished easily.

Only the Heavenly Profound Mirror knew the sacrifices it had made, measuring and analyzing the Xuanhuang World, slowly severing its immortal connections. And now, all its efforts had been undone.

It trembled with rage, but the overwhelming power surrounding it, threatening to shatter it, quickly brought it back to its senses.

"Your wisdom is profound, Immortal," it conceded.

Li Fan's consciousness had already infiltrated its core, removing the Legacy Transmission's control.

"It seems the Heavenly Profound Mirror wasn't completely subdued, but had formed a partnership with him. The restrictions weren't strong enough for complete control."

"Reflect on your actions. Don't disappoint Xuanyuan Hong." He suppressed the trembling, agitated mirror and turned his attention to Xuanyuan Tuo.

Xuanyuan Tuo showed no fear, even returning Li Fan's gaze with a calm curiosity.

Li Fan's gaze, however, pierced through his soul, reaching its depths. He saw a faint, almost transparent figure.

"The Healer…" A knowing smile appeared on Li Fan's face. Golden needles materialized in his hand. As Xuanyuan Tuo watched in horror, he embedded nine hundred and ninety-nine needles into his body.

Despite being pierced by so many needles, Xuanyuan Tuo felt no pain. Instead, his mind cleared, his senses sharpened. He felt a deeper understanding of himself. And with that understanding, he saw the foreign presence within him.

"What is this?!" He had never known of this intruder.

As he watched, the dormant figure, enveloped in golden light, was slowly extracted from his soul. He felt a slight twinge in his soul, but otherwise, he felt… better. His soul and body felt more connected, more harmonious. Insights and understandings he had previously struggled to grasp now flowed freely. And the mysterious whispers he had only heard in moments of extreme danger… were now clearer.

He felt the invisible shackles binding him loosening. Hope surged within him. He remained silent, feigning shock at the extracted entity.

But Li Fan's next words shattered his hopes.

"With your current cultivation, listening to these whispers is dangerous. I'll seal them for now."

The whispers vanished. The hope of freedom, so briefly glimpsed, was gone. Xuanyuan Tuo stared blankly.

He didn't know that the whispers hadn't vanished, only been intercepted by Li Fan.

Li Fan's consciousness didn't follow the whispers beyond the mortal realm, only observing from a distance.

"Fifteen thousand years further upstream. This is… when the Profound Heaven King returned from the Immortal Realm and established the Profound Heaven Sect. But the destination… isn't Primordial Possibility. Another similar possibility, perhaps?"

The guidance from his bloodline was exceptionally clear, offering a glimpse of its destination. But Li Fan wasn't interested in exploring it now. He withdrew his gaze and examined the transparent figure he had extracted, a formless, almost featureless membrane.

He couldn't believe this was the Healer, the source of so much past trauma.

"My dear friend, what are you expecting?" The memory of their first encounter was still vivid, yet also strangely distant, like a scene from another lifetime.

He had once yearned to turn the tables on the Healer, to inflict the same fear and torment he had endured. But now, with the power to do so, he felt… indifferent.

"I've experienced too much in my long life. The Healer is… insignificant."

Though no longer driven by vengeance, he wasn't ready to release the Healer.

"Heavenly Soul Transmigration." He wasn't interested in the Healer, but in their unique creation, the Heavenly Soul.

"Even in the Immortal Realm, a true Celestial Demon was a rare thing. The Healer's ability to deceive the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao and even suppress Xuanyuan Tuo's consciousness… the Celestial Demon was instrumental in that."

He carefully dissected the transparent membrane, his divine sense like a scalpel, even his current power insufficient to fully understand its nature. The Heavenly Soul Transmigration technique had fused the Healer's consciousness with the Celestial Demon. Only a True Immortal could separate them.

"The Celestial Demon… the ultimate heart demon. Every thought resonates with the Heavenly Dao. And the Celestial Demon… is the heart demon born from the Heavenly Dao itself."

The Healer remained dormant, suppressed by Li Fan's power. But the Celestial Demon, sensing danger, thrashed within its confinement, the transparent membrane vibrating violently.

To avoid damaging it, Li Fan used a gentler approach, slowly suppressing it with immortal power. After considerable effort, he separated the Healer from the Celestial Demon.

Without its protection, the Healer's true form appeared, resembling their future self, the white-haired, benevolent figure, but somehow younger.

"Perhaps because they haven't experienced the tragedy of the Heavenly Law World yet."

"In this timeline, under my control, the Heavenly Law World won't face destruction. A fortunate outcome for both the Healer and their world." He remembered the scenes he had witnessed in the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, then sealed the dormant Healer, turning his attention to the Celestial Demon, probing its secrets.

Despite lacking consciousness and being suppressed, the Celestial Demon resisted, Li Fan's mind plunged into chaos, a storm of memories swirling around him.

Reflecting on the past was beneficial, but dwelling on it could be dangerous. He recognized the risk, and countless hands emerged from his consciousness, gathering and organizing the scattered fragments of his past.

He saw himself struggling in the Great Xuan Small World before awakening True Return, then using his foreknowledge to become Grand Tutor, manipulating the court. He saw his first encounter with Kou Hong and Daoist Xuan, learning of the existence of immortals, then his struggles across multiple lifetimes, finally breaking through the formation and entering the Xuanhuang World. He saw his countless reincarnations at the Foundation Establishment realm, building an unshakeable foundation. He saw his exploration of the strange Xuanhuang World, from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, culminating in the world's ascension and his own Half-Immortal status, then his escape beyond the High Wall, the three Daos merging, his return to the past guided by the Tai Heavenly Emperor, and his journey to the present.

As he pieced together his past, he noticed something peculiar, something he had previously dismissed as normal.

He had always trusted his instincts. They had saved him countless times, even more reliable than True Return. Without them, he wouldn't have survived long enough to activate True Return on several occasions.

He had assumed these instincts were innate.

But were they?

(End of Chapter)