Picking Up the Pieces

The concepts of disintegration, rebirth, reincarnation, and reincarnation—things that are invisible and intangible—are extremely difficult for Li Fan, an outsider from another world, to understand. Of course, he had heard the basic concepts in entertainment works from his previous life, but in this world of fantasy, the specific differences between these terms were not very clear or detailed.

Fortunately, the Profound Heaven Sword Intent, an encyclopedia of cultivation, provided a general overview.

In short, in this Taiji Realm, there is a type of Daoist practice that lies between good and evil, generally known as the method of corpse liberation, or, to put it more elegantly, the method of calamity to immortality. In reality, it is a heretical path where, if one's path in this life fails, one disintegrates and is reborn.

In theory, once Nascent Soul Stage cultivator refines their Nascent Soul Stage and Primordial Spirit, they can break free from the constraints of their physical body and roam freely throughout the world, covering thousands of miles in an instant. As long as they can return to their Dao body within seven days and nights, there will be no major problems. However, if they fail to return within seven days, or if their Dao body is damaged, their physical body may die.

Therefore, cultivators who only have their primordial spirit left have only one path to take: corpse liberation. In fact, this can be further divided into two paths: relinquishing the body to another person and materialization.

When Xuan Tian was trapped in front of the Void Star Dao Ancestor and had no other way out, he chose the second path: 'things' transformed into Profound Heaven Sword Intent. This is actually a variation of corpse dissolution, a secret technique of sacrificing oneself for the sword under the Beichen Sword Sect. Let's leave that aside for now.

According to the definitions of the Three Great Sects, taking away another's life is actually a form of killing and is subject to strict regulations.

In theory, cultivators can only choose to be reborn from bodies that have been scattered and are on the verge of death, and they must bear the consequences of their actions. The most typical example is that if a cultivator takes over someone else's son's body, he must fulfill his filial duties to the other person's parents in order to be considered Demon Path.

However, if one were to bind and seize the bodies of exceptionally talented geniuses simply because of one's own physical defects, poor aptitude, or the Five Declines of Heaven and Man, that would be considered entirely demonic.

However, Nascent Soul Stage level True Person has already nurtured their Nascent Soul Stage, and can slowly search for a suitable body, so there's no need to sacrifice a living person. It's just that Golden Core Stage True Person only has the Nascent Soul realm, and if they don't find a usable physical body as soon as possible, at best their cultivation will be greatly damaged, and at worst their soul will be scattered. So they don't have so many scruples when they act.

There are so many cultivators in this world, of varying quality. Besides the Nangong Family, there must be many demonic cultivators secretly possessing living beings. But in any case, possessing living beings is a heinous act of the demonic path that everyone should kill. Moreover, changing one's Dao body in this way is too risky and is definitely not as useful as the original body. Indeed, unless absolutely necessary, very few people would be as crazy as the Nangong Family, recklessly changing bodies back and forth.

Therefore, the 'Cicada Molting Immortal Robe' that Xu Ziqing manager of the Heavenly Clothes, gave to Li Fan can serve as a medium to house the primordial spirit, preventing Golden Core Stage cultivator from being completely destroyed before finding a suitable body to possess. This is why the Three Great Sects that can create the 'Cicada Molting Immortal Robe' can attract the allegiance and loyalty of rogue cultivators.

Of course, if this 'Cicada-Shedding Immortal Robe' is really compared with the <Ink Bamboo Mountain Version of the 100% Reincarnation and Re-cultivation of the Three Tribulations to Immortality Method>, its advantages are very limited.

Honestly, this one improved method of the Immortal Tribulation Technique alone is enough to attract a large number of rogue cultivators to join its ranks, making Ink Bamboo Mountain the fourth most powerful force in the world. No wonder a country bumpkin like the Nangong Family dares to dream of competing with the Three Realms for the world. With such a trump card in hand, they could have as many rogue cultivators as cannon fodder as they wanted!

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent is officially certified, so it must indeed be an extraordinary technique. At least the orthodox Xuanmen sects like the Three Great Sects certainly don't have such a good method of corpse dissolution. Of course, their direct disciples cultivate immortality and comprehend the Dao with ease, so they probably wouldn't look down on this kind of Dao technique that's just a way to start over after losing.

Well, it's understandable that the Nangong Family and Ink Bamboo Mountain have become bitter enemies and will never speak to each other again. It's no wonder that the conflict between the two sides is irreconcilable; it has reached the level of the concept of life and death and reincarnation. This grudge probably involves more than just one or two generations.

The Nangong Family was ambitious, greedy, and obsessed with longevity, to the point that they sacrificed all their own descendants for their own benefit.

On the other hand, from the most fundamental level of Daoist heart, Ink Bamboo Mountain could not accept the Nangong Family's behavior of using mortals as vessels.

What one says, one must do.

The abbot ultimately broke with the Nangong Family through concrete actions, expressing his unwillingness to compromise his principles.

This has escalated into a life-or-death conflict between the entire direct line of the Nangong sect and the core disciples of the Ink Bamboo Mountain Inner Sect who have undergone tribulations and reincarnation.

However, with Three Great Sects looming overhead, both sides are afraid of being wiped out, hence their hesitation to act rashly.

Needless to say, Ink Bamboo Mountain was a hot topic. Li Fan truly hadn't expected the mountain people to be so adept at hiding so many tricks up their sleeves—all sorts of advanced technology, cough cough, and underworld magic, piled high with them. There were demonic transformations, reincarnations, this one claiming to be Tai Su Six Ancestors, that one a remnant of the Xuanmen Luo Sect. Honestly, it's quite remarkable that the Nangong Family has managed to hold on this long...

The Nangong Family is clearly in the midst of a business collapse. The previous Immortal King Nangong, an ambitious and ruthless warlord who wanted to seize the world, recruited many Central Plains and unorthodox sects that were not favored by the Central Plains and had been forced to develop the southwest in the mountains, making them his wings and henchmen. Perhaps he once had the opportunity to conquer the world?

Unfortunately, he ultimately failed to cross that threshold and was defeated in the decisive battle with the Three Realms of the Immortal Palace. As a result, the abbot Feng Qingniu, a divine strategist who was like a military advisor, also found an opportunity to lead the rebellion and pulled a group of like-minded people to betray the sect.

As a result, the once-powerful Nangong Family plummeted. The illegitimate sons of the family were treated as living sacrifices, leaving only a few direct descendants to struggle aimlessly. In reality, they had completely cut off their own escape route, with no fresh blood to replenish their ranks.

Therefore, over the years, he could only watch as Ink Bamboo Mountain grew bigger and bigger, filled with impotent rage. Once he squandered all his wealth, his retribution would probably be over.

However, Ink Bamboo Mountain probably doesn't have the time to deal with the Nangong Family right now. Their rapid growth in power is not a good thing. With the Three Great Sects, demons, and the Tai Su Devil Embryo, there are so many troubles. If they push those madmen in the Nangong Family too far, like Nangong Wuqing, they might self-destruct and reveal their trump cards, the "Immortal of Disintegration," to strangers in order to survive. That could very well drag Ink Bamboo Mountain down with them.

It's easy to imagine that the Tai Su Transformation Technique is deadly enough; now, adding the Tribulation Immortal Disintegration Technique to the mix creates immense allure for organizations of the Three Great Sects' stature. This will likely result in an even larger-scale siege and attack than the Luo Sect did initially, potentially leading to their complete annihilation!

The saying "to possess a treasure is to be guilty" perfectly illustrates this point.

Although these are only Nangong Wuqing's side of the story and cannot be entirely believed, the methods of corpse dissolution, the art of calamity immortality, and the grudges between Nangong and Ink Bamboo Mountain are probably pretty much true.

For Li Fan, he originally pursued the Nangong Family because of Li Yi's unstable Dao heart, but he never expected to get involved in such a big scandal, which has pushed it into the sect's main quest.

Now that Nangong Wuqing is dead, Li Fan took out the Rubik's Cube and glanced at it; only one square remained to be lit up completely.

The system had told him that 'Li Yi' was dead, and his karma had long been settled. According to the definition of the Taiji world, Li Fan could indeed be considered to have used Li Yi's identity to reincarnate through spiritual liberation, right? Although this ordinary transmigration involved many people and forces' conspiracies by chance, he probably couldn't be considered Demon Path who possesses the body of a living person, could he?

Perhaps there are still some remnants of consciousness, fragments of memory, and remaining emotions within this body. Perhaps when Li Fan was transforming using the Tai Su Dao technique, he was also refining 'Li Yi' as a Dao body, and through a series of coincidences, this human Dao body developed a new personality. But these are all just personal speculations.

The only thing Li Fan could be certain of was that he could perceive his intense aversion and hatred towards the Nangong Family as originating from the personality 'Li Yi'.

Just as he could sense that the 'Qiongqi Dao Body' was hungry and wanted to eat, and that being full would bring satisfaction, he could also sense that the 'Li Yi Dao Body' wanted to destroy the Nangong Family, and that by destroying the Nangong Family, he would achieve satisfaction of body and mind.

Li Fan had initially thought that Li Yi was taking her anger out on the Nangong Family for abusing their maid because of her mother's situation. But now it seemed that such deep-seated hatred probably had a deeper, or even earlier, reason.

Yes, even earlier, there was a guess of Li Fan's own: how did the people from Ink Bamboo Mountain, who came down from the mountain to abduct children, manage to steal 'Li Yi' from Lu Chai by sheer coincidence? Was it really just a simple coincidence?

If, as Nangong Wuqing said, the abbot could foresee the reincarnations of sect disciples and convert them to the sect three times, does that mean that 'Li Yi' was originally the reincarnation of a disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain, which is why she could be found with 100% certainty?

That's why he harbors such intense hatred towards the Nangong Family.

So, is it because Liu Qing, who probably knows the cause and effect, has always disliked Li Fan took away her fellow disciple?

That's why the system chose 'Li Yi,' a identity that would guarantee her entry into the Ink Bamboo Mountain sect, allowing Li Fan to travel through time and investigate the secrets hidden behind the scenes of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

However, who 'Li Yi' was in her past life and what she did are no longer important.

Because everything has already happened.

Even if the abbot might know, he probably wouldn't tell.

Ink Bamboo Mountain will not help its disciples awaken their past lives. Regardless of who Li Yi was in his past life, he is already dead.

Cultivating only one human body in this lifetime, sacrificing oneself for righteousness, shoulder to shoulder, and facing difficulties together—this is the most fundamental human spirit of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

Perhaps the Nangong Family of the past, and the former Immortal King Nangong, did indeed possess the magnanimity worthy of Ink Bamboo Mountain's allegiance. But the current Nangong Family is nothing more than a group of good-for-nothings who have betrayed the righteous path and only think about preserving their own glory.

Therefore, Li Fan had a slight understanding of what 'Li Yi', or those disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain who followed the abbot in betraying the Nangong Family and giving up the method of 100% reincarnation, really wanted to do.

Find out the harmful method of self-destruction used by the reincarnated immortal of the Nangong Family, destroy it completely, and make this evil method of taking away the living disappear from this world.

Perhaps only in this way can Li Fan solve this Rubik's Cube, 'Li Yi's Key'.

So once things are settled here, I'll probably have to have an open and honest talk with Liu Qing.

Some misunderstandings are best resolved by speaking them out directly. Even if the Southern Faction doesn't lend a hand when he destroys Nangong, at least they'll cause less trouble. Otherwise, if they clash again, given Li Fan's current high cultivation level, he might accidentally kill his fellow disciples who are actually undercover, which would be embarrassing...

Sigh, if only people in this other world had nameplates and health bars above their heads. Now that Ink Bamboo Mountain is acting so pretentious, even monsters can't be killed indiscriminately. We really can't just take someone's head with a single sword strike anymore; we'll have to use a code to ask about their origins, lest the whole mountain end up being filled with spies...

Li Fan shook his head, clearing his mind of the many distracting thoughts that flashed through his head. He used the Yin-Yang Qi Bag to collect the corpses scattered on the ground and cleaned up the murder scene. Then he silently looked up at the square stone chamber that had been cut out.

We need to take care of this important matter before the Nangong Family returns.

That's right. Li Fan and Li Yi, Ink Bamboo Mountain and the Nangong Family —those are matters for the future. The important thing to do right now is to exorcise the demon! We need to get rid of the remnant soul of Gonggong that the Nangong Family created.

Even that unfortunate Hengshan disciple could see that the Nangong Family's reckless actions were going to cause a huge disaster, let alone Li Fan and Profound Heaven Sword Intent, two professional demon-slaying experts.

The demon-suppressing barrier of the Immortal Palace was designed in the past. It not only suppressed the demons, but also released their fate and resentment into the Lei Marsh over the years. With the great power of heaven and earth, it resolved the karma of the Gonggong clan. In this way, even if these Demon Race gods were resurrected and awakened, they would not cause any disaster.

It can only be said that the Nangong Family lacks the ability to accomplish anything, but their talent for causing trouble is truly exceptional. To cut the remnant soul of the suppressed demon god from the carefully designed grand formation and store it elsewhere—I wonder which brainless, idiotic person came up with such a brilliant idea. Even if it was to give General of the South something to do, your Nangong Family's Vermilion Bird Platform is still weighing heavily on the demons. If the demon god were to break free, wouldn't you be the first to suffer retribution?

This is truly self-destructive and harmful. They think they can restore order to the world? They're more likely to deceive the world...

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Hehe, there are plenty of ambitious but incompetent people like this in the Immortal Palace. They cause trouble every few days, otherwise the imperial legacy left by the Immortal Venerable wouldn't have declined to this extent.'"

However, I didn't sense any strong resentment remaining in the stone chamber. It's probably because this demon god has been suppressed for so long that its resentment has been released. It looks silly like the ones in the murals. You can transform and sneak up on them.

"While the useless members of the Nangong Family are still away, quickly eliminate this threat and make your escape."

That's true. Li Fan might not boast about anything else, but he's a professional at exorcising demons. So far, most troubles can be resolved with just a glare from him.

Without delay, Li Fan immediately broke the seal under the guidance of the Profound Heaven Sword Intent, transformed into Gonggong's red-haired, human -Head-Snake divine body to bewitch the demon god, and pushed open the stone chamber with a wave of his hand.

But there was nothing in the stone chamber.

Li Fan looked left and right, then right again, even opening his eyes to scan the area between his eyebrows.

There's nothing there...

Or rather, it used to exist, but now there's nothing left.

The stone chamber contained only a pile of black ash, with faintly visible snake bones and remains, all of which had been dead for countless years. The walls also seemed to contain Demon Race Cultivation Method and supernatural powers similar to the Nine Li Diagram, but all of them had been erased by sword marks.

The demonic images of Gonggong on the murals, with their glaringly sharp beheadings, seemed to have been swept away by a storm, leaving everything completely clean.

Oh, there's still one line of text left, clearly carved with sword energy, the blade still sharp.

'With this unworthy disciple vanquishing the demon here, the Beichen Sword Sect is now invincible.'

Someone beat them to it and completely eliminated the hidden danger.

Hmm, who else could it be...? It seems that Brother Yan, although he went to the wrong place, still managed to find the legacy left behind by the Profound Heaven Sword Intent.

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent, humph... I wonder if he was reincarnated as a demon or reborn as a human this time...'

Who knows? Perhaps we even brushed past each other at Ink Bamboo Mountain...