Just as the Xuan Immortal Ark had previously speculated.
Each gray Go piece had been forged from an entire world.
Li Fan looked at the four Go pieces spinning before him as countless visions surged into his mind.
They were scenes from these four dead worlds before they had been transformed. A frozen land stretching for countless miles. Upon an endless plain stood majestic dynasties founded by different cultivators. Around a terrifying sword scar that split the entire world in half, countless Sword Dao Sects stood like stars. A vast azure ocean covered the whole world. Monstrous storms raged all year long, raising waves thousands of feet high and destroying everything upon the sea. Living beings could survive only beneath the ocean floor.
Along with those visions, the names of the four worlds appeared in Li Fan's mind.
"Crystal Pole, Hundred Hills, Sword Gate, Abyssal Ocean."
Although each world was different, they were all filled with vibrant life.
However, at a certain moment, an unimaginably terrifying force descended.
Everything in the world froze.
Amid continuous impacts like enormous hammers striking down, every living being was instantly annihilated. Only the worlds themselves survived the devastating blows.
Like molten iron heated until liquid, then cooled and hammered into a sword, the four completely different worlds slowly underwent mysterious changes in both form and essence amid the deafening impacts.
The chaotic visions disappeared.
In the end, they once again became the four constantly rotating gray Go pieces.
"Holy Teacher, this..." It was not only Li Fan who sensed the extraordinary nature of the gray game pieces. Yin Shangren's gray eyes, black and white pupils spinning ever faster, revealed the turmoil in his heart.
"Forging Go pieces from worlds. The power of a True Immortal is truly extraordinary." Li Fan glanced indifferently at Yin Shangren before sighing softly.
"True Immortal, Go pieces?" Having caught those two key phrases, Yin Shangren's body trembled. He immediately said, "As expected, my intuition was correct. The Yin-Yang Pearls I absorbed before may also be related to a True Immortal."
Li Fan looked toward Yin Shangren and silently waited for him to continue.
Yin Shangren paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts before calmly speaking.
"The moment I saw these four Go pieces, I felt a strange sense of familiarity. Not because I had seen them before, but because they belonged to the same kind. It was like the feeling I get whenever I see those ghostly spirits of dead worlds..."
Li Fan's eyes flickered. After pondering for a moment, he nodded.
"The immense death qi and vitality contained within those Yin-Yang Pearls are indeed probably beyond what cultivators of our level can control."
Yin Shangren continued.
"But while these Go pieces feel familiar, they also instinctively fill me with fear. It is like facing something of an incomparably higher rank."
"I can also sense that although these worlds no longer contain any power of life or death, they still possess an irresistible attraction for me. It feels as though devouring them would bring me unimaginable benefits. Far greater benefits than even the Yin-Yang Pearls."
As he spoke, Yin Shangren's voice gradually became absentminded. Just before the greed in his eyes overwhelmed him, he forcefully closed them.
Only after a long while did the whispers tempting him like heavenly demons finally fade away. He gradually regained his composure, though he no longer dared look directly at the four Go pieces.
Li Fan naturally understood the source of the fear and temptation the gray Go pieces inspired in Yin Shangren.
"Fragments of laws originating from the Immortal Realm..."
Silently circulating the altered version of the Mending Heaven Record within his heart, Li Fan's vision once again transformed the four Go pieces into countless intersecting lines.
They were the laws of the worlds after they had been reconstructed and transformed.
Li Fan carefully compared their similarities and differences.
Although tens of thousands of years had passed, and although the Star Sea had collapsed before reviving once more, the Great Dao principles forming the foundation of worlds had not actually changed very much.
Throughout countless reincarnations, Li Fan had already gained an exceptionally profound understanding of the laws governing cultivation worlds.
After repeatedly observing and comparing them, he truly discovered those portions within the four Go piece worlds that did not belong to the lower realms.
At first glance, they looked no different from the ordinary lines representing the natural laws of heaven and earth.
In truth, however, they were superior replacements, evolved and sublimated forms of the lower realm laws.
Even though they were merely fragments of laws used in construction, they appeared to Li Fan like the most brilliant jewels in existence.
If the laws of the lower realms were merely a low mountain less than a hundred meters tall, then the portions originating from the Immortal Realm within these four Go pieces were like magnificent mountain ranges stretching hundreds of miles, encompassing everything and overflowing with vitality.
The two simply could not be compared.
Furthermore, whether by coincidence or not, the Immortal Realm law fragments contained within each of the four Go pieces were completely different from one another.
"The laws contained within each Go piece are like fragments of a puzzle. Once they are all combined, they may form a complete picture."
"There are twelve gray Go pieces altogether. They should correspond to the twelve Dao coordinates records left behind by Sun Piaomiao."
"In that case..."
"There should actually be thirteen. The Medicine King Cauldron inherited by the Medicine King Sect throughout history in the Xuanhuang Realm is not within the range of this perception."
Thinking of this, Li Fan could not help raising his head to look beyond the Xuanhuang Realm.
The Medicine King Cauldron of the Medicine King Sect was still struggling near the Immortal Ruins and had not yet returned to the Xuanhuang Realm.
"In any case, it will not be long before it falls back. I can simply wait. There is no need to risk salvaging it from the Immortal Ruins."
Thinking this, Li Fan reached out and drew one of the Go pieces into his hand.
Sure enough, a peculiar sensation immediately arose within him.
Somewhere in the depths of the Star Sea, he vaguely sensed the approximate locations of the other gray Go pieces.
"There are four here."
"There is one within the Xuan Immortal Ark."
"There are another four within the Remnant Worlds Great Wall."
"There are still three remaining. One of them should be located within the Sea of Relics."
"As for the final two..."
A strange light flashed through Li Fan's eyes.
He discovered that these two gray Go pieces were actually inside the Xuanhuang Realm.
"The worlds they originally belonged to were probably used by the Heavenly Doctor and the Immortal Ancestor to repair the Xuanhuang Realm."
"Watch over this place. I will return shortly."
After giving instructions to Yin Shangren and Hundred Flowers, and ignoring their astonishment, the phantom shadow of the Wooden Sword flashed.
Li Fan had already followed the direction indicated by the mysterious connection and arrived at the first location.
It was the bottomless Cangwu Abyss.
The Cangwu Abyss lay in the southwestern corner of the Xuanhuang Realm, resembling an enormous wound splitting the world apart.
Its currently explored depth had already reached three hundred thousand feet.
Layer upon layer within the abyss existed countless strange landscapes, phenomena, and objects.
What had once been a place of extreme danger could no longer pose much threat to Li Fan, who was now capable of traversing the Star Sea itself.
Following the mysterious connection, he descended deeper and deeper.
Watching the scenery in his vision continuously drift upward toward the sky, Li Fan suddenly had a realization.
"Everything within the Cangwu Abyss should originate from different cultivation worlds that have already perished. Piled together here, it resembles a temporary storage site for all kinds of materials used during the stitching together of the Xuanhuang Realm."
"If something is missing during the process of repairing the world, it can simply be retrieved from here. One day, the Cangwu Abyss will eventually be filled. By that time, perhaps the Xuanhuang Realm will have truly been reborn."
Li Fan observed the many strange sights within the abyss with great interest.
The closer the abyss was to the surface of the Xuanhuang Realm, the more it was influenced by the vitality of the Realm itself. This gave rise to all kinds of unique landscapes, such as the Forest of Spirit Speech, the Puppet Gorge, and the Lost Maze City.
However, the deeper one descended, the closer the floating world fragments resembled their original appearance.
After a world was destroyed, nothing remained except deathly silence.
Some of the world fragments even retained traces of residual True Immortal power.
"It could practically be regarded as a miniature Remnant World Great Wall."
"However, its stability is nowhere near that of the true Remnant World Great Wall. The accumulated residual True Immortal power erupts from time to time."
"No wonder this place is considered a forbidden zone for cultivators."
When the sword shadow descended to a depth of five hundred and thirty thousand zhang beneath the earth, Li Fan once again sensed the existence of the Suppressing Immortal Power within the abyss.
"This Suppressing Immortal Power should be the pressure created by the Heavenly Doctor after imitating the Remnant World Great Wall and constructing the Cangwu Abyss."
"To be precise, the 'momentum' of the Cangwu Abyss rises in distinct layers from top to bottom. Although the increase at each level is extremely limited, and the overall elevation does not even exceed that of the Xuanhuang Realm by much, cultivators within the abyss experience it very clearly."
"Only those who have reached the corresponding cultivation level can safely survive within each layer. Otherwise, it is no different from an ordinary mortal accidentally entering the Immortal Realm. They have reached a height that does not belong to them, and there is only one outcome, being crushed into pieces."
Having uncovered the secret of the Cangwu Abyss, Li Fan roughly determined the location of the wandering gray Go piece.
Within the ruins of shattered buildings that looked as though they had been chopped apart by countless blades, Li Fan found the fifth gray Go piece.
It was hidden within a majestic stone qilin statue, lying half collapsed upon the ground exactly as it had when the world was destroyed ten thousand years ago.
The statues had originally been a pair. Li Fan examined the other one and found that it was nothing more than an ordinary stone carving.
"It was hidden remarkably well."
Li Fan crushed the statue, restoring it to its original Go piece form before examining the surrounding ruins.
Based on the remains nearby, he reconstructed the world to which it had originally belonged.
"The Seven Fiends Realm. Seven different fiendish energies filled every corner of that world. They could even manifest physically and attack people. Therefore, every building in that world was decorated with all kinds of divine beast statues to absorb and suppress the fiendish energies."
"It was once a cultivation world of considerable scale. Cultivators born there were naturally tainted by the seven fiendish energies. Every technique they used carried the characteristics of the Seven Fiends. The greatest geniuses possessed mastery over all seven..."
"What a pity. Time flows onward. Everything has long since turned to nothing."
Li Fan sighed softly, shook his head, and left the place.
The last remaining gray Go piece within the Xuanhuang Realm was buried beneath Tianyun Prefecture.
Nothing unusual had occurred where it lay.
"It should have originally been inside a fragment of another world. As the Xuanhuang Realm continued absorbing and merging worlds, it eventually became completely incorporated into the Xuanhuang Realm itself."
"Just like those fragments from the Heavenly Law Realm beneath the Congyun Sea. Under normal circumstances, they would gradually become buried beneath the Congyun Mountains."
Without alerting anyone, Li Fan smoothly retrieved the final piece.
At this point, Li Fan had collected six gray Go pieces.
Returning to the Great Qi Dao Lecture Platform, he placed all six pieces together.
Now that nearly half had been gathered, the interaction between them became noticeably stronger.
The speed at which they revolved around one another grew faster and faster.
Li Fan watched as, amid the rapid rotation, the lines representing the principles of the worlds gradually attracted one another and slowly fused together.
Meanwhile, the fragments of Immortal Realm laws drifted closer together, completing portions of the puzzle.
Although only six of the thirteen pieces had been assembled, it was already enough to trigger a qualitative transformation.
The puzzle formed by the Immortal Realm laws resembled a hollow cavity that had suddenly appeared in the middle of a vast ocean.
The worlds frozen in stillness resembled the calm seawater surrounding it.
The moment the hollow appeared, the seawater could no longer restrain itself and rushed violently into it.
The six worlds seemed like soaked paintings upon paper, twisting and distorting as they were drawn into the puzzle of Immortal Realm law fragments like flowing liquid.
According to the template that the puzzle had long ago been designed to form, they gradually assembled into an entirely new world.
Blue skies.
White clouds.
Endless rolling grasslands.
At first glance, it seemed like nothing more than an ordinary mortal prairie.
Yet Li Fan sensed within it a vastness unlike anything that existed between heaven and earth.
Even the tender green grass growing upon the ground contained an unimaginably vigorous vitality.
"The Immortal Realm?!"
The moment Li Fan caught sight of the scene within the fused Go pieces, his heart shook violently.
"No. It is only a fragment that once belonged to the Immortal Realm. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a fragment of an Immortal Domain."
"And this Immortal Domain is still incomplete."
Between the immortal grasslands and the heavens above, something was clearly missing.
Because the remaining seven gray Go pieces had yet to be gathered, the complete picture could not yet be revealed.
Li Fan stared blankly at the scene before him as an overwhelming sense of regret suddenly arose within his heart.
It felt as though he had personally shattered an incomparably precious treasure. An uncontrollable urge to restore it immediately emerged from every corner of his mind.
Had Li Fan not possessed the protection of the Immortal Heart Mantra, and had he not already experienced countless similar situations before, he would probably have lost control and immediately gone in pursuit of the remaining Go pieces.
But now, he simply ignored the temptation.
After the fusion was complete, only a single Go piece remained.
It was no longer gray.
Instead, it continuously shimmered with seven-colored radiance.
Even its size had expanded by nearly one circle.
Li Fan reached out, solemnly storing the fused six-in-one Go piece away.
"Hm?"
What Li Fan had not expected was that the instant he stored the Go piece within his body, it felt as though countless towering mountains had suddenly been placed upon his back.
Caught completely off guard, his body abruptly sank downward.
Fortunately, he reacted in time. The power of the Xuanhuang World Destruction Transformation awakened and flowed throughout his body, providing an endless stream of strength. Only then was he barely able to withstand the burden.
"So this is... the weight of the Immortal Realm?"
"Even carrying only a fragment of an incomplete Immortal Domain is already so difficult."
"If all thirteen fragments are gathered and fused into a true Immortal Domain, then with my current cultivation, I would have absolutely no way of bearing its weight."
Once again, Li Fan deeply experienced the terrifying difference between immortals and mortals.
Yet instead of feeling alarmed, he was delighted.
"I was just worrying about how, after the Xuanhuang Realm ascends and undergoes its ultimate sublimation, I would have no suitable anchor capable of supporting that state."
"But now it seems that if this fragment of the Immortal Domain is fused into the Xuanhuang Realm, it will certainly be able to stabilize it and prevent it from easily falling back."
"With this fragment of the Immortal Domain as its core, perhaps the Xuanhuang Realm can ascend even higher."
"Heaven is truly helping me."
Li Fan could not suppress the excitement within his heart.
However, almost instinctively, he also began to question the true origin of these Immortal Domain fragments.