Chapter 261: The Totality Of Autonomy

"My current fused form is the result of an extension of the Skeletal Monarch Technique, which I discovered through the gradual exploration of my spiritual world. My dao foundation has been modified by this technique, and whoever created this technique, they left a very elaborate scheme to give birth to my current form through the Skeletal Monarch technique."

As Han Xuhan explained himself, he also couldn't help connecting clue after clue in his mind. 

Sect Master Xuan Zi had told him that day that the Skeletal Monarch Technique was a creation of his father! And his father died long ago, without any success in developing the technique beyond the Physique Transformation Realm. 

Xuan Zi had also mentioned that the cause of his father's death was qi deviation, directly or indirectly.

In that case, who could've left this giant scheme so deep within the trashy Skeletal Monarch Technique? The core condition in achieving his current fused state was that the minions summoned through the technique had to gain the ability to cultivate in the real world. However, it was also apparent that other than a curious, semi-disabled, reckless cultivator like Xuhan himself, nobody would think about making his unruly minions cultivate freely. Even if somebody did, they would back off after seeing how terribly the minions' cultivation was affecting his dao foundation.

So who was actually the target of this scheme? It was evident from his trip to the burning planet that somebody had prepared everything long, long ago, awaiting a rookie cultivator to pick the Skeletal Monarch Technique, treat it like a toy that could be attached to other toys, and step into the burning planet to be guided into cultivating the extended form of the technique.

Perhaps his previous 'cheat grandpa', knew the answers. But it was evident that the old man didn't want to spill a single one of those secrets. He had his own agenda, and Han Xuhan didn't feel any regret in forcing the grandpa out of his body.

"Xuhan!" Kong Ye's loud snap brought his attention out of his thoughts.

"-Huh?! Oh, yeah, I was thinking about the whole situation. Did you say something, master?"

"How did you find this extended form? What exactly did it entail?" Kong Ye asked.

Xuhan's first instinct was to hide the truth, but then he realize that the old fart wasn't here to stop him from getting Kong Ye's help. So he began the story of how Zhanxian and Tun Shi Tian had discovered the mysterious, invisible tunnel hiding within Hai Yin Zhe's 'well'. Even the simplified version of the story took a long time to end. The only part he hid from Kong Ye was the senior's existence, because he had seen with his own eyes how fearful the man was of revealing a trace of his identity to the world. He even spoke of terrible heavenly tribulations that would befall them if his existence was leaked. 

While Han Xuhan didn't fully believe the man, it was better not to tempt fate, he felt.

Mu Ran and Xiao Wu looked utterly dumbstruck as he concluded the story. Yuen Zhou, meanwhile, seemed more fascinated and eager than anyone.

Kong Ye had a deep look in his eyes as he mumbled, "Compound cultivation... What a mess!" 

Hearing his remark, Xuhan recalled that even the current cultivation technique Kong Ye was teaching them belonged to this category of compound technique, a result of multiple fusions and extensions of ordinary cultivation methods.

"Xuhan, can you explain what your dao tower and its surroundings look like now? You said there were some minor changes. Don't leave out these details. I think they're more important than you realize."

Scratching his chin, Xuhan told them the truth. Kong Ye suddenly stood up halfway through his descriptions, making him pause.

"...A shimmering sea of light, a starless sky, and the Obsidian Leviathan...Oh, heavens, so it's real! Your cultivation realm data isn't a mistake!"

Kong Ye stared agape at the sky, clutching his long hair like a madman.

Looking up at his master's face, Han Xuhan asked in trepidation, "What is it, master? What's real?"

"The Totality of Autonomy! The world beyond heaven's domain! The home of the True Liberated Beings! It's real!"

"...What?"

Han Xuhan's confusion was reflected in the eyes of his three martial siblings. But Kong Ye paid them no heed, mumbling unintelligible words to himself like a madman as he began to pace around the yard, eyes unfocused.

It almost seemed like he had entered a private world of his own. Hesitant to interrupt him, Xuhan and his martial siblings could only watch his movements in silence.

So unfocused he was in his sudden submersion into introspections that his grip on Hai Yin Zhe slackened, and the ten-foot-long snake skeleton hurled itself into Xuhan's embrace like an arrow. 

"Papa! Zhanxian! Tuntuntian!" 

"It's Tun Shi Tian!" yelled an indignant voice from the top of Xuhan's skull.

"...Eh? So you're up there, Little Tian!" Han Xuhan exclaimed, realizing that for the first time. He immediately placed a hand on the back of his head where a second Skullface had formed.

"Ey, hey, hey, watch where you're putting your hand in, master," Zhanxian protested weakly.

"Does anybody have a mirror?" Xuhan asked, eager to see what he looked like right now.

Before anyone could respond, a mirror popped into existence in front of his face, giving him quite a fright.

"Take a proper look, disciple Xuhan. And then tell me what all this is about. I sensed a great disturbance in your mountain, and it turns out Kong Ye employed an entire talisman array! What was the reason for it? I'm guessing it has something to do with your current form."

Sect Master Xuan Zi strode into their view calmly and grabbed the recliner Kong Ye had been sitting on. Kong Ye ignored all of them and ended up squatting in a corner of the yard, almost resembling a madman at this point.

Han Xuhan scanned himself from head to toe, fascinated by the changes in his body, both internal and external. No wonder his body felt so heavy and powerful! 

"Disciple Xuhan," Xuan Zi said pointedly, reminding him of the pending explanation.

Sighing, Han Xuhan began to speak once more, this time in a more concise, simplified manner instead of jumping between topics. Xuan Zi never interrupted him even as the story grew increasingly absurd, nodding from time to time as if every twist in the tale was expected. 

By the end of it, he sighed despondently.

"Ah, I had assumed you and Fang Xie could work out a compromise even at the personal cost of those foreign sects' disciples. Seems like I misunderstood both of your resolves."

Once again, Han Xuhan was reminded of the fact that this world of cultivation was quite different from his previous world. Even a person as easygoing and kind as Xuan Zi had little qualms about being an indirect witness to the disastrous fate of young cultivators, simply because it was brought by someone like Fang Xie, a person with a better background. Xuan Zi was even willing to clean up after Xuhan in those assassination tasks. His sense of morality wasn't something Xuhan could relate to, although he was grateful for it.

"Sect Master, what is this Totality of Autonomy that got our teacher so riled up? What do the changes in my spiritual world imply?" Han Xuhan asked in worry.

Xuan Zi glanced at Kong Ye and said in a low voice, "From my understanding of what has transpired in your spiritual world, when you used the body possession technique on Fang Xie, the foundation of your cultivation was supposed to be fully destroyed. But once you made your return, you could still sense some form of invisible control over your spiritual world, qi, and the dao tower of your minions, correct?"

Han Xuhan nodded. "I assumed that it was the consequence of a faulty technique. Maybe the body possession method I had in my hand was problematic."

In fact, it wasn't his assumption. The senior from the burning planet was the fellow who had informed him of the anomalous development and planted the seed of doubt in Xuhan's mind. It had made sense in the context of the situation. 

Xuan Zi, however, shook his head.

"If it was that easy to create anomalies in a technique forbidden by the heavenly mandate, the world of cultivation would be very hard to navigate. Didn't Lady Caizhi use a memory thread to teach the technique to you? Faking these memory sequences is too difficult, too dangerous, because even the owners themselves would be susceptible to falling into confusion regarding which memory is real and which is fake. And in the situation you encountered Lady Caizhi, she had no reason to carry around falsified memory sequences of such forbidden methods in her mind. The chances of her expecting you to demand the technique on the spot so adamantly is negligible. So I highly doubt that the technique you employed against Fang Xie was at fault for giving birth to the anomaly in your dao tower."

Dumbfounded, Han Xuhan said, "What else could have created this extra residual power inside my dao tower, then? I can still command control over it and unite me and my minions, physically and spiritually. There has to be some residue of my power hiding in my spiritual world that has both preserved my dao tower while facing Fang Xie and enabled me to exert control over it!"

"Apart from your cultivation techniques, what else has come into contact with your dao tower? Any hidden specialties of yours could have caused this unique situation," Xuan Zi answered.

"Think hard, disciple. Since the beginning of your journey as a cultivator, what fundamental or superficial changes have you allowed to happen in your foundation?"

As Han Xuhan recalled the early days of his cultivation, his eyes lost their focus on Xuan Zi's face and fell behind him, on Mu Ran.

A surge of electricity galloped through his mind as their gazes met.

The Zeroth Layer of Physique Transformation Realm!