Chapter 1034: A Demonic Shadow Lingers in the Heart
Chapter 1034: A Demonic Shadow Lingers in the Heart
Long before Li Fan had lifted the restrictions on the Foundation Establishment cultivator, Jiang Nian'er had already roused himself from his meditation.
His mind was on high alert, his thoughts replaying the process of deploying the array over and over.
As a cultivator at the Qi Refining stage, he knew with absolute certainty that he couldn't withstand a single blow from a Foundation Establishment opponent.
Either his opponent would fell him in a single strike, or...
...he would deploy the formation before the man could even act!
Faced with a life-or-death struggle, Jiang Nian'er pushed his potential to its absolute limit.
Though it was his first time ever deploying an array, his movements were so practiced and fluid that it materialized in an instant, as if he had done it a thousand times before.
Watching his opponent wander aimlessly within the Bamboo Sea Trapping Dragon Array, searching for an escape, Jiang Nian'er knew the battle was already half-won.
A flicker of grim resolve crossed Jiang Nian'er's eyes as he once again drew upon his latent power, pushing himself even further.
The rate at which he absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy quickened.
"Of the hundred thousand souls on that island, I was the only one to survive! I will not die here!"
"Even if you're a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you will not defeat me!"
A surge of viciousness flared within Jiang Nian'er's heart.
In response, the very air inside the Bamboo Sea Trapping Dragon Array seemed to shift. Countless bamboo leaves transformed into emerald daggers, whistling through the air as they rained down upon the Foundation Establishment cultivator.
...
"It seems winning this battle won't be an issue for him."
Every subtle shift in Jiang Nian'er's demeanor was laid bare before Li Fan's eyes.
While reconstructing the boy's body, Li Fan had also laced it with his own unseen observers.
After all, to meticulously observe the process of the "weirdness" devouring its victim, one had to be prepared.
The "fair" duel didn't last long.
His opponent was an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, one who had likely exhausted all his resources just to acquire a basic cultivation technique for his realm.
It was clear he was utterly ignorant of formations; he spent a long time raging impotently within the trapping array before he was finally, completely defeated.
His breathing was faint, like a silken thread, and death was not far off.
Jiang Nian'er was not so arrogant as to immediately dispel the array.
Instead, he watched his opponent from outside the formation's boundary and stated quietly, "This battle is my victory."
"Here it comes..." Li Fan's focus sharpened.
From his celestial perspective, he could see with perfect clarity that as soon as Jiang Nian'er spoke those words, the once-dormant gloom instantly began to seethe.
It swelled like a monstrous shadow beast, enveloping the Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Then, it devoured him whole.
Jiang Nian'er's own body began to blur.
The strange, dark power forged a complete link between him and the Foundation Establishment cultivator.
It was as if a pair of giant hands were forcibly kneading them into one.
A moment later...
Jiang Nian'er vanished from where he stood.
Inside the array, a glint of sharp light suddenly flashed in the eyes of the dying Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Like a withered tree experiencing spring, his aura flared, becoming hundreds, even thousands of times more vigorous.
He stood stunned for a long moment, processing and absorbing all the memories from the Foundation Establishment cultivator's mind.
"The strong prey on the weak. It is the way of the world. Who can you blame for your own defeat...?" he muttered, his dazed expression slowly hardening into one of resolve.
Li Fan, however, could see into Jiang Nian'er's sea of consciousness, where the original cultivator's awareness lingered like a phantom, wailing in unwilling despair.
But beyond that, it had no means to resist and was easily suppressed by Jiang Nian'er.
After familiarizing himself with his new body, Jiang Nian'er slowly rose and, with a wave of his hand, dispelled the trapping array.
Then, he slowly prostrated himself before Li Fan.
"The power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator... how does it feel?" Li Fan asked, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"It's incredible. But compared to you, Senior..." Jiang Nian'er didn't dare lift his head.
"Heh. With this ability of yours, you need only continue devouring, one step at a time. From Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, then to Nascent Soul..."
"...is it not inevitable that you will one day surpass me?"
The moment Li Fan's words left his lips, Jiang Nian'er felt as if he'd been struck by lightning. An uncontrollable tremor ran through his body.
For that was the very thought that had just taken root in the depths of his heart.
He offered no excuses, no feeble claims of "this junior would never dare." A chilling cold gripped Jiang Nian'er's heart.
He knew his life rested on this man's whim. He remained prostrate, forehead pressed to the ground, not daring to move a muscle.
He didn't know how much time had passed, only that his robes were now soaked through with a cold sweat.
Only then did Li Fan's voice sound again.
"Rise."
Only then did Jiang Nian'er's body go limp, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"The higher a cultivator's realm, the vaster the chasm between each stage."
"There are countless tales of those at Foundation Establishment defeating Golden Core cultivators. But one at the Dao Integration realm defeating someone at Longevity..."
"...that has never happened in the history of the world."
"If you wish for revenge, then first, reach the Longevity realm."
Jiang Nian'er felt as if he'd been plunged into an icy abyss. The euphoria from his recent victory vanished without a trace.
"The Longevity realm..."
The words weighed on him like mountains, like the crushing depths of the sea, leaving him breathless.
He waited for what felt like an eternity, but no further sound came from the man.
Finally, Jiang Nian'er mustered his courage and looked up.
The mysterious figure was gone, having vanished at some unknown point.
Jiang Nian'er stared blankly for a moment before looking around. He was truly alone on Fanyong Island.
His strength gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground.
The memories of everything that had happened since the outbreak of the weirdness flooded his mind, rising and falling like the tide.
Finally, they receded.
"Wen Nianyu..."
"From this day forward, I am Wen Nianyu."
He first checked the belongings on his new body, then took to the air, flying in the direction of Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
His trajectory was wobbly at first, but it soon straightened into a direct line as his speed steadily increased.
...
Li Fan's figure slowly materialized.
"The boy adapts quickly."
"I'll let him return to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance for now. Let's see if the Alliance can detect the power of the weirdness he now carries."
Li Fan had just witnessed the entire process of fusion and consumption with perfect clarity.
In truth, Jiang Nian'er was of little further use to him.
However, Li Fan had a faint premonition that, given the boy's methods and temperament, he might yet provide some unexpected entertainment.
"The power of the weirdness is, in essence, just another law of heaven and earth. It, too, can be utilized."
"I've seen it used to forge the World Destruction Arrows, weapons capable of causing widespread disruption even to the new order that has supplanted the heavens."
"If applied to the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm, it would mean throwing the natural laws of several provinces into chaos, allowing the weirdness to run rampant."
Having found and completed one of his research objectives, Li Fan did not immediately leave the Cong Yun Sea. Instead, he continued to wander among the numerous sites where the weirdness had erupted.
He occasionally saw cultivators from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's Heavenly Secrets Hall and Martial Hall arriving to manage the scenes, but most locations had already fallen into a deathly silence.
Faced with such a large-scale outbreak, the resources of the Cong Yun Sea region were clearly stretched thin.
However, the situation began to improve with the return of Gongsun Qixuan.
Gongsun Qixuan, the head of the Heavenly Secrets Hall in the Cong Yun Sea.
He was a frail, sickly man with the appearance of a scholar.
He had long been responsible for monitoring the status of the weirdness within the Cong Yun Sea.
(End of this chapter)
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