Chapter 1081: The Only Refuge
Chapter 1081: The Only Refuge
Whether it was the Heavenly Sword Sect or the departing clan of Di Yi's beasts, the Xuanhuang Realm never heard from them again.
In Li Fan's view, this was the last method of escape he would ever consider.
The High Wall isolated the Star Sea from the world beyond.
Once outside the High Wall, all contact with the Xuanhuang Realm would likely be severed forever.
Thus, it was impossible to verify whether the escape was truly successful.
And amidst the colossal energy fluctuations of splitting the realm, failure would likely mean not even having the chance to Return to Truth.
Neither his true self nor his clones could risk "testing" the feasibility of such a method.
Hence, Li Fan had always been uninterested in this approach.
"If I were the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate and a faction within my world was preparing to desert... what would I do?"
Li Fan pondered this deeply as he followed Xu Ke on the road to Nanming Mountain.
The journey unfolded much like the illusions he had experienced before.
This time, however, under the protection of Mr. Bai's wooden carving, the trip was entirely without incident, and they arrived smoothly.
Once again, they were led by the human form that Di Yi had manifested, and they attended the grand assembly of the beast clans.
The assembly concluded amidst a thunderous roar from the assembled beasts, all chanting, "We will follow Lord Di Yi forever!"
Prompted by Li Fan, Xu Ke then presented the wooden box containing Di Erli.
Di Yi's reaction was exactly as before, without any deviation.
After uttering a series of cryptic phrases, Di Yi produced a gray sphere from his body and handed it to Xu Ke.
"You may go now."
Di Yi promptly dismissed them.
"Wait."
Just then, Xu Ke spoke up again.
"Oh?" Di Yi sounded somewhat surprised.
Nevertheless, he waited patiently for Xu Ke to finish speaking.
"Senior," Xu Ke began, "how many of the beasts gathered here do you believe will follow you out of genuine conviction?"
"To abandon the paradise that is the Xuanhuang Realm, all for a so-called calamity that is, as of now, nothing more than a baseless rumor?"
Di Yi's human form frowned. "I don't require their conviction. I only require their obedience."
"If they refuse to obey, I'll just devour them all. It's as simple as that."
Xu Ke smiled, an expression of wisdom far beyond his years on his face. "A moment ago, Senior, you spoke of an infinite future with infinite possibilities. Why, then, are you so certain that the Xuanhuang Realm is doomed to perish in this great calamity? Why do you believe that fleeing is the only path to survival?"
"Could there not be a future where the Xuanhuang Realm survives? A future where it becomes the only safe haven in all of existence?"
"Will you do nothing to prepare for that sliver of a possibility?"
Xu Ke's eyes shone with a brilliant, knowing light as he stared intently at Di Yi.
Clearly, these were not the words of a boy his age.
And the foolish bird snoozing soundly on his head...
...was certainly not the source of this insight.
"So, this is his idea?"
Di Yi knew, of course, who had sent Xu Ke.
He began to seriously consider the boy's words.
Seeing his chance, Xu Ke pressed his advantage. "Back then, Emperor Sanmo was able to break away from the beast clans and side with humanity."
"So today, it is only natural that a faction could split off—to remain behind in the Xuanhuang Realm."
"In truth, such a split is inevitable. Your approval would simply make it official."
Di Yi glanced out the window at the assembled beasts, their faces a mixture of expressions, and fell into thought.
"Interesting."
"Wait here for a while before you leave."
With those words, Di Yi's human form slowly faded from sight.
Xu Ke and Li Fan turned their gaze back to the assembly grounds, where the crowds had not yet dispersed.
Suddenly, Di Yi called out to a group of more than thirty beasts, including one named Chi Jiutou.
It was unclear what he told them, but the beasts' expressions shifted from terror to disbelief, and finally, to wild joy.
Li Fan felt Di Yi's gaze fall upon him from a distance, only for it to quickly shift away a moment later.
Seven days later.
Above Nanming Mountain.
"What? You want us to take orders from this little brat?"
Chi Jiutou, now in his human form, scowled at the pint-sized Xu Ke, his dissatisfaction plain to see.
The procession was vast, a formidable column of over three thousand shapeshifted beasts.
Every one of them radiated a menacing aura, their eyes fixed on Xu Ke with ferocious glares.
Xu Ke swallowed hard but, bolstered by Li Fan's encouragement, he nodded firmly. "Senior Di Yi agreed to your request to remain in the Xuanhuang Realm," he declared, "but on one condition: you must obey my orders."
"Naturally, I will not make any unreasonable demands," Xu Ke continued. "This is simply to ensure you don't cause chaos in human territory. You must exercise restraint."
As he spoke, Xu Ke drew a circular disk from within his robes.
The moment the disk appeared, the menacing aura radiating from the beasts vanished, and they all grew quiet and obedient.
Or so it seemed on the surface.
"Alright, you have the Beast Wheel, you're the boss," Chi Jiutou sneered, his smile not reaching his eyes.
"But listen here, brat. We'll obey your orders, fine. But there has to be a time limit, right? You don't expect us to slave away for you for the rest of our lives, do you?"
"Hahaha, I wouldn't worry about that. This little pipsqueak will be lucky to live a few thousand years. Which one of us can't easily live for ten thousand?"
"In that case, we'd better watch him closely. Can't have him dying on us too soon!"
...
More jeers and taunts erupted from the crowd of beasts.
Xu Ke's face remained taut, but he refused to be rattled by their taunts.
After a while, seeing that Xu Ke refused to rise to the bait, the beasts quieted down and resumed the journey in peace.
In truth, the migrating beast horde was far larger than the three thousand that were visible.
Nearly every beast had brought their entire clan with them.
They carried their kin, those unwilling to abandon the Xuanhuang Realm, in spatial treasures akin to grotto-heavens.
Moreover, as they traveled, word spread, and more and more beasts who wished to remain behind flocked to join their ranks.
By the time they neared the Imperial Beast Sect, their numbers had swelled to over ten thousand.
A vast and formidable legion, their bestial auras surging across the landscape.
They moved like a great beast army on the march.
If not for the Beast Wheel, a gift from Di Yi, suppressing their auras, and Mr. Bai's wooden carving periodically invoking the power of the Heavenly Dao to conceal their presence...
...their passage would have surely incited panic among the cultivators of the lands they crossed.
Even so, when the massive host finally arrived before the gates of the Imperial Beast Sect, the sight of such a terrifying beast army threw the unsuspecting sect into a state of utter panic.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Piercing alarm bells echoed instantly throughout the entire sect.
Countless cultivators, accompanied by their bonded spirit beasts, rushed from every corner of the sect.
"Pathetic. Utterly pathetic!"
"To think that our Azure Dragon bloodline could become so frail after being tamed by humans!"
"Hmph! If I weren't seeing it with my own two eyes, I'd never believe beasts could truly submit to humans!"
"There are so many of us... perhaps we should..."
As Xu Ke watched the atmosphere among the beasts turn palpably hostile, a cold sweat broke out on his brow.
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