Chapter 1089: And Now to Leap Over the High Wall
"Impossible. This immense immortal spiritual power surging through my body is clearly no illusion."
Li Fan's mind raced. He quickly conjured a water mirror to examine himself.
Just as he'd suspected, the face staring back was not Mr. Bai's, but his own!
"This..."
Li Fan was utterly stunned.
"How can this be?"
"How could the immortal spiritual power gained from destroying immortal artifacts within the Fallen Immortal Domain actually manifest in reality..."
Just as confusion threatened to overwhelm him, the image of Mr. Bai's face flashed through his mind, a bolt of lightning that split the fog of his thoughts.
"So that's how it is."
Indeed, while everything Li Fan had just experienced in the Fallen Immortal Domain was an illusion, in the true course of history, Mr. Bai had genuinely collected and destroyed numerous immortal artifacts, thereby gaining the power to cross the High Wall.
"Mr. Bai ultimately chose not to leave the Xuanhuang Realm. Therefore..."
A brilliant light flared in Li Fan's eyes.
His heart began to pound uncontrollably in his chest. "That immense power was preserved, completely intact!"
"It's been stored right here, in the Fallen Immortal Domain! In this final trial to become the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate!"
"..."
Li Fan felt the boundless power swirling around him.
He now understood everything.
He had to make the exact same choice Mr. Bai had made all those years ago.
Would he inherit this immortal spiritual power, cross the High Wall, and be free forever after?
Or would he renounce it, remain in the Xuanhuang Realm, and take up the mantle of the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate?
Though he didn't know what reasons had led Mr. Bai to stay, he made a choice to do so.
But Li Fan was not nearly so noble.
If he had the chance to leave, why would he ever choose to be shackled to the Xuanhuang Realm?
Without a moment's hesitation, Li Fan was about to choose to inherit the power.
But at the final instant, he suddenly stopped himself.
"Outside the High Wall... outside the High Wall..."
"Is it truly safe out there?"
A massive question mark bloomed in Li Fan's mind.
His true strength was only that of a Nascent Soul cultivator, albeit one comparable to a common Dao Integration expert.
Within the Xuanhuang Realm, he could barely manage to protect himself with the help of the Spirit Wood Realm and Tianyang's group.
But beyond the Xuanhuang Realm, outside the High Wall...
The danger would likely be far greater than when he first arrived as a mortal.
After all, True Immortals existed beyond the High Wall.
The surge of power from crossing the wall would almost certainly draw their attention.
And in this life, Li Fan was still caught within the web of the Faceless Immortal.
A Nascent Soul cultivator, no matter how much noise he made, was unlikely to attract a True Immortal's gaze. But if a speck of dust at the Nascent Soul stage suddenly transformed into an Immortal...
By then, Li Fan would probably be captured and studied by the Faceless Immortal before he even had time to activate [Truth].
Li Fan mulled it over for a long time before finally letting out a long, slow breath.
He forcefully suppressed the desire that had been stirring within him.
The chance for transcendence, sought through hundreds of lifetimes, was right before his eyes.
But when the opportunity to escape truly presented itself, Li Fan backed down.
The fundamental reason was that his current strength was still too weak, and his knowledge of the world beyond the High Wall was a complete blank.
It wasn't that he couldn't leave now, but that the risks were simply too great.
So great, in fact, that even with [Truth] at his disposal, Li Fan dared not make the attempt lightly.
"Wait a little longer. Just a little longer."
"The time isn't right yet."
"For anyone else, this chance to leave the Darkest Star Sea, once missed, would be gone forever."
"But I'm different."
"Now that I know this vast immortal power exists, I can come and claim it whenever I need to."
After this rational analysis, Li Fan's mind finally returned to its usual state of calm, like an undisturbed well.
Since he had temporarily abandoned his plan to cross the High Wall, another question now presented itself.
Should he become the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate?
He barely had to consider it before making a firm decision.
In ancient times, the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate might have been able to reign supreme.
But the times had changed.
The benefits were few and far between, while the obligations and responsibilities were dauntingly immense.
Righting past wrongs, dealing with the Dharma Transmitters, restoring the normal order of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Saving the world from its fate of being devoured by the Immortal Ruins...
Li Fan had no interest in being some kind of savior.
He felt no real sense of belonging to the Xuanhuang Realm.
Now that he had found a way to cross the High Wall, his next step was to increase his own strength as quickly as possible, or to devise a way to test if this escape method was truly effective and safe.
As for this Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate business, whoever wanted the job could have it.
He, Li Fan, certainly wasn't going to get involved.
Since this trial was created by Mr. Bai, Li Fan believed it wouldn't force a cultivator to choose.
Sure enough, when he mentally communicated his decision to reject both options, after a long silence, the scenery around him began to tremble violently.
Like boiling water, it shattered with a roar.
After a brief moment of dizziness, Li Fan finally returned to the real world.
"Seems a bit peeved."
Li Fan muttered to himself.
Reflecting on his experience in the Fallen Immortal Domain, he found it somewhat regrettable that, just like before, he only retained a vague, hazy memory.
Any part involving specific divine abilities or secret arts was completely irretrievable.
"Perhaps if I had become the Xuanhuang Great Heavenly Venerate, I would have inherited the complete history of the Fallen Immortal Domain."
"But..."
"The gains wouldn't have been worth the losses. Especially not in this lifetime, trapped as I am in a True Immortal's web."
Li Fan calmed his thoughts.
After a long while, he checked the time.
To his astonishment, he discovered that this journey into the Fallen Immortal Domain had lasted for more than a year.
It seemed the flow of time in this trial illusion was different from ordinary illusions in the domain, running much closer to real-time.
A flicker of understanding crossed Li Fan's mind.
"This trial isn't just created out of thin air. It probably requires a certain amount of energy to sustain."
"Although Mo Rubin entered the trial a year ahead of me, I've already experienced it and knew the plot. His progress might not be as swift as mine."
"He could very well still be inside the illusion."
With that thought, Li Fan began to review the events of the past year.
Transmitter Zhou, unable to contact him for so long, had guessed that Li Fan had successfully entered the trial illusion.
He had sent several intermittent messages, not only asking if Li Fan could reveal some details of his experience after leaving the illusion, but also updating him on various matters concerning the remnants of the Xuantian Sect.
Although Transmitter Chen and the others had passed the Transmitter's Oath, everyone knew they were no longer fit to remain in the highest echelons of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's leadership.
After a new vote among all the Transmitters, they had compromised and voluntarily stepped down.
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