Chapter 1109: A Calamity of Mind and Body
Chapter 1109: A Calamity of Mind and Body
A Golden Core cultivator stumbled while walking, carelessly breaking their leg.
A Nascent Soul cultivator, flying through the sky, lost control of their spiritual energy and plummeted to their death.
A Soul Transformation cultivator, in the heat of a fierce battle, suddenly suffered a fatal heart attack...
These were just some of the bizarre incidents that occurred during that period.
In time, this minor calamity faded away as the strange energy enveloping the peculiar star gradually dissipated on its own, eventually vanishing without a trace.
In the current era, the event has long been forgotten, absent from all historical records.
Only the Salvation Sect, through their unique cultivation methods, had preserved a record of it.
"A force capable of influencing the entire Xuanhuang cultivation world was undoubtedly on the level of an immortal. Unfortunately, that strange star was merely a fleeting visitor to the Xuanhuang Realm, never to be seen again."
The thought of all the cultivators he knew being forced to live like mortals was an amusing one.
The paper figures of the Salvation Sect weren't recounting these past calamities of the Xuanhuang Realm out of sheer boredom.
They clearly had an ulterior motive.
As scene after scene of brutal calamities flashed through Li Fan's mind, they gradually faded, giving way to the image of a tormented Xuanhuang Realm finally finding rebirth.
A sense of relief, of having survived a great catastrophe, welled up within him.
He found himself filled with a newfound appreciation for the hard-won peace and stability of the present-day Xuanhuang Realm, a feeling of deep gratitude for what they had.
Of course, the effects of this brainwashing quickly subsided as the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra circulated within him.
Still, Li Fan played his part with great conviction, a perfectly crafted expression on his face.
At last, seeing their methods had taken effect, the three paper figures dutifully returned to the Calamity Crossing Book.
"The Salvation Sect's tricks mostly revolve around manipulating the human heart. The depravity of this sect is clear to see."
"A pity for them that they ran into me. Hmph..."
Ever since he had freed the Calamity Crossing Book from the Dharma Spreader's seal, they had latched onto him.
They followed him everywhere, like persistent ghosts.
Although with his current mastery of the Dao of formations, Li Fan could have easily used an array to forcibly seal them once more.
But Li Fan chose not to.
Because being pestered by these paper figures from the Salvation Sect was not without its advantages.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the distant Xuanhuang Realm.
He could faintly perceive countless specks of light—paper figures scattered across the lands of Xuanhuang.
When he focused his consciousness on one of them, the paper figure inexplicably opened its eyes.
Through the figure's eyes, Li Fan could see the scene it was monitoring.
The view, however, was hazy, as if seen through frosted glass, and the sound was intermittent.
The connection lasted only a few moments before it was forcibly severed.
"It seems my clearance isn't high enough yet," Li Fan sneered inwardly.
The benefit of submitting to the paper figures' brainwashing was the gradual acquisition of control over the [World Observing Divine Eye].
It appeared that the process of accepting the Salvation Sect's philosophy was synonymous with the process of joining their ranks.
But Li Fan, quite clearly, had every intention of enjoying the benefits without ever joining this so-called Salvation Sect.
"Only with sufficient strength can one weather any calamity unharmed."
"Hiding like a turtle in its shell—what kind of power is that?"
"What's the point of constantly running away? When the immortal from the Immortal Ruins annihilated the world with a single glance, they vanished without even putting up a fight."
Knowing full well how the Salvation Sect would behave when a true calamity struck, Li Fan was utterly disdainful of their philosophy, scorning it completely.
He did not, however, underestimate them.
Instead, he continued his serious performance, determined to deceive them.
While Li Fan was dealing with the Salvation Sect, the grand drama surrounding the True Immortal's remains was fast approaching its climax.
After tracking the remains for a long time, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had finally deciphered the patterns of its appearances.
This time, they dispatched a full ten Dao Integration cultivators to encircle it, determined to capture the so-called True Immortal's remains that had caused such a stir.
The operation was even supported by three Dharma Spreaders.
Faced with such an overwhelming force, the dark puppet was clearly outmatched.
Finally, on Li Fan's command, its body dissolved, pouring the last of its stored shadowy power into the True Immortal's remains.
And so, replenished with power, the True Immortal's remains vanished once more from within the Alliance's encirclement, right under everyone's watchful eyes!
This time, however, it did not travel far.
The pursuing group of Alliance cultivators quickly found its trail.
It was no longer moving with its previous ghostly elusiveness, but fleeing with the standard flight techniques of a cultivator.
"Looks like it's finally tired of this game of hide-and-seek!" one of the Dao Integration cultivators exclaimed, his voice laced with anger.
Anyone would be furious after being led on a wild goose chase by a corpse for so long.
"After it!" another urged. "But be careful! Don't let your guard down!"
"Wait, look at the direction it's heading..."
"Damn it, it's heading into the Primordial-Devouring White Mist!"
"It doesn't matter. I have a Samantabhadra True Boat," one of the supervising Dharma Spreaders, Wei, stated coldly. "Continue the pursuit!"
He released a flying boat, and the Dao Integration cultivators boarded it, resuming their tight pursuit of the True Immortal's remains.
It was clear that for some of them, this was not their first foray into the white mist.
Their expressions remained calm and unwavering as they kept their focus locked on the True Immortal's remains ahead.
"This is strange," one of them muttered. "It's always stayed outside the mist before. Why would it suddenly lead us in here?"
"Could it be a trap?"
The cultivators exchanged glances.
However, with their combined strength, they were confident they could escape unscathed even from an encounter with a Longevity realm cultivator.
They weren't overly concerned.
Without much hesitation, they quickly reached an agreement: continue the pursuit and see what game these remains were playing.
Time seemed to lose all meaning within the white mist.
The way the True Immortal's remains were luring them on was now painfully obvious. It was as if it feared the Alliance cultivators would lose its trail, for it would even slow down periodically.
It maintained a constant distance between them.
Furthermore, the remains navigated the white mist with an air of familiarity, changing direction from time to time.
It clearly had a definite destination in mind.
This bizarre scene caused the expressions of the Alliance cultivators aboard the Samantabhadra True Boat to sour.
After a moment of contemplation, Dharma Spreader Wei decided they would continue to follow and see this through to the end.
After all, as a Dharma Spreader, he could not truly die.
Even if the remains were plotting something, discovering the truth at the cost of a single life was a price he was willing to pay.
As for the Dao Integration cultivators with him...
Dharma Spreader Wei's heart remained untroubled.
The True Immortal's remains and the Samantabhadra True Boat.
One chasing the other, they sped through the white mist.
After an eternity, the scene before them suddenly changed.
When they finally saw what lay ahead, every cultivator on the boat, including the Dharma Spreaders, stared in horror, their minds reeling from the shock.
Before them lay an endless ocean, its surface littered with innumerable floating corpses.
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