Chapter 1124: The Blood-Colored Grand Array Activates
Chapter 1124: The Blood-Colored Grand Array Activates
Li Fan had sensed the emotions of [Truth] before, to varying degrees.
There was the tremor upon first encountering an Eternal Relic, and the intense craving he felt before the White Gentleman's Skull.
And now, after he attempted to "feed" [Truth] with the newly formed Five Elements Grotto-Heaven, it had once again sent him feedback.
"Not entirely satisfied. In other words, the offering was just barely acceptable."
A cold glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes. Countless red threads shot out from the grotto-heaven within him, like innumerable tentacles plunging into the void of the [Root of Heaven and Earth].
He was snatching ownership of the nascent grotto-heaven from its parent body.
The sole purpose of the [Root of Heaven and Earth] was to birth grotto-heavens. Thus, as Li Fan slowly stripped away this creation—one destined to eventually separate from it anyway—it offered no significant resistance.
The nascent grotto-heaven itself, however, seemed to sense what was happening.
But how could a newborn infant possibly compare to its robust, fully-grown sibling?
The outcome was never in doubt.
Amidst a continuous, low rumble, the nascent grotto-heaven was dragged into the phantom-like image of the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, vanishing as if absorbed into a painted backdrop.
It was pulled in until it was completely engulfed, vanishing from sight.
"Hummm..."
A sharp ringing echoed in Li Fan's ears, and his vision seemed to dim for an instant.
Once everything returned to normal, Li Fan checked his [Truth] panel.
"Current Anchor Points: 3"
"It increased by one. So it works," he thought. "Now that devouring the laws of a Golden Core is no longer enough to satisfy [Truth]'s appetite, the only option left is to feed it higher-grade grotto-heavens from the Nascent Soul stage."
He had verified his theory and gained another anchor point for [Truth], yet Li Fan felt no sense of elation.
Instead, he found himself dwelling on the emotion [Truth] had just conveyed.
The feeling was one of reluctant acceptance—the offering was barely worth consuming, yet a pity to discard. Nevertheless, at Li Fan's insistence, [Truth] had devoured it.
"Today it's grotto-heavens. What will it demand tomorrow? Small worlds? Entire cultivation realms? Or will it be the World Birthing Changes and the Spirits of Heaven and Earth that come next in the New Method's system?"
"Regardless, it's time to let it go hungry for a while. Picky eating is a bad habit."
Li Fan stood alone in the dim, empty void.
After a long moment of contemplation, he slowly turned and departed.
Leaving the [Root of Heaven and Earth], Li Fan made his way to the location of the blood-colored river.
Thanks to the lingering power of the Fishing Pool protecting it, the location had remained undiscovered by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. The cultivators who survived in this stronghold were the last remnants of the Federation of All Worlds.
They had long known of the annihilation of their headquarters in the Spirit Wood Realm. And though they were filled with grief and rage, not a single one of them felt their faith in the Red Dust Compassionate Immortal waver.
For even in meditation, they could still feel the omnipresent and magnificent divine power of their Compassionate Immortal.
The cultivators Li Fan had dispatched into the blood-colored river to search for historical fragments were, for the most part, passionate youths whose cultivation levels were no higher than the early Golden Core stage.
The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was a formidable power. Though their desire for revenge burned fiercely, they knew they were no match for their enemy.
Thus, their only choice was to lie dormant and secretly gather their strength.
Without the support of their headquarters, having lost all their former resources, their only hope for revenge now rested upon the vast, blood-colored river.
Driven by unwavering conviction, they threw themselves into its currents again and again, heedless of the toll it took on their lives.
They were determined to uncover its secrets.
In the span of three years, of the more than one hundred who started, only thirty-three survived.
Moreover, every one of these survivors had suffered a great loss to their lifespan.
Though still young, their hair had turned snow-white, making them look as frail as men in their dotage.
But their efforts were not without reward.
Li Fan studied the findings they had compiled.
"'Compared to those driven purely by personal gain, individuals burdened by a deep and unforgettable hatred are better able to remain lucid while exploring the blood-colored river.'"
"'When projecting into the blood-colored river, there appears to be an attraction between similar states of mind. For instance, our group of avengers finds it easier to observe historical cultivators who harbored the same overwhelming hatred.'"
"'Beyond merely recording phantoms of light and shadow, it may be possible to bring tangible objects from history into the present. This seems to be a manifestation of the [Blood-Colored River]'s power. However, the probability of this occurring is extremely low. Since the founding of our 'Seeker' initiative, this phenomenon has only happened once. We are currently researching the necessary conditions to replicate it...'"
Li Fan committed all of this highly valuable research to memory.
He also took note of the name of the cultivator who had so diligently compiled and recorded these findings.
Chen Chen.
"'Impressive,' Li Fan mused. 'He never stood out among the group before. Only now, in the desperate aftermath of the Federation's collapse, has he finally revealed his talent for leadership.'"
"'A diamond in the rough. I can make use of him earlier in the next life. Hmm, let's see which small world he's from...'"
Having achieved his objective at the blood-colored river, Li Fan chose not to reveal himself and disturb them.
He allowed them to continue with their mission.
After all, in a year's time, the outcome would be no different.
Li Fan departed quietly, visiting numerous other locations like the Li Realm, the Empire, and the Gloomy Realm.
He harvested the fruits of his various projects and repeatedly tested and verified his escape plan.
...
The river of time flowed ever onward.
On this day, while tinkering with a Heavenly Profound Minor Mirror, Li Fan suddenly raised his head and gazed into the distance.
The first Heaven and Earth Myriad Spirits Array had been completed.
In an instant, his gaze pierced through layer upon layer of spatial barriers, focusing on the mortal world where the grand array now stood.
The cultivator responsible for the array's construction felt a surge of power within him—a reward bestowed by the Compassionate Immortal—and a look of excitement spread across his face.
Following an unseen guidance, he activated the grand array without a moment's hesitation.
This particular mortal world was even vaster in scale than Li Fan's own homeland, the Great Xuan.
But as the Heaven and Earth Myriad Spirits Array came to life, the once-pristine azure sky was suddenly stained with an eerie, blood-red hue.
The crimson color swirled across the heavens like a painter's brush, coalescing until it formed a single, terrifying, blood-red eye.
The great eye gazed down dispassionately upon the teeming masses below, like the eye of an indifferent god.
At that moment, an inexplicable and overwhelming terror welled up in the hearts of every living creature in the world.
Gripped by an instinctual dread, their bodies trembled uncontrollably as they collapsed to the ground, strength failing them.
Nothing had happened yet, but a tide of absolute despair was already sweeping across the land.
Of course, there were those who dared to defy the crimson eye.
But all they could do was shake their fists at the sky and curse in impotent rage.
Meanwhile, the cultivator who had single-handedly constructed the array stared blankly at the crimson eye in the sky.
He muttered under his breath, "This is wrong... This is all wrong. How could this be happening?"
(End of Chapter)
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