Chapter 1149: Annihilation Destroys the Festering Sore
Chapter 1149: Annihilation Destroys the Festering Sore
The soldiers of the Azure Mysterious Army had guarded the Abyss of Roars for far too long.
Some had been born here and would die here, never once setting foot outside its confines.
Family, friends.
Everything they had ever known had bloomed and withered within the walls of the Eternal Immortal Fortress.
Of the beauty and wonders of the true Xuanhuang Realm they so diligently protected, the vast majority of the Azure Mysterious Army had only ever heard tales or caught glimpses through the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
They had never witnessed it with their own eyes.
And the sheer terror of the Abyss of Roars was such that they dared not even fantasize about a day they might leave.
But now...
"If the two masters join forces, perhaps they can truly silence the demonic wails for good..."
A thunderous cheer erupted from the Azure Mysterious Army as they stared, filled with hope, at the figures of Li Fan and Shang Shaojun standing before the abyss.
"The cruelest thing in the world is to grant someone hope, only to ruthlessly crush it." Shang Shaojun glanced back at the expressions on his commanders' faces and sighed softly.
"The circumstances forced my hand, and I had no choice but to agree to your request. In truth, however, I am not optimistic," he sent via voice transmission.
"The truly vexing thing about the Abyss of Roars isn't just the demonic sound. If it were, any Dharma Transmitter from the Immortal Alliance could have easily suppressed it. What gives the high command pause is the twisted Dao of a shattered world that emanates from the bottom of the abyss."
"It's like a wound," he explained. "If you lance it, the pus will flow out and infect the entire Xuanhuang Realm..."
Forced into a corner, Shang Shaojun had no choice but to reveal the reason the Immortal Alliance merely stood guard instead of seeking a permanent solution.
"The demonic sound is just a symptom. To truly silence it, you would have to deal with this wound at the same time."
Shang Shaojun had hoped this explanation would dissuade Li Fan from dragging him down to the bottom of the abyss.
To his surprise, however, the other man listened without a trace of shock, as if he had long known the truth of the Abyss of Roars.
He even smiled faintly and countered, "The demonic sound is a symptom, and the wound..."
"Is also just a symptom."
"The Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm flows in a constant cycle of creation and destruction. An ordinary world-wound would have healed in a century at most. Yet the Abyss of Roars has festered for hundreds of years, and far from abating, it only grows worse. Does that not pique your curiosity, Shaojun?"
Shang Shaojun froze.
"You..."
His eyes flickered with shock and uncertainty as he looked at Li Fan.
He had thought Li Fan was merely a powerful and passionate cultivator, but now it seemed...
"My identity is not important. What matters is you, Shaojun."
"Everything that happened in the White Mist Maze Domain, and the Myriad Immortals Alliance's bizarre attitude regarding the matter back then. Are you truly not curious?"
Shang Shaojun's expression changed. "Are you with the Five Elders Council?"
Li Fan shook his head. "I am merely a sincere soul who cannot bear to see the truth remain buried."
Then, Li Fan once again sat down, his sword laid across his lap. "I will wait here for three days."
"After three days, I will take my sword and enter the abyss."
"As for whether you wish to accompany me, Shaojun... I will not force you."
Shang Shaojun remained silent.
His figure rippled like water and vanished.
Three days passed in a flash.
Throughout this time, Li Fan remained seated at the mouth of the abyss.
Whenever the demonic sound tried to resurface, he effortlessly annihilated it with a flash of sword light.
The soldiers of the Azure Mysterious Army in the Eternal Immortal Fortress watched Li Fan's back with awe and reverence.
Many of the more astute among them recorded the image of Li Fan's sword light extinguishing the demonic presence.
They studied it relentlessly.
A few of them even gained some enlightenment from it, their strength increasing significantly.
When the appointed time arrived, Li Fan's Holy Embryo clone showed no hesitation.
Under the watchful eyes of thousands, he rose and began to walk slowly into the Abyss of Roars.
He showed no intention of waiting for Shang Shaojun.
As they watched Li Fan prepare to venture forth alone, whispers inevitably spread through the Eternal Immortal Fortress.
After all, no matter how high Shang Shaojun's prestige had been, if he failed to act now, his image would suffer an irreparable blow.
These soldiers of the Azure Mysterious Army were his loyal subordinates, cultivated over a century. Losing their heartfelt support would be an exceptionally painful loss for Shang Shaojun.
And with Shang Shaojun's power, even if he failed to suppress the demonic sound deep within the Abyss of Roars, he would at most be injured. Preserving his own life would not be a problem.
Therefore, Li Fan was certain that Shang Shaojun would appear.
Even if it was just to follow behind him and put on a show.
And just as he predicted, at the very moment Li Fan stepped unhesitatingly into the Abyss of Roars, Shang Shaojun's figure appeared in a timely fashion.
"We send off the Commander!"
The thunderous, unified cheer from the Azure Mysterious Army abruptly vanished the moment Li Fan was fully inside the abyss.
"The last time I set foot in here was nearly three hundred years ago," Shang Shaojun's voice sounded from behind.
Li Fan didn't respond, merely observing his surroundings.
The scene was somewhat similar to the Gloomy Realm.
An endless, heart-stopping darkness. The difference was that within this darkness drifted continuous bands of crimson light, like the flowing blood of some ancient, monstrous beast.
From these blood-red bands, substances resembling ash occasionally floated off.
Li Fan reached out and drew a flake toward him. The moment it made contact, a scent of putrefaction began to corrode his entire body.
In just a few breaths, the body of the Holy Embryo clone dissolved into the same ashen substance.
A flash of sword light cut through the darkness, and Li Fan was reborn from his inner world.
"These embers are the result of being tainted by the twisted, world-shattering Dao. And this is just the outermost edge of the abyss. The deeper you go, the more intense the corruption becomes. It can even taint and destroy the very source of our cultivation," Shang Shaojun warned via voice transmission.
By the source of their cultivation, he meant things like Foundation Establishment Wonders and Nascent Soul Grotto-Heavens.
As long as these foundations of the New Method remained intact, a cultivator could be reborn endlessly. But if even they were destroyed, the cultivator would naturally perish along with them.
"On top of that, you must be wary of the sudden eruption of a demonic sound tide. The demonic sound outside the abyss and inside it are two completely different things. Back then, I prided myself on my resilient will, yet I couldn't last more than a few moments before those terrifying whispers nearly drove me mad."
...
Shang Shaojun rambled on, but Li Fan paid him no mind, flying steadfastly toward the bottom of the abyss.
Wherever he passed, flashes of sword light flickered, and the drifting, crimson shadows were all slain.
Shang Shaojun watched for a while, a growing sense of shock filling him as he realized that the strange entities showed no signs of regenerating.
"This is the Extinction Sword. Wherever its light passes, all turns to nothingness."
Li Fan's voice suddenly echoed in his ear.
"A festering wound simply needs to be cut away cleanly," he stated flatly.
"As for those demonic sounds..."
"I have a supreme secret technique. I will teach it to you, and it will keep you safe."
(End of this chapter)
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