Chapter 1211: The Source of Immortal Calamity
Ordinarily, if they were merely bones, Li Fan should not have been able to sense the aura of any living being from them.
But these two bones before him...
They made his heart clench, as if he were being watched by some unseen entity.
The stone statues, which were transformations of the bones, felt as though they might spring to life at any moment, a strange, unsettling aura seeping from them.
Li Fan acted decisively. Without a word, he immediately ended his scrying through the Immeasurable Mirror.
The scene before him shifted abruptly.
The bones vanished, and his eyes once again fell upon the two seemingly ordinary stone statues.
Only then did the sense of crisis gripping his heart slowly begin to fade.
“Tell your brother to stay far away from those two statues,” Li Fan instructed, his expression calm, though a tempest was raging in his mind.
Did those two bones truly belong to the Grandmaster?
Judging by their appearance, it was more than likely that they were indeed the remains of the Tiandu Grandmaster.
But why would two bones from his semi-immortal body be here, in the ruins of the One Beginning Sect?
“Could he have been so grievously injured that he was powerless to reclaim his own bones after they were taken by cultivators?”
The thought flashed through Li Fan’s mind for an instant.
But he quickly cast a heavy shadow of doubt upon it.
Was it possible?
The power that blanketed the entire Source Dao Province, capable of devouring a decade of time, indicated that the Grandmaster had not yet perished.
The might of a semi-immortal, no matter how severe their injuries, was not something that cultivators below the realm of immortals could contend with.
Especially not one who had achieved Longevity through the ancient methods.
“Unless...”
“Immeasurable Mirror.”
Li Fan’s gaze fell upon the timid Sun Luyao, the new spirit of the Immeasurable Mirror.
When the Sun brothers had first discovered the shattered mirror, its original artifact spirit was already gone, which was how two mortals had managed to claim it.
From the annihilation wind calamity that had recently erupted within the Immeasurable Mirror, it seemed the artifact spirit had dissipated while resisting that very disaster, leaving the mirror damaged.
“The Immeasurable Mirror is an ancient immortal artifact of the Xuanhuang Realm, bestowed upon the Boundless Sect by the Immortal World. Even if the Immortal World was destroyed by some unspeakable calamity, it shouldn't have affected the Immeasurable Mirror. And yet, this annihilation wind calamity, which should never have appeared in the mortal world, played out within the mirror...”
In that instant, Li Fan recalled how his holy embryo avatar, on the other side of the Star Sea, had infiltrated the Mysterious Immortal Boat and brought the formless calamity from the Darkest Star Sea with it, leading to the tragic deaths of several cultivators.
“Transmission...”
“From beyond the Xuanhuang Realm...”
In the history of the Xuanhuang Realm, the only known individual to have had contact with the Immortal World and who originated from beyond the Xuanhuang Realm was the Tiandu Grandmaster.
“From this perspective, it’s possible that the Immeasurable Mirror, and perhaps even the One Beginning Sect, were collateral damage from the Grandmaster.”
The history of this place was far too shrouded in mystery, and the clues he could gather were too few. Li Fan could only form such a conjecture.
“However, if my guess is largely correct, then there might be a solution to the Immeasurable Mirror’s troubles,” Li Fan mused, his eyes glinting.
After learning of the risks involved, Ji Hongdao and Sun Luyuan made the wise decision to temporarily withdraw from the secret chamber.
However, they soon found themselves at odds over what to do next.
“The remains of the Tiandu Grandmaster are a matter of immense significance. We should report this to the Immortal Alliance as soon as possible,” Ji Hongdao said with grim gravity.
Sun Luyuan, however, voiced his firm opposition. “Brother Ji, you’re being foolish! The Grandmaster is rumored to have been the mentor of the Ten Great Immortal Sects. If word of this reaches the Five Elders Council, they will surely stop at nothing to seize his remains. A great war would be inevitable, and countless lives would be lost! Given the current state of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, can you guarantee this secret won’t leak?”
Ji Hongdao was rendered speechless.
Sun Luyuan pressed on, “And considering the Dharma Transmitters’ attitude, with their eyes only on the Heavenly Venerate...”
“Even if these are the bones of a semi-immortal, I doubt they would show any reverence. Once in the hands of the Alliance, the only outcomes would be for them to be studied or to be placed in the Museum of Divine Treasures for public display and commentary.”
“Besides, the Grandmaster was a legendary semi-immortal. It’s not even certain if he has truly perished. If we profane his remains today, we might face his retaliation in the future.” Having said his piece, Sun Luyuan’s face was filled with sincerity.
Ji Hongdao sounded somewhat helpless. “Then what do you propose we do?”
“Leave them untouched,” Sun Luyuan declared with conviction.
“Think about it, Brother Ji. Even if they are the bones of a semi-immortal, what benefit do they offer us? With the New Law before us, even achieving Longevity is a distant hope, to say nothing of ascending to immortality.”
“Taking them would likely invite a calamitous disaster in the future, all for no tangible gain. Why would we court such trouble?”
...
In the end, Ji Hongdao was convinced.
The fundamental reason was that these were, after all, just two bones.
And they belonged to a semi-immortal who had failed to ascend.
Sun Luyuan was right. For Dao Integration cultivators like them, the bones were of little use.
Of course, if they were the remains of a true immortal, their choice would certainly have been different.
“Although we will not take them for now, we cannot allow others to do so. Brother Ji, your mastery of formations is supreme. Why not use an array to seal these ruins completely? Combined with the original protective formations, it will be foolproof,” Sun Luyuan suggested.
This was a gesture to show his own stance.
Sun Luyuan knew next to nothing about formations. Once Ji Hongdao laid down an array, it would be impossible for him to sneak back alone and take the bones.
Ji Hongdao did not stand on ceremony and immediately began to set up the formation.
After the ruins were sealed once more, on their way back, Sun Luyuan remarked wistfully, “If either of us ever manages to attain Longevity, we can come back and study these bones. Perhaps we could even advance a step further.”
Ji Hongdao simply shook his head with a wry smile, not taking the comment to heart.
If, before reaching Dao Integration, they still harbored grand ambitions and dreamed of achieving Longevity in their youth...
Then now, at the Dao Integration realm, they had long since abandoned any thought of reaching that stage.
The four steps of Dao Integration—each one was as arduous as ascending to the heavens.
The more one knew, the deeper the despair grew.
The two of them fell into a mutual, somber silence.
After a long while, Sun Luyuan let out a deep sigh. “I truly wonder what kind of world-shaking genius it takes to successfully reverse the logic of heaven and earth.”
“In all the years of our Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, besides the Heavenly Venerate, there has only been one other. And he has since vanished without a trace.”
“If we had just one more, the situation for our Alliance would be vastly different.”
“Tell me, how is it that the Five Elders Council has five Longevity cultivators? Are they truly that much more talented than the people of our Alliance, accomplishing what we cannot?”
This was a lingering question that weighed heavily on the hearts of countless cultivators in the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Hearing Sun Luyuan's lament, Ji Hongdao looked as if he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself.
“Between us two brothers, are there still things that cannot be said?” Sun Luyuan teased.
(End of Chapter)
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