Chapter 1295: The Shadow of the Dao of Immortal Attainment
“The Dao of Contention...” the Saint Emperor mused, sensing the surging energy from within Tianyang’s remains.
After a long while, he exhaled deeply.
“This Dao can lead to immortality, but it is not compatible with me.”
There was little regret in the Saint Emperor’s voice as he withdrew from the Tianyang Armor state.
Handing the remains back, Li Ping instructed Tianyang, “Now that the [Dao of Contention] is vacant, these resonant remains are an invaluable treasure for you. Meditate on them deeply. Although the path to immortality is hidden now, the resonance proves that the Dao still exists.”
“Given time, you might truly achieve the realm of a True Immortal through this!”
Yi Jue of the Salvation Sect watched with longing eyes as Tianyang stored the remains, then stuffed his long, protruding eyeball back into the passage.
“What a pity, what a pity...” Yi Jue lamented with a sigh.
“Does the Sect Master of the Salvation Sect have some grand insight to share?” Yi Jue’s theatrics had finally irked Tianyang.
“As for you...”
“Perhaps that day will come. But I doubt the Salvation Sect will be around to see it.”
His words were thick with undisguised pessimism about Tianyang’s chances of becoming an immortal.
This time, however, Tianyang remained unprovoked by the taunt. He simply focused on the defiant will within his own remains, a feeling that transported him back to when he still possessed a human body.
But perhaps because he was now a puppet, he tried for a long time but couldn’t rekindle the fire in his heart.
The declaration, “In all my life, I, Tianyang, have been second to none,” sounded somehow different now when he voiced it.
For a moment, silence fell over the Saint Emperor’s throne hall.
It wasn't long, however, before a disturbance from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance below drew their attention.
Flashes of light flickered as a group of grim-faced cultivators clad in black appeared on the moonlit border of Tianquan Province.
They first gave a slight bow to the Mirror Holder high above before turning with solemn expressions toward the still-intact Moonlight Starlight Array, preparing their techniques and attacks.
It looked as though they were about to launch an all-out assault at any second.
A myriad of techniques were indeed unleashed, but their manifestations hung suspended in the air as if time itself had been paused.
A purple spear crackling like heavenly thunder, a twisting spatial rift, an endless stream of yellow talismans...
All of them were summoned forth, only to converge into a single point.
They waited, poised to erupt in a cataclysmic explosion the instant a breach was torn in the Moonlight Starlight Array.
The black-clad Alliance cultivators took turns, converting the power within their bodies into suspended attacks and adding them to the collection.
Several hours passed, with wave after wave of cultivators contributing their strength.
The accumulation of suspended attacks had grown to a terrifying, almost blinding, magnitude.
Even the Saint Emperor’s face betrayed a hint of gravity.
Without a doubt, if that suspended sphere of coalesced energy were to detonate on the surface of the Xuanhuang Realm, it could easily reduce several provinces to rubble.
“I’ll go.” Tianyang stepped forward to deal with the threat, but Li Ping stopped him.
“Wait a little longer. I have my own way of handling this,” Li Ping said in a low voice.
Tianyang nodded slightly, not insisting.
Another half-day passed. The full-powered attacks of over a thousand cultivators had been infused into the sphere.
The small ball of light now shone even more brilliantly than the moon in the sky.
Even the Mirror Holder seemed to feel a flicker of apprehension.
A small, ancient bronze mirror emerged from the mark on his forehead, enveloping him, the nine Dissociation Discs, and all other secondary apparitions within its protective light.
Within the Dissociation Discs, the light and shadows from the array analysis shifted rapidly and finally began to yield results.
Wisps of colorful thread periodically flew out, drifting toward the nearby Lu Xichan.
As Lu Xichan comprehended the contents of these threads, her body trembled slightly, her face filled with an expression of utter captivation.
When she passed her insights to the other array masters present, they too gasped in amazement.
Now, as they looked at the Moonlight Starlight Array before them, the despair that had once filled their eyes was gone.
Under Lu Xichan's leadership, the array masters began their work to break the formation.
The moonlight, once tangible as a bolt of silver silk, began to grow hazy under the influence of the external forces.
The Saint Emperor could feel the Alliance's array masters gnawing away at the foundations of the Moonlight Starlight Array like tiny insects.
Of course, Li Ping could make further adjustments to the array.
He was confident that the combined decoding speed of the twenty-eight Dissociation Discs could never keep up with the speed at which he could alter the formation. If the Alliance had no other special tricks up its sleeve, he could keep them trapped forever using the array alone.
But...
His goal had never been to simply trap them.
The arrangements he had left outside the Xuanhuang Realm told him that the winds of the Star Sea were already beginning to stir.
The struggle between the rejuvenating power of the Star Sea and the lingering might of the immortals was about to officially begin.
The Saint Emperor, who had been sitting motionless, slowly rose to his feet.
With a single thought, his towering figure was projected across the celestial canopy of the Xuanhuang Realm.
As if in perfect coordination, the Great Qi Sage Dynasty, which shone like a bright moon, dimmed slightly, ceding the stage to its Saint Emperor.
The moment Li Ping’s image appeared, the soldiers fighting across the Alliance provinces felt their blood boil, their fighting spirit soaring.
They roared in unison, “We greet the Saint Emperor!”
The sound was like a tsunami, echoing endlessly across the lands of Xuanhuang.
The captured and besieged cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance looked up in fear at the colossal, imposing figure in the sky, their minds involuntarily conjuring the many legends of the Alliance’s own Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate.
“At this very moment, where is the venerable Heavenly Venerate?”
And those Alliance cultivators still putting up a desperate fight were stunned into silence, their eyes fixed on the figure that filled their entire field of vision.
“In the past, the Dharma Spreader attained the Dao and spread it to all living beings, creating a glorious millennium of cultivation.”
“But the Dharma Spreader’s method is an act of defiance against heaven. Heaven and Earth nurture cultivators. To devour Heaven and Earth is akin to patricide and matricide.”
“It is not the righteous path.”
...
The Saint Emperor’s voice reverberated throughout the Xuanhuang Realm.
Amplified by the Heavenly Dao of Xuanhuang, it entered the ears of every living soul with perfect clarity.
At first, the Alliance cultivators didn't understand what the Great Qi Saint Emperor intended to do.
But when they heard the words “not the righteous path,” their expressions changed drastically.
The Mirror Holder, watching over the Dissociation Discs, wore a grim look.
In the Central Four Prefectures, lights began to flash incessantly—the high-ranking members of the Alliance, who had remained at the headquarters, had finally been enraged.
To slander the Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate was to slander the entire Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
It was to shake the very legitimacy, the very foundation, of the Alliance’s rule.
To the Alliance leadership, the consequences of this were even more severe than losing all their other provincial territories.
After all, lost territory could be reclaimed.
But once the hearts of the people changed...
“Break the array! Break it now!”
The furious roar of Dharma Transmitter Ren echoed in Lu Xichan’s ears.
The Alliance array masters, quiet as winter cicadas, began to work with frantic desperation.
Yet, even as they worked to break the array, they couldn't help but secretly listen to the voice from the heavens above.
Accompanied by a continuous display of sacred phenomena in the sky, the voice drifted to every corner of the Xuanhuang Realm.
“I, too, have a method. One that does not rely on the power of Heaven and Earth, yet can still lead to the path of immortality.”
“It is Foundation Establishment Through Oneself, the Mixed Origin Golden Core, the Fleshly Nascent Soul, and Mind-Manifested Soul Transformation...”
“The Star Sea Combined Dao...”
“And Resonating Dao Longevity!”
The Saint Emperor's words struck like a thunderclap, shaking the heavens and earth of the Xuanhuang Realm.
He had captured the attention of every cultivator.
Just from the names alone, the Saint Emperor’s method sounded considerably more powerful than that of the Dharma Spreader.
Coupled with the auspicious signs filling the world—auspicious clouds and flashes of golden light—the cultivators felt their minds reel.
The last time a supreme expert had preached the Dao in the Xuanhuang Realm was thousands of years ago, with the Dharma Spreading Immortal Venerable.
After his method was verified by the world, the Dharma Spreading Immortal Venerable, then at the Dao Integration realm, became the Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate of the Longevity realm.
If this new method was viable, did it not mean that another peerless expert, one who could rival the Dharma Spreader, was about to emerge in the Xuanhuang Realm?
Surrendering to these bandits of unknown origin might lead to a future reckoning from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
But if they were to pledge allegiance to this Saint Emperor...
A strange atmosphere began to circulate among the Alliance cultivators.
The Saint Emperor’s sermon continued.
“The first step on the path to immortality is Foundation Establishment Through Oneself.”
“One can build a foundation with the wonders of Heaven and Earth. Why? Because the wonders of this world are the manifestations of laws.”
“However, the greatest wonder in the world is not an object, but the spirit itself.”
“To establish a foundation through oneself is to lay the foundation upon the countless principles of the world!”
...
The method of Foundation Establishment Through Oneself, originally profound to the extreme, became simple and easy to understand as the Saint Emperor explained it.
At that moment, even mortals in the Xuanhuang Realm who had not yet stepped onto the path of cultivation could faintly grasp the general idea.
Let alone the cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, who had already walked the Dharma Spreader’s path once!
The Saint Emperor’s new method was, in fact, built upon the foundation of the Dharma Spreader’s method, yet it shattered its shackles and was reborn.
The Alliance cultivators who practiced the Dharma Spreader’s method naturally felt an immense familiarity with it.
Even just by listening, thoughts of “So that’s how it is,” “This is truly feasible,” and “Brilliant!” welled up in their minds.
Some Alliance cultivators, who happened to be at the peak of Qi Refining and were struggling to break through to Foundation Establishment due to the lack of a Foundation Establishment Wonder, had a sudden epiphany.
As if enlightened, they exclaimed in excitement, “Why waste so much effort searching for some wonder? The Saint Emperor is right, I myself am the wonder!”
“Foundation Establishment! Foundation Establishment!”
They immediately entered seclusion to comprehend the new method.
Although Foundation Establishment Through Oneself was by no means easy to practice, the number of Qi Refining cultivators in the vast Xuanhuang Realm was the largest by far.
With such a massive base, even the smallest probability, when multiplied, resulted in a final number in the thousands!
The Saint Emperor had only just begun explaining the middle part of the Mixed Origin Golden Core when, across the lands of Xuanhuang, cultivators practicing the new method of Foundation Establishment Through Oneself began to emerge!
Their breakthrough experience was entirely different from that of cultivators on the Dharma Spreader’s path.
After a cultivator of the new method broke through, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged into their bodies as if in a frenzy. It was as if they were the fabled protagonists of destiny, favored by the Heavenly Dao.
A few of them were even accompanied by rays of twilight from the sky as they broke through.
Within the twilight were various heavenly materials and earthly treasures, like gifts from the world itself.
The world’s drastically different attitude made it impossible for other cultivators not to burn with envy.
Cultivators at the Golden Core realm and above might still have some reservations.
But for those at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, abandoning their cultivation and starting over was no great burden.
After all, even if they failed to cultivate the Saint Emperor’s new method, as long as their Foundation Establishment Wonder remained, they could always start again.
They dissipated their cultivation and temporarily stored away their wonders.
Then, they focused their entire being on practicing the method of Foundation Establishment Through Oneself.
The number of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Xuanhuang Realm far exceeded the total number of cultivators in all other realms combined.
Even if only one in ten of these people chose the Saint Emperor’s new method...
It would be a devastating blow to the Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate and the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Aside from Dharma Transmitter Ren, the other Dharma Transmitters could no longer sit still.
Experiments within the Alliance headquarters had already proven the viability of this Foundation Establishment Through Oneself method.
If they let this Saint Emperor continue his sermon...
A cold shiver ran down the spines of all the high-ranking cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
In the Alliance’s Deepest Prison.
In the deepest part of the space that held thousands of the most vicious criminals.
A figure that seemed to be nothing but dry bones was spread-eagled, nailed to the void.
Looking closely, one could see that on every single one of the figure’s bones, flames seemed to burn, lightning seemed to crash, and strange insects seemed to gnaw incessantly...
Despite the indescribable pain, the figure appeared accustomed to it, its face calm.
Or perhaps, on its almost skeletal face, it was no longer possible to show any expression at all.
At this moment, amidst the endless suffering of his body, he slightly raised his head.
His pitch-black eye sockets pierced through the layers of the prison, gazing at the sky of the Xuanhuang Realm.
“Foundation Establishment Through Oneself...”
“Foundation Establishment Through Oneself...”
A black flame, like a long serpent, materialized from the void.
It shot straight towards him, piercing through his chest in an instant.
The black flame passed through his heart, but some of it lingered on the wound, burning what little flesh and dry bone remained on the figure.
And even his residual soul.
Even with the figure’s tolerance for pain, he couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan.
“Foundation Establishment Through Oneself, Foundation Establishment Through Oneself...”
But he continued to mutter, and within his pitch-black eye sockets, tiny points of starlight seemed to ignite.
For a long time, aside from pain, no other feeling had appeared in his heart.
But now, he faintly saw a glimmer of hope.
A glimmer of hope for escape.
How long had he been imprisoned?
The sunless depths of the prison had made him almost forget the concept of time.
But from the wounds on his body, it must have been a full five hundred years.
After being unfortunately captured and imprisoned here, he had given up all thoughts of escape.
After all, his abilities had been completely drained by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Even if he could luckily escape from this place, it would be difficult to find his way back while being pursued by the Alliance.
But now, through this voice that reached the depths of the prison, he might truly be able to escape.
“Every ounce of pain is built upon my body.”
“It is all felt by ‘me’.”
“The source of the pain is ‘me’.”
“My foundation...”
As the figure spoke, points of golden light began to flicker.
These golden lights seemed to originate from within the figure’s remaining dry bones.
They had been hidden all this time, only to be activated in this desperate gamble.
With a series of creaks and groans, the golden light, like a flame, roasted the dry bones.
The bones melted like a candle, but after cooling, they reformed into a slightly smaller, yet normally shaped body.
The surrounding restrictions detected the figure’s unusual movement.
Punishments were continuously triggered, bombarding the figure.
But the figure was long accustomed to them, even absorbing these punishments and turning them into energy to forge his new body.
Under the golden light, the figure grew smaller and smaller.
Eventually, it was only the size of an adult’s palm.
It walked out from the original dry bones.
“Foundation Establishment Through Oneself actually returned me to the appearance I had when I first started cultivating.”
“This truly is a supreme and wondrous method!”
“Even if I was delayed within the High Wall for over five hundred years, if I can bring this method back, it won’t have been a waste.”
The small figure transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting straight out from the deepest part of the prison.
It ignored all the restrictions along the way.
Even the guards of the Alliance’s Deepest Prison seemed completely oblivious to the escaping golden light.
The little golden man reached the surface and gazed at the image of the Saint Emperor in the sky.
“A land of desperation truly breeds exceptional talent. In just over five hundred years, such a figure has appeared in the world...”
“The Mixed Origin Golden Core.”
The little golden man listened intently for a long time, his brow furrowed.
“Something’s strange. Could it be that I’ve grown foolish after being locked up for so long?”
“No matter. I’ll memorize it first. There will be plenty of people to study it after I get out.”
...
The Great Qi Saint Emperor was unaware that he had quietly gained a listener from beyond the High Wall.
At this moment, his sermon had reached its final part: [Resonating Dao Longevity].
“Beyond Xuanhuang, above the Star Sea, lies a grand path to immortality.”
“When a True Immortal falls, the Great Dao becomes vacant.”
“By reversing the Dao's shadow and resonating with the true meaning of the Dao, one may glimpse the realm of longevity...”
The Saint Emperor preached with solemnity.
And these profound words resonated so deeply that even the Heavenly Dao of Xuanhuang itself seemed to gain some understanding.
The winds of the world stood still.
Across the vast Xuanhuang Realm, there was no sound other than the voice of the Sage Dynasty's sermon.
This included the cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, who had previously been so eager to break the Moonlight Starlight Array.
Now, they were all stunned, listening to the Saint Emperor’s words in a daze.
The higher their realm and strength, the greater the shock they felt.
At the Alliance headquarters, in the Museum of Divine Treasures.
Xu Ke and Yin Shangren, who were waiting for the final battle between the Alliance and the Sage Dynasty to erupt so they could detonate the golden tree and take Mr. Bai's skull, suddenly felt the ground beneath them begin to tremble.
The slight tremor slowly grew into a violent shaking.
“What is this...” Xu Ke was slightly startled.
He felt that it wasn't just the Museum of Divine Treasures they were in. The source of the vibration was the space itself that housed the museum!
The shaking intensified. The Alliance headquarters, once dim like a starry sky, slowly began to light up with points of starlight.
“The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance headquarters is inside the Heavenly Profound Mirror. This phenomenon... is the Heavenly Profound Mirror breaking through?” A look of astonishment crossed Yin Shangren’s face, uncertain whether this change was a blessing or a curse for them.
Within the space of the Deduction Jade.
Li Fan’s main body also noticed the slight tremor outside.
The three Dao Integration guardians instantly grew tense.
After all, a scene like this hadn't occurred in centuries.
Zhang Xu and Hua Yueye guarded the Deduction Jade, while Li Fan stood watch at the entrance to the space.
Fortunately, Elder Xu of the Law Enforcement Hall soon sent a message confirming that all was well, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
“If I’m not mistaken, my Saint Emperor clone must have launched his attack,” Li Fan mused to himself.
Just then, he sensed that the little girl persona of the Deduction Jade had woken from her slumber and was trying to contact him through her fabricated personality.
With a thought, he took control of her fabricated personality.
“Wow, something big is happening outside!” the little girl exclaimed with an exaggerated expression.
“You’re trapped in here and couldn’t see it, what a shame!” The Deduction Jade looked at Li Fan with eyes full of pity.
“You can see the outside world?” Li Fan stared at the little girl, a hint of suspicion in his voice.
The Deduction Jade huffed, her hands on her hips. “Me? Of course not.”
“But someone told me! What, you got a problem with that?”
“How about this, if you beg me, I’ll tell you about the big event happening outside!” the little girl said, looking very proud of herself.
Seeing that Li Fan was unmoved and still pondering something, she tried to entice him further. “Aren’t you at the Dao Integration realm now? If you knew what was going on out there, it would definitely be a huge help to you! Even I, after hearing it, saw my deduction speed increase by a lot...” the Deduction Jade said with great earnestness.
“The one who secretly told you about the outside world... was it the Heavenly Profound Mirror?” Li Fan suddenly asked.
The expression on the Deduction Jade’s face froze for a moment, then she waved her hands. “Hahaha, how could that be possible!”
Li Fan narrowed his eyes. “The tremor from just now...”
“The Heavenly Profound Mirror is upgrading? How is that possible? The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance hasn’t measured heaven and earth in this lifetime...”
“Even the Deduction Jade has gained something.”
“Could it really be because of the Saint Emperor’s sermon?”
Li Fan was filled with a mix of surprise and uncertainty.
His two clones outside had indeed witnessed the Saint Emperor’s sermon.
But he had long known that it was something the Saint Emperor had concocted to strike at the foundation of the Dharma Spreader’s method.
Aside from the part about Foundation Establishment Through Oneself, the rest was all a baseless fabrication, impossible to cultivate.
So he hadn't paid it much mind.
But now, from the reactions of the Deduction Jade and the Heavenly Profound Mirror, this method preached by the Saint Emperor...
It truly had some substance to it.
Li Fan looked at the still-smug Deduction Jade trying to get him to beg, snorted coldly in his mind, and recited the contents of the Saint Emperor’s sermon directly.
The Deduction Jade looked as if she had seen a ghost. “Big Brother Heavenly Profound Mirror told you too?”
Li Fan snorted again, not answering.
The little girl, like a frost-bitten eggplant, became dejected.
“Boring!”
“I’m going back to sleep!”
“Wait!” Li Fan called out, stopping her.
The Deduction Jade looked at Li Fan with wary eyes.
“This Saint Emperor’s new method being useful to us cultivators is understandable.”
“But it even provides inspiration for you, the Deduction Jade?” Li Fan’s face was full of doubt.
The Deduction Jade rolled her eyes at Li Fan. “Didn’t you hear? Beyond Xuanhuang, above the Star Sea, lies a grand path to immortality!”
“When a True Immortal falls, the Great Dao becomes vacant!”
“By reversing the Dao’s shadow and resonating with the true meaning of the Dao...”
The Deduction Jade’s eyes were wide. “Take me for example. The Deduction Jade is the manifestation of a law of the Xuanhuang Realm.”
“And the law of deduction in the Xuanhuang Realm is but a projection of the Dao that leads to immortality, high above the Star Sea...”
“In other words, when it comes to resonating with the Great Dao, we have a natural advantage.”
The Deduction Jade couldn’t help but look a little smug. “This is something you cultivators can only dream of!”
“If you want to resonate with the Great Dao, you at least have to find a trace of the Great Dao first, right? The Dao of immortal attainment is ethereal and fleeting. Even if you manage to catch a glimpse of it by chance, maintaining that connection is incredibly difficult!”
Seeing Li Fan’s somewhat heavy expression, the little girl grew even more pleased with herself.
Then, as if remembering something, she looked at him warily. “Don’t even think about stealing mine, okay? To be honest, even if you could borrow my power to comprehend this Dao of deduction, it would be useless.”
“Why?” Li Fan asked.
“Do you still remember that character I showed you before? Thinking about it now, it’s like a painting, a depiction of the Dao of immortal attainment for others to see.”
“It’s not the physical embodiment of the Dao of immortal attainment, just a painting, which is why even ordinary cultivators can perceive it.”
“But we are projections of the Dao of immortal attainment. You are not me, so how could you look ‘upward’ and see the Dao itself?”
The Deduction Jade spoke each word slowly.
It seemed that expressing this idea was a rather difficult task even for her.
“The Great Dao is vacant...”
“True Immortal Script, the Inscription Immortal...”
Li Fan was lost in thought.
All the past scenes related to the power of immortals flashed through his mind, flowing rapidly.
Finally, four words faintly surfaced.
“Eternal Remembrance?”
Li Fan felt a slight uncertainty in his heart.
“Not a projection of the Dao of immortal attainment, but a resonance of the Dao.”
“Resonating Dao Longevity, so that’s what it is.”
“The Saint Emperor was actually able to discover the existence of Eternal Remembrance?”
The image of Tianyang flashed through Li Fan’s mind.
“Mm, that should be it.”
After all, it was his own clone. Even though the connection was now severed, Li Fan quickly deduced the probable truth based on the scattered clues.
“Interesting. It seems this Great Qi Saint Emperor, after fusing with the blood essence of Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba, has a higher comprehension than I imagined.”
“After all, my own comprehension is not to be underestimated...”
Li Fan once again carefully perused the incomplete new method that he had previously dismissed.
“If Eternal Remembrance is the resonance of the Dao, then why does [Truth] feel so hungry every time it senses Eternal Remembrance? Does this mean that what [Truth] truly needs is the Dao of immortal attainment?”
“Something that can replenish the power of [Truth]...”
Li Fan’s mind raced.
...
Outside the Xuanhuang Realm, the Sage Dynasty’s sermon was drawing to a close.
Regardless of whether they were affiliated with the Sage Dynasty or not, all living beings who had listened to the sermon bowed their heads slightly, expressing their awe for the Saint Emperor.
After all, they would never have had the chance to hear such a wondrous method in their entire lives.
Now, the Saint Emperor had shared it selflessly with them.
Many cultivators were so moved that they wept tears of gratitude, prostrating themselves on the ground and becoming the Saint Emperor’s most loyal followers.
In the four Alliance provinces, on the moonlit border.
The array masters snapped out of the shock of the Saint Emperor’s sermon.
They glanced furtively at Lu Xichan.
“Continue breaking the array!” Although they had received a favor from the other side, on a matter of principle, Lu Xichan, as the chief of the Array Strategy Hall, would never make a mistake.
She commanded in a cold voice.
“There’s no need.” A voice from behind her made her freeze on the spot.
“The Heavenly Venerate has returned.” Dharma Transmitter Ren looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with fervent devotion.
(End of this chapter)
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