Chapter 1312: The Immortal-Slaying Miasma
Chapter 1312: The Immortal-Slaying Miasma
"The Realm Fragment Great Wall... How could such a phenomenon appear at the edge of the Star Sea?" Qiaogong cried out, his voice filled with disbelief.
"No wonder all those annihilated worlds disappeared without a trace. They've all gathered at the foot of the High Wall? A continuous wall of remnant realms... what kind of power could have created such a sight?" Bai Hua's face was also a mask of astonishment.
Both had survived since the Star Sea's devastation and had personally witnessed countless cultivation worlds fall into dead silence. Therefore, more than anyone else, they could profoundly appreciate the awe-inspiring nature of the endless Realm Fragment Great Wall.
"I seem to..." Mr. Yin pressed his temples as if trying to recall a memory buried deep within his mind, but he hesitated, leaving his sentence unfinished.
Li Fan glanced at him but didn't press the matter. Instead, he added gravely, "Beyond the Realm Fragment Great Wall, there is another barrier, the Relic Great Wall. The two stand guard before the High Wall, echoing each other to form a grand formation. The journey there will be more perilous than our previous expedition to the center of the Star Sea. It is highly likely that some of us may perish..."
Li Fan's gaze swept across the group. "Whether you go or not is entirely your own decision."
"I will give you half a year to consider. Do not blindly chase after higher levels of power. Merely for the merit of returning the Xuanhuang Realm's malevolence, even if you do nothing more, you will receive more than enough benefits when the world completes its ascension." As he spoke, his figure slowly faded from view.
Qiaogong and the others wore varied expressions.
In this Star Sea, a spectacle was often accompanied by great power. And great power meant great danger.
This was true for the Realm Fragment Great Wall, just as it was for the Immortal Ruins.
Besides, they only needed three or four realm fragments as a catalyst to stimulate the Xuanhuang Realm's ability to devour and digest. It wasn't necessary for everyone to go.
If this trip went smoothly, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future to earn merit by helping the Xuanhuang Realm ascend.
With these thoughts in mind, everyone began to weigh their options.
Li Fan, of course, saw every subtle shift in their expressions. Through lifetimes of reincarnation, he had come to understand their personalities intimately. A single glance was enough to guess the general drift of their thoughts.
"To walk the path of the Dao is a cultivator's instinct. Yet, this path is fraught with danger, every step a struggle. The fear and aversion in one's heart are further obstacles on the journey forward."
"To even touch the so-called Dao... how difficult it is..."
Watching Qiaogong and the others make their choices in the face of life, death, and the pursuit of the Dao, a thread of insight welled up in Li Fan's mind.
Waiting for the celestial and mortal souls of the Super Xuanhuang Realm to merge with the Dao didn't mean his own cultivation would stagnate.
"Every breath, every word, every action, is cultivation."
"The myriad thoughts of all living beings are like pages from a Daoist scripture."
On the Lecture Stage, within the Great Xuan Realm, the thoughts and intentions of countless beings flowed into Li Fan's mind like a river of stars, each perceived by him.
They became the force that propelled the great wheel of his cultivation ever forward.
His decision this life to become the teacher of heaven and earth had not been a mere whim.
In the previous life, the Saint Emperor had spoken of the concept of "Resonating Dao Longevity." By reversing the projection of the Dao, one could comprehend its true meaning. Through multiple uses of Fantasy Becomes Truth, Li Fan had faintly confirmed the little girl's speculation about the Saint Emperor's new cultivation method.
A projection of the Dao from the top down was indeed easier to perceive than the Dao itself.
Without that projection, the Great Dao remained hidden in the azure heavens, invisible. One could only rely on cultivation and enlightenment to search for its traces, then slowly deepen one's understanding.
Though there were thousands of Great Daos, how difficult was it for an ordinary cultivator to behold the true face of the Dao?
The True Immortal in the Immortal Ruins, despite having the mimicked inscription of the "Hunger" character as an aid, had sat in meditation for ten thousand years without a breakthrough.
This alone showed the difficulty of comprehending the Dao.
If it was so for a True Immortal, how much more so for those beneath that realm?
Among the countless beings, Li Fan's situation was exceptionally unique. Possessing Truth, he was more like someone who already stood at the end of this Great Dao, with the ultimate nature of the Dao almost within his grasp. This was why a miracle like Fantasy Becomes Truth could be performed by someone with only a Soul Transformation cultivation base.
Previously, Li Fan could only deepen his understanding of the True-False Transformation related to Truth by strengthening his "bond" with it, a gradual process.
However, as his comprehension of Fantasy Becomes Truth deepened, and after his encounter with the mysterious symbol hidden deep within the bodies of the You Clan, something changed.
Li Fan faintly sensed that he could use a method of analogy and inference—starting from the traces of other Daos to reverse-engineer and accelerate his progress with the True-False Transformation.
The Great Dao projected itself downwards, forming all the realms.
Every existence in the Xuanhuang Realm, whether matter or consciousness, could be seen as a projection of the Dao.
The problem was that these were projections at the very end of the chain. Tracing them back to the source Dao was a nearly impossible task.
But as the sole surviving land in the Star Sea, the Xuanhuang Realm had already gathered too many impossibilities.
For example, the strange existence of an Eternal Remnant Will, which could trigger a resonance with the Dao.
In this life, Li Fan had already visited Tianyang's grotto-heaven at the bottom of the Cong Yun Sea and collected Tianyang's remains, which contained this Eternal Remnant Will.
He had tried various methods but had been unable to sense the Dao resonance within.
However, Li Fan wouldn't give up his research on Dao resonance because of this. Instead, he began searching for a lesser substitute for the Eternal Remnant Will.
In his 119th life, Li Fan had used the statue of the Faceless Immortal as a catalyst to create a network of believers in the Red Dust Compassionate Immortal. Among the thousands of followers, the intentions of Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi had been the most brilliant and special.
Even within the net of Source Power Essence, they were exceptionally conspicuous.
They were, without a doubt, the "Most Sincere Seekers of the Dao."
Previously, Li Fan had thought this was merely a result of their innate character, offering no particular benefit to himself. But now, he realized that this sincere will to seek the Dao in Kou Hong and his friend might very well be the sprout of an Eternal Remnant Will.
In other words, if he guided them to continuously deepen their will to seek the Dao, there was a chance that when Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi died, they might give birth to an Eternal Remnant Will.
"I can't use the Eternal Remnant Will, but can't I use a lesser substitute?"
This discovery from Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi gave Li Fan an idea. Coupled with his plan to use the merging of the celestial and mortal souls of the Super Xuanhuang Realm, it logically led to his role as the teacher of heaven and earth in this life.
On the Lecture Stage, the intentions of thousands of living beings gathered. Like the stars in the sky, each shone with a different light.
Those who stood out would receive Li Fan's special attention.
Unfortunately, he had yet to find any existence with the potential to ascend to an Eternal Remnant Will.
But Li Fan believed that once the Lecture Stage eventually expanded to encompass the entire Xuanhuang Realm, he would surely find others besides Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi.
As for Kou Hong and his friend, in this life, their current experience was insufficient to reach their former state as the Most Sincere Seekers of the Dao. Taking them as disciples now would actually interfere with their hearts for the Dao. Thus, Li Fan left them alone for the time being, even adding a few extra difficulties to their cultivation path.
He would simply wait for the flower to bear fruit before coming to reap his harvest.
"The Dao projects into all worlds, so there will always be living beings who resonate with its traces. These are the materials I can use to advance my understanding of the True-False Transformation."
Having personally experienced the power of Fantasy Becomes Truth, Li Fan had decided to make its advancement his second-highest priority, second only to his own survival.
As for his cultivation realm, cultivation base, and treasures...
Things that could be acquired in every reincarnation couldn't even begin to compare.
"I suppose, though, that these brilliant wills of living beings, much like the Eternal Remnant Will, can only be used for enlightenment once. I wonder how many surprises the entire Xuanhuang Realm can offer me."
His divine sense swept across the land, watching the endless stream of people from Great Xuan making their way toward the central Lecture Stage. Li Fan nodded slightly.
His form flickered, and in the next instant, Li Fan had already left the Great Xuan small world.
He arrived in Qiling Prefecture of the Xuanhuang Realm.
The vast, empty underground space was saturated with an invisible, eerie aura.
Even with his current cultivation, Li Fan still had to gather a sufficient amount of Source Power Essence for protection before daring to come here.
Threads of golden light formed a protective array, separating Li Fan from the terrifying power within the subterranean chamber.
"I was right. This Primordial Antiquity Immortal-Mortal Miasma has undergone an ascension and transformation along with the Xuanhuang Realm," Li Fan concluded after careful observation.
In his 119th life, an earthquake in Qiling Prefecture had caused the Primordial Antiquity Immortal-Mortal Miasma sealed here to leak, resulting in a bloodbath. After millennia of gathering in this underground space, the miasma seemed to have undergone some sort of mutation, becoming even more potent than the original version.
The Immortal-Mortal Miasma was created by Mr. Bai by reversing the principles of heaven and earth. As such, it was also a part of those principles.
Now that the Xuanhuang Realm had begun its evolution toward a Super Xuanhuang Realm in this life, the miasma in this underground space was also accumulating the power for its own transformation.
"A mortal... can also slay an immortal..."
Li Fan extended his hand, and the golden protective array immediately opened. The formless power rushed in, beginning to corrode his palm.
His brow furrowed. After only a moment of sensing it, Li Fan decisively severed his entire arm.
Then, the Source Power Essence sealed the breach once more, blocking the miasma's erosion.
"Interesting."
In the span of a breath, Li Fan's severed arm had already regrown.
As for the original arm left within the miasma, it was devoured by the surrounding formless power until nothing remained.
Not even withered bone was left, only a pile of fine, sand-like residue.
A rare glint of excitement flashed in Li Fan's eyes.
Among his Truth-bound items was the Myriad Lives Blood Essence.
It had been refined from tens of thousands of death row prisoners.
But the power of the Immortal-Mortal Miasma contained within it was not even a fraction of this enhanced, primordial version.
"If the Super Xuanhuang Realm completes its final transformation, to what level will the miasma here be strengthened?"
In Li Fan's deductions, the combined forces of the Star Sea's revival, the celestial spiritual power from the Great Heavenly Venerate's legacy, and the remnant realms of the Star Sea...
All these powers combined were enough to elevate the Xuanhuang Realm to a level infinitely close to that of the Immortal Realm.
Or perhaps, in a certain sense, this Super Xuanhuang Realm would be the newly ascended Immortal Realm. It would simply be a notch weaker than the ancient, shattered one.
"At that time, even if it can't slay an immortal, severely injuring one might be possible."
"More importantly, this Primordial Antiquity Immortal-Mortal Miasma can continuously strengthen itself as the Xuanhuang Realm grows. Its intrinsic 'mortal-slays-immortal' nature makes its role undeniable."
"One day, when I have the ability to truly elevate the Xuanhuang Realm into an Immortal Realm, then this Immortal-Mortal Miasma will be an absolute, immortal-slaying weapon!"
At this thought, the way Li Fan looked at the formless power filling the vast space had already changed.
From the Xuantian King's fate and the few clues he had gleaned from beyond the High Wall, he knew one thing.
Becoming an immortal within the Star Sea might entail unimaginable danger.
The birth of an Immortal Realm might likewise attract attention. But it wasn't his own body, and even if it did trigger some crisis, it would give Li Fan ample time to prepare.
Ascending to immortality himself versus elevating the Xuanhuang Realm into an Immortal Realm—which was more difficult?
Anyone not a madman would surely choose the latter.
But for Li Fan, the conclusion was the exact opposite.
"The Great Heavenly Venerate's legacy, the immortal spiritual energy within immortal artifacts—for me, these are all infinitely reusable resources."
"On top of that, there are the other materials and powers in the entire Star Sea."
Li Fan's thoughts raced.
"Perhaps it's feasible."
"I just need to wait until the end of this life and see how the Super Xuanhuang Realm I've personally fostered compares to the legendary Immortal Realm. Then I can make a final judgment."
This change in the Primordial Antiquity Immortal-Mortal Miasma had opened a new path for Li Fan.
Within the Xuanhuang Realm, there were countless objects that were manifestations of laws.
When the Xuanhuang Realm ascended, these manifested law-objects would ascend along with it.
"The entire Xuanhuang Realm can be seen as my weapon against immortals."
Li Fan's eyes narrowed.
There was a distinction between immortals and mortals.
But if this "mortal" was backed by an entire Immortal Realm...
Then the final outcome would be an entirely different story.
"The situation beyond the High Wall is unknown."
"Using a world as my foundation might make it easier to investigate."
Li Fan cautiously set up formations around the underground space.
He needed to prevent anyone else from discovering the Immortal-Mortal Miasma sealed here.
"Keep growing. When you reach your limit, that will be the day you are forged into a sword."
Only after ensuring everything was foolproof did Li Fan depart.
"If this plan is feasible, then it's time for me to collect some more anchor points."
"As for immortal-slaying tools, naturally, the more the better."
With this in mind, Li Fan quietly arrived in Tianling Province, in the void where the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven resided.
At this point in time, the grotto-heaven had not yet fully manifested.
It was the perfect condition for replenishing his anchor points: a nascent grotto-heaven.
However, Li Fan had already used this grotto-heaven once for a recharge. He wasn't sure if Truth would react this time.
With practiced ease, he arrived in the black-and-white gestation space.
Li Fan focused his mind, sensing the feedback from Truth.
"A bit tough to get down, but I can manage to swallow it."
After a long while, Li Fan opened his eyes, a strange look on his face.
He steadied himself, and his divine sense instantly enveloped the entire Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven.
A moment later...
The grotto-heaven inexplicably vanished.
And Li Fan's count of available anchor points increased by one.
A premonition rose in Li Fan's heart: if he tried this again, Truth would truly have no appetite for it.
Unlike before, when he had devoured a grotto-heaven that had already manifested, this Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven was still in its gestation period.
Its sudden disappearance naturally caused a disturbance in the surrounding space.
(End of Chapter)
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