Chapter 1335: The Immortal Realm's Dao Annihilation Calamity
"That's a question not just for you and me," Mo Rubin remarked, his voice filled with deep emotion. "Back in the ancient Xuanhuang Realm, everyone who knew that Brother Xuanyuan had ascended to the Immortal Realm only to return was consumed by curiosity."
"Yet, no matter how they tried to pry the details from him, Brother Xuanyuan never relented. He would only offer a vague explanation, speaking of a terrifying calamity that had befallen the Immortal Realm."
"He didn't even confide in us, his sworn brothers and fellow Law Kings, nor did he tell Ji Yuzhen, the one he trusted above all others."
"It wasn't until he achieved his breakthrough and decided to execute his plan to lure the snake from its hole that he finally spoke a few words about the great calamity."
"He called it the 'Dao Annihilation.' Though he never described the calamity's horrors in detail, the name alone was enough to send a shiver down our spines. We all saw the flicker of terror that crossed Brother Xuanyuan's eyes when he spoke of it..."
"Dao Annihilation," Li Fan repeated, savoring the two words. A slow, irrepressible chill crept into his heart.
His mind flashed back to the memory he had glimpsed within the True Immortal's flesh.
A fragmented voice had echoed from the towering figure that stood over the True Immortal.
"Qionglang Star Domain... Annihilation... Guard..."
He guessed inwardly, "So, the calamity that destroyed the Immortal Realm didn't happen overnight. There were warning signs. They must have tried countless ways to save themselves, but in the end, they couldn't stop the Dao Annihilation from spreading."
A fresh wave of questions flooded Li Fan's mind.
Was this Dao Annihilation confined to the Immortal Realm? Did it vanish after the realm's destruction, or could it one day reappear in the Star Sea below? And how was it connected to the erosive wind calamity he had witnessed in the Immeasurable Mirror and the ruins of the One Beginning Sect?
The power of the True Immortal Script had run rampant, sweeping through the cosmos and bringing cataclysm to a vast swathe of the Star Sea. Starlight had dimmed, giving birth to the Darkest Star Sea.
But...
...life had not been completely extinguished. The Xuanhuang Realm still pulsed with vitality, and even in the seemingly dead void, a consciousness of the Star Sea lingered. As time passed, its eventual revival was all but a certainty.
"The cataclysm that befell the Darkest Star Sea," Li Fan mused, "was likely nothing compared to the Dao Annihilation."
The very word "Annihilation" conjured an image in his mind: a cataclysm under which all things were utterly and completely erased from existence.
"I doubt even fragments of a world would survive," he thought, a profound dread washing over him.
As Li Fan's mind raced, Mo Rubin spoke again. "Brother Xuanyuan warned us that the more we learned about this calamity, the more harm it would do us. It's better not to know."
"He told us to avoid even thinking of its name, lest it seize the opportunity to manifest as a nightmare, an inner demon. Even without ever witnessing its true form, it can find a way in through our weakness."
"He only told us the name 'Dao Annihilation' so that we would have a basic awareness, a way to guard against it."
Mo Rubin's expression grew grim. "If you are ignorant of its name, you could be staring it in the face and not recognize the danger. But if you know the name, you will instinctively sense it at the first sign of its approach."
"In truth, Brother Xuanyuan encountered this world-ending plague the moment he arrived in the Immortal Realm. Everything he learned about the Dao Annihilation came later, from his conversations with the Faceless Immortal."
"Enough," Mo Rubin said, cutting the conversation short. "Let's not speak of this anymore."
While they had been talking, the white jade flagpole formation had finished its preparations.
With a solemn expression, Mo Rubin formed a series of hand seals. The white jade flagpole ascended, releasing a halo of light that enveloped them both.
"Go!"
The effect was somewhat similar to Li Fan's phantom wooden sword.
The white jade flagpole aimed at the heavens, constantly adjusting its trajectory. Its shaft began to glow with specks of white light, gathering power for several moments before launching them into the sky at incredible speed.
While not quite as fast as Li Fan's sword phantom, it carried a sharp, piercing intent—a will to break through all obstacles—that Li Fan's technique lacked.
The column of light it created was exceptionally fine, and with no energy leaking from it, their departure went unnoticed by the cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm.
From within the protective light, Li Fan watched the landscape of the Xuanhuang Realm shrink rapidly behind them. Even the gravitational pull of the Immortal Ruins only managed to slow their ascent slightly.
Mo Rubin, however, was focused intently on piloting the flagpole, skillfully maneuvering around pockets of residual True Immortal power that dotted their path.
After a quick mental calculation confirmed they wouldn't collide with the massive reservoir of residual power he knew was nearby, Li Fan settled in and waited for their arrival.
After flying through the star-dusted void for roughly fifteen minutes, the white jade flagpole came to an abrupt halt.
The light dissipated slightly, forming a protective bubble around the two men.
A moment later, it slammed into an invisible barrier in the void.
The bubble of white light acted as a perfect cushion, absorbing the force of the impact.
Li Fan and Mo Rubin had arrived inside the Tian Beast's Eye.
"Ah!"
A piercing scream suddenly echoed through the small space.
The scream came not from Li Fan or Mo Rubin, but from Han Zhong—the very cultivator Li Fan had seen accidentally teleport into the Tian Beast's Eye from Nine Mountains Prefecture!
Having been trapped for so long, Han Zhong had long since lost all hope of escape. Only the primal instinct to survive kept him going. The sight of other living people made him let out a roar of pure, unadulterated excitement.
He was about to say more...
...when Mo Rubin's expression shifted. He flicked his wrist, sending a streak of black light that struck Han Zhong squarely in the chest!
The unfortunate man's eyes widened in disbelief as his body dissolved into dust and smoke, gone without a trace.
"Brother Mo, you..." Li Fan said, feigning astonishment.
Mo Rubin first scanned the area with extreme caution, ensuring not a single speck of Han Zhong remained, before explaining, "I don't know how that cultivator ended up here, but he was contaminated."
"Making contact with him would have risked infection. It's better to be safe than sorry."
Li Fan's expression softened slightly, though his confusion remained. "Contamination?"
As he scanned their surroundings, Mo Rubin elaborated, "It's a troublesome affliction. Even Brother Xuanyuan would have had difficulty dealing with it."
"It's likely connected to the calamity that struck the Immortal Realm..."
"Under normal circumstances, you'd almost never encounter it in the Star Sea. But here, inside the Tian Beast's Eye, the chances of contamination are higher."
"The concentration of this affliction in the Star Sea is extremely low. It was that way ten thousand years ago, and from my scans on the way here, nothing seems to have changed. However, the Tian Beast's Eye gazes upon vast, distant domains. When you increase the scale of observation to such an extreme, even the lowest concentrations become apparent." As he spoke, Mo Rubin set up several restrictive seals around them, seemingly designed specifically to counter this void-borne malady.
Li Fan mulled over the implications of Mo Rubin's words.
"An affliction that becomes more infectious the wider you cast your gaze... Does that mean it can be transmitted through mere observation?" Li Fan asked, startled.
Mo Rubin nodded. "Precisely. That's why I eliminated him without hesitation. Thankfully, the chances of it spreading through conventional means are low. I've just checked, and it hasn't spread. We're safe here, for now."
"Such a strange method of transmission... and connected to the Immortal Realm's great calamity..." Li Fan said, a worried look on his face.
"What happens once you're infected? That cultivator didn't seem abnormal at all."
Mo Rubin cast several more restrictive seals.
The transparent bubble that had been tightly wrapped around them, with just enough room for two, began to slowly expand as if being inflated.
"He seemed fine because the affliction was still dormant. Had it activated, you would have understood its terror. It diminishes the very limits of one's soul, one's life force. The more severe the infection, the greater the reduction. In the end, the victim becomes as fragile as paper, still alive but barely so."
"A simple gust of wind could scatter their soul to the four corners. And before that point, they would have to endure the agony of their life force being whittled away."
Mo Rubin sighed. "Imagine it. A gentle whisper sounds like a clap of thunder in your ears, so loud it tears at your very soul. An accidental touch feels like a violent blow, leaving you feeling bruised and broken..."
"To you, the normal world becomes a living hell, a never-ending apocalypse. By then, death might seem like a welcome release."
"But because the affliction needs a host to spread, it keeps you alive until you've been worn down to the absolute limit. You can't live, but you can't die either..." Mo Rubin shook his head slowly.
"It sounds truly dreadful," Li Fan said, but his mind was replaying the scene of the Heavenly Doctor collecting the black vapor that had risen from Han Zhong's body with a jade vial.
"It would be a disaster if it spread in the Xuanhuang Realm," Li Fan remarked, his tone unreadable.
"Ten thousand years have passed, and it has hardly spread at all. Even if it were to take root in the lower realms, it would surely take an eternity," Mo Rubin offered as a casual reassurance.
His attention was now fully focused on the Tian Beast's Eye.
"So this transparent space is the Tian Beast's Eye? It seems Xuantian isn't here," Li Fan said with a hint of disappointment.
Mo Rubin shook his head. "This is merely one of its observation points. You know how an insect's eye is composed of thousands of smaller lenses? The Tian Beast is much the same."
Understanding dawned on Li Fan.
As Mo Rubin continued to cast his spells, the transparent bubble began to shake violently and shrink.
It felt as if it were trying to eject them.
Pop!
The bubble burst. Li Fan's vision blurred for an instant, and when it cleared, they were standing in a strange, new space.
It was like being inside one of countless bubbles floating on a vast ocean.
On the curved boundary of their bubble, images from countless identical bubbles flashed past.
Li Fan could even faintly see himself and Mo Rubin in the bubbles outside.
The only difference was that the other "selves" had different appearances, clothing, expressions, and movements from his own.
Yet, there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
The gazes of innumerable versions of himself met across the void, creating an exceedingly strange sensation within Li Fan.
"It is merely a distortion, caused by the simultaneous observation of countless eyes," Mo Rubin explained.
"As long as you remain true to yourself, you will not be deceived."
Mo Rubin seemed accustomed to the bizarre sight. He scanned the myriad bubbles, searching for something specific.
"Brother Xuanyuan never taught me how to control the formation of the Tian Beast's Eye. Fortunately, I've been here a few times before. I'll have to rely on the slow, methodical approach," Mo Rubin said with a hint of resignation.
In this space, the number of eyes seemed infinite.
They seemed impossibly close, yet simultaneously light-years apart. Spiritual sense was useless here; one could only rely on sight.
And the countless bubbles were not stationary.
Like a current stirring the water, they would all shift at once in a chaotic, irregular dance, changing their positions.
This rendered most of his previous observations useless.
Despite the difficulty, Mo Rubin showed no sign of frustration, focusing his entire being on the task.
He didn't forget to add a reminder. "The laws within the Tian Beast's Eye are its own. You needn't worry about your lifespan. You could stay here for ten thousand years and not die of old age."
"If the day comes when your time is up and you truly don't wish to die, you could hide in here. It won't grant you true immortality, but you could probably eke out another few thousand years without much trouble."
Li Fan nodded.
"This Tian Beast is truly unique."
"I heard its body was as large as a province in the Xuanhuang Realm. Did the Xuantian King bring it back from the Immortal Realm?" Li Fan asked.
As expected, Mo Rubin nodded.
"Yes and no. At first, Brother Xuanyuan thought it was just an inanimate object, an ordinary jade pendant. But when it touched water, it suddenly emanated the aura of a living thing."
"After carefully nurturing it, it grew larger and larger. Its power increased with each passing day."
"It's embarrassing to admit, but in a fight to the death, I might not have been a match for it."
A trace of nostalgia flickered in Mo Rubin's eyes.
Then, perhaps remembering that the beast was long dead, its very bones having become mountains, a thick, murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
Li Fan said nothing.
For a time, silence fell between them again.
Li Fan began to emulate Mo Rubin, searching for any possible clue among the endless bubbles.
Though the bubbles were as countless as the stars and constantly shifting...
...Li Fan had the aid of the Dao Transformation Stone.
After all, no two bubbles were exactly alike.
With each observation, he seared the image into his mind, effectively placing a unique mental marker on it.
No matter how the bubbles shifted, he could distinguish them with perfect clarity.
As time slowly passed, Li Fan marked more and more bubbles.
One by one, the options were eliminated, and Li Fan's gaze grew sharper.
He had discovered something strange.
Compared to his true self, the distorted versions of him in the strange bubbles all seemed to be missing a small piece of their bodies.
The missing part was different in each bubble.
But if he were to combine them all...
(End of Chapter)
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