Chapter 1362: The Immortal Realm's Dao-Burning Calamity
Though the Mysterious Immortal Boat carried a civilization that had endured for ten thousand years, its internal space was not particularly vast. If it were, its inhabitants would not have been so constantly plagued by a scarcity of resources.
As Li Fan had anticipated, the Tianyang Immortal Puppet was dragged by the elders of the Immortal Boat deep into its hidden treasury.
The first level, the second level...
A Heavenly Star Light Lotus blossomed across the firmament above.
Countless lights flickered as orbs of light materialized one by one, weaving themselves into a gateway.
The elders cast their techniques in unison, and the gateway boomed open.
Inside the passage, an eerie, deep green light emanated. A host of ominous auras accompanied the verdant glow, threatening to spread and corrode the surroundings.
The Heavenly Star Light Lotus, now activated, divided into countless smaller starlight lotuses, forming a barrier before the gateway.
The sea of lotuses was boundless. Even though the flowers withered wherever the green light passed, it failed to breach the floral sea's blockade immediately.
The other elders, aware of the danger, slowly guided the massive, slumbering puppet into the third level of the hidden treasury.
Yet, of all the elders, only Jian Daosheng followed it inside.
He was clad in starlight armor, with a seven-colored luminous bowl above his head and a single-leaf skiff beneath his feet.
Though he looked somewhat comical, it was a clear indication of how seriously Jian Daosheng took the situation.
The gateway closed slowly, leaving only a sheet of light extending from Jian Daosheng's starlight armor to connect with the outside world.
It was not completely sealed.
Through Jian Daosheng's perspective, the appearance of the third level of the Immortal Boat's hidden treasury—the Hundred Rumors Immortal Record—slowly came into view for all to see.
Within a large, spherical cavern, countless viscous green tissues writhed ceaselessly, emitting hair-raising sounds as they grew and clung to the walls.
A colossal grey stone statue stood tall in the center of the cavern.
Observing the growth patterns of the green tissues that filled the cavern, it seemed they all originated from that very grey statue.
A sea of green had submerged more than half of the statue's body.
Thousands of green tendrils extended from the statue's head.
Each tendril originated from one of the hollow eye sockets in its head.
It was impossible to tell what strange creature this grey statue was meant to depict.
It had a human-like body, but its head lacked any facial features—it was covered entirely in eyes.
The moment the Tianyang Immortal Puppet entered this third level of the treasury, even though it emanated no aura whatsoever, it immediately drew the attention of the green substance within the cavern.
Like countless tentacles, they shot through the air, assailing Tianyang from all directions.
Jian Daosheng seized the opportunity to hide inside one of the hollow eye sockets on the grey statue's head.
The green tentacles were stopped by the invisible force field surrounding Tianyang.
But perhaps because they were closer, they sensed the scent of a True Immortal's flesh on Tianyang, and the green tentacles grew even more frenzied.
The entire green mass in the cavern was activated, surging toward Tianyang with restless agitation.
In an instant, the Tianyang Immortal Puppet was swallowed by the endless green.
It was submerged in a verdant glow, surrounded by a sound like young silkworms gnawing on leaves.
Li Fan's sliver of divine sense examined the sensations relayed by Tianyang.
"Hm? It can't see the green substance at all?"
The information coming from Tianyang left Li Fan somewhat stunned.
"It's only like... being battered by wind and rain..."
Lost in thought, Li Fan's divine sense ceased to peer outward.
Instead, he cut off his own perception and used only Tianyang to "see" the surroundings.
The world around him instantly fell silent.
It was as if he had arrived in a vast wilderness, atop a high mountain, or within a deep canyon.
The gurgling stream was like a blade, cutting through stone and cleaving mountains, day and night.
The whistling gales and pattering rain were like an axe, hacking away relentlessly, reshaping the very terrain.
And Tianyang was like this mountain, this land, this valley.
Being slowly but inexorably, mercilessly eroded by the invisible force of passing ages.
The Tianyang Immortal Puppet instinctively protected itself.
But from the intent relayed by Tianyang, it could at most last for half a year under this green corrosion.
If it did not actively fight back.
Li Fan did not act rashly for the time being.
From Tianyang's perspective, the writhing green tissues did not exist in the great cavern, allowing it to see the third level of the Immortal Boat's treasury with perfect clarity.
The strange grey statue with a human body and a thousand eyes sent a jolt through Li Fan's mind.
And the faint, treasured light glinting from within the thousand empty eye sockets of the statue's head made Li Fan understand.
"The aura of the final chess piece."
"It seems these hollow sockets are where the Immortal Boat stores its treasures."
"They're far from full. It looks like there are fewer than a handful of items."
"There must be some unknown protective measures; it can't be as defenseless as it looks."
"Jian Daosheng... where did he go?"
"Hmm, this grey statue seems a little different from before."
Li Fan quickly analyzed the current situation.
The third level of the Immortal Boat's treasury was indeed formidable, even concealing a power capable of harming an immortal puppet.
But now, in addition to the Tianyang Immortal Puppet's own strength, there was also the power of an immortal formation Li Fan had prepared in advance.
Even if it was outmatched, escape would be no problem at all.
Therefore, Li Fan had no intention of acting immediately. He chose to observe a while longer.
After Jian Daosheng merged with the grey statue through some method, the speed of the green corrosion seemed to accelerate abruptly.
In Tianyang's perception, it was a furious gale and a torrential downpour.
Amidst the storm, the various powers that constituted its being were being washed away, fading.
"Interesting."
Although Li Fan had never seen this green substance before, he detected a faint sense of familiarity from it.
The fact that he and Tianyang, with their different perspectives of immortal and cultivator, saw entirely different scenes was particularly striking.
This point, especially, brought something to Li Fan's mind.
The sound of the wind and rain grew louder.
Faced with the encroaching danger of being surrounded and corroded by this bizarre substance, Li Fan showed no sign of panic.
He sank into quiet contemplation.
An unknown amount of time passed...
Like a bolt of lightning illuminating the night sky.
Li Fan's mind snapped back to clarity. "The Annihilation Wind Calamity?"
He didn't mean the calamity itself, but that the auras of the two were nearly from the same source.
It was just that the Annihilation Wind Calamity Li Fan had perceived in the Immeasurable Mirror was several degrees more potent than the corrosive green substance before him.
It was like the wind and rain from its perception, but amplified to their absolute extreme.
At this thought, Li Fan couldn't help but turn his gaze to the grey statue in the great cavern.
"This corrosive green... it's a power meant to erode beings at the immortal level."
"In that case, this statue..."
The words of the Immortal Boat elders that next echoed through the great cavern confirmed Li Fan's suspicions.
Through the long sheet of starlight Jian Daosheng had left outside the gateway, the elders inside and outside the treasury could communicate.
However, their voices were indistinct, as if separated by an entire world.
"Elder Jian cannot remain within the Desolate God for long."
"Though the Desolate God is dead, its consciousness completely obliterated, it is still an existence beyond the mortal coil..."
The reminders seemed almost routine.
Every so often, a different elder would speak, reminding Jian Daosheng, who was merged with the Desolate God.
Only after all the elders had spoken their piece did Jian Daosheng reappear.
In the short time he had been gone, his appearance seemed to have changed slightly.
Li Fan was certain it was not a trick of his perception.
It was the influence of the Desolate God statue on Jian Daosheng!
"Desolate God..." Li Fan's thoughts raced.
In the ancient Xuanhuang Realm, there was a powerful sect known as the Desolate God Sect. Wielding the Desolate God Seal, they could summon twelve Desolate Gods from the upper realm to descend and vanquish all their foes. To these Desolate Gods, cultivators were no more than ants, which made the sect invincible in its time, allowing it to dominate all rivals. But later, for reasons unknown, the Desolate Gods grew deaf to the pleas of mortals and ceased their descents. Having lost its greatest pillar of support, the Desolate God Sect met its demise.
"Is this the same kind of Desolate God?"
"A Desolate God is not an immortal. Otherwise, it would never serve mortals, not even if they offered sacrifices and pleas."
"And yet, it possesses a power that belongs to immortals..."
"A servant of the immortals?"
A bold guess surfaced in Li Fan's mind. His feelings as he gazed upon the statue shifted once more.
After separating from the Desolate God statue, Jian Daosheng remained hidden in one of the empty eye sockets.
He responded from afar to the elders outside.
First, he recited a strange, inexplicable rhythm that sounded like a secret code. Only then did he speak, "This immortal puppet is of exceptionally high quality. To withstand the Desolate God's power of decay for so long without any sign of collapse is remarkable."
"Should I increase the intensity?"
Zhong Daogong quickly stopped him. "No, let's take it slow. If too much decay accumulates, the Heavenly Star Light Lotus might not be able to contain it."
"Besides, you might not be able to handle it either."
Jian Daosheng nodded, seemingly with some regret.
"Are there any signs of the puppet reviving?" Zhong Daogong asked again.
"None. It seems it truly is a puppet that has lost its control core. Otherwise, faced with a crisis akin to a blade hanging over its head, it would never remain so quiet."
"Good. Then all we have to do is wait."
"Once the corrosion is halfway complete, we'll pull the puppet out immediately."
As the elders of the Immortal Boat discussed back and forth, they seemed to decide the fate of the slumbering immortal puppet.
But Tianyang, being eroded by the surrounding green decay, suddenly sent a reminder to Li Fan.
"I can temporarily retract the True Immortal's flesh back into the immortal bronze bones."
"The decay's ability to harm the immortal artifact fragments will be greatly weakened."
Li Fan pondered for a moment, then stopped Tianyang's action for the time being.
He even had Tianyang willingly drop its protective field and use its own flesh to experience the corrosion of the green decay.
"Don't worry," Li Fan transmitted. "The True Immortal's flesh can be regenerated. I can even re-forge the immortal bones for you. As long as the core isn't damaged, it's a small matter."
Only an entity like the Tianyang Immortal Puppet, which had lost most of its subjective agency, would endure a lethal threat to obey Li Fan's command.
The protective field was willingly retracted by Tianyang.
Instantly, the green substance made direct contact with the True Immortal's flesh.
The speed of the corrosive decay was far faster than Li Fan had imagined.
It was like a pile of dry straw being rapidly set ablaze.
Except what ignited the True Immortal's flesh was not fire, but the green decay.
The green light flared, and after burning out, left only a pile of ash.
The vibrant flesh turned into a stone-like statue.
The instantaneous change sent a chill through Li Fan, the observer.
What shocked him even more were the sensations Tianyang transmitted as the life force in its flesh was exhausted.
It was not like normal aging or the gradual fading of vitality.
Rather, the very life force that constituted its being was ignited and extinguished in an instant.
Words could not accurately describe the sensation.
Only by experiencing it firsthand could one understand the terror of having one of the fundamental elements of life directly stripped away.
A shared sorrow, a sympathetic pain.
The moment the life force was extracted, the other remaining elements of life were thrown into chaos.
They scattered in terror.
Li Fan felt as if he could see the crisscrossing lines of the Great Dao's principles that formed the Tianyang Immortal Puppet. When one thread was pulled out, the rest unraveled completely!
In an instant, the mighty immortal puppet turned to dust!
His mind raced, and at the last moment, he commanded the Tianyang Immortal Puppet to retract a small portion of its flesh back into its immortal bones.
When faced with the immortal bones forged from artifact fragments, the green decay was like a wave crashing against a wall. Its triumphant advance came to a sudden halt.
And Li Fan saw it clearly.
The most important reason the green corrosion failed was that the puppet's immortal bones did not contain the Dao of life!
"If this were the Annihilation Wind Calamity from the Immortal Realm, the result would be different. This pile of so-called immortal bones would probably turn to dust in an instant!"
"So, the different calamities of the Immortal Realm are derived from different principles of the Dao? Each one targets a specific Dao?"
"The Dao Annihilation Calamity..." Li Fan fell into deep thought.
Meanwhile, in the great cavern, Jian Daosheng let out a cry of alarm upon seeing the puppet's defenses vanish and its body almost instantly corroded.
"How is it so fast?"
He instinctively merged with the Desolate God statue again.
He intended to control the green decay and slow its corrosion.
But Li Fan had not forgotten the purpose of this trip.
With a thought, the slumbering Tianyang Immortal Puppet finally opened its eyes.
The force field reappeared, repelling the green substance clinging to its body.
The True Immortal's flesh surged forth from the immortal bones once more, reforming the skeleton into the shape of a puppet.
Only now, its body was no longer as immense as before.
In a flash, it appeared before the head of the grey statue.
Faced with the puppet's sudden outburst, Jian Daosheng seemed to have anticipated it.
Dozens of the thousand eyes on the head suddenly aimed at the Tianyang Immortal Puppet, shooting out fierce, searing rays of light.
These rays were not only immensely destructive, causing the puppet's protective field to tremble, but they also acted like ropes, binding the Tianyang Immortal Puppet in place.
Inside the cavern, flashes of light appeared one after another.
The elders of the Immortal Boat materialized in succession.
Zhong Daogong's voice echoed, "This was originally just a precaution, but I never thought we were right!"
"Did you really take us for a bunch of fools? Sending it over so brazenly and expecting us to fall for it?"
"Heh, our Immortal Boat has been in seclusion for ten thousand years. The only possible connection to the outside world, the only thing that could attract such covetous eyes, is the grey chess piece left by Sun Piao Miao. We've been waiting for you, but we never expected you to use such a foolish method!"
A chorus of mocking voices resounded as the Immortal Boat elders flew one by one into the empty eye sockets of the Desolate God.
Once occupied by the elders, the once-dim eye sockets were reignited.
They shot out brilliant white, incandescent light.
As the number of light rays increased, the shackles binding the Tianyang Immortal Puppet grew heavier.
The Tianyang Immortal Puppet tried to move, but found the restraining power of the Desolate God unexpectedly strong.
Every step was a struggle!
"So this isn't the third level of the Hundred Rumors Immortal Record after all," he said in a low voice, looking at the Desolate God, which seemed fully revitalized from its merger with the elders.
"It's a trap to lure the unsuspecting."
The grey faded from its body, and the corrosive green decay that had covered half its form receded to below its knees.
The ancient Desolate God, with its thousand-eyed face, locked onto the Tianyang Immortal Puppet.
Tianyang was, after all, pieced together by Li Fan using all his immortal power.
It was not a puppet truly crafted by a True Immortal.
Facing the revived Desolate God, it gradually lost ground in their struggle for dominance and was slowly being suppressed.
Seeing victory within their grasp, the Immortal Boat elders finally responded smugly.
"That's right! A slumbering immortal puppet like this... how could we possibly place it in such a vital area of the Immortal Boat without waking it?"
"We thought it would take some effort to draw you out. We didn't expect you to lose your patience so quickly!"
"Just one immortal puppet, storming the Immortal Boat alone to steal a treasure? You underestimate us!"
Cold, mocking jeers rose and fell.
But the restraining power of the Desolate God did not lessen.
Instead, it intensified.
Moreover, Li Fan sensed that as its life force slowly recovered, a different kind of aura began to emerge from the Desolate God's body.
*Creek... Creak...*
In addition to the thousand rays of light, an invisible pressure instantly bore down on the Tianyang Immortal Puppet.
For a moment, it seemed as if an ancient Desolate God had truly appeared before Li Fan.
With a ferocious visage, a thousand eyes stared at him!
"I was careless," the Tianyang Immortal Puppet said in a low voice. "I just didn't expect that you would be willing to use that chess piece as bait. The aura from a fragment of the Immortal Realm cannot be faked."
"Weren't you afraid that a single misstep would let the chess piece fall into my hands?" it asked, sounding surprised.
"It's the last one we have anyway. A single piece is useless without the complete set!"
"Hmph, you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing the child. If we didn't trick you into acting, we wouldn't have easily activated this Desolate God..."
"Hehehe, not only is the chess piece real, but the other few treasures are real too! If you're going to put on a show, you have to make it convincing!"
"Enough talk! Let's take him down for good!"
*Whumm.*
Amidst the overlapping voices of the elders, the ancient Desolate God actually raised its right hand.
It seemed to be reaching out to capture the Tianyang Immortal Puppet.
The giant palm was about to descend.
It was locked down by countless rays of light.
The Tianyang Immortal Puppet seemed to be in a desperate situation.
Yet, for some reason, the puppet showed no signs of despair.
"Your plan..."
"...was excellent."
"But unfortunately, it ends here."
The Tianyang Immortal Puppet looked at the ancient Desolate God in the cavern.
"Today, I will teach you a lesson."
"In the cultivation world, the strong reign supreme. All schemes, in the face of absolute power, are nothing but a joke!"
On the Tianyang Immortal Puppet's forehead, a faint point of light suddenly appeared.
A wind stirred in the great cavern.
"Not good! Stop him!"
The elders of the Immortal Boat instantly sensed that something was wrong.
An unprecedentedly brilliant light erupted from the Desolate God's thousand eyes.
Its life force grew ever more potent, and its movements quickened by several times.
But it was too late.
Immortal Descends, All Things Return to Void!
A world-ending gale erupted from the point of light on the Tianyang Immortal Puppet's forehead.
It then swept outwards in all directions.
To Li Fan's surprise, the corrosive green decay, which had been suppressed by the Desolate God's life force, was not affected by the all-annihilating power of the immortal formation.
On the contrary, it thrived, using the power of the world-ending immortal formation to once again corrode the Desolate God's body.
The Void-Returning Immortal Formation and the corrosive green decay.
Under this dual crisis, the lower half of the Desolate God's body was completely obliterated by the devastating force.
Only its thousand-eyed head remained.
"God of the Desolate Age, by the immortal's command!"
"Ward off calamity!"
"Condense!"
With a collective roar from the elders, the glowing eyes on the head began to move rapidly, instantly merging into one!
A single, massive, hollow eye appeared in the very center of the ancient Desolate God's face!
A sacred power manifested, repelling the encroaching force of destruction from below.
Seeing this, the Tianyang Immortal Puppet advanced instead of retreating.
Wreathed in the power of the world-ending immortal formation, it met the one-eyed Desolate God head-on.
Behind it, countless green tendrils, like dragons, serpents, and pythons, followed in a raging tide.
Two powers from the Immortal Realm collided.
Facing the Desolate God's single eye directly, the Tianyang Immortal Puppet's remaining True Immortal flesh melted like snow.
But its immortal bones remained, its momentum unabated.
Using the residual power of the immortal formation, it broke through the gaze of the Desolate God's single eye.
It successfully reached the side of the head, where the other empty eye sockets were located.
The crazed shouts of the elders echoed.
The Tianyang Immortal Puppet locked onto the final chess piece.
It reached inside, intending to retrieve it.
It felt a restraining force, just like the searing light that had shot out from the Desolate God's eyes earlier.
This one was even stronger.
It was enough to stop the prying of most cultivators in the world.
But compared to the puppet's power, it was nothing.
With a slight exertion of force, it took the final grey chess piece into its palm.
Li Fan quickly looked to the nearest target.
After taking one more item, he sensed the immortal formation's storm was subsiding and the Desolate God was about to react.
Without further hesitation, Li Fan urged the Tianyang Immortal Puppet to flee.
"Close the entrance!" he faintly heard the slightly crazed voice of Nangong Lie.
"Are you mad? Do you want us to be buried with the Desolate God?"
The majority of the elders retained their sanity, and the exit of the Heavenly Star Light Lotus remained open.
Li Fan shot through, glancing at the treasures in the second level of the treasury.
He tried to take some, but found they were encased in the light lotuses. Without a special method to open them, he would have to destroy the lotuses entirely.
This was not Li Fan's main body, and the power of the immortal formation had been exhausted.
The Tianyang Immortal Puppet did not linger, transforming into a streak of light and vanishing.
It treated all the protective restrictions within the Immortal Boat as if they were nothing.
Before leaving, Li Fan seemed to see, through the gateway, a swarm of green light engulfing the Desolate God's head like a tide.
A moment later.
The Tianyang Immortal Puppet did not immediately return to the Great Xuan to deliver the chess piece to Li Fan's main body.
Instead, it stood silently in the void, watching the Immortal Boat from a distance.
The Immortal Boat trembled slightly, but eventually, it grew calm again.
"They really have a few tricks up their sleeves."
"To be able to withstand even the corrosive green decay, amplified by the world-ending immortal formation."
"The Desolate God..."
Li Fan felt a sense of gravity.
From the brief exchange, the Desolate God hidden within the Mysterious Immortal Boat, even without its full power, was a match for the Tianyang Immortal Puppet.
One could only imagine its strength at its peak.
"And yet, it's merely a servant of a True Immortal."
"And the Mysterious Immortal Boat can actually control this ancient Desolate God..."
"They have truly mastered the Dao of borrowing external power," Li Fan praised slightly.
"In my past life, under the world-ending immortal formation, this Desolate God was nowhere to be seen."
"It seems that great cavern isn't located within the Immortal Boat itself. Rather, it's a passage opened by the Heavenly Star Light Lotus."
As Li Fan was pondering, the previously calm Immortal Boat started moving again.
It was not pursuing the Tianyang Immortal Puppet, but changing its hidden location in the Star Sea.
"From the Immortal Boat's perspective, having lost the chess piece, the enemy has also lost the means to locate them."
"As long as they hide again, they should be able to regain their peace."
"As for the other lost immortal treasure..."
Li Fan's divine sense swept over the other item in the Tianyang Immortal Puppet's hand besides the grey chess piece.
It was an ancient bronze coin.
The patterns on the front and back were different. Yet, no matter what method Li Fan used, he could not make out what was carved on it.
He temporarily shifted his attention from the immortal treasure coin.
Li Fan took one last look at the Mysterious Immortal Boat.
"These losses, for the well-endowed Mysterious Immortal Boat, are probably acceptable."
"I fear the Immortal Boat's real trouble will still come back to the Desolate God."
"After all, the power of a True Immortal is not so easily borrowed." Li Fan smiled, then commanded the Tianyang Immortal Puppet to fly towards the A Thousand Miles in a Moment teleportation array.
Before long, it had returned to the small world of the Great Xuan.
Li Fan's main body had already prepared new True Immortal flesh to re-equip it.
The Tianyang Immortal Puppet handed the two treasures to Li Fan and began to adapt to its new body.
During its battle with the thousand-eyed Desolate God, Tianyang had instinctively gained some enlightenment.
After a period of silence, it slowly entered a state of seclusion.
Seeing this, Li Fan did not disturb it.
He first examined the bronze coin.
Switching to his main body for the inspection, his soul was strong enough that he could finally make out the patterns on the coin.
One side was engraved with a magnificent, sprawling palace.
The other side, however, was an overlay of countless, constantly changing scenes.
"No wonder my separated consciousness couldn't see it clearly."
"The speed of this change..."
Li Fan's expression shifted slightly.
Clutching the coin tightly, Li Fan narrowed his eyes, trying to see each fleeting image clearly.
At the same time, the Dao Transformation Stone in his mind began to glow faintly.
It recorded every image, one by one.
Then, it reassembled them.
Sixteen days passed before Li Fan finally managed to completely record all the scenes depicted on this seemingly small bronze coin.
"This coin... does it record the scenery of a certain star domain in the upper Immortal Realm?"
Before Li Fan, a magnificent scroll, reassembled from the images, slowly unfurled.
"There isn't a single True Immortal in sight, just pure natural landscapes. And a few scattered buildings."
Li Fan carefully observed this scene from the Immortal Realm.
The moment he saw the entire scene of the immortal domain clearly, a name naturally appeared in his mind.
"Beilin."
"The palace on the other side of the coin should be where the ruler of Beilin resides."
Recalling the memories he had seen in the True Immortal's flesh, Li Fan mused thoughtfully.
"I wonder, what was the structure of the Immortal Realm in the past?"
"From the looks of it, could there really have been an Immortal Emperor?"
"If that's true, then what was the status of a Nameless True Immortal?"
Li Fan's expression was a bit strange as his thoughts wandered.
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