Chapter 1374: The Jun Tian Star Spirit
"Let the body become the cosmos, the will race through the river of stars. Taijia is boundless, the spirit roams; Taijia is immutable, the spirit transforms; Taijia is not void, the spirit is divine..."
The verse Zhong Daogong intoned, like the opening of a grand poem, was none other than the [Taijia Divine Art]—the very technique Yin Shangren had discovered within the black and white pearls and Li Fan had later bestowed upon the Mysterious Immortal Boat!
What was once a mere fragment had now been made whole. After extensive research by the elders of the Immortal Boat, this divine art, designed specifically to communicate with the consciousness of the Star Sea, was finally complete.
Combined with the power of the True Immortal Seal Characters and magnified by the ritual, its might had increased a thousandfold!
Zhong Daogong led the incantation, and the host of Immortal Boat elders joined in, their voices rising in a layered chorus.
The sound was like a magnificent symphony, its grand notes reverberating throughout the Star Sea.
Amidst the chanting, banners inscribed with fused True Immortal Seal Characters drifted through the void. From a vantage point high above, one could see the characters on the flags pulse with a bright, flickering light, their glow shifting in perfect synchrony with the changing cadence of the chant.
It was as if some colossal creature, composed of innumerable characters, was taking a great, rhythmic breath.
Witnessing this from outside the ritual's bounds, Li Fan had a flash of insight. He finally understood the source of the peculiar feeling that had been nagging at him.
Waiting only for the moment...
When the consciousness of the Star Sea was forced to connect and descend. Then, it would strike!
When stripped to its core, the Jun Tian Ritual—the culmination of the Mysterious Immortal Boat's long preparations—was shockingly simple, almost crude.
Yet, its execution was far from simple.
The first step alone—forcing a connection with the consciousness of the Star Sea—was far beyond the original scope of the [Taijia Divine Art]. Li Fan himself had used this art before. By leveraging millennia of goodwill accumulated from the now-destroyed Taijia Realm, he had managed to secure a one-time promise from the Star Sea's consciousness to aid in the Xuanhuang Realm's ascension and revival.
Since then, the Star Sea had fallen silent.
Yet now, this modified Taijia Divine Art had forcibly forged a bridge between cultivator and cosmos, compelling the very origin-will of the Star Sea to turn its attention to this exact spot!
As the chorus of voices swelled to a crescendo, Li Fan faintly sensed a colossal vortex taking shape high above the ritual.
Unlike the dead stillness of the Darkest Star Sea, this vortex pulsed with shimmering light and infinite vitality. Faint, booming murmurs of indiscernible meaning echoed from its depths.
The very fabric of the Star Sea groaned, creaking as if under an unbearable strain.
Meanwhile, a corresponding change surged within Li Fan's own body.
It was identical to his reaction after glimpsing the True Immortal's silhouette through the copper coin from the Immortal Realm. His spiritual power, his physical body, his very soul—all began to seethe, threatening to boil away into nothingness at any moment.
"Except," he thought, "when I faced the True Immortal's phantom, I was all but powerless to resist. But now..."
Li Fan took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the turmoil within him.
"The pressure from the Star Sea is immense, but it still falls short of a True Immortal's."
"Sheer scale and grandeur cannot compare to a true qualitative shift in dimensions!"
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Zhong Daogong’s voice suddenly echoed in his ears. "Fellow Daoist, join the ritual now!"
"Your contributions have been vital to the success of the Jun Tian Ritual. Now is the time to reap the rewards!"
It was not just Zhong Daogong’s voice. Jian Daosheng, Nangong Lie, and all the other elders of the Immortal Boat joined in, their voices ringing out in unison!
It was part invitation, part demand.
"With all the elders out here, the boat is left unguarded. They can’t afford to leave a variable like me outside, just in case," Li Fan thought, snorting coldly to himself.
"Then I would be rude to refuse!" he declared, utterly unfazed. With a bold cry, he flew into the heart of the ritual.
He had no need to find his own place within the formation.
The moment he entered, countless banners swirled around him, shifting their positions to "welcome" him into their midst.
The overwhelming power of the chant, coming from all directions, compelled him to join in, his own voice subconsciously harmonizing with the chorus.
With everyone in place, the long-awaited Taijia ritual finally reached its zenith. Within the vortex, now flecked with specks of purple-gold energy, the howling gales and crashing thunder suddenly fell silent.
The vortex itself froze, suspended in absolute stillness.
The vision of every individual within the ritual suddenly shifted. It felt as if they had leaped out of the Star Sea itself, granted a direct audience with the cosmic entity.
If the original Taijia Divine Art had been a mere message sent across the void, an indirect communication with the Star Sea, then this was different. Now, they had kicked down the door between mortals and the cosmos, forcing a face-to-face confrontation.
A long-forgotten sensation washed over Li Fan—the feeling of being utterly exposed, seen through to his very core.
Even with absolute confidence that the [Truth] in his body would remain hidden from the prying gaze of a mere cosmic consciousness, Li Fan remained on high alert. He had already summoned the [Truth] interface, ready to activate it at a moment's notice.
Just as he expected, the Star Sea’s consciousness was completely blind to the black miasma that signaled the coming of the Dao Annihilation Calamity. It stood no chance of detecting [Truth].
The cosmic consciousness did not linger on Li Fan. Instead, it distributed its fury evenly among every elder of the Immortal Boat participating in the ritual.
To be forcibly summoned by creatures as insignificant as ants was, for a being like the Star Sea, an unmitigated humiliation. Now, it waited, observing what this swarm of insects could possibly want to convey.
Afterward, it would unleash its thunderous fury upon them.
However...
The ants had no intention of communicating.
Amidst the majestic chorus, thousands of banners stirred, though there was no wind. As they fluttered and turned, the exposed portions of their folded fabric momentarily aligned, forming a single, unified image.
And the [Jun] character, hidden beneath the myriad True Immortal Seal Characters, finally blazed into view!
It was as if an invisible shackle had suddenly clamped down, linking the magnificent cosmic consciousness above the vortex to the ants in the ritual below.
In that instant, the ants were elevated, standing upon the shoulders of the Star Sea itself, gazing down upon the vast tapestry of existence.
Li Fan had once embodied the Canghai Pearl, become the Heavenly Dao of a small world, and even linked his will with the entirety of the Xuanhuang Realm.
But none of those experiences could compare to the sublime sensation of this moment.
The vast Star Sea was no longer a boundless expanse but felt like an extension of his own body, visible in its entirety. It was no longer dark and silent; with every breath, he could feel the infinite vitality stirring beneath its tranquil surface.
Even the laws that composed its being were no longer indecipherable. They were as plain as the hairs on his own arm, as the pores on his skin; he needed only to glance down to perceive them in their entirety.
Wherever his consciousness drifted, he could see through the eyes of the Star Sea, observing every corner of its domain.
In that moment, under the power of the [Jun] character, everyone in the ritual had truly achieved parity with the Star Sea. They saw what it saw, felt what it felt.
Like all the elders of the Immortal Boat, Li Fan found himself irresistibly drawn into this wondrous state. He even took a moment to cast his new gaze toward the center of the Star Sea.
And just as he'd suspected, from the Star Sea's perspective, there was no black miasma in the central region.
There was only latent vitality, awaiting its revival. It was a picture of perfect health and promise!
Li Fan, of course, had no intention of offering a friendly reminder. He simply seized this once-in-a-millennium opportunity, absorbing as much as he could of the Star Sea's Dao.
At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of curiosity about the Star Sea's reaction.
Logically, having been ambushed by mere ants using the [Jun] character, the Star Sea's origin-will should have been incandescent with rage.
Even if it couldn't immediately shake off the character's influence, it should at least have put up a token struggle.
But the Star Sea was terrifyingly calm.
It wasn't the calm before a storm, a quiet moment of gathering power.
It was a genuine tranquility, utterly devoid of rage.
Why?
The question arose sharply in Li Fan's mind.
Under the power of the True Immortal Seal Characters, the Star Sea's consciousness was linked to everyone in the Jun Tian Ritual.
Thus, with little effort, Li Fan was able to follow the cosmic entity's train of thought and glimpse its intentions.
"This is..."
"While we are observing the Star Sea, the Star Sea is observing us?!" The realization struck Li Fan with a jolt of alarm.
In Li Fan's experience, transcendent beings like the origin of the Star Sea or True Immortals paid no mind to mortal ants. But the Darkest Star Sea's current behavior completely overturned that assumption.
Far from resisting the ants' attempt at equalization, the Star Sea had not only accepted it but embraced it!
Just as Li Fan and the others were immersing themselves in the cosmic perspective...
...the cosmic consciousness seemed equally fascinated by the lives of the ants.
The two parties now existed in a delicate equilibrium, each experiencing the existence of the other.
However, given the immense disparity in their scale, this balance was destined to be short-lived.
The Star Sea itself remained unharmed.
But the cultivators within the ritual began to change drastically.
Li Fan had once embodied the Canghai Pearl and witnessed the evolution of the Cong Yun Sea. Compared to the vastness of the Mountain and Sea, a cultivator's life was as brief as a blooming night-lotus. But compared to this starry expanse, the birth and death of an entire world was but the blink of an eye.
To see through the eyes of the Star Sea was to endure the passage of its time.
Even with the sacrifice of hundreds of millions of souls from the Xuanhuang lesser world, the inevitable was delayed by only a few moments.
Soon, the weight of ages descended upon the elders of the Immortal Boat.
"Hold on!" Zhong Daogong’s voice echoed in their minds; clearly, they had anticipated this. "The power gained from our union with the Star Sea is now infusing our bodies! If we can absorb this power, we will be able to withstand this level of decay!"
But, just like Li Fan, they had never imagined the Star Sea would take an interest in them, its violators.
It wasn't just their own forced contact with the Star Sea's origin; the Star Sea was reaching back.
The plan had accounted for the Star Sea resisting their intrusion.
But now, both sides had advanced.
As a result, the cosmic erosion they were suffering was nearly twice as intense as they had predicted!
"This is bad!"
The Immortal Boat elders quickly realized the change. A look of horror crossed their faces as they saw the hair and bodies of their brethren turning stark white.
But these elders were resolute and decisive. After a brief exchange to clarify their situation, they reached a swift consensus.
"We've come too far. The Jun Tian Ritual cannot be stopped now. The losses would be even greater if we were to abandon it halfway!"
"We must sacrifice some of our own to buy more time, to hold on until the Star Sea's power infusion is complete."
After a moment of silence, one of them chuckled softly. "I have lived long enough. Another decade or two would be a waste. If my life can help the Immortal Boat attain the fortune of the Star Sea, then I, Gan Jingda, will die without regret!"
Before he had even finished speaking, and without waiting for a response, Gan Jingda’s life force dissipated.
The remaining members of the ritual felt a surge of life energy well up within them, appearing from nowhere.
"My old friend has passed. To remain in this world would only bring more sorrow. It is better to go, better to go. The future of the Immortal Boat is in your hands now!"
"My talents are meager. It is better that I go first!"
"All of you, you must succeed! I'm leaving!"
"I didn't want to die. But when I think about it, everyone who remains is more valuable than I am... so there’s no other way. I guess my luck was never very good in this life."
...
One by one, the figures within the ritual willingly relinquished their hold on life. Under the catalyzing power of time, they turned to dust and scattered to the winds.
The final words of the elders rose and fell, echoing in the ears of the survivors.
As they felt the life force of their comrades spring forth within them like new shoots after a rain, the survivors were overcome with grief, their hearts aching.
But thanks to their sacrifice, just as the negative effects of their parity with the Star Sea were about to consume them completely, the great power they had sought finally arrived.
From the vortex of purple-gold starlight, dozens of torrents suddenly burst forth.
Each one poured into the body of a cultivator still holding on within the ritual.
This was the true origin power of the Star Sea. In terms of "quality," it might fall short of a True Immortal's, but in sheer "quantity," it surpassed even that!
The sensation was entirely different from facing a True Immortal.
The immense origin power of the Star Sea cascaded down.
Washed over by this immense power, the physical bodies of the surviving elders began to dissolve.
Yet their life force did not fade. On the contrary, it flourished with even greater vigor.
They were no longer aging; their appearances were frozen in that final moment before the infusion began. Shrouded in a purple-gold radiance, their forms became indistinct.
The Star Sea’s power continued to pour into them, and their bodies of light and shadow swelled in response.
Gradually, they transformed into giants, their forms stretching across the vast expanse of the Star Sea.
The turbulent emotions—grief from their comrades’ sacrifices, elation from their success—gradually subsided.
...
Li Fan had witnessed the entire process of this strange new species' birth.
Ever cautious, Li Fan did not absorb the descending origin power as the other elders had. Instead, he used an immortal array to isolate and preserve it. He then sealed it away with his True-False Transformation, making it vanish from the Star Sea, utterly undetectable even to the cosmic consciousness itself.
Another ingredient for the Xuanhuang Elixir was secured.
Yet Li Fan felt little joy. Instead, he stared with grave concern at the figures of starlight materializing before him.
Once they had fully become beings of starlight, their connection to the [Jun] character's power was severed automatically. Now, Li Fan was the only one left within the ritual's domain.
"I can't communicate with them."
"It's as if their subjective consciousness from before has been erased... No, it's still there! But their human emotional fluctuations have been suppressed to an extreme degree. They have become more like the Star Sea itself."
"They are so similar to the Spirits of Heaven and Earth in the Xuanhuang Realm..."
Li Fan turned his gaze back to the slowly closing purple-gold vortex.
He had the distinct impression that the Star Sea’s own power hadn't diminished in the slightest, despite this supposed division.
"It's not that the [Jun] character's power failed."
"It's because..."
"No matter how you divide infinity, it remains infinite!"
Early update today
(End of this chapter)
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