Chapter 1379: Condensing the Eternal Remnant Will
With a strange cry, the young acolyte Autumn Water’s form instantly shattered into innumerable fragments.
Yet he was not so easily defeated. The countless shards rained down like a torrential storm, continuing their assault on Tianyang.
Autumn Water had demonstrated this technique to Li Fan before, but this sublimated version of the divine ability was far more powerful.
Connected to the power of the Infinite Star Sea, the downpour was relentless and unending.
Every single drop of rain contained the maximum destructive force that the Autumn Water Sword could unleash.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Even with the combat consciousness of the Ancestral Immortal Puppet guiding him, allowing his shifting form to evade the vast majority of the sword-rain, the sheer volume of sword light erupting in that instant was overwhelming.
Countless points of light still slammed against Tianyang's immortal body, exploding violently.
But the expression on Tianyang's face remained as calm and unconcerned as ever, unmoved by his disadvantageous position.
Suddenly, a vertical eye emerged from the center of his forehead.
This third eye glowed with a faint golden light, appearing otherworldly, like that of an ancient, desolate god. Wherever its gaze fell, the torrential rain hanging in the sky froze in place.
Tianyang let out an unconscious, low roar and made a grasping motion with his hands in front of his chest.
The countless droplets of sword-rain that were once Autumn Water were forcibly fused together by Tianyang, forming a perfect sphere!
An invisible flame erupted from Tianyang's palms.
It seemed intent on scorching the water sphere within until nothing remained!
The young acolyte Autumn Water reappeared from within the sphere, looking utterly wretched. He hastily cried out to Li Fan, "My lord, save me!"
Li Fan had only intended to test Autumn Water's true combat strength, not to destroy this hard-won supreme assistant. With a single thought, Tianyang, who had been poised to deliver the final blow, paused for a moment before finally stopping.
At the same time, Li Fan sensed an exceedingly profound and inexplicable aura vanish from Tianyang's body.
Tianyang silently returned to Li Fan's side, while the young acolyte Autumn Water knelt and kowtowed in gratitude, repeatedly exclaiming, "My lord is merciful."
Although Autumn Water had been defeated by Tianyang, Li Fan was quite satisfied with the power he had displayed during the fight.
If nothing else, Li Fan himself would have been unable to block that storm of sword-rain; his only option would have been to evade it.
Tianyang's seemingly effortless victory was due not only to the insights gained from the Ancestral Immortal Puppet and the Thousand-Eyed Desolate God, but more critically, to that wisp of invisible flame he had manifested at the end.
Judging from the young acolyte Autumn Water's terrified reaction, that invisible flame possessed the power to truly threaten his existence.
This piqued Li Fan's curiosity.
After all, once connected to the infinite power of the Star Sea, even Li Fan could only destroy the Autumn Water Sword through its manifested form of a living being. No other divine ability or magical art could inflict actual harm upon it. Yet this invisible flame could accomplish what Li Fan could not...
Li Fan thus questioned Tianyang about it.
To his surprise, Tianyang's answer was two words: "I don't know."
Li Fan frowned slightly. After further communication, he learned that the invisible flame was something Tianyang had unleashed naturally after entering a state of pure combat consciousness. He had no idea what its principle was or how he had summoned it.
That pure combat consciousness was a legacy from the Ancestral Puppet. Once activated, his mind became completely focused, subtly connecting with the Great Dao of heaven and earth, allowing him to attack his target relentlessly and without end, guided only by instinct.
"Instinct..."
A theory began to form in Li Fan's mind. "It must be connected to that Eternal Remnant Will."
"I never thought this Eternal Remnant Will could be used as a divine ability to harm others. Truly worthy of something that can resonate with the Great Dao."
Li Fan pondered this for a moment, a faint sense of regret washing over him.
Although he had long known the high standing of the Eternal Remnant Will, aside from [Truth] actively absorbing it, he had yet to find a way to comprehend or apply it himself.
"Speaking of which, the seeds I sowed in this life should be about ready to bear fruit."
After instructing Autumn Water to continue sparring with "Second Master" Tianyang, Li Fan's form flickered, and he reappeared inside the Lecture Stage.
With a gentle wave of his hand, the massive eye that was the manifestation of the Fabricated Heaven Personality projected the figures of Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi.
In this lifetime, upon realizing that the conviction of these two [Most Sincere Seekers of the Dao] was very likely the germination of an Eternal Remnant Will, Li Fan had made numerous arrangements in secret.
He sought to catalyze this bud, hoping to bring about the birth of a true Eternal Remnant Will.
And so, the two brothers, whose cultivation paths were already fraught with hardship and who had fought to the death over a mere Nascent Soul technique in past reincarnations, faced an even more tragic fate this time around.
For years, they had journeyed far and wide in search of a technique beyond the Foundation Establishment realm.
It wasn't that they found nothing.
But every single time, just after discovering something of value in an ancient grotto-mansion, a great Nascent Soul cultivator would descend from the heavens and snatch their prize away right before their eyes.
If it had happened once or twice, Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi might have been able to accept it.
But this same scenario had now played out nearly ten times.
The frustration pent up in Kou Hong's chest was almost unbearable. Each time, he was ready to fight the Nascent Soul cultivator to the death, only to be held back by the more rational Dao Xuanzi.
But even a clay figure has a temper. The last time this happened, Dao Xuanzi finally snapped as well. The two brothers joined forces and launched a desperate, suicidal attack against the suddenly appearing Nascent Soul cultivator.
The result was predictable.
The brothers were thoroughly humiliated, but their opponent did not take their lives. Instead, he announced his name and sneered with utter contempt, "A pair of wastes. I'll beat you every time I see you from now on." Then, he swaggered off.
After that, Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi fell into a deep depression for a time.
But, true to their nature as Most Sincere Seekers of the Dao, they soon recovered from the blow. They even secretly swore an oath to achieve greatness in their cultivation and seek revenge on that Nascent Soul cultivator.
To this end, they even abandoned their long-held principles. They gave up their lives as rogue cultivators and chose to join the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
From then on, the two no longer needed to risk their lives exploring the ruins of ancient sects. They simply took on commission tasks day after day, slowly accumulating Alliance contribution points.
The two brothers scrimped and saved, finally amassing enough contribution points to exchange for a Golden Core technique.
The moment the technique's contents flowed like golden light into their minds, both Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi wept uncontrollably.
Although they had managed to step into the Golden Core realm, they were still a long way from their goal of revenge.
The two worked even harder, accepting commissions and earning contribution points.
But the price of Nascent Soul techniques was on a completely different level. Often costing fifty or sixty thousand contribution points, the figures left the two staring in helpless despair.
Worse, if they wanted to succeed in their revenge, the Nascent Soul technique they cultivated couldn't be a weak one. Otherwise, even at the same realm, they would be no match for their great enemy.
The powerful Nascent Soul techniques they had their eyes on were priced at nearly one hundred thousand points. The cost was so high it was almost enough to drive one to despair.
At first, the two patiently saved up. But after some time, they calculated their income and expenses and realized it would take them nearly fifty-six years to afford the technique.
And that was assuming nothing went wrong.
However, how could there be a world without accidents?
To earn contribution points faster, they had to take on tasks with a certain degree of danger. This meant they were very likely to get injured in the process. Before reaching the Nascent Soul realm, without the power of a grotto-heaven to constantly reshape the body, healing was an extremely costly affair.
And as it happened, their luck had never been good.
During their missions, three out of ten times they would encounter some kind of accident. Though never fatal, the injuries were always severe. After deducting the cost of healing, there was barely any profit left. If not for the fact that these accidents were all natural calamities or beast rampages, with no signs of cultivator involvement, the two would have suspected they had offended some great power who was toying with them.
Earning less was one thing; as long as they saved a little each day, there was still hope.
But somehow, word of their terrible luck spread. The rumors grew more and more outrageous, with some even claiming they were under a strange curse that would bring misfortune to anyone associated with them.
Gradually, no cultivator was willing to travel with them or undertake missions together. Even worse, the mission issuers, fearing the so-called strange curse, would often specifically state in the mission description that Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi were barred from accepting.
Accumulating contribution points became an impossible dream.
Even when things reached this point, the two brothers had not given up on their dream.
After some discussion, they returned to their old trade: exploring sect ruins.
With the Tianxuan Mirror handling the recycling of exploration materials, they didn't have to worry about being unable to sell their findings.
It had to be said that after advancing to the Golden Core realm, their strength had increased dramatically. Coupled with years of experience exploring ruins, they reaped handsome rewards several times in a row.
Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi were overjoyed, thinking their luck had finally turned.
However, the two brothers were somewhat puzzled that the prices offered by the Tianxuan Mirror were often much lower than the market rate. After deducting the cost of various supplies for each expedition, they hadn't actually saved up that many contribution points.
But it was still far better than the slow grind of taking on missions.
The brothers were very optimistic.
Watching their contribution point balance increase, little by little, every day brought them a faint sense of happiness.
Finally, after successfully exploring several small ruins without any Nascent Soul cultivators swooping in to steal their gains...
They were just one step away from purchasing their desired Nascent Soul technique.
The two decided to press their luck and set out on another expedition.
As long as they didn't come back completely empty-handed, they would reach their goal.
On this final exploration, the two were extremely careful.
A lifetime of bad luck seemed to finally be reversing itself at this moment.
Based on their previous exchanges, this haul was worth at least thirty thousand contribution points. The brothers had struck it rich.
Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi suppressed the joy in their hearts, maintained calm expressions, and rushed towards the nearest floating sky city.
Meanwhile, their minds were filled with fantasies of the near future: successfully exchanging for the Nascent Soul technique, finding a Nascent Soul grotto-heaven, advancing to the Nascent Soul realm, and finally, getting their bloody revenge and vindication.
The journey was smooth. When they once again stood before the Tianxuan Mirror, sold off all the ancient artifacts from the ruins, and received their thirty thousand contribution points...
Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi finally let out a long sigh of relief.
After shedding tears of joy, the two eagerly opened the technique exchange page, ready to make their purchase.
However, the mechanical, cold voice that came from the Tianxuan Mirror next struck the two brothers' ears like a clap of thunder.
"What do you mean, 'insufficient contribution points'?"
"We clearly both have over seventy thousand points!" Kou Hong's eyes burned with such fury they seemed ready to split. His face was flushed red as he panted heavily. He clenched his fists so tightly his nails dug into his flesh, but he was oblivious to the pain, only roaring his question.
"He has 73,246, and I have 78,355. We earned every single point through years of hard work and risking our lives. It's impossible that we don't have enough..." Dao Xuanzi, on the other hand, managed to maintain a sliver of composure, stating the two figures and requesting the Tianxuan Mirror to re-check.
But the cold sweat that beaded on his forehead and his rapidly paling face betrayed the panic in his heart.
The silence did not last long. The Tianxuan Mirror's reply soon came.
"After verification, Kou Hong currently holds 234 contribution points. Dao Xuanzi currently holds 264 contribution points."
"Source of contribution points, details as follows."
"Aside from these, there are no other records."
"Repeating..."
The cold voice, like a death sentence, echoed endlessly in the brothers' ears.
This time, even Dao Xuanzi could no longer remain calm.
He stared, utterly lost, at the records displayed by the Tianxuan Mirror.
He found that the contribution point data had somehow reverted to the very first day they joined the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
All the blood and sweat of countless days, all the accumulated contribution points, had vanished into thin air?
Dao Xuanzi felt a wave of dizziness.
"Could it be... that this was all our illusion?"
But then, Kou Hong's roar snapped him back to reality.
Their Golden Core strength was real.
And the thirty thousand contribution points they had just earned were also real.
If that was the case, then how could the memories of the past few years be false?
"You swallowed our contribution points! Our blood and sweat money!"
"Give them back!"
Dao Xuanzi's face, too, twisted into a ferocious snarl.
The Tianxuan Mirror, however, merely continued to repeat its cold, mechanical message.
The two finally broke down completely, actually launching an attack on the Tianxuan Mirror.
After several warnings went unheeded...
The Tianxuan Mirror directly expelled them.
The miserable state of Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi naturally attracted the attention of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance cultivators.
But no matter how they pleaded and cried about how the never-erring Tianxuan Mirror had devoured their hard-earned contribution points...
Combined with their notorious reputation as the unlucky duo...
Naturally, no one believed them.
Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi cried until they wept tears of blood, only to find themselves surrounded by utter indifference.
Having recognized the reality of their situation, they finally stopped their wailing.
The memories from the years since they joined the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance flashed through their minds, one by one, like a fleeting dream.
"Let's go," Kou Hong said through clenched teeth.
(End of Chapter)
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