Chapter 1427: Entering the Unending Samsara
Chapter 1427: Entering the Unending Samsara
One was a man in a Daoist robe, the other a scholar-like cultivator dressed in white. Li Fan had seen the phantoms of these two before; they were Zhenshi Immortal Venerable and the Human Dao Heavenly Venerate. Within the Realm of Reality, no lies could exist. And in the Human Dao Heavenly Realm, anyone, regardless of their cultivation, could reshape heaven and earth so long as their heart was sincere.
As for the last one, he was a young man who looked no older than twenty, his aura transcendent and otherworldly.
Although Li Fan had never met him in person, he had caught a glimpse of him during the trial in the Fallen Immortal's Illusory Realm.
Ji Wangxian!
Ten thousand years ago, he had single-handedly built the World Merchant Association, which spanned the entire Xuanhuang Realm, and constructed an impossibly lavish celestial city out of spirit stones.
"To think that the old patriarch of the Ji family, a man who once embodied the saying 'no merchant is without deceit,' has transformed into the very paragon of contracts."
"Then again, it was said that the entire Ji family, and even the World Merchant Association itself, were merely tools for Ji Wangxian's cultivation. After the world-altering cataclysm, it makes sense that he would adopt a new method to maintain his Longevity."
In that instant, Li Fan also understood the precise situation of the Wanfa Chamber of Commerce, headquartered in Nine Mountains Prefecture and situated between the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council.
"But that's all it amounts to. In the face of true power, the so-called Wanfa Chamber of Commerce is no different from any other ant in the world. Back then, under the Dharma Spreader's single palm strike, it turned to dust just like all the other living beings in Nine Mountains Prefecture."
His thoughts raced as his gaze swept over the three newly arrived Longevity Heavenly Venerates.
It was clear that Wuyou Immortal Venerable had already informed them of Li Fan's unfathomable cultivation. Although they appeared outwardly calm, maintaining the composure of the Xuanhuang Realm's supreme experts, Li Fan could faintly sense their unease.
But Li Fan could faintly discern their apprehension.
"Hehehe, don't be so tense."
"I've already suppressed the Dharma Spreader Heavenly Venerate."
Li Fan's casual words sent a chill down the spines of the five Heavenly Venerates present.
And when they saw the Dharma Spreader himself in Li Fan's palm, trapped within an infinite illusion, hovering between sleep and wakefulness, their faces inevitably turned pale. They all lowered their heads, not daring to meet Li Fan's eyes.
Wuyou Immortal Venerable, in particular, began to tremble uncontrollably again, a cold fear gripping him as he recalled his earlier disrespectful and foolish attempt to probe Li Fan's power.
Before this, the five Heavenly Venerates knew that this senior, this suspected True Immortal who had suddenly appeared, was powerful. But they had no concrete measure of just *how* powerful he was.
Now they knew.
The Dharma Spreader Heavenly Venerate, a being who had dominated the Xuanhuang Realm for an entire era and forced the five of them to submit even when united, had been effortlessly suppressed with a mere turn of his hand.
How could such might not fill the five of them with terror?
Li Fan, however, seemed to ignore their inner turmoil, continuing in a placid tone, "Immortals and mortals are separate. I will not interfere with you excessively. But there are a few matters in which I require your... small assistance."
"Senior, please command us!" Wuyou Immortal Venerable was the first to speak.
His eagerness was a stark contrast to his usual detachment from worldly affairs, causing the other four Heavenly Venerates to cast sidelong glances at him. But how could those who had achieved Longevity in the Xuanhuang Realm be fools? They all quickly followed suit, pledging their cooperation.
"I came here for one thing. The Soul Grinding Pan."
As soon as Li Fan said this, the eyes of Wuyou and the others turned towards the man in the Daoist robe.
Zhenshi Immortal Venerable's face twitched. He cupped his hands in a bow, then took out a millstone-shaped object and presented it.
Li Fan saw that the Soul Grinding Pan seemed to be constantly, slowly turning. From beneath it, he could faintly hear the tragic wails of countless souls being crushed by the massive stone mill.
A slight stir also came from [Truth].
Within the Soul Grinding Pan were fifty-six remnant souls and one hundred and three skeletal remains. Yet, the aura of these remnants was somehow more powerful than that of billions of wandering ghosts combined.
After a careful inspection, Li Fan saw through its mystery.
The Soul Grinding Pan, like a great millstone, ground these remnant souls and bones without cease. Theoretically, no matter how special they were, they shouldn't have been able to withstand such torment. They should have been annihilated into dust after a decade at most.
Yet they had endured since ancient times. This was because, at every moment, streams of pure energy would emerge from the Soul Grinding Pan, nourishing the remnants.
It sustained their life force, only for them to suffer another round of torment under the great millstone.
It was a cycle, over and over, like being trapped in an endless purgatory with no hope of escape.
Li Fan finally understood how these so-called eternal remnant thoughts were formed.
"An impressive method," Li Fan commented flatly.
Zhenshi Immortal Venerable lowered his head, not daring to reply.
Li Fan applied a bit of pressure with his hand, and the massive millstone instantly vanished into smoke and dust.
The remnant souls and bones were liberated, absorbed by [Truth].
The lingering wisps of pure energy within the millstone also felt familiar to Li Fan.
It was identical to the pure cultivation energy formed after dissolving one's techniques using the Dissolution Chapter of the *Tai Shang Primordial Scripture*.
"A remnant of the Tai Shang Sect."
Li Fan glanced at Zhenshi Immortal Venerable, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
When one converted their cultivation using the *Primordial Scripture*, not all of it was inherited. A small portion would vanish into thin air, its destination unknown. Now it seemed clear that it had flowed right into the pockets of the Tai Shang Sect.
"What do the lives and deaths of the world's cultivators have to do with me? That certainly fits the Tai Shang persona."
When the great calamity had descended upon the Xuanhuang Realm in the past, a portion of each of the Ten Great Immortal Sects had fled beforehand. Individuals like Yixin and Zhenshi might prove to have some peculiar uses in exploring the world beyond the High Wall.
For the moment, Li Fan paid them no mind, focusing his full attention on the changes within [Truth].
Compared to its usual greedy and joyful devouring, [Truth]'s reaction this time was rather strange.
It was as if it had eaten something incredibly difficult to swallow. It wanted to spit it out, yet it still forced it down, mouthful by mouthful.
Li Fan's expression grew subtle.
He stood motionless, examining the prompt from [Truth].
The five Longevity Venerates of the Five Elders Council stood by his side, not daring to move a muscle.
Perhaps because this eternal remnant thought was not formed from the condensation of a single individual but from a multitude of souls, Li Fan did not have to experience a trial through an illusory realm. [Truth] simply absorbed it directly.
"[Unending Samsara] function unlocked."
It didn't even produce a poem, just this one perfunctory sentence.
"Unending Samsara..."
Nevertheless, those three words immediately piqued Li Fan's interest.
"Create a segment of time with a beginning and an end, using a previously experienced life as a template."
"Any being with no power to resist can be cast into this period of time."
"If a corresponding identity for the cast being exists within this timeline, they will possess it. If not, they will possess a random identity."
"The identity for the cast being to possess can be specified."
"The cast being will lose all memories from outside the samsara."
"Throughout the entire Unending Samsara, only the memories of the cast being will be retained."
"Time will cycle from beginning to end, endlessly. The events of the fixed template will act as a linear constraint, ensuring the Unending Samsara does not deviate from its original trajectory."
"The Unending Samsara is dependent on my existence. Each time [Truth] is activated and I return to the initial anchor point, the created samsara will disappear and must be recreated. Alternatively, it can be preserved at a certain cost."
"The flow of time in the Unending Samsara is one thousand times faster than the normal time I experience. It can also be accelerated to a great degree according to my needs..."
The description of the Unending Samsara function was far more complex than the previous [Incarnation] and [Dao Origin].
But in truth, it was quite easy to understand.
It was a constantly repeating segment of history that Li Fan had once experienced.
One must remember that every time Li Fan had been forced to use [Truth], it was because a great terror had descended. This meant that within the Unending Samsara, a world-ending calamity would arrive every few decades.
And due to the active constraints imposed by [Truth], the being experiencing the samsara would be unable to make incremental progress to eventually defy fate, as Li Fan himself had done.
"I can even observe the state of the being cast into the samsara at any time..."
"Interesting. Extremely interesting."
As if he had found a fascinating new toy, a wave of curiosity washed over Li Fan.
"Qiao Sidao was able to escape from the billions of cycles of the 'Era'."
"So, could anyone escape from the Unending Samsara created by [Truth]?"
According to [Truth]'s description, the Unending Samsara would only be suspended if the final outcome deviated completely.
But even then, the cast being could not escape.
That timeline would simply exist in a void state between truth and falsehood.
Awaiting Li Fan's next command.
Whether to release the cast being, or to create a new Unending Samsara.
"It truly lives up to the name 'Unending'!"
Li Fan nearly clapped his hands in delight. He suddenly spun around and looked at Zhenshi Immortal Venerable.
A meaningful smile touched his lips, and he pointed a finger at him.
One of the few Longevity Heavenly Venerates of the Xuanhuang Realm vanished without a sound, right before everyone's eyes.
His fate, unknown.
The remaining venerables, including Wuyou, were horrified.
Yet, they had no intention of avenging Zhenshi Immortal Venerable. They could only pray inwardly that this True Immortal senior would spare their lives.
The entire process of the True Immortal suppressing Zhenshi Immortal Venerable had occurred without the slightest fluctuation of energy. He had simply vanished, in a way they couldn't possibly comprehend.
They couldn't even understand what they had witnessed, let alone fight back. The gap between them was so immense that they lacked any courage to resist.
Li Fan's attention, however, was already focused on the newly opened Unending Samsara.
He chose the timeline where he, as the holy embryo, had piloted the Medicine King True Cauldron and charged toward the Immortal Ruins.
The timeline that had provoked the Hunger Immortal to annihilate the world with a single glance.
Just one chapter for today. I haven't been feeling well recently, my back is acting up badly. My apologies.
(End of this chapter)
Comments