Chapter 1440: Death of a Nameless Immortal
Chapter 1440: Death of a Nameless Immortal
Within the Darkest Star Sea, the flow of time was already inconsistent due to the presence of the Immortal Ruins. So, Li Fan simply compared the Xuanhuang Realm to the City of Extreme Bliss in Shuo Xinghai.
Under normal conditions, the difference was a staggering one hundred and twenty times!
In other words, for every one hundred and twenty years that passed in Shuo Xinghai, barely a single year went by in the Xuanhuang Realm.
“A time dilation of over a hundredfold... no wonder the gap between the worlds inside and outside the High Wall is so immense,” he mused.
“Even Shuo Xinghai today is vastly different from when Qin Zhuang left. The world has truly moved on.”
Having constructed a preliminary projection of the Great Dao and a miniature Dao Net within himself, Li Fan’s understanding of the Dao had reached an entirely new plane.
Consequently, when faced with this unbelievable temporal discrepancy, he naturally began to harbor suspicions.
“Theoretically, mastering the Dao of Hunger to its absolute peak could indeed produce such an effect. But...”
“From what I’ve seen of the Hunger Immortal, it’s clear she hasn’t reached that realm yet.”
Images of the Hunger Immortal flashed through Li Fan’s mind.
When the Cat Treasure appeared, she was captured in a humiliating display; she paled at the mere premonition of the Dao Annihilation Calamity—the tide of black mist—long before the event itself arrived, seemingly reliant on the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar for shelter; she was even completely oblivious when Evil Su Bai drew so near that he stepped on her face...
“She might be a single step away from the Nameless stage, but that one step makes a world of difference. The outward manifestation of that gap is as vast as the heavens and the earth!”
“The temporal anomaly in the Darkest Star Sea probably isn’t her doing. Or rather, her mastery of the Dao is only a minor contributing factor.”
“The greater cause seems to originate from the Immortal Ruins themselves.”
Li Fan recalled the scenes he had witnessed within the Immortal Ruins.
Beyond the vast stretches of rubble and ruins, the most striking feature was the colossal character for “Hunger” carved into the earth.
Li Fan had previously speculated that this character might have been personally inscribed by an Inscription Immortal. Now, it seemed there was another layer of mystery to it.
“The Hunger Immortal can break free from her shackles at any moment; those golden chains are clearly self-imposed. The Immortal Ruins were once the site of the ascension passage to the Immortal Realm. When the Immortal Realm was struck by the Dao Annihilation Calamity, the Great Dao collapsed and all things crumbled. The surviving immortals fled in a sorry state, escaping to the lower realms through this very passage.” Li Fan deduced, retracing the events of that ancient time.
“The Dao Annihilation Calamity was powerful enough to destroy the Immortal Realm itself. At that time, no one could guarantee that the terrifying disaster wouldn’t spread down through the ascension passage. Logically, they should have fled as far as possible. And yet, the Hunger Immortal stopped in such a perilous place. She even disregarded the danger to comprehend the Dao on the spot...”
“I overlooked how illogical that was before.”
Li Fan’s gaze drifted back toward the Immortal Ruins above. “If the Hunger Immortal absolutely had to use the True Immortal script carved into the earth to comprehend the Dao, she could have just torn out the entire landmass, character and all, and taken it with her. She could have found a safe place to enter seclusion and study it.”
“And yet, she didn’t.”
“The Dao Annihilation Calamity stopped abruptly, never reaching the lower realms. The phenomenon caused by the True Immortal script on the land of the Immortal Ruins is equivalent to the power of a Nameless Immortal at the apex of their Dao. And the Heavenly Pillar is the leg bone of a Nameless Immortal...”
These disparate clues threaded through Li Fan’s mind, finally weaving together and pointing toward the most probable truth.
“The Hunger Immortal didn't move the ‘Hunger’ character not because she didn't want to, but because she *couldn't*. Because beneath that character, or perhaps as the character itself, lies the transformed skeleton of a Nameless True Immortal!”
“This Nameless Immortal, whether willingly or by force, perished and returned to the Great Dao, their body becoming a Heavenly Pillar that temporarily held up the collapsing heavens of the Immortal Realm!”
“And it is precisely because of the death of this Nameless Immortal who achieved their Dao through Hunger that the one in the Immortal Ruins saw an opportunity to comprehend the same Dao and attempt to reach the Nameless stage herself!”
A tremor ran through Li Fan as his thoughts expanded further.
Given the boundless expanse of the Immortal Realm and the lower Star Sea, it was highly probable that there was more than one ascension passage.
Judging from the current state of the lower Star Sea, although vast regions had been obliterated by the Dao Annihilation Calamity, there were still many pockets of survival.
“Perhaps... this is the protection granted by other Nameless True Immortals!”
“They used their own bodies as pillars to withstand the cataclysmic tide crashing down from above.”
Li Fan let out a long breath.
“If the High Wall is a collapsed and broken rampart, then the Nameless Immortals are the pillars that once stood above it.”
“Even with the protection of a Nameless True Immortal, the Darkest Star Sea was still reduced to this desolate state...”
“The fact that any life was able to continue in the lower Star Sea is almost certainly thanks to the sacrifice of these Nameless True Immortals.”
A Nameless True Immortal, having merged their very being with the Dao, could be considered a different species from mortals, or even from other True Immortals.
But that was just Li Fan's perspective.
Perhaps, among these Nameless True Immortals, there were noble souls like Su Bai, willing to sacrifice themselves to save the living beings of heaven and earth, even if only temporarily.
Or perhaps, the fleeing immortals had already anticipated that the Dao Annihilation Calamity would pursue them. To save their own lives, they needed some among them to step forward and "sacrifice" themselves, buying everyone else enough time to escape.
Regardless of the reason, some Nameless True Immortals had become pillars standing between heaven and earth, temporarily holding back the Dao Annihilation Calamity.
However, this method could only provide a temporary reprieve, not eternal protection.
The Dao Annihilation Calamity was only delayed, not erased.
“The hand of these immortals is faintly visible behind the Dao Net.”
“I even sensed the aura of a Nameless True Immortal’s remains at some of the Dao Net’s nodes I glimpsed.”
But this did not surprise Li Fan.
The miniature Dao Net in his divine sense was merely a projection. He understood profoundly how difficult it was to align a tangible creation with the ethereal, formless Great Dao.
“The Dao Net is erratic when it operates.”
“The giant hand I saw stabilizing the Dao Net from the outside could only serve a supplementary role. That hand clearly wasn’t manifest at all times. The true anchor of the Dao Net...”
Li Fan once again seemed to see the Dao Net that spanned the heavens and the earth.
All the extraneous lines faded away, leaving only a few of the most critical nodes.
They belonged to the Dao Net. And yet, they also existed within the Great Dao of the world itself!
It was the unique nature of these nodes that allowed the Dao Net to adhere so tightly to the formless Great Dao of heaven and earth!
“Nameless True Immortals!”
“And there’s a strong possibility they are *living* Nameless True Immortals!”
After achieving Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity, Li Fan had once again glimpsed the true secrets of the Dao Net.
The few remaining nodes in his vision faintly took on the shape of blurry human figures. Then, they fixed their gaze on Li Fan and, without any warning, suddenly opened their eyes!
One by one, the Nameless True Immortals seemed to reveal their true forms.
And they were all looking at him!
An inexplicable sense of dread surged through him, and Li Fan snapped out of the vision with a jolt.
The figures were gone, leaving what seemed to be ordinary nodes.
But inside, Li Fan was far from calm.
Was it just a trick of the mind?
Li Fan didn’t think so.
At his current level of cultivation, even a true immortal-grade illusion array would have difficulty affecting him.
He certainly wouldn't conjure up hallucinations for no reason.
“The most likely explanation is...”
“The Nameless Immortal nodes exist simultaneously within the Dao Net and the Great Dao.”
“The projection of the Great Dao in my Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity also reflected these nodes.”
“So, in a sense, I really did see them!”
With a turn of his thoughts, Li Fan reached a conclusion.
And immediately, a new question surfaced in his mind.
If he could see them, could these Nameless True Immortals see him?
Inevitably, a wave of agitation washed over him.
He believed he could hold his own against a single Nameless True Immortal, but that didn’t mean he could remain composed under the gaze of several.
Though his usually accurate intuition gave no warning of crisis, and though they were already pinned to the Dao Net as “living pillars,” the presence of these Nameless True Immortals still made him feel as if he were sitting on pins and needles, a constant thorn in his back.
But for Li Fan to abandon the power of Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity he had just obtained, simply because of a danger that had not yet materialized...
That was utterly impossible!
Li Fan’s main body raced through countermeasures in his mind.
Meanwhile, in the City of Extreme Bliss in Shuo Xinghai, Li Fan’s divine sense, inhabiting the body of Ma Tiande, was already preparing for the grand ceremony.
The full-range communication ability of Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity allowed his divine sense to ignore all spatial and temporal barriers, instantly knowing everything his main body had deduced.
But those troubles were for his main body to bear.
What this wisp of divine sense needed to do now was continue to lie low in the City of Extreme Bliss and probe the Dao Net further.
First, however, he had to survive the upcoming grand ceremony.
Zhu Xueshi was clearly repulsed by the Dao Net’s encroachment. But for some reason, he wouldn’t confront it directly. Instead, he would vent his anger on the man in his sight, the one carrying out the orders—Ma Tiande.
A cultivator like Ma Tiande, despite wearing the skin of a Dao Net Operator, was still nothing more than an ant in Zhu Xueshi’s eyes.
Li Fan sat quietly in Ma Tiande’s residence, contemplating his escape.
“For this ceremony, Knife Island gave Zhu Xueshi no face. Not a single person has come. The Sword Domain, on the other hand, sent three cultivators to attend.”
“The identities of these three are still unknown, but as representatives of a top power in Shuo Xinghai, their lives are likely not in the same imminent danger as mine,” Li Fan’s divine sense thought with a self-deprecating smirk.
“Only the Sword Domain is participating from all of Shuo Xinghai. They call it a grand ceremony, but in reality, it’s just Zhu Xueshi’s private amusement. And we are his playthings.”
In Ma Tiande’s memories, there were images of past celebrations.
The living beings who had reveled in the City of Extreme Bliss for three years would begin to slaughter each other indiscriminately. The massacre would only end when just a handful of survivors remained.
These survivors might rejoice in their escape from an endless hell, but they would never know that they were nothing more than tempting fruits on Zhu Xueshi’s plate.
“Those invited to the celebration are all allowed to consume these fruits of slaughter.”
“They are indeed exceptionally precious divine medicines. Even for my main body, which has already reached the state of Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity, they would be immensely beneficial. But for the weak, they are an unmitigated poison!”
Li Fan was well aware of Zhu Xueshi’s intentions.
But the man wasn't being petty enough to plot Ma Tiande's death directly.
He was merely bestowing a fruit that could absolutely be called a treasure of heaven and earth. It wasn't his fault if the recipient couldn't handle it.
“With my current, enhanced divine sense, consuming a slaughter fruit shouldn’t be a major issue.”
“The difficult part is how to safely consume the fruit without arousing the suspicion of Zhu Xueshi and the Sword Domain cultivators at the ceremony. After all, based on the strength Ma Tiande has shown, there’s no way he should survive the slaughter fruit.”
Although abandoning Ma Tiande’s identity wouldn’t be a great loss, Li Fan’s divine sense was unwilling to let it end in such a pathetic fashion.
“Perhaps... the opportunity lies within the Dao Net over the City of Extreme Bliss.”
“Ma Tiande” looked up, his expression unreadable as he gazed at the invisible, ominous cloud that shrouded the city.
Not long after, three streaks of sword light descended from beyond the heavens.
“Junior Ji Xingdao!”
“Junior Situ Tiantian!”
“Junior Zhao Xing!”
“We greet Scholar Zhu!”
Three clear voices—two male, one female—rang through the sky.
While their words still echoed in the air, the trio had already flown into the City of Extreme Bliss.
The City Lord’s Mansion materialized out of thin air.
It drew the three from the Sword Domain inside.
At the same time, Zhu Xueshi’s somewhat cloying voice reached Li Fan’s ears. “Come quickly and help me entertain our guests.”
A shiver of revulsion ran down Li Fan’s spine.
Following Ma Tiande’s past habits, he didn’t bother to hide it, letting the disgust show plainly on his face.
He knew this was Zhu Xueshi at his most psychologically twisted and unpredictable.
Acting with extreme caution, Li Fan hurried toward the City Lord’s Mansion.
By the time he entered, the three from the Sword Domain were already seated.
Li Fan glanced at them. They looked remarkably young, almost “childish.” Their eyes held a clear yet foolish quality, a near-total lack of cunning.
Evidently, the Sword Domain planned to use the slaughter fruit refined in the City of Extreme Bliss to “temper” these three young ones.
“Such a crude method of rapid advancement... even if they can withstand it, their personalities will likely become twisted and unhinged.”
“Three fine saplings. Even in our Xuanhuang Realm, they would be considered prodigies. Is the Sword Domain really going to waste them like this?”
Li Fan kept his expression neutral, first bowing to Zhu Xueshi.
Then, with a look of aloof arrogance, he merely gave a slight nod toward the three from the Sword Domain.
Theoretically, a Dao Net Operator from the Administrative Council was not inferior in status to these three.
But in practice...
Consumables could be replaced infinitely. Direct disciples, however, required painstaking effort to nurture.
The two were obviously not on the same level.
The three disciples from the Sword Domain seemed to understand this as well.
They showed no anger at Ma Tiande’s attitude. They simply exchanged a smile, completely unconcerned.
Then, with relish, they drank the three bowls of red soup placed before them.
It looked even more gruesome than what Li Fan had tasted before. It wasn’t just eyeballs; there were also bloody chunks of flesh and severed limbs from various non-human monsters.
But the three from the Sword Domain didn’t even flinch. Unfazed, they savored it slowly.
(End of Chapter)
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