Chapter 1442: A New Life in Immortal Skin
Surviving under such extreme pressure once could be dismissed as a fluke.
But for it to happen a second time...
In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Zhu Xueshi’s mind. He even entertained the shocking idea of feeding the third Fruit of Sentient Will to “Ma Tiande.”
In the end, however, Zhu Xueshi restrained himself. His thoughts returned to the two Dao Origin commands that had appeared in Ma Tiande’s sea of consciousness.
It was clear that among the swirling multitude of Dao Origin symbols, only a small fraction had actually taken effect, making it impossible for an observer to replicate them accurately.
Zhu Xueshi wasn't interested in the commands themselves. Even having reduced his immortal form to a mortal one, the myriad techniques at his disposal were far beyond what these two simple commands could achieve.
What truly intrigued Zhu Xueshi was the “possibility” that Ma Tiande’s performance represented.
The existence of “hidden commands” that operated outside the established Dao Net control system, yet could still draw upon its power.
Zhu Xueshi wore a benevolent expression as he waited for the four people seated before him to awaken from the effects of the Fruit of Sentient Will.
Under Zhu Xueshi's special care, the trio from the Sword Domain, though they had endured some torment, ultimately emerged unharmed. The youthful innocence on their faces had long since faded, washed away after absorbing the memories of countless beings and personally experiencing endless slaughter.
They first expressed their gratitude to Zhu Xueshi, then turned in unison to look at Ma Tiande, who sat on the other side. The earlier contempt was gone.
No one understood the terror of the storm of sentient will better than those who had personally experienced it.
Regardless of one’s background or methods, anyone who could consume one of those fruits and remain unharmed was not to be underestimated.
And to consume two in a row while still maintaining one's sanity...
"We cannot let this opportunity pass!"
The three from the Sword Domain had already reached a consensus through shared glances. If they could bring such a talent back to the Sword Domain, the merit would be even greater than completing their current trial!
Now, it all depended on whether this “Ma Tiande” could truly remain normal and had not descended into madness.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, the twisted, convulsing expression on Li Fan’s face slowly calmed. After keeping his eyes closed for a long while, he suddenly opened them, his gaze meeting those in the room.
His eyes, as bright as a field of stars, spoke volumes about his current state.
Zhu Xueshi clapped lightly, sounding genuinely delighted. "It seems you've gained quite a lot this time!"
"I have you to thank for this opportunity, Lord Scholar," Li Fan replied, neither servile nor arrogant.
After consuming two Fruits of Sentient Will, he no longer needed to act like the old Ma Tiande. Any change in his words or actions could be attributed to the countless consciousnesses contained within the fruits.
"Brother Ma, I wonder if you have any interest in coming to our Sword Domain? I, Situ Tiantian, can guarantee that you'll receive the highest tier of cultivation resources. If you just nod, you won't even need to apply to the Administrative Council. You can come back with us to the Sword Domain first, and we'll handle the paperwork later..." Situ Tiantian stole a glance at Zhu Xueshi, hesitating for only a moment. She quickly made her decision and extended the invitation to Li Fan right in front of the lord scholar.
Ji Xingdao and Zhao Xing also chimed in with jest, echoing Situ Tiantian's invitation and promising all sorts of wonderful conditions.
"Though I have long heard of the Sword Domain's great name, my ambitions do not lie in the path of the sword."
Before Zhu Xueshi could even react, Li Fan had already politely refused.
"Don't be so quick to decline. Think it over..." Zhu Xueshi began with a faint smile.
"My life's ambition lies only with the Immortal Hunt! Before, my weakness made it an impossible dream, so I buried it deep in my heart and never spoke of it to anyone. But today, thanks to Lord Scholar's blessing, two fruits have rewritten my fate. Now, anything is possible!" Li Fan's expression was incredibly solemn, his voice booming like thunder as he spoke with conviction.
The smile on Zhu Xueshi's face froze.
The trio from the Sword Domain were also stunned.
"The Immortal Hunt..."
In the current Shuo Xinghai, that name carried immense weight.
The Immortal Hunt reported directly to the Shuo Xinghai Administrative Council, with its members handpicked from the various powers across the star sea. Once a cultivator joined the Immortal Hunt, they had to cast aside their past identity and status, no matter what they were in their original faction.
Everything was secondary to the "Immortal Hunt."
This sacrifice, however, came with supreme authority.
Under the banner of the Immortal Hunt, a member could not only freely enter the territories of any major power in Shuo Xinghai but could also, under special circumstances, carry out executions on the spot. More importantly, becoming a member of the Immortal Hunt brought one closer to the Dao Net.
By dwelling alongside the Dao Net day and night, one's progress could advance by leaps and bounds.
Li Fan's declaration plunged the room into a strange silence.
Zhu Xueshi's face darkened as he scrutinized Li Fan, his thoughts unreadable.
It was Situ Tiantian who finally managed a strained smile, breaking the awkward tension. "The members of the Immortal Hunt are all chosen through a thousand trials. Though Brother Ma is extraordinary, joining them will not be an easy feat."
Li Fan, however, seemed unfazed, brimming with confidence. "My entry into the Immortal Hunt is a certainty! If I recall correctly, the next recruitment is in five years. When the time comes, I hope Lord Scholar will recommend me."
"I will not disappoint you, my lord!"
Seeing that Li Fan's mind was made up, the trio from the Sword Domain said no more.
After some more pleasantries and a few more bowls of red soup, they took their leave. Before departing, they upheld the honor of the Sword Domain, promising that they would be sure to repay this favor in the near future.
Soon, only Li Fan and Zhu Xueshi remained in the city lord's mansion.
The clamor of the City of Extreme Bliss once again drifted in from outside. Neither of them spoke, silently gazing at the bustling, decadent night.
"Crunch... crunch..."
A bone-chilling chewing sound came from Zhu Xueshi. He had, without a second thought, tossed the remaining five Fruits of Sentient Will into his mouth at once.
Unlike when Li Fan and the others had eaten them, when the fruits had melted on their tongues, these did not.
From within Zhu Xueshi's mouth, the five fruits emitted the desperate screams of countless beings on the verge of death.
The voices of purgatory rose into the sky, momentarily overpowering the sounds of revelry from the City of Extreme Bliss.
Like a dying old man, Zhu Xueshi chewed with agonizing slowness, a look of enjoyment on his face as he listened to the continuous, undulating wails.
Li Fan didn't even flinch. His expression was perfectly calm as he watched in silence.
After a while, Zhu Xueshi seemed to grow bored. In two or three bites, he swallowed the fruits.
The desperate cries ceased abruptly.
"Do you know why I built this City of Extreme Bliss here in Shuo Xinghai?"
"Purely for torture?"
"These Fruits of Sentient Will may be a heaven-defying opportunity for you, but to me, they are as bland as wax."
"I have experienced things far more desperate, far more cruel, than anything in this City of Extreme Bliss by a thousandfold."
Zhu Xueshi let out a sinister cackle, having unknowingly transformed from the grand scholar back into the stooped old man.
"The Great Dao Net blankets heaven and earth, containing all things within it. Mortals, though weak and insignificant, can produce a condensed will that, in its endless multitude, might just resonate with some profound Dao in the unseen world," Li Fan mused for a moment before answering.
"Hehehe..." Zhu Xueshi let out another dark, chilling laugh.
"You are mistaken."
"I built the City of Extreme Bliss primarily to torture these ants when I am bored."
Hearing this, Li Fan was momentarily taken aback.
"Of course, if some unexpected delight were to arise from the process, that would be for the best."
"But if not, there's no need to force it."
Zhu Xueshi's skull-like head slowly emerged from his wide robes, gazing out at the City of Extreme Bliss beyond the mansion. His expression grew distant, as if lost in memory.
"The former Immortal Realm was a place of even greater bliss than this city. It was a scene of thriving prosperity, a future that seemed to hold infinite possibilities. But who could have known that in a single day, the great mansion would collapse..." Zhu Xueshi muttered these words in a daze.
Li Fan remained silent, and the old man turned back to him. "You said you want me to recommend you for the Immortal Hunt?"
"I ask for Lord Scholar's assistance," Li Fan said with a nod.
"Very well. However, I have one condition," Zhu Xueshi agreed with surprising swiftness.
"No problem," Li Fan replied even more swiftly, without even waiting to hear what the condition was.
Zhu Xueshi burst into loud laughter as his external form shifted once more.
The stooped old man within dissolved into a pool of blood, which was then absorbed into the robe he wore.
The robe squirmed for a moment, then reshaped itself into what looked like a sheet of human skin!
It floated eerily towards Li Fan and rasped in a sharp voice, "One day, no matter what method you use, you will bring my body back to me!"
The sheet of skin had no facial features.
Only five grim, empty holes that stared silently at Li Fan.
Li Fan was silent for a moment, then nodded in acceptance.
"Alright."
As if a great wish had been fulfilled, the skin lost its ability to float and slumped to the ground.
It then squirmed again, crawling across the floor like a person before finally returning to the main seat.
It reshaped itself into a robe once more.
From within, Zhu Xueshi's aged voice emerged.
"As far as I know, there are several ways to free me."
"First, successfully capture a Nameless True Immortal and exchange your body for mine."
"Second..."
Li Fan felt Zhu Xueshi's gaze sweep across his face repeatedly.
"Tear the Dao Net apart completely. Then I will naturally regain my freedom."
"Third. Map the unknown regions of the Great Dao and redeem me with merit."
"..."
Zhu Xueshi paused, then asked, "And which method do you plan to use?"
Li Fan carefully considered the words, then spoke slowly in a low voice, "Perhaps all three approaches can be pursued at once."
Zhu Xueshi did not reply immediately.
After a long silence, he finally said, "Tell me what you need."
"I will give you five years. Before the Immortal Hunt assessment, I will test your quality."
"If you disappoint me..."
"Hehehe..."
Though his tone was placid, it was laced with boundless killing intent.
Li Fan's expression, however, remained unchanged. "Lord Scholar, you have only to wait and see."
...
After the ceremony, Li Fan returned to Ma Tiande's home.
He carried with him a gift from Zhu Xueshi.
"This is..."
Li Fan examined the object in his hands with great interest.
It was a piece of skin, remarkably similar to Zhu Xueshi's "human skin" form.
It looked as though it had just been peeled from a body; Li Fan could still smell the thick scent of blood on it. Being intimately familiar with human anatomy, Li Fan unfolded the skin and felt it over.
He confirmed that it was indeed another human skin.
However, unlike Zhu Xueshi's, this one did not seem to possess its own consciousness.
After some study, Li Fan tried various methods, but none could trigger any special properties in the skin. It seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary piece of human flesh.
But when Zhu Xueshi had handed it to him, Li Fan had clearly seen a mix of complex emotions in the scholar's eyes.
There was nostalgia, reluctance, and even a hint of hatred.
He turned the skin over and over again, recalling the moment Zhu Xueshi had revealed his true form.
After a moment of contemplation, he made his decision.
He sat upright, took a deep breath, and then draped the human skin over himself as if it were a piece of clothing.
Its original size and shape did not match "Ma Tiande's" body.
But as Li Fan put it on, the skin automatically contracted, becoming a perfect fit. It was as if this skin had been flayed from Ma Tiande himself!
Feeling the gradually tightening force around him, and the changes happening to his physique and facial features, Li Fan felt a sudden premonition.
He was, it seemed, turning into someone else.
An unstoppable fear of the unknown welled up within him, but sensing the miniature Dao Net reflected in his divine sense, all his apprehension vanished.
His mind became as calm as a mirror, simply experiencing the changes this skin brought upon him.
When the outer skin had perfectly merged with his body, Li Fan felt as if he had truly become another person.
A flood of images and memories surged from the depths of his mind.
And even...
Li Fan looked down at his own hands.
"This realm..."
"The realm of a True Immortal?"
It was not just a feeling.
Li Fan pointed a finger forward.
A brilliant light, like the birth of a star sea, bloomed at his fingertip.
Within that light seemed to be contained the infinite possibilities of the world.
"Immortal Spirit Qi."
"So this is Immortal Spirit Qi?"
Li Fan had sensed the presence of Immortal Spirit Qi before, within the Dissociation Disc of the Immortals.
Now, this strange and magnificent power surged within his own body. He recognized its essence immediately.
Li Fan's gaze was fixed on the point of light on his fingertip, not daring to look away for even a second.
In a daze, he felt as if he had passed through that single point and arrived in a boundless, shoreless ocean.
In this great sea, countless things and objects, all of life and spirit, presented themselves at once.
It was a strangeness beyond imagination.
With his current understanding, Li Fan found himself momentarily captivated, on the verge of being lost within it.
Fortunately, the infinite ocean hidden within the radiance vanished as the light on his fingertip faded.
In the blink of an eye, Li Fan withdrew from the illusion and returned to reality.
The seemingly limitless Immortal Spirit Qi had vanished as if it were a burnt-out candle.
It had been completely consumed.
It could no longer support his glimpse into that infinite ocean.
"Hm?"
Li Fan frowned slightly.
He hadn't felt the Immortal Spirit Qi disappear from his body.
With a thought, a faint light once again bloomed on his fingertip.
This time, however, Li Fan did not immerse his mind in that infinite ocean.
He simply observed the light on his finger in silence.
(End of Chapter)
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