Chapter 1448: Xi and Yi Enter the Transcendent Coffin
Chapter 1448: Xi and Yi Enter the Transcendent Coffin
"That True Immortal might have already crept nearby..." The moment Dao Yuan spoke, a wave of tension washed over the group, instantly pulling them from their daydreams of ethereal legends and worldly escapes.
This was no mere trial like the ones before; it was their first true confrontation with a True Immortal.
And it could be fatal.
Spurred by the imminent danger, the newly initiated members of the Immortal Hunt sprang into action, coordinating their preparations. Despite it being their first real mission, guided only by transmitted instructions with no field supervision, they were the cream of the crop from Shuo Xinghai. Their movements were surprisingly methodical.
The first step in an Immortal Hunt was to reinforce the local Dao Net, then leverage its power to conceal their own presence.
If the entire Dao Net was a tapestry pinned to the Great Dao of heaven and earth by an unseen colossal hand and four great pillars, then here, in the fragile borderlands of Shuo Xinghai, the hunters themselves had to become the nails. They had to drive themselves into the fabric of reality to anchor the network, allowing it to channel more power for the fight to come.
Veteran members of the organization, it was said, could reinforce and lock down a region's Dao Net in the blink of an eye, their coordination flawless. This group of novices, by contrast, was fumbling and far less organized.
A dispute even broke out over who would serve as the temporary "nails."
Furthermore, the opportunity to personally merge with the Dao Net, facilitated by the group's collective power, was an immense prize. It was akin to bathing in the raw essence of the Great Dao itself, an experience that promised boundless benefits. Thus, no one with a shred of ambition was willing to yield their spot.
Even Dao Yuan, ranked first, could only claim a position for himself. The notion that he could command the others and dictate the entire selection was out of the question.
Yet, time was short. With every moment that slipped by, the tension coiled tighter in their hearts.
Finally, someone relented.
"Ma Tiande" clasped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute, his expression serene. "My friends," he declared, "it is said that to know others is to be wise, but to know oneself is to be enlightened. My fifth-place ranking was largely due to my performance in the combat trial. I won't contend with you for this opportunity."
With that calm declaration, he yielded his position as one of the "nails."
The others looked at the noble Li Fan, their expressions softening. Inspired by his example, several other cultivators voluntarily stepped back as well.
Soon, the eight cultivators who would act as nails were chosen.
What surprised Li Fan was that the woman in purple, who had ranked second and fought with three longswords, also willingly relinquished the opportunity.
Her name was Jin Changyue. With her eyes still closed, she stated simply, "I am more interested in using these three blades to personally cut down a True Immortal."
As she spoke, her three swords hummed in agreement.
With the selection complete, the group's mood turned solemn. Following their instructions, they began the collective effort of reinforcing the local Dao Net.
The eight chosen cultivators formed a circle, facing one another.
The rest of the hunters surrounded them, issuing a series of commands into the Dao Net.
Each command was like a hand plucking a cosmic string, tightening the weave of the network.
The figures of the eight cultivators began to fade, as if they were dissolving into the very fabric of the world around them.
Yet, the others could sense a subtle, inexplicable shift in their surroundings. A powerful, tenebrous shadow had fallen over the area.
Though utterly concealed, this new presence resonated secretly with the commands they issued into the Dao Net.
The entire process of reinforcing the Dao Net took ninety-nine breaths—barely a passing grade for a team of novices on their first attempt.
The eight cultivators who had served as Dao nails reappeared, their forms solid once more.
But a dazed, almost euphoric look was on each of their faces, as if they were still savoring the sensation of having been one with the network.
Li Fan watched them, observing a distinct change in their essence.
"Within this localized space, the power each of them can now command from the Dao Net is nearly equivalent to that of a True Immortal. Eight True Immortals, working in concert..."
"It seems the future True Immortal Yi is doomed."
Li Fan silently assessed the so-called Dao nails before him.
While they now wielded power comparable to a True Immortal, they lacked the overwhelming, oppressive aura that defined such beings.
"At their core, they are still mortals. Their intrinsic might hasn't changed. It is merely as if the Great Dao, once floating high in the heavens, has lowered a corner for them to grasp."
The eight Dao nails would serve as the main force in the hunt, with the others providing support and reinforcement.
The battlefield was prepared. The next step was to erect the cage—a barrier that would let their quarry in but never out.
With the Dao Net's assistance, this was a simple task.
This seemingly ordinary stretch of void was now a place where the very concept of a boundary could be erased at will. Much like the high wall that contained the Darkest Star Sea, the idea of "forward" could be made to vanish, leaving no path to take.
"This is one of the Immortal Hunt's greatest trump cards," Li Fan mused. "It's a crucial reason they've succeeded in so many hunts. They call it the [Immortal-Trapping Cage]."
"The direct erasure of existence, of concepts... perhaps the inspiration came from the Dao Annihilation Calamity itself..."
While seamlessly coordinating with the others to generate the cage, Li Fan was secretly committing the subtle fluctuations of the Dao Net to memory.
To anyone else, these fluctuations were both imperceptible and impossibly complex.
Even for the casters themselves, trying to memorize the process was futile. The so-called "fluctuations" were, strictly speaking, ripple-like shifts in the natural operation of the Great Dao, merely originating from the Dao Net. Only those with an exceptionally profound understanding of the Dao could even perceive them up close. The commands themselves were composed of countless arcane symbols, a torrent of data so vast that even a Nameless True Immortal might not grasp it all in a single glance.
But Li Fan had no need for memorization.
The miniature Dao Net within his consciousness acted as a perfect mirror, flawlessly reflecting the fluctuations taking place in the real network.
Even if he couldn't yet fully comprehend the principles behind the fluctuations, nothing stopped him from first "copying" and "pasting" the entire process.
"This is the true power of Heart-Mind Manifesting Divinity—the ability to mirror the Great Dao," he thought.
"To do what even the Nameless cannot."
Having stolen a new divine technique, Li Fan felt a surge of satisfaction. He now looked forward to his infiltration of the Immortal Hunt with even greater anticipation.
The hunting net had been cast.
The newly initiated members of the Immortal Hunt had completed all their preparations. They lay hidden around the fabricated Transcendent World Coffin, waiting for the True Immortal Yi to walk right into their trap.
Their minds were all linked through the Dao Net, allowing them to communicate silently.
"Everyone, look! What is that?"
Though the physical void remained perfectly still, the reinforced Dao Net in that sector of space was inexplicably distorting.
And the distortion was racing toward the Transcendent World Coffin!
"We can't see it, but it can't avoid leaving traces on the Great Dao! It's like an invisible monster leaving footprints in the snow. Brothers, the True Immortal has taken the bait!"
A thrill ran through the group, mingled with undeniable apprehension.
"Do we move now?"
"Not yet. Let's wait until it fully reveals itself," Dao Yuan advised, his voice calm and commanding. "It can't move the Transcendent World Coffin anyway. It will have to follow the legends and lie down inside to escape calamity."
The others agreed.
The distortion in the Dao Net reached the coffin. It circled the artifact, then seemed to try and move it.
However, though a forgery, the coffin possessed some of the true artifact's mystical properties. It was as if it didn't exist in this plane at all; any force applied to it passed through as if through water, having no effect.
The coffin remained motionless.
The failed attempt seemed not to anger the unseen presence, but to delight it.
It halted, and in the distance, a second, larger distortion began to race toward them.
"Wait! That's not the power of one True Immortal... there are two of them!"
By analyzing the trail left in the Dao Net—the degree to which the cosmic strings were bent—the new hunters quickly determined that it wasn't just the True Immortal Yi who had taken the bait. There was another!
They were moving as one, almost perfectly merged.
Under normal circumstances, they would have been undetectable even at close range. Only the tracks they left on the Dao Net betrayed their presence.
"Don't panic, this is a great opportunity!" said Jiang Yuming, one of the eight Dao nails. "Catching one is the same as catching two. To think we'll achieve such a great merit on our very first hunt!"
Empowered by the Dao Net, he was filled with confidence, unafraid of the unexpected arrival of a second True Immortal.
But Dao Yuan interjected, "We can't be careless. They managed to fool the Dao Net's perception in a region where its power is weak. That alone proves they are not to be underestimated."
"To be invisible to sight and inaudible to sound... I believe the other one must master the Dao of [Xi]. Only by combining the Daos of Xi and Yi could they have deceived the network."
Despite the sudden change, the group remained calm. After a quick, silent adjustment of their strategy, they settled in to wait for the two True Immortals to enter the coffin.
As everyone watched, the lid of the Transcendent World Coffin stirred.
With the heavy, grinding sound of long-sealed bronze, it opened.
The bent strings of the Dao Net snapped back into place.
At the same moment, the hunters received confirmation: two entities had entered the bait coffin.
"Now!" Dao Yuan commanded.
But just as he gave the order, another voice cut through the mental channel.
"Wait!"
It was "Ma Tiande."
Dao Yuan's brow furrowed in annoyance at the insubordination.
But Li Fan quickly explained, his tone serious, "Brother Dao, you said before that the coffin requires a specific method to activate. We should wait."
"It's possible they're just bait, too."
Li Fan's words made the others pause. They turned their focus back to the coffin.
The fluctuations had vanished inside, but there was no further activity. Nothing.
It was indeed strange.
"If the real Xi and Yi had come to escape disaster, they would have been desperate to activate the coffin the moment they entered. Why would they be silent now...?" Jin Changyue mused.
"Could the coffin have a flaw? What if they realized it's a fake and we've scared them off?" someone worried.
"Rest assured. The coffin is a perfect replica. It lacks only the ability to actually traverse worlds," a voice said, one that had been silent until now. It belonged to a cultivator named Nangong Hongzhao, whose background was a mystery to the others.
He spoke with such confidence that they had to assume he had his reasons.
Now was not the time for questions.
They held their breath and waited.
Nangong Hongzhao spoke again, "It is said that each time the Transcendent World Coffin is used, its location changes. That is why Xi and Yi are only testing the waters, hesitating to truly activate it."
"I can confirm that the ones currently in the coffin are nothing more than decoys. They would not waste such a precious opportunity."
As if to prove his words, another distortion appeared in the distance, identical in its effect on the Dao Net.
In a perfect reenactment of the previous event, it too slipped inside the Transcendent World Coffin.
The moment it entered, a profound and mystical sound emanated from within.
It was like a distant, ethereal song, or perhaps a solemn, sacred chant.
"Now!" Dao Yuan roared again.
The lid of the Transcendent World Coffin slammed shut.
At the same instant, the Immortal-Trapping Cage fell silently into place, sealing off that entire sector of the star sea.
The beings within the coffin seemed unaware of the change outside, likely assuming the lid's closing was a normal part of the process.
The chanting continued unabated.
Li Fan listened intently, committing every tonal shift of the chant to memory. A thought struck him: "This rhythm... it's remarkably similar to the calamity-avoiding scripture taught by the Tiandu Grandmaster."
"Could it be that the mysterious shadow at the Grandmaster's side has some connection to the Nameless True Immortals who originally forged the Transcendent World Coffin?"
He suddenly recalled the history.
The once-unknown cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm had listened to that shadow and went on to found the Ten Great Immortal Sects. The Grandmaster, who had already reached the half-immortal realm, remained by its side, never straying, even his mannerisms mirroring the ethereal figure.
"Perhaps this shadow is all that remains of a Nameless True Immortal who departed for another possibility through the coffin," Li Fan mused. "It may have once possessed some other spirituality or divine power, but now... now it's just an empty echo, a hollow shell of light and shadow."
As Li Fan's thoughts churned, the situation outside took a strange and unnerving turn.
Xi and Yi remained hidden within the coffin, and the hunters, unwilling to risk breaking it open, resolved to wait them out. They assumed the two would emerge once they realized the coffin didn't work, at which point they would launch their attack.
They never could have predicted what happened next...
As the chanting from within the coffin grew louder, it began to glow with a hazy, seven-colored light.
The light pulsed, growing brighter and more intense, showing no sign of fading.
A sense of unease spread through the hunters.
Suddenly, the seven-colored radiance exploded outward, completely swallowing the Transcendent World Coffin.
When the light finally receded...
The fake Transcendent World Coffin—along with the True Immortals Xi and Yi—had vanished into thin air!
(End of Chapter)
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