Chapter 1470: The Three Strongest True Immortals
Whether it was the True Immortals or Qian Ruochang's Dao Net avatar, their power was fundamentally rooted in the Dao.
Now, facing the projection of Shou Qiu, a being whose understanding of the Dao far surpassed their own, all their divine abilities and techniques were rendered utterly useless.
From Li Fan's perspective, the not-so-dense principles of the Dao within this patch of the Annihilation Zone were instantly drawn toward Shou Qiu's projection. It was like a colossal vortex suddenly materializing in the middle of the ocean, commanding absolute dominion.
Qian Ruochang and the Nothingness Immortal were inevitably caught in its wake.
For now, they had merely lost control of their bodies. But if they lingered within this distorted vortex of the Great Dao for too long, they would risk having their own Dao completely stripped away!
Watching the two immortals struggle in vain, a storm of emotions churned within Li Fan.
"Perhaps the weakened, fragile state of this star sea, having already suffered the Dao Annihilation Calamity, is a contributing factor. But the primary reason is that Shou Qiu himself has reached an unfathomable level of power. Thus, by simply drawing on a fraction of the strength from his five projections, he can instantly suppress two True Immortals!"
While Li Fan was lost in thought, the restrained Qian Ruochang and the Nothingness Immortal broke out in a cold sweat.
They considered themselves among the top tier of experts within their respective factions.
Their minds raced, desperately trying to deduce the identity of this enigmatic being.
It was at this moment that Li Fan discovered something astonishing: he could faintly perceive the inner turmoil of these two True Immortal-level figures.
This wasn't like the Heavenly Doctor's diagnostic arts, which could only sense vague, general emotional trends.
This was the concrete manifestation of images from within their minds!
Although the images flickered with their fluctuating thoughts and not every scene was perfectly clear, this ability to truly peer into another's mind left Li Fan deeply shaken.
It was crucial to remember that the targets of this "mind-reading" were not some mortals or weaklings. They were genuine True Immortals! And both Qian Ruochang and the Nothingness Immortal were on the verge of reaching the Nameless realm!
"It's likely because, before one achieves transcendence, all beings are ultimately creations of the Dao. Every action, every thought, is inextricably linked to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. The clearer one's perception of the Dao, the more distinctly one can sense the changes a being causes within it."
"The thoughts one cares about most cause the most significant fluctuations. If an expert like Shou Qiu appeared before me and I instinctively called upon [Truth] to restart, he would likely discover it in an instant, repeating the old affair with the Black Heaven Physician."
"No wonder I felt such a strong sense of impending doom before the Black Heaven Physician even arrived. Had I not decisively used [Truth] back then, I fear..."
A lingering fear washed over Li Fan, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, his mind naturally and immediately began searching for a way to prevent his thoughts from being read.
"To be perceived is to cause a fluctuation in the Dao. Like a stone dropped into a calm pond, no matter how small, it creates ripples. To avoid this..."
Empowered by Shou Qiu's projection, Li Fan was able to seek a solution from the most fundamental level.
He quickly discovered what was, for now, the most suitable—and practically tailor-made—method for him.
"As long as I live, the fluctuations of my thoughts are unavoidable."
"Shou Qiu observed the sea for a hundred epochs; no matter what fortuitous encounters I have, my understanding of the Dao could never surpass his. The Black Heaven Physician, capable of devouring his other selves across possibilities, is certainly my superior as well. To try and deceive them... it's beyond difficult, nigh impossible..."
"The only viable method is to hide the fluctuations caused by my own consciousness within the grand macrocosm. The ripple from a single drop of water is conspicuous in a small pond. But in the boundless ocean, a minuscule, self-generated fluctuation, not caused by an external object, would be almost impossible to detect."
"Manifesting Divinity from Heart-Mind, projecting a Dao Net!"
A sharp glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes. "The closer my projected Dao Net is to the true Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, the stronger my concealment will be. As for my current level..."
Ma Tiande cooperated, deliberately letting his thoughts wander.
Under the gaze of Shou Qiu's projection, nearly all of his thoughts were captured.
"It seems I'm still a long way from being able to hide my thoughts from a Transcendent expert." Li Fan had a very clear understanding of his true capabilities, so he felt no discouragement.
His attention returned to the thoughts of Qian Ruochang and the Nothingness Immortal.
Unlike the continuous stream of images he could capture from Li Fan's mind, what he saw from these two was intermittent and fragmented.
Flashing through Qian Ruochang's mind were the True Immortals he suspected might possess the combat strength displayed by Shou Qiu's projection.
He knew neither their faces nor their names. They were identified only by titles, anchored by their specific deeds.
Qian Ruochang himself had never met these True Immortals; he had only heard of them from the most classified list within the Immortal Hunt.
The three figures Qian Ruochang was most certain of were the ones Li Fan perceived most clearly.
The first was known as the master of the [Dao of Kindness].
This True Immortal could conceptually twist any and all harmful actions the True Immortal faction took against Shuo Xinghai into beneficial ones.
He was active at the very beginning of the conflict between the Immortal Hunt and the True Immortals.
Time and again, the Immortal Hunt would suffer grievous losses, yet from the highest echelons to the rank and file, it felt as if they had achieved a great victory. They couldn't sense the crisis at all and grew ever more blindly optimistic.
They were completely baffled by the actual state of Shuo Xinghai.
Every report indicated favorable outcomes, yet reality was inexorably worsening.
In the end, Shuo Xinghai was nearly reduced to a tiny sliver of territory to call home.
It was only at the final moment, when someone enlightened them, that they finally awoke to the truth.
The power of the Dao of Kindness was not limited to influencing grand strategy; it was also manifested in the extreme personal threat posed by the True Immortal himself.
After his conceptual grand strategy failed, the True Immortal of Kindness once launched a solo assault, intending to end the war by his own hand. Even as he slaughtered their friends and loved ones right before their eyes, the Immortal Hunt members under his influence felt no anger. Instead, they cheered and celebrated with excitement.
It was as if being slaughtered was, for them, a great happiness, a profound liberation.
The True Immortal of Kindness moved through their ranks as if they were ghosts, killing at will.
Had he not been stopped at the last moment, the Shuo Xinghai civilization would likely no longer exist.
...
Peering into these thoughts, Li Fan couldn't help but frown.
"This True Immortal of Kindness is truly terrifying. Even more domineering than Transmitter Jiang's ability to make all things like him. At the very least, if 'I' were to slaughter my own kin, my instincts would compel me to stop. But under the influence of the Dao of Kindness, one can only smile and applaud."
"Every time Qian Ruochang thinks of that True Immortal of Kindness, his mind fluctuates so intensely. Clearly, this figure left a significant psychological scar on the members of the Immortal Hunt."
"The Dao of Kindness is powerful, but the being who intervened twice at the crucial moment to break its power seems even more formidable. Yet it's as if their existence has been deliberately erased. Every time Qian Ruochang's thoughts turn to this individual, he subconsciously skips over them, revealing almost no useful information."
"Judging by this power, could it be the great hand that suppresses the Dao Net?"
Li Fan moved on to the next True Immortal.
This immortal cultivated the Dao of [Chaos].
The vast majority of the Immortal Hunt's strength depended on the Dao Net. This True Immortal's Dao of Chaos, however, could disrupt the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, returning it to the murky, undifferentiated state before creation.
Wherever this immortal went, even if he did nothing at all, the combat effectiveness of the Shuo Xinghai forces would be drastically reduced.
Perhaps because the Chaos Immortal's actions were too destructive to the starry sky, and even the True Immortal faction was wary of the consequences, he had rarely made an appearance. But every time he did, he caused immense trouble for the Immortal Hunt.
As for the final True Immortal in Qian Ruochang's mind...
"They say he was the one who built the [Reverse Flow Boat]?" Li Fan's heart jolted.
The Reverse Flow Boat was one of the three legendary methods of escaping the world, a creation even superior to the Transcendent World Coffin. It could traverse the long river of time and return to the past.
Qian Ruochang's thoughts about this True Immortal were also extremely scarce.
These myriad thoughts flashed past in a single instant.
The moment Li Fan captured them, he instinctively had his clone, Li Bueren, draw more power from the projection.
It was only for a moment, but it was enough to see more.
The True Immortal who built the Reverse Flow Boat was referred to internally by the Immortal Hunt as [Reverse].
After the Reverse Flow Boat was built, whether [Reverse] had actually boarded the divine vessel and traveled to the past became a mystery with the complete disappearance of that group of ancient True Immortals.
But based on various clues, successive generations of the Immortal Hunt came to believe that this True Immortal, who had faintly grasped the power of reversing time, likely still existed in the world. This was because as the Dao Net grew stronger and the Immortal Hunt launched its decisive counterattack, the True Immortal faction was gradually pushed into a corner.
However, every time the True Immortals were on the brink of annihilation, they would miraculously turn the tide and avert disaster.
After ruling out the possibility of an internal traitor, and based on what seemed to be another piece of crucial evidence, the Immortal Hunt was now almost certain of the existence of the [Reverse] Immortal.
...
"Reverse."
If there was any law of the Great Dao in heaven and earth that still interested Li Fan, who possessed [Truth], it was this power to reverse the flow of time.
How was it different from [Truth]'s transformation between the real and the false?
More importantly, if Li Fan mastered it, could he return to or anchor a point in time more than one year in the past?
Unfortunately, this [Reverse] Immortal was utterly enigmatic.
Even within the Immortal Hunt, his existence was merely inferred from scattered clues. They knew nothing else about him.
Compared to Qian Ruochang's various speculations, the mind of the [Nothingness] Immortal was much more singular.
All his thoughts pointed to a single possibility.
The [Inscription Immortal]!
From the images flashing through the Nothingness Immortal's consciousness, it seemed he had personally seen the original [Dao Scripture] left by the Inscription Immortal back when the Immortal Realm still existed.
Therefore, he had an incredibly clear understanding of the Inscription Immortal's power.
Thus, when he, having achieved great things in his own cultivation, was so easily suppressed and treated like a plaything, his first reaction was that his opponent had to be the Inscription Immortal.
"This Nothingness Immortal also carries thoughts about the rumors of the Inscription Immortal's death."
"But he consistently scoffs at them."
"Interestingly, the Nothingness Immortal has also heard of Shou Qiu Gong's great name. As for why he didn't suspect it was him..."
"'Even with his supremely lofty power, Shou Qiu Gong would not commit such cruel acts against the weak.'"
Li Fan couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
Peering into the minds of True Immortals gave Li Fan a taste of what it felt like to be one of the world's most powerful beings.
But it was by no means without side effects.
On Li Bueren's body, the desolate aura of the mountain and sea gradually grew thicker.
And the countless block-like experimental spaces, including the Dark Star Sea, began to emit faint, low rumbles.
It was like a premonition of an approaching tidal wave.
Leveraging the omnipresent perception of the Land of Carefree Joy, Li Fan could sense a wisp of black Dao Annihilation qi materializing from nothing within the Dark Star Sea.
"Shou Qiu's projection is like a great dam holding back a flood. Now that I've only drawn upon a little of its power, the floodwaters are inevitably beginning to seep through."
Li Fan had anticipated this, but he hadn't expected the Dao Annihilation to arrive so swiftly.
With a single thought, Li Bueren shot up from the grand preceptor's chair.
His body trembled uncontrollably as he tried to break free from the aura of the mountain and sea, to mitigate the influence of Shou Qiu's projection as much as possible.
And with the intimidating presence of Shou Qiu's projection gone, Qian Ruochang and the Nothingness Immortal found they could move again.
But they did not leave hastily.
Seeing Ma Tiande's faint, enigmatic smile, they instinctively adopted a reserved posture.
After a moment of hesitation, they both bowed in salute.
They believed that an expert who could suppress them in an instant would not be toying with them for no reason.
At the same time, Qian Ruochang looked at this "newly promoted immortal boat" with a strange glint in his eyes. "It must be that his body has been possessed and is under control."
"This Transcendent World Coffin, can it truly allow one to transcend the world?"
Li Fan, controlling Ma Tiande's body, dispensed with pleasantries and cut straight to the point.
Qian Ruochang and the Nothingness Immortal were slightly taken aback.
"It can indeed transcend the world."
Qian Ruochang quickly composed himself and answered with certainty.
The Nothingness Immortal added, "It is said this coffin was crafted from the shed molt of a transcendent expert, which is why it can cross the Infinite Sea to the Other Shore. This is why I risked everything to rush inside at the final moment."
"I didn't expect to fall into a trap after all."
Hearing this, Qian Ruochang sneered. "It wasn't exactly a trap. If you hadn't shown up, I truly would have transcended."
Li Fan remained noncommittal regarding their argument.
Even without peering into his mind, he could sense a trace of disappointment in the Nothingness Immortal.
He must have used some method to confirm that the "senior" Li Fan was portraying was not, in fact, the Inscription Immortal.
Ignoring their inner thoughts, Li Fan simply emulated Shou Qiu's demeanor, clasping his hands behind his back and letting out a soft sigh.
"The great calamity is upon us. Is any place truly safe?"
"Transcending the world, transcending the world. It is but self-deception, moving from one puddle to another."
Qian Ruochang and the Nothingness Immortal did not seem surprised by Li Fan's words.
"We will eventually find the true Other Shore," the Nothingness Immortal said, his tone peculiar.
"Indeed. Unfortunately, with only seven million years remaining, it may not be enough time," Li Fan added, playing along.
Once more, he had Li Bueren invoke the power of Shou Qiu's projection, and with a gentle wave of his hand, he collected the Transcendent World Coffin.
Faced with Li Fan snatching their prize, neither Qian Ruochang nor the other dared to show any sign of dissent.
From their words, Li Fan surmised that perhaps Shuo Xinghai and the True Immortals knew more about the great calamity of this mortal world.
But as for the specific deadline, they were likely unaware.
Sure enough, the moment the words "seven million" left his lips, both of them could not hide the shock that rocked them to their core.
(End of Chapter)
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