Chapter 1473: The Primal Bone Pillar
It was a resurrection from dry bones, the rebirth of a Nameless True Immortal long thought fallen.
Light flickered and warped, and from the overlapping bones of the True Immortal, a hazy figure materialized.
The immortal domain warped around the figure, twisting violently from its epicenter. It was as if this Nameless being was actively repelling every law of the Great Dao that composed the domain.
Yet Li Fan, peering through the power of Shou Qiu Gong's phantom, saw something more. The Nameless figure was not merely repelling. After distinctly detaching itself from the Dao of the immortal domain, it began to silently transform everything it touched, absorbing it into its very being.
To say it was "absorbing" was not quite right. "Transforming" was a far more accurate description.
The vanished sections of the immortal domain had not been consumed by the Nameless Immortal. Rather, under the influence of some inscrutable power, they had been converted into something of the same essential nature as the figure itself.
This was identical to the scene Li Fan had witnessed once before: the first unfolding of the immortal domain, the appearance of the wordless stele.
All creation returned to its primordial state, back to the wordless stele; the very evolution of the Dao reversed, flowing back to its origin!
In that instant, Li Fan saw with perfect clarity the Dao this Nameless Immortal embodied.
The weight of that single word needed no explanation.
It could reforge earth, fire, water, and wind, returning an entire world to its nascent state.
The celestial pillar, once a bulwark against the regional Dao Annihilation, had revealed its true form, transforming into the very source of a vortex that devoured the immortal domain.
The rate at which the immortal domain was being devoured was far quicker than Li Fan had anticipated.
What truly chilled Li Fan was that as the power of the Primal Dao saturated the space, the Nameless Immortal's figure began to blur once more, as if it might escape from this phantom realm at any second.
Even with the sight granted by Shou Qiu Gong's phantom, he was beginning to lose his grasp on the Primal's exact location.
Knowing that hesitation would invite disaster, Li Fan acted.
From the Grand Preceptor's chair, a light erupted as if from a trillion simultaneous supernovae. The projected Dao Net of his clone, Li Buren, flared into a sphere of blinding white brilliance.
And within the phantom space, a pair of immense, tangible hands descended from nowhere.
They manifested from illusion into reality, violently seizing the Primal entity at the heart of the disintegrating immortal domain.
The struggle was brief, lasting only a few moments before a victor emerged.
And in that confrontation, Li Fan gleaned a few clues about the nature of the powers involved.
The Primal Dao represented the very beginning. Though sacred and elusive, it was still a manifestation of the Dao's power.
The aura of Shou Qiu Gong's power, however, felt closer to the concept of the Mountain and Sea. Before it, even the Primal Dao—which held a transcendent status among the three thousand Great Daos—was forced into submission.
"Even if these bones represent only a fraction of the Primal's power, what's contending with it is merely a phantom left by Shou Qiu Gong."
"From the changes I'm seeing, it's clear that Shou Qiu Gong's strength surpasses that of the Primal."
"Shou Qiu gazing at the sea..."
To single-handedly resist a calamity capable of annihilating the Great Dao itself... this was clearly beyond the upper limits of any mere cultivator seeking enlightenment.
"Only the mountain can command the sea."
"But what, exactly, is this 'Mountain'?"
The arrival of the Primal phantom had been world-shaking, yet its suppression was utterly silent.
Under Li Buren's precise manipulation, the tangible hands compressed the phantom, along with the remnants of the immortal domain and the fragments of the wordless stele, into a single, solitary stone pillar.
He then hurled the pillar toward the region within the High Wall's experimental starfield where the black miasma of Dao Annihilation appeared most frequently.
The effect was immediate.
The unsettling, subtle fluctuations vanished in an instant, as if they had never been there at all.
The black miasma of Dao Annihilation, which should only have intensified, began to dissipate like a river cut off from its source.
"As expected of the Primal," Li Fan thought. "It occupies a crucial position among the countless laws of the universe. Its ability to stave off the Dao Annihilation is even better than I imagined."
"No wonder it was chosen as the material for the Southern Celestial Pillar." Li Fan observed the newly formed Dao Pillar.
Only a few moments after its initial appearance, the pillar had already dissolved into the Great Dao of the world, like ice melting into water.
It was now invisible to the naked eye.
Even Li Fan's true self could only vaguely perceive that something was amiss in that region of space, but he could not probe its true nature.
Only by borrowing Shou Qiu Gong's vision could he see it clearly.
"Besides the Southern Celestial Pillar, the others might also contain the nameless bones of Daos as profound as the Primal."
"These must be the husks left behind after a Nameless being transcended."
From the memories of Qian Ruochang and the Faceless Immortal, Li Fan had gleaned many secrets.
When a True Immortal transcends, breaking free from the shackles of the world's Great Dao, the Dao they embodied ceases to exist within that possibility.
This was one of the reasons Li Fan had previously suspected was behind the Dao Annihilation Calamity.
But clearly, not all these masters who had reached the apex of the True Immortal stage were completely indifferent to the fate of those left behind.
"According to Qian Ruochang, before they transcended, they would leave behind husks, phantoms, or treasures to shoulder some of the responsibilities of the missing Great Dao."
"The contents of these celestial pillars must be the remnants left by those ancient transcended True Immortals."
"However, compared to Shou Qiu Gong's method of [Shadow Projection for Dao Bearing], this approach of leaving behind a physical husk seems..."
Li Fan contemplated the pillar, recalling how the Primal bones had seemed conscious, as if wanting to follow him through the [Return to True]. He also remembered how, when the two identical sets of bones merged, a figure of the Primal itself had begun to manifest.
"It's not a completely separate existence like the Dao-bearing phantom. Even if it can be cast aside for a time, eventually..."
Li Fan mused thoughtfully, "After the lesser transcendence of escaping a single possibility, there is the greater transcendence—the unification of countless possibilities. That is true transcendence."
"To take that final step, I suspect one must reclaim all the pieces they've left behind."
Understanding dawned on Li Fan.
This was likely why some transcended True Immortals were unwilling to leave anything behind to stabilize the Dao.
As Li Fan considered this, the after-effects of invoking the power of Shou Qiu Gong's phantom finally faded completely.
Just as he had predicted, the two sets of Primal bones, now acting as a celestial pillar, shouldered a portion of the pressure borne by the Dao-bearing phantom.
Li Fan perceived the change. "To quantify it, I can now freely call upon power roughly equivalent to one and one-third sets of the Primal bones."
"I only need to account for the resulting metaphysical changes to Li Buren, without fearing that the heavens will suddenly collapse and the Dao Annihilation Calamity will descend."
"Of course, as time goes on, the pressure from the Dao Annihilation will inevitably increase, and the amount of power I can wield will gradually diminish."
Nevertheless, Li Fan was quite satisfied with the outcome.
"In other words, if I can capture another Nameless True Immortal to serve as a pillar, I can free up even more of this power."
"Until I can completely liberate the power of Shou Qiu Gong's phantom."
As Li Fan was lost in this fantasy, the dreadful state of Li Buren's divine sense snapped him back to reality.
Having repeatedly channeled the power of Shou Qiu Gong's phantom, Li Buren had suffered an erosion of power that far exceeded his limits.
Li Fan focused his consciousness on his clone's projected Dao Net. In a sudden trance, he thought he saw the figure itself—the one with its back turned, guarding the mound and gazing at the sea.
He broke out in a cold sweat before shaking himself free of the vision.
"Even if Shou Qiu's phantom bears no malice, channeling it so frequently is like being forced into a mold by an immense external power. My clone is deforming uncontrollably, from the inside out."
"It's analogous to when Su Bai used my clone to descend into the mortal world."
Realizing he couldn't rush things, Li Fan decided against channeling Shou Qiu's phantom again anytime soon.
"Unless I face a situation I can't control."
"For now, I need to get back to basics. First, I have to restore my clone to its original state."
This wasn't particularly difficult for Li Fan.
With his true self as an anchor, he could make comparisons and meticulously excise the influence of Shou Qiu Gong, like carving flesh from bone.
It was simply a tedious and time-consuming process.
"Once the restoration is complete, I'll need to find a way to strengthen the clone's resilience."
"Otherwise, even with this nameless power at my disposal, the duration I can wield it will be limited."
On that front, Li Fan already had a faint idea.
Shou Qiu Gong's power seemed to originate from the Mountain and Sea.
And only the Mountain and Sea can command the Mountain and Sea.
Coincidentally, Li Fan possessed something that had a tenuous connection to the "Sea".
"The power of the Ink Death spirit."
Although he had integrated with the Dao of Ink Death by devouring its celestial spirit and could now freely wield its mysterious power...
...Li Fan had never fully understood the fundamental nature of that power.
But now, having absorbed Shou Qiu Gong's insights from over a hundred eons of gazing at the sea, Li Fan had a vague inkling.
The projected Dao Net within Li Buren's divine sense was warped and distorted, as if it had been violently overstretched. It had even become temporarily disconnected from his true self.
Li Fan didn't rush to intervene personally. He remained calm and composed, like a general in his command tent.
He slowly began to restore the projected Dao Net, simultaneously infusing threads of Ink Death's power into the clone's repaired divine sense.
"The black miasma is the harbinger of the coming Dao Annihilation."
"It's like the spray kicked up when the sea crashes against a mountain."
"Or perhaps," Li Fan's eyes glinted, "it is a sign of the Mountain and Sea merging."
As he infused the inky threads, the once pure and dazzling projected Dao Net seemed to acquire a shadowy, black border.
It still reflected all the Great Daos of the heavens,
...but there was something new, something different about it.
In his instinctive perception, the projected net had become... sturdier.
But Li Fan wasn't in a hurry to test it.
Instead, he continued the process over and over, like an artist repeatedly tracing the lines of a drawing to make them bolder.
Under this repeated reinforcement, his clone Li Buren's divine sense transformed completely from illusory to tangible.
His entire body now seemed to be composed of the manifested Dao Net.
The power of Ink Death served as its flesh and blood.
Under Li Fan's meticulous craftsmanship, a brand-new body was finally complete.
Li Buren clenched his fists. Although he no longer possessed a body forged from an immortal domain and felt ostensibly weaker,
...he could clearly feel that he had become far more durable.
He looked toward the experimental starfield, at the few lingering wisps of Dao Annihilation miasma.
Expressionless, Li Buren opened his mouth wide and swallowed the dissipating clouds of black miasma whole.
The roiling black miasma, potent enough to annihilate anything in the world, churned within his stomach.
Li Buren felt only a searing pain.
His body, however, did not dissolve.
His previous body, forged from the fragments of an immortal domain, could never have withstood such a thing.
"Just as I thought."
His theory was confirmed. Li Fan experienced the turmoil churning within his clone's belly.
"The clash of Mountain and Sea."
His thoughts drifted back to the long eons recorded in the [Shou Qiu Prose].
He watched the boundless ocean relentlessly assaulting the mountain beneath him.
Each collision between the two brought about some change in the mortal world.
"A pity. Shou Qiu's legacy was divided among the other players in the immortal domain. Otherwise, I might have been able to glimpse the true essence of the Mountain and Sea." After a long period of observation and contemplation, he still came up empty.
Li Fan had no choice but to regretfully withdraw from that profound state.
The Mountain and Sea were clearly not of this mortal world.
Yet even that immersive contemplation had brought about a corresponding change in Li Fan.
The most direct was his lifespan.
After entering the half-immortal realm, Li Fan's lifespan had become effectively infinite, equivalent to that of this mortal world: seven million, three hundred and sixty thousand years.
While not a fixed number—it fluctuated based on his actions—the changes were usually minor, on the order of thousands, hundreds, or even less.
But now, that lifespan had suddenly plummeted.
It had been slashed by a third!
Li Fan stared at the number, his expression growing strange.
"Logically, the stronger I become, the higher the probability that I can save this entire mortal world."
"In theory, this lifespan number should have skyrocketed."
"Why is it that after I glimpsed the mystery of the Mountain and Sea, the future existence of the entire world has been drastically shortened?"
Li Fan was utterly baffled.
But it was clearly not a good omen.
Li Fan did not press on.
"It seems the secrets of the Mountain and Sea are beyond my reach for now."
"I should focus on perfecting my clone's body and increasing its resilience first."
"If I can fully unleash the power of Shou Qiu Gong's phantom, it should be enough for me to dominate this fractured possibility."
As it stood, the phantom's power in the experimental field was like a scale. To draw upon the power of Shou Qiu, Li Fan had to first place an equal weight on the other side.
"Right now, I can freely wield the power of one and one-third sets of the Primal bones. The Primal Dao, the immortal of myriad paths... even as mere skeletal remains, its power should not be much weaker than that of an ordinary Nameless True Immortal."
"And if that proves insufficient, I can always unleash more of Shou Qiu's power."
Li Fan began to contemplate his next target.
There were few Nameless True Immortals whose identities were currently known.
First, Li Fan's gaze fell upon the Immortal Ruins beyond the Xuanhuang Realm.
Besides the Hunger Immortal, who was on the verge of becoming a Nameless True Immortal, there was the power beneath her—likely a remnant left by the previous Hunger Immortal to stave off the Dao Annihilation.
Although the Hunger Immortal was being unknowingly trampled under the foot of Evil Su Bai,
...with Li Fan's current strength, plotting against her would still require meticulous planning.
And Li Fan didn't just want to capture a True Immortal at her current level of power.
He was far more ambitious. He wanted to capture the true [Hunger Immortal], one who had achieved the Nameless realm.
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