Chapter 1485: Fishing for Xing Wuque
The phenomena discovered in the depths of the Gloomy Sea of Darkness suggested that the Xuanhuang Realm possessed a remarkable degree of "malleability." After nearly ten thousand years situated beside the Immortal Ruins, the prolonged exposure had left its mark. Even now, long after it had moved away, the world itself had yet to fully recover from the Immortal Ruins' influence.
"The extraction of spirituality from the living beings of the Xuanhuang Realm, I estimate, will continue for another century or so before the trend finally reverses."
"This slight reduction in spirituality, in truth, has little impact on those with low to moderate talent. Their cultivation ceiling is already fixed; a little less spirituality makes no difference. On the contrary, it is the prodigies who must maintain their integrity. The principle is the same as when the Tiandu Grandmaster turned to stone after I severed his spirituality completely."
Li Fan set up a formation in the now-empty Gloomy Sea of Darkness to collect these intangible spiritual substances as they were extracted. He would use a portion for his own research, while the rest would be dedicated to nurturing the Xuanhuang Realm's most gifted talents.
The plan to fuse myriad forms through Dao Annihilation had gotten off to a magnificent start, thanks to the Grandmaster's gift. However, opportunities to effortlessly and harmlessly devour so many Dao principles would be nearly impossible to come by in the future. And for Li Fan to comprehend them one by one on his own was simply too slow.
Relying on the many prodigies of the Xuanhuang Realm was, therefore, the best option.
Long before he had even become a demi-immortal, Li Fan had borrowed the insights of Xuanhuang's prodigies to comprehend the Dao. Now, he was simply returning to his old methods.
"The only problem was that the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm was incomplete. It couldn't compare to the complete version in the [Primal] possibility, and it was far inferior even to the Dao principles present within the Darkest Star Sea."
After a moment of contemplation, Li Fan had an idea.
A figure materialized in the Annihilation Zone beyond the High Wall—an incarnation Li Fan had formed by harnessing the power of Shou Qiu's phantom.
Like others before, its body was constructed from a projection of the Dao Net.
However, this figure was merely meant to "pave the way," so he hadn't bothered to refine it with flesh and blood; it was a being of pure energy.
The incarnation flew steadily away from the Annihilation Zone until it reached a certain distance from the High Wall and abruptly stopped. "This is the maximum range of Shou Qiu's phantom power," it noted. "Hmm... I still haven't left the Annihilation Zone. I'm still within the region where the Great Dao has withered."
The figure took stock of its surroundings and continued its slow flight forward. Countless threads streamed from its body, like the strings of the Dao Net itself, weaving a road of[Dao]through the dim, starless expanse.
It was as if he were forging a tentacle for Shou Qiu's phantom within the High Wall, allowing its power to extend far out into the cosmos.
Of course, this was not Li Fan's primary objective.
Had he been willing to ignore the Dao Annihilation pressure on the High Wall and forcefully increase his draw on Shou Qiu's phantom, Li Fan could have extended its power this far regardless.
His true goal was to use this road of[Dao]to complete the fragmented Great Dao within the High Wall.
The road of Dao extended ever onward, finally emerging from the Annihilation Zone and establishing a connection with the Shuo Xinghai.
Li Fan had been contemplating how to avoid the notice of the Shuo Xinghai's Dao Net, but upon closer inspection, he discovered that it had actually retracted, pulling back from this border region of the star sea.
Observing from a distance, he saw no signs that the Dao Net had suffered any heavy damage. In fact, it seemed even brighter and more profound than before.
"They're likely doing it to show some respect to the nameless Immortal Emperor I'm impersonating."
Though merely a gesture of courtesy, it inadvertently made things much easier for Li Fan. Sensing the relatively intact Great Daos of the heavens within the Shuo Xinghai, rays of light began to separate from the incarnation's form.
As if woven by a pair of impossibly nimble hands, a miniature Dao Net took shape in the void in just a few moments.
Compared to the true Dao Net of the Shuo Xinghai, this miniature version was sparse and dilapidated, for it was supported entirely by the numerous Ink Death Dao aspects within Li Fan.
He had the Grandmaster's ten thousand years of accumulated insight to thank; otherwise, with his own comprehension alone, Li Fan might not have been able to weave this net at all.
The miniature Dao Net was merely a conduit, its purpose to channel the complete Great Daos from the Shuo Xinghai to the sanctuary within the High Wall.
Transforming the road into a net was simply a way to increase the efficiency of the transfer.
Li Fan was not greedy. The miniature Dao Net occupied only a small portion of the star sea just beyond the Annihilation Zone before he halted its expansion.
"This level of efficiency will suffice."
With a single thought, his consciousness returned to the Xuanhuang Realm. Above it, he wove another Dao Net.
The aura of a complete Great Dao from beyond the High Wall began to trickle through the net.
It was injecting new life into the Xuanhuang Realm and the entire Darkest Star Sea.
This was no crude infusion of life force or immortal energy; it was a fundamental repair, mending the countless wounds left by the Dao Annihilation from the inside out. Though its essence was merely robbing Peter to pay Paul, for this pocket of the star sea within the High Wall, it was nothing short of a rebirth.
Threads of grateful consciousness, born from the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm and the very source of the Darkest Star Sea, emerged.
They gathered together by the Dao Net that was Li Fan's incarnation, ravenously absorbing the "complete" Dao from the outside world.
At a speed perceptible to the senses, this star sea, which had been parched for ten thousand years, began to fill with richness once more.
The backdrop of the [Primal] possibility was still an apocalyptic world threatened by the Dao Annihilation Calamity. The total amount of Dao remained constant; if it became abundant in one place, it must have become depleted somewhere else.
To delay the outside world's discovery of his little project for as long as possible, Li Fan proactively closed the conduit after a short while.
Ignoring the multitude of thoughts arising from the Xuanhuang Realm and the Darkest Star Sea, Li Fan immersed himself in comprehending the Great Dao from beyond the High Wall.
Using his own being as a road of [Dao], he actively received the myriad Daos of the heavens. What he saw, felt, and understood was utterly different from his time as a mortal individual.
Li Fan could now see the holes within the Great Dao with far greater clarity.
Positions where [Dao] should have existed were now vacant for one reason or another, a truly shocking and unsettling sight.
Although the Dao within the High Wall seemed "vibrant with life" compared to the Dao-annihilated Darkest Star Sea...
Behind this vitality, Li Fan perceived the melancholy of a setting sun. It was like a dying old man, his frailty and decay on full display.
"If I can see this so clearly with just my miniature Dao Net, how could those people in the Shuo Xinghai possibly be unaware of the situation!" Li Fan couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
He gazed at his neighbor in the distance, that vast and obscure Dao Net.
Their progress in cooperating with the True Immortals didn't seem to be going very smoothly. Compared to the last time Li Fan had peeked, only three or five new Dao-Bearing Phantoms had been added. He didn't know if the remaining True Immortals were unwilling, or if there were simply too few of them left.
Li Fan had no time to worry about them for now. He focused all his efforts on digesting his gains from the Darkest Star Sea.
Slowly peeling away the past memories of the Hunger Immortal's Celestial Pillar, allowing Li Buren to construct a true body of flesh and blood with the Myriad Aspects of Dao Annihilation, and leveraging the beings of the Xuanhuang Realm to comprehend the Star Sea's Great Dao...
Li Fan was about to enter a long period of accumulation and development.
Fortunately, the High Wall's existence made the Darkest Star Sea a natural sanctuary, free from outside disturbances.
Time flowed on.
The Darkest Star Sea was no longer dark. Pinpricks of light, signs of life, began to emerge in every corner.
This change was first and most apparent in the subterranean river in the basin beneath the Darkest Star Sea.
At the river's lowest point, the long-tranquil river of life force once again began to roar and churn. Droplets of life force, drawn from every corner of the star sea, converged into a river and poured into this place.
The roiling, majestic life force attracted a certain presence within the subterranean river.
It was the [Shadow of the Nameless Immortal], formed from the fluctuations of the Hunger Immortal's ascension, which had been recorded by the river.
Bearing no resemblance to the Hunger Immortal himself, it was merely a ghostly black shadow.
It existed in a state of ignorance, having stood silently since its birth. Only when the life force in the river began to surge did it instinctively gravitate toward the most vibrant point.
Like a great whale drawing in water, the Shadow of the Nameless Immortal inhaled all the splashing life force into its mouth.
Its form, once so thin it seemed ready to dissipate at any moment, gradually solidified.
After standing by the river of life for a long time, the black shadow had become as solid as a real person.
But after accomplishing this, it made no further moves. As if having lost its purpose, it simply stood there as before, a silent sentinel beside the roaring river.
And Li Fan's consciousness, which was secretly observing this figure, waited with great patience.
If the enemy doesn't move, I don't move.
As the saying goes, how can one sleep peacefully with a stranger by their bed? Until he had completely eliminated the hidden dangers within the Darkest Star Sea, how could Li Fan possibly enter seclusion with peace of mind?
Right now, almost all the hidden dangers in the Darkest Star Sea had been dealt with.
Aside from the Fishing Pond, which he didn't want to handle just yet, the only thing left was this newly born Shadow of the Nameless Immortal in the subterranean river.
He had long left a trace of his divine sense to monitor it, so its strange movements had naturally not escaped his notice.
The Shadow of the Nameless Immortal was not a true living being, after all.
It couldn't prevent the life force it had absorbed from dissipating.
As it stood like a stone statue, its life force slowly weakened with the passage of time.
Seemingly unable to bear the loss of life force any longer, a hidden shadow finally made its move.
A fragmented mask, as if severely eroded by time, shot out from the depths of the subterranean river.
It headed straight for the Shadow of the Nameless Immortal.
After rushing into the shadow, it thrashed about like a mindless beast, causing the shadow to ripple violently.
Amidst a series of hair-raising chewing sounds, the shadow's fluctuations slowly subsided.
And the mask, in turn, settled upon the face of the Nameless Immortal's shadow.
He glanced at the vast reservoir of life force not far away, and a wave of greed surged within him.
He opened his mouth slightly, about to inhale it all.
Just then...
A hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.
"Where did this thief come from?"
"Daring to steal what is mine." The voice was calm, yet carried an innate authority.
The figure instantly froze. It instinctively wanted to flee, but it felt as if a range of mountains was pressing down on its shoulder.
It couldn't move at all!
"Damn it! This is someone else's Dao shadow, after all. If it were my own body..." Before he could finish the thought, the world spun around him, and he found himself captured and brought into a strange, unknown space.
Two towering stone pillars stood alone before him.
The figure looked at the pillars, and a sudden sense of foreboding washed over him.
"That is..."
After a moment of recognition, the figure began to tremble uncontrollably.
Of course he recognized what was before him. It was precisely because he feared becoming an immortal sealed within a pillar that he had paid a great price to secretly send an incarnation to the lower realm, seeking a way to avert this calamity.
He never imagined the disaster would come so suddenly. In the face of that cataclysmic Dao Annihilation tide, even with his main body's immense power, he could do nothing but cry out in vain as he turned to ash. The corrosion of the Dao Annihilation even spread to his incarnation.
His spirit was nearly annihilated, leaving only a remnant of consciousness. He couldn't move, forced to remain in lonely isolation within this river of life he himself had carved out.
"If I hadn't completely shielded the incarnation's self-awareness to avoid detection back then, I wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state," he had lamented to himself during his long years lying in the river.
But compared to the countless True Immortals and that [Heavenly Net Emperor] who perished in the great calamity of the Immortal Realm, the fact that he still had a wisp of consciousness remaining was a stroke of incredible luck amidst misfortune.
Originally, he could only slowly accumulate power and pray that the Dao Annihilation Calamity wouldn't reach him before he could move again.
Until not long ago, he sensed the fluctuations of a Nameless True Immortal ascending above.
To think that so many years after the Immortal Realm's destruction, a new Nameless True Immortal would be born. He was shocked, terrified, and overjoyed all at once.
He was overjoyed because perhaps the Immortal Realm hadn't been completely wiped out. Otherwise, where did this Nameless True Immortal come from?
He was terrified that the other would discover him.
Although only a fragment of his former self remained, and his past memories were mottled and incomplete...
He had, after all, once been Nameless.
If the other was overcome by greed and decided to devour and refine him...
Torn by apprehension, he ultimately chose to gamble.
He mobilized all the power he had accumulated and activated the creature-form within the subterranean river he had created.
He recorded the shadow of that ascending Nameless Immortal.
"With this Dao shadow, I can turn my predicament around!"
The thought that he could finally be reborn made him feel a bit dazed.
His experiences over the past ten thousand years had been simply too torturous.
After risking everything and using up all his accumulated power, he fell into an unprecedented state of weakness.
He could no longer even sense the movements of the Nameless True Immortal above.
But as he gazed from afar at the shadow of the Nameless True Immortal he had crafted, he felt it was all worth it.
"This place gathers countless streams of life force. If I wait a while longer until I can move again, I can control the Dao shadow to absorb it all. Escaping this hellhole shouldn't be a problem."
He had planned it all out perfectly.
And it seemed his luck was finally turning. The long-calm river of life suddenly began to surge.
It wasn't just life force.
There was also the sign of the Great Dao becoming full and abundant!
For a Nameless True Immortal like him, trapped in a desperate situation, this was even more important.
Although the Nameless True Immortal's main body had vanished in the Dao Annihilation, his comprehension of the Great Dao remained.
By absorbing life force and Dao principles, he could recover from his injuries almost instantly. While he might not return to the state of being Nameless, reconnecting to the Infinite Sea and restoring his strength as a True Immortal should be no problem.
Comments