Chapter 1497: Swallowing the Outer Dao Whole
Chapter 1497: Swallowing the Outer Dao Whole
After the Primordial Desolation Immortal Realm was formally established, standing tall upon the Upper Mountain, it began to undergo heaven-and-earth-shattering changes with every passing moment, blessed by the five Heavenly Emperors and the thirteen Dao marks.
With its connection to the Infinite Sea, there were no longer any constraints on energy. The official administrators of the Primordial Desolation Immortal Realm, appointed by Li Fan, could reshape the world to their hearts' content.
Consequently, the current Primordial Desolation Immortal Realm was vastly different from the one the being of chaos and namelessness had witnessed during the ceremony. The five celestial regions had each evolved with their own unique landscapes.
As the saying goes, when one person attains the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to the heavens. The strength of the beings within each celestial region grew with each passing day.
This scene of burgeoning vitality had indeed far exceeded the expectations of the immortals from Shuo Xinghai.
Although it couldn't compare in scale to the former Immortal Realm, in terms of sheer liveliness, it had already far surpassed it.
"It matters not. My Dao of Kindness is still effective. Even if they are numerous, we need only strike down their leader," the white-robed figure transmitted, sensing the wavering morale among his allies and moving quickly to reassure them.
The black cat on his shoulder chimed in, "As long as we can meet this Hidden Emperor, with the supreme treasure empowering us, he will be defeated on the spot, no matter what abilities he possesses. Capture the king to win the war, and the inhabitants of this immortal domain will become ours to command."
As they looked upon the Primordial Desolation Immortal Realm, greed once again kindled in their hearts.
After leading the immortals on a brief tour, the white-robed figure of Kindness bowed low toward the heavens. "Senior, your recreation of the Immortal Realm is a feat of unparalleled merit, perhaps comparable to the Four Sage Lords of the old realm, or even Shou Qiu Gong."
"We are filled with the utmost admiration and eagerly await the day we can gaze upon your heavenly visage..."
Seemingly pleased by the white-robed figure's flattery, all sorts of phenomena manifested within the Primordial Desolation Immortal Realm. A golden light descended like a rain of flowers, while the thirteen celestial marks gushed forth with resplendent, multicolored halos. A sound like the roaring of a sea breeze echoed from beyond the sky, resounding throughout the entire domain.
This was the sign of the Infinite Sea unleashing its boundless immortal power.
"Indeed, this Hidden Emperor holds the scepter of authority!" Among the immortals, Kindness and the other few Nameless Immortals could not hide their excitement.
"Ever since Emperor Tian Luo brought about the great calamity, the Immortal Realm was shattered and the Four Sages vanished. We thought the scepter of authority was lost forever. To think it would reappear in the hands of this Hidden Emperor from the lower realms... My friends, if we were to control this scepter, we could truly rebuild the Immortal Realm upon the Dao Net!"
"And it would be a mobile Immortal Realm, floating above the Dao Annihilation! We would never again have to fear its ravages!" the black cat's words were incredibly persuasive, laced with a kind of magical charm. The immortals who were still hesitant were now completely united in their resolve.
Kill the Hidden Emperor, seize the scepter!
"You may all ascend," a booming voice echoed from beyond the celestial curtain of the Primordial Desolation Immortal Realm. Perhaps due to the earlier flattery, the voice carried a distinct note of pride.
The moment the voice appeared, every sentient being within the Primordial Desolation Immortal Realm knelt to the ground. Even the five Heavenly Emperors in their celestial palaces manifested their forms and bowed in reverence to the true master of this realm.
The immortals from Shuo Xinghai were thus certain of the speaker's identity. It was undoubtedly the Hidden Emperor.
A silver road descended from beyond the sky, cascading down like a bolt of silk to appear before the assembled immortals.
Feeling the palpable envy from every being in the Primordial Desolation Immortal Realm, the immortals suppressed their excitement and stepped onto the path.
"Wait, Kindness, this road..."
"The Dao Net?"
"Hiss... Could it be that the Hidden Emperor has allies?"
The immortals from Shuo Xinghai voiced these questions because the Dao Net of their home was a collective creation of their own. To see a similar construct appear in the Primordial Desolation Immortal Realm naturally filled them with suspicion and alarm.
"There is no need to worry. It is merely a convergence of a few Dao paths. How could it possibly compare to our all-encompassing Dao Net? If he lacked such power, how could he have forged an entire immortal domain?" Kindness said, calming their fears.
After exchanging a look with the black cat on his shoulder, however, his expression grew much more serious.
The immortals followed the celestial road, vanishing from the envious sight of the inhabitants of the Primordial Desolation Immortal Realm.
The next moment, they found themselves in a field of absolute darkness.
This darkness, of unknown origin and substance, was so profound that it completely shielded the immortals' senses.
They were suddenly rendered blind, unable to discern direction.
"Senior, where are you?" Though startled, the immortals did not panic, gathering around Kindness.
They received no response.
Only a dead silence awaited them in the dark.
"Brother Kindness, something feels wrong," one of the immortals warned.
The black cat suddenly shrieked, "It's Dao Annihilation!"
After a moment of stunned silence, the immortals looked at the encompassing blackness and were jolted into realization.
The aura of the surrounding darkness felt just like that of a ruined region cleansed by Dao Annihilation, of the same origin. It wasn't exactly the same, which was why they had failed to recognize it at first.
The immortals now understood that they had walked into a trap.
But these were beings who had survived the calamities of ancient times. Faced with a true crisis, they did not fall into disarray.
"He dares not show his true self and resorts to such theatrics. This only proves his weakness."
"Friend, please use the supreme treasure!"
...
The immortals wore varied expressions, but most looked toward the black cat on Kindness's shoulder.
Although the Nameless Immortal Kindness maintained a calm facade, a wave of doubt surged uncontrollably within him.
His power of Kindness had clearly not failed. In fact, its effect on their surroundings had remained constant from the very beginning. So why did the Hidden Emperor's attitude change so drastically the moment they entered this space?
"Could it be... that he was never under my influence from the start? That he intended to lure us in here?"
Once the thought took root, it was impossible to dismiss.
A chill began to creep into Kindness's heart.
The Dao of Kindness he had mastered was formidable, indeed. Anyone unable to resist its influence was left utterly defenseless before him, to be dealt with as he pleased.
But conversely, if his opponent could ignore it...
Then he, a Nameless True Immortal, was nothing more than a lamb for the slaughter.
Just as he was about to consult with the being on his shoulder, a cold voice suddenly echoed from the darkness.
"Since you were so eager to see me..."
"...then I shall grant your wish."
The darkness gradually receded, and the celestial pillars that had been hidden within it came into the immortals' view.
They stretched from the heavens to the earth, standing in desolate solitude, as if recounting some tragic history.
Gazing at the celestial pillars before them, a bone-deep chill arose from the immortals' hearts.
They stared in disbelief. "Is that... the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar?! Impossible! Wasn't it utterly destroyed along with the Tàilí Star Domain and the Cāngshēng Ancient Realm in the Dao Annihilation?"
"Is this pillar the one of Hunger?"
"And this one... I can't sense it at all!"
Panic began to take hold of the immortals.
Primal, Hunger Immortal, Tiandu Grandmaster, Si Tu Xing.
The four celestial pillars were like four heavy hammers, slamming violently into their hearts.
And there, surrounded by the four pillars, stood a figure in quiet stillness.
He observed the immortals as one might observe livestock in a cage, awaiting slaughter.
Being watched with such eyes filled the immortals with a mixture of rage and terror.
"There is no need to panic. Watch me capture him!"
The black cat's twin green eyes locked onto Li Fan, a faint hint of mockery in their depths.
It then leaped into the air, closing the distance to Li Fan in an instant.
Two dazzling green lights shot from its eyes.
They transformed into a saber and a sword.
In a flash of lightning, they had already surrounded Li Fan.
The black cat's sudden assault was within Li Fan's expectations, but the green saber and sword that shot from its eyes were something else entirely.
Because Li Fan discovered that the protective Boundless Power that wreathed his body was completely ineffective against this pair of green blades!
Goosebumps instantly erupted across his skin as his heart hammered a frantic warning.
"A Dao from outside the Primal Possibility?"
In that single moment, Li Fan understood.
He vaguely saw within the green saber and sword a vision of a dead world, a world of nothing but artifacts. It was as if it had suffered an apocalyptic calamity that had wiped out all life, leaving behind only countless broken blades.
After an unknown number of years, these artifacts, steeped in the silence of the dead cosmos, instinctively began to emulate their former masters.
They gradually came to occupy the myriad Dao paths.
The war of Daos between artifacts was even more brutal than that of mortals.
There were no emotional factors, only a relentless, unending conflict.
As the artifacts endlessly fought and fused...
Eventually, in that cold, desolate cosmos, only a single saber and a single sword remained!
The Dao Sword and Dao Saber!
Like the Transformation Dao Stone Mother, what the black cat had just unleashed was the complete manifestation of a Great Dao from another possibility!
Though it came from a dead possibility ravaged by calamity, it was nonetheless the fusion of a complete Dao.
As the green blades closed in, Li Fan found himself in what seemed to be a hopeless situation.
Two streams of frigid, murderous intent had already locked onto him completely.
It felt as though no array, no divine ability, no Daoist art could possibly block the attack of this saber and sword!
"No wonder this group of True Immortals was so confident, even after learning everything about the Primordial Desolation Immortal Realm. So insistent on challenging me."
"With this Dao Sword and Dao Saber in hand, the five Heavenly Emperors I created would likely be slain in an instant, turned into nothing more than nourishment for the blades' growth."
Having grown through mutual slaughter, the Dao Sword and Dao Saber had an almost instinctual desire to slay and devour other Daos.
Li Fan could almost feel the avarice, the excited craving, emanating from the pair of faintly glowing green blades.
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind in a single instant as the blades drew ever closer.
With no time left to spare, at the very last moment, Li Fan made the most fitting decision.
The green saber and sword whistled as they passed through his body.
Their immense aura caused the space between the pillars to roil and boil.
Even the four great celestial pillars seemed to be affected, trembling ceaselessly.
However...
Under the watchful eyes of the Shuo Xinghai immortals, the figure of the Hidden Emperor remained standing, unmoved.
He even reached out a hand, slowly stroking the green saber and sword beside him.
"Kuixing? What's going on?" Kindness's expression changed dramatically, his composure finally breaking as he questioned the black cat on his shoulder.
The black cat wore a look of utter disbelief.
After unleashing the Dao Sword and Dao Saber, its spirit was already greatly weakened. Now, seeing the enemy completely unharmed by its ultimate attack, it was filled with an unspeakable terror and bewilderment.
Unwilling to give up, the black cat tried to command the Dao Sword and Dao Saber to strike the enemy again.
But for some unknown reason, the figure seemed to not exist in this world. No matter how heaven-defying and destructive the power of the Dao Sword and Dao Saber was, it simply could not harm him in the slightest!
This situation was completely beyond its comprehension!
...
Li Fan paid no mind to the completely panicked immortals. Under the protection of Fantasy Becomes Truth, he continued to stroke the pair of green blades beside him.
Just now, in that moment of crisis, he had decisively activated this protective ability of Truth.
He had become the saber and sword themselves.
A moment later, the warning in his heart vanished completely.
The pervasive, murderous green light could no longer harm him.
Just as when he had merged with the Infinite Sea and could freely command its boundless power, he had now become a part of these blades.
However sharp a blade may be, how could it possibly cut itself?
"So it is, a Dao path from another possibility."
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, sensing the completely alien aura from this pair of green blades.
It was like the Dao Origin he had encountered in Shuo Xinghai. It seemed to be a completely unfamiliar system.
But at its core, it was still just a variation of the Great Dao under different circumstances.
"Today, my Myriad Forms Dao Net shall have a taste of this exotic flavor."
The power of the Ink Death immortal soul swarmed out from Li Fan's body.
Under the cover of Fantasy Becomes Truth, it pounced eagerly upon the Dao Sword and Dao Saber.
Since it was a manifestation of the Great Dao, it could not escape the erosion of Dao Annihilation.
Once its offensive power was nullified, the Dao Sword and Dao Saber were nothing more than a meal for the Myriad Forms Dao Net of Ink Death.
Just as Li Fan was devouring this collection of Daos from another possibility...
The immortals from Shuo Xinghai finally awoke as if from a dream.
The black cat, in particular, shrieked again and again, "Stop him! He's devouring my treasure!"
Though they were in a desperate situation, the immortals did not choose to sit and await their doom.
They unleashed their full array of divine abilities, attacking Li Fan in unison.
But all their techniques vanished completely upon coming within ten meters of Li Fan's body!
This bizarre phenomenon was, once again, beyond the immortals' comprehension.
But the Nameless Immortals among the group seemed to vaguely recognize something.
The black cat named Kuixing stopped its screaming. Though filled with endless reluctance, it could only accept its fate. The green light completely faded, as if something had departed from the black cat.
"Boundless..."
"Great Venerable..." Kindness trembled, his gaze fixed on Li Fan, now a void of ashen despair.
Though there are three thousand Great Daos in the world, one that could ignore the attacks of all other paths like this...
Could only be the legendary Boundless Great Dao, which existed before the birth of Heaven!
It was said to have been taken in and sheltered by a Sage Lord.
Even the ruling Immortal Emperors of every era had to treat it with the utmost solemnity. It was truly beyond precious!
To think that today, the target of their hunt would be Him!
At this moment, Kindness's heart was filled with nothing but endless regret.
Of course, the scepter of authority was bestowed by the Sage Lords. Now that the Immortal Realm was shattered and the Immortal Emperors had fallen, who else but a disciple from a Sage Lord's lineage could possibly wield that authority?
"Great Venerable, quell your anger! Great Venerable, quell your anger!"
Plunged into complete despair, Kindness suddenly seemed to grasp at a life-saving straw, pleading repeatedly.
(End of Chapter)
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