Chapter 1538: The Bifurcating Immortal Seed
Chapter 1538: The Bifurcating Immortal Seed
"The idea was sound, but unfortunately, he failed to grasp his own place in the grand scheme of things," Li Fan remarked.
The starry sky of the Great Dao he had revealed on that thin plate was simply too far beyond the mortal coil, surpassing the very limits of what any Xuanhuang Realm cultivator could even conceive.
To an ant on the ground, there is naturally no discernible difference between the first heaven and the thirty-third.
The old Daoist believed he had merely missed out on a method for achieving immortality. He had no idea that what he had truly passed up was a grand path leading straight to the Other Shore.
"For now, he still clings to his pride. Perhaps only in his final moments, on the brink of death, will he come to be filled with endless regret," Li Fan mused, shaking his head slightly.
To Li Fan, walking his own path and learning from other powerful beings were not mutually exclusive endeavors.
He could learn the transformation of truth and falsehood from the [Truth], comprehend the infinite immortal law from the Mountain and Sea, and study the Great Dao of Longevity from Shou Qiu. None of this hindered him from ultimately walking his own path.
Even the sect masters of the Ten Great Sects were, to Li Fan, nothing more than insignificant ants in a single drop from the vast river of time. They were not worthy of his excessive attention.
With a subtle nudge of his fingers, the scales of victory began to tip steadily in favor of the Taiyuan Realm.
The "anomalous malfunction" of the Taiyuan Rebirth Furnace seemed to have finally been repaired. In fact, its revival efficiency was now even greater than before. Although the reason for this bizarre phenomenon was unclear, it didn't stop the Taiyuan Realm cultivators from seizing this golden opportunity to launch a swift counterattack, hoping to secure their victory.
The Xuanhuang cultivators on the battlefield immediately felt the pressure intensify.
For the past six months, the Taiyuan Realm's assaults had typically lasted no more than five or six days before they would temporarily retreat. But this time, their attack was uncharacteristically ferocious and relentless.
Batch after batch of enemies fell, yet their numbers seemed endless.
There were even instances, shocking to the soul, where two or three mangled corpses of the same person were found on a single battlefield.
Even though the Ten Great Immortal Sects reacted with impressive speed, swiftly mobilizing their reserve forces, the front line was still forced back relentlessly.
The territory in the Taiyuan Realm that they had fought so hard and sacrificed so much to occupy was lost, inch by inch.
The surviving Xuanhuang Realm cultivators were gradually compressed into a final defensive perimeter.
After what seemed like dozens of consecutive days of grueling battle, the Taiyuan side also appeared to have reached its limit. A rare moment of tranquility descended upon the battlefield, and every Xuanhuang soldier seized this last chance to catch their breath and recover as much strength as possible.
Yet, even under such immense pressure, not a single thought of "despair" surfaced in their minds. All that remained was the unshakeable resolve to fight to the bitter end when the enemy charged again soon.
At the center of the Xuanhuang encampment, Qu Yixing, the sect master of the Primordial Unity Sect, sat cross-legged in the air, his expression grave.
Above his head, the power of the five elements swirled around the twin energies of yin and yang, spinning rapidly like a taiji symbol. Waves of mystical energy pulsed out from this vortex, influencing and altering the minds of the Xuanhuang cultivators on the battlefield.
"Brother Yixing, your method is ingenious, but it is not a long-term solution,"
"At most, they can hold on for another month. Any longer, and they will all devolve into monsters who have completely lost their minds, with nothing but slaughter left in their thoughts," Situ Yao said, his tone heavy.
"A month... I doubt the situation will even last that long. It would be best for everyone to make a decision soon," declared the sect master of the Great Dao Sect, Fang Dingge.
"I have had the Stone Mother run countless trillions of calculations. There is a fifty-six percent probability of success. The advantage is ours. We should risk it all in one fell swoop!"
A fifty-six percent probability, yet in Fang Dingge's eyes, it was as good as a guaranteed victory. No one present offered a response.
"Of course, if any of you are confident you can sever the Golden Lock Across the Sky while ensuring the safety of the Xuanhuang Realm, then you can ignore my plan," Fang Dingge added, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd.
"The safety of the Xuanhuang Realm cannot be completely guaranteed. But if we're only talking about the safety of the Ten Sects, perhaps that is achievable." After a moment of silence, the one who spoke was a crumpled, yellow paper figure.
The paper figure regarded Fang Dingge with a bizarre, twisted expression that was neither a smile nor a frown, neither weeping nor laughing.
Hearing this, a flash of anger crossed Fang Dingge's face. "Yi Jue! Don't you start peddling that Salvation plan of yours again. In a bloody battle like this, your sect doesn't send a single person, and that's fine. But now you want to sow discord and undermine morale?!"
"If you persist, don't blame my Dao-Burning Furnace for being merciless!"
Faced with Fang Dingge's threat, Yi Jue of the Salvation Sect remained utterly unfazed. He chuckled eerily. "Sect Master Fang, you are mistaken. As they say, before seeking victory, one must first plan for defeat. You've always been such a gambler. You might win countless times, but it only takes one failure for your body to perish and your Dao to vanish. Tell me, in this world, who can keep winning forever?"
Fang Dingge retorted coldly, "Further talk is useless! The facts will prove everything. Besides, apart from my strategy, is there a better way? Or should we all become twisted monsters like you, neither human nor ghost?"
"Neither human nor ghost... is that not immortal? Since you are unwilling, I will not insist. But don't expect any help from our Salvation Sect. This old Daoist will take his leave now~" Yi Jue chuckled with an ambiguous air.
The once-vivid expression on the paper figure instantly froze, and it slowly fluttered to the ground.
Yi Jue of the Salvation Sect had transformed into a perfectly ordinary sheet of paper.
The remaining people in the room were silent.
"Hmph, I see that under the influence of that old lunatic Yi Jue, the entire Salvation Sect will sooner or later turn into paper figures. Perhaps..." A dangerous glint flashed in Fang Dingge's eyes.
Situ Yao let out a nervous laugh and quickly intervened. "The Ten Sects have always been united. We've weathered dangers far greater than this in the past. How can we let this matter damage our friendship?"
Fang Dingge, however, refused to back down. "Times are different. After these few major battles, how much energy do you all have left in your immortal artifacts? Without immortal spiritual energy, what are they but scrap metal? We've been lucky to survive this long in this star sea by relying on these treasures. In the future, when we can no longer use them, what path will we take?"
...
The members of the Ten Sects argued incessantly.
In the end, it was a female cultivator, draped in black gauze that revealed a graceful figure but whose voice was as grating as tearing metal, who brought an end to their bickering.
"Since everyone has a valid point, why not hedge our bets? Don't forget, we still have a captured immortal artifact."
Xiahou Yan, the lord of the Indeterminate Prison, swept her gaze across the assembly.
The others felt as if they had been pierced by a physical blade, instinctively narrowing their eyes and avoiding her direct gaze.
"That immortal artifact is too bizarre. It would be best not to use it lightly..." Even Fang Dingge, after a moment of hesitation, shook his head in disagreement.
Xiahou Yan let out a cold laugh.
In front of all the sect masters, she openly mocked them. "The leaders of the Ten Sects are supposed to be the greatest heroes under heaven. I never thought you'd be such a pack of hesitant, two-faced schemers."
Though her words were harsh, she had included herself in the insult. The others merely looked embarrassed and could not find grounds to rebuke her.
"But I suppose I can't blame you. The more power you wield, the more you have to consider. Sects, the world, all living beings..."
"It's a far cry from the exhilarating freedom of roaming the world alone, unconstrained!" Xiahou Yan said, her tone suddenly calm.
Her words seemed to stir memories of bygone days in the others, and the chamber fell into a temporary silence.
It was Xiahou Yan who spoke again. "Think about it. The[Splitting Immortal Seed]is strange, but it can duplicate all of us without any loss. Another choice, another escape route, another chance at survival."
"It shouldn't have come to such a dire point yet." Qu Yixing and the others still did not agree with Xiahou Yan's proposal.
"The Splitting Immortal Seed is undeniably profound, but its side effects are far too severe. We used it once back then, and it took us nearly a century to recover. Lu Chengheng and Yi Jue from the Salvation Sect, who were somewhat normal before, both ended up in their current maddened states..."
"But we won in the end, didn't we? And those three cultivation worlds have long since turned to dust. If we could endure it once, we can endure it a second time," Xiahou Yan insisted.
It wasn't until the somewhat suspicious gazes of the others fell upon her that Xiahou Yan realized she had lost her composure.
She let out a cold snort and fell silent.
Another long silence followed.
Situ Yao drained the wine from his gourd in one gulp, growing impatient. "I think Senior Brother Dingge's method is feasible. I witnessed the Stone Mother's deductions firsthand. I'm reasonably confident it can put an end to this war with the Taiyuan Realm."
"If you all are unwilling, then let me do it."
"The worst that can happen is death. Since when have I, Situ Yao, ever been afraid of that!"
"Excellent!" Fang Dingge was invigorated to have finally found a supporter.
Once an opinion began to unify, the remaining members had no choice but to start considering it.
Just then, a timid voice came from a corner.
"My master said... he agrees with Sect Master Fang's plan. However, our Supreme Oneness Sect will only send three people to assist." The speaker was Jiang Yingshan.
This female cultivator, who had reaped countless lives and cut a swath of destruction across the battlefield, was like a child before the sect masters, not having dared to even breathe too loudly until now.
Only after receiving a message from her master did she speak up meekly.
The others already had their reservations about the old Daoist's absence. Now, hearing that the Supreme Oneness Sect was only willing to send three people for a plan that concerned the life and death of the Xuanhuang Realm, their expressions soured.
However, when they saw the three names that appeared, formed from points of starlight in Jiang Yingshan's hand, they had no further objections.
Because those three were the absolute pinnacle of the Great Dao Sect's combat power. The strength of any one of them was not much inferior to anyone present.
After some more bickering, a consensus was slowly reached.
The Ten Sects began to discuss the specific operational details, with Fang Dingge reiterating, "The reason we've been unable to secure victory and have been relentlessly entangled by the Taiyuan Realm is because of that immortal artifact, the Taiyuan Rebirth Furnace."
"The Taiyuan Realm cultivators are far inferior to us in both scale and strength. But the problem is, they are impossible to kill for good. Even for us, if we're ganged up on by a dozen Dao Integration experts willing to trade their lives for injuries, we'd need to recuperate properly. Yet, a few days later, they reappear on the battlefield completely unscathed." Having clearly suffered from this before, Fang Dingge spoke with gritted teeth.
"The key to breaking this stalemate is to destroy that Taiyuan Rebirth Furnace. We didn't act before because we could never pinpoint its exact location. Repeated attempts to probe for it were fruitless. But now..."
A sharp glint flashed in Fang Dingge's eyes. "Perhaps because the safety of the Xuanhuang Realm is truly at stake, the Great Heavenly Venerate, who has always been silent and uninvolved, has finally deigned to offer guidance."
With a wave of his hand, Fang Dingge projected a holographic image of the Taiyuan Realm into the center of the room.
Within it, a point of light flashed continuously—the location of the Taiyuan Rebirth Furnace.
"According to the Great Heavenly Venerate, this so-called Rebirth Furnace is actually an ancient, immortal-grade array. As long as we destroy several of its key nodes, we can disrupt its revival effect for a period of time."
"That will be enough time for us to completely sweep this realm clean!" Fang Dingge declared grimly.
"The corresponding location is..." Jiang Yingshan stared at the image before her, suddenly lost in a daze.
"That's right. Deep within the Taiyuan Realm, at the site of what was once their largest immortal sect, the Tianyu Dao Palace."
"The entire Taiyuan Realm is enveloped by this immortal-grade array. To infiltrate deep within enemy lines and successfully destroy the formation will be fraught with peril..."
"But our odds of victory are higher!" Fang Dingge stated.
"Since the beginning of the war, every single cultivator who has appeared on the Taiyuan battlefield has been included in the Stone Mother's calculations. We've even added a one-third buffer to their estimated strength..."
"Even with that, we still have a fifty-six percent probability of success."
As Fang Dingge spoke, hundreds of densely packed light dots suddenly appeared on the projection of the Taiyuan Realm. Each dot represented a cultivator at or above the peak of Soul Transformation, capable of threatening their plan.
When they focused their spiritual sense on these dots, the corresponding cultivator's information materialized—not just their appearance and strength, but also every divine ability and technique they had ever used on the battlefield.
"Their ability to resurrect infinitely is their greatest advantage, but it is also their fatal weakness."
"They still know nothing about us, while we... we know them inside and out."
Everyone present was captivated by the scene before them.
Even those like Xiahou Yan, who disagreed with Fang Dingge's risky plan, silently watched and contemplated.
Not far away, watching the Ten Sects' secret discussion through Jiang Yingshan's eyes, Li Fan shook his head slightly.
"Even without me, with the paltry force they're fielding, they have no hope of breaking through the protection of the Taiyuan cultivators and destroying the immortal array."
Li Fan saw the fatal flaw in their plan at a glance.
The defensive immortal array, empowered by the Nine Stars Red Pearl, could do more than just create living beings.
Putting its other numerous abilities aside, the array's Monitor and Repairer might not know how to activate them. However, temporarily stimulating the potential of the created beings, causing their combat power to skyrocket for a short period, was something they could definitely do.
Although the price would be the rapid burning of the creations' lifespans, stalling the Xuanhuang adventurers for even a few moments would be enough to doom their plan to failure.
It was even possible that the elite forces of the Xuanhuang Realm would be buried there for good.
"It's just like their old plan to assassinate the Dharma Spreader."
"It just seems that, without my involvement, they are destined to lose their gamble."
(End of Chapter)
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