Chapter 1559: A Heart Worried for Truth
It was as if it had encountered its most terrifying natural predator. The Ink Death cloud trembled violently, desperately trying to pull away from the countless overlapping phantoms of the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm in Li Fan’s hand.
But Li Fan gripped it tightly, leaving it no room to advance or retreat.
What Li Fan held was no simple illusion. It was the true power of the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm, formed from the feedback of his Heaven Sitting Technique. Though it appeared ethereal now, a flicker of his will could transform it from illusion to reality.
Burdened by the weight of countless restrictions, the Ink death cloud, no matter how unique, was utterly subdued.
As the black cloud seethed and roiled, it actually "vomited" out the fused, broken pillar it had previously swallowed!
Li Fan carefully perceived the Dao principles contained within it. They were unchanged from before it was devoured.
"The original Ink Death, despite its near-absolute destructive power, was an irreversible process. It was incapable of such a free transformation."
"This Ink Death, influenced by the power of the Longevity Dao, is far more suitable for forging the Myriad Phenomena Dao Net."
With a flick of his finger, he restored the four great pillars. Li Fan did not directly consume the source of Ink Death in the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm; instead, he released it.
Simultaneously, within the countless overlapping phantoms of the Xuanhuang Realm inside him, specks of inky black began to appear in sync.
This was Li Fan using his Fantasy Becomes Truth divine ability to directly modify the countless phantom Xuanhuang realms, continuously sculpting them to infinitely approach the reality of the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm. Through this, he could generate an endless supply of the Ink Death cloud he required.
As one of the final solutions for salvation proposed by the Immortal Realm's experimental grounds, Ink Death naturally possessed its own profound characteristics. In a sense, it was an attempt by the beings of the mortal world to use worldly materials to simulate the result of the fusion of the Mountain and Sea.
If the Dao Annihilation Calamity was an all-consuming tide, then Ink Death was a man-made, controllable ripple.
Whether used to resist the great tide of Dao Annihilation or to integrate with it, it could serve as a means of refuge and escape from calamity.
From a hierarchical standpoint alone, Ink Death, representing the fusion of the Mountain and Sea, was even superior to the Nameless True Immortals of the mortal world. And now, built upon the foundation of the Mountain and Sea, the Longevity Dao had been added...
"Perhaps due to the unique attribute of two Daos fusing, every time the Ink Death cloud completes a cycle of devouring and transforming, it is equivalent to a cultivator's epiphany."
"Although it hasn't reached the point of complete analysis yet, if this is repeated enough times..."
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, watching the ever-expanding dark cloud in his palm, experiencing the detailed comprehension of the four great pillars' Dao principles it had just devoured and regurgitated.
"In my previous life, to analyze the divine abilities contained within the Dao Chronicle Projection Pearl, Cheng Dao and I joined forces. We used all the living beings from the High Wall to Shuo Xinghai as a foundation to implement the 'Return the Dao Plan,' allowing the countless prodigies of this star sea to comprehend the Dao on my behalf."
"Compared to my solitary contemplation, the efficiency was thousands of times greater. But now..."
"If I master this new power of Ink Death, I will no longer need the assistance of the masses. Wherever the Ink Death cloud passes, the Three Thousand Great Daos will reveal themselves!" Li Fan's eyes glinted as he considered the further implications.
"And this is just the fusion of two Daos. If I were to add a third..."
It was merely a fleeting thought. The very notion was extinguished by Li Fan as soon as it appeared. He had yet to fully master the two-Dao fusion of Ink Death. Adding another would only introduce unnecessary risks of losing control.
"Although I have voluntarily extricated myself from the state of three-Dao fusion, it doesn't mean I am abandoning it."
"Besides, I have only suppressed the hidden danger for now. In the near future, I will have to face this problem again."
"Using Ink Death to scout the path is an excellent way to test the waters."
The overlapping images of the Xuanhuang Realm slowly vanished from his hand, but the thousand thoughts racing through his mind did not cease. "The fundamental difference between me experimenting personally and the Ink Death experiment is that Ink Death isn't truly participating in the fusion of the Mountain and Sea Daos. It is merely 'imitating' it with its own characteristics."
"While it remains unclear how the ancient immortals of the Immortal Realm found such a peculiar prototype for Ink Death, that doesn't stop me from utilizing it."
In fact, Li Fan already had a faint guess about the origin of the Ink Death prototype.
"It is either an existence on the same level as the Mountain and Sea, Truth, and the Longevity Dao, or it is the remnant of a peerless expert who comprehended the Mountain and Sea Dao. Based on the characteristics Ink Death has displayed, I lean toward the latter."
"If [Truth] were still here, perhaps I could glimpse its reality in the [Dao Concealment] state when I activate it."
"What a pity," Li Fan sighed inwardly.
The Dao Concealment state referred to the black-and-white area around Li Fan when he activated Truth. Within this range, everything except Li Fan himself existed in a superimposed state of being both real and unreal.
Within a limited time, Li Fan could comprehend things to his heart's content.
He had once seen the figure of a Nameless True Immortal within the core of a Heavenly Spirit.
Although Ink Death was exceedingly mysterious, Li Fan was confident it was still beneath [Truth]. If he still possessed Truth, analyzing it would surely be twice as effective with half the effort.
"Oh, Truth, Truth... I wonder when you will finally recover," Li Fan could not help but think.
During his time here, more than eight thousand years before the initial anchor point, Li Fan had occasionally fantasized that this might be Truth's way of solving his dependency on it, or perhaps a trial to help him truly walk the path of transcendence.
However, whenever he indulged in these flights of fancy, he would give a bitter smile.
How could there be so many fortunate coincidences in the world?
Truth had most likely been damaged during the three-Dao fusion and had fallen into a deep slumber.
"I just don't know if there's any way to accelerate its awakening, aside from waiting for it to slowly recover."
The only things that had ever stirred a desire to consume in Truth were the Eternal Remnants and the peculiar relics left by Sun Piao Miao. And its craving for the Eternal Remnants was far greater than for Sun Piao Miao's relics.
"Within the Darkest Star Sea, Truth has already devoured every existing Eternal Remnant, and even their seeds. Nurturing new Eternal Remnants is not a task for a single lifetime, nor can it be forced."
"Actually, outside the Darkest Star Sea, there is a ready-made feast right now."
As Li Fan thought this, his gaze passed over the High Wall, across the Shuo Xinghai, and looked toward the location of the Guangwu Xinghai in the depths of the stars.
"In the Guangwu Xinghai, there is the remnant of a transcendent expert."
"That remnant still preserves the transcendent path he walked in life: the Solitary Sail of the Mountain and Sea..."
Eternal Remnants were, in essence, the embryonic form of a transcendent path.
In his previous life, with the help of Ziyi and Cheng Dao, when Li Fan had the fortune to clearly see this Solitary Sail of the Mountain and Sea, he had faintly sensed a tremor from Truth.
It was just that Ziyi was present at the time, so Truth had maintained considerable restraint.
"After matters in Shuo Xinghai are settled, I could perhaps take the transcendent expert's remains. However, in my previous life, I had Ziyi to pave a grand path for me. This time, relying on myself alone might be difficult."
The power of the Guangwu Xinghai was not to be underestimated.
Putting aside the several hundred True Immortals, the Dao Chronicle Projection Pearl alone was far beyond what the current Li Fan could withstand.
"However, if the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm is successfully established, I might not be without a chance to fight."
Li Fan temporarily suppressed the thought, refocusing his attention on forging the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm.
The new Ink Death cloud also required a considerable amount of time to slowly incubate.
Li Fan did not remain idle. His divine sense swept across the entire Xuanhuang Immortal Realm, instantly finding the target he was looking for.
At this point in time, more than eight thousand years ago, there were still other cultivation worlds that had survived in the Darkest Star Sea besides the Xuanhuang Realm. However, as the Xuanhuang Realm sublimated and expanded, all these cultivation worlds were devoured and integrated into the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm.
Li Fan paid little attention to the beings of these newly joined worlds.
However, a few discoveries within this Xuanhuang Immortal Realm solved some of Li Fan's long-standing puzzles.
His figure flickered, and he appeared within a deep, secluded canyon.
The canyon was bottomless, shrouded in clouds and mist, with strange sounds echoing from time to time.
And at the bottom of the canyon, Li Fan saw Qin Tang, Tai Yi, Han Hai, and other cultivators from the Tianfa Realm.
They had arrived in this newborn canyon along with the Tianfa Realm as it was devoured.
Their situation was even more dire than that of the Xuanhuang cultivators.
The Venerables of the Tianfa Realm who acted on behalf of Heaven, such as Tian Yin, Tian Jue, and Tian Yu, had completely lost all their authority. They had become no different from mortals.
They could only start over from the beginning, just like cultivators of other realms.
But they themselves were already deeply fused with the Dao of Heavenly Law. Now, to break free from their original shackles and walk a new path—how could that be easy?
Their rate of progress was far slower than that of an ordinary person.
"However, if they can comprehend the corresponding Dao paths within the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm..."
"They could ascend to heaven in a single step."
Li Fan felt no pity and offered no special treatment to these old acquaintances.
In his eyes, whether it was the Xuanhuang Realm, the Tianfa Realm, or any other cultivation world, all living beings were fundamentally no different.
If he had to make a distinction...
Unseen by anyone, Li Fan arrived within an altar from the Tianfa Realm.
He could faintly sense the lingering aura of the Tianfa Realm's various Venerables who had once gathered here.
And, beneath this altar, a body was still slumbering.
It was the Heavenly Doctor!
He looked exactly the same as the white-haired, compassionate figure Li Fan had seen before.
Li Fan examined him closely. "His consciousness is completely dormant, like an empty shell."
"But his life force remains. This is the result of using the Heavenly Soul Reincarnation Technique, sending his consciousness to lie dormant in Xuanyuan Tuo's body within the Xuanhuang Realm."
"This body's life force was sustained by the combined efforts of the Tianfa Realm's Venerables. It would only be forced to awaken under certain extreme circumstances."
"For instance, the fall of all Venerables and the destruction of the Tianfa Realm!"
"So, the Heavenly Doctor I saw in the illusion within the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace was this body. No wonder the Heavenly Doctor's consciousness, sustained in Xuanyuan Tuo's body, was able to perceive the tragedy in the distant Tianfa Realm," Li Fan nodded slightly, his confusion completely resolved.
Previously, in the memories of Han Hai from the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, Li Fan had seen the scene where, after the palace was massacred by "Tian Yi," another Tian Yi had rushed over.
Later, Li Fan learned that the Tian Yi who had massacred the Tianfa Realm was actually Su Bai, manipulated by a will from another possibility. But as for the second Tian Yi, it was unknown why he had appeared in the Tianfa Realm.
Because, from a chronological standpoint, Tian Yi should still have been trapped within the Dharma Spreader's body in the Xuanhuang Realm. He should not have existed in the Tianfa Realm.
"This way, it all makes sense."
"Only a splinter of Tian Yi's soul was reincarnated. His body remained in the Tianfa Realm. When the Venerables of the Tianfa Realm were slaughtered by Evil Su Bai, the body was forced to awaken. Thus, it witnessed the tragic state of the Tianfa Realm."
"And that is how Tian Yi's consciousness in the Xuanhuang Realm learned of the tragedy. He disregarded the consequences and forcibly seized control of the Dharma Spreader's body, all to return to the Tianfa Realm."
"After returning, Tian Yi's consciousness returned to its own body. He once again became the familiar figure I knew. Though his home was destroyed, Tian Yi did not give up. Instead, he devised a salvation method of borrowing the soul of the Xuanhuang Realm to resurrect his own."
"And Xuanyuan Tuo, the Dharma Spreader Heavenly Venerate, naturally became a crucial part of this plan."
"But he alone could not fully control the Dharma Spreader. So, he eventually found a way to enlist the help of the Heavenly Demons on the Mysterious Immortal Boat."
The events that had occurred in the long river of past time were deduced and reconstructed by Li Fan, one by one.
Although for the present Li Fan, all of this had almost no concrete meaning.
But it did resolve the doubts he had held for a long time.
Feeling a sense of mental clarity, Li Fan released the Heavenly Doctor's consciousness he had previously suppressed, returning it to its original body.
And then...
"When the real is made false, the false becomes real."
A blade of truth and falsehood cleaved down upon the Heavenly Doctor's body!
After going through all this trouble, how could Li Fan's only goal be to kindly restore the Heavenly Doctor?
"That Black Heaven Physician outside the High Wall possesses unfathomable power."
"This is a perfect opportunity to properly verify my previous hypothesis."
Li Fan's expression was calm, without a trace of pity in his heart, as the blade that diminished spirituality struck again and again.
Although the Heavenly Doctor still had his ageless, benevolent appearance, in his slumber, he was imperceptibly losing an inexplicable, divine charm.
By the time Li Fan finally stopped, the Heavenly Doctor no longer seemed so mysterious and unfathomable.
He was just like a common, kindly old man from next door!
"The Heavenly Doctor and Su Bai are both hunting their counterparts from other possibilities for the sake of their own unification."
"Originally, each of their versions in every possibility had no fundamental difference. But now..."
Li Fan smiled faintly.
"Among the many immortal pills and wondrous medicines, a single poison pill has been mixed in. I wonder if you will still be able to attain your Dao?"
This was an idea Li Fan had had for a long time, but he had never had the right conditions to implement it.
Now that the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm had taken shape, Li Fan carried it out without hesitation.
Of course, Li Fan would not release the Heavenly Doctor beyond the High Wall just yet.
Only when he himself possessed the strength to contend with the Black Heaven Physician would he toss the Heavenly Doctor out, luring his counterpart to him.
"At that time, perhaps I will be able to learn more information about the [Other Shore]."
Just the thought of it made Li Fan incredibly excited, imagining the look on that Black Heaven Physician's face when he saw this version of himself, weakened to the extreme, from the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm.
(End of this chapter)
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