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Chapter 1597: The Immortal Boat Enters the Dao Annihilation

"This feeling, so incredibly familiar... It's simply magnificent..." Raging flames billowed, incinerating everything in this star sea.

The inferno surged, even breaking through the Dao Annihilation tide like the Xuanhuang Immortal Boat as it advanced on the other star seas still teeming with life within the Primal Possibility.

Without any need for Li Fan's conscious control, the True Spirit Fire could sense the location of these "flammable materials" and spread on its own accord.

At first, it was merely a great fire confined to a single mountaintop. Yet for some reason, even after the entire peak was reduced to cinders, the flames at its heart did not die out. Instead, they burned ever brighter, showing no sign of abating.

The inferno raged on, a conflagration that could scorch mountains and boil the very seas!

The twelve True Immortals gradually realized there was something deeply unnatural about this wildfire. An uncontrollable terror gripped their hearts, making them tremble. But outside the cramped wooden boat, the surroundings were filled with nothing but the Dao Annihilation tide and the True Spirit Fire. Either one could claim their lives in an instant, so they dared not take a single step off the boat.

They could only watch helplessly as the eerie True Spirit Fire spread.

Li Fan, however, remained immersed in the wondrous sensation brought on by the [True Spirit Destruction] technique.

Li Fan never acted without reason. If it were merely for the sensory thrill of light and shadow, he would never have allowed his own spirituality to be consumed as fuel, sustaining the burning and spreading of the True Spirit Fire.

He wasn't indulging in the destruction wrought by the True Spirit Fire, but rather captivated by the very process of "spirituality" being ignited as fuel.

Li Fan had always known that spirituality was an incredibly precious resource. Every time he activated [Truth], a portion of his spirituality was deducted. A cultivator's ultimate potential was also inextricably linked to the amount of spirituality they possessed.

But as for how, precisely, spirituality influenced all this, Li Fan had been completely in the dark.

The process of True Spirit Destruction, of a soul becoming a raging fire, gave Li Fan a clear, tangible answer.

"Within the Mountain and Sea, worldly possibilities evolve like the growth rings of a tree."

"Worldly possibilities can be ignited, and our spirituality can be ignited as well. When burned, the light from both flames is fundamentally identical."

"Living beings are just like possibilities. In a sense, they are also creations of the Mountain and Sea, an extension of the Mountain and Sea itself. In other words..."

"Every living being is one with the Mountain and Sea!"

"But this is limited only to the essence of spirituality. After all, the scale of a living being and that of the Mountain and Sea are worlds apart." As he watched his own spirituality turn to fuel for the furiously burning True Spirit Fire, Li Fan's thoughts raced.

"This is the fundamental reason why living beings—cultivators—can practice all the way to the state of transcendence."

"It is precisely through this shared nature between a cultivator's spirituality and the worldly fabric of the Mountain and Sea that the True Spirit Destruction technique can use the so-called true spirit as bait, luring the Mountain and Sea's possibilities to burn along with it..."

In his previous life, during the calamity of the three Daos merging, Li Fan had decisively chosen to self-destruct in order to awaken [Truth]. The infinite light and brilliance from that act had instantly incinerated the original possibility and countless others surrounding it.

Originally, Li Fan had thought such immense power was mainly because he had obtained a portion of Shou Qiu Gong's Longevity Dao.

Now, it seemed it was entirely due to his own infinite spirituality!

"In my past life, I crudely triggered it through self-destruction. But now, I have mastered a more efficient method."

"And even this is just the beginning. Through repeated, deliberate attempts at ignition, I can continuously increase the efficiency of the burn."

Li Fan did not enjoy self-harm, even if this level of it couldn't actually hurt him.

As the True Spirit Fire spread, his own spirituality and the worldly possibilities of the Mountain and Sea became inexplicably connected in their "burning" state.

And so, Li Fan could see the true form of the Mountain and Sea.

This feeling of directly facing the Mountain and Sea was remarkably similar to the descriptions in the [Shou Qiu Prose].

But in the past, Shou Qiu Gong had used his own eyes, sitting on a mountain to gaze at the sea, to behold the true form of the Mountain and Sea.

Li Fan, however, was glimpsing the primordial form of the Mountain and Sea through the process of its incineration—through its ashes amidst the billowing black smoke.

"If this wildfire were large enough, I could see the entirety of the Mountain and Sea right now!"

A thought suddenly surged through Li Fan's mind.

Along with this thought came an almost irresistible impulse.

The so-called state of transcendence that mortals sought was merely the comprehension of a single path, derived from the worldly possibilities of the Mountain and Sea, to its absolute extreme.

To see the entirety of the Mountain and Sea, however, meant to master every principle within it.

Even the state of a "Saint" mentioned on the Other Shore paled in comparison.

Furthermore, in Li Fan's view, reaching this stage required no tedious enlightenment, no long and arduous journey to find one's own path.

All it required was a continuous supply of his own spirituality, allowing the great fire to spread infinitely.

"What's stopping me? What's stopping me...?"

The True Spirit Fire grew ever more violent. The last remaining pillars of the Primal Possibility were all incinerated. Only a sky full of ashes, still struggling to maintain their original shape, remained.

Boom!

Before long, the ashes could no longer sustain the existence of the possibility.

They scattered, and one growth ring of the Mountain and Sea vanished completely.

As if freed from some great restraint, after leaving the confines of the Primal Possibility, the True Spirit Fire's intensity suddenly expanded several times over.

Everything it touched in the surroundings was flammable material.

Even Li Fan felt the pressure of supplying his spirituality lessen considerably.

But this smooth situation did not last long.

The first to sense the anomaly and draw near was, unexpectedly, the Dao Annihilation tide!

Even though the Primal Possibility had been burned to countless specks of ash, the Dao Annihilation tide still did not give up its pursuit.

In fact, because the once-large target had dispersed into innumerable tiny individuals, the resulting wave of Dao Annihilation was many times greater than before.

Like a torrential downpour, the burgeoning True Spirit Fire was instantly thrown into a precarious state. If not for the abundance of fuel from the surrounding possibilities, the fire might have been extinguished completely.

This sudden turn of events instantly pulled Li Fan out of his unrealistic fantasy.

He sobered in an instant. "The incineration of a true spirit is still within the scope of the Mountain and Sea's own evolution. These ashes, after returning to the Mountain and Sea and evolving over countless years, will give birth to new possibilities, new growth rings."

"But this process of annihilation..."

"...is to forcibly tear that spirituality out from the Mountain and Sea!"

Where these things, swallowed by the Dao Annihilation, would ultimately go was not something the current Li Fan could know. But he understood in his heart that it was likely connected to the "Creator God" mentioned in the parable left by Sun Piao Miao.

"Originally, the Mountain and Sea and the Dao Annihilation were opposed."

"Even if cultivators within the Mountain and Sea were to use the True Spirit Destruction technique, it wouldn't affect the stalemate between the two. However, I am an exception."

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, a picture forming in his mind.

If he insisted on using his infinite spirituality to start a world-consuming fire, even if he could burn the Mountain and Sea to the ground, the amount of spirituality he would have to pay would be astronomical.

It would perhaps be enough to create a new Mountain and Sea.

This spirituality, through the process of burning, would be converted into a sky full of ashes.

Some would return to the Mountain and Sea, while others would be swallowed by the Dao Annihilation tide.

"In that case, wouldn't I be using myself to nourish both the Mountain and Sea and the Creator God?"

At this thought, Li Fan's expression instantly turned grim.

"Unless I can burn the Mountain and Sea to utter destruction in one go. Otherwise, nourished by the fuel, it would just be reborn, stronger than before."

"This True Spirit Destruction technique..."

"Whose true spirit is it really destroying?"

Following this inexplicable shift in Li Fan's mindset, the twelve trembling True Immortals witnessed a peculiar scene.

Li Fan, who had been completely entranced just moments before, suddenly wore an expression of extreme displeasure.

They did not know what had caused this change. And they did not dare to ask.

"Hmph. How tedious!"

After running through the deductions in his mind once more and confirming this frustrating reality, Li Fan couldn't help but utter a cold remark.

He immediately withdrew the output of his spirituality.

"In the end, I am still too insignificant compared to the Mountain and Sea."

"Even if I can sustain the endless burning of the True Spirit Fire, what seems to me like a massive wildfire is but a tiny flicker to the Mountain and Sea."

"Only if the speed of the fire's consumption outpaces the speed of the Mountain and Sea's rebirth and evolution might I have a chance of winning."

"And that's without even considering other factors like the Dao Annihilation tide or things that might exist beyond the Mountain and Sea."

Li Fan accepted the reality of his situation.

But he wasn't discouraged by it.

After all, this True Spirit Destruction technique could truly be considered a supreme divine ability.

It possessed the devastating power of mutual destruction and the profound effect of comprehending the Mountain and Sea. It combined both combat and cultivation into one.

"With this divine ability in hand, I'll have the power to protect myself even against the transcendent experts of the Other Shore. If they push me too far, I'll just start a fire..."

"The only drawback is that I can't use it openly too many times. Otherwise, the fact of my infinite spirituality will surely be exposed. The consequences then would likely be no better than the secret of my possessing [Truth] getting out."

Without Li Fan's support from behind the scenes, the great fire that had consumed the Primal Possibility and several surrounding ones finally began to die down.

With the cover of the flames gone, the crushing pressure of the Dao Annihilation tide swept in.

Knowing he couldn't stay here long, Li Fan summoned the Xuanhuang Immortal Boat, intending to ride the tide and depart.

"But I can't let these ashes go to waste."

"After all, I spent so much spirituality to get them."

Glancing at the few remaining ashes still drifting in the Dao Annihilation, Li Fan thought to himself and, with a mental command, acted.

The Xuanhuang Immortal Boat absorbed the remnants.

They formed a layer of pitch-black armor on the boat's exterior.

"The Other Shore..."

The Xuanhuang Immortal Boat, following the direction of Li Fan's gaze, plunged headfirst into the vast emptiness of the Mountain and Sea.

Boom!

Colliding head-on with the Dao Annihilation tide, the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm trembled violently.

Li Fan had already rehearsed this scene countless times in his mind.

And the preparations he had made were by no means insufficient.

The support of the Nameless Heavenly Pillar, Ink Death, the Dao One worms, the ancient artifacts of the Mountain and Sea...

And now, there was the added protection of a layer of the Mountain and Sea's embers.

The impact was far less severe than Li Fan had imagined, and the Xuanhuang Immortal Boat's violent rocking quickly subsided.

However, Li Fan knew this was only the beginning.

Surviving in the Dao Annihilation for a short time wasn't difficult. The true challenge was to press on straight to the Other Shore, treating the raging waves as nothing, no matter how fierce they became.

Therefore, Li Fan did not relax his guard in the slightest. Countless Dao One worms, under his control, formed dense swarms to protect the exterior of the Xuanhuang Immortal Boat.

They formed a massive buffer layer.

Even though the swarms that came into contact with the Dao Annihilation were instantly devoured, a steady stream of reserve swarms immediately took their place.

"The adaptation speed of the Dao One worms is barely acceptable. But Ink Death..."

Li Fan frowned slightly.

Ink Death was an attempt by the primordial immortals to imitate the power of Dao Annihilation.

However, when this experimental imitation came face to face with its original source, it fell into a strange, unnerving silence.

Facing the omnipresent, surging tide of Dao Annihilation, It was clearly not as active as it had been within the possibilities.

In Li Fan's eyes, Ink Death was like a wild animal raised by humans that had suddenly been returned to its own kind.

When it encountered small numbers of its kin before, it could still maintain its senses.

But surrounded by too many, it gradually sank into a crisis of self-identity.

This was a development Li Fan had not anticipated.

Li Fan didn't disturb It for now. After all, the Xuanhuang Immortal Boat was in no great danger even without Ink Death's power. He simply kept a close watch, guarding against any unexpected changes.

"This void of Dao Annihilation... it's actually an excellent place to comprehend the Dao of the [Solitary Sail]."

As he ventured deeper, moving farther and farther away from all possibilities, Li Fan finally understood why his comprehension of the Solitary Sail Dao had always been lacking.

"Even what I saw through the corrosion of the Dao One worms is different from experiencing it firsthand."

"This sense of solitude... of insignificance..."

Outside the Xuanhuang Immortal Boat was a complete and utter void.

Looking up, there was no sky; looking down, there was no earth.

It was as if heaven and earth had vanished from his senses in an instant.

His entire field of vision slowly grew dim.

And with this darkness came the fading of life.

The vast, warm life force that had been concentrated within the worldly possibilities was now slowly being overpowered by a frigid aura as Li Fan journeyed deeper.

Within the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm, dark clouds gathered, obscuring the sun. A heavy snow began to fall, its large flakes drifting down slowly.

Even when Li Fan crushed a Xuanhuang wood carving, causing the great sun to reappear in the sky, it did not dispel the chill that permeated the world.

In the icy, snow-covered land, the sunlight seemed feeble and powerless.

As the biting cold descended, the Xuanhuang Immortal Boat's progress through the Dao Annihilation tide also seemed to slow.

"In the end, my foundation is insufficient. I rashly charged into the Mountain and Sea without truly reaching the state of transcendence."

"If I'm not mistaken, one's own Dao of transcendence would be the best way to resist this bone-chilling cold."

"But the methods I rely on, these external objects..."

"...they can protect me, but they cannot protect the living beings within this Xuanhuang Immortal Boat."

Li Fan watched in silence as the world froze over and the life force of the people in the Xuanhuang Realm slowly drained away.

After a moment of contemplation, he ignited a beam of fire.

"The immortal boat has just set sail. It is not yet time for it to capsize."

It was merely a faint flicker, yet it instantly dispelled the cold that had frozen the world.

It was none other than the True Spirit Destruction technique!

"The Sacred Venerable is merciful!" All the beings of the Xuanhuang Realm knelt and kowtowed in worship.