Chapter 1730: The Schism of the Snare Net
A subtle shift in Li Fan’s expression was the only sign of his thoughts, but he voiced no refusal.
"My abilities are far inferior to those of the Tai Wei Saint Emperor," he remarked. "And with the rules of the Snare Net having changed again, I fear I may not be able to hold out for long."
The Returning to Sea Saint explained, "Snare has been exposed. It will not linger long before it is forced to flee. Our task now is simply to delay it as much as possible, to ensure the safety of the Dao of all life in the Mountain and Sea before it escapes."
"Sage of the Cycle's Return, do not worry," Shou Qiu said with a good-natured laugh. "Go forth without reservation. Even if you should fail, we will be ready to take your place."
Li Fan offered a respectful nod, then dispatched a sliver of his consciousness, letting it follow the cosmic currents of the Mountain and Sea that he could now perceive.
The moment he entered that flow, he understood why Stealing Opportunity and the others had suffered such a severe loss of power during their own traversal. The network of the Mountain and Sea was intertwined with the very foundation of its existence, a secret of the highest order. It harbored a powerful, instinctual revulsion toward all foreign entities.
The only way through was to use one's faint connection to the life of the Mountain and Sea as a tether, a fragile guide rope that allowed one to preserve at least a fraction of their power.
Li Fan knew he was no match for the Tai Wei Saint Emperor, who, bolstered by the faith of his Sacred Dynasty's countless citizens, had managed to complete the crossing at nearly his full strength.
But under the blessing of the Same Heart Same Virtue, he, Shou Qiu, and Moral True Immortal shared their comprehension.
Wielding power that approached the level of a Nameless True Immortal, he successfully descended into the Snare Net.
And just as the Tai Wei Saint Emperor had done, his true body projected the scene of his experience onto the Armillary Ring for all the Saints to observe.
"The Sage of the Cycle's Return's insight is truly extraordinary," Saint Tai Yi remarked with a slight nod. "This is a fine opening gambit. He should be able to keep Snare occupied for some time."
Meanwhile, Li Fan and his two companions exchanged a thought in the depths of their shared consciousness: "When it is our turn to enter, we must downplay our abilities. If we all perform identically, it may arouse suspicion."
The instant Li Fan arrived in the Primitive Immortal Realm woven by Snare, he felt a palpable killing intent that saturated the very air.
He recalled how, long ago during his Foundation Establishment, he had comprehended the technique of [Formless Killing Intent], borrowing the authority of heaven's mandate for his own use. He was, therefore, intimately familiar with this world's malevolent will.
With nothing more than a faint furrow of his brow, he adapted to it.
Learning from the Tai Wei Saint Emperor's example, Li Fan immediately dispersed his power, reducing his cultivation to the level of a mortal.
However, where the Saint Emperor had combined his dispersed power with countless eons of imperial experience to forge an immortal legion, Li Fan did something else entirely.
He...
He took the very power he had just shed and gifted it to the monsters that were slowly materializing around him, charging forward with the intent to kill!
He was arming his foes the moment he arrived.
"Hm? What is the Sage of the Cycle's Return doing?"
"He's actually gifting his power to the enemy. How can he possibly survive the coming siege with only a mortal body?"
Such a bizarre move naturally captured the full attention of the watching Saints.
But the strange transformation that followed within the fiendish horde soon revealed the method to his madness.
The fiends, once united in their singular goal to slay Li Fan...
Now fractured, their unity shattered by the very power he had bestowed upon them.
Any creature that had accepted Li Fan's gift instantly took his place as the primary target of the siege.
Though they were mere manifestations of the Snare Net, they were not so mindless as to simply sit and await their own demise when their lives were threatened.
And so, they began to tear each other apart.
After its encounter with the Tai Wei Saint Emperor, the Snare Net had altered its rules. The power of the first wave of fiends was now determined by the intruder's strength at the very moment of their arrival.
Thus, even though Li Fan had scattered his power, the monsters that manifested around him still retained a strength corresponding to his original level.
It was only when Li Fan gave that power away, rather than using it to bolster himself, that the strength of the second wave of fiends began to synchronously decrease.
This, however, created a fatal flaw in the system.
The fiends from the first wave—those who had accepted Li Fan's gift and turned against the Snare Net—still possessed the might of a Nameless True Immortal.
Faced with the newly spawned, weaker versions of their "kin," they hesitated for only a heartbeat before raising their blades once more.
It was a battle between beings of entirely different tiers. The weaker wave was swiftly and utterly annihilated.
For a brief moment, the sky of the Snare Net seemed to freeze in stasis.
It was as if, in that instant, another of its rules was being forcibly rewritten.
As the rules shifted once more, a rare moment of quiet descended.
Li Fan, however, chose this moment to approach the very fiends that now stood as a buffer between him and the Snare Net.
Having accepted the gift of this outsider—even if they'd had no choice—they were now destined to be rejected by the net that had created them.
They watched the approach of their "benefactor" with extreme vigilance.
But perhaps because they were indebted to him for his gift, they did not attack.
"Our lives are now bound as one," Li Fan began. "We must face this calamity together."
"You were created by this realm, it is true. But having received my boon, you now have an opportunity to break free from your shackles. You are no longer the same as the mindless fiends of the past, who knew only slaughter..."
Paying no mind to the fact that he was addressing what were once ignorant, senseless monsters, Li Fan calmly began to expound upon the cause and effect of their situation.
Like a sage delivering a sermon that could awaken sentience, he spoke, and the expressions on the fiends' faces shifted dramatically, changing several times in a matter of moments.
Some struggled to accept his words. Others seemed lost in contemplation.
And some were utterly convinced, looking upon Li Fan as their enlightened teacher.
"We ask you, Teacher," one of them spoke, "what is our path forward?"
Li Fan looked up at the sky, a smile gracing his lips as he pointed. "Join me," he declared, "in plotting against this very heaven!"
The host of fiends had yet to grasp the full meaning of his words when the third wave of monsters was born.
The rules, having changed yet again, now counted the rebellious creatures as a part of Li Fan's own strength.
Consequently, the newly spawned fiends once more possessed the power of a Nameless True Immortal.
"You have all seen it," Li Fan said to his new followers. "We are now one. We flourish together, and we fall together."
"Following my command is your only chance of survival."
"If I am destroyed, you will surely be purged."
The enlightened beings were not fools. A quick assessment of the situation within the Snare Net was enough to confirm the truth of his words.
And though an inexplicable frustration brewed in their hearts, they had no choice but to share a common enemy.
They unleashed the full measure of their rage upon their foes.
But the Snare Net's creations had also accounted for such factors as morale and conviction.
The battle that followed was a grueling stalemate.
Of the newly enlightened beings who had just pledged their allegiance, more than half were slain.
The only advantage for Li Fan was that the Snare Net prioritized the elimination of these traitors even above killing him.
So, as long as his enlightened followers were not completely wiped out, he was, ironically, safe.
Throughout the bloody conflict, he didn't so much as move a muscle.
He simply gazed up at the sky from time to time, as if observing something of great interest.
Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly as he scoffed inwardly. "Changing its rules several times in such a short span."
"Anything that changes must leave a trace. Even a being from the dawn of the Mountain and Sea cannot escape this principle."
Within his mind, Li Fan performed deductions at an impossible speed.
The scene of the Primitive Immortal Realm before him dissolved like a theatrical backdrop, suddenly pulling away.
It revealed the core that lay within: a great, intersecting web of horizontal and vertical threads.
"This web... you may have woven it," Li Fan murmured, a dangerous glint in his eye.
He faced the sky and slowly extended two fingers. "But who's to say it cannot be mine to command?"
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