Chapter 862: A Glimpse of the Salvation Sect
“No wonder this seven-colored divine light is nearly inexhaustible in combat. It's backed by the very essence of an entire cultivation world.”
Inside Li Fan's dantian, the seven-colored orb dimmed slightly as the world's source power was continuously drawn from it.
In stark contrast, the sky-blotting tendrils of the Heaven and Earth Root delved deeper, reaching into every corner of the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven.
Nourished by this source power, the Heaven and Earth Root was subtly different from the ones ordinary cultivators manifested using only their own spiritual energy.
It became more ferocious, and...
More voracious.
As if it had gotten a taste of something exquisite and now craved more, it required little deliberate control from Li Fan.
With a mere thought, a dense forest of black tentacles eagerly spread, wantonly invading the untouched lands.
The once vibrant and colorful cave-heaven world was gradually veiled in shadow.
Watching this somewhat indescribable scene unfold, Li Fan even felt a premonition rise within him.
Even without his direct control, the enhanced Heaven and Earth Root could complete the devouring process in a remarkably short time.
“The annexation of one world by another...”
“The Dharma Spreader must have witnessed worlds merging firsthand when he created the New Method,” Li Fan realized with a flash of insight.
He paid no mind to the depletion of the seven-colored orb.
Instead, he pushed the speed of consumption to its absolute limit.
Three months later.
“It's time.”
Li Fan's eyes snapped open.
The black tendrils had completely enveloped the Five Elements Cave-Heaven.
Viewed from the void, it was no longer a world, but a grotesque sphere bristling with innumerable, writhing tentacles.
Not a trace remained of the magnificent, vibrant cave-heaven that had once been.
With a single thought, the countless tendrils below began to writhe and thrash menacingly.
The Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven trembled.
An incredibly pure life force flowed through the tendrils as if they were conduits, pouring directly into Li Fan's body.
“Ugh...”
His body, which had been that of a man in his twenties, felt as if it had instantly reverted to the growth spurt of his teenage years.
Every tissue, every bone, every fiber of his being...
...was undergoing a world-altering transformation under the influence of this pure, essential life force.
Li Fan took a deep breath, acclimating to the immense, surging vitality.
His eyes narrowed. With an unflinching expression, he sliced a deep gash into his own arm, a wound so severe that the stark white of the bone beneath was nearly visible.
Despite the severity of the injury, the wound began to close on its own within moments, healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
And this was before Li Fan had even officially absorbed the Nascent Soul cave-heaven.
Simply drawing on the feedback of its vitality, he could already achieve this!
“So much stronger than the initial nascent cave-heaven,” Li Fan marveled internally.
Then, his body slowly dissolved, transforming into a gushing stream of inky blackness that surged along the countless tendrils and poured into the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven.
The cave-heaven, now completely enshrouded by the black tendrils, seemed to sense the impending crisis.
A colossal roar thundered through the world. The earth fractured and crumbled, the oceans heaved with cataclysmic waves...
The countless beings within cried out in a spontaneous, mournful chorus.
Yet none of it could slow Li Fan's consumption in the slightest.
As the inky blackness continued to pour in...
...parts of the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven grew transparent, then vanished.
The world's struggles grew fainter and fainter.
Finally, all fell silent.
Though the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven had vanished...
...this region of the void remained.
Empty. Desolate.
After an unknown period, a figure suddenly materialized.
It was Li Fan, having successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul realm.
Immense power surged through every part of his body. Since he had begun his cultivation journey, Li Fan had never felt this strong.
He even had the feeling that an ordinary Dao Integration cultivator would be no match for him.
“An ordinary Dao Integration cultivator's power covers a single province of the Xuanhuang Realm.”
“But the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven I just absorbed is nearly equivalent to five provinces combined.”
“A quantitative change brings a qualitative one. With absolute power alone, I can crush most weaker Dao Integration cultivators.”
“And that's not even counting the numerous divine abilities at my disposal.”
A glint appeared in Li Fan's eyes. For the first time, he felt a sliver of true security.
As long as no Longevity cultivator showed up, he felt that no matter how recklessly he acted in this life, he could escape with ease!
“With so much more power at my command, future plans will be far easier to execute,” he mused.
Having completed his advancement, however, Li Fan did not rush to leave.
Instead, his spiritual sense swept repeatedly across the empty void, as if searching for something.
Once, twice.
After several attempts, he still found nothing out of the ordinary.
Still, Li Fan didn't give up.
With his vastly increased strength, he had keenly sensed another presence lurking within this void.
It was hidden extremely well.
But in the instant he broke through and completely consumed the Five Elements Cave-Heaven, the drastic environmental shift had caused it to reveal the slightest flaw.
A flaw Li Fan had not missed.
This hidden presence did not belong to the Xuanhuang Realm's Heaven and Earth Root.
Instead, it belonged to that ever-present, haunting entity that occasionally appeared by his side...
The Salvation Sect!
Li Fan snorted coldly.
A halo of seven-colored light erupted from his body, and in an instant, its brilliance intensified a thousandfold.
It swelled outwards, flooding the surrounding void.
The seven-colored divine light was almost tangible.
It completely filled and occupied the void.
Any foreign object would be forced out, exposed to his sight!
The power Li Fan now wielded was to Zhong Shentong's ability from his past life as the moon is to a firefly.
Only with the backing of the immense Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven could Li Fan afford to unleash his power so recklessly.
But the results were spectacular.
Ultimately, Li Fan achieved his goal.
Under the immense pressure of the pure, seven-colored divine light, a foreign object was finally forced into view.
Li Fan's eyes glinted as he reached out and drew it toward him.
He examined it closely. In his hand was a small figurine, crafted from yellow talisman paper.
The paper had faded from yellow to a pale white, as if it had existed for an eternity.
The figurine itself was deeply unsettling.
It had no facial features, only a single, large eye that occupied its entire face.
What truly sobered Li Fan, however, was that the one-eyed paper figure seemed to be alive.
The moment he grasped it, its eye swiveled slightly to stare fixedly at him.
An intense heat instantly flared in Li Fan's palm, as if he were being scorched by a blazing fire.
“Enough of these cheap tricks!”
A ball of fire erupted in his palm, enveloping the one-eyed paper figure.
Li Fan intended to incinerate it completely.
But though the flames danced and flickered for a long while, the paper figure remained utterly unscathed.
It was as if it possessed no physical form; no matter how hot Li Fan's flames burned, they could not damage it in the slightest!
Next, Li Fan tried various other methods.
Five Elements arts, the Extinction Sword, even formations.
Nothing could destroy it.
Witnessing this, a single phrase surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
“Beyond the Three Realms, unbound by the Five Elements.”
The yellow paper figure's eye slowly swiveled.
It seemed to be mocking Li Fan for his futile efforts.
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