Chapter 898: The High Wall Locks the Darkest Night
Chapter 898: The High Wall Locks the Darkest Night
"How utterly pathetic..."
Learning everything that had transpired in the Xuanhuang Realm during his slumber from the young Dharma Transmitter's mind, the Dharma King of the Xuantian Sect felt as though he were reading a third-rate absurdist tale.
"Disaster is practically at their doorstep, yet they continue their incessant squabbles..."
"Perhaps this is simply human nature. The Xuantian King's judgment was not wrong, after all."
The Xuantian Sect Dharma King shook his head faintly.
Of course, he harbored no intention of setting things right.
His only desire now was to find the Xuantian King and escape this place before the Xuanhuang Realm was completely devoured by the Immortal Ruins.
If there was no trace of the Xuantian King...
Within the young Dharma Transmitter's mind were numerous contingency plans for escape.
But in the Dharma King's view, none of these plans held a high chance of success.
What exactly was the "Darkest Star Sea"?
Why had the Xuantian King been so certain that only those with the power of a True Immortal could escape this dead domain?
The various escape plans deduced by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance could indeed allow a portion of the population to leave the Xuanhuang Realm and temporarily break free from the pull of the Immortal Ruins.
But the influence of the Immortal Ruins covered an unimaginably vast expanse of the void.
In this void, countless cultivation worlds that had once been vibrant and star-like had, over the years, all been swallowed by the Immortal Ruins.
The once brilliant starry sky had become dark and deathly silent.
Escaping the Xuanhuang Realm was something many could achieve.
But escaping this dark prison...
It wasn't just because this dark void was too immense. Even a Longevity stage expert, without any reference points or beacons to guide them, would only get lost and be trapped to death if they flew into it recklessly.
More importantly, beyond the Darkest Star Sea, a "High Wall" had been artificially created.
It stood at the edge of the Darkest Star Sea, causing all beings who attempted to break through to sigh in despair.
The Xuantian King had speculated that this "High Wall" might have been constructed by cultivators from beyond the Darkest Star Sea to prevent the calamity of the Immortal Ruins from spreading further.
To cross the High Wall, one had to unleash a burst of power surpassing that of a mortal in a single instant.
Otherwise, any so-called escape was merely a change of location within the same prison.
"If the Floating Starry Sky Grand Formation were still intact, given the current scale of the Xuanhuang Realm, perhaps at the absolute peak of its power, it could generate enough force to cross the High Wall."
The young man pondered, then glanced around at the ruins of the Purple Cloud Sect.
With a wave of his hand, he retracted the Nine Heavens Ten Earths array that covered the area.
Then, his figure blurred and vanished without a trace.
The Purple Cloud Sect ruins once again sank into the long-standing tranquility they had known for ages.
A full seven days passed.
The air distorted, and a figure suddenly appeared.
The Xuantian Sect Dharma King, who had seemingly left and returned, had in fact reappeared in the very same spot.
Or rather, he had never left at all.
The "departure" moments ago had been nothing more than a smokescreen.
"I was hoping I might meet this brother from our sect. What a pity."
Since fate had not brought them together, this Dharma King did not insist.
With a flicker, his form completely disappeared.
This time, it was no feint. He was truly gone.
More than ten days later, a stealthy figure arrived outside the Purple Cloud Sect ruins.
His features were obscured, his aura concealed.
It was Li Fan.
He observed from a distance for a while, confirming that there was no danger and feeling no sense of foreboding in his heart.
Only then did he cautiously approach.
During this time, after leading the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's Dharma Transmitter astray, he had been waiting patiently in the vicinity.
He had sensed the complete disappearance of the aura from this place and had waited a long time afterward before finally returning.
He had originally thought that when two powers clashed, one was bound to be injured.
But to his surprise, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had shown no reaction to the matter whatsoever.
Even the exposed members of the Congyun Mutual Aid Association had not been pursued by the Alliance.
It was as if nothing had ever happened.
Li Fan wanted to know what exactly had transpired here.
A silver light flickered in his eyes, and a hidden array in the air was activated.
This was an array Li Fan had deduced using the Final Dissociation Disc, a formation a tier above the current era's understanding and nearly impossible for other cultivators to detect.
It had only one function: to record every scene within its range.
As Li Fan continued to channel his power, the events that had occurred more than ten days ago began to reappear in the air.
They were perfectly lifelike.
When he saw the Xuantian Sect Dharma King's utterly bizarre divine ability, a trace of horror flashed through Li Fan's heart.
He was especially shaken when the Dharma King devoured the young Dharma Transmitter, who was likely at the peak of Dao Integration, with almost no effort at all.
He took a deep breath to suppress the shock rippling through him.
"Is this the power of a Xuantian Sect Dharma King?"
"Truly bizarre, and utterly impossible to defend against."
Li Fan put himself in the young Dharma Transmitter's shoes and, for a moment, couldn't think of a suitable way to counter it.
Although he possessed the immense power of the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven and the protection of the Seven-Colored Divine Light...
...when faced with the Xuantian Sect's strange and unpredictable methods of attack, even these advantages wouldn't be particularly decisive.
Li Fan couldn't help but recall the few Xuantian Sect divine arts he had witnessed in Senior Sister Zhao's illusion.
The Heaven and Earth Converging Manual, the Eternal Sole Dominance Art, the Soul Severing Divine Radiance Art, and the Scripture of Heaven's Sorrow and Earth's Grief.
Senior Sister Zhao had become the One Heart Heavenly Venerate with just the Eternal Sole Dominance Art alone.
It was a testament to how profoundly powerful the Xuantian Sect's foundations were.
"Good thing I was cautious enough. If I'd gotten arrogant after my recent power surge and tried to provoke this character, I probably would've been forced to reset with [Truth] again," Li Fan reflected inwardly.
Li Fan then saw the Xuantian Sect Dharma King appear dazed after devouring the young Dharma Transmitter.
He would occasionally look up at the sky, occasionally mutter to himself.
Upon hearing the man mistakenly identify him as a member of the Xuantian Sect, Li Fan's expression flickered with intrigue.
Afterward, the Dharma King seemed to fall into a reverie.
Li Fan could only vaguely make out the words "Xuantian King" and "escape."
But he couldn't know what was truly going through the man's mind.
Li Fan continued to play back the scene.
When he saw the other party employ a trick, hoping to lie in wait for him, Li Fan couldn't help but sneer.
He would never have shown himself unless he was one hundred percent certain it was safe.
He patiently fast-forwarded through the rest of the recorded footage, then erased the array.
He then hurried back to the Spirit Wood Realm.
He arrived at the circular grand hall where the faceless Xuantian god statue was placed.
Li Fan stared intently at the stone figure.
"I originally thought I could use this as bait to lure out the remnants of the Xuantian Sect."
"Then I could trap them like a dog in a cage and capture them alive, extracting some ancient secrets from their minds."
"It seems I was too full of myself."
"If I had really attracted a Dharma King-level figure, I'm afraid I would have been the one caught in the trap."
(End of Chapter)
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