Chapter 1276: Capturing of Mo Rubin |
At first, the Derivation Law Jade was somewhat cautious. But after she truly took a bite, her expression instantly became extremely vivid. Then she began to gulp it down in large mouthfuls.
“Mmm… so tasty…”
In just a few bites, she finished an entire plate of fried rice. Afterward, still somewhat unsatisfied, she rubbed her slightly swollen belly, her face full of astonishment. “Your fried rice tastes just like the real thing. How did you do it?”
As she spoke, she let out another burp.
Li Fan smiled and said, “When the false is treated as real, it becomes real; when the real is treated as false, it becomes false. Truth and illusion are never so easy to distinguish. As long as you have sufficient understanding of the essence of things, you too can create something that is indistinguishable from reality.”
The Derivation Law Jade plopped down onto the ground. “I have only ever eaten fried rice, never made it myself. The same goes for other delicacies. Looks like there is no hope of being self sufficient. But…”
She glanced at Li Fan. “You were not a chef in the past, were you?”
Li Fan’s face twitched slightly. He avoided answering and changed the subject. “Are you full? Have you remembered that immortal character?”
Derivation Law Jade quickly shook her head. “One dish is not enough. Can I have more?”
As the cooking fire flickered, dish after dish of fragrant delicacies was presented.
Derivation Law Jade drooled as she watched, accepting everything and stuffing it all into her mouth.
“Burp…”
After enjoying a satisfying feast, the little girl’s belly was round like a ball. She lay flat on the ground in an ungraceful manner.
“I have to say, although you do not look very handsome, your cooking skills are truly excellent,” she praised.
Li Fan replied calmly, “It is merely a skill I used for small business when I was a mortal. Not worth mentioning.”
Derivation Law Jade squinted happily, savoring the lingering taste. Then she said, “I feel sleepy. I am going to take a nap. You can do as you wish.”
As she spoke, she was already snoring loudly, fast asleep. Within the sphere of character light, strokes intertwined and moved, forming a massive character that filled the entire sky.
The profound sound of the Great Dao that had once been heard in the illusion faintly echoed again.
However, it came and went intermittently, as if it were only an illusion.
Li Fan raised his head and gazed at the character without moving. Only after it slowly dissipated did he reveal a thoughtful expression.
“It is indeed a True Immortal character script. However, due to the Derivation Law Jade’s incomplete memory, its meaning cannot be fully understood. Even the character she presents already deviates somewhat from the true script.
“However…”
Li Fan used his hand as a brush and attempted to write in the air.
Yet he repeatedly paused at critical points and shook his head slightly.
“The structure of the strokes, the style of their turns, and the details of the brushwork are all very similar to the Hunger and Chaos characters I saw before, yet they are more beautiful and more naturally formed.”
“The gap between the original and an imitation is actually so vast.”
Previously, the True Immortal character scripts Li Fan encountered already seemed perfect to him, flawless in every aspect and filled with vast divine power.
But comparison reveals the difference.
Compared to this authentic inscription remembered by the Derivation Law Jade, those that brought disaster to the Darkest Star Sea appeared crude, like childish scribbles.
However, Li Fan discovered that this gap only appeared when both were compared simultaneously. If he reproduced a single character like Hunger or Chaos alone, he would still instinctively feel it was flawless.
It was a very contradictory and wondrous experience.
After repeated attempts, Li Fan reached a conclusion. To him, True Immortal script was like a vast ocean. By himself, he could only be submerged within it, unable to perceive its entirety. But with an authentic inscription as a reference, it was like an anchor or a vantage point, allowing him to break free and see clearly.
By imitating the authentic inscription, Li Fan reorganized the Hunger and Chaos scripts he had mastered.
The results were excellent. Though they appeared almost the same at first glance, Li Fan was certain their power had increased by at least one third.
“It is a pity that this authentic inscription is also incomplete, and after passing through memory, it is still somewhat distorted.”
After a long while, Li Fan emerged from his enlightenment and exhaled deeply.
“From the clues so far, True Immortal character script can be divided into three categories. The first is like the Chaos type, which brings disasters and destruction. The second is the Return type, which represents decrees from the Immortal Realm. The last is this…”
“The rain that falls when the character manifests can be called Immortal Melody Jade Dew. It is accompanied by the profound sound of the Great Dao, attracting True Immortals to compete for it. It likely corresponds to the legendary Inscription Dao.”
Li Fan’s thoughts surged as he once again tried to repair the incomplete character.
The result was naturally futile.
“With the destruction of the Immortal Realm, where could such authentic inscriptions exist now?”
…
At the same time, while Li Fan’s true body was gaining insight, Li Ping, the Faceless Holy Emperor, had completed the final sealing of the Faceless Immortal statue and the ruins of the First Origin Sect.
According to his perception, Mo Rubin, who had been fleeing rapidly, had stopped moving for quite some time.
“Where is this place?”
Li Ping pondered and did not pursue immediately. Instead, he summoned Master Qiao Gong.
“That place… it is said to be formed from the heart of a giant beast after death, the convergence of earth energy in Nine Mountains Prefecture. I have been there once, but found nothing special,” Qiao Gong replied.
“It is merely that the spiritual qi is slightly denser than elsewhere.”
Li Ping then asked about the Heavenly Beast.
Qiao Gong shrugged. “If not for local cultivators, I would not even know Nine Mountains came from a giant beast corpse.”
He then mentioned a Nascent Soul cultivator named Shen Yurou, whose family specialized in excavations.
Li Ping summoned Shen Yurou and asked for details.
Shen Yurou said cautiously, “After my ancestor entered that place, he developed strange illnesses. He would dream of that underground structure repeatedly. Since then, all members of our family have had reversed yin and yang traits.”
Li Ping examined him and found no abnormalities.
“Is the location recorded?”
“No, but there is a painting.”
Shen Yurou created an image.
At the four corners stood headless statues, seemingly praying.
At the center stood a smooth pillar.
Its shadow, however, resembled a ferocious beast.
Li Ping stared at the statues.
Though headless, they resembled the style of the Faceless True Immortal statues beneath Mount Taixu.
“They borrowed the image, yet severed the head.”
“And this pillar…”
The smooth cylindrical pillar was, without a doubt, the core of this strange structure. However, nothing could be discerned from the image alone.
After dismissing Shen Yurou, Li Ping quietly arrived at the great marsh of Nine Mountains Prefecture.
In a region where nine mountain ranges stretched continuously, the presence of such a vast swamp was, in theory, extremely unreasonable. Many cultivators had come here to explore, hoping to uncover some hidden secret, but all had returned empty handed.
Standing at the center of the marsh, Li Ping only sensed a foul, putrid stench. He did not detect anything unusual.
If not for clearly sensing that Mo Rubin was hiding here.
Mo Rubin had likely not noticed Li Ping’s approach. Although he was moving within a small range deep in the swamp, he never left this area.
After setting up formations around the surroundings, Li Ping submerged beneath the swamp and slowly approached the sensed location.
A gurgling sound.
Suddenly, his figure came to an abrupt halt.
Just moments ago, Li Ping had faintly heard a squirming noise.
With his current cultivation, it could almost certainly not be an illusion. Therefore…
Li Ping looked around.
The sticky, foul smelling swamp mud was rhythmically squeezing and shifting like a living thing.
A strange feeling arose in Li Ping’s heart. It was as if the entire swamp had suddenly come alive.
“A trap?”
This thought flashed through Li Ping’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
The swamp’s attention was not on him.
The Holy Emperor continued to conceal his presence. Following the sensation in his heart, which was also the source of the swamp’s life rhythm, he soon discovered the strange structure that Shen Yurou’s ancestor had once encountered.
From an external, macroscopic view, the structure resembled a blank face.
The towering smooth cylinder was positioned at the center of the face’s forehead, like a raised third eye gazing at the sky from beneath the ground.
Such a bizarre sight made Li Ping’s heart tighten.
The structure blocked his perception of its interior. He could only rely on the mark he had previously left on Mo Rubin to confirm that the other party was indeed inside, busy with something.
The Holy Emperor did not enter rashly. Instead, he silently set up a net of source power essence outside.
Combined with layers of formations, he completely sealed the area. He also invoked the power of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao to lock down the surrounding earth veins.
Even after deploying so many measures, for some reason Li Ping still felt little confidence.
After a moment of thought, Li Ping awakened Cat Treasure on his shoulder and took out an item from its belly.
It was a strange treasure obtained from the Fishing Pond, capable of sealing space.
The treasure appeared rather plain, merely a simple ring.
Yet the golden white light flowing across it faintly revealed the terrifying power hidden within.
“Binding Space Ring.”
“It was refined by extinguishing all life within a ring shaped world and merging it into the ring. It carries not only the weight of an entire world, but also the weight of countless living beings. Once bound, even my movements would be greatly affected.”
Although its method of refinement made it an undeniably evil artifact, Li Ping was not rigid in his thinking, so he felt no burden in using it.
With a light toss, the Binding Space Ring flew toward the top of the faceless structure. In an instant, it expanded several times, covering the entire surrounding area.
Watching the golden white ring gradually fade from sight, the Holy Emperor pondered briefly and set up one final measure.
Once everything was prepared, Li Ping flew into the structure.
“You have come.”
“I have been waiting for you for a long time.”
As soon as he entered, Mo Rubin’s voice sounded beside his ear.
Li Ping focused his gaze but could not see his figure.
However, at the base of the smooth cylinder at the center of the structure, a drifting shadow vaguely resembled a human shape.
It faced Li Ping, as if sneering.
“I followed Brother Xuanyuan for so long. Even if I did not step into the half immortal realm, I would not be completely ignorant. Not to mention, you are using a plan that my brother already discarded…”
“The Mortal Dust Immortal Power is strong, but harmful without benefit,” Mo Rubin mocked.
Li Ping knew that the power of Mortal Dust Immortal Power he referred to was the source power essence condensed from the faith of the You race.
A shortcut always comes with a price. But Li Ping’s goal was not ascension, but the Xuanhuang world itself.
Within the limits of what he could pursue, there was nothing wrong with seeking the greatest possible power.
Ignoring Mo Rubin’s words, the Holy Emperor examined the details of the structure.
“A relic of the Xuantian Sect?” he asked.
Mo Rubin seemed to be waiting for something and did not act. He replied, “Heh, rather than the Xuantian Sect, it is better to say this is a backup I left for myself.”
“Brother Xuanyuan is too idealistic. He trusts himself too much.”
“I am different.”
The shadow beneath the pillar seemed stimulated, moving faster and faster.
“I once had the same mentality as him, believing I was the destined protagonist, that as long as I acted, failure was impossible. But later I was struck down hard, my cultivation regressing every day, and I had to face the mockery of those I once looked down upon…”
“I understood!”
Mo Rubin’s shadow surged upward from the ground, floating in midair as it glared viciously at Li Ping.
“I am not some protagonist. I am just an insignificant figure in the long river of history. A small figure must prepare a path for failure. So I built this place behind Brother Xuanyuan’s back!”
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