Chapter 1098 Tides of Darkness
Seeing the abnormality of the group of ghost tribes in front of him, Li Fan remained calm. He ignored their extreme fear and forced them to complete the oath of membership in front of the faceless true immortal stone statue.
After they finally calmed down, Li Fan asked them about the reason for their extreme fear.
The leader of the ghost tribe trembled and, after a long time, was finally able to explain, "We have never had the fortune of seeing the true immortal stone statue before. But the moment our people saw it, we instinctively felt boundless fear."
"We have been living in darkness for years, and our bodies have adapted to the special environment there. We can barely withstand normal sunlight for a while, but in front of the true immortal stone statue..."
"It's like being in absolute darkness, and suddenly a source of light brighter than the sun in the sky appears a thousand times over."
Although the leader of the ghost tribe's words were fragmented, Li Fan understood his meaning.
Just as a mortal feels fear when facing an abyss, the ghost tribe also felt extreme fear upon seeing the faceless true immortal stone statue due to the fatal threat it posed.
But the web of true immortals is intangible and invisible. Even Li Fan, if not the agent of the faceless true immortal in the Xuanhuang realm, would probably not be able to perceive its existence.
In contrast, this group of ghost tribes, even the newly born children among them, without exception felt the power of the true immortal.
"It seems that they are inseparably linked to the power of darkness they possess."
Next, Li Fan learned from the leader of the ghost tribe about their understanding of darkness.
The ghost people were originally human.
According to the ancient legend in their tribe, in ancient times, their world still had blue skies, white clouds, and bright sunlight.
But suddenly, one day, after the sun set, it never rose again.
People desperately pleaded in the darkness, but no miracle came.
The majority of people disappeared forever into the darkness.
The survivors, without exception, were all favored by the power of darkness.
Under the influence of the power of darkness, their bodies also slowly changed.
They transformed into terrifying figures without heads and with facial features squeezed into their chests.
The ghost people did not understand the nature of the power of darkness. They only saw it as the only straw for survival and worshipped it as a terrifying evil god that brought destruction to the normal world.
And the power of darkness seemed to understand their prayers. It actually responded to them, and they could use it.
The ghost people did not believe they controlled the power of darkness; they saw it as a gift from the great god of darkness.
...The leader of the ghost tribe's words were different from the introduction by the guide Zhou.
The ghost people were originally the indigenous people of the ghost realm, but the guide Zhou said they were just a special group that discovered the power of the ghost realm and utilized it.
In such a minor matter, the guide Zhou probably had no reason to deceive himself.
"It seems that the process of the Universal Immortal Alliance's discovery of the ghost realm is not as simple as he made it out to be."
A cold light flashed in Li Fan's eyes.
Next, he began to ponder the manifestation of the power of darkness.
"Pray and wait for a response?"
"No wonder the channels to open the entrance to the ghost realm are through song and dance rituals."
Li Fan's eyes flickered.
The power of darkness, with the nature of responding to the inner touch of cultivators, was not unfamiliar to Li Fan.
The golden source power essence, the residual power left by the true immortal in pursuit of the root of the Tao. It was called the flower of the Tao.
"Being able to resonate with each other, these two should be related in some way."
According to the leader of the ghost tribe, although the power of darkness only appeared concretely in their homeland, it was actually ubiquitous in the entire Xuanhuang realm. It just did not condense in a specific place, making it difficult for ordinary people to perceive. However, through special methods of prayer and invocation, it could be called upon and used to overcome the barriers between small worlds.
Under Li Fan's witness, the leader of the ghost tribe prayed fervently and recited incantations.
He then launched an attack on a fierce and ferocious beast resembling a lion and tiger in front of him.
This lion-tiger beast was a new breed recently bred by the empire, with a body as tough as steel. Even a normal foundational cultivator's full force blow would hardly be able to harm it.
However, an extremely bizarre scene unfolded.
Without warning, the once imposing lion-tiger beast suddenly went limp and fell to the ground.
Its eyes were full of panic, and it struggled helplessly to get up.
But underneath it, it seemed as if there was an invisible quagmire. Countless hands seemed to be pulling it down.
Under Li Fan's gaze, the lion-tiger beast was slowly engulfed by the darkness.
It vanished without a trace.
Throughout the entire process, Li Fan did not "see" the presence of the darkness.
But the lion-tiger beast disappeared right before his eyes.
Li Fan carefully examined the ground where the darkness had descended, but there was no residual power.
"Completely elusive and impossible to guard against." Li Fan rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, the ghost tribe once again collectively closed their eyes and prayed devoutly.
"It seems that only they can elicit a response from the darkness through this kind of prayer. Even if ordinary humans resemble them, they cannot trigger the power of darkness."
"It is also understandable why only by joining the Universal Immortal Alliance, passing the oath in front of the true immortal statue, and joining the web of the true immortals can their prayers be sensed by me. It seems that the power of darkness also exists in such an intangible web."
Li Fan pondered silently, "So the key is how to join this web without being consumed by the darkness."
The eerie appearance of the body of Mo Ruobin in the ghost realm was still vivid in Li Fan's mind. Just touching the body led to such a fate. It was hard to imagine that being completely immersed in the darkness, body and soul, would end well.
And next, Li Fan ordered his subordinates to attempt to communicate with the darkness, proving his speculation.
They disappeared without a sound, swallowed by the darkness. Their bodies were never seen, and there were no remains.
And in a short period of time, there seemed to be some subtle changes in frequently eliciting the power of darkness.
As the lord of the Spiritual Wood Realm, Li Fan faintly felt the entire world darken for a moment.
After confirming with the leader of the ghost tribe, Li Fan knew that it was not his imagination.
The darkness did indeed have a tendency to flow towards them.
Li Fan decisively stopped the experiment for the time being.
After inquiring among the ghost tribe for a long time, Li Fan finally roughly understood the current situation of the power of darkness in the Xuanhuang realm.
It was like a gathering of the darkness in the "back" of the Xuanhuang, like a dark ocean.
Although it had been fixed in position by some mysterious force, the inherent nature of the darkness made it invade the Xuanhuang and various small worlds through any possible "cracks" from time to time.
Infiltrating and eventually returning to the ghost realm.
This cycle formed a kind of existence similar to a "tide."
(The end of this chapter.)