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Li Fan no longer cared about Kou Hong Daoxuanzi's reaction upon returning to the Cultivation World and discovering that the two of them were practicing the same cultivation technique.
At this moment, he had already taken care of everything, piloting the Great Derivation Boat to the top of the Ruin Abyss.
According to common sense, one should wait for the Day of White Mist Dispersal, which occurs every fifteen years, to explore the Ruin Abyss.
But now Li Fan was already 71 years old, and the next White Mist Dispersal was still 14 years away.
By then, he would be 85, nearing the end of his life, and even walking would be a struggle, let alone piloting the Great Derivation Boat.
So it was better to investigate the Heaven-Severing Array as soon as possible.
After all, he had nothing to linger over in this world and could start a new life at any time.
Piloting the Great Derivation Boat, Li Fan slowly descended toward the bottom of the Ruin Abyss.
Without divine sense to guide the way, he could only rely on his eyes to determine direction.
The thick fog enveloped everything, making the surroundings appear as a vast, white expanse, giving Li Fan an extremely unreal feeling.
The surroundings were also extremely quiet, with only the sound of his own breathing.
Focusing intently, he continued to fly downward.
Suddenly, as if he had collided with something, the Great Derivation Boat began to shake violently.
Li Fan immediately tensed up.
It seemed to be squeezed by an invisible force, and the exterior of the Great Derivation Boat emitted sounds similar to metal grinding.
Fortunately, the defensive array activated in time, enveloping the Great Derivation Boat in a faint golden light.
The boat gradually stabilized, and the eerie sounds disappeared.
Only the continuously twisting and changing protective light barrier spoke of the terrifying pressure from outside.
"After the Gale Layer, it's the Illusion Light Layer," Li Fan recalled Kou Hong's previous introduction to the Heaven-Severing Array.
The Heaven-Severing Array was mainly designed to prevent exiled mortals from returning to the Cultivation World.
The Gale Layer was filled with strong winds.
Wind blades could easily tear apart mortal bodies, and even Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators had to use spiritual energy to protect themselves and proceed with caution.
Below the Gale Layer was the Illusion Light Layer.
Silk-like, colorful light flowed through this layer of the abyss.
Mortals who saw it would fall into endless illusions.
Below the Illusion Light Layer was the Inversion Layer.
Upon entering this layer, one would feel the world change, unable to distinguish up from down or left from right.
With the surroundings completely shrouded in white fog and no divine sense to determine direction, one would inevitably get lost.
Below the Inversion Layer was the Flowing Fire Layer.
Tens of thousands of flying stars and flames traveled at high speeds through this space, smashing into anything in their path and reducing it to dust.
The thick white fog also served as a cover, making it difficult to guard against them.
Below the Flowing Fire Layer was the Mystic Ice Layer.
From this layer onward, the fog gradually thinned.
The Mystic Ice Layer had nothing else but extremely low temperatures.
Without the appropriate protective measures, one would likely freeze into an ice block upon entering.
Below the Mystic Ice Layer was the Thunderstorm Layer.
Tens of thousands of thunderbolts, emitting a destructive aura, continuously rumbled through this layer of the abyss.
Finally, there was a vast, empty space several times larger than the combined size of the previous six layers.
According to Kou Hong, this layer was not dangerous, just a dark void that made one's heart race.
By passing through the Darkness Layer, one could leave the Heaven-Severing Array and reach the Cultivation World.
Li Fan carefully controlled the Great Derivation Boat, spending half an hour to finally cross the Gale Layer.
Upon entering the Illusion Light Layer, the swirling light enveloped him, and Li Fan fell into a series of illusions.
In the illusion, he successfully escaped the Heaven-Severing Array, reached the Cultivation World, and by chance obtained a rare cultivation technique. In just a century, he cultivated to the Golden Core stage.
After that, his cultivation path was smooth, and a thousand years later, he attained enlightenment and ascended.
In the Immortal Realm, Li Fan started from the lowest Celestial Official and gradually cultivated to become a Celestial Emperor, commanding respect throughout the Immortal Realm.
He then broke through the spatial barriers of the Immortal Realm and ascended to the Divine Realm.
Starting as a miner in the Divine Realm, he cultivated for ten thousand years to reach the Divine King stage, becoming the most powerful existence in the Divine Realm.
After great effort, he ascended to the Ancient Divine Realm, starting from the lowest gatekeeper and working his way up.
He toiled from the beginning once more.
This cycle repeated countless times...
Finally, the illusion collapsed.
Li Fan regained consciousness, and the previous experiences faded from his mind like a receding tide, leaving only faint traces.
Feeling somewhat speechless about his experiences in the illusion, Li Fan steadied his mind and continued downward.
His head spun, and he immediately lost his sense of direction, realizing he had reached the Inversion Layer.
Surrounded by endless white fog, the Great Derivation Boat felt like a drop of water in the vast sea, with no sense of up or down, and no idea where to go.
Thinking his exploration of the array would end here, Li Fan was pleasantly surprised to discover a mysterious intuition guiding him from the Great Derivation Boat, telling him which direction to go.
Following the Great Derivation Boat's guidance, he quickly left the Inversion Layer.
Having tasted the benefits, Li Fan did not deliberately control the boat but provided power, allowing the Great Derivation Boat to navigate the Heaven-Severing Array on its own.
Flowing fire, mystic ice, thunderstorms...
These places seemed extremely dangerous, but the Great Derivation Boat flew steadily, narrowly avoiding one disaster after another.
With some excitement and some danger, Li Fan smoothly reached the final layer, the Darkness Layer.
"That's right, this Great Derivation Boat was specifically responsible for transporting mortals a thousand years ago. The Great Migration Era lasted for several hundred years, and this flying boat must have made multiple trips. Judging by its condition, it might have been in constant use for a century. The cultivator in charge must have found it exhausting to control it each time, so they left a hidden mechanism inside the Great Derivation Boat to allow it to automatically pass through the Heaven-Severing Array..." Li Fan was both surprised and suddenly understood why his journey had been unexpectedly smooth.
The Great Derivation Boat quietly moved forward in the darkness.
Thinking that the Cultivation World he had been longing for was just ahead, even Li Fan, with his composure, could not help but feel excited.
Suddenly, in the dead silence of the darkness, a strange, ancient, and profound sound echoed.
This peculiar sound quickly spread throughout the Darkness Layer, continuously reverberating.
Li Fan's heart skipped a beat, as if encountering a natural enemy, and his blood turned cold.
The sound grew closer, quickly surrounding the small Great Derivation Boat, coming from all directions.
Suddenly, the sound disappeared.
Silence returned.
The darkness around him seemed different from before.
Li Fan felt a chill run down his spine.
He knew the Great Derivation Boat had been swallowed by some existence.
"Bang!"
The protective light barrier of the Great Derivation Boat shattered instantly, and the boat itself began to disintegrate.
The power level plummeted in an instant.
Taking one last look at the darkness outside, Li Fan murmured.
"True Illusion!"
(End of Chapter)