Anchored to the third year, atop Mount Jielidie.
Li Fan, deep in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes.
His mind was in turmoil, his carefully cultivated calm shattered.
He exhaled slowly, then stood, leaving the small wooden hut.
He walked to the edge of the cliff, gazing out at the sea of clouds below, the mountain wind whipping his robes around him.
It took him hours to regain his composure.
This wasn't the first time this had happened. But unlike before…
This time, after successfully returning to his anchor point, the memories of his previous life, of its final, terrifying moments, continued to haunt him.
Not the passive influence of the True Immortal's web, but something… deeper. A flaw within his own mind.
Even the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra couldn't shield him from it.
The image of Mao Bao, emerging from the darkness, devouring the True Immortal avatar in a single gulp… it would appear unbidden, a recurring nightmare that jolted him awake, his heart pounding, his mind racing.
"Mao Bao… Mao Bao…" He repeated the name, his eyes unfocused, his thoughts adrift.
Mao Bao, a creature with three seemingly insignificant abilities - object replication, lifeform mimicry, and body refinement – had been classified as a white-quality treasure when fished from the Pond.
The Fishing Pond, believed to be the creation of an unknown True Immortal who had mastered the Dao of Fishing, was a powerful artifact.
And for Mao Bao to have fooled it…
Its consumption of Source Power Essence had hinted at its… unusual nature.
But neither the Sacred Emperor, a pawn in his game, nor he, Li Fan, the supposed master manipulator, had anticipated… this.
The True Immortal's power, amplified by the Celestial Spiritual Qi, had been immense, almost as if a True Immortal themselves had descended upon the Xuanhuang World. Even as a mere avatar, it had effortlessly suppressed the Immortal Descent, All Things Return to Void formation, a formation that had pushed the three Supreme Beings of the Star Sea to their limits.
The gulf between a Supreme Being and a True Immortal… it was immeasurable.
And Mao Bao… it had devoured that avatar in a single gulp.
Its true power… it was terrifying to contemplate.
In his previous life, witnessing the collapse of the Wall, the chaos that had gripped the Star Sea, his survival instincts had taken over, suppressing his fear, allowing him to focus on escaping, on returning to his anchor point.
It was only now, in this new life, that the true horror of that moment had sunk in.
He had faced a True Immortal before, within the Immortal Ruins. Though it had been through a fragmented self, though the merging process had left him weakened, he had survived.
So, when the True Immortal avatar had appeared, he hadn't panicked. He had been cautious, yes, but he hadn't immediately initiated the merging process. He had wanted to observe, to learn, to glean more insights into the nature of True Immortals.
He hadn't anticipated… Mao Bao.
The True Immortal avatar, the being whose mere presence had threatened to destroy the Xuanhuang World, hadn't even had time to react. It had been… eaten.
And if Mao Bao had turned its attention towards him…
Centuries of planning, countless lives lived, countless sacrifices made… it would have all been for nothing.
The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
"I thought… I had been careful. Meticulous."
"I thought I understood the Xuanhuang World. Its secrets. Its dangers. But the world beyond the Wall…" he shuddered. "…it holds terrors I hadn't even imagined."
He ignored the flashing message in his mind, the option to initiate the merging process, and returned to his cabin.
The room was filled with wooden carvings of cats, each one different, their forms栩栩如生, lifelike, frozen in mid-motion.
But they were all incomplete, limbs missing, ears chipped, their forms unable to fully capture Mao Bao's… essence.
He had carved them over the past three years, using only simple tools, his hands shaping the wood, his mind focused on the task, a way to… confront his fear, to understand it, to control it.
It had helped. The nightmares were less frequent now.
But he knew, deep down, that this… inner demon… it wouldn't be so easily vanquished.
He used this time, these moments of forced tranquility, to reflect, to analyze, to… reassess.
In his previous life, the chaos in the Star Sea, the collapse of the Wall, it hadn't just been a destructive force. It had been… an arrival.
Something had… entered their reality.
Like a massive stone dropped into a still pond, its impact had sent ripples throughout the Star Sea, its already turbulent energies erupting in a chaotic frenzy.
It had been an event unlike anything the Dark Star Sea had witnessed since the severing of the path to immortality, millennia ago.
Amidst that chaos, his instincts, honed by countless lifetimes, had guided him, allowing him to successfully merge, to escape.
But the merging process itself… it had been… different.
That was the true source of his unease, the reason why he couldn't find peace.
Normally, when he initiated the merging process, the world around him would dim, as if shrouded in a thick fog. Then, everything would freeze, the images shattering, their essence flowing into his mind.
When facing powerful beings, like the True Immortal within the Immortal Ruins, or the faceless True Immortal who had pursued him across the Star Sea, they could still move, albeit slowly, within this frozen reality, as if they existed in a different time stream.
But in his previous life, the merging process had been… different.
The world around him had frozen, as usual. But the "fog," the distortion that usually accompanied the process, it had flickered, its intensity fluctuating, like a faulty television screen losing its signal.
He had felt… a presence. Something… watching.
He had been helpless, unable to resist, unable to even… understand. He had simply waited, his fate uncertain.
But he had been lucky.
The merging process had completed, and he had returned to his anchor point.
The memory of that moment, of that… helplessness, made him shudder, his body breaking out in a cold sweat.
His hand slipped, the carving tool digging into the wood, ruining the almost completed cat figurine.
He tossed it aside, starting anew, his movements precise, his focus absolute.
When the new carving, a near-perfect replica of Mao Bao, but without ears, was complete, he felt a sense of calm settling over him.
He began to analyze his previous life, its events, its successes and failures.
His greatest gain had been the discovery of Mao Bao, the glimpse of the terrors that lurked beyond the Wall. He had once entertained the idea of using Master Bai's legacy to transcend the Wall, to explore the world beyond. He had abandoned that plan. For now.
The dangers beyond the Wall, though terrifying, weren't an immediate threat.
Mao Bao, it seemed, was only interested in True Immortals.
And he, Li Fan, was far from reaching that level of power.
He was… beneath its notice.
As for Mao Bao's origins, he had two theories.
The first, that it was a creation of the unknown True Immortal who had created the Fishing Pond. Perhaps even… an extension of their will.
There might be other Fishing Ponds, other Mao Baos, scattered throughout the Star Sea, their purpose to seek out and… eliminate True Immortals.
Like the "Fish Kings" he had seen in the Congyun Sea's Fishing Pond competition, their power, their essence, consumed by the unknown True Immortal.
But there was a flaw in that theory.
The Fish Kings had been consumed because they were… valuable. Their power, amplified by the competing cultivators, had become a source of… nourishment for the other Fish Kings. And for the unknown True Immortal, their essence, their understanding of the Dao… it had been a… delicacy.
But a True Immortal… what value did they hold for a being who had already transcended that realm, who had mastered their own Dao?
"Unless… their true targets are those like the True Immortal within the Immortal Ruins. Those who have meditated for millennia, on the verge of… ascending. To absorb their understanding of the Dao, to acquire… new paths…"
True Immortals were already beyond his comprehension. And this unknown True Immortal, the creator of the Fishing Pond… he knew even less about them. He could only speculate.
His second theory was far more… unsettling.
That Mao Bao's presence within the Fishing Pond was no accident.
That its true target… was the unknown True Immortal themselves.
That it had used the Fishing Pond, its allure of treasures and power, as bait, allowing itself to be… caught, gaining access to the Xuanhuang World, hoping to find the True Immortal behind the Pond.
The fisherman… caught by his own bait.
And the True Immortal within the Immortal Ruins… a bonus. An unexpected snack.
Judging by Mao Bao's reaction, its… enthusiasm, it wasn't picky.
The second theory… it was far more terrifying than the first.
He had known about the unknown True Immortal for a long time.
Their power, surpassing even that of a True Immortal, was… immense. Annihilating a True Immortal would be… trivial.
But if his second theory was correct…
…then Mao Bao was merely a… scout. A harbinger.
A hunter, sent by a civilization beyond the Wall, tasked with eliminating True Immortals. Even… unknown True Immortals.
He recalled the final moments of his previous life, Mao Bao leaping towards the Immortal Ruins.
"I couldn't see what happened. But the Immortal Ruins' pull… it vanished. Slowly. Gradually."
"There were no… signs of a struggle."
"The True Immortal… they were… captured. Not killed."
He used the word "captured" because he had felt the Immortal Ruins' pull fading, not vanishing instantly, as one would expect if a True Immortal had perished. It was as if… its source was being… dragged away. Slowly. Reluctantly.
"If that's true… then the collapse of the Wall, the chaos in the Star Sea… it was caused by… them. By the civilization that created Mao Bao."
"To create such a being… their power… it must be… incomprehensible."
"And to capture a True Immortal… there must be… a purpose. A benefit."
"What value does a True Immortal hold? Their power, their Celestial Spiritual Qi… and their understanding of the Dao…"
He continued his carving, his movements precise, his mind focused on the task, the repetitive motion a calming influence.
As his fear subsided, a new thought emerged. "Perhaps… Mao Bao's existence… it's not entirely a bad thing."
"It's… a deterrent. A weapon I can use against True Immortals. A way to… level the playing field."
"I no longer need to rely on the merging process to escape them."
"But I need to be careful. I can't risk exposing my… ability."
"The distortion in the merging process… they can… influence it. Disrupt it."
"It wasn't a direct attack. It was… something else. Something that affected the process itself."
"Even a minor fluctuation…"
"If I want to use Mao Bao… I'll need to use a… fragment."
He frowned.
In his previous life, his true self had remained hidden within the Law Derivation Jade's chamber, while his fragments – the Sacred Emperor, the Sacred Embryo, the numerous other slivers of his consciousness – had carried out his plans.
Though mostly successful, there had been… complications. Unforeseen consequences.
The Sacred Emperor persona, for example, had developed his own… moral compass. A sense of… righteousness. Though Li Fan had instilled these values within him, they had ultimately led to conflict, to a severing of their connection.
And his fragments… their mental states were… unstable. Their emotional responses… exaggerated. Unpredictable.
Though he could control their actions, their thoughts, their words… he couldn't control their… feelings.
And beyond their inherent weakness, their limited power…
He suspected the true cause of their instability was the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra.
The Sacred Embryo had taught it to the Azure Profound Army, stationed at the Roaring Abyss.
The Sacred Emperor had shared it with the Great Qi Imperial Guard.
Over one hundred thousand beings now practiced this mantra.
He hadn't anticipated any… side effects.
He had been wrong.
The Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra… it was a part of him, woven into his very essence, refined over countless lifetimes.
And by sharing it, by spreading it throughout the world, he had… weakened it. Diluted its power.
"Time to… re-evaluate my strategy." He picked up another piece of wood, his mind already racing, formulating new plans.
(End of Chapter)