"Immortals and mortals are different. Reaching that height with our own power alone is naturally impossible. That's why we need external assistance. The Merchant Ark did so in the past, and so shall we," Zhong Daogong said with a faint smile, his words deliberately vague.
"External assistance? The True Immortal Script? Is that why you want to join forces with Great Qi?" Li Fan asked directly.
"Yes… and no," Zhong Daogong replied enigmatically. "Now that you've seen the weak point in the Great Wall, and we've demonstrated our sincerity, why don't we return to a safer location to discuss this further? This isn't a place to linger…"
Before he could finish, the elevated point on the Great Wall of Shattered Worlds where they stood began to tremble slightly.
They looked down. Ripples spread across the Dark Star Sea below, like waves on a cloudy ocean, stretching endlessly.
"It's the Echoing Star Power!" The Ark's elders' expressions changed.
"This eruption is quite substantial. It won't subside anytime soon. We should leave immediately," Zhong Daogong said gravely.
Li Fan gazed into the distance. Although the spatial distortion obscured the details, he could sense the source of the Echoing Star Power eruption. The Great Wall of Shattered Worlds, like a breakwater, seemed to have developed a breach where a shattered world had vanished. The residual True Immortal power accumulated beneath the Great Wall found an outlet, pouring downwards through the gap.
This had happened once before in his past life, triggered by his Saint Embryo Avatar destroying the world fragments the Healer had implanted within the Thundering Immortal City's abyss, forcing him to replenish them with another shattered world.
But in this life, that trigger hadn't occurred. What caused this disturbance in the Great Wall?
"Could it be Immortal Master Yin and the others? But they wouldn't be so reckless…" Li Fan was puzzled.
While he was pondering, the elders were already leading him down from their elevated position. The scenery shifted rapidly, the vast Dark Star Sea shrinking below. The Great Wall of Shattered Worlds remained towering above, and their previous ascent felt like a dream.
Clearly, even for the elders, ascension wasn't easy. They were now breathing heavily, their foreheads covered in sweat. Zhong Daogong's expression was grim as he looked towards the source of the disturbance in the distance. However, he chose not to investigate, urging everyone to leave.
On their way back to the Ark, Li Fan once again led the way with the golden sword. This time, the elders truly experienced its speed. By the time they reached the Profound Immortal Ark, the Echoing Star Power hadn't even reached that area. The elders looked at Li Fan with renewed respect.
"Fellow Daoist, please enter the Ark. We can discuss our cooperation further inside," Jian Daosheng said with a smile, gesturing towards the open entrance.
To their surprise, Li Fan shook his head. "I'm afraid I must return to Great Qi."
The elders' expressions turned subtle.
Unfazed, Li Fan said arrogantly, "What? Do you have objections? This isn't what we agreed upon. You've revealed your Ark's most confidential plan, and now you want me to simply leave?"
Zhong Daogong's face darkened, and the other elders glared at Li Fan, their auras locking onto him.
"Hmph, don't waste your time. You've all seen the Immortal-Slaying Sword. Can any of you stop me if I use it?" Li Fan said calmly.
The elders fell silent. Indeed, a technique faster than the spread of residual True Immortal power, capable of carrying multiple people… It was beyond their comprehension.
However, letting Li Fan leave so easily was out of the question. As the atmosphere grew tense, Li Fan broke the silence. "Why are you so nervous? I'll be back soon. I know your concern. You're afraid I'll reveal the location of the weak point. There's no need to worry!"
"I'm returning to persuade Great Qi to reconsider. Having seen the weak point with my own eyes, my arguments will be more convincing. If my master and the others still refuse to take the risk, I naturally won't reveal the secret. But if I succeed… well, we'll be cooperating anyway, so it won't matter anymore."
"I'm nearing my end. Having witnessed the only opportunity to cross the Great Wall, I won't give up so easily."
With that, he bowed and, despite being surrounded, activated the golden sword and soared into the sky. He was so fast that even Zhong Daogong couldn't react before he vanished.
"That fellow is truly troublesome," Jian Daosheng said, stroking his beard with a frown.
"There's nothing we can do. He wields the True Immortal Script, possesses extraordinary formation skills, and his escape technique is unparalleled. And he's dying, so he's not afraid of death… It's best not to make an enemy of such a person."
"Fortunately, he doesn't have long to live. Otherwise, he would be a constant threat to our Ark."
"I think he's right. If Great Qi refuses to participate because their world-protecting immortal artifact predicted disaster, then our Ark is his only hope. Crossing the Great Wall alone is clearly impossible…"
While the elders were discussing, Li Fan had already returned to the edge of the Great Wall of Shattered Worlds. The Echoing Star Power, like a gathering storm, intensified. The wooden sword's image he had left behind flickered like a dying candle in the wind.
He reinforced it with a beam of golden light and searched for Craftsman Qiao and the others, but they were nowhere to be found. The secret markings they had agreed to leave behind while searching for suitable world fragments had been swept away by the Echoing Star Power.
"I've lost contact with all of them?" Li Fan was surprised.
"Fortunately, the Horizon at Hand Grand Formation isn't severely damaged."
He went to the formation and reinforced it, abandoning the idea of searching for them.
"I can only hope they're alright. With their luck, they shouldn't perish from a mere eruption of Echoing Star Power. When the storm subsides, they should return on their own."
Passing through the formation back to the Xuanhuang World, Li Fan noticed, as expected, some residual True Immortal power leaking through. He set up another net of Source Power Essence as a double seal, finally containing the disturbance caused by the Echoing Star Power.
"Among them, Immortal Master Yin is the most likely to have triggered this disturbance." Li Fan recalled Immortal Master Yin's strange expression upon their arrival at the Great Wall.
"He must have seen something in the memories of the world souls he absorbed."
"But Immortal Master Yin isn't reckless. He wouldn't tamper with the world fragments without a good reason…"
"I should be able to find out when he returns." Li Fan had a premonition that Immortal Master Yin was still alive somewhere within the Great Wall of Shattered Worlds, perhaps even having stumbled upon a great opportunity.
"Could it be related to the formation of the Great Wall itself?" The thought suddenly struck him.
In the Dark Star Sea, not only was the origin of the Great Wall unknown, but the formation of the Great Wall of Shattered Worlds at its base was also a mystery. The countless destroyed cultivation worlds hadn't converged towards the Immortal Ruins but had instead accumulated at the foot of the Great Wall, forming a continuous structure.
Li Fan believed the force maintaining the Great Wall was comparable to, if not stronger than, the residual True Immortal power, but it was beyond his comprehension. His experience, gained through countless reincarnations and unrestrained exploration, far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. There were few blind spots remaining within the Xuanhuang World and the Dark Star Sea.
The force maintaining the Great Wall was one of them. The deepest depths of the Dark Sea were another.
Back in Great Xuan, Li Fan possessed the body of a robust Nether Race individual with a strand of his divine consciousness. After gathering the Nether Race and initiating the ritual to enter the Dark Sea, he stepped into the endless darkness.
For ordinary cultivators, the Dark Sea was a death trap, but Li Fan had traversed it countless times. He walked confidently, unfazed by the dangers. Ignoring the corpses of ancient Eternal Life cultivators from the Xuanhuang World scattered on the ground, he continued forward, reaching the central core of the Spirit Gathering Ascension Grand Formation, a transparent platform overlooking the outline of the True Immortal's remains within the Dark Sea.
He stopped there, not venturing deeper to confront the True Immortal's lingering will to survive. Before him, ancient storm clouds, shaped like grotesque primordial beasts, churned silently. Looking down at this accumulated power, Li Fan felt a sense of familiarity.
"As I suspected!"
His eyes gleamed. The scene he had witnessed from the peak, thanks to the Great Wall's momentum, appeared before him, overlapping with the image of the storm clouds churning in the Dark Sea. It wasn't that the scenery was similar, but that the concentrated energy here had caused this part of the Dark Sea to rise, just like the peaks he had seen.
"This must be one of the peaks I saw from that vantage point. The energy concentrated here is 'higher' than even the Xuanhuang World, even higher than the position I reached at the foot of the Great Wall with the help of the Great Wall of Shattered Worlds!"
Li Fan's eyes flickered as his thoughts raced. "It's not just that the Spirit Gathering Ascension Grand Formation is built upon the remains of a True Immortal. It's also because nearly ten thousand years have passed since its creation! The Xuanhuang King created this formation to lead the Xuanhuang World across the Great Wall. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, he vanished, and the plan was abandoned. But the accumulation of energy in the Dark Sea didn't stop. It has continued for nearly ten thousand years. The Star Sea has undergone tremendous changes in those millennia. However, the 'height' of the Great Wall encircling the Star Sea hasn't changed. This means…"
Li Fan looked at the Dark Sea below again. The churning storm clouds transformed into towering peaks in his eyes, each floating above the Dark Star Sea, facing the distant Great Wall.
"The vantage points that the Ark's inhabitants consider treasures, accessible only with external assistance, are commonplace in the Xuanhuang World. From here, crossing the Great Wall would be much easier. The only concern is the True Immortal's lingering will to survive… But with caution, it shouldn't be a problem."
Maintaining this elevated perspective was taxing. Li Fan took a deep breath and returned to his normal state. He began to consider how to best utilize this legacy left by the Xuanhuang King.
"Simply using it as a stepping stone isn't enough. I need more data, preferably verified by actual results… The Ark, as cannon fodder, seems like a good option. The Spirit Gathering Ascension Grand Formation, as part of the Floating Ferry Starry Sky Grand Formation, is related to crossing the Great Wall. The Eye of the Celestial Beast is also related. This means it's probably more than just a navigation and targeting tool… It might also be able to perceive the 'height' of the Great Wall, providing the same higher-dimensional perspective I saw earlier."
Li Fan remained within the central hub of the Spirit Gathering Ascension Grand Formation for seven days, controlling the Nether Race body, until it could no longer withstand the dense, dark energy and was consumed by it. Only then did he withdraw.
Back in the Great Xuan Small World, Li Fan slowly opened his eyes. After familiarizing himself with the elevated perspective and returning to his normal vision, he felt a slight discomfort.
"In ancient times, breaking through the limits of height allowed one to ascend and become an immortal. Later, with the severing of the path to immortality, the Great Wall appeared… Perhaps the principles behind them are similar."
Looking at the countless beings in Great Xuan, a wave of understanding washed over Li Fan. "However, the height of the Great Wall might even surpass that of immortality. After all, the Xuanhuang King could ascend, but he couldn't cross the Great Wall. Conversely, if one can cross the Great Wall now, perhaps they could have ascended to immortality in the past."
The thought made him pause.
"Immortality…"
Ten thousand years had passed. While the realm remained the same, one was ascension, the other confinement beneath the Great Wall. Even if one could cross it, they would face unknown dangers beyond.
"The Dao becomes easier, yet immortals are no longer immortals." That was Li Fan's only sentiment.
"If my guess is correct, the method used to construct the Great Wall is the same as the barrier preventing ascension to immortality. Now that would be interesting."
(End of Chapter)