Since mastering the Spectral Wooden Sword escape technique, this was the first time Li Fan had experienced such severe external interference affecting it. He even had a premonition that, had True Return not absorbed the three-pronged tree, deepening his understanding of the Interplay of Truth and Illusion, that sudden plunge would have, at the very least, shattered his technique and left him severely injured.
Fortunately, Li Fan had made some progress. That small improvement allowed him to maintain his spectral wooden sword and successfully enter the depression within the Great Wall of Shattered Worlds.
Unlike the reservoir depression that stored True Immortal residual power, this place felt distinctly different due to the abrupt change in elevation. It was like a deep, bottomless fissure in the earth. Li Fan and the others were now at the bottom of this abyss, gazing up at a sliver of the desolate, dark sky above.
Li Fan maintained his spectral wooden sword to protect Immortal Master Yin and Daoist Hundred Flowers while he stepped outside its protective aura to experience the environment firsthand.
It was still dark, but this darkness was different from the desolate void outside. It was more like the onset of a midsummer night, teeming with latent vitality!
"Such immense vitality converging within a fissure in the High Wall?" Li Fan was astonished. Upon closer inspection, he confirmed that it wasn't an illusion.
He observed further. The fissure, while brimming with pure vitality, didn't seem to harbor any living beings. Moreover, its actual extent was far greater than it appeared from a normal perspective. It stretched endlessly outwards, seemingly without limit.
Assured of the absence of immediate danger, Li Fan dispelled his technique. Immortal Master Yin and Daoist Hundred Flowers looked around in astonishment. The presence of vitality here was beyond their comprehension. They remained tense, fearing an attack from some unseen creature lurking in the darkness.
Seeing their reaction, Li Fan realized they weren't as calm as he was. Perhaps experiencing this shift in "potential" for the first time, leaving their familiar environment, had unsettled them. It was akin to a mortal who had lived their entire life on a plateau suddenly finding themselves on the edge of a cliff or in a deep valley without any means of protection. Such a change in environment would naturally affect their state of mind.
After calming them with a few words, Li Fan led them deeper into the fissure.
Silence reigned. Pure, primordial vitality flowed like a subterranean river. It ascended, yet remained trapped within the deep fissure, accumulating and swirling.
Li Fan keenly sensed that this vitality was distinctly different from the life-giving energy of the Xuanhuang World. Such an abundance of vitality in Xuanhuang would have triggered incredible changes, raising mountains, growing towering forests, and birthing countless new species and beings.
But here, the vitality remained just that—vitality. It didn't meet the conditions for the emergence of life, like stagnant water, giving off a strange and unsettling feeling.
"Perhaps it's because the 'potential' here is too low," Li Fan thought.
After exploring for half a day with no significant change in scenery, Li Fan frowned and instructed Immortal Master Yin and Daoist Hundred Flowers to wait while he sped ahead with his spectral wooden sword.
At his current speed, he could traverse the entire Dark Star Sea in less than a day. Yet, to his astonishment, this fissure was far longer than he'd imagined! As he progressed, he discovered it was like a labyrinth, branching off in different directions.
Initially, there were only a few forks. But later, each branch led to dozens, then hundreds of different passages. Each passage, in turn, split into countless more branches. Eventually, even with his exceptional escape technique, Li Fan dared not venture deeper. The labyrinthine fissure was simply too vast.
After three days of rapid exploration, during which he could have theoretically covered the entire Dark Star Sea, he still couldn't see an end to the fissure labyrinth. He had no choice but to retrace his steps.
After explaining the situation to Immortal Master Yin and Daoist Hundred Flowers, they were both deeply shocked.
"This strange fissure isn't just beneath the Great Wall of Shattered Worlds," Immortal Master Yin realized. "It's probably like a network of underground channels, extending in all directions throughout the Dark Star Sea!"
Daoist Hundred Flowers nodded in agreement. "I can faintly sense the source of this vitality. Aside from the ruins of countless shattered worlds within the Great Wall, it also comes from every corner of the silent Star Sea!"
"Like a subterranean river, it draws in every bit of nascent vitality, converging here like streams."
If the High Wall was the supreme entity confining the Star Sea, then this hidden fissure beneath it was the Star Sea's lowest point. Most of the revitalizing energy from the Star Sea's recovery flowed through the ubiquitous fissures beneath, ultimately converging here. It was the accumulation of this vast vitality over millennia that made Li Fan feel a sense of awe and unease.
"Such a magnificent creation is beyond human capability…"
"Could it be the work of True Immortals, like the High Wall? Created to completely seal off the vitality of the Dark Star Sea?" Immortal Master Yin's expression was uncertain.
Daoist Hundred Flowers, having recovered from her initial apprehension, asked, "Master, may I draw some vitality from here?"
Li Fan's eyes flickered. After a moment of thought, he replied, "If you only take a small amount and don't disturb the flow of the vitality river, there shouldn't be any danger."
"But remember, don't be greedy. Know when to stop. Otherwise…" Li Fan's expression turned serious as he observed the calmly flowing vitality. "The sheer quantity is immense. Such overwhelming potential, if suddenly unleashed, can be lethal, even though it is life force!"
Daoist Hundred Flowers nodded. "I understand. In truth, I don't need that much. Just enough to awaken the frozen Glazed Glass World…"
Her voice trailed off as she transformed into her Glazed Golden Body. Within the core of her radiant, translucent figure was a miniature world, frozen like an ice sculpture. Faint images of countless cultivators, sects, and mountains could be seen within.
"Glazed… flower… bloom…" she chanted softly. Her golden body transformed into a thirty-two-petaled Glazed Golden Flower, sacred and solemn.
The Glazed Golden Flower floated into the river of vitality without causing a ripple. Its thirty-two petals slowly unfurled. Li Fan saw strands of vitality being drawn in by the petals, flowing into the miniature world at the flower's center.
But the dense vitality wasn't easily extracted. Even with all thirty-two petals working together, only a few visible droplets appeared within the miniature world. Yet, this small amount of vitality was like a life-saving rain for the miniature world. Like a wilting flower being watered, it regained its vitality. Incredible changes took place within the miniature world, the Ten Thousand Flourishing Realm.
Daoist Hundred Flowers' face lit up with ecstasy. Immortal Master Yin was also captivated by the spectacle.
Li Fan, however, noticed that due to Daoist Hundred Flowers' absorption of vitality, the surrounding, abundant life force was forming a small whirlpool around her. The whirlpool, initially tiny, rapidly expanded, as if the entire fissure's vitality was converging towards it. The overwhelming force, like a descending pressure, made even Li Fan take notice.
"Enough!" he warned, frowning.
Daoist Hundred Flowers, still relatively clear-headed, wasn't blinded by the immediate benefits. Despite her reluctance, she retracted her thirty-two-petaled Glazed Golden Flower. Without an outlet, the rumbling vitality river gradually calmed.
However, the accumulated vitality didn't dissipate immediately, forming a rapid current. The surging life force gave Li Fan and the others the sensation that their very souls were being swept away. Li Fan had to reinforce the protection of his spectral wooden sword.
Observing the seemingly calm yet treacherous scene, Immortal Master Yin suddenly exclaimed, "I understand that contradictory and dangerous feeling! It's not just vitality flowing here. On the surface of the vitality, there's another, unknown force absorbing it!"
"It's this force that continuously draws vitality from all corners of the Star Sea and stores it here!"
Daoist Hundred Flowers, back in her normal form, nodded in agreement. "That's why it was so difficult for me to absorb the vitality, because I had to separate it from this force. Strictly speaking, this life-draining force doesn't seem to be of a high level. Even I can separate it from the vitality."
"But…" Fear flickered across her face. "There's simply too much of it. There's as much of this force as there is vitality in this fissure. We might be able to withstand a few waves, but we can't survive an endless barrage."
She glanced at Li Fan, then hesitated before continuing, "Perhaps, Master, with your extraordinary escape technique, you could escape."
Li Fan didn't respond. Instead, he reached out to touch and sense the turbulent current of vitality.
The erosion of the life-draining force was immediately apparent. His hand instantly turned pale, its flesh seemingly drained, revealing the bones beneath. Moreover, this draining effect began to spread to the rest of his body. Li Fan decisively severed his arm, stopping the encroaching force.
His severed hand fell into the river of vitality. Without the protection of his body, it quickly melted and vanished like a wax figure in intense heat, becoming part of the vitality river.
"This power…"
Regenerating his arm, Li Fan flexed it slightly, recalling the details he'd sensed. It wasn't a simple draining of life force. It was the complete eradication of the foundation upon which life depended. With the foundation gone, the life force, having nothing to cling to, was simply swept away.
It was a profound and difficult concept to grasp. Li Fan didn't yet understand what constituted the foundation of life force, but he could clearly sense its dissipation.
"Truly bizarre."
"But…"
"It seems to have something in common with the High Wall?"
Li Fan pondered. "The High Wall is, in essence, a supreme restriction. There's no path forward, or perhaps, no 'forward' at all!"
"And this life-draining force within the fissure eradicates the very foundation of life."
"…"
The fissure was hidden beneath the Star Sea, like a subterranean river network spanning the entire region. Its sheer scale indicated that only the creators of the High Wall could have built it.
"Perhaps, as Immortal Master Yin speculated, it was created to extract and seal the burgeoning vitality of the Star Sea?"
But a doubt arose in Li Fan's mind. While it did extract life force, it didn't extract it completely. The vast vitality accumulated by the fissure over millennia still remained here!
Admittedly, entering the fissure was extremely difficult. Li Fan had traveled back and forth across the Great Wall of Shattered Worlds countless times without ever noticing the minuscule entrance.
But it wasn't impossible. There was still a chance of entering by coincidence, as Xu Ke had done, swept in by the turbulent astral energy.
"If they truly wanted to extinguish the Star Sea's vitality, with their ability to create the High Wall and excavate this fissure, they could have simply extracted all the vitality beyond the wall."
"But they deliberately kept it within the Star Sea…" Li Fan's expression was unreadable. "Either the creators of the fissure and the High Wall are different entities, or this was intentional."
An image of the entire Dark Star Sea appeared in Li Fan's mind. The High Wall surrounded and sealed it. At its bottom, the fissure network channeled and preserved the Star Sea's vitality.
And at the edge of the Star Sea, the highest point of the High Wall and the lowest point of the fissure converged.
"A wonder of the Star Sea."
"For the beings within the Star Sea, they are both symbols of despair. However…"
"Perhaps the fissure isn't."
The image before Li Fan shifted again.
"The Star Sea is reviving from its destruction. But the rebirth of life isn't a swift process."
"Especially with the lingering True Immortal residual power still permeating the Star Sea. Even if vitality resurfaces, it will quickly be contaminated, like a fleeting rain shower in a scorching desert, quickly evaporating."
"The gradual resurgence of vitality throughout the Star Sea is a waste, unable to truly bring forth life."
"But if it were all gathered together…" Li Fan narrowed his eyes.
(End of Chapter)