Could the Profound Heaven King's greatest trump card be the Fishing Pond?
It wasn't impossible. After all, he had risen from obscurity, surpassing all his peers and achieving ascension without any support… It couldn't be simply attributed to talent.
But if this were true… Li Fan recalled the stone tablet that had been pulled into the Fishing Pond while he was trying to comprehend the Dao of Fishing, and Mao Bao, the seemingly harmless creature that could devour even True Immortals.
"Could the Profound Heaven King have met a similar fate?"
Li Fan stared at the shallow pond, a sense of unease washing over him.
A long silence followed.
It wasn't that Mo Rubin was slow, but without any clues, connecting the pond to the Dao of Fishing was difficult.
Despite failing to unravel the Fishing Pond's mystery, Mo Rubin clung to it as his last hope, showing no intention of leaving.
"Staying here isn't a solution."
"Actually, I have another method that might help us find the Profound Heaven King." Li Fan finally broke the silence.
Mo Rubin turned sharply.
Li Fan continued, after a moment of contemplation, "I've mastered a portion of the 'Reveal' True Immortal Seal script. It can manifest hidden connections between things."
"I learned about the Azure Underworld Pearl from Dharma King Ji's remaining soul…" He observed Mo Rubin's reaction.
As expected, Mo Rubin's pupils constricted, and his aura fluctuated, instinctively becoming defensive. However, perhaps due to their shared experiences, they had built enough trust. His wariness quickly faded.
Li Fan continued, "If my memory serves me correctly, the cultivation techniques of the Twelve Dharma Kings were all connected to the Azure Underworld Pearl."
"Perhaps I can use the Reveal character to track the Profound Heaven King through this connection."
"This method involves the power of a True Immortal Seal script, so there are risks. And it would only track the Azure Underworld Pearl, the Profound Heaven Sect's most prized treasure, not the Profound Heaven King himself. To avoid any misunderstandings, I didn't suggest this earlier."
Li Fan looked at Mo Rubin, giving him the choice.
Instead of answering directly, Mo Rubin asked a seemingly unrelated question, "Fellow Daoist, who do you think set up those golden threads at the High Wall's flaw?"
Li Fan didn't hide anything. "I glimpsed his identity while trapping him in my formation. He's a Venerable from a cultivation world called the Heavenly Law World, which merged with the Xuanhuang World."
He projected information about the Healer to Mo Rubin.
"The Constant Dao of the Heavenly Law, enforcing the will of heaven?"
"How can it compare to our Dao of Oneness with Heaven? Even replacing heaven itself…"
"…is just a crude, unrefined method. His current strength likely comes from millennia of accumulation." Mo Rubin scoffed dismissively.
However, he still didn't answer, turning his gaze back to the Fishing Pond.
After seven days of fruitless observation, he finally shook his head and said gravely, "We can try."
"The power of a True Immortal Seal script is formidable. I can't guarantee complete control. And…"
"…if it does point to this pond, and if this pond can swallow someone like the Profound Heaven King, then it must hold immense danger. We must be cautious."
"The safety of the Xuanhuang World rests on our shoulders. We can't afford to be careless," Li Fan reminded him.
Mo Rubin agreed. He made thorough preparations at the pond before beginning the test with the Reveal character.
"When Brother Xuanyuan imparted his cultivation technique to me, he mentioned that most of the Twelve Dharma Kings' techniques originated from ascended True Immortals of the Divine Witch World."
"Their cultivators resonate with the Grand Dao, manipulate it, and even replace it with their own souls. Although their cultivation methods and external manifestations are somewhat peculiar, it's the most direct path to the Dao. It's said that the Divine Witch World is one of the oldest cultivation worlds, perhaps even the birthplace of human cultivators."
"Divine Witches are almost identical to ordinary humans, except their innate talent is far greater, making it much easier for them to resonate with the Grand Dao."
"It took me considerable effort to master the Undying Demonic Heart Immortal Technique. But according to Brother Xuanyuan, it's effortless for Divine Witches."
Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened.
Mo Rubin's tone suddenly changed. "But even those powerful True Immortals of the Divine Witch World were like ants before the Dao Obliteration Calamity. Their corpses rained down from the heavens, most dying while fleeing…"
"There's nothing to fear from True Immortals! Let's begin!"
Mo Rubin roared, and countless demonic hearts erupted from him, swirling and howling like a terrifying storm.
Li Fan glanced at the formations and his spectral wooden sword, ensuring a quick escape if anything went wrong. He also checked the 400% charge on his True Return panel.
Then, he wrote the character 显 (xiǎn - reveal) in the air, sending it towards Mo Rubin.
Mo Rubin didn't resist, allowing the Reveal character's power to envelop him. Wisps of azure smoke rose from his countless demonic hearts, rising straight upwards before circling as if searching for something.
Mo Rubin's face contorted, as if being rubbed by an invisible force.
"Hold on, Brother Mo," Li Fan said gravely, projecting golden threads into Mo Rubin's body. Since they had agreed on this beforehand, Mo Rubin didn't resist. Pure spiritual and soul energy flowed through the threads, helping him withstand the pressure of the True Immortal Seal script.
The azure smoke above Mo Rubin's head gradually coalesced. Then, as if finding its target, it surged downwards like an azure dragon, heading straight for the Fishing Pond.
"It's really connected to the pond?" Li Fan's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively moved away from the water.
However, what happened next surprised him. Just as the azure dragon was about to enter the Fishing Pond, it paused, then split into two streams. One plunged into the pond, while the other shot back up into the sky, flying beyond Xuanhuang!
"What?"
Both of them were stunned.
Mo Rubin quickly followed the first stream of smoke into the pond. But the moment it touched the water, it vanished. He couldn't detect any trace of the Azure Underworld Pearl within the seemingly bottomless pond. Disappointment washed over him.
Li Fan, however, stared at the point where the other stream of smoke had vanished.
"What do you think, Brother Mo? Could the Azure Underworld Pearl have split into two?" he asked, frowning.
"Judging by the Reveal character's behavior, it's possible. But what if it's not just pointing to the pearl, but also to Brother Xuanyuan?"
"Since we've found nothing here, let's follow the other stream of smoke," Mo Rubin suggested after a moment of silence.
This was exactly what Li Fan wanted. Without sufficient protection, he didn't want to interact directly with the Fishing Pond. He'd already encountered Mao Bao within it, and now, with the Profound Heaven King's disappearance potentially linked to the pond, he was even more cautious.
Their spectral wooden sword carried them along the path of the azure smoke. Although the smoke moved quickly, it was still slower than Li Fan's escape technique. They soon caught up and had to wait.
Seeing Mo Rubin's downcast expression, Li Fan tried to change the subject. "Besides the Divine Witch World, did the Profound Heaven King ever mention other stories about the Immortal Realm?"
"Even after millennia, we cultivators still can't help but be fascinated by the legendary Immortal Realm."
Li Fan's words brought a wistful look to Mo Rubin's eyes.
"Perhaps he'd actually been there, or perhaps he heard it from the Faceless Immortal. In any case, Brother Xuanyuan did talk about the Immortal Realm. We could tell he was still bothered by being forced to return halfway through his ascension." He chuckled softly.
"It's said that the Immortal Realm is a paradise with unlimited resources. After ascending, cultivators no longer have to worry about cultivation materials. The amount of resources they can gather depends solely on their strength and luck."
"But Brother Xuanyuan never mentioned what these resources were. It's probably more than just immortal spiritual energy."
"By the way, have you ever heard of the Ascension Lightning Tribulation?" Mo Rubin asked, his expression changing slightly.
"Of course. In ancient times, when the path to immortality wasn't severed, cultivators had to overcome the Lightning Tribulation to ascend," Li Fan replied quickly.
Mo Rubin's expression was strange. "I was once just a step away from ascension. But after Brother Xuanyuan's return, ascension became impossible. I've always regretted missing that opportunity."
"However, in private, Brother Xuanyuan consoled me. He said he was only able to ascend because the True Immortal in charge of the Lightning Tribulation on the other side of the passage… suddenly died due to the Dao Obliteration Calamity…"
"Based on the tribulation's original intensity, Brother Xuanyuan wouldn't have survived. In fact, it wasn't designed for anyone to survive!"
Li Fan was stunned.
"So, Brother Xuanyuan told me not to dwell on it. If I had cultivated any faster, I wouldn't have ascended, but would have been reduced to ashes by the heavenly lightning," Mo Rubin said, his voice soft.
"Of course, I'm not sure if that was true, or just a way to comfort me. But I trusted him. He said it casually, and I took it casually." He chuckled softly.
Li Fan remained silent. His idealized image of the Profound Heaven King had been slightly tarnished.
In their silence, the azure smoke from the Reveal character finally reached its destination. It was still beneath the High Wall, but this time, it didn't touch the wall itself. Instead, it vanished in an inconspicuous corner at the wall's base.
Li Fan recognized the location instantly. It was one of the entrances to the fissure network!
"Let's go!" Mo Rubin said excitedly, plunging into the fissure.
Li Fan hesitated briefly, then followed.
The familiar sensation of rapidly decreasing "potential" returned as they descended to the Star Sea's lowest point. The dense, stagnant energy stunned Mo Rubin, but he didn't forget his purpose. He followed the azure smoke, rapidly moving deeper into the winding fissure.
Li Fan knew this network was a vast labyrinth. Venturing too deep carried the risk of getting lost. But now, with the smoke guiding them, and with the possibility of finding the Profound Heaven King or the Azure Underworld Pearl, he didn't hesitate.
They traveled for far longer than it would have taken to cross the Star Sea before the smoke finally stopped. Li Fan looked at the point where the connection from the Reveal character had vanished, surprised by what he saw.
A complete, azure pearl floated there.
Seeing the Azure Underworld Pearl, Li Fan finally understood the meaning of the "Azure" in its name, a color as deep and clear as the sky.
Mo Rubin's body trembled as he stared at the pearl, confusion in his eyes. He couldn't understand why the Profound Heaven King's artifact would be abandoned here.
"Something's not right."
"Its… its spirit seems to be gone." Having seen many damaged immortal artifacts, Li Fan noticed the anomaly within the Azure Underworld Pearl.
Mo Rubin, alerted by Li Fan's words, also noticed it. He flew towards the pearl, reaching out to touch it.
But the moment he neared it, the pearl dissolved into wisps of azure smoke, vanishing completely.
"No!" After so much effort, to end up empty-handed, even Mo Rubin lost his composure. He tried to grasp the dissipating smoke, to restore the pearl.
Li Fan didn't bother. He was lost in thought.
"The aura within the pearl… it's similar to the energy within the Star Sea's fissure network."
"Could they be connected?"
"I was wondering why the energy accumulated within the fissures was so vast, beyond what seemed normal."
"Now, it seems it might be related to the Azure Underworld Pearl."
(End of Chapter)