The idea was sound.
But after several days of observation, Li Fan still couldn't find any trace of the [Dao Net]. It seemed even more elusive than the Great Dao itself.
However, he wasn't discouraged. The Dao Net was likely the Shuo Star Sea's trump card against True Immortals, capable of even rivaling Nameless True Immortals. It wouldn't be easily deciphered by a newcomer.
"Even the strongest fortresses can be breached from within."
"Since I can't directly infiltrate the Dao Net, I'll infiltrate the Shuo Star Sea itself. I can't rely entirely on Di Sanmo…"
Li Fan shook his head slightly, meticulously creating a "rubbing" of the residual energy fluctuations using the power of the dream before continuing towards the Shuo Star Sea.
Though the white-clad cultivator's Heaven Mending had seemingly erased all traces of the battle, Li Fan knew nothing truly disappeared. Every event left its mark. His inability to detect them was merely a limitation of his current abilities. He recorded the area, intending to study it later.
The distant Shuo Star Sea wasn't uniformly vibrant. Life force converged in clusters, like islands, each with a distinct aura, their strength unrelated to their size.
"To survive in this starry sky, they must be formidable."
Li Fan observed from afar, identifying familiar auras.
He found the Sword Domain, seemingly a gathering place for former sects of the Xuanhuang World's Ten Immortal Dao Sects. But he couldn't find the Sacred Merchant from Qin Zhuang's memories.
"My Profound Immortal's Ark can still sense the Merchant Immortal's Ark beyond the wall. The Sacred Merchant shouldn't be extinct."
Recalling the Sacred Merchant's strange behavior in Qin Zhuang's memories—ceasing all external communication and recalling sold treasures—Li Fan's Dao Transformation Stone pulsed. After a quick deduction, the most likely scenario emerged.
"It's highly probable that the Sacred Merchant discovered something and either went into seclusion or fled."
The Sacred Merchant was merely a starting point. Li Fan wasn't fixated on finding the Merchant Immortal's Ark.
He began probing the weaker factions within the Shuo Star Sea.
As he suspected, their strength wasn't correlated with the amount of life force they possessed.
Two faint life force auras, one large and one small, existed at the edge of the Shuo Star Sea, as if ostracized. But before Li Fan even approached, a mere glance sent a wave of danger washing over him, even distorting and corrupting a portion of his dream tendrils. He could only keep his distance.
One massive cluster contained the auras of tens of millions of beings, but it was shrouded in a dark cloud of malice, woven from negative emotions like hatred, greed, and bloodlust. Though its defenses prevented the dream's direct intrusion, Li Fan saw a potential point of entry within this cloud.
However, he didn't act immediately. This vulnerability could be a trap, designed to lure True Immortals.
After probing all other clusters, finding only this one susceptible to the dream paradise's influence, Li Fan cautiously created a separate copy of the dream paradise, infusing it with a thread of his divine sense and severing its connection to the main dream world.
Ensuring absolute safety, he initiated the infiltration.
This dream paradise copy was empty, its isolated power dwindling. Without replenishment, it would eventually collapse.
Though only a thread of his divine sense, Li Fan equipped it with nine phantoms of the Xuanhuang World and the computational power equivalent to a top-grade Dao Transformation Stone.
"If this isn't enough to create an opening, I'll have to find another way."
Progress was slow.
The invisible barrier completely blocked the dream's influence, even though the inhabitants' negative emotions were palpable. A thin membrane separated them, preventing contact.
"Expending this copy's entire power might create a breach, but it would alert the Shuo Star Sea factions."
"The cost is too high."
After some consideration, Li Fan chose patience, waiting for an opportunity.
Cultivators occasionally left their settlements to travel through the Shuo Star Sea. He didn't believe they were all beyond his reach.
He was right.
Though less frequent than other factions, the target he chose did occasionally send out emissaries.
After six months of surveillance, a streak of light emerged.
It seemed to be heading towards the Sword Domain.
As it flew, it stirred the surrounding cloud of malice. Its emotional fluctuations were so intense that Li Fan could clearly sense its thoughts without actively eavesdropping.
"Making me run errands again!"
"I, Ma Tiande, am a certified [Dao Manipulator] of the Shuo Star Sea. Though only a beginner, I can still control the Dao Net within a designated area!"
"Wasting my time on trivial matters is an insult to my existence…"
The cultivator, Ma Tiande, brimming with resentment, sped through the starry sky.
Li Fan remained passive, watching as he entered a settlement adjacent to the Sword Domain. After three days, he returned, his resentment seemingly appeased, humming a cheerful tune.
As Ma Tiande neared the protective barrier, Li Fan struck.
Ordinary possession methods risked detection by the settlement's defenses. Even any power related to Immortals could trigger an alarm.
Therefore, he used the Profound Immortal's Ark's [Dao Pill] technique. Ma Tiande, mid-flight, paused momentarily. He had been refined into a consumable pill.
Li Fan's divine sense consumed the pill, instantly transforming into Ma Tiande.
Temporarily severing the connection to the dream paradise copy, Li Fan sorted through Ma Tiande's memories while heading towards the settlement.
"[Supreme Bliss City]?"
"Interesting."
Technically, this body was still Ma Tiande. The only difference was the additional thoughts within his mind.
Such fluctuations in consciousness were common for any living being.
And the Dao Pill technique, unique to the Profound Immortal's Ark, hadn't appeared in this starry sky before.
Though powerful, Supreme Bliss City's defenses couldn't detect such an esoteric method.
Without any complications, "Ma Tiande" entered the city.
Unlike the oppressive cloud of malice he saw from the outside, the city was a scene of revelry.
Multicolored lights illuminated the sky. Unrestrained laughter, moans of pleasure, and shouts of anger filled every corner.
"Supreme Bliss City: three years of day, three years of night, a six-year cycle."
"Night: unrestrained pleasure and carefree indulgence."
"Day… consequence-free slaughter?"
Li Fan processed Ma Tiande's memories while heading to deliver his report.
His mission was to deliver an invitation from the city lord to Blade Island.
In thirty days, at the cusp of the city's shift from night to day, Blade Island was invited to witness the spectacle.
…
With the information processed, Li Fan arrived at the city's central district.
Unlike the surrounding revelry, the central mansion was eerily quiet and somber, a stark contrast that sent chills down anyone's spine.
Even Ma Tiande, no stranger to the place, instinctively felt a surge of fear.
Li Fan didn't suppress this feeling, allowing it to reflect in his expression.
He approached the city lord and reported.
"Scholar Zhu, I delivered the invitation. But how many from Blade Island will attend is uncertain."
Li Fan feigned a troubled expression. "The moment I arrived, they challenged me to a duel, threatening to tear up the invitation if I refused. I had no choice but to accept."
"It wasn't a duel, but a beating…"
Mimicking Ma Tiande's usual behavior, Li Fan complained.
The city lord, Scholar Zhu, appeared ancient, his hunched body swallowed by his oversized robes, a comical sight. But the sinister aura emanating from him made Li Fan wary.
He even sensed that almost ninety percent of the malice above Supreme Bliss City was concentrated within this individual.
Scholar Zhu listened patiently to Ma Tiande's complaints, his bony fingers tapping on the table, occasionally scratching its surface, producing a grating sound.
Li Fan saw clearly that the table was made from human skulls, their lingering resentment causing faint cries of pain with each scratch.
Beads of sweat trickled down "Ma Tiande's" forehead, but he continued his report.
Finally, he finished, standing respectfully before the table, awaiting further instructions.
Silence descended upon the mansion.
The sounds of revelry from outside occasionally drifted in.
Scholar Zhu tapped the table. With each tap, a sound outside ceased.
When silence finally prevailed, he spoke, his voice not that of an old man, but of a playful child.
"You've worked hard."
"Stay for dinner before returning."
As he spoke, a ghostly figure emerged from the shadows and placed a steaming bowl of red soup before Li Fan.
Ma Tiande's body trembled, both a reflexive action and a reflection of Li Fan's own revulsion.
The soup was a gruesome mixture of minced meat and blood, with eyeballs floating on the surface, their gazes seemingly fixed on Li Fan.
Though he had destroyed worlds and regarded life as insignificant, Li Fan had never encountered anything so repulsive.
"Drink up, Mister Ma. Why aren't you drinking?"
Scholar Zhu's voice grew impatient as he saw Li Fan hesitate, like a child denied a toy. A sinister aura emanated from him.
"Are you not hungry? Or are you dissatisfied with the soup?"
"It's alright, I'll have the servants prepare something better."
Ma Tiande's memories of the city lord surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
"He exhibits various personalities."
"An old man, a child, a seductive woman, a brutal butcher…"
"The child personality is the most unstable."
Li Fan made his decision. "There's no need to trouble yourself, Scholar Zhu. This soup is exquisite."
He picked up the bowl and drained it.
To his surprise, it wasn't the least bit bloody. It didn't even taste of meat.
Instead, it was indescribably delicious, unlike anything Li Fan, who had explored almost every culinary secret of the Xuanhuang World, had ever tasted.
After finishing the bowl, he felt a pang of regret.
"Would you like another bowl?" Scholar Zhu asked, excited by Li Fan's change in demeanor, as if he had found a kindred spirit.
With great effort, Li Fan declined.
"Such a delicacy should be savored."
"Less is more," he declared solemnly.
Scholar Zhu chuckled, his voice shifting from a child's to an old man's.
"You have a point."
"In that case, you may leave."
Li Fan bowed and excused himself.
As he neared the exit, Scholar Zhu's voice drifted after him.
"I've reserved a seat for you at the Day-Night Ceremony."
Li Fan's face lit up. He bowed again. "Thank you, Master Zhu!"
The scene shifted. The mansion vanished, replaced by a brothel filled with moans of pleasure.
Li Fan licked his lips.
More of Ma Tiande's memories surfaced: "Scholar Zhu, a member of the Shuo Star Sea Governing Council."
"A former True Immortal, now mortal!"
(End of Chapter)