These square spaces were precisely the countless segmented Star Seas Li Buren had seen after breaking through from the Dark Star Sea, still existing in three states: dark, faintly lit, and flickering. However, the overview on the circular wall here displayed far more squares than Li Buren had seen before!
He tried to locate the Xuanhuang World. After finding the point representing the Dark Star Sea, he identified the countless square spaces clustered around it. A thick white ring separated these square spaces from the other areas, like a dividing line.
Although visually, the area containing the Dark Star Sea was unremarkable among the other areas on the circular wall, this white ring subtly elevated the enclosed square spaces, like stars orbiting a central point.
"This unique characteristic…" Li Buren stared at the dazzling white ring.
"The Great Void."
The term naturally surfaced in his mind. During the ancient cultivation era, it was the tangible boundary of explorable space, an endless, purely void expanse. Observing from beyond the circular wall, Li Buren vaguely sensed the Great Void's nature, but couldn't be certain.
"Although it's a complete void, it's fundamentally different from areas affected by the Dao Obliteration Calamity. It appears empty because most Dao laws are absent, leaving only a few pillar-like Great Dao laws, similar to this testing ground…"
"Only those within the influence of these Dao laws can see what's hidden within the testing ground, and only they can avoid having their attributes forcibly drained within the Great Void."
For ancient True Immortals to advance further, they needed to merge with a Great Dao of heaven and earth, achieving the Unnamed realm. This required a profound understanding of a specific Dao. Thus, True Immortal cultivation was largely about deepening one's comprehension of a particular Dao law.
The "Three Thousand Great Daos" was a figurative term, but the different Dao laws naturally endowed True Immortals with various "attributes," such as the Hunger Immortal, the Absence and Barbarian Immortals, the "What Does It Have To Do With Me Immortal," and so on.
The restrictive methods employed here and in the Great Void, similar to the Dao Obliteration Calamity, could filter out those who belonged to the "right camp," granting them access to this experimental Star Sea. Identity and background could be fabricated, but not one's stance. In other words, if a True Immortal changed their Dao path to infiltrate this place, they would already be part of the "camp" and welcomed, making "infiltration" pointless.
"This restrictive method is a giant filtering machine."
"And it's not just for simple filtering. Once you switch sides, it's probably difficult to turn back."
Li Buren could enter this place after so many years solely because of the extraordinary method of "Conscious Soul Formation, Dao Net Projection." If the various Great Daos naturally divided True Immortals into different camps, the Dao Net projection was an all-encompassing approach, incorporating all existing and known True Immortal factions.
This was impossible in ancient times. Cultivating even two different Daos simultaneously was incredibly difficult, let alone mastering all of them. Even if one cultivated multiple Daos, it was still inferior to mastering a single Dao to its极致, achieving the Unnamed realm.
"As I analyzed before,"
"The reason my Dao Net projection can exist safely is, firstly, because of the Dao Obliteration Calamity and the Immortal Realm's destruction. The Unnamed True Immortals, merged with the Dao, either died or fled, paying no attention to this miniature mirror reflecting the Great Dao."
"Moreover, there's the larger Shuo Star Sea Dao Net shielding me."
The destruction of the Immortal Realm and the apparent abandonment of this testing ground, combined with Li Fan's repeated reincarnations and various other factors, allowed Li Buren to enter. Any missing element would have prevented his entry.
"Records of the Great Void have existed since ancient times."
"But since the calamity and the rise of the wall, it has vanished without a trace."
"From what I see, it underwent a fundamental change along with all the experimental square spaces after the Dao Obliteration Calamity erupted and emergency measures were activated."
Li Buren stared at the thick white circle representing the Great Void. Its abrupt appearance among the countless small squares on the circular wall was like someone drawing a circle in the vast Star Sea!
Circling the target!
"Although this testing ground was abandoned for unknown reasons, its facilities are still functioning. Is this what led to the delineation of the Great Void?" Li Buren analyzed based on his observations.
Although the unique nature of the Dao Net projection allowed him entry, he only had observation privileges, not control. He couldn't manipulate anything, be it the segmented square spaces or the objects within the cylindrical hall.
He couldn't yet determine the reason for delineating the Great Void within these square spaces, but the fact that the Dark Star Sea containing the Xuanhuang World was included was alarming.
Li Fan tried to reconstruct the secret behind this experimental space based on the available clues.
"The Dao Obliteration Calamity seems to share the same source as the Infinite Sea."
"After connecting to the Infinite Sea with the incomplete Ascension Platform, I discovered that using the infinite power within caused its countless droplets to pour down through an unseen channel, threatening to engulf everything. The premonition was so real, the instinctive fear so strong, that even my avatar, with its suppressed emotions, dared not utilize that power."
"But there are countless True Immortals, along with Immortal artifacts, servants, and puppets. They use infinite Immortal spiritual power without such concerns. The Immortal spiritual power generated within the Dissociation Disc proves this." Thinking this, Li Fan released a sacred power from the Immortal-ranked Dissociation Disc.
He let the shimmering white light surround his fingertip, sensing its infinite nature and seeing the boundless Infinite Sea again.
"There can't be a second Infinite Sea in the mortal world."
"And the Immortal Realm wasn't initially afraid of the Dao Obliteration Calamity, like mortals viewing a flood with True Immortals standing guard."
"A reasonable guess is that the ancient Immortal Realm knew the consequences of using the Infinite Sea's power, but the temptation of infinity was too great to resist."
"They even built something like a 'dam' or 'reservoir' within the Infinite Sea. True Immortals didn't connect directly to the Infinite Sea but accessed its power through this intermediary. This prevented the Infinite Sea from overflowing and unleashing the Dao Obliteration Calamity."
"But…"
"The Infinite Sea is unimaginably vast and sacred. Even Unnamed True Immortals are insignificant compared to a single wave within it."
"Even if the ancient Immortal civilization could control the Infinite Sea to some extent…" Li Fan recalled the terrifying, subtle fluctuations from the depths of the Infinite Sea when True Return appeared.
"Those who play with fire will perish by it."
"No dam is eternally unbreakable. Once a crack appears, it's incredibly difficult to repair. Moreover, countless True Immortals, either accidentally or intentionally, try to bypass the Immortal Realm's restrictions and connect directly to the Infinite Sea, just like me."
"Each such instance creates another crack between reality and the Infinite Sea."
"Over time, the intensification of the Dao Obliteration Calamity was inevitable."
Li Fan's thoughts raced, continuing his deduction.
"As signs of the calamity appeared, star regions within the Immortal Realm were obliterated one after another."
"True Return, the treasure capable of defying fate, likely originated from the Infinite Sea. The Immortal Realm, though unsure of its exact function, suspected it could resolve the crisis and searched for it, even in the Lower Realm Star Sea."
"They deduced the approximate time True Return would appear. And it should have appeared then…"
"In the Xuanhuang World. If the Immortal Realm had found it then, if an Unnamed True Immortal, a ruler of the Immortal Realm, had obtained True Return from the start, they might have averted the calamity."
"However, for some unknown reason, True Return's appearance was delayed."
"The Immortal Realm didn't receive this saving grace."
"Although the overall situation remained stable, dissenters inevitably arose."
"As I saw in that True Immortal's memories, great figures have their own plans, and ants have their ways of survival."
"True Immortals resorted to various methods, seeking a path to survival."
"Some descended to the mortal realm, some used the bones of the Unnamed and the Immortal Heavenly Pillars to create arks of salvation…"
"But no one expected the Dao Obliteration Calamity to erupt prematurely, far more violently than before, as if all connections between the Infinite Sea and reality had burst open."
"Caught off guard, True Immortals, Unnamed True Immortals, even the unknown rulers of the Immortal Realm, perished like ants…"
Li Fan saw the horrifying scene of the Infinite Sea engulfing and destroying the Immortal Realm.
"Although many Unnamed True Immortals, willingly or forcibly, became pillars to resist the calamity, how long could they hold?"
"The Infinite Sea's consumption of the real world is an unstoppable force. Unless they could rebuild the 'dam' within this brief period of safety…"
Li Fan looked at the doomsday countdown on True Return's interface.
"The Infinite Sea seems to span all possibilities."
"The Dao Obliteration Calamity isn't unique to this 'original' possibility."
"Perhaps other possibilities also discovered and utilized the Infinite Sea, suffering the same fate. Or perhaps, after the calamity, the Unnamed True Immortals from the 'original' possibility fled to other possibilities."
"Even after jumping possibilities, as long as they didn't abandon infinite Immortal spiritual power, their connection to the Infinite Sea remained. Moreover, at the Unnamed True Immortal level, merging with the Dao isn't something one can simply abandon."
"The Dao Obliteration Calamity follows like a shadow, engulfing everything…"
Reaching this point in his deduction, even with his computational abilities rivaling the Dao Transformation Stone Mother, Li Fan felt a splitting headache. Dealing with a single possibility was manageable. He could gather clues, deduce possible answers, and verify them.
However, involving other possibilities increased the complexity exponentially. Firstly, he knew nothing about the state of other possibilities. Secondly, each additional possibility doubled the variables involved. Theoretically, even thousands of Dao Transformation Stone Mothers couldn't handle infinite possibilities.
"However, after so long, the remaining possibilities are probably far from infinite. Seven million years of remaining lifespan…"
"Perhaps 'clinging to existence' is a more apt description."
Li Fan's mind raced until he blacked out, forced to stop his deduction. His attention shifted from the Immortal Realm and the truth of the Dao Obliteration Calamity back to the strange testing ground.
"This place was originally meant to lie in wait for True Return."
"But since it didn't appear as expected, it was abandoned by the Immortal Realm."
"But only officially."
"Some lesser figures in the Immortal Realm didn't completely abandon this place. However, their goal might not have been True Return."
"They were simply seeking a chance of survival against the impending Dao Obliteration Calamity."
"Creating the 'Great Void' delineation definitely required the help of Unnamed True Immortals…"
"But why did they all suddenly vanish?"
"Judging from the remnants, a significant number of True Immortals gathered here."
Li Buren continued to investigate, seeking more secrets. Scanning the area, his attention landed on a peculiar object that had appeared in the cylindrical hall: a strangely shaped humanoid statue. Like a recluse hidden in plain sight, it had almost escaped his notice.
If not for its unique style, remarkably similar to something Li Fan had encountered before, Li Buren would have overlooked it.
(End of Chapter)