"I've gone through a hundred reincarnations, yet my spirituality remains undiminished. Even Unnamed True Immortals probably can't compare." Understanding his unique trait, Li Fan was overjoyed. He tried to communicate with True Return again, but received no response.
After a long while, his excitement subsided, replaced by a deeper question.
"My profound spirituality is likely extremely rare, perhaps even unique, in the entire mortal world. What caused this?"
Li Fan immediately thought of his "transmigrator" status. But was that truly the reason? Why was a transmigrator's spirituality so different? If there were other transmigrators, would they share the same trait?
And a more fundamental question: what was True Return's "purpose" in attaching itself to him?
These questions were beyond Li Fan's current understanding. Suppressing these thoughts, he mused, "At least, my relationship with True Return seems closer now. It's become more 'active' since returning from the Infinite Sea. That's a good thing. If it can guide me once, it can do so again. And True Return's guidance…"
"Is even more valuable than direct enlightenment from the Great Dao!"
While his main body had made significant progress, his avatar, Li Buren, remained unfazed. His mission was to uncover the secrets within the wall. With the mystery still shrouded in fog, how could he relax?
"Based on the current clues, this was once part of the Immortal Realm's testing ground. Its purpose was to find a way to counter the Dao Obliteration Calamity. Naturally, it possesses methods to defend against it."
"Although abandoned for unknown reasons, it transformed into the wall when the calamity erupted, protecting the countless Star Seas within from complete annihilation."
"Similarly, its purpose dictated its need for secrecy. Internally, it only needed to confine the beings within the experimental Star Seas. True Immortal level restrictions sufficed."
"But externally, it needed to withstand scrutiny from beings beyond True Immortals, those of the Unnamed realm. No wonder Qian Ruochang and the Nothingness Immortal, despite being so close to the wall, seemed oblivious to it. It wasn't that they didn't want to see it, but that they couldn't. It even shields against observation from other possibilities…"
The meaning of Sun Piaomiao's message remained unclear. Li Buren decided to set it aside for now.
"I discovered the wall's peculiarity because the Immortal Domain chess piece was captured and vanished. So, let's return to the root of the matter and track the chess piece."
Sun Piaomiao's Immortal Domain chess pieces resonated with each other. However, the wall severed this connection. Even Li Buren, whose body was crafted from a chess piece, couldn't sense his "kin" within the testing ground.
After some thought, Li Buren returned to the Dark Star Sea, leaving only the Medicine King Cauldron chess piece in the Xuanhuang World to prevent the fragments from merging and the Immortal Domain from reappearing.
He then extended ethereal, arm-like appendages from his body, using the Dao Net projection to bind the remaining chess pieces to himself. He then charged towards the wall once more.
Upon entering, Li Buren felt an immense pull from within, drawing the chess pieces within his body towards its source. He didn't resist, transforming back into his chess piece form and flying alongside his "brothers" towards the unknown.
"Indeed, it's a different path than when I entered as an intruder."
Li Buren rapidly traversed the countless square spaces within the testing ground, crossing the Great Void that bordered all Star Seas, and arriving in a familiar yet strange space.
It was familiar because it resembled the cylindrical hall he had visited before, but this was the top of the cylinder, invisible from below. Here, the pull on the chess pieces vanished.
In his chess piece form, Li Buren observed his surroundings. He saw the eleven chess pieces: the one that had vanished earlier and the ten he carried, all floating silently.
Six had already merged, displaying a seven-colored hue, just as Li Fan had seen before. The remaining five were clustered together, awaiting Li Buren's return.
He felt a pull, a call to merge, from the nearby pieces. However, perhaps because the crucial Medicine King Cauldron piece was missing, or perhaps due to some unknown restriction in this core area of the testing ground, the pull wasn't irresistible.
Maintaining his form, Li Buren scanned his surroundings, noticing five blurry figures standing silently nearby. He tensed, retreating and assuming a fighting stance. However, no matter how he moved, the five figures remained equidistant, surrounding him.
Like the sky above, they maintained a constant distance, neither approaching nor receding. Fortunately, they seemed non-hostile, merely inanimate, unresponsive to his presence.
Li Buren gathered all the chess pieces and observed the five figures, confirming there was no immediate danger.
"They are faintly beyond my perception, which is why I didn't notice them initially."
"Only by focusing my attention can I perceive their existence."
"…"
The term "Unnamed True Immortals" flashed through Li Buren's mind. This scene was strikingly similar to the Unnamed True Immortals Li Fan had seen being used as living pillars to construct the Dao Net in the Shuo Star Sea!
Since the Immortal Heavenly Pillars of the Immortal Realm were crafted from the leg bones of Unnamed True Immortals, possessing some resistance to the Dao Obliteration Calamity, it wasn't inconceivable that the wall within also incorporated Unnamed True Immortals as building material.
However, Li Buren instinctively sensed a difference between this and the Dao Net or the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar.
"Using the Dao as pillars, that's the ability these five figures represent."
"The key is…" Li Buren frowned. "They are all of the same Dao?"
To ascend to the Unnamed realm, True Immortals merged with a Dao. The Three Thousand Great Daos were all unique. There couldn't be two Unnamed True Immortals who had merged with the same Dao, let alone five!
"From different possibilities?" Li Buren wondered, but quickly dismissed the idea. He had witnessed the aura of beings capable of traversing possibilities. These five figures, though powerful, weren't on that level.
"So, there's only one answer."
"These five figures are manifestations of a single Unnamed True Immortal."
"Not physical remnants like the leg bone in the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar, but mere projections."
Li Buren was shocked.
"Five projections can form a wall and withstand the Dao Obliteration Calamity?"
"What kind of realm is this?"
The five figures, like stars, surrounded Li Buren. Their features were indistinct, their genders unknown. Yet, like mythical deities, they evoked reverence and awe, the instinctive reaction of a lesser being before a superior one.
"I suspected that beneath the Immortal Ruins lay a martyred Unnamed True Immortal, using himself as a pillar to block the Dao Obliteration Calamity from the Immortal Realm."
"But this Unnamed True Immortal before me didn't need to sacrifice himself. Just five projections are enough…"
Li Buren was awestruck. Clearly, the being who left these projections was among the most powerful of all Unnamed True Immortals. This form of power was different from the ability to traverse possibilities. Li Buren couldn't determine which was stronger, but both were equally awe-inspiring.
"In Su Bai's memories, even the evil Su Bai could only flee from the Dao Obliteration Calamity."
"But in this 'original' possibility, there's a supremely powerful being who can withstand it with mere projections."
"Perhaps they chose a different path?"
"Where is this powerful being now? Was he initially in charge of this testing ground?"
Numerous questions arose in Li Buren's mind.
"If there were more like him, perhaps the Dao Obliteration Calamity wouldn't be so difficult to deal with."
Looking at the five projections, Li Buren couldn't help but think this. Able to become pillars and resist the calamity, these projections must be incredibly close to the Dao itself. Yet, despite their proximity, Li Buren couldn't comprehend the Dao they represented.
It was as if this Dao wasn't among the Great Daos of heaven and earth he knew! Seeing without seeing, hearing without hearing, knowing without knowing!
"Either this being is from another possibility, and the Dao he merged with doesn't exist in the 'original' possibility, making it completely foreign and incomprehensible to me."
"Or…"
"This being's realm has reached such a level that he has transcended the limitations of this world, along with the Dao he merged with, standing alone!"
Li Fan had previously speculated that the Dao Obliteration Calamity was caused by Unnamed True Immortals merging with the Dao and then departing, removing the Great Daos that acted as pillars supporting the world, like demolishing the load-bearing walls of a building.
However, after encountering numerous Unnamed True Immortals and witnessing the connection between the Infinite Sea and the Dao Obliteration Calamity, he had begun to doubt this theory.
Now, facing these five figures, he truly witnessed an Unnamed True Immortal who had "transcended the Three Realms and existed outside the Five Elements."
"It's unlikely that someone from another possibility would sacrifice themselves to resist the Dao Obliteration Calamity here. They could simply escape on their own."
"This being must be native to the 'original' possibility."
Li Buren observed, attempting to reflect the Dao represented by these figures using his divine sense. However, the mirror of his mind, capable of reflecting the Great Dao of heaven and earth, remained blank when facing these figures.
"I wonder if this being still exists in the current possibility."
"If he has departed, yet his projections still have such power…"
"That's truly terrifying."
Of everything Li Fan had encountered, only the Dao Obliteration Calamity and the Infinite Sea evoked true fear. Previously, only True Return could contend with them. Now, there was this unknown powerful being. Although weaker than True Return, he still represented the pinnacle of what a cultivator could achieve.
After failing to reflect their Dao, Li Buren stopped trying.
"These five figures must be the core of the wall."
"There must be a reason why the Immortal Domain chess pieces are drawn to such an important area. I just haven't found the trigger yet."
Here, Li Buren could only exist in his chess piece form. Otherwise, he would be expelled.
"Could the lack of change be because the Immortal Domain chess pieces aren't complete?" The thought surfaced in Li Buren's mind. He relayed this idea to his main body.
After some deliberation, Li Fan in the Xuanhuang World finally gave the Medicine King Cauldron to his avatar. He had already retrieved the cauldron without alerting the Hunger Immortal. The Medicine King Sect members inside had been absorbed into the Blissful Ignorance Dreamland, contributing to its construction.
The Medicine King Cauldron transformed into its original form: a simple white chess piece. Li Buren brought it to the five figures at the center of the wall.
Li Fan's main body was on high alert, ready to activate True Return at any moment. Li Buren was prepared to reassemble his body and manifest the Immortal Domain.
However, events unfolded unexpectedly. Even with all the chess pieces gathered, the Immortal Domain didn't manifest. An unseen force was suppressing it.
But as Li Buren predicted, the chess pieces' arrival triggered a change. Like an object dropped into water, ripples spread outwards. The faces of the five figures, distorted by the ripples, became slightly clearer.
Their gazes focused on the chess pieces, as if the weight of the world pressed upon them. Li Buren, in his chess piece form, felt immense pressure.
"This is…"
"With all the chess pieces gathered, bearing the weight of an Unnamed True Immortal, I've finally caught their attention!"
(End of chapter)