After True Return's strike, silence fell. The Grand Magus froze, his expression fixed, unable to utter his final plea for help. His body dimmed, as if covered by a gray veil.
Li Buren remained cautious, as the Grand Magus's life signs persisted. But after observing for a while, he confirmed that the Grand Magus was incapacitated, his spirituality reduced to a minimum, transformed into something resembling a stone statue. The area around the statue remained a forbidden zone for the Great Dao.
The effect of "Daos Dispersing" wasn't weaker than when the Grand Magus was active, but it was now indiscriminate, radiating outwards naturally, allowing Li Buren to maintain his form.
He stared at the statue, finally realizing something after a long observation.
"It seems the Grand Magus wasn't lying."
"He is indeed connected to Wuji, the state before the universe began. Perhaps, like the Beastkin Race's Primordial Dao Incarnate, he is a direct manifestation of the Dao."
"No…" Recalling the Grand Magus's words and his "naivete" despite living for eons, Li Buren suspected that his manifestation wasn't self-achieved, but guided by someone else.
"After Wuji, heaven and earth were born. The Grand Magus's connection to Wuji is genuine. Only the Four Sage Monarchs of the Immortal Realm would be qualified to guide such a primordial being."
"Linking Mountains, Returning Seas…"
"The Four Sage Monarchs existed since the Immortal Realm's dawn. They even created the entire Immortal cultivation system. The Grand Magus, a remnant of Wuji after the universe's creation, was discovered and transformed by them." Li Buren gradually pieced together the Grand Magus's past.
"Wuji," he mused, sensing the unique power emanating from the statue. If the Sage Monarchs had granted the Grand Magus life, then Li Fan had stripped it away, reverting him to his original state: pure Wuji, devoid of desires or thoughts.
Wuji and the world born from the Great Dao were fundamentally incompatible. While alive, the Grand Magus could suppress his power, but after his demise, the power of Wuji, unrestrained, began to spread. It was an inevitable trend, like the birth and death, the waxing and waning, of the Dao itself.
"If left unchecked, the original possibility, centered around the Xuanhuang World, will revert to its primordial state."
"However, this destruction is different from the Dao Obliteration Calamity. This is the natural evolution of the universe, a unique cycle of reincarnation. Even if it returns to Wuji, after some time, heaven and earth will be reborn. But if consumed by Dao Obliteration…"
"It's eternal annihilation."
Li Buren wasn't repelled by Wuji's power. Instead, drawing upon more of the Hill-Guarding Immortal's power, he suppressed its spread. Although dealing with the Grand Magus was troublesome, having guessed that Li Fan possessed True Return, he couldn't let him live, especially since he had almost called for help at the last moment.
If he had managed to call upon his last surviving Sage Monarch uncle, even with the Hill-Guarding Immortal's protection, Li Fan would have been forced to use True Return.
"This happened because I underestimated the Grand Magus's origin. But it wasn't carelessness. Who would have thought that the Grand Magus of Tiandu, who barely held his own against Heavenly King Xuan, would have such a background, not just connected to the Immortal Realm, but also a primordial being…" Li Fan instructed Li Buren to guard the Grand Magus statue while he observed and comprehended Wuji through his avatar's perspective.
Even after capturing such a unique being, Li Fan felt no guilt. Having witnessed True Return's power and confirmed its willingness to protect him, he no longer feared even the Four Sage Monarchs.
"The state of Wuji before the universe's birth still exists within possibilities. True Return can create possibilities from nothingness and even revert to the time before creation…"
"This means Wuji is also within the scope of the Transformation of True and False."
Wuji repelled the Great Dao of the mortal world, but its effect on beings transcending the mortal realm was significantly weaker. Li Buren, with the Hill-Guarding Immortal's help, could barely contain it. Li Fan, with True Return, could comprehend it, even utilize it!
This was his conclusion after observing the Grand Magus statue.
"Using the Transformation of True and False to simulate Wuji."
Perhaps influenced by the countless memories he had glimpsed during True Return's thought storm, Li Fan's comprehension abilities had improved. He even felt a sense of familiarity with Wuji. Not with the Grand Magus, but as if he himself had been a primordial being, observing Wuji from an outsider's perspective before the universe's birth.
This inexplicable advantage allowed him to grasp the application of Wuji at an incredible pace. Or rather, to "simulate" it.
A gray light flickered on his fingertip. The stable Great Dao became chaotic. Wherever the gray light touched, the Dao retreated, forming a void.
It lasted only three breaths, consuming the power of one Xuanhuang World projection within Li Fan. The rapid energy drain, coupled with his lack of "infinity," forced him to stop, quickly dispersing the gray light. Along with the immense energy drain came mental exhaustion, far greater than when simulating the Dao Transformation Stone Mother. Those few moments felt like several reincarnations.
"It seems I can't overuse this simulation yet."
"But it's a good life-saving technique."
"As long as they haven't transcended to the level of the mountains and seas, as long as they are still within the Dao system, I can largely ignore them…"
"Regardless of their cultivation level. This is the inherent advantage of the primordial over the derived."
Observing and controlling were two different experiences. Li Fan had easily stripped away the Grand Magus's spirituality, making the Sage Monarch's disciple seem pathetically weak. However, now, having partially mastered Wuji's power, he understood its true strength.
"It practically ignores differences in cultivation."
"No wonder the Grand Magus seemed so indifferent. Even after living for eons, he lacked cunning. Protected by Wuji, most worldly events couldn't affect him. He didn't need to scheme or think too much. His innate power… was also a constraint."
"Perhaps being a Daoist attendant is more suitable for him." Li Fan's eyes narrowed, an idea forming. It was just a preliminary concept. Implementation would have to wait.
With his main body's help, Li Buren managed to contain the spreading Wuji, but at the cost of diverting a significant portion of his power, reducing the surplus from suppressing the Hunger Immortal by almost half.
However, Li Fan considered it a worthwhile trade. Besides the glimpse into Wuji, the information gleaned from the Grand Magus was immensely valuable. The details about the Sage Monarchs were interesting, but what truly mattered was that the treasure, True Return, seemed to have been known since the Immortal Realm's dawn.
"The more ancient a being, the more likely they are to know about True Return. The lies I fabricated to conceal its existence might be meaningless before such beings, easily seen through…"
Li Fan hadn't found a solution yet, but being aware of this put him in a less vulnerable position.
After leaving the Grand Magus's body, the myriad Dao images reconnected with the world, replenishing their dissipated power. Countless Dao images, like sentient beings, now resided within the Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul's black Qi.
In the Shuo Star Sea, Li Fan had obtained the Great Dao Embodiment Technique, a body refinement method. By embodying the Great Dao, theoretically, at its peak, one became the world itself. However, for a mortal body to contain the Dao required unimaginable tempering.
"Compared to that, it's much easier for the Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul to absorb and contain different Dao laws."
"Perhaps I can let my physical body adapt to Ink Slaughter's characteristics first." Sensing the subtle vitality within his Ink Slaughter power, Li Fan had an idea.
He didn't experiment on himself, but on Li Buren, whose physical body was destroyed, leaving only his Dao Net projection. He was the perfect test subject for the transformed Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul.
Li Fan flicked a drop of his blood essence towards Li Buren. After absorbing it, flesh and blood wriggled within the shimmering silver Dao Net, forming a crude physical body for Li Buren. Without any added treasures, this body was incredibly fragile.
However, with the infusion of Ink Slaughter black Qi, it changed. Previously, even after merging with Ink Slaughter, Li Fan couldn't integrate its destructive power with a physical body. But now, Ink Slaughter wasn't just pure destruction, but a fusion of various Dao paths.
He started with the fundamental Five Elements Dao, five similar yet distinct black Qi strands swirling and merging. Li Fan was intimately familiar with the process of integrating the Five Elements, so he easily transplanted this black vortex into Li Buren.
The fragile body began to disintegrate under Ink Slaughter's destructive nature, quickly becoming riddled with holes. It was a gruesome sight. However, a small portion, sustained by the Five Elements aspect within Ink Slaughter, survived and gradually regenerated the body.
Li Buren tested his new body. After half a day, he concluded that it not only had a high capacity for Dao laws but also a strong resistance to Dao Obliteration. When Li Fan forcibly drew upon all the power of the Hill-Guarding Immortal's projections, leaving only the Primordial bone and the Hunger Immortal pillar to resist Dao Obliteration, the instinctive fear Li Buren felt towards the impending calamity was much weaker than before.
"Although facing a flood, I now possess the ability to swim. Although I can't escape being swallowed eventually, I can at least endure for a while." Li Fan was pleased.
Surviving the Dao Obliteration Calamity was something only transcendent beings could achieve. Yet, Li Fan had achieved a similar effect through the Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul.
More importantly, Li Buren's body currently only contained the Five Elements aspect of Ink Slaughter. Gradually assimilating more Dao paths, perhaps he could one day face the Dao Obliteration tide without flinching.
However, this was a long process. Li Fan left this task to Li Buren. He intended to resolve the remaining issues in the Xuanhuang World.
Silver light, like a protective cloak, enveloped him. This was the power of Wuji. His destination was the Dark Sea within the Xuanhuang World. The all-consuming darkness retreated before the silver light of Wuji, like a giant sphere illuminating the ancient darkness.
Li Fan walked calmly, the fear he had felt in previous reincarnations gone. After exploring the outer layers of the Dark Sea, finding nothing unusual, he headed towards the depths, where the True Immortal's will to survive resided.
He didn't need to break the restrictions left by Heavenly King Xuan and the Legacy Transmitter. They dissipated under the silver light, offering no resistance. He saw the immense power accumulated in the depths of the Dark Sea for millennia. Before the swirling, cloud-like energy, Li Fan paused.
Now a Half-Immortal, he no longer looked up at this power, but down at it, like a being standing on a mountain peak.
"Immortals became Immortals because of Linking Mountains."
"With the mountain, Immortals were born."
"The potential of Immortals…" Looking at the mountain-like energy formations, Li Fan saw the ancient Immortals.
"The Immortal has returned!"
He reached out and grabbed. The Dark Sea churned, its millennia-old power surging towards his palm.
(End of Chapter)