When speaking of this last, "unmentionable" Sage Monarch, the Grand Magus's tone was noticeably more respectful than when mentioning Linking Mountains, Returning Seas, or even his own master, indicating this figure's importance to him.
"When the Immortal Realm falls, a sage is no longer a sage," Li Buren said coldly, unafraid due to his ignorance.
The Grand Magus shook his head. "Sagehood isn't defined by responsibility. They are sages because of their inherent nature. The Immortal Realm's survival has little to do with them. If my master understood this earlier, perhaps he would have lived longer."
"If your master knew you would say such things, he should have taken you with him when he perished."
The Grand Magus was silenced by Li Buren's sharp words, lost in thought.
"Your master was one of the four sages of the Immortal Realm, and you served him for eons. Why are you still only a Half-Immortal?"
…
Li Buren continued chatting with the Grand Magus, probing for information while subtly eroding his true body with Ink Slaughter black Qi. The myriad Dao images he had devoured had no memories, only records of the Illusory Creation projection's feedback.
Judging from the Ink Slaughter's erosion during this idle chatter, although only a Half-Immortal, the Grand Magus's body and soul were perfectly integrated, like a flawless creation, with no discernible weaknesses. Killing him would be easy, but possessing him and accessing his memories was beyond Li Buren's current capabilities.
…
The Grand Magus seemed oblivious to Li Buren's actions.
"Linking Mountains will eventually return to the sea."
"My master and the other two Sage Monarchs have proven this. I won't repeat their mistakes."
"Besides, if not for my 'Half-Immortal' body, I wouldn't have survived the Immortal Realm's destruction. Every gain and loss is predetermined." He dismissed Li Buren's taunts.
"If not for your unexpected appearance, Fellow Daoist, I would have achieved my goal." The Grand Magus sounded wistful.
Li Buren was about to continue his taunts to destabilize him and aid the Ink Slaughter's erosion when the Grand Magus suddenly asked, "Fellow Daoist, you exist outside the destiny of heaven and earth. Could it be that you've obtained that treasure?"
"Treasure? I don't know what you're talking about." Li Fan's main body was startled, but Li Buren, his consciousness suppressed and acting solely on Li Fan's commands, responded naturally.
"Don't make excuses for your failure. Even Heavenly King Xuan almost captured you millennia ago. Dealing with a mere Half-Immortal like you doesn't require someone beyond destiny." Li Buren's tone was filled with disdain.
The Grand Magus scrutinized Li Buren, finding no flaws. He then looked at Daoyuan Prefecture and the Xuanhuang World outside. Seeing the changed Xuanhuang World, he said slowly, "Just a moment of closed-door cultivation, and the outside world is turned upside down. But strangely, the area where I cultivated remains unchanged."
"You were wary of me, Fellow Daoist. But this is our first encounter…" The Grand Magus closed his eyes, lost in thought.
"Isn't your reputation as the Grand Magus of Tiandu loud enough in the Xuanhuang World?" Li Buren replied indifferently, offering no explanation.
"You are definitely not from the Xuanhuang World. Everything in the Xuanhuang World, even in this Star Sea – past, present, and future – is predetermined, like chess pieces on a board. Even with the added variables from the Immortal Realm's destruction, they are still just chess pieces, not precious gems…" The Grand Magus spoke slowly, as if suppressing some emotion.
Li Buren narrowed his eyes. Ink Slaughter black Qi, like dark clouds, gathered above the Grand Magus. The devoured Dao images glared coldly at him. No matter what the Grand Magus had guessed, Li Buren wouldn't let him live.
"My master's plan actually worked."
"Unfortunately, it's too late."
The Grand Magus, unfazed by the cold gazes, opened his eyes, looking at Li Buren as if he had discovered a rare treasure.
"No!"
"It's not too late!"
"If I can…" The previously resigned Grand Magus suddenly became agitated. A surge of power expelled the Ink Slaughter black Qi from his body. His Daoist robe fluttered in the still air.
"Everything can be salvaged," he declared, staring intently at Li Buren.
Although surrounded by the Dao images controlled by Li Buren, the Grand Magus now seemed to be the one in control, his demeanor shifting from subservient to dominant.
Li Buren felt the Dao images, although controlled by his Ink Slaughter, instinctively wanting to bow before the Grand Magus, just like the scene he had witnessed within the Grand Magus's inner world. The Grand Magus stood amidst the countless Dao images, worshipped like an emperor, a sage, his presence exuding an indescribable nobility!
Even Li Buren was slightly affected. His Dao Net body bent unnaturally, as if the Grand Magus alone outweighed all other Daos!
Knowing he couldn't wait any longer, Li Buren unleashed the ink, surging from the Dao images towards the Grand Magus. The Ink Slaughter black Qi, tainted by various Daos, transformed into distorted humanoid figures, unleashing a barrage of techniques that exploded around the Grand Magus like fireworks.
"Taiyi came before Immortals."
"Wuji precedes even Taiyi."
These calm words, like a calming pearl, stilled the turbulent Daos. The Grand Magus walked out from the fading Dao shadows.
"Having seen Wuji…"
"Why not disperse?"
He asked softly, and the chaotic Dao fluctuations around him dissipated like a gentle breeze. Even the dominant Ink Slaughter black Qi couldn't stop it. In the blink of an eye, Li Buren's "enforcers" vanished, leaving only the power of the Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul.
Li Buren even felt resistance from Illusory Creation and Eternal, the two pillars supporting Ink Slaughter's existence. Suppressing the turmoil, he reassessed the Grand Magus.
"Wuji precedes even Taiyi?"
"Such arrogance."
Although still in his child-like form, the Grand Magus's demeanor had changed completely. He exuded an aura of supreme authority, looking down upon all beings, like the Taiyi Sage Monarch himself, his presence too powerful to meet directly.
"The Taiyi Sage Monarch is indeed my master."
"But he took me as his disciple because of my unique qualities."
"Not everyone can spend eons serving a Sage Monarch." His tone was arrogant.
"Please, Master, disperse." The Grand Magus pointed at the swirling black Qi and bowed slightly.
Li Buren felt the two foundations of Ink Slaughter, Illusory Creation and Eternal, weaken significantly, losing almost half their power. The Dao of Illusory Creation, due to years of independent development, wasn't completely identical to Taiyi, so a small portion remained.
"Please, Uncle Master, disperse." The Grand Magus bowed again.
With these words, the other foundation of Ink Slaughter, the Dao of Eternal, trembled and vanished. Just two sentences had crippled the foundation of the Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul!
The black Qi remained, but uncontrolled, like the Dao Obliteration Calamity, indiscriminate and destructive. While unknowingly having his countless Dao images devoured by the Ink Slaughter black Qi, the Grand Magus had also seen through its essence!
The swirling black Qi made his face appear terrifying. Although having lost Ink Slaughter's support, Li Buren wasn't panicked. He was analyzing this sudden turn of events. Everything had a cause. How could the Grand Magus's words dissipate the Daos of Eternal and Illusory Creation?
Recalling the scene of the Grand Magus being worshipped by the myriad Dao images, Li Buren understood.
"The Grand Magus's goal wasn't to comprehend all these Dao paths,"
"But to use them as tools, like the Illusory Creation projection."
"Tools to aid his own cultivation." Li Buren couldn't contain his excitement.
"He's not cultivating the myriad Daos, but the Dao that commands their worship!"
"Is this nobility? Or reverence?"
Such an inconceivable Dao path was beyond the reach of ordinary beings. But if the Grand Magus was truly connected to Wuji, which preceded even Taiyi, as he claimed, perhaps it was possible!
"Cultivating this Dao path makes one immune to all techniques and divine abilities." Li Buren tested it and found it to be true. All techniques and divine abilities vanished within a meter of the Grand Magus.
As Li Buren pondered his next move, the Grand Magus calmly walked through the uncontrolled Ink Slaughter black Qi, approaching him.
"That Heavenly King Xuan who almost captured me…"
"Born at the cusp of the Immortal Realm's destruction, he was indeed special, possessing the potential to transcend the board, his future immeasurable. I didn't want to conflict with him, but he kept pestering me. So I had to use a Dao body to deceive him."
"I didn't expect his luck to be so great. He simply vanished from this Star Sea."
As the Grand Magus spoke, he reached Li Buren's side. Wherever he went, all Daos yielded. Li Buren, his Dao Net body weakening, felt unprecedentedly vulnerable, as if he might dissipate at any moment.
"But judging my strength based on that Heavenly King Xuan is unfair." The Grand Magus finally stood before Li Buren, his words measured.
He met Li Buren's gaze.
"Hand over the treasure, and I'll let you go," he promised solemnly.
Li Buren frowned, not at the demand, but at the Grand Magus's… naiveté.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Li Buren repeated.
The Grand Magus was certain of his guess. Seeing Li Buren's continued denial, he shook his head regretfully.
"Then I'll have to take it myself."
"Wuji…"
"Please, all Daos, disperse." He bowed slightly towards Li Buren.
Li Buren felt the remaining Dao laws within him fading. Once they dispersed, only the treasure from beyond the Great Dao would remain.
"You're that confident?" Just as the Grand Magus seemed certain of victory, Li Buren's strong hand suddenly gripped his throat. They were so close that the Grand Magus had no time to react.
"How is this possible?" He stared at Li Buren, whose form had solidified, his face filled with disbelief.
"Perhaps the Great Dao of heaven and earth is bound by your will."
"But what about the mountains and the seas?" Li Buren's figure blurred, like a being standing amidst towering mountains and a vast ocean.
The Grand Magus was stunned, then his eyes widened in realization. "The Hill-Guarding Immortal?"
Li Buren shook his head slightly. "It seems you've never met the Hill-Guarding Immortal."
"And you're unaware of the measures he left behind here."
"That's to be expected. After all, you're just a Half-Immortal. You were right. Every gain and loss is predetermined." Li Buren returned his words.
After this turn of events, his desire to kill the Grand Magus was absolute. However, he was unsure how to proceed. With the Hill-Guarding Immortal's power, suppressing him was easy, but killing him was another matter. And he might be connected to this "Wuji."
Held captive, the Grand Magus remained calm.
"The matter of the Hill-Guarding Immortal is indeed unexpected."
"But my origin lies beyond heaven and earth, at the beginning of the Great Dao. Life and death are irrelevant to me."
"You can't truly kill me." As if Li Buren were the captive, the Grand Magus continued trying to persuade him to hand over the treasure.
Li Buren found it amusing. "You don't even know what the treasure is or what it does. Why are you so obsessed?"
The Grand Magus replied seriously, "With the treasure, you can, at most, change the world, saving it from calamity."
"But in my hands, I can correct all that shouldn't have happened."
"My master, and the other three Sage Monarchs of the Immortal Realm. Their fates might be rewritten."
Li Buren shook his head. "That's impossible. This so-called treasure can't do that."
"It can," the Grand Magus insisted.
(End of Chapter)