"[A True Immortal] from the Other Shore?" Li Fan's pupils constricted, and he leaned closer. "The Other Shore?" he whispered.
"Yes and no," Dao Bearer replied, lost in thought, his expression distant.
After a long while, he snapped back to reality and tapped the burning incense before Li Fan.
Images flickered within the rising smoke, memories from Dao Bearer's time as a spirit stone by the Mountain and Sea.
"The legendary Other Shore is indeed a place all beings in the Immortal Realm yearn for. Even Master went there after achieving Transcendence. However, the term 'Other Shore' doesn't exclusively refer to that sacred land."
"Any possibility beyond the known world can be called the Other Shore."
"In ancient times, Immortal coffins would occasionally drift across the Mountain and Sea, carried by the tides of the Dao Obliteration Calamity. The Unnamed Ones slumbering within were mostly from worlds destroyed by the Dao Obliteration Calamity, unable to escape their dying possibilities. Seeking a chance at survival, they sealed themselves within coffins, drifting across the Mountain and Sea, hoping to find a new haven…"
Li Fan thought of the previous Jixian, whose Dao aura clearly originated from beyond the [Primordial] possibilities.
"Perhaps she was one of these coffin Immortals."
"Unable to traverse possibilities with their own power, they could only rely on these Immortal coffins. Although their strength wasn't at the Transcendent level, to endure the Dao Obliteration Calamity within these coffins and reach another possibility… such power must be among the highest tier of Unnamed Ones," Li Fan mused.
But then, a question arose.
"What exactly are these Immortal coffins? How can they protect these Unnamed Ones from the Dao Obliteration Calamity? If we gather enough of them, could we build an unsinkable ship to sail the tides of the Dao Obliteration Calamity?" Li Fan asked.
Dao Bearer chuckled. "Nothing is eternal. It's merely a temporary reprieve. Those Immortal coffins are formed from the last vestiges of the Great Dao within a dying possibility."
"They can't completely stop the Dao Obliteration Calamity, but through a special compression technique, they can significantly slow its erosion. I don't know who created this method, but it seems to be universally applicable. It's highly effective, buying the coffin Immortals enough time to drift to another possibility."
"I remember Master once witnessing and retrieving such a coffin. Unfortunately, the Unnamed One within had long perished. Taking pity on him, Master fused his remains and the coffin into a stone similar to myself and cast it beyond the Mountain and Sea, hoping it might one day regain life…"
Li Fan stared at the image of the stone in Dao Bearer's memory, a strange sense of familiarity washing over him.
But he couldn't place it.
As Dao Bearer waved his hand, dispelling the image, the stone shattered into countless fragments, and Li Fan suddenly realized.
Each fragment resembled a pill!
"The Medicine King Sect, the square stone?"
The Dao Refining Medicine King Scripture, passed down by Sun Piaomiao, originated from a giant square stone he used during pill refinement.
By any measure, the square stone appeared to be an ordinary rock. Only by believing it to be a pill and consuming it could one hear the faint voice transmitting the inheritance.
Li Fan had only encountered this peculiar method of inheritance transmission from Sun Piaomiao. Now, he was seeing it again in Dao Bearer's memories.
"Could Sun Piaomiao have been that stone?"
"Drifting across the Mountain and Sea for countless years, his Immortal body decaying… he certainly had the opportunity to learn such secrets."
"And…"
Li Fan recalled Sun Piaomiao's words from Liu Ruchen's memories:
"Birth, old age, sickness, and death are the eternal truths of the Great Dao. Even the stars cannot escape them. So how can you?"
Li Fan's thoughts solidified. "Those are the words of someone who has truly experienced the cycle of Dao. And his method of compressing True Immortal inscriptions into chess pieces to create the Immortal Domain is similar to the Immortal coffins."
"If he truly was a reincarnated coffin Immortal…"
Dao Bearer, seemingly oblivious to Li Fan's inner turmoil, continued, "You mentioned earlier that the Dao Sword and Dao Knife used by the Guang Wu Star Sea originated from another possibility. This suggests they have a connection to other possibilities. Although they might not be able to traverse them freely, retrieving and capturing objects from them should be within their capabilities."
Dao Bearer smiled. "Junior Brother, it seems you've encountered a formidable foe. Are you afraid?"
Li Fan played along, laughing nonchalantly, "With Senior Brother by my side, I fear neither a coffin Immortal nor even a Transcendent powerhouse! I would gladly fight them all!"
Pleased with Li Fan's bravado, Dao Bearer's smile faded. "Confidence is good, Junior Brother, but don't be careless. These coffin Immortals survived the destruction of their possibilities. Their strength is not to be underestimated."
"Moreover, since the Guang Wu Star Sea sent this coffin specifically in response to your method of subduing the Dao Sword and Dao Knife, it's likely not just a random coffin…"
"Speaking of which, Junior Brother, how did you subdue those sword and knife? Even I would struggle against them," Dao Bearer asked, his gaze fixed on Li Fan.
Li Fan had prepared an answer for this question.
Without hesitation, he produced the Dao Sword and Dao Knife and, before Dao Bearer, activated his Myriad Manifestations Dao Net.
He had used this technique during their previous spar, so Dao Bearer was familiar with it. However, the purple-black aura that emerged from the Dao Net made his expression change.
"These Dao Sword and Dao Knife do indeed originate from another possibility. Even the Boundless Great Dao can't harm them. But they are still within the Mountain and Sea, bound by the mortal world. The core of my Myriad Manifestations Dao Net, the Mo Annihilation Heavenly Soul, possesses a power akin to the Dao Obliteration Calamity. Naturally, it can suppress them!" Li Fan declared proudly.
As he spoke, the shadow of the Mo Annihilation Heavenly Soul, wreathed in a purple-black aura, emerged from the Dao Net and hovered before Dao Bearer.
Dao Bearer, born from a spirit stone by the Mountain and Sea, was naturally familiar with the aura of their merging.
Seeing the Mo Annihilation Heavenly Soul, he instinctively stood up, a look of apprehension on his face.
"Don't worry, Senior Brother. This power is under my complete control," Li Fan said calmly, withdrawing the Mo Annihilation Heavenly Soul.
"Where… where did this come from?" A flicker of confusion and uncertainty crossed Dao Bearer's eyes.
Li Fan saw clearly and didn't lie. "Senior Brother, since we both originated from the [Lankedao Domain], you should be aware of the unique nature of this Testing Grounds space."
Seeing Dao Bearer nod slightly, Li Fan continued, "In the world I come from, there are existences called Heavenly Souls, essentially manifestations of the world's laws."
"Mo Annihilation is one of them. I discovered its unique properties and found a way to tame it…"
Li Fan weaved a tale of truth and lies.
The Mo Annihilation Heavenly Soul was one of his most closely guarded secrets. Revealing it, even to Dao Bearer, was a significant move.
The brilliance of this lie was that the Myriad Manifestations Dao Net's ability to suppress the Dao Sword and Dao Knife was a result of the True Return, a fact unknown to anyone but its owner. What Dao Bearer witnessed was the Mo Annihilation-empowered Dao Net effortlessly subduing the Dao Sword and Dao Knife.
Dao Bearer was awestruck. "Junior Brother, you are truly fortunate. If I'm not mistaken, this is one of the goals the Immortal Realm was trying to achieve."
"The power of the merging Mountain and Sea."
"The star region where I gained sentience also had a similar creation, the spring that constantly flowed…"
"However, compared to your Mo Annihilation, Junior Brother, it's far inferior." Although envious, he harbored no ill intentions. Having been enlightened by Keeper Qiu, Dao Bearer wouldn't steal from his "Junior Brother."
"By the way, Senior Brother, do you know why the Immortal Realm suddenly abandoned this Testing Grounds, even neglecting Master's legacy? Based on my observations, they were close to finding a solution to the Dao Obliteration Calamity," Li Fan asked, feigning confusion.
He didn't reveal that he knew the Testing Grounds' original purpose was to capture the so-called "world-saving treasure," steering the conversation towards combating the Dao Obliteration Calamity.
Dao Bearer was silent for a moment.
Then, he looked at Li Fan with a strange expression. "How do you know they didn't find a solution?"
"Hmm?" Li Fan feigned confusion.
"The Immortal Realm invested immense resources in constructing this Testing Grounds. They wouldn't simply abandon it."
"Its current desolate state suggests they achieved their goal."
"But the Immortal Realm was still destroyed by the Dao Obliteration Calamity!" Li Fan exclaimed in surprise.
Dao Bearer sighed. "Junior Brother, you're too naive. Even Master, with his boundless compassion, didn't try to defend against the Dao Obliteration Calamity and save a single realm. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left when the calamity was at its peak. What more can we expect from others?"
"From the beginning, the Immortals of the Immortal Realm, including the ruling Immortal Emperor, only sought a way for the majority of True Immortals to survive."
"If the Immortal Realm was destroyed, they could simply rebuild it on Upper Mountain."
"Ultimately, the Other Shore is where they believe the true solution to the merging of the Mountain and Sea lies."
"Everything else…"
"…is irrelevant to the grand scheme."
Li Fan was stunned.
"Then what about the countless True Immortals who perished like ants during the Immortal Realm's destruction…?"
Dao Bearer smiled. "Those who died in the calamity weren't part of the 'majority.' Those who left are the true representatives of the [Immortal Realm]."
"The three world-escaping treasures are merely tools for those abandoned souls to save themselves."
…
Li Fan felt something was wrong with this explanation.
"What about the Four Saint Monarchs? Three of them perished. Were they not part of the true Immortal Realm?"
Dao Bearer sighed. "Lianshan, Guihai, and Taiyi chose not to live. Look at Great Saint Jingfen, he's still alive and well. Could it be that his power surpasses the other three?"
"Besides, their so-called deaths might not be true deaths."
"Perhaps they simply… chose to give up."
Perhaps because Li Fan had revealed the secret of the Mo Annihilation Heavenly Soul, earning his complete trust, Dao Bearer was unusually forthcoming.
Li Fan gradually recovered from his shock, pondering his words.
"Senior Brother, are you saying that Lianshan, Guihai, and Taiyi, despite searching the Mountain and Sea, are actually one and the same?"
"Perhaps not before. But after they created Upper Mountain and opened the Infinite Spring, they became one."
(End of chapter)