"From this moment on, we are a single unit."
"If anyone spots the three stragglers attempting to return, report it immediately. Then, everyone will strike together to eliminate them."
"Remember, do not trust anyone who returns from the gloomy darkness. Even if they were once your closest companion."
As they advanced in lockstep, the Alliance cultivators reiterated the ban once more.
At the same time, through his exchange with Dharma Transmitter Zhou, Li Fan learned the origin of this Gloomy Dark Perilous Realm.
Due to the existence of the Immortal Ruins, the Xuanhuang Realm was constantly subjected to an immensely powerful gravitational pull.
Under ordinary circumstances, if nothing intervened to stop it, everything within the Xuanhuang Realm would eventually sink into the Immortal Ruins.
That was what the cultivators of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had once believed.
However, the discovery of the Gloomy Dark Perilous Realm shattered that assumption.
The Gloomy Dark Perilous Realm was an aggregation of all worldly matter moving away from the direction of the Immortal Ruins.
Although it remained part of the Xuanhuang Realm, unique laws operated here.
Aside from what had been mentioned before—that neither divine sense nor sound could leave the body—any cultivator who became lost would have their consciousness seized by an unknown presence lurking within the gloomy darkness, transforming them into a different entity altogether.
Yet the individual would be entirely unaware of it.
*This... seems somewhat similar to Mo Rubin's method of soul possession?* Li Fan thought with a sudden flicker of realization.
"Indeed. But they merely share certain traits. That doesn't prove anything."
Dharma Transmitter Zhou seemed intentionally to sidestep the topic and continued, "Ever since this place was discovered, the Alliance has attached immense importance to it. Given the darkness's tendency to diverge away from the Immortal Ruins, we thought studying it might lead to a method for breaking free of the ruins. However, until now, knowledge of this place was restricted only to the core Dharma Transmitters.
"That Profound Heaven Sect Dharma King once occupied the bodies of Chen and the others, which was how he learned of this place's existence.
"The You people do not actually dwell within the Gloomy Dark Perilous Realm. Rather, they were the first to discover how to open it and to master the power of this gloomy darkness. We only stumbled upon this secret during our subjugation of the pocket world where the You people lived and fought against them."
"The power of gloomy darkness? Could it be a completely different kind of existence from immortal spiritual power?" Li Fan asked thoughtfully.
"Not entirely. Over the years of our observation, the power of gloomy darkness also possesses certain characteristics of immortal spiritual power. But..." Dharma Transmitter Zhou paused, as if searching for the right words to describe it.
"Immortal spiritual power and the gloomy dark power are like a person and their shadow.
"Originally, the two should have been indistinguishable and blended into one another. Yet due to the presence of the Immortal Ruins, the power of gloomy darkness was forcefully stripped away from it."
Hearing this, Li Fan came to a faint understanding.
It was like a centrifuge separating different components from a liquid.
Because the gloomy dark power moved in opposition to the Immortal Ruins, as the entire Xuanhuang Realm gradually sank into the ruins, that power gathered in the opposite direction.
*The suction of the Immortal Ruins is caused by the presence of the seal character for 'Hunger.'*
*Then what exactly is this power of gloomy darkness, that it can resist the might of a True Immortal seal character?*
Li Fan felt a sense of doubt in his heart.
"We thoroughly explored the entire Gloomy Dark Perilous Realm before this. That is why we were able to detect the disturbance immediately when Mo Rubin slipped in this time.
"If you observe carefully, you should surely be able to sense it as well," Dharma Transmitter Zhou reminded him.
"Oh?"
Hearing that, Li Fan immediately furrowed his brows and focused his senses on the surrounding gloomy darkness.
After a long moment...
"Are you referring to this regular pulsation, like ripples of water?" Li Fan asked.
"Precisely. We detected Mo Rubin's aura at the source of that pulsation. However..."
Dharma Transmitter Zhou's tone grew somewhat uncertain. "He has been there for over ten days now, yet his position has not changed at all. It resembles someone who has been grievously wounded and lost consciousness."
"Could it be a trap?" Li Fan could not help asking.
"No," Dharma Transmitter Zhou replied with absolute certainty.
"Even if it were a trap... so many of us have come this time that a mere ancient method Longevity cultivator is nothing to fear."
Seeing how confident Dharma Transmitter Zhou was, Li Fan offered no further counterargument.
With no one speaking, the surroundings lapsed once more into a dreadful silence.
"Stay on your guard. We are almost there."
After an indeterminate amount of time, Dharma Transmitter Zhou's warning arrived.
Having locked onto the direction of the pulsation from afar, the Alliance cultivators followed instructions and formed an encirclement.
They tightly surrounded Mo Rubin, who was concealed within the gloomy darkness.
They only awaited the command to attack in unison.
At the same time, Li Fan received continuous alerts from the Yazi Array.
*It really is Mo Rubin?*
Li Fan could not help feeling surprised.
*Strange...*
Though misgivings lingered in his mind, Li Fan did not make any rash moves.
He simply moved in tandem with the Alliance cultivators, gradually tightening the hunting circle.
Everyone held their breath, but Mo Rubin showed no reaction whatsoever.
It was as if he were completely oblivious to the enemies closing in on him.
This held true even when the Alliance cultivators finally arrived before his eyes.
...
"Stand down."
"He seems to be dead."
Dharma Transmitter Zhou's voice arrived, tinged with disbelief.
"Hmm?"
A sudden chill welled up in Li Fan's heart.
Passing along the bodies of the Alliance cultivators, he made his way to the very center.
The moment he touched Mo Rubin's body, his divine sense perceived the man's current appearance.
Mo Rubin's face was gone.
In its place was only a mass of gloomy darkness, constantly separating and merging, churning over his head.
The sight was indescribably bizarre, but what chilled Li Fan even more was Mo Rubin's body.
One half was still a human torso.
The other half, however, appeared as though it had been overtaken by the gloomy darkness here.
It incessantly shifted back and forth between darkness and physical substance.
Under the prodding of the Alliance's black-robed deathsworn, it was confirmed that the gloomy darkness engulfing half of Mo Rubin's body was no illusion.
His flesh was truly fluctuating, disappearing and reappearing in an endless cycle.
When the gloomy darkness manifested and a hand reached out, it grasped only empty void.
Yet before long, once the half of the fleshly body reappeared, that gloomy darkness abruptly vanished.
And along with it, the deathsworn's hand that had reached into the darkness vanished as well.
As though the gloomy darkness could spread like a contagion, that black-robed deathsworn was unable to utter the slightest sound.
He was directly engulfed by the gloomy darkness rising from his own hand.
Fortunately, Dharma Transmitter Zhou acted decisively, severing the connection with the deathsworn at once and ordering everyone to strike together to execute him immediately.
Only then was the gloomy darkness prevented from spreading among the Alliance cultivators.
"What do you think, Fellow Daoist?" Dharma Transmitter Zhou asked in a heavy tone.
After a long silence, Li Fan said slowly, "The gloomy darkness on Mo Rubin's corpse appears somewhat different from the darkness in this realm.
"The darkness on the corpse is contagious, whereas the surrounding environment is not.
"Until we understand the truth of this place, it is best not to touch anything."
Chapter 1095