Hiding Alone in the Nether Prison

Yet regarding whether Chuanfa and Rebirth could trace things back to him, Li Fan remained entirely confident that he would not be found. Setting aside the myriad concealing formations etched into that immortal puppet—formations so exceedingly intricate they subtly surpassed even the Grand Formation of Inverting Life and Death—in this lifetime, no one had ever visited the Frozen Dead Sea before. Yet the True Immortal remains had been able to pinpoint its location with absolute precision. That point alone was enough to make Rebirth suspicious and paranoid. "By all reason, he should focus his suspicions on old acquaintances who might still exist over these years." "Even if he wanted to investigate me, he would have nowhere to begin." "The only flaw is that the immortal puppet relocated using the power of darkness." "And besides the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, only I, from the Myriad Realms Association, have ever entered the Nether Realm..." At that thought, a chill ran through Li Fan's heart. At the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable's level, one no longer needed evidence to make deductions before acting. The faintest possibility was enough for Him to reach a decision. "If my own deduction showed that in the entire Xuanhuang Realm, hardly any faction has the capability to pull this off, then putting Himself in those shoes, as long as He eradicates them all, He nips the threat in the bud..." "Unreasonable as it may seem, such is the way of a supreme hegemon." As these thoughts raced through his mind, Li Fan's heart thumped violently. Almost instantaneously, he made his decision. In the Spirit Wood Realm, all defensive formations were activated at full capacity. Every cultivator in the Myriad Realms Association was placed on standby, ready for battle at a moment's notice. He summoned key figures from the Tianji Realm, the Medicine King Sect, the pocket world of the Empire, and others, laying out the severity of the crisis. Qiaogong, Liu Ruchen, and the rest all paled slightly. "Isn't this completely irrational? Just because we possess the strength to slay Dharma Transmitters, they want to wipe us out alongside the culprit when they can't find them?" "Is the Envoy being a bit too pessimistic? In my view, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals surely wouldn't act so recklessly, would they?" A flurry of agitated murmurs broke out among the crowd, but upon noticing Li Fan's darkening expression, everyone instantly shut their mouths. "By praying for the protection and insight of the Compassionate Immortal of the Mortal Dust, I have already all but confirmed this." "Doubt no further; prepare yourselves in advance. There will be no room for compromise in this battle," Li Fan declared coldly. Hearing his words, everyone's faces turned deathly pale. "Our only chance of survival lies in resisting with sufficient strength." "They march against us to avenge three Dharma Transmitters. If we can make them lose far more than just three Dharma Transmitters..." "...they will hesitate instead," Li Fan rallied them further. "Formidable though the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals is, it is impossible for them to mobilize their entire strength against us." "Moreover, we hold the geographical advantage. The Spirit Wood Realm is an impregnable bastion covered in countless formations, reinforced by the barriers of the Tianji Realm." "Finally, we can also harness the power of the Nether Realm to catch the enemy off guard, unleashing a tide of darkness upon them..." Li Fan said with apparent confidence, "As long as we hold off the first and fiercest waves of attacks, we should be able to weather this crisis." Yet despite Li Fan's words, not a trace of optimism could be seen on their faces. Heavy-hearted, they all departed to make preparations for battle. The Spirit Wood Realm was now completely sealed off; even if they harbored thoughts of fleeing, there was nowhere to run. Their only choice was to fight to the death. Meanwhile, on Li Fan's end... Inside an underground secret chamber. A sacred embryo identical to Li Fan in appearance was rapidly taking shape. Using the divine power of the Compassionate Immortal of the Mortal Dust to forcefully elevate the sacred embryo to the Nascent Soul realm, the sacred embryo left the secret chamber and donned the Tianyang War Puppet. As for Li Fan himself... He carried nothing with him and quietly slipped out of the Spirit Wood Realm without anyone noticing. Knowing that the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals would come to attack the Spirit Wood Realm, how could Li Fan's true self possibly stay behind to fight them to the bitter end? To Li Fan, the Myriad Realms Association, the Spirit Wood Realm, Tianji, Medicine King... None of them were anything more than external possessions, disposable at any moment. Only his own safety mattered most. So long as he preserved his life and weathered this storm, then later, once Chuanfa and Rebirth let down their guard, he could trigger his World Extinction arrangements. Once everything underwent True Reversion, all that he had lost would inevitably return to his hands once more. With Li Fan's present concealment capabilities, he sped along after departing the Spirit Wood Realm, his tracks going completely undetected from beginning to end. As for his hiding spot for the coming period, Li Fan had already chosen it long before. "As the saying goes, the darkness lies right beneath the lamp. The most dangerous place is the safest place." Before long, he arrived at his destination. It was none other than the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' Nether Prison—the very place from which he had previously escorted Dharma Transmitter Wei! "Heh heh, could this be considered walking right into the snare?" Li Fan chuckled self-deprecatingly in his heart. "Then again, this so-called net of the Nether Prison cannot hold me." After a careful inspection, Li Fan quickly dismantled the formation enshrouding the entrance to the Nether Prison. Transforming into a wisp of murky shadow, he quietly slipped inside. The scene before his eyes abruptly turned dim and gloomy. It bore some resemblance to the scenery of the Nether Realm. There was neither heaven nor earth; as far as the eye could see lay only endless darkness. Yet compared to the utter, pitch-black void of the Nether Realm, some faint light still lingered here. At the very least, divine sense could faintly discern direction, preventing total disorientation. In this vast, pitch-black space stood towering cage-pillars, one after another. Within each pillar, a prisoner seemed to be suppressed. Upon the surfaces of the pillars, scenes of horrific tortures continuously shifted and flickered. As for the Nether Prison's jailers, they were hideous monsters drifting about, composed of an unknown black mist-like substance. They numbered in the tens of thousands, several times more numerous than the towering pillars in the expanse. Now and then, letting out snarls and shrieks, they would plunge into the pillars containing prisoners. Before long, faint, agonizing screams would echo out continuously from within the cages. Only after prolonged torment would these black mist monsters depart from the pillars, utterly satisfied. Similar scenes played out endlessly across the Nether Prison, as though without conclusion. ... Watching this purgatorial scene, Li Fan's expression did not change in the slightest. Examining the structure of these cage-pillars, he determined that they were formed by a type of array. His gaze flickered, and almost instantaneously, he cracked its design. Then, selecting an empty one, he took the initiative to slip inside. "Not bad." Stepping inside the black pillar, Li Fan glanced around and found that, compared to the exterior, the interior of this cage was actually brighter. However, array attacks would strike down at any moment as punitive measures. Naturally, these could not harm Li Fan at all. "Even if they turn the Xuanhuang Realm upside down, they probably won't ever dream that I am hiding here." "And once they have forgotten all about me, that will be my time to step out." As though he had returned home, Li Fan comfortably settled down in the Nether Prison from then on. To him, the Spirit Wood Realm and the Nether Prison held no fundamental difference.