It was not that Li Fan had intentionally obscured the figure's appearance.
Rather, the mysterious figure who had appeared at the bottom of the Chizha Abyss was simply too overwhelmingly powerful; the abyss bottom's environment, where the laws were inherently unstable, was fundamentally incapable of containing an entity of such a realm.
Consequently, viewed from the outside, the image was an indistinct blur.
Even so, judging from the aura that the figure inadvertently exuded, Li Fan was more than fifty percent certain that the person was none other than the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable.
*Yet he differs somewhat from the weathered old man in my memory; he seems younger. How can this be?*
Sacred Embryo Li Fan sank into deep contemplation.
Meanwhile, Young Lord Shang returned to his senses and transmitted his voice: "I know a method that can invite the Heavenly Venerable back, but relying solely on a blurry, indistinct projection..."
"It is not enough. We need more evidence."
"What is more, relying merely on the two of us, we cannot even present this gathered evidence directly before him. Convincing him would be harder still."
Sensing Young Lord Shang's apprehension, Li Fan smiled and replied, "There is no need for you to be overly pessimistic, Young Lord. The two of us are indeed isolated and few, but across the vast Xuanhuang Realm, we will surely find like-minded companions."
"We can search for trustworthy individuals to bolster our strength while collecting evidence." In his words, Li Fan had already signaled his intention to travel together with Young Lord Shang.
"Yet the Chizha Abyss..." Young Lord Shang still hesitated.
Li Fan immediately adopted a grave tone and admonished, "As the saying goes, when the skin is gone, where can the hair attach? If the entire Xuanhuang Realm falls into peril, what use is it even if you garrison this abyss and keep it safe from all trouble, Young Lord?"
"Besides, I have already devised a win-win method that will suppress the abyssal demonic sound even if you journey far away."
As they spoke, they had already returned to the entrance of the abyss.
Li Fan's gaze sharpened, and a colossal sword seemingly forged from tens of thousands of distinct sword lights suddenly stretched across the abyss.
Pointing into the empty air, the colossal sword danced and wheeled nimbly in response to his gestures.
In tandem with its movements, continuous strands of dark red thread were sliced away.
Stripped of the constraints of their original world's laws, these threads should have drifted chaotically and subsequently annihilated.
Yet under the sweeping motions of Li Fan's hand through the air, they gradually coalesced.
Quietly, they were woven into a massive crimson net!
Witnessing this scene, Young Lord Shang felt another tremor of shock in his heart.
While it might not match the staggering awe of that mysterious figure casually manipulating shattered worlds with simple gestures, this effortless act of weaving a world's broken laws into a net was more than enough to demonstrate Dao art attainments far beyond ordinary comprehension.
"The reason the demonic sound tide is so difficult to guard against is that the clash between the laws of the shattered worlds and the Xuanhuang Realm is intensely focused within this narrow strip, too violent and devoid of any buffer. Therefore, I slightly altered the spatial structure here, delaying the fusion of the laws to the greatest extent possible..."
"In truth, that mysterious figure could easily have done this with a wave of his hand to cover his tracks and prevent anyone from noticing the anomaly. Yet he chose not to. Perhaps that, too, is a form of supreme confidence." Li Fan shook his head slightly.
"With this net of laws serving as a buffer, the explosive force of the demonic sound tide is estimated to be reduced by half."
As Li Fan spoke, he made a gentle pinching gesture, scattering the colossal sword in the abyss back into myriad sword lights.
Countless sword silhouettes flew like soaring dragons according to a distinct pattern, faintly coalescing into a formation.
Young Lord Shang saw the sword array circling the periphery of the net of laws, its center seemingly forming a massive vortex.
The dark red embers spilling out from the net of laws were drawn into the sword array from time to time.
"This array uses sword intent that obliterates all things to grind apart the shattered laws accumulating in the Chizha Abyss. It can extend the cycle of the demonic sound tide's eruption by more than twofold."
"You may order the sword cultivators in the Qingxuan Army to come here, Young Lord. Not only can they comprehend the sword intent gathered within the array, but they can also help recharge it..."
Unhurriedly, Li Fan had laid out a complete solution to the demonic sound tide that struck terror into the hearts of the Qingxuan Army.
Looking at the array and the net, Young Lord Shang was rendered speechless.
Since childhood, everyone around him had hailed him as a prodigy.
Yet before Li Fan...
*Truly, there is always a mountain higher than the last. I was too shallow before.*
With his worries resolved, Young Lord Shang naturally had no further reason to refuse traveling alongside Li Fan.
The two returned to the Eternal Immortal Bastion and announced that the demonic sound tide had been temporarily suppressed, drawing deafening cheers that shook the bastion like a tsunami.
Afterward, Young Lord Shang assembled his trusted confidants and passed down the operational methods for what Li Fan had named the Sound-Silencing Sword Array.
Once all affairs were arranged, Young Lord Shang summoned Yan Huan alone before departure.
"Rest assured, Young Lord. The technique derived by the Yanfa Jue is extremely effective. Those brothers who used to lose their sanity from time to time have rarely relapsed lately," Yan Huan answered respectfully with his head bowed.
...
From their exchange, Li Fan also learned why Yan Huan had been in such a hurry, willing to expend a precious Law-Audience Jade Plaque to seek a cultivation technique derived by the Yanfa Jue.
The Qingxuan Army had garrisoned outside the Chizha Abyss year after year. Under the insidious influence of the demonic sound, some individuals would succumb to mental derangement, even committing the madness of turning their blades against their own comrades.
In the past, the number of afflicted was small, making it relatively manageable.
Yet over time, nearly a fifth of the Qingxuan Army in Broken Palm Immortal City had contracted this bizarre affliction.
Shortly before Sacred Embryo Li Fan arrived here, a large-scale outbreak had erupted within the Qingxuan Army.
Casualties had been catastrophic.
The most agonizing part was that they had not fallen to the demonic sound tide, but had died at the hands of their own brothers—a reality especially hard to accept.
The morale of the Qingxuan Army was at rock bottom, and military discipline was unraveling.
Left with no alternative, Young Lord Shang had used his hard-won Law-Audience Jade Plaque to petition the Yanfa Jue for a solution.
"The Heart-Forging Demon-Warding Art. Cultivators of this technique can help others steady their Dao hearts and expel wicked thoughts from their minds. Although it can only address one person's affliction at a time and is somewhat slow, it is indeed remarkably effective. The soldiers who have recovered have even developed a slight resistance to the demonic sound," Young Lord Shang explained to Li Fan.
"How does this Heart-Forging Demon-Warding Art compare to the secret art I passed on to you, Young Lord?" Li Fan asked.
Young Lord Shang was briefly taken aback, then blurted out, "It is naturally far inferior!"
"In that case, Young Lord, why not pass down the Immortal Heart Incantation? That way, everyone can be spared the torment of the demonic sound," Li Fan transmitted his voice, his expression laden with profound compassion for the world.
Hearing this, Young Lord Shang's eyes widened in sheer shock.
*The Immortal Heart Incantation...*
He finally learned the name of that supreme secret art. The words "Immortal Heart" in particular set his imagination racing.
Even as he was astounded by Li Fan's extraordinary generosity, Young Lord Shang felt somewhat reluctant to impart such a peerless secret art to everyone unconditionally.
Chapter 1153