"It's the character 'Hunger'..."
From the faint fluctuations emanating from the celestial vessel's Dao Integration cultivator not far away, Li Fan's divided soul quickly made a judgment.
He did not draw close, remaining instead inside the wooden cabin to observe.
"Elder Yan..." Elder Gou, who usually wore a stony face, was now bowing and scraping with supreme fawning.
The people in the valley grumbled incessantly in their hearts, but none dared show it, keeping their heads lowered and not daring to look directly at this Dao Integration cultivator.
After all, in the eyes of mortals, a Dao Integration cultivator was practically indistinguishable from the immortals of legend.
"Gou Liang, I heard that five people died in succession in the Valley of Suppressed Guilt recently?" Elder Yan asked in a deep voice.
Gou Liang's body trembled, and he responded repeatedly, "Indeed that happened. But it was only those few sinners having bad luck. After going out to work just two or three times, their illness worsened, and they breathed their last. Nothing amiss has happened within the Valley of Suppressed Guilt itself..."
"Hmph! What bad luck..." A chill glinted in Elder Yan's eyes, and he offered no further explanation.
Vast divine sense instantly enveloped the entire Valley of Suppressed Guilt.
"As expected, this place has already been contaminated."
Elder Yan's expression instantly darkened. A speck of starlight surfaced at his fingertip, and he pointed from afar toward the residential area of the Valley of Suppressed Guilt, where Li Fan's divided soul resided.
Endless light and heat destroyed everything within range.
...
Outside the celestial vessel.
Sacred Embryo Li Fan, currently in hiding and secluded in contemplation, lifted his head slightly.
"As expected of a civilization that has survived in the Pitch-Black Star Sea for so long—they truly are cautious."
"It seems that to infiltrate, I must solve the problem of being a massive source of contagion myself. Otherwise, no matter how well I hide, causing the people around me to die in large numbers will inevitably expose me as well."
"This divine soul of mine has stayed in the Pitch-Black Star Sea for too long. The affliction is deep-seated and hard to reverse; I still need to sever a sliver of my divided soul to lie in wait. With my previous experience, I can do it like this..."
For the next two full months, not a single person from the celestial vessel went out to collect realm-annihilation relics.
Yet, regarding the nearly boundless relics outside, they clearly could not abandon them.
Thus, Li Fan finally waited until a new scavenging team arrived.
Following his prior experience, Li Fan's divided soul blended into the relics and followed them inside the celestial vessel.
However, this time, the celestial vessel was noticeably far more cautious in handling the relics. While remaining alongside the relics, the celestial vessel cultivators kept their armor on at all times. After hauling the relics into a sealed chamber and departing, a blurry phantom of a talisman appeared above the space.
"This is..."
The talisman emitted a faint glow, shining down upon the dozen or so relics below.
Although Li Fan's divided soul was likewise bathed in the light, he suffered no ill effect whatsoever.
He merely watched as the power of the True Immortal seal characters on the surrounding relics—power on the verge of dissipating—was drawn through this dreamlike light into the talisman phantom above.
Li Fan's divided soul even felt the various mysterious forces lingering around him being drawn away by the talisman.
Before long, the power clinging to the dozen or so relics here vanished completely. They had truly turned into worthless rubbish from the star sea.
With a flash of faint light, the talisman vanished from the chamber.
"Their degree of utilizing the power of True Immortal seal characters is somewhat higher than I imagined."
This chamber was completely sealed, and Li Fan's divided soul could not escape either. However, he was in no hurry.
Someone would certainly come to deal with this remaining pile of "rubbish."
Just as Li Fan anticipated, two days later, two Qi Condensation cultivators entered under the lead of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"Move all these things onto the boat."
"Be careful, all of you. Even though the realm-annihilation force on these things is gone, they're genuine antiques. To have survived in the star sea for so long means their materials themselves are quite extraordinary. Send them all to the Star-Forging Workshop; perhaps we can put this waste to good use," the Foundation Establishment cultivator instructed.
The two Qi Condensation cultivators were only fifteen or sixteen years old, looking naive and inexperienced in worldly affairs.
After a moment's thought, Li Fan's divided soul attached himself to one of them.
Following the three, he left the sealed space, boarded a small flying boat, and arrived at the so-called Star-Forging Workshop.
It was an enclosed, ring-shaped structure forged from an unknown white metal.
At the center of the ring sat a blazing fireball.
The terrifying waves of heat continuously churning on the fireball's surface testified to the colossal energy contained within.
One could faintly see wisps of flame being sucked from time to time into a small aperture in the ring structure.
The one responsible for reception in the Star-Forging Workshop did not possess an ordinary human appearance.
Rather, it was a strange half-human, half-beast being, crimson all over, with two horns atop its head and a long tail trailing behind it.
The three seemed deeply frightened of it; having set the items down, they could hardly wait to steer their flying boat away.
After quite some effort, they finally returned to their dwelling place.
It was known as the Dao Confirmation Academy.
It, too, was an isolated continent floating in the void.
The academy towered high, piercing straight into the clouds.
They arrived at the lower level of the academy to report back to their master.
The master of the three was a Nascent Soul cultivator named Zhao Wuji, his hair already frosted white.
Seeing the three return, he stowed away the book dharma artifact he was reading and asked with eyes full of benevolence, "Is the matter all taken care of?"
The three lowered their heads and replied, "Replying to Master, everything has been handled properly."
"Do you know why I had you make this special trip?" Zhao Wuji asked again.
All three were stunned, unsure how to reply.
"Not long ago, the Valley of Suppressed Guilt was razed to the ground. The survivors in the valley were also all taken away and quarantined for observation. Supposedly, the cause was improper procedures during the valley's relic-collecting operations, leading to the spread of realm-annihilation force."
"Heh..."
"This procedure was established by the Immortal Pivot Court and has remained so for the past millennium. Even if occasional slip-ups occurred, they never caused any major trouble. Yet this time it raised such a massive commotion." Zhao Wuji abruptly halted his words.
At this, the Foundation Establishment cultivator among the three suddenly had a flash of insight. "Master means that Severing Immortal Tower is taking advantage of the opportunity to make a move?"
"Indeed." Zhao Wuji showed an expression that said his student was worthy of teaching. "It is not just the Valley of Suppressed Guilt. Moving forward, everywhere within the celestial vessel that falls under the Immortal Pivot Court's sphere of influence will face the impact of Severing Immortal Tower."
"The Immortal Pivot Court has held power for too long, and those coveting leadership of the celestial vessel have waited for too long as well."
Zhao Wuji let out a soft sigh.
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji's three disciples all bore different expressions.
The Foundation Establishment disciple's eyes darted around, seemingly scheming something.
Of the two Qi Condensation disciples, one lowered his head, intently pondering their master's words.
As for the other—the one possessed by Li Fan's divided soul—he wore an entirely indifferent look.
His mind had wandered beyond the clouds, seemingly lost in a daze.
Chapter 1187