Helpless, Li Fan had no choice but to temporarily halt the Boundless Mirror.
He flicked out another clump of Source Power Essence, pulling the Boundless Mirror's spirit back from the brink of death.
The essence stored on his person had been generated day and night through the prayers of the hundred You people in the subterranean blood pool chamber of the Sun Clan.
Luring out the obliteration wind calamity lurking within the Boundless Mirror had consumed a portion of it.
More had been used earlier to repair the damage to the Boundless Mirror and maintain Li Fan's divine sense avatar.
Not much remained.
Li Fan estimated the rate of consumption. *Just enough. No need to make a return trip.*
*Still...*
He glanced casually toward the center of this deathly still pocket world.
The appearance of the Source Power Essence seemed to have drawn the attention of the golden skull hidden there. A peculiar sensation welled in his heart, like being stared down by a monster.
"Hmph. No matter how grand your origins were in life, you are nothing more than a skull now. How dare you act presumptuously before me?" Li Fan stood with his hands clasped behind his back. With a subtle stir of his thoughts, a trapping formation materialized in an instant.
It locked onto the space where the golden skull rested, sealing it away.
"I will deal with you in the next life."
Li Fan had no intention of probing into the secrets of this golden skull for now.
His urgent priority was to decipher the realm-protecting array here, return to the Xuanhuang Realm, and trace effect back to cause to uncover the hidden traces of the grand realm-protecting array.
Bathed in the Source Power Essence, Sun Luyao gradually came around from his swoon.
"Rest a moment, then continue."
Yet Li Fan's calm words struck him like a bolt from the blue.
Even so, not the slightest thought of defiance dared rise in his mind.
Sun Luyao knew full well that the survival of the Boundless Mirror hung entirely on Li Fan's whim.
In fact, it would not be impossible for Li Fan to wipe out his consciousness as the mirror spirit altogether and replace him with another cultivator's mind.
"Though this ordeal brings you pain, in a greater sense it is a form of tempering. As the saying goes, a thousand smeltings make iron, ten thousand make steel. You were merely a mortal who became the Boundless Mirror's spirit through sheer coincidence. You have seen how it performs now—nearly dying whenever it analyzes anything of note. How could such a tool be worthy of the title of immortal artifact?"
"While part of this stems from the mirror being damaged and incomplete, far more is due to your frailty as its spirit," Li Fan said in a deep voice.
These words left Sun Luyao burning with shame.
"Even Longevity cultivators covet this Source Power Essence. Expending it on you could easily be called a reckless waste of heaven's treasures. And yet, I have still done so..." Li Fan remarked faintly.
"Between life and death lies great terror, but between life and death also lies great fortune. Ponder this well!"
With that, Li Fan manipulated the Boundless Mirror once more to analyze the array remnants buried beneath the world's ruins.
Sun Luyao felt his strength rapidly wane again, but bolstered by Li Fan's earlier encouragement, he mustered every ounce of willpower to keep his mind clear.
*I must not fail Senior's expectations!*
Scenes from every encounter since meeting Li Fan flashed across Sun Luyao's mind.
Li Fan's aid along the way was beyond question, yet Sun Luyao himself had never managed to make any meaningful contribution. Now that he finally had a chance to repay him, he resolved not to let Li Fan down.
Moreover, Sun Luyao knew that what Li Fan said was true.
Tempered repeatedly between life and death, his core consciousness was steadily growing stronger. The growth of these past few days surpassed the decades he had spent hiding in the Sun Clan's secret chamber.
As Sun Luyao's spirit surged with determination, the wavering dim light steadied once more.
Watching this, Li Fan gave a slight nod.
***
In Great Qi.
Seated upon the Holy Emperor Throne, Li Ping had finished duplicating and implanting ten wisps of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao's aura.
However, relentless and uninterrupted labor had brought Maobao close to a breakdown, and the cat had gone on strike entirely.
No matter how much Source Power Essence was offered as a lure, Maobao simply pretended not to see it and snored away.
Helpless, the Sacred Emperor could only pause for now.
He looked toward the four central provinces of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
"Is the Alliance's realm-departing rainbow ready?"
Having tasted the sweetness of acquiring the true intent of the Star Sea's origin, the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao consciousness had grown restless. It instinctively yearned to attach itself to the expedition and hitch another ride.
Li Ping, however, dissuaded it.
The Sacred Emperor's intuition told him that the Alliance's expedition could never proceed as smoothly as his own had.
Setting aside the fact that he possessed foreknowledge of the perils along the journey—something the Alliance could not hope to emulate—the more crucial factor was that the members organized by the Alliance were all Dao Integration cultivators. There was no single figure whose strength could genuinely command the rest and keep everyone in line.
In the Xuanhuang Realm, within the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, authority was dictated by rank. But out in the Star Sea, especially in dire straits, who would listen to whom became anyone's guess.
"Blue Feather of Dao Origin Province."
"Jin Ri of Liuguang Province."
...
The roster of Dao Integration cultivators setting forth was no secret.
Looking over each name, the Sacred Emperor could not help but sigh softly.
"The fall of dozens of Dao Integration experts is undeniably a boon for the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao and the Sacred Dynasty alike."
"Yet it is still a pity..."
Pity was pity, but the Sacred Emperor would never succumb to soft-heartedness and intervene to stop them.
He merely waited quietly for their departure.
Besides, who was to say none of them possessed extraordinary fortune? Perhaps someone among them might survive the perils of the Star Sea and ultimately attain the Dao.
Even if he tried to stop them, he would only be seen as obstructing their path, creating an enmity that could only end in death.
Five days later, beneath the watchful eyes of all the Alliance cultivators, a seven-colored rainbow slowly soared beyond the vault of heaven.
Compared to the previous departure, this one appeared far more practiced.
The various hues separated in sequence, ultimately vanishing into the pitch-black Star Sea.
Li Ping watched them depart, offering a silent moment of mourning for them in his heart.
Seven days later, the Sacred Emperor's expression shifted.
With a flicker, he appeared inside the secret pocket where the You people resided.
Under the Sacred Dynasty's rule, the You people could be divided into three groups with different purposes.
The most numerous group had a single duty from birth to death: chanting praises of the Sacred Emperor's grace day after day. Cultivated through fusion with strange beasts, their lifespans and gestational cycles were extremely short. They truly resembled chives, harvested crop after crop in an endless cycle.
The second group, moderate in number, enjoyed far better treatment. They had ample rest each day and were even permitted to read various texts. As native You bodies, some of them were selected to participate in lineage optimization trials.
As for the third group, they were the smallest in number and the most unique. They could be considered the purest and most primitive You people, still worshipping the great Sea of Nether and preserving their age-old traditions. Yet living under Great Qi's rule, they naturally had to obey Li Fan's commands. Internal consensus had even been reached on whether the Sacred Emperor or the Sea of Nether was greater.
The Sacred Emperor was the avatar of the Sea of Nether's will. The Sacred Emperor, the Sea of Nether, and the First Ancestor of the You race were a trinity, indivisible. Though the doctrine was somewhat crude, it thoroughly resolved any potential friction stemming from Li Ping's intervention, allowing the tribe to stabilize completely.
"Greetings, Sacred Emperor." The You patriarch dropped to his knees the moment he saw Li Ping, kowtowing in homage.
Previously, because Li Ping had never demanded it, these You people did not need to bow when seeing him. But ever since the new doctrine took hold, various standard rituals had emerged within the tribe that even the patriarch was required to observe. Li Ping simply let them be.
"Open the portal to the Nether Realm," Li Ping commanded coldly, looking down at the You people kneeling across the ground.
The You people rose. Amidst the chanting of a mysterious, ancient hymn, a doorway slowly swung open.
Li Ping took the lead and flew inside.
Upon entering, he was instantly swallowed by endless nether darkness.
Without the slightest hesitation, Li Ping sped toward the direction of his sensory lock.
Silent and swift, he drew steadily closer.
The object of his senses was naturally the profound art he had leaked to the Alliance under his identity as the Sect Master of Spirit Source, a technique designed to amplify cultivators' output of source power.
When it came to exploitation, the Alliance's efficiency was astonishingly high.
Li Ping could already detect massive quantities of marked source power, densely compressed, surging into this Sea of Nether.
Counterintuitively, such colossal and terrifying energy failed to stir even the slightest ripple here.
It was hard to tell whether the Sea of Nether was simply too vast, or if something within was silently devouring the ripples.
As the distance closed, Li Ping slowed his pace.
Though brimming with confidence in his own strength, caution remained paramount.
Concealing his presence, he crept forward.
*Thump!*
*Thump!*
Inside the Sea of Nether, where sound supposedly could not travel and all should have been dead silent, a rhythmic, intermittent thudding resonated.
It sounded like heavy blows striking a massive war drum, causing even the Sacred Emperor's heart to thrum in resonance.
Li Ping's expression grew solemn.
His blood and vitality were entirely seamless and unified now; even an attack from a Longevity expert might not shake him. Yet here he was, unsettled by this simple thudding...
"It is not caused by an external force. This is the pulse of the Sea of Nether itself."
The Sacred Emperor quickly made his assessment.
Instead of resisting the sound, Li Ping stood in place for a moment, bringing his heartbeat into perfect synchrony with the pulse of the Sea of Nether.
As if dissolving entirely into the dark, his discomfort vanished.
Only then did Li Ping continue forward.
Soon, he "saw" the source of the thudding.
Or rather, he perceived it.
Like a punctured balloon, or the Great Realm-Splitting Maelstrom of the Xuanhuang Realm, a small opening had appeared in the Sea of Nether ahead.
Surging streams of compressed source power poured violently through this breach. Under the natural repulsion of the Sea of Nether's own might, wisps of Nether Power were siphoned away along the conduit formed by the clash of the two opposing forces.
Li Ping halted in the distance, watching with deepening solemnity.
"Ingenious."
After a long while, he offered this appraisal.
The power of the Sea of Nether and the compressed jet of source power had struck a flawless equilibrium.
The source power could not truly breach the Sea of Nether, nor was the Sea of Nether's retaliation fully provoked.
In this bizarre balance, an exchange of source power for Nether Power had been achieved.
One had to consider that the Sea of Nether was perpetually shifting.
This meant the Alliance's source power output had to adjust in real time to match those fluctuations. If the balance broke, it would instantly trigger a furious, catastrophic counterattack from the Sea of Nether.
The Alliance had clearly maintained this mechanism for a long time; their understanding of the Sea of Nether had reached a masterly height.
"The Alliance truly has capable people," Li Ping murmured.
Ruling half of the Xuanhuang Realm for thousands of years, having such trump cards was hardly surprising.
"Compared to the Nether Power that occasionally leaks into various parts of the Xuanhuang Realm, these siphoned wisps are far gentler."
"And far easier to harness."
After observing for a while longer, Li Ping caught on to the nuances.
"I wonder what grand design compels the Alliance to go to such lengths just to siphon this gentle Nether Power."
Yet ignorance did not impede Li Ping's actions.
As the Sea of Nether was essential to maintaining the Xuanhuang Realm's stability, the Alliance's siphoning was unmistakably an act against heaven's order.
Being the Avatar of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao, Li Ping could hardly sit by and watch.
Still, he refrained from acting rashly.
First, this delicate equilibrium meant that rashly disrupting it might trigger an even greater upheaval within the Sea of Nether.
Second, merely halting this single siphoning point would treat the symptom, not the cause.
Li Ping wanted a permanent solution that would eradicate the Alliance's thievery once and for all.
The Sacred Emperor possessed ample patience.
After observing the site for over a month, he first returned to the Sacred Dynasty.
He then brought nearly a hundred original You people to this place.
"Insolence! What utter sacrilege!"
From the wild gesticulations of the You patriarch, the Sacred Emperor saw the fury raging in the man's heart.
The other You people were equally consumed by hatred, seeing the great Sea of Nether they worshipped being robbed by thieves.
Were it not for Li Ping shielding their presence, such violent emotional fluctuations would have given them away long ago.
"I came this time to resolve this matter."
"Those who commit sacrilege must die."
Li Ping transmitted his intent into the minds of the You people.
The group instantly sank to their knees, their faces etched with fearless resolve.
In a corner unnoticed by the Alliance, the You people commenced an ancient ritual.
It was a method passed down since antiquity to commune with the Sea of Nether.
What Li Ping wanted them to do was draw the attention of the Sea of Nether's origin.
Though the commotion here appeared considerable, to the immense Sea of Nether, it was nothing more than a tiny pinprick on its body.
As long as the balance remained unbroken, it would never pay it any mind.
That was why the Alliance had been able to steal Nether Power without interruption.
Yet if guided by the You people's ritual, everything would change.
Even if the Sea of Nether did not immediately expel the Alliance, the sudden surge in repulsive force would easily shatter the equilibrium.
And because the shift would originate from the Sea of Nether itself, with such a titan as the foundation, any minor turbulence would be negligible.
As the ritual unfolded, Li Ping felt the Sea of Nether stir with subtle ripples.
Instinctively, he concealed his aura as thoroughly as possible, melting into the shadows.
Chapter 1266