At first, Yanfa Jue was still a bit hesitant. But once she actually took a bite, the expression on her face instantly turned utterly magnificent. She then began wolfing it down in huge mouthfuls.
"Mmph... sho good... mmph!"
In no time at all, she devoured the entire plate of fried rice. When she finished, she rubbed her slightly swollen belly with lingering longing, her face filled with wonder. "This fried rice of yours tastes just like the real thing! How did you do it?"
As she spoke, Yanfa Jue let out a contented burp.
Li Fan smiled and said, "When the false is taken for true, the true becomes false; when the true is taken for false, the false becomes true. How could truth and illusion ever be so easily distinguished?
"As long as you possess a deep enough understanding of the essence of things, you too can create something utterly illusory that feels indistinguishable from reality."
Yanfa Jue plopped down onto the ground. "As for fried rice and stuff, I've only eaten it, never made it. Same goes for all the other delicacies. Looks like there's no hope of me being self-sufficient. Still..."
She looked Li Fan up and down. "You couldn't have been a cook before, could you...?"
Li Fan's cheek twitched. Evading the question, he shifted the subject. "Are you full? Have you recalled that immortal character?"
Yanfa Jue shook her head repeatedly. "Just one dish isn't nearly enough! Can't you make a bit more?!"
Li Fan gave a cold snort, yet with a light wave of his sleeve, a stove, cookware, and ingredients appeared before him one after another.
Amidst the dancing kitchen flames, aroma-laden delicacies were continually served up.
Yanfa Jue's mouth watered at the sight. Turning nothing away, she stuffed every morsel into her mouth.
"*Burp*..."
After thoroughly gorging herself, the thoroughly stuffed little girl's belly was round as a ball, and she flopped directly onto the ground in a most unladylike manner.
"You know, even though you're not much to look at, your cooking skills are genuinely impressive," Yanfa Jue praised.
Li Fan replied calmly, "It was merely a small trade I relied on to scrape together a living back when I was a mortal. Nothing worth mentioning."
Yanfa Jue narrowed her eyes delightfully, savoring the flavors still lingering on the tip of her tongue.
Then she said, "Mmh, I'm getting a bit sleepy. I'm going to take a short nap. Look at it yourself."
With that, Yanfa Jue was already snoring like thunder, sound asleep.
Within the orb of light, crisscrossing strokes swam and converged, forming a gigantic character that spanned the entire sky.
The profound, resonant voice of the Great Dao that he had once heard in the illusion faintly echoed once more.
Yet it was intermittent, seeming almost like an auditory hallucination.
Li Fan gazed up at the character without moving a muscle. Only when it slowly dispersed did a contemplative expression appear on his face.
"It truly is a True Immortal seal character. However, because of the gaps in Yanfa Jue's memory, she cannot fully comprehend its meaning. Even this character she displayed has already deviated slightly from the authentic True Immortal seal character.
"Still..."
Using his finger as a brush, Li Fan attempted to trace it in midair.
Yet each time he reached a critical juncture, he paused and gave a slight shake of his head.
"The structure of the strokes, the style of the transitions, and the various fine nuances of the brushwork are all strikingly similar to the 'Hunger' and 'Disorder' characters I saw before. But this one is even more beautiful, even more seamlessly natural.
"The gap between an original authentic work and a facsimile is actually this vast."
In Li Fan's eyes, the various True Immortal seal characters he had encountered before had already seemed utterly perfect, without a single flaw to be found. Every stroke manifested the vast, sacred might of a True Immortal.
Yet everything suffered by comparison.
Compared to this authentic piece by the Dao-Inscribing Immortal preserved in Yanfa Jue's memory, the characters wreaking havoc in the Pitch-Black Star Sea seemed as crude as a child's scribbles.
However, Li Fan discovered that this disparity only arose when he held both in his mind simultaneously to compare them.
If he only reproduced a single character like "Hunger" or "Disorder" on its own, he would still instinctively feel it was flawless.
It was a deeply contradictory and wondrous sensation.
After repeated trials, Li Fan reached a conclusion: to him, True Immortal seal characters were like a vast ocean. Relying on himself alone, he could only sink into them, unable to perceive the full picture. But with the Dao-Inscribing Immortal's authentic work as a point of reference, it served as an immovable anchor, an eye gazing from the high heavens. It allowed him to step back and open his eyes to view the true reality.
Emulating the authentic work of the Dao-Inscribing Immortal, Li Fan reorganized and refined the True Immortal seal characters he had mastered, such as Hunger and Disorder.
Sure enough, the results were extraordinary. Though at first glance they appeared no different from before, Li Fan was entirely certain that these True Immortal seal characters, refined according to the original, had increased in potency by at least a third.
"A pity that this authentic piece by the Dao-Inscribing Immortal is incomplete as well. And having been filtered through Yanfa Jue's memory, it is still somewhat distorted."
After a long while, Li Fan woke from his epiphany and let out a long breath.
"From the clues gathered so far, True Immortal seal characters can be divided into three broad categories. The first is like the Disorder Formula, which brings all manner of calamity and destruction. The second is the Return Formula, which serves as an edict of the Immortal Realm. And finally, this one...
"The raindrops falling when this character appeared could be called 'Immortal Sound Jade Dew.' Its birth was accompanied by the profound voice of the Great Dao, driving several True Immortals to fight over it. It is likely closer to the legendary two characters: 'Dao-Inscribing.'"
With waves of thought surging through his mind, Li Fan could not resist tracing his fingers once more in an attempt to mend the missing parts of the Dao-Inscribing character.
The outcome was foreseeable: it was entirely in vain.
*The Immortal Realm shattered. Where might that authentic piece by the Dao-Inscribing Immortal be today?* Li Fan could not help wondering.
***
Just as Li Fan's true body had gained insights from the ancient Immortal Realm secrets learned through Yanfa Jue, the Faceless Sacred Emperor, Li Ping, had also finally completed the ultimate sealing of the Faceless True Immortal stone statue and the Yishi Sect ruins.
In his perception, Mo Rubin, who had been fleeing frantically earlier, had not moved for quite some time.
"What is this location?"
Li Ping pondered for a moment, not rushing out in direct pursuit. Instead, he summoned Layman Qiaogong.
"That place... rumor has it that it was formed from the heart of that colossal beast after its death, and it's the convergence point of the earth veins in Jiushan Province. I went there once, but I didn't find anything remarkable." Sensing the image transmitted by the Sacred Emperor, Layman Qiaogong shook his head slightly.
The location indicated by the Sacred Emperor was a certain swamp within Jiushan Province, the headquarters of the Spirit Origin Sect.
"It just has slightly denser spiritual energy than other areas. Other than that, there's really nothing special about it," Layman Qiaogong stated definitively.
"How much do you know about that 'Tian beast'?" Li Ping asked again.
Layman Qiaogong shrugged. "If it weren't for some native Jiushan Province cultivators in our sect, I probably wouldn't even know the legend that Jiushan was formed from the corpse of a giant beast after its death. So that thing was called a Tian beast—I've learned something new.
"However, if you're interested in that area, there's a Nascent Soul cultivator in our sect named Shen Yurou. You could summon him and ask."
Layman Qiaogong explained the background to Li Ping.
It turned out Shen Yurou's clan had made their living for generations by excavating items buried beneath Jiushan. Jiushan had been a chaotic land since antiquity, and countless cultivators were buried there—some dating back to the reign of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao.
Relying on this trade, the Shen clan had amassed considerable wealth. But it was an illicit business after all, so ever since Shen Yurou joined the Spirit Origin Sect, he had abandoned this ancestral craft.
"I seem to recall hearing him mention that near that swamp, an ancestor of the Shen clan once unearthed an unusual structure. But it was completely empty inside, with only a few bizarre statues standing there. After his ancestor left in disappointment, he fell gravely ill and nearly lost his life."
Li Ping's heart stirred, and he looked through the Creation Slate.
Sure enough, he found information on this Shen clan ancestor. However, there was no record of discovering ruins within the swamp of Jiushan Province.
Li Ping promptly departed Great Qi and arrived within the Spirit Origin Sect.
Still disguised as the Spirit Origin Sect Master, he summoned Shen Yurou to question him on the details.
Shen Yurou was somewhat taken aback by the summons from this Sect Master who had not shown himself for a long time. With great restraint and caution, he said, "That matter is indeed quite strange. Ever since that accidental intrusion, my ancestor was afflicted with some peculiar ailments.
"For example, he often relived the scene of that underground structure in his dreams, and furthermore..."
Shen Yurou seemed to have accepted the reality long ago, speaking quite openly. "From that point on, all members of our Shen clan were born with inverted yin and yang—the men possessed feminine features, while the women possessed masculine features."
Li Ping's divine sense swept across Shen Yurou's body, but he found no traces of any alien power influencing him. It seemed as though he had simply been born that way naturally.
"Is the precise location of that structure still preserved?" Li Ping asked.
Shen Yurou wore a troubled expression. "To prevent clan members from trespassing again, our ancestor did not pass down the exact location. However, paintings depicting the interior of that structure were left behind."
With that, Shen Yurou pinched his fingers together, sketching out a painting in the air.
In the four corners stood four stone statues.
They depicted headless figures assuming different postures, as though in prayer.
At the center of the four stone statues stood a bare, smooth pillar.
The pillar's surface was entirely polished, devoid of any carved patterns. Yet eerily, the shadow cast by the pillar onto the ground resembled a ferocious beast, baring fangs and brandishing claws, seeming ready to come alive at any moment with the shifting of light and shadow.
"According to my ancestor, within that structure, the sound of heavy, thumping heartbeats constantly echoed in one's ears. Moreover, if one looked along that pillar, it felt like plummeting into an abyss, surrounded by endless darkness..." Shen Yurou added.
Li Ping stared intently at the four headless figures in the painting.
Even without heads, their style was vaguely recognizable as strikingly similar to the Faceless True Immortal statue he had encountered beneath Mount Taixu.
They were unmistakably relics of the Xuantian Sect.
*Borrowing its likeness, yet severing its head.*
*This pillar...*
The smooth pillar was undoubtedly the core of this bizarre structure.
Yet from the painting alone, nothing definitive could be determined.
After dismissing Shen Yurou, Li Ping quietly arrived at the great marsh of Jiushan Province.
A swamp of such scale appearing amidst continuous mountain ridges was, theoretically speaking, highly abnormal. Many cultivators had explored this place before in hopes of uncovering some secret, but all had returned empty-handed.
Standing in the center of the marsh, Li Ping felt only the foul, decaying stench of the place. He sensed nothing extraordinary.
That was, if not for his clear perception that Mo Rubin was hiding right here.
Mo Rubin had likely not noticed Li Ping's approach yet. Although he continued moving within a small perimeter deep beneath the marsh, he had never stepped outside this area.
After laying down formations around the perimeter, Li Ping submerged into the depths of the swamp, slowly closing in on the sensed location.
*Gurgle...*
Suddenly, his body came to an abrupt halt.
Just then, Li Ping faintly heard the sound of squirming.
With his current cultivation, he could virtually rule out an auditory hallucination. Therefore...
Li Ping surveyed his surroundings.
The thick, foul-smelling mire of the swamp was rhythmically churning as though it possessed life.
Li Ping suddenly had the sensation that the entire swamp had abruptly come alive.
*A trap?*
The thought flashed across Li Ping's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
The swamp's attention was not fixed on him.
The Sacred Emperor continued concealing his tracks, following his internal perception—which was also the source of the swamp's rhythmic life force. Before long, he discovered the bizarre structure Shen Yurou's ancestor had encountered.
Viewed broadly from the outside, the structure took the shape of a blank face.
And that towering, smooth pillar happened to be situated right at the center of the blank face's brow, resembling a prominent third eye staring up at the sky from beneath the earth.
Such an eerie sight caused Li Ping's heart to tense.
The structure blocked his divine sense from probing inside; he could only rely on the mark he had previously left on Mo Rubin to confirm that the man was indeed busy doing something within.
The Sacred Emperor did not enter rashly. Instead, he noiselessly spread a web of source power essence around the perimeter.
Reinforced by layer upon layer of confining formations, he completely sealed off the area, even calling upon the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao's power to lock down the surrounding earth veins...
Even after deploying so many measures, for some reason, Li Ping still felt uncertain.
After a moment of thought, Li Ping woke Cat Treasure on his shoulder and retrieved an item from its belly.
It was an extraordinary treasure obtained from the fishing pool, capable of locking down space.
The treasure looked rather ordinary, merely a plain hoop.
Yet the gold-and-white light swirling over its surface faintly hinted at the terrifying power concealed within.
"The Void-Binding Ring.
"Refined by extinguishing all living beings in a ring-shaped world and melting them into the realm itself. It carries not only the weight of an entire world, but also the weight of billions of lives. Once bound, even my movements would be heavily impaired."
Although the method of refinement qualified it as an outright wicked artifact, Li Ping was not a pedantic man, so he felt no psychological burden using it.
Tossing it lightly, the Void-Binding Ring flew toward the top of the blank-faced structure. In the blink of an eye, it expanded several times over, enshrouding the entire surrounding area.
Watching the gold-and-white ring gradually fade into concealment, the Sacred Emperor pondered for a moment, then laid down one final countermeasure.
With everything prepared, Li Ping flew inside the structure.
"You're here.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time."
The moment he stepped inside, Mo Rubin's voice echoed in his ears.
Li Ping looked closely, but saw no sign of Mo Rubin's body.
However, at the base of the smooth pillar in the center of the structure, an erratic shadow resembled the silhouette of a human.
It confronted Li Ping, seeming to wear a mocking expression.
"I spent so much time by Big Brother Xuanyuan's side. Even if I never stepped into the Half-Immortal realm, it's not as though I know nothing about it. What's more, you're using a path that Big Brother discarded and rejected...
"Mortal realm immortal power is potent indeed, but it does more harm than good," Mo Rubin taunted.
Li Ping knew that the mortal realm immortal power Mo Rubin spoke of referred to the source power essence he had condensed from the faith of the You people.
Taking a shortcut inevitably came with a corresponding price. But what he sought had never been ascension to immortality; it was for the Xuanhuang world.
Seeking the greatest power within achievable reach was by no means inappropriate.
Turning a deaf ear to Mo Rubin's words, the Sacred Emperor surveyed the details of the structure.
"A relic of the Xuantian Sect?" he asked.
Mo Rubin seemed to be waiting for something as well and did not attack. He responded, "Hehehe, rather than calling it a relic of the Xuantian Sect, it would be more accurate to call it a contingency I left behind personally.
"Big Brother Xuanyuan was too idealistic. He believed in himself too much.
"I, however, am different."
As if provoked by something, the shadow beneath the pillar swirled around it with increasing speed.
"I once had the same mindset as Big Brother Xuanyuan, believing I was the chosen protagonist of destiny—that as long as I acted, failure was impossible. But later, after suffering crushing blows, my cultivation regressed day by day. I even had to face the mockery of worthless scoundrels who previously weren't even worthy of catching my eye...
"I attained enlightenment!"
Mo Rubin's shadow suddenly surged up from the ground, floating in midair and glaring viciously at Li Ping.
"I am no protagonist at all. I am merely an insignificant minor figure flowing through the long river of history between heaven and earth. A minor figure must naturally pave a retreat for failure. That is why, behind Big Brother Xuanyuan's back, I built this place!"
Mo Rubin manifested shadowed arms and pointed at the four headless stone statues around them, laughing sinisterly. "Look at these stone statues.
"They depict a genuine True Immortal, one who even saved Big Brother Xuanyuan's life. Everyone in the sect, including Big Brother Xuanyuan himself, held Him in the highest esteem. Yet didn't I still cut off their heads?!"
Mo Rubin's manic laughter reverberated throughout the secret chamber.
Li Ping said coolly, "Are you not afraid of a True Immortal's retribution?"
Mo Rubin laughed even more wildly. "You people don't understand at all! Never mind cutting off their heads—even if I were to piss and shit on His statue, a True Immortal wouldn't care!
"How could mortal affairs ever catch the eye of a True Immortal?! Immortals...
"Only care about what they care about!"
Li Ping merely listened in silence, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"I know that wherever immortal power extends, it is as though the True Immortal has arrived in person. But even for a True Immortal, power is not infinite. Why would They squander their power on a petty statue like this?"
After his loud laughter, Mo Rubin slowly regained his calm. "Unless...
"Something the True Immortal cares about appears around the statue."
Before his words finished, the shadow Mo Rubin had transformed into shrank back inside the smooth pillar.
The floor of the structure vibrated faintly, and the pillar began to emit an eerie luster, as though something was gestating within.
"I don't know who you are. But I will give you a piece of advice..."
Mo Rubin's voice echoed from within the pillar, growing somewhat indistinct as if passing through layer upon layer of obstacles.
"Unless forced to the absolute brink, do not step into True Immortality!"
Li Ping faintly sensed that the four headless statues around him seemed to have come alive.
Even with their heads severed, they could still gaze upon the area.
Only, their gazes were not fixed on Li Ping.
Instead, all were concentrated entirely on that lustrous pillar.
Reason dictated that even if it was not the actual arrival of a True Immortal's mighty power, but merely a gaze cast across countless reaches of space and time, it should still be unbearable for a mortal cultivator.
Yet standing amidst the four statues, the Faceless Sacred Emperor felt no pressure whatsoever.
*The power is being siphoned and absorbed?*
Li Ping's heart stirred slightly.
In his vision, four strands of identical power intertwined into threads, wrapping around the smooth pillar layer upon layer.
Roused by this majestic power, the pillar's light grew increasingly dazzling.
Its surface seemed to melt away, revealing its true form within.
"This is..."
A bare flagpole.
The flag had long since vanished; only the white jade pole, engraved with intricate patterns, stood erect.
"An object from the Immortal Realm."
Sensing the increasingly turbulent energy fluctuations around him, Li Ping stepped back slightly, yet his gaze remained locked on the white jade flagpole.
*Not only the gaze of the True Immortal statues, but even the source power essence—the mortal realm immortal power—I laid out outside is faintly being mobilized by this flagpole...*
At this moment, Mo Rubin's voice rang out once more: "Back when Big Brother Xuanyuan returned from the Immortal Realm, he brought back quite a few good things.
"Never mind the cultivation methods—even immortal artifacts could be picked up off the ground at will...
"A pity he claimed they were tainted by disaster and catastrophe, so most were sealed away and kept from our use."
The energy around the command banner formed a tangible vortex.
Amidst continuous tremors, the flagpole seemed poised to pierce through the void at any second.
"Well, I haven't spoken to anyone in many years. Getting all this off my chest in one breath feels truly refreshing.
"If we have the chance, let us meet again in the future.
"I have serious business to attend to."
Mo Rubin's words slowly faded.
Dazzling light erupted from the flagpole, blinding all prying eyes.
In the next instant, the spiritual banner was about to flee this place.
Yet having tracked him for so long, Li Ping naturally would not let him leave simply because of a few words.
The formations and the web of source power essence detonated with a roar.
Golden, interwoven threads manifested from the void. An airtight heavenly net barred the flagpole's path,
even locking down the space entirely.
"Mortal realm immortal power dares contend with genuine immortal power?!"
Mo Rubin's mocking voice rang out.
At the tip of the white jade flagpole, beneath the blinding radiance, the golden source power surprisingly began to melt away like snow.
Unmoved, Li Ping mobilized the remaining source power essence to charge forward like moths to a flame while simultaneously activating the formations to obstruct it.
"Mortal formations dare..."
"Hm?!"
For the first time, an expression of astonishment surfaced in Mo Rubin's tone.
Because the formations Li Ping unleashed had far exceeded his understanding.
They were actually dragging the white jade flagpole—which had already been on the verge of puncturing the void—slowly back.
In Mo Rubin's perception, the surroundings felt clogged with a viscous medium, impeding the flagpole's advance.
*The array dao of the Xuanhuang Realm has developed to this extent?*
*Its sophistication is actually no less than the Grand Star-Crossing Array!*
Though shocked, Mo Rubin did not slow his momentum.
A burst of white light erupted from the flagpole once more.
As the white light swept past, all obstacles before it were dissolved cleanly.
The flagpole effortlessly broke free from the heavy encirclement.
For some reason, Mo Rubin no longer uttered any taunts.
He merely remained silent, intent on leaving.
"Decree!"
Just then, Li Ping's cold voice rang out.
The Void-Binding Ring manifested in the void,
locking down the white jade flagpole firmly.
"Useless! Useless! Useless! Just a mere realm vessel!
"Damn you! You're truly like a fly, so irritating!"
Mo Rubin's tone had noticeably shifted from before.
He rambled incessantly, sounding almost deranged.
Within the white jade flagpole, something other than white light appeared for the first time.
It was the outline of a human figure.
Holding a long blade, the figure gracefully flew out and struck a gentle slash at the Void-Binding Ring.
*Clang!*
The gold-and-white ring—infused with billions of lives and an entire cultivation realm—snapped in half!
However, releasing the white silhouette had clearly taken a heavy toll on the white jade flagpole.
Its radiance dimmed considerably.
"Damn you, damn you, damn you..."
Mo Rubin's venomous curses echoed.
Yet he did not stay to cause trouble for Li Ping.
Instead, he pressed resolutely forward toward his predetermined destination.
"I told you, you cannot stop me!"
Amidst flashing light, the white jade flagpole turned into a fine thread, shaking off all restraints and preparing to depart.
Right at this moment, an ancient song abruptly rang out.
The voice was not loud, yet it drowned out both Mo Rubin's voice and the vibrations of the white jade flagpole.
A pitch-black portal quietly opened directly along the flagpole's path.
And Li Ping, who had refrained from stepping in personally until now, flashed forward at this very moment, arriving at the rear of the white jade flagpole.
Golden armor guarded his body, and behind the Sacred Emperor, a phantom of the Xuanhuang Realm materialized.
"In you go!"
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Li Ping kicked the base of the white jade flagpole with tremendous force.
This caused the flagpole, already desperate to flee, to shoot forward violently.
Unable to evade in time, it flew straight into the pitch-black portal.
Li Ping flew in immediately after it,
closing the passage behind him.
He did not forget to bring along the few loyal You people who had risked their lives performing the ritual to open the path to the Sea of Gloom.
Within the Sea of Gloom,
all was pitch-black and silent.
Even the white jade flagpole, which had shone as brilliantly as the sun in the outside world, could only illuminate a limited area around itself here.
And Mo Rubin, who had been clamoring noisily the entire time, now seemed to have been struck dumb.
For a long while, he spoke not a word.
"Wait, this place is..."
"This place..."
Only after a great passage of time did he finally speak in a daze.
"Now, we can talk."
The glow of the white jade flagpole slightly dispersed the pitch-black darkness of the Sea of Gloom,
allowing Li Ping and Mo Rubin to temporarily communicate via speech.
Mo Rubin, however, seemed not to have heard Li Ping at all.
He emerged from the white jade flagpole, looking around in utter disbelief.
His expression was a mixture of anticipation and dread.
"Is King Xuantian's presence here?"
After a brief silence, Li Ping asked.
The name "King Xuantian" was like a flipped switch.
Mo Rubin snapped back to his senses.
He glared at Li Ping. "How do you know about this place?"
"And how can you open a passage here?!"
Mo Rubin's tone was exceedingly perilous; it seemed that if Li Ping's answer were even slightly amiss, it would result in a fight to the death.
"Nearly ten thousand years have passed since you entered slumber. There is nothing that is impossible."
Li Ping's demeanor remained exceedingly calm.
"Not only me—even the largest cultivation organization today, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, has mastered opening passages here.
"Furthermore, they are currently siphoning power here.
"Have you not sensed it?"
Li Ping asked.
At these words, Mo Rubin's expression changed drastically once more.
He looked off into the distance, his aura fluctuating violently.
"How dare they?!"
"They must die! Die!"
Mo Rubin roared in fury.
Chapter 1276