Ever since the immortal path was severed, no one knew how many years had passed without a single wisp of immortal spiritual energy appearing upon the Xuanhuang land.
Yet at this moment, the sacred aura rising from the earth and spiraling upward brought no benefit whatsoever to the Xuanhuang Realm.
Instead, it ushered in a horrific calamity bordering on total extinction.
The greed of the cultivators raged a hundred times more furiously than when gazing upon the Soul of Heaven and Earth. Even if it meant abandoning everything at their sides, they pursued it, desperate to claim it. Anyone daring to stand before them became a sworn enemy to be slain. Whether Daqi soldiers or cultivators of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, regardless of status or rank, and regardless of cultivation realm, all succumbed.
The battle between the Sacred Dynasty Daqi and the Alliance devolved into chaotic slaughter among all cultivators the instant this immortal spiritual energy was unleashed.
With every breath, thousands of cultivators fell.
From the continuous emergence of anomalous phenomena, a dense blanket of bizarre clouds accumulated across the sky.
Not even the terror brought by Chuanfa's personal arrival could disperse them.
Across the entire Xuanhuang Realm, only two armies managed to barely maintain their sanity amid this apocalyptic scene.
The first was the Daqi Imperial Guard, and the other was the Qingxuan Army stationed at the Chizha Abyss.
What they shared in common was their practice of the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation.
The Daqi Imperial Guard had received it directly from the Holy Emperor.
The Qingxuan Army had been taught by the Sacred Embryo before it departed the Xuanhuang Realm.
As the fortunate few, they watched the tragedy unfolding across the Xuanhuang Realm with pale faces and trembling bodies. Even with the Immortal Heart Incantation circulating instinctively to keep their minds clear, the primal terror in their hearts could not be dispelled.
Nor was it limited to cultivators.
Beasts, birds, vegetation, flora, and even the earth, mountains, and rivers—everything within the Xuanhuang Realm gradually spun out of control because of the immortal spiritual energy's appearance.
Beasts acted just like humans, throwing away their lives to pursue the immortal spiritual energy, either dying from body explosion upon getting their wish or meeting a gruesome end in combat.
Though plants could not actively chase it, some fortunate ones had immortal spiritual energy fall right into their laps without effort. Compared to other living beings, when vegetation absorbed the energy, most of it also crumbled instantly to dust. Yet a rare few survived the scouring of this vast, majestic power. One would have thought an immortal plant of the Xuanhuang Realm had been born. But soon enough, maddened cultivators caught the scent and swarmed toward it. Although the mutated immortal plant completed its metamorphosis in a brief time and gained defensive power, it could not withstand the fearless onslaught of the cultivators. Before long, it was torn apart and devoured.
Those who managed to snatch pieces of the immortal plant and ingest them suffered the same fate moments later: their flesh exploded, and they were reduced to ash.
The only difference was that, filtered through the plant, they enjoyed the bliss of the immortal spiritual energy a bit longer, meeting their end while intoxicated in comprehension of the Dao.
If any existence in the entire Xuanhuang world truly benefited from the innocent spread of this immortal spiritual energy...
It was only the Xuanhuang world itself.
Like parched soil nourished by downpouring rain, the Xuanhuang Realm became shrouded in a dreamlike haze.
The earth roared, mountain ranges surged, and plains expanded. Changes that would normally take tens of millions of years unfolded in the blink of an eye.
The sky, which had slumped slightly earlier to support the Holy Emperor of Daqi, slowly restored its former stature and climbed even higher and vaster.
The Xuanhuang Realm was "growing" at a pace visible to the naked eye.
Amid an extraordinary rhythm, the White Mist Barriers serving as provincial borders slowly faded under the immense pressure of the realm's natural expansion.
Many barrier structures even dissipated outright following thunderous booms, their power absorbed as nourishment into the Xuanhuang world.
The growth of the realm brought a remarkably conspicuous surge in strength.
The anomalies piling up in the sky from the excessive death of cultivators were also rapidly "digested."
...
Confronted by this unprecedented change in Xuanhuang history, the three factions arriving from the starry skies each reacted differently.
The Holy Emperor was briefly stunned by the world's cataclysm.
In his perception, the bonds forged with the Xuanhuang world through his past actions grew fainter as the realm expanded. It felt like childhood friends drifting apart as both grew up.
Feeling a faint sense of loss, the Holy Emperor quickly collected himself. Watching the Daqi soldiers still slaughtering one another across the realm, he focused his thought and imparted the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation to all of them. Though few among the frenzied cultivators could calm their minds to cultivate it, saving even one was better than none.
Heavenly Venerable Chuanfa watched the dramatic shift with a complicated expression.
No one knew what he was thinking, but his sole action was to keep a tight watch on the nearby Xuan Celestial Vessel, which was growing restless.
From aboard the vessel, the voices of the elders drifted out.
"What a waste, what a criminal waste! Immortal spiritual energy is exceedingly rare in the star sea! How can it be squandered by these mortals!"
"If this old man could obtain just a wisp, perhaps I could fully unleash the might of a True Immortal seal character..."
"Chuanfa! Step aside! Let our Xuan Celestial Vessel collect some immortal spiritual energy, and past grievances can be wiped clean!"
Gan Jingda managed to suppress his excitement, his voice low and heavy.
Chuanfa's tall headdress stood proud, his posture unshakable. "You from the Xuan Celestial Vessel..."
"Just stay right here and watch obediently."
"Go nowhere!"
Gan Jingda snorted coldly, unable to contain his wrath. "Such arrogance! If you obstruct us any further, do not blame our Xuan Celestial Vessel for showing no mercy!"
"The Xuanhuang Realm may indeed be the last pure land in this star sea... but comparatively, immortal spiritual energy is far more important!"
"Precisely! Jingda, stop wasting words on this old fossil! That is immortal spiritual energy! If we control a bit more, we might cross the High Wall with it! Why would we need to linger in this Pitch-Black Star Sea!"
Listening to the clamor resembling a bustling marketplace from the vessel, Chuanfa's expression remained unchanged, though a trace of mockery flashed through his eyes.
Concealed beneath the rumbling of heaven and earth, quiet footsteps sounded behind the Xuan Celestial Vessel.
Without warning, a shadow attached itself to the ship.
In an instant...
The entire vessel vanished into thin air.
As if it had never come to the Xuanhuang Realm at all.
The footsteps drifted into the distance, leaving behind only a faint, frost-like aura of death.
Witnessing this, the Holy Emperor's pupils shrank violently.
"What was that?!"
The shadow came and went with terrifying speed.
Not only had the crew of the Xuan Celestial Vessel been caught off guard, but even the Holy Emperor had failed to see it clearly.
He could only vaguely perceive the intensely dense, nearly solidified death qi clinging to that figure.
The Holy Emperor could not help but look toward Chuanfa.
Evidently, Chuanfa had anticipated the shadow's arrival. The attack on the vessel might even have been carried out at his instigation.
"I do not possess the ability to make that thing obey me so compliantly. I merely offered It a slight hint."
"Against that crowd on the Xuan Celestial Vessel, that thing couldn't be more suitable."
Chuanfa's gaze remained firmly fixed on the transformations occurring in the Xuanhuang Realm.
He showed little concern for the mysterious shadow or the vessel.
Knowing Chuanfa would not explain further, the Holy Emperor refrained from pressing and adopted the same perspective, looking down upon the mortal world.
The Xuanhuang Realm's upheaval continued.
If the total power of the realm before the immortal spiritual energy spread was "1"...
Then in less than half a day, its total power had swelled close to "19."
This was not purely due to the wondrous nature of immortal spiritual power; rather, it acted as a catalyst, enabling the Xuanhuang Realm to truly absorb and integrate the origin power of those external worlds.
If previous efforts were merely simple grafting...
What the Xuanhuang Realm was doing now was akin to a cultivator absorbing the spiritual energy from spirit stones for personal use.
Its efficiency was countless times higher.
Furthermore...
The dormant remnants of world power hidden deep within those foreign realms were now flushed out by the Xuanhuang Realm under the impetus of the immortal spiritual energy.
They were reduced to nourishment for Xuanhuang.
"Hehehehe."
"So that's how it is."
Sensing the presence outside the starry sky accelerating toward them, Chuanfa let out a sudden laugh of relief.
The smile vanished abruptly.
Heavenly Venerable Chuanfa's expression shifted as he looked at the Holy Emperor.
"Come, let us continue our fight!"
Void of expression, he sent another strike of Object in the Palm hurtling toward the Holy Emperor in an instant.
Deprived of the Xuanhuang Realm's power, the Holy Emperor could not activate the Eternal Xuanhuang Realm. Yet having broken this move before, he transformed golden source power essence into sky-propping pillars rising from the ground.
They braced firmly against Chuanfa's descending giant palm.
The moment they collided, the Holy Emperor noticed that Heavenly Venerable Chuanfa had not unleashed his full strength.
This execution of Object in the Palm was entirely incomparable in power to the one unleashed earlier in the starry sky.
Moreover, the Holy Emperor saw that after trapping him, Chuanfa immediately attempted to leave.
He seemed desperate to find something to halt the upheaval of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Understanding dawned in the Holy Emperor's mind.
Though finding it hard to believe, he erupted with full power to break free from the giant palm.
"The Sacred Heart endures."
"The Sacred Grace persists!"
The Holy Emperor chanted softly, and a beam of brilliance immediately shone down from the Daqi pocket world.
This was the source power essence stored in Sacred Heart Palaces across Daqi.
It was one of the Holy Emperor's ultimate trump cards.
Once exhausted, his combat strength would drastically diminish. Yet at this moment, the Holy Emperor did not hesitate in the slightest.
Under the dispersion and drive of the immortal spiritual energy, the integration of worlds led by the Xuanhuang Realm was underway.
Matters were progressing in a direction favorable to Xuanhuang.
'As long as I can stall Chuanfa...'
'My mission will be considered complete.'
'Even if the path was somewhat winding.'
Thinking thus, the Holy Emperor engaged Chuanfa once more.
Neither wished to destroy the Xuanhuang Realm, so both restrained their power.
Meanwhile, the integrated, transformed Xuanhuang Realm could endure vastly greater shockwaves.
For a time, the battle between Chuanfa and the Holy Emperor lapsed into a stalemate once again.
...
Upon the Xuanhuang land.
Countless cultivators still slaughtered one another to seize immortal spiritual energy.
Tongyan Province.
For some reason, the immortal spiritual energy gathering here seemed slightly denser than in other provinces.
Consequently, the fighting here was the most gruesome.
Yet another fierce battle ended with a Soul Formation cultivator turning to ashes in blissful satisfaction.
Because so many cultivators had died, the competition was no longer as frantic as before.
A rare lull fell over the battlefield.
Before any other cultivator could appear, a small golden figure arrived quietly.
Gazing at the wisp of immortal spiritual energy ahead, greed flashed in the small figure's eyes.
Yet this greed seemed distinct from that displayed by the Xuanhuang cultivators.
Just as the small figure prepared to act, he suddenly sensed something and turned to look back.
He saw a scruffy, dark-faced cultivator with a rather wretched demeanor attempting to sneak closer.
The man held a net in hand, seemingly aiming to capture both the figure and the immortal spiritual energy together.
Realizing he was spotted, the dark-faced man quickly withdrew the net and laughed heartily.
"Courting death..." A murderous glint flashed in the golden figure's eyes.
The person before him had an utterly meager cultivation, someone he could swat dead with a single slap. Yet he dared to harbor designs on him...
Just as he was about to strike, a sharp sense of crisis surged in his heart.
Decisive to the extreme, he abandoned the immortal spiritual energy within his grasp and fled in a flash of light.
Watching the golden figure disappear in the blink of an eye, Jiao Xiuyuan slapped his thigh in bitter regret.
"Damn it, I tracked him for so long, and he still slipped away!"
His expression shifted, but ultimately Jiao Xiuyuan chose not to pursue the golden figure.
Instead, he turned solemnly toward the wisp of immortal spiritual energy about to disperse into the world.
Toward this rare treasure of the star sea, Jiao Xiuyuan felt some greed, but not much.
What dominated was unprecedented caution.
Extending his palm, a sprout grew from it.
The seedling quickly matured into a small tree, lush with green leaves swaying in the breeze.
He carefully guided the wisp of immortal spiritual energy into the tree trunk, slowly absorbing it.
Jiao Xiuyuan closed his eyes, sensing it attentively.
Moments later.
"It is indeed immortal spiritual energy without a doubt." A sharp light flashed in Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes, followed by a surge of confusion.
"Too strange. With such a massive amount of immortal spiritual energy, there are so many things one could do."
"To waste it like this for nothing?"
The more he thought, the more uneasy Jiao Xiuyuan became.
"And..."
Jiao Xiuyuan looked up at the sky.
Just moments ago, he had vaguely sensed a familiar presence. Though it was now gone.
"Could it be my imagination?"
"It doesn't make sense. If it were truly that crowd, they would be fighting madly over immortal spiritual energy right now."
Frowning deeply, Jiao Xiuyuan vanished the moment he sensed someone approaching.
...
The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters was in absolute turmoil.
Not long ago, due to Heavenly Venerable Chuanfa's return to Xuanhuang, all Chuanfa Practitioners, Mirror Keepers, and even the lineage of Illusory True Sages had temporarily departed to pay audience to the Venerable.
During that time, an earth-shattering explosion occurred in the Museum of Divine Treasures.
Not only were many exhibits in the museum damaged, but the entire Alliance headquarters was violently shaken.
Before the surviving cultivators could investigate the cause of the accident, they discovered to their horror that the Alliance headquarters had lost contact with the outside world.
Unable to understand what had transpired, panic spread throughout the Alliance.
However, the panic had not yet reached the Protector Hall within the Fa-Deduction Jade space.
The successive tremors unsettled all three guarding Dao Integration experts.
Particularly "Sun Ang."
His aura fluctuated, his face was flushed red, and beads of sweat dripped from his brow.
"Fellow Daoist Sun, are you alright?"
Having worked together for a long time, the three had grown much closer.
Zhang Xu could not help but ask.
Though he also felt a faint palpitation, he was nowhere near as distressed as Sun Ang.
'He is still too young after all,' Zhang Xu thought to himself.
"Something seems off," Sun Ang—Li Fan's true body—said, looking somewhat shaken.
"Just now, I tried to contact Elder Xu, but received no response."
Hua Yueye consoled him, "Brother Sun, do not overthink it. Even if an incident occurs, nothing will happen inside the Alliance headquarters."
Zhang Xu also frowned and said, "In fact, my predecessor guarding this post experienced a similar scene about five hundred years ago. Just like this, space trembled violently, and contact with the outside world was cut off. But in the end, everything was fine."
"Let's hope so," Li Fan said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
A strange silence fell over the Fa-Deduction Jade space once again.
The periodic violent vibrations drummed against the three men's nerves.
Li Fan's consciousness sank deep within, ignoring even the calls from the Fa-Deduction Jade.
He was not in the distressed state he portrayed on the surface.
On the contrary, Li Fan felt better than ever before.
'Immortal spiritual energy... so this is immortal spiritual energy...'
In his sea of consciousness, the Terminal Dissociation Disc erupted with unprecedented, blinding brilliance.
Having witnessed the legendary immortal spiritual energy in truth, the final puzzle piece for the Terminal Dissociation Disc to deduce an immortal-grade grand formation was finally complete.
In the past, though he had obtained the formation diagrams of three immortal-grade formations by various coincidences, without immortal spiritual energy, they remained castles in the air and theories on paper.
Though profound, the formations remained confined within the mortal limit.
Now, however, the situation was completely different!
Having learned the true nature of immortal spiritual energy, the Terminal Dissociation Disc, replenished with data, was truly pushing past the mortal limit.
It possessed the capacity to authentically deduce and deploy an immortal formation.
Although it required guiding the immortal spiritual power, the existing ancient world-protecting formation of the Xuanhuang Realm itself, combined with the newly succeeded Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang, made Li Fan's plan to activate the immortal formation possible.
The formation's name: Immortal Descent, All Things Return to Emptiness!
Admittedly, this lifetime had brought many unforeseen twists that caught Li Fan off guard.
These included, but were not limited to, the loss of control over the Holy Emperor avatar, and the avatar actually reaching a cooperation with Chuanfa.
'Once strength reaches a certain level, controlling them like chess pieces becomes impossible.'
Fortunately, the many backup plans he had laid down ultimately prevented the situation from spiraling completely out of control.
He would not be forced into a hurried reversion after laying out plans to this extent in this lifetime.
The sudden arrival of the Xuan Celestial Vessel was naturally indebted to the work of Li Fan's Sacred Embryo.
The reason he succeeded in persuading the vessel to embark on an expedition to Xuanhuang, aside from gathering ancient records on the ship to argue that complete True Immortal seal characters might exist in the Immortal Ruins, was that he had secretly controlled a cultivator to severely damage the vessel's divine tree.
With the divine tree damaged, the vessel lost its foundation for survival. Only then did the entire Xuan Celestial Vessel unanimously decide to advance the expedition to Xuanhuang.
Although the vessel's council of elders suspected someone was secretly sowing discord to prompt this outcome, the grave damage to the divine tree was an undeniable fact.
The perpetrator had also self-detonated, leaving no evidence behind.
To continue surviving in this Pitch-Black Star Sea, coming to the Xuanhuang Realm was their sole option.
Upon nearing the Xuanhuang Realm, the vessel acted with caution and did not attack directly.
Instead, they prepared to secretly probe Xuanhuang's reality, quietly infiltrating and penetrating a portion of their strength.
Yet before their plans could be executed, the violent energy fluctuations in the void drew the vessel's attention.
Naturally, it was the battle between Chuanfa and the Holy Emperor.
The might displayed by the two supreme powerhouses with every gesture left everyone aboard the vessel exceedingly grave.
However, upon discovering that Heavenly Venerable Chuanfa was the very brigand who had stolen their secret reservoir in the past, and sensing that their own presence seemed detected by the opponent, the vessel was forced to reveal itself.
In their clash with the two supreme powerhouses, the vessel expended an almost complete True Immortal seal character.
The Sacred Embryo guessed it was likely the character for "Hatred."
It had been penned personally by Zhong Daogong, the First Elder of the Immortal Severing Tower who had never appeared before the public and devoted himself solely to researching residual True Immortal power.
The First Elder's strength was unfathomably deep. For this expedition, he had released three nearly complete True Immortal seal characters.
However, when the first "Hatred" character failed to produce significant results, the vessel's elders grew cautious.
They entertained notions of forming alliances and playing sides, only to be abruptly interrupted by the sudden fluctuation of immortal spiritual energy from the Xuanhuang Realm.
Upon arriving at the Xuanhuang Realm and beholding the genuine immortal spiritual energy coursing freely across the world, and sensing the dormant True Immortal characters throughout the vessel suddenly coming alive under its stimulation, the people aboard went completely mad.
Even First Elder Zhong Daogong made his first public appearance, gazing at the immortal spiritual energy below with a rapt expression.
"It is pure immortal spiritual energy."
After observing for a moment, Zhong Daogong delivered his judgment.
"Ordinary cultivators cannot utilize it. But we can."
"Guiding the immortal spiritual power to pour in according to the origin power operation of the True Immortal seal characters..."
Zhong Daogong murmured, offering his final conclusion: "The unleashed might is sufficient to rival a True Immortal!"
"If we detonate the vessel's entire stockpile at once..."
"We might very well leap across the High Wall with it!"
Zhong Daogong's words swiftly unified opinion across the vessel.
Yet just as they sought to pressure Chuanfa into opening a path, Zhong Daogong roared, "Careful!"
It was too late.
One moment they were in the Xuanhuang Realm where immortal spiritual energy surged wildly.
The next instant, they appeared in an unknown location.
Zhong Daogong reacted the fastest, striking out a character.
The entire vessel instantly fell dead silent.
Everyone broke into cold sweat, staring at the scene outside the vessel.
As if placed inside a pot, the Xuan Celestial Vessel floated upon water.
Outside the pot, an unseen presence seemed to be stirring the water within.
The surface swirled continuously, leaving the vessel tossing and turning.
Those aboard felt the surrounding temperature plummet noticeably.
"Everyone, what do we do now?"
After a long while, Elder Gan attempted to communicate via divine sense transmission.
Yet the transmission seemed audible to the invisible entity outside the pot.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The figure leaned over, peering downward.
The temperature on the vessel dropped sharply once more.
From that single glance alone, a tenth of the lives aboard could not bear it and perished directly.
What horrified the vessel's occupants even more was that those who died turned into wisps of faint white light, passing through the vessel and drifting outside the pot.
A small sphere coalesced within the invisible entity's hand.
Inside the sphere, those deceased crew members lay peacefully!
The sphere was stowed away by the invisible entity, which seemed to notice living beings below.
It cast its gaze downward once more.
This time, it even reached out a hand, attempting to scoop the vessel from the pot.
All aboard felt as if plunged into profound frost.
At the critical juncture, Zhong Daogong unleashed another True Immortal seal character.
The invisible entity's movements slowed.
Then, as if forgetting what had just happened, it gradually ceased its attempt to scoop up the vessel.
It simply continued stirring the water in the pot, never leaving.
With that warning, no one dared use divine sense to communicate anymore.
Instead, they switched to the most primitive method, using their hands as pens to trace and write in midair.
"Elder Zhong, what on earth is that thing outside?"
"Its gaze seems capable of absorbing the vitality of living beings. Just that one glance inflicted heavy casualties on our vessel."
"Moreover, it doesn't seem to differentiate by cultivation level; it appears random..."
"How can such a terrifying existence reside in the Xuanhuang Realm?!"
...
Fear and confusion mounted aboard the vessel.
Li Fan, meanwhile, gazed outside the ship.
He had seen that invisible entity before leaving Xuanhuang in this lifetime.
It was the mysterious being he had encountered while exploring the Grand Formation of Inverting Life and Death alongside Shang Shaojun.
What he had initially thought was the entire pocket world of the inversion formation was merely one of nine Yin-Yang Pearls.
Within each Yin-Yang Pearl lay countless frozen, departed cultivators.
'Chuanfa can actually manipulate this invisible entity...'
'It seems he truly shares a connection with Rebirth Heavenly Venerable.'
'This entity carries an ancient aura; it must have existed since the ancient Xuanhuang Realm.'
Seeing this thing once again, Sacred Embryo Li Fan felt entirely different insights.
Zhong Daogong's subsequent analysis corroborated his suspicions.
"This object is likely not a living creature."
"In the vessel's records, there may be an entry corresponding to it."
Zhong Daogong's fingertips slid rapidly through the air, conveying his deduction.
"In the ancient cultivation world, those with close ties to the upper realm did not merely establish the position of Great Heavenly Venerable to communicate with the Immortal Realm."
"To prevent potential loss of control, they occasionally appointed so-called 'Watchers.'"
"Watchers did not necessarily exist in every cultivation realm, nor were they necessarily living creatures or cultivators."
"Yet without a doubt, they bore missions bestowed by the Immortal Realm."
"Missions entirely distinct from that of the Great Heavenly Venerable."
The breathing of those aboard grew conspicuously ragged.
A creation of the Immortal Realm was clearly beyond what they could handle.
Precisely because they wielded the power of True Immortal seal characters with familiarity, the vessel's occupants understood all too well what a terrifying existence an "Immortal" truly was.
How could a "Watcher" entrusted with a mission by an Immortal be weak?
Despair began to swell within the Xuan Celestial Vessel.
Fortunately, the words Zhong Daogong traced next revived their spirits.
Chapter 1299