The Xuanhuang World-Extinction Transformations were extreme manifestations that naturally arose when the Xuanhuang Realm sensed its impending doom, driven by an instinct for self-preservation.
Every one of them represented a single aspect pushed to its absolute limit.
Take, for instance, the transformation of 'Heat Death of Heaven and Earth, Absolute Freezing of All Creation,' which Li Fan had used in his previous life to disguise himself as a Dao Integration cultivator. It was by no means inferior to the ordinary ice-attribute anima of Heaven and Earth in the Xuanhuang Realm, and in fact surpassed the vast majority of them.
Transformations of World Extinction were almost always violently aggressive and destructive. Because they were born only when the Xuanhuang Realm faced mortal peril, their appearance in the world inevitably triggered a defensive reaction from the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao. As a result, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao instinctively harbored wariness and distrust toward anyone who possessed a World-Extinction Transformation—just as it did toward Li Fan now.
On the other hand, what occurred after the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao absorbed its own severed malice was a sweeping revival akin to being infused with immortal power. The change, however, was specifically reflected in the foundational laws of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Setting aside the alterations to Reverse-Principle Longevity for the moment, the various constraints imposed upon cultivators by the Xuanhuang Realm grew increasingly severe as its inner self revitalized.
The bottlenecks of Heavenly Calamity, the rule that dharmas cannot be practiced concurrently, and the anomalies appearing in the firmament upon a cultivator's death—all these laws closely bound to cultivation were quietly and rapidly shifting.
It would become far more difficult for cultivators to break through; the phenomena in the sky after a death would record more details of a cultivator's life; the criteria for judging different arts would grow even stricter, and the total number of dharmas in the world would be inexplicably reduced.
Beyond that, Li Fan faintly sensed that as the world's internal power grew, the Xuanhuang Realm's efficiency in absorbing and converting the Dao Foundations returned by fallen cultivators, as well as the fragments of other worlds, was gradually rising.
A faint, humming sound like digestion echoed softly between heaven and earth, impossible for ordinary cultivators to detect.
In the Xuanhuang Realm, cultivators advanced by devouring heaven and earth. A sudden surge in the Xuanhuang Realm's strength would inevitably propel the strength of the cultivators within it forward by leaps and bounds.
Foundation Establishment battling Golden Core, Golden Core defeating Nascent Soul—in the near future, such feats might well become the norm.
If the cultivators who had already advanced wished to escape this predicament, they would either have to dissolve their cultivation and start anew, or find a way to break through to major realms as quickly as possible.
Otherwise, those who failed to grow alongside the Xuanhuang Realm would soon be discarded by the era.
***
Taking in all the cataclysms across the Xuanhuang Realm, Li Fan merely observed with care and made no move to extract anything. Although the realm's growth had not yet reached what he required, it was already enough to offer him inspiration.
'This is the transformation of the Dao. Those who align with the Dao survive, while those who lose it perish. It is so for the Xuanhuang Realm, so for the Pitch-Black Star Sea, and perhaps it was so for the Immortal Realm of antiquity,' Li Fan mused inwardly.
He recalled Sun Erlang's experiences within the illusion of the Fruit of Trueness during the previous life.
'I wonder what gains they will have going to the Carefree Paradise in this life?'
Inside the Dao Debate Platform, the silver-white eyes shifted slightly, and scenes of Sun Erlang, Wang Xuanba, and Yue Zhenwei instantly came into view.
Though only at the perfection of the Golden Core realm, they had been fortunate enough to receive the Great Dao from the Saint Teacher. To their eyes, the defensive formations of both the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and the Five Elders Association were practically non-existent.
Advancing straight through, they crossed the Heavenly Realm of Humanity and finally arrived within the so-called Carefree Paradise.
At first glance, it appeared no different from any other region in the Xuanhuang Realm.
Yue Zhenwei was the eldest of the three. Looking around, a trace of doubt flitted through his eyes. "Are there fewer people here than in other places under the Five Elders Association?"
Sun Erlang nodded. "Indeed. And they all look utterly listless. However you look at it, this place has nothing to do with being 'carefree.'"
Wang Xuanba said nonchalantly, "Who cares? Didn't we come here to search for the grotto-heavens needed to break through to the Nascent Soul realm? The fewer people there are, the better!"
Hearing this, Sun Erlang and Yue Zhenwei also felt it made sense. One should only take on tasks suited to one's ability; the secrets of the Carefree Paradise were naturally beyond what mere Golden Core cultivators like them could pry into.
They continued concealing their tracks, casting the secret arts taught by the Saint Teacher to scour the Carefree Paradise for traces of grotto-heavens.
Yet...
Ten days passed, and they found nothing.
The expressions of all three turned somewhat grim.
"That's impossible. We've combed through almost the entirety of Qiuxi Province, and we haven't found a single grotto-heaven?" Wang Xuanba said, full of disbelief.
"Either there's an issue with the Saint Teacher's secret art, or..." Yue Zhenwei's expression was just as dark.
Sun Erlang followed up, "There may be no grotto-heavens in this Carefree Paradise at all. Or perhaps what we see right now isn't the true Carefree Paradise, but merely an empty shell. That legendary dreamscape is where it truly resides."
"What do we do next?" Wang Xuanba scratched his head. "We can't very well enter a dream to steal things, can we? How about we head back to the Heavenly Realm of Humanity to take a look? Security is tighter there, but the territory is larger. As long as we're careful, borrowing a few grotto-heavens shouldn't be much of a problem."
Both Sun Erlang and Yue Zhenwei nodded.
The three quickly reached a consensus and prepared to withdraw from the Carefree Paradise.
Yet to their sudden horror, even though they retraced the very path they had taken, the scenery that greeted them upon reaching the border of the Carefree Paradise was completely different.
The White Mist Barrier that stretched across heaven and earth as the natural boundary between provinces was gone. What appeared before them was a vast, boundless desert stretching as far as the eye could see.
"This..."
Standing at the edge of the desert, the three reached out from afar with their spiritual energy to draw up some yellow sand, rubbing it between their fingers.
"It's real," Sun Erlang said, clenching his fist with a grim expression.
Still refusing to believe it, Wang Xuanba took a step forward, sinking into the quicksand. "How can this be? Everything was fine when we came in, so how can we suddenly not get back? We didn't lose our way!"
"I'm afraid we've unknowingly entered the dreamscape of the true Carefree Paradise," Yue Zhenwei said, remaining the calmest of the three.
He gazed into the distant desert, finding no trace of any living creature.
"It's better not to venture rashly into this desert. Let's try another direction."
The three crossed Qiuxi Province once more. At another boundary, they were met by an entirely different bordering vista.
Roaring water cascaded down from the highest heavens. The moment it landed in Qiuxi, it turned into froth and shadows of light, vanishing without a trace.
Not far away hung a world of water suspended high in the sky.
Not only were numerous creatures swimming within it, but one could even make out underwater structures neatly arranged.
"Why don't we try going in here? We can't get out right now anyway," Wang Xuanba suggested.
"Let's look a bit more," Yue Zhenwei observed carefully and noticed that while there was life in this water world, the builders of the underwater architecture were writhing octopuses.
They seemed to possess their own language and script, ruling over this submerged domain.
Yet toward Sun Erlang's group, who were openly observing them across a mere sliver of distance, the creatures took no notice whatsoever—as though existing in completely different worlds.
Leaving the water world behind for the moment, the three continued searching along the border of Qiuxi Province.
Finally, in the southwest corner, they discovered a third bordering province.
In the province just ahead stood a massive boulder by the sea.
It was identical to the coastal boulder in the Xuanhuang Realm's Shilin Province that they had seen before.
"Great! We've finally found a way out!" Wang Xuanba cried excitedly.
Just as he was about to charge forward, Sun Erlang pulled him back.
"Careful! Something isn't right!"
Just as Sun Erlang spoke, two figures appeared above the giant coastal rock, one pursuing the other.
The one in front was in a wretched state, seemingly gravely injured.
The figure giving chase behind was clearly a notch faster, yet appeared to be savoring the thrill of the hunt. It maintained a steady distance, giving the fleeing cultivator the illusion that one more push might allow them to escape, when in truth evasion was impossible.
Had this been an ordinary pursuit, the trio would not have been so astonished. Yet the pursuer hunting the frantically fleeing human cultivator was an abnormality with a human body and a dog's head!
Just as the human cultivator was about to panic-flee past the boundaries of Shilin Province toward the Congyun Sea, the dog-headed monster beast finally grew impatient and brought the hunting game to an end.
Its hand shifted back into a canine paw, clamping the human cultivator in an iron grip. Watching the man scream in desperate agony, the dog-headed beast burst into raucous laughter.
Then, satisfied, it opened its maw, preparing to swallow the cultivator whole.
"Vile beast! Stop!" Filled with youthful, hot-blooded fervor, how could Wang Xuanba stand by and watch a person be eaten before his eyes?
Before Sun Erlang and Yue Zhenwei could stop him, a massive grayish-white axe exuding an ancient aura tore through the boundary between the two disparate realms, arriving right before the dog-headed beast.
Yet the dog-headed beast seemed to have anticipated this all along.
A sinister, excited gleam flashed in its eyes as it casually tossed aside the captured human delicacy.
Without paying the slightest mind to the grayish-white axe descending upon its skull, it charged straight toward Wang Xuanba and the others.
With the beast's movement, the Xuanhuang Shilin Province it occupied expanded in tandem, swallowing the territory of Qiuxi Province in an instant and engulfing Sun Erlang's group!
As if a dream had descended upon reality, the world of the dog-headed beast converged with theirs!
*Clang!*
Wang Xuanba's grayish-white axe struck the back of the beast's neck, producing only the sharp ring of clashing metal! A full-force blow capable of cleaving mountains failed even to slice through the creature's hide!
Wang Xuanba snorted, utterly fearless. "Did you think your grandpa's axe was merely sharp?! Relying on a tough hide to take it head-on? A brute is still a brute!"
The dog-headed beast seemed to understand his words, its expression shifting slightly. Only then did a noticeable gray scar appear at the nape of its neck. The gray swiftly spread upward, completely consuming the canine head.
Moments later, the grayish-white head scattered into the air like dust.
"Watch out!"
Yue Zhenwei and Sun Erlang cried out in unison.
Even as Wang Xuanba stood gloating, the headless dog-headed beast moved once more.
Its figure blurred, appearing right before Wang Xuanba.
A canine claw flashed into a streak of black light, piercing straight through Wang Xuanba's heart in an instant.
"Xuanba!" Sun Erlang's eyes nearly split with fury.
A precept blade brimming with baleful aura arrived too late, whipping up an endless black gale that swallowed the dog-headed beast whole.
In mere moments, the black wind stripped every shred of flesh from the creature, leaving behind nothing but stark white bones.
Yet those bones radiated an unusual golden glow.
"Something's wrong..." Yue Zhenwei's expression changed, yet he was oblivious to the figure silently creeping up behind him.
It was none other than the human cultivator whom the dog-headed beast had been chasing earlier!
With a mocking smirk on his lips, the man looked at Yue Zhenwei with greedy eyes. His aura erupted with immense force—where was there any trace of injury?
His neck elongated violently, and his head flew out, swallowing Yue Zhenwei's head in a single gulp.
Poor Yue Zhenwei had focused all his attention on the dog-headed beast and Sun Erlang. Caught off guard by the sneak attack, he perished on the spot!
"Aaargh! Die, all of you!" Seeing both companions slain one after the other, Sun Erlang's eyes turned blood-red.
Veins bulged across his skin as dark energy enveloped his entire body.
His pupils drowned completely in blackness. Heedless of everything, Sun Erlang flew straight toward the long-necked beast.
Unexpectedly, the golden skeleton behind him locked him in a death grip.
As it tightened its hold, the golden skeleton let out a shrill, cackling laugh.
"This trick works every time. We hook a few fools every single run."
The fury in Sun Erlang's heart surged even higher.
"Aaargh!"
A roar resounded between heaven and earth.
A black tempest abruptly erupted from his dantian.
It was several times more terrifying than the wind from the black precept blade earlier, instantly engulfing the jeering golden skeleton.
"Damn it! What kind of thi—"
Before it could finish speaking, the golden skeleton vanished into the black tempest along with Sun Erlang.
The long-necked beast made no move to rescue its ally.
It watched with relish, casually chewing on Yue Zhenwei's corpse.
Before long, the black tempest dissipated completely.
The bodies of both Yue Zhenwei and Wang Xuanba had become food on the long-necked beast's platter.
***
"Ah!"
Sun Erlang, Wang Xuanba, and Yue Zhenwei jolted awake from the nightmare.
Cold sweat dripped from their foreheads. Only after a good while did they recover from the horrific ordeal.
"Did I die?"
"I'm... I'm not dead?!" Wang Xuanba said, his voice trembling with lingering terror.
Sun Erlang fell into deep thought.
Yue Zhenwei was the first to regain his composure as always, taking in their surroundings.
"It seems we're still in Qiuxi Province of the Five Elders Association where we were trapped before."
"However..."
Yue Zhenwei looked up at the sky. "Does the whole world seem a bit dimmer?" he said uncertainly.
"It's not an illusion. The world we're in really does seem as though night has fallen," Sun Erlang agreed after observing for a moment.
"Yet our cultivation realms haven't changed... Wait, what is this?!"
Sun Erlang's voice suddenly rose several pitches.
"Sun Erlang, Golden Core perfection, Deaths: 1."
"Paradise Experience Level: 1."
"Carefree Coins: 100."
Sun Erlang read out the lines of small text that had inexplicably appeared before his eyes, his expression utterly shaken.
"I have them too," Wang Xuanba called out, noticing something as well.
"Wait, that's not right! Why are my Carefree Coins at zero?"
"Where did your hundred come from?" Wang Xuanba asked in bewilderment.
Chapter 1309