Could King Xuantian's greatest trump card truly be the fishing pond?
This was not impossible.
After all, King Xuantian had possessed no foundational backing whatsoever, yet he had single-handedly suppressed all the chosen paragons of his generation and ascended ahead of everyone else...
That truly could not be explained merely by calling his talent "unparalleled."
Yet if this conjecture were true...
In Li Fan's mind arose images of the stone slab, which had sought to comprehend the Dao of Fishing only to be reeled away itself, and Maobao, who had emerged from the fishing pond looking harmless yet could swallow a True Immortal whole.
"Could King Xuantian have met a similar fate?"
Looking at the shallow pool of water before him, Li Fan felt a surge of dread unprecedented in its intensity.
The scene fell into a prolonged silence.
It was not that Mo Rubin was obtuse, but without any hint, trying to connect this pond to the Dao of Fishing was extraordinarily difficult.
Though he still could not discern the secret of the fishing pond, Mo Rubin had already come to view it as his final straw of salvation, and showed no intention of leaving anytime soon.
"Remaining on guard here indefinitely is not a solution either."
"In truth, I have another method that might uncover King Xuantian's whereabouts," Li Fan spoke up after a long while, breaking the silence.
Mo Rubin whipped his head around.
Li Fan pondered for a moment before choosing his words carefully: "I grasp a portion of the power of the True Immortal seal character 'Manifest.' The character can materialize and reveal even the faintest connections between things."
"Previously, from the memories of Dharma King Ji's remnant soul, I learned of the Azure Nether Bead's existence..."
As Li Fan spoke, he watched Mo Rubin's reaction.
When the Azure Nether Bead was mentioned, Mo Rubin's pupils indeed constricted slightly, his aura shifting abruptly as he instinctively raised his guard.
Yet perhaps because their shared experiences had built enough trust between them, it took only a moment for Mo Rubin's guard to recede on its own.
Only then did Li Fan continue, "If the memories I obtained are correct, the cultivation methods practiced by the Twelve Dharma Kings back then all possessed an unseen connection to that Azure Nether Bead."
"I wonder if we could use the Manifest character to trace King Xuantian's whereabouts through that connection."
"This method involves confronting the power of a True Immortal seal character directly, so there is bound to be some risk. Moreover, what it tracks is merely the Azure Nether Bead—the supreme treasure of the Xuantian Sect—not King Xuantian himself. To avoid arousing your suspicion, Brother Mo, I did not propose it earlier."
Li Fan looked at Mo Rubin, placing the choice in his hands.
Mo Rubin did not answer directly. Instead, he asked a seemingly unrelated question: "Fellow Daoist, who do you suppose that mighty expert who laid down the golden threads at the flaw in the High Wall truly was?"
Li Fan did not conceal anything, answering truthfully: "When I trapped him with the array, I took the opportunity to pry into his identity. He should be a Venerable from the Tianfa Realm, one of the cultivation realms that merged with the Xuanhuang Realm."
Raising a finger, he transmitted a portion of the information regarding the Heavenly Physician to Mo Rubin.
"The Constant Dao of Heavenly Law, enforcing the law on behalf of Heaven?"
"How could that ever compare to our pursuit of unity between Heaven and man? Or even supplanting Heaven itself...?"
"Nothing more than an uncivilized, inferior sort. Formidable as he may be now, it is likely only thanks to ten thousand years of accumulation."
Mo Rubin shook his head, his tone steeped in disdain.
Even so, he turned his gaze back to the fishing pond, still offering no reply.
It was not until he had stood by the pond for a full seven days without unraveling its mystery that Mo Rubin finally gave a slight shake of his head and said with deep gravity, "It is worth a try."
"The power of a True Immortal seal character is no small matter, and I cannot guarantee I will control its potency perfectly. Furthermore..."
"If it truly points into this pool of water—a pool capable of swallowing a figure like King Xuantian—it must harbor tremendous danger. We cannot afford not to be on guard!"
"Right now, the safety of the Xuanhuang Realm rests entirely upon our shoulders. We cannot be careless," Li Fan cautioned.
Mo Rubin concurred with Li Fan's perspective.
By the pool of this desolate mountain monastery, they made thorough preparations.
Only then did they begin the test with the Manifest character.
"Back when Big Brother Xuanyuan imparted the technique to me, he mentioned that the immortal arts practiced by the vast majority of our Twelve Dharma Kings originated from True Immortals who ascended from the Shenwu Realm."
"Cultivators of that realm use their divine souls to resonate with the Great Dao, manipulate the Great Dao, and supplant the Great Dao. Although practicing them and their external manifestations are somewhat bizarre, they are the immortal arts that most directly reach the Great Dao. It is said that the Shenwu Realm was one of the oldest cultivation realms—perhaps even the birthplace of human cultivators."
"The people of the Shenwu clan look virtually no different from ordinary humans. However, their natural talent is vastly superior overall, and the difficulty they face in resonating their divine souls with the Great Dao is far lower than ours."
"Back then, getting started on this Myriad Tribulations Imperishable Demon Heart Immortal Formula cost me tremendous effort. Yet according to Big Brother Xuanyuan, the people of the Shenwu clan could cultivate it with effortless ease."
Listening to Mo Rubin's description, Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.
Mo Rubin suddenly shifted the topic: "Yet when the Great Tribulation of Dao Annihilation arrived, even True Immortals of the Shenwu clan as powerful as that were no different from ants. Their corpses fell like rain; they met unnatural deaths amid panicked flight..."
"Even True Immortals are nothing to fear! Come on!"
Mo Rubin gave a low cry, and myriad demonic hearts poured frantically from his body.
Swirling and howling around him, they resembled a terrifying storm.
Li Fan glanced at the immortal array and the phantom of the wooden sword beside him, ensuring that if anything unexpected occurred, he could flee immediately.
He also glanced at the 400% charge on the Revert to the True panel.
Only then, feeling completely reassured, did he trace the character "Manifest" in midair, sending it flying straight toward Mo Rubin.
Mo Rubin offered no resistance, allowing the power of the Manifest formula to envelop his body.
Strands of azure smoke rose from the myriad demon hearts.
At first, they soared straight upward, but after seeming to touch the limit of the sky, they began circling and lingering restlessly, as if searching for a target.
The flesh of Mo Rubin's face contorted and surged as though a tremendous force were grinding back and forth across it.
"Hold on, Brother Mo," Li Fan said in a deep voice, shooting out several golden threads that plunged into Mo Rubin's body.
Because this action had been agreed upon beforehand, it drew no resistance from Mo Rubin.
Pure spiritual energy and even divine soul power flowed steadily through the golden threads, helping Mo Rubin maintain his condition under the pressure of the True Immortal seal character.
Above Mo Rubin's head, the myriad wisps of azure smoke gradually merged into a single stream.
Then, as if it had finally located its target, the azure smoke surged, seemingly coming alive.
Like an azure dragon descending from the heavens, it plunged downward with tremendous force.
Its destination was none other than the fishing pond!
"Could it really be so?" Li Fan's heart sank heavily, and he instinctively backed away from the pool.
Yet what happened next exceeded his expectations.
Just as the thick azure dragon was about to plunge into the fishing pond, it paused slightly for reasons unknown.
Then, it split in two.
One stream plunged into the fishing pond.
The other surged into the sky once more, flying beyond the Xuanhuang Realm!
"What?"
The abrupt turn of events left both men stunned.
Mo Rubin reacted swiftly, immediately following the stream of azure smoke and plunging into the fishing pond.
Yet once the azure smoke entered the water, it vanished without a trace.
From this shallow pool where the bottom was visible at a glance, Mo Rubin failed to detect the slightest aura of the Azure Nether Bead.
For a moment, he could not help but feel dejected.
Li Fan, however, tilted his head back, gazing toward the direction where the other stream of azure smoke had disappeared.
"Brother Mo, what do you make of this? Could the Azure Nether Bead have split in two?" Li Fan asked, frowning.
"Judging by the Manifest character's behavior, perhaps so. But what if the Manifest character does not merely point to the connection with the Azure Nether Bead, but also points to Big Brother Xuanyuan at the same time?"
"Since there is nothing to be gained from the pool for now, let us head to where the other stream of azure smoke leads and investigate," Mo Rubin said after a silence, an inspiration suddenly striking him.
This suited Li Fan's wishes perfectly.
Until he possessed sufficient means of self-preservation, Li Fan truly did not wish to deal with the fishing pond in person.
That had already been the case when bizarre entities like Maobao emerged from it; now that King Xuantian's disappearance was confirmed to be linked to the pond, Li Fan was naturally all the more cautious.
The phantom of the wooden sword carried the two of them along as they tracked the azure smoke.
Fast as the azure smoke was in tracing the source, it was still somewhat slower than Li Fan's supreme escape technique.
Before long, after catching up with the smoke, they had no choice but to wait behind it.
Seeing that Mo Rubin's expression was bleak, Li Fan took the initiative to change the subject.
"Apart from the Shenwu Realm, did King Xuantian ever recount any other anecdotes about the Immortal Realm?"
"To tell the truth, even though the immortal path has been severed for ten thousand years, we cultivators still cannot help harboring endless longing and curiosity toward the legendary Immortal Realm."
Li Fan's words drew Mo Rubin's thoughts back to the past.
"Perhaps because he had truly been to the Immortal Realm, or perhaps Big Brother Xuanyuan heard it from the Faceless Immortal... in any case, Big Brother did indeed talk about matters concerning the Immortal Realm in ordinary times. All of us could tell that he cared deeply about having his ascension cut short halfway and being forced to turn back from the Immortal Realm."
Mo Rubin smiled faintly.
"It is said that the Immortal Realm is a wondrous sacred domain of boundless resources. Once one ascends to become an immortal, one no longer needs to worry about cultivation resources. How much one can gather depends entirely on individual strength and luck."
"Yet Big Brother never specified what those so-called resources were. Presumably, it is not as simple as celestial spiritual energy."
"Right, there is one more thing. Have you ever heard of the Ascension Lightning Tribulation?" Mo Rubin's expression shifted as he asked.
"The Ascension Lightning Tribulation? Naturally, I have heard of it. In ancient days before the immortal path was severed, it is said that cultivators could only ascend to become immortals after passing the trial of lightning tribulation," Li Fan replied promptly.
Mo Rubin's expression grew rather strange. "Back then, I was only a step away from ascension. But after Big Brother Xuanyuan returned from his aborted attempt, ascension became a pipe dream. In truth, that has always been a knot in my heart. I have remained brooding over missing that opportunity."
"However, in private when no one else was around, Big Brother Xuanyuan once comforted me. He said that the reason he was able to survive the tribulation and ascend back then was that on the other end of the immortal passage, the True Immortal presiding over the lightning tribulation was struck by the Great Tribulation of Dao Annihilation and suddenly dropped dead..."
"According to the originally estimated intensity of the lightning tribulation, Big Brother Xuanyuan could never have survived it. In fact, that lightning tribulation was never intended to let any cultivator pass at all!"
Hearing this, Li Fan could not help being astonished.
"So Big Brother Xuanyuan told me not to be overly obsessed. Had my cultivation progressed any faster, what awaited me would likely not have been ascension, but being reduced to ashes beneath bolts of heavenly lightning," Mo Rubin said in an eerie tone.
"Of course, I am not sure whether this was true or merely Big Brother Xuanyuan's way of consoling me. But out of trust in him, he said it in passing, and I took it with a grain of salt."
"Hehehe..."
Li Fan remained silent.
The rosy impression of King Xuantian in his heart had already shattered somewhat.
Amid the silence, the azure smoke of the Manifest formula finally reached its end.
It was still beneath the High Wall.
This time, however, it did not touch the High Wall.
Instead, in an inconspicuous corner beneath the High Wall, it suddenly vanished.
Li Fan's heart stirred; he had already recognized the location where the azure smoke disappeared.
It was none other than one of the nodes beneath the High Wall leading down into the trench depressions!
"Let's go!" Mo Rubin's spirits rose, and he plunged down after it.
After a brief hesitation, Li Fan followed.
The exact same phenomenon played out once more as their height of potential plummeted rapidly.
Soon, they arrived at the lowest trough of the star sea.
The quiescent energy pervading this place stunned Mo Rubin, who was visiting for the first time.
Yet he did not forget the purpose of this journey.
Keeping close behind the azure smoke, they sped deep into the winding, tortuous trench depressions.
Li Fan had known beforehand that these trench ditches running across the star sea formed an immense labyrinth. Venturing recklessly into them risked getting lost.
However, now that they had the azure smoke guiding the way, and most importantly, since their quarry might involve King Xuantian and the Azure Nether Bead, Li Fan did not hesitate to press onward with the exploration.
It took dozens of times longer than traversing the open star sea before the azure smoke finally came to a halt.
Looking at where the Manifest formula's connection vanished, Li Fan felt a wave of surprise.
An intact small azure bead floated quietly.
The instant he laid eyes on this Azure Nether Bead, Li Fan truly understood the meaning of "azure" in the phrase "clear and azure as the heavens."
Mo Rubin's body trembled slightly as he gazed at the Azure Nether Bead.
At the same time, confusion filled his eyes.
He could not understand why the immortal artifact Big Brother Xuanyuan relied upon would be abandoned here all alone.
"Something seems amiss."
"Why does this Azure Nether Bead seem completely devoid of spirituality?"
Having seen many damaged immortal artifacts in the past, Li Fan keenly detected the anomaly in the Azure Nether Bead.
Prompted by this reminder, Mo Rubin realized it as well.
He flew forward, seeking to touch it.
Yet the moment Mo Rubin drew near, the Azure Nether Bead dissolved into wisps of azure.
Shattered, it dissipated without a trace.
"No!"
After so much effort, it had all come to nothing in the end. Even with Mo Rubin's state of mind, he momentarily lost his composure.
He tried to grab at the vanishing azure strands around him to restore the Azure Nether Bead.
Li Fan did not engage in such futile efforts.
Instead, he grew thoughtful: "The aura within this Azure Nether Bead seems somewhat..."
"...similar to the trench depressions of the Pitch-Black Star Sea?"
"Earlier, I was puzzled by how an unreasonably vast amount of energy had accumulated within these trenches."
"Now it appears it might be connected to the Azure Nether Bead."
Chapter 1368