From the soul search, Li Fan learned that the person before him was named Qin Zhuang.
He was originally the strongest cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm's Changyang pocket world.
The Changyang pocket world had possessed no spiritual energy, only a peculiar blazing sun that spanned the celestial vault and shone upon the mortal realm. Daylight had occupied three-quarters of each day and continued to lengthen relentlessly, threatening to scorch and swallow every living creature in heaven and earth.
Rising from an ordinary mortal, Qin Zhuang continuously absorbed the energy of the Changyang sun, unlocking his own potential. It took him ninety-nine years to thoroughly fuse the sun in the sky into his own body.
From then on, Changyang had no sun, plunging into an eternal night.
Just as Qin Zhuang resolved to leave the pocket world, a mysterious figure approached him. The divine power Qin Zhuang took pride in—power he believed capable of destroying heaven and earth—could not last more than a few moves against that figure. After Qin Zhuang was utterly defeated, the stranger revealed to him the truth regarding the Xuanhuang Realm, mortals, and the pocket worlds, inviting him to join the allied army marching against the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Impressed by the stranger's bearing and strength, Qin Zhuang gladly accepted.
What followed was a momentous and fierce war.
This pocket world counteroffensive was far from the easy, crushing victory the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had recorded.
In fact, at the very beginning, the Alliance was pushed back repeatedly and could only hole up within the four central provinces to cling to survival.
Ultimately, the Transmission Preceptors sought aid from Chuanfa Heavenly Venerable, and tens of thousands of golden threads fell like rain from beyond the starry sky, utterly routing the allied forces.
The allied army collapsed and fled in all directions. As one of its commanders, Qin Zhuang was suppressed for all eternity in the deepest depths of the Nether Prison.
***
Li Fan carefully savored the memories of the man before him.
They appeared flawless, like imprints originating from the deepest depths of the divine soul. Yet Li Fan instinctively felt something was amiss.
It was not that these memories were forged. In fact, the Changyang world in its state of eternal night truly existed to this day; Li Fan had even visited it in person.
"It is the discordance between this body and these memories. Just like someone seizing a body, a cuckoo taking over a magpie's nest!" Having done such things many times himself, Li Fan immediately caught the peculiarity.
Though it was merely an intuitive hunch, Li Fan trusted his own judgment.
"Since soul searching is useless, I must find another way."
With that thought, Li Fan casually tossed "Qin Zhuang," limp and exhausted from the agony of the soul search, onto the ground.
Though seemingly at death's door, Qin Zhuang suddenly transformed into a streak of golden light a moment later, shooting outward beyond the Xuanhuang Realm. His speed this time was several times faster than before. A faint bloody sheen flickered within the golden light; Qin Zhuang was clearly staking his life on this bid for freedom.
Yet the outcome was entirely unchanged.
In the flicker of a wooden sword phantom, Li Fan plucked him out of the air by the scruff of his neck and slammed him heavily back onto the ground.
"Senior, spare my life! Senior, spare my life..."
Panic finally surfaced on Qin Zhuang's face, and he pleaded repeatedly.
"What is your relation to Situ Yao of the Heavenly Sword Sect?" Li Fan asked abruptly and point-blank.
"Huh? Junior does not understand what you are talking about..." Qin Zhuang wore a bewildered expression, speaking with extreme caution.
Yet how could the fleeting shift in expression upon hearing those words escape Li Fan's eyes?
Having obtained the answer he wanted, Li Fan wasted no more words and tapped a finger against Qin Zhuang's glabella.
A kaleidoscopic illusory array enveloped Qin Zhuang.
Li Fan attempted to use the illusory array to derive worlds and pry into Qin Zhuang's true past.
Yet this method, which had worked on the Heavenly Physician, unexpectedly came to naught!
Qin Zhuang's actions and logic within the illusion perfectly matched the behavior of the Changyang world's foremost powerhouse. The array derived dozens of possibilities, yet the result remained consistently identical.
This almost made Li Fan doubt his own judgment.
As Qin Zhuang gradually regained consciousness from the illusory array, the fear in his eyes toward Li Fan grew even deeper.
He hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
Yet it was precisely this trace of fear that dispelled Li Fan's doubts. Instead, it made him certain the man harbored an immense secret.
Li Fan saw it clearly: Qin Zhuang's terror stemmed from the dread of his secret being exposed.
If he were truly just Qin Zhuang of the pocket world, having his entire life laid bare would never have produced this specific brand of fear.
*It seems there is some sort of restriction or secret protective art from beyond the wall that prevents ordinary methods from prying into the secrets hidden deep within his soul.*
With that realization in mind, Li Fan looked at Qin Zhuang with deep meaning and said, "No matter. Let us see how long you can hold out."
Li Fan had ample experience when it came to prying open someone's mouth.
He separated a simulated persona dedicated solely to interrogation and torture. Then he suppressed Qin Zhuang inside his own body to give him a proper reception.
"It might not be that he refuses to speak; perhaps he simply cannot. Regardless, I'll work him over for a while first." Li Fan narrowed his eyes, his expression utterly cold and unmoved as he watched Qin Zhuang, already plunged into a personal hell, howling in agony.
"Beyond the high wall..." After a moment, he looked up toward the vault of heaven beyond the Xuanhuang Realm, sinking into deep contemplation.
From the various clues gathered in the past, it was known that ever since the day the great tribulation descended, a group of refugees had fled the Xuanhuang Realm, possibly even managing to cross the high wall into the expanse beyond the Pitch-Black Star Sea.
"The Ten Great Immortal Sects including the Heavenly Sword Sect, the monster race of Southern Dark Sacred Beast Mountain, the Shang Celestial Vessel."
"And those are only the ones known. The Star Sea is vast, home to countless cultivation worlds. Beyond these, there must surely be other fortunate survivors."
"Yet Qin Zhuang appears to be the sole instance of someone who went and returned."
Li Fan naturally had no intention of letting him go easily.
The moment the Xuan Celestial Vessel breached the high wall, the behavior of the Star Sea's origin true intent had provoked a profound unease in Li Fan. He had become warier of the realm beyond the high wall than ever before.
"Yet most fear stems from the unknown. If I can uncover some intelligence..."
"Let us see how much Qin Zhuang can endure."
Setting the matter aside for the moment, Li Fan began the final preparations before elevating Xuanhuang.
First was the rehearsal for hunting Mo Sha.
By now, Li Fan had an eighty-percent certainty of successfully promoting the Xuanhuang Realm into an Immortal Domain.
However, how to eliminate the Heaven-and-Earth Immortal Essence Mo Sha in the shortest possible time still required careful consideration.
Mo Sha was originally among the strongest tier of Heaven-and-Earth Essences within the Xuanhuang Realm; once Xuanhuang sublimated, its strength would undoubtedly rise along with it.
"Yet all variations adhere to their origin. Even after sublimation, its nature remains that of a Heaven-and-Earth Essence."
"As long as I know its attributes and weaknesses, I can administer the right remedy..."
After musing for a moment, Li Fan arrived at the Congyun Sea.
He separated a wisp of divine sense and sent it flying toward Wanxian Island.
At that exact moment, the master of Wanxian Island, the Soul Formation cultivator Hongxi, suddenly felt a premonition and looked up at the sky.
"A Heaven-and-Earth Essence!"
A surge of greed welled up within his heart.
Normally, with Hongxi's cautious nature, he would certainly seek out several Daoist companions to plot together. He might even invite several Dao Integration seniors to stand guard for him.
Yet now...
"If word leaks and draws a crowd of pursuers, it will be hard to say whose hands the Heaven-and-Earth Essence will fall into."
"I have cultivated in seclusion for years. A mere Heaven-and-Earth Essence... I alone can slaughter it."
A trace of pride surfaced in Hongxi's eyes.
Seven days later, believing himself fully prepared, Hongxi began hunting Crimson Flame.
This Heaven-and-Earth Essence capable of burning mountains and boiling seas turned out to be mere bluster. Under his fierce assault, it retreated step by step.
Hongxi fought with mounting courage, unleashing everything he had learned in his life in a thrilling display.
Finally, after a full day, he thoroughly slew Crimson Flame!
A new Dao Integration Immortal Venerable was born above the Congyun Sea!
Hongxi stood tall in midair, feeling the unprecedentedly mighty power coursing through his body, his heart surging with excitement.
His mind was already picturing the glorious life to come.
Yet suddenly, he felt an inexplicable wave of palpitations.
Cold sweat drenched him instantly, as if he had just brushed past the gates of hell.
Hongxi whipped his head around, scanning his surroundings.
Heaven and earth were dead silent, the clouds floating lazily under a light breeze. Nothing was amiss.
Hongxi was left thoroughly baffled. After much thought, he merely concluded that this was a normal reaction following Dao Integration.
He put it out of his mind.
What he did not know was that he had indeed nearly perished.
Had Li Fan not stepped in to intercept Mo Sha, that is.
***
Inside the Great Xuan Sermon Platform.
Looking at the black ink that continued to proliferate and swell beneath the cage of countless golden threads, Li Fan's expression turned solemn.
"Worthy of Mo Sha."
"To think it can even corrupt Source Power Essence, a force approaching the immortal level."
"And assimilate it for its own use!" After studying it for a time, Li Fan could not help but marvel.
After Crimson Flame was slain, Mo Sha, having descended upon mandate, was not destroyed by Li Fan.
Instead, it was trapped and studied.
Li Fan recalled the Heavenly Physician's advice in the illusory array regarding the Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword:
"True annihilation does not exist within a world's self-circulation. So-called extinction is merely for the sake of a better rebirth. To touch true destruction, one must head deep into the starry sky..."
Yet what Li Fan sensed from Mo Sha directly contradicted the Heavenly Physician's conclusion.
Li Fan had witnessed true extinction; he had even brought it about with his own hands.
He naturally knew what true ruin and void looked like.
It was almost identical to what Mo Sha produced.
"It merely has a bit of the Xuanhuang Realm's unique flair." Li Fan grew thoughtful.
"Mo Sha's power of extinction is definitely not something an ordinary cultivation world could give birth to."
"It is likely a mechanism that has existed ever since the Xuanhuang Realm was created."
Li Fan extended a finger into the layered defenses of the golden threads.
In an instant, the connection between his finger and his body was severed.
Before that connection broke entirely, the ink intent, squirming like myriads of flying insects, even attempted to seize the opportunity to erode further.
Not just the flesh, but the divine soul as well.
Like peeling a potato, Li Fan had to shave off layer after layer of his physical body and divine soul before he finally isolated Mo Sha completely.
"Such fierce aggression!"
Li Fan frowned secretly.
"Furthermore, that sensation of the connection abruptly cutting off just now..."
Hesitant and uncertain, Li Fan circulated his inner power to restore what was lost.
Then he extended his index finger to test it once more.
Without question, the index finger was swallowed by Mo Sha in an instant.
Moreover, Li Fan keenly sensed that Mo Sha's movement this time was even faster than before.
"The degree of erosion has deepened as well."
"Mo Sha is learning and progressing."
Having completed another round of 'potato-peeling' restoration, Li Fan finally withdrew his hand.
"My perception was not mistaken. The feeling of connection vanishing when swallowed by Mo Sha is identical to what lies beyond the high wall."
"Just what is this?"
Li Fan's brow furrowed tightly, questions multiplying.
After racking his brains to no avail, Li Fan decided to first find Mo Sha's weakness.
"In theory, the powers of life and destruction stand in mutual opposition."
"To deal with Mo Sha, one naturally needs boundless vitality."
With a thought, Li Fan arrived at the rift basin beneath the Star Sea.
Channeling the power of vitality from within, he poured it toward the imprisoned Mo Sha.
To his surprise, this vitality acted just like nourishment to Mo Sha.
The black ink abruptly expanded, and the cage of tens of thousands of golden threads was instantly pushed to the brink of collapse.
Fortunately, beyond the golden threads, several layers of immortal array defenses remained.
Li Fan unhurriedly replenished the golden threads, reinforcing the lockdown.
After violently surging for a while without breaching the containment, Mo Sha seemed to give up struggling. It stopped expanding outward.
Then, it contracted inward.
The ink grew increasingly concentrated, gradually turning as profound and abyssal as the Pitch-Black Star Sea.
A profound, enigmatic aura slowly emerged from Mo Sha.
Li Fan's pupils constricted violently. "This is..."
Within that void bordered by gold and shaped like a human silhouette, Li Fan unexpectedly sensed an aura strikingly similar to the black Qi at the center of the Star Sea!
"The Great Tribulation of Dao Annihilation?!"
Chilled to the core, Li Fan instinctively doubled the protective measures.
At the same time, his thoughts raced: *I previously speculated that the Xuanhuang Realm was very likely an experimental testing ground created by the Immortal Realm to find a way to resolve the Dao Annihilation Tribulation.*
*Yet I could never guess the method to counter it.*
*But if Mo Sha is a weakened version of the Great Tribulation of Dao Annihilation...*
*The Dao Annihilation Tribulation was integrated into the Xuanhuang Realm, becoming part of the world's governing principles as heaven and earth circulated.*
*When Mo Sha acts, all things in heaven and earth are reduced to nothingness. Yet afterward...*
Several images suddenly flashed before Li Fan's eyes.
They were scenes from when Mo Sha had destroyed the world in the past: from within the desolate void where all life had been extinguished, vitality reappeared anew.
"Though Mo Sha's extinction is absolute, vitality can still return."
"This is the counter-force that the Xuanhuang Realm derived on its own."
A sudden flash of enlightenment welled up in Li Fan's heart.
The way he looked at Mo Sha shifted once again.
"I had it wrong."
"Though Mo Sha manifests as extinction, its fundamental essence remains a Heaven-and-Earth Essence of the Xuanhuang Realm."
"Since it is a Heaven-and-Earth Essence..."
Li Fan pointed gently toward the center of the humanoid ink.
"Xuanhuang World-Extinction Transformation!"
In an instant, it was not merely one transformation.
Rather, every single variation the Xuanhuang Realm would spontaneously manifest when facing the crisis of total extinction...
All descended together into the dense ink.
Like countless vortexes erupting at once, the black ink boiled and churned.
Under Li Fan's guidance, all manner of transformations truly arose out of nothingness!
Radiant, multicolored hues were born from the ink abyss.
Even as the architect who had brought this phenomenon about with his own hands, Li Fan had not anticipated this scene.
Watching Mo Sha's power continuously being converted into other world-extinction transformations, while Mo Sha itself was gradually weakened and slain through this very conversion...
Li Fan wore an inscrutable expression.
Only when the black ink was on the verge of dissipating entirely did Li Fan retract his divine ability and swallow the countless Xuanhuang World-Extinction Transformations into his body.
"Extinction is the ancestor of life."
"Life is the path to extinction..."
"Is this the contingency plan to resolve the Great Tribulation of Dao Annihilation?"
Chapter 1381