"The [Dao Origin] function has been unlocked."
"Dao Origin: When able to activate [Revert to the True], a designated area may be chosen to accompany the user, returning together to the state of the established anchor."
"Alternatively, forgo this opportunity to use [Revert to the True] and designate a certain area to neutralize [Dao Annihilation]."
...
Before Li Fan even had time to ponder the meaning of this prompt from Revert to the True, countless memories erupted in his mind like specks of starlight.
Most were fleeting, disjointed fragmentary nodes.
Yet the memories contained within this Eternal Lingering Thought skull were simply too vast. It was as though this remnant thought, capable of enduring for eternity, had been built layer upon layer entirely out of countless disparate consciousnesses.
Even with the resilience of Li Fan's divine soul and willpower rivaling that of a True Immortal, the ceaseless pounding of these myriad memory fragments—surging like a torrential river—nearly caused him to lose himself.
Fortunately, [Revert to the True] stood steadfast amid the torrent, shining brilliantly and unwavering. Along with it were a few extremely rare and massive fragments drifting in the deluge of conscious thoughts.
Like a bright lamp in dense white mist, like a lighthouse on a boundless ocean, like the Northern Star encircled by a myriad of constellations.
They constantly guided Li Fan, marking his heading and keeping him from losing himself completely.
Boom!
Li Fan's consciousness gradually merged into Su Bai's lingering memories.
A world in ruins, the air thick with the stench of blood. Piled high with corpses like a purgatory.
Between heaven and earth, not a single sound remained; all was dead quiet.
Blood flowed, pooling into rivers.
In the dark red reflection, Li Fan saw the face of this body—it was none other than the Heavenly Physician!
Only, in the blood river's reflection, the "Heavenly Physician's" eyes were filled with bewilderment and terror.
His body trembled faintly, uncontrollably.
A voice echoed from within his mind.
It sounded identical to Su Bai's own voice.
Yet it reeked of sinister malice.
"Well? Satisfied?"
"What you always wanted to do, I've done in your place."
The "Heavenly Physician's" visage contorted and twisted before reverting to Su Bai's original appearance.
"What I always wanted to do?" he questioned in despair, his voice trembling.
Sinister Su Bai's voice was filled with flippant mockery: "Is it not? He was originally a Venerable of this realm, yet he had his heavenly soul reincarnate into the Xuanhuang Realm, scheming to use the Dao of 'Healing' to stir up internal strife there so they'd have no leisure to wage their expedition..."
"Isn't what I did for you of the exact same nature as what that 'Heavenly Physician' did?"
"Just far more thorough, that's all."
"Hahahaha..."
Sinister Su Bai's laughter rang out, filling the mental space.
"Oh, oh, look, the rightful master is here."
"Look at him! The expression on his face is utterly delightful!"
Su Bai gnashed his teeth in fury and cursed, "You damned beast!"
His rage could no longer be contained, erupting like a volcano. His body shuddered, and his aura shifted back to that of Mr. Bai of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Sinister Su Bai continued to jeer, though his voice grew fainter and fainter.
"No need to be so angry."
"No matter how many of these ants die, it doesn't matter in the slightest. What I've seen in my lifetime surpasses this hundreds of millions of times over..."
"Hehehe, far more cruel than this. At the very least, I was kind enough to leave their corpses behind."
"Besides, I am you, and you are me..."
The voice dwindled to the hum of a gnat, fading into nothingness.
Sensing the figure of the Heavenly Physician hurrying over not far away, Su Bai's face was wrought with anguish.
Yet in the end, he gritted his teeth and fled in haste.
...
In the boundless, murky void.
Su Bai reached out to touch the high wall. Ahead, he seemed blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to advance another step.
"The high wall..."
Urgent, excited, impatient thoughts kept surging in his mind.
After a moment's contemplation, Su Bai took out the legacy of the Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang—the immortal artifacts bestowed by the Immortal Realm.
He lined them up in a row.
"Detonating so many immortal artifacts, combined with the power of the Xuanhuang Realm, should be enough to help me cross this threshold."
Su Bai hesitated for a long while before finally detonating the immortal artifacts.
In an instant, at the edge of the star sea, it was as if countless suns rose at once. The brilliance even turned the Pitch-Black Star Sea stark white.
Yet all the boundless light and heat were focused upon Su Bai alone.
His features vanished, his expression obscured. He became merely a brilliant, radiant white silhouette.
The silhouette took a step forward.
As if vanishing into thin air, a part of his body disappeared.
Just as he had placed half a foot across the shackles of the high wall, about to escape completely from this Pitch-Black Star Sea enclosed by the wall, Su Bai still turned back, reluctant to part, casting one last look toward the Xuanhuang Realm.
There were far too many things there that he cared about.
In that brief moment of distraction, suddenly, countless images surfaced inexplicably in his mind.
And the scenes depicted shook the innately kind Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang to his core.
Mountains of corpses and seas of blood, countless worlds destroyed one after another. And the culprit behind this monstrous slaughter looked identical to him!
At the same time, Su Bai felt an unprecedented sense of crisis in his heart.
His thoughts raced, and without any hesitation, he actually pulled back the leg that had already crossed the high wall!
The blazing light covering him gradually faded.
Still shaken, Su Bai paid no heed to the bewildered consciousness of the Xuanhuang Realm, which had suddenly flown into a frenzy over his inexplicable change of heart.
"Just now... what was that?"
While his expression shifted continuously, his own voice suddenly spoke in his mind.
Its tone and cadence were indescribably bizarre.
"Oh? There's still one hidden here."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
"As stupid as ever, I see."
The shift in inflection even affected Su Bai's body.
Between his brows, wisps of an evil, mad aura surfaced.
Along with it, the Heavenly Dao consciousness of the Xuanhuang Realm attached to him also began losing its sanity, spouting endless streams of vicious vitriol.
...
Heavenly Sword Sect.
In the Sword Tomb, countless swords stood thrust upright into the ground.
Above every blade hovered a spectral apparition. After being tempered by countless ages, the swords had birthed spirits of their own.
And now, these countless sword spirits of indeterminate number were confronting a single person: Su Bai, sitting cross-legged at the center.
Myriad sword-qi crisscrossed, cutting through Su Bai's divine soul and consciousness like scalpels.
Su Bai maintained a calm countenance throughout.
Yet inevitably, spasms of pain flitted across his features from time to time.
At the edge of the Sword Tomb, the Eldest Senior Brother of the Heavenly Sword Sect looked upon the scene with an unreadable expression.
He took sip after sip, drinking without pause.
Only this time, what flowed from the wine gourd was no longer wine.
It was water.
No one knew how much time passed.
Buzz!
A violent shockwave suddenly erupted from Su Bai's body.
The Sword Tomb was instantly thrown into shambles.
Countless sword spirits vanished into smoke.
Situ Yao's brows twitched violently.
Yet this was no time for regret; he flashed to Su Bai's side.
"Lord Heavenly Venerable, how is the situation?"
A long silence followed.
Only after a lengthy pause did Su Bai's somewhat weakened voice sound: "All parts of my divine soul that were tainted have been severed. It is temporarily suppressed."
"However..."
"Just as that person said, doing this merely buys some time. Sooner or later, he will come knocking again."
Situ Yao's expression grew solemn.
"So, are you still willing to proceed with that plan? Betting the lives of everyone in the Heavenly Sword Sect?" Su Bai asked softly.
Situ Yao took another deep gulp of water from the gourd.
"Even if we remain here, annihilation is only a matter of time."
"Why should we sword cultivators fear death?"
"Besides, the one he seeks is you. Ants like us may not even catch his eye." Between his words, his decision was already made.
Su Bai's countenance turned solemn as he rose unsteadily. In his body as the Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang, he bowed deeply to Situ Yao.
Situ Yao accepted the bow without demur.
...
Xuanhuang Realm.
Ningyuan City.
Mortal vitality was as resilient and vigorous as weeds.
Upon what had once been ruins, a bustling city had flourished anew.
Its prosperity was even greater than in those earlier days.
Su Bai strolled through the streets, his face a mixture of gratification and melancholy.
At last, he reached his destination.
His original little cottage.
Recalling everything that had taken place here in the past, Su Bai was overwhelmed with emotion.
Seeing those lovely children from back then now grown into adults, Su Bai's eyes filled with joy once more.
"I should not deprive them of the hope of living."
"I... must die,"
he murmured softly.
"Before I die, let me do one small thing more for this world."
Defying the principles of Heaven and Earth to achieve longevity!
A miraculous change descended upon the Xuanhuang Realm.
...
Immortal Ruins.
A skeletal, towering figure sat cross-legged on the earth, situated at the center of the wondrous character.
A figure quietly appeared behind her.
Yet this Dao-enlightened True Immortal sensed nothing at all.
That figure was none other than Su Bai!
Only now, he had donned black robes, an unspeakable madness gleaming between his brows.
"This is the chief culprit behind the calamity of your Xuanhuang Realm—and even this entire star sea."
"Just nod your head, and I'll kill her right now."
Su Bai flicked his finger against the Hunger Immortal's head, producing a crisp snap.
Yet this Dao-enlightened True Immortal remained completely oblivious, immersed in her own comprehension from beginning to end.
What answered Sinister Su Bai was a prolonged silence.
Sinister Su Bai did not press him, merely sizing up the surroundings within the Immortal Ruins with keen interest.
"A pathetic 'Hunger' character, pondered for so long, and still at this level."
"I've killed more pieces of trash like this than I can count."
"And yet, trash of this caliber could bring you thousands of years of suffering..."
Sinister Su Bai's voice dripped with mockery.
"Good? Evil? What meaning do they have before survival?"
Sinister Su Bai raised his foot, grinding and stomping on the Hunger Immortal's face again and again.
He even leaned in close to inspect her.
Unsure of what crossed his mind, he let out occasional chuckles.
Yet from start to finish, the Hunger Immortal displayed no reaction whatsoever.
"Well? Do you believe now that I wasn't lying?"
"Everything you saw wasn't an illusion."
"It truly happened."
"The cruelty of reality far exceeds your imagination."
"A good person like you can't adapt to it at all. Better leave it to me..."
Though he treated True Immortals like ants, Sinister Su Bai showed extraordinary patience toward Mr. Bai of the Xuanhuang Realm.
He chattered incessantly, almost nagging in his attempts to persuade him.
The voice of Mr. Bai of the Xuanhuang Realm suddenly spoke: "You are so strong..."
"Why did a single high wall hold you back?"
Sinister Su Bai's voice cut off abruptly.
With a sudden burst of force, he stomped down savagely.
The Hunger Immortal, sitting cross-legged on the earth of the Immortal Ruins, was kicked straight over, tumbling to the ground.
The golden chains bound around her rattled and clattered.
...
"That Sinister Su Bai wasn't just an unfounded figment of Mr. Bai's imagination."
"He actually existed?"
Just as the consciousness of Li Fan's true body was immersed in the Eternal Lingering Thought left by Su Bai, gripped by sheer horror, another matter unfolded elsewhere. In the Museum of Divine Archives, Li Fan's divine sense avatar, guided by Di Sanmo, arrived deep within the museum before an architectural ruin that appeared utterly unremarkable.
This ruin sat alongside other historical debris of the Xuanhuang Realm, seemingly possessing nothing out of the ordinary.
"Does the exalted immortal recognize this place?"
Because of the shocking scenes his true body had perceived within Su Bai's Eternal Lingering Thought, Li Fan's avatar seemed somewhat distracted.
Only after quite a while did he come to his senses.
"This place..."
Examining it, Li Fan started slightly.
"Southern Darkness Sacred Beast Mountain?" he asked the old man beside him, uncertain.
"The exalted immortal has sharp eyes," Di Sanmo nodded.
"Yet it is not the Sacred Beast Mountain of the Xuanhuang Realm. This was brought here from my homeland and placed here for preservation."
"To this day, who knows how many years have passed," Di Sanmo said, his voice steeped in vicissitudes.
Hearing this, Li Fan's expression gradually turned grave.
He contemplated the meaning behind Di Sanmo's words.
"Originally, there were no demon beasts in the Xuanhuang Realm."
"We fled here as refugees from another possibility."
Di Sanmo did not speak in riddles for long, stating the matter plainly.
Li Fan was slightly shaken.
"An infinite future holds infinite possibilities."
"Yet not all possibilities can endure forever," Di Sanmo sighed softly.
"We multiplied and thrived in the Xuanhuang Realm for so long that we even forgot our ancient past."
"We thought we could continue surviving here, never expecting this place would also meet its dead end."
"And so Di Yi led our clan once more onto the path of flight. But this time, I decided not to leave." Di Sanmo stepped into the ruin, as though returning to his former homeland.
"Why?" Li Fan's avatar asked with some curiosity.
"Even though the Immortal Ruins hang overhead and the star sea is in decline, this might still be one of the few places that remains relatively safe," Di Sanmo chuckled.
Synthesizing Di Sanmo's words and connecting them to what he had seen in the Eternal Lingering Thought, Li Fan narrowed his eyes, his mind racing with myriad thoughts.
...
Within Su Bai's Eternal Lingering Thought.
The mind of Li Fan's true body swayed. In the departed Mr. Bai's memories, he saw just how terrifyingly powerful that Sinister Su Bai truly was.
Just how overwhelming he was.
Merely a slight taint had granted Su Bai, at the Longevity realm, the power to crush a True Immortal.
And as the taint worsened, Su Bai had also briefly experienced the true power of Sinister Su Bai.
The world was no longer singular.
Instead, countless possibilities arose alongside one another.
Su Bai saw the myriad possibilities that sprang forth in the Xuanhuang Realm following his death.
Amid the countless endings of doom, he seemed to glimpse the sole path to survival.
And thus, Li Fan vaguely understood why this Eternal Lingering Thought had been set up this way.
Chapter 1414