Deep within the light lay an infinite ocean containing every possibility in the world. Yet at this moment, the glimmer of immortal spiritual power at Li Fan's fingertip seemed as fragile as a candle guttering in the wind.
It flickered erratically, wavering without end.
What astonished Li Fan even more was that after exactly ninety-nine breaths, the tiny flame of immortal spiritual power on his fingertip suddenly went out without the slightest warning. It was as though some unknown, invisible presence had leaned in close and blown it out with a gentle puff.
*Only the external manifestation of the immortal spiritual power has vanished for reasons unknown. Within this body... or rather, within this skin, immortal spiritual power still exists.* Feeling inwardly for a moment, Li Fan reached this conclusion.
He tried once more.
This time, Li Fan was no longer content merely to condense a single pinpoint of immortal spiritual power.
Instead, he attempted to use the immortal spiritual power to construct an immortal array.
Naturally, to prevent detection by the Shuoxing Sea authorities, Li Fan had no intention of making a grand commotion. He laid out only the Wuliang, Primordial Chaos Squared Formation, meant for prying into and analyzing all things.
It was no different from the array cast by the Immortal Array Dissolution Disc. In fact, Li Fan felt an even stronger sense of direct, effortless control. Without needing the Dissolution Disc as an intermediary translator, the various pieces of information contacted and analyzed by the Primordial Square Formation surfaced directly in Li Fan's mind.
It was as though they were the fruit of his own contemplation.
Li Fan looked out of the manor toward the city. What met his eyes now was no bustling City of Ultimate Bliss at all. It was merely an enormous vortex spinning at extreme speed.
Countless specks of sentient intent floated, whirled, and settled within this vortex.
Occasionally, a few specks would suddenly give off a distinctive blue glow in the midst of the churning. Then, completely ignoring the pull of the vortex itself, they slowly sank from the upper rim down toward the very bottom.
Li Fan could even faintly make out an enormous, predator-like shadow lurking there. Whenever the blue specks of light drew near, it would lunge forward and swallow them whole into its belly.
As if noticing Li Fan's prying gaze, the predatory shadow slowly turned its head in his direction. The silhouette rippled, seemingly offering a deeply meaningful smile.
While maintaining the Boundless Primordial Square Formation, Li Fan did not forget to silently count the time in his mind. Sure enough, once ninety-nine breaths elapsed, the great array forged from immortal spiritual power melted away like ice and snow, disappearing in an instant.
The channel connecting Li Fan's body to the immortal array felt as though it had been stopped up, unable to provide further support.
He could only watch as the immortal array dispersed.
The sight of the vortex vanished from his view as well.
*That feeding shadow...*
*It was Scholar Zhu, without a doubt.*
*It seems selecting suitable targets from sentient intent takes place simultaneously alongside the operation of the City of Ultimate Bliss.*
*The triennial Grand Ceremony of Ultimate Bliss and those fruits of intent are more like a smokescreen.* Li Fan gained a faint realization.
Although he had reached a cooperative deal with this former Nameless True Immortal, there was not a shred of trust between them.
Scholar Zhu was merely taking a desperate gamble after Li Fan demonstrated a certain potential. He did not care about Li Fan's identity or background, how he had silently infiltrated the City of Ultimate Bliss, or how he had substituted himself for Ma Tiande. Nor did he care what Li Fan's ultimate goal was.
As long as Li Fan could help him break free from the Dao Net, Scholar Zhu was willing to offer support.
*In fact, he probably doesn't truly count on me to free him. As long as I can infiltrate the Immortal Hunt, stir up some trouble and variables for the Governing Council and the Dao Net, and marginally increase his chances of escape, this trade is well worth it for him...*
While Li Fan was deep in thought, a sudden feeling of repulsion surged from within the body.
"Get out! Get out of me!"
"Out, out, out, out, out!"
"Insignificant ant! How dare you desecrate me!"
...
The repulsion grew increasingly intense, and the voice echoing in Li Fan's ears roared louder and louder, like rolling claps of thunder that grew unbearable. What was more, it was Li Fan's own voice.
Roaring furiously at oneself made the scene feel all the more bizarre.
In the end, Li Fan was forced to detach himself from that immortal skin.
Returning to his original form, Li Fan closely examined the supreme treasure in his hands.
To allow a mortal to instantly wield power rivaling a True Immortal—calling this human skin a supreme treasure was not the least bit an exaggeration.
*Judging from the images that surfaced in my mind after donning the skin, its original owner must have been on the verge of the Nameless realm.*
*It was just that before he could unite his body with the Great Dao, the Dao Annihilation Tribulation that wiped out all existence descended.*
*The Immortal Realm shattered. True Immortals and even Nameless True Immortals perished one after another in the catastrophe. Daos manifested and were born; Daos were extinguished and dissolved. This spectacle where the creation of a world coexisted with the end of days prompted a sudden epiphany in him, allowing him to take that final step outright!*
*Unfortunately, his breakthrough came at the absolute worst moment. That immortal domain could have barely held on a little longer. His attainment of the Dao was equivalent to abruptly pulling out the most vital supporting pillar at the most crucial juncture...*
*In an instant, the heavens collapsed, the earth caved in, and the Great Daos ground one another into oblivion.*
...
The memories after that turned blurry, even verging on madness.
Contradictory memories from entirely different periods surfaced all at once. Li Fan could only roughly deduce that although this Nameless True Immortal had escaped the initial catastrophe, he was ultimately captured by someone and nailed into the Dao Net to serve as a pivotal node connecting the Great Daos.
*Unlike Scholar Zhu...*
*This Nameless figure has truly fallen.*
*The day of his death was the moment the Dao Net was completed.*
*The Great Dao he united with had no time to return to heaven and earth; instead, it was captured and harnessed by some profound, wondrous force to exist as one of the Dao Net's sturdiest nodes...*
Li Fan tried to reconstruct the scene of that day from the fragmented memories.
What a magnificent event the founding of the Dao Net must have been.
Yet it had been accompanied by the venomous curses of a Nameless True Immortal.
*Nameless True Immortals who were offered as living sacrifices to construct the Dao Net, like the owner of this immortal skin...*
*There were three others!*
*Four major nodes in total, together with that invisible colossal hand, were what initially stabilized the Dao Net.*
Li Fan drew a deep breath.
Even in death, a single skin left behind could grant a mortal the power of a True Immortal in an instant. It even retained conscious intent and memories, which spoke volumes of how formidable its owner had been.
Yet such a powerhouse had been brutally reduced to raw material for the Dao Net's living foundation stakes, leaving behind neither name nor deeds in the world after his death.
"Nameless ants die."
*Before a great catastrophe, those who cannot seize the dominant momentum are hardly any different from mortals.* Li Fan sighed faintly to himself.
After undergoing a round of possession, the immortal skin had grown visibly thinner, taking on an eerie pallor. That had also been the cause of his forced expulsion.
However, upon examining it, Li Fan discovered that the immortal skin had not been depleted permanently. At a rate almost visible to the naked eye, it regained its ruddy, plump fullness.
Even so, Li Fan was still unable to drape it over himself again.
Only after waiting for a full incense stick's burn did Li Fan sense that he could use the immortal skin once more.
*This isn't due to the nature of the immortal skin itself.*
*Rather, it is a restriction imposed upon it by some other entity. Unless my strength exceeds theirs, I must abide by these rules.* Li Fan felt a glimmer of understanding.
*It was likely a restriction set down by that group of powerhouses in the Shuoxing Sea who built the Dao Net. After all, the skin of a Nameless True Immortal, capable of letting any living being instantly wield power rivaling a True Immortal at will, is undoubtedly a devastating weapon.*
Li Fan donned the immortal skin once more.
This time, he wanted to test whether his own adaptability could extend the effective duration of wearing it.
Immortal spiritual power cloaked him once again. As Li Fan submerged his consciousness into it, he seemed to behold that infinite ocean once more.
*They say the Immortal Realm is boundlessly vast.*
*Yet the vastness here exceeds the Immortal Realm by thousands, tens of thousands of times.*
Even seeing it a second time, Li Fan could not help feeling slightly dazed.
*Immortal spiritual power originates from here. No wonder it possesses the property of "infinity."*
While drifting in this state, Li Fan thought of the star sea again.
Though the power of the star sea was inferior in energy tier to immortal spiritual power, it likewise possessed the property of "infinity."
*Does this mean that the primal source of the star sea's energy also stems from here?*
Li Fan suddenly thought of a crucial question.
Had the infinite nature of the star sea existed since antiquity, or had it only been born after the shattering of the Immortal Realm?
Li Fan gazed out across the infinite ocean, remaining silent for a long time.
Recalling the appearance of the Immortal Realm he had once seen in the True Immortal's memories, Li Fan formed a faint guess in his heart.
*"Infinity" was likely a trait unique to the Immortal Realm in the first place.*
*It was only because the Immortal Realm shattered that this trait was passed down to the lower realm's star sea.*
*Scholar Zhu once said that the bliss of the Immortal Realm far surpassed that of the City of Ultimate Bliss. That was presumably all thanks to this infinity. With never a need to worry about energy depletion, all that remained was pure indulgence. Had the Dao Annihilation Tribulation not descended so abruptly, the Immortal Realm might have continued in its "ultimate bliss" forever.*
Ever since achieving the Nascent Soul realm with the Five Elements Great Grotto-Heaven, Li Fan had profoundly understood the numerous advantages of never having to worry about consumption. The Five Elements Grotto-Heaven was a phantom of Xuanhuang; while it multiplied his capacity compared to ordinary cultivators, it was still visibly incomparable to the property of "infinity."
*This is also the most crucial link dividing immortals from mortals.*
*An endless supply of energy, freed from considerations of depletion. Any spell or divine ability can have its lethal power amplified without limit...*
Even an ordinary punch thrown by a mortal against the great earth of Xuanhuang would fail to leave any mark upon the world. Yet as long as that action was repeated enough times, even a mortal could blast the Xuanhuang Realm into fine dust.
*In the end, even the weakest force, once multiplied by infinity, yields an unimaginable might.*
Li Fan's train of thought was temporarily cut short by the dissipation of the immortal spiritual power.
The vast divide between mortal and immortal power brought a faint trace of despondency to his heart.
During the interval while waiting for the restriction to lift, Li Fan suddenly thought of another question.
*Infinity is indeed wonderful. But what is the price?*
The existence of infinite power ran contrary to Li Fan's foundational understanding of the world.
He could understand the formidable nature of immortal spiritual energy. But the infinite nature of immortal spiritual power was something he could not make sense of, no matter how he looked at it.
*What exactly is that infinite ocean?*
*Something so wonderful that it seems to exist only in fantasy...*
*Can it truly be free of negative repercussions?*
This naturally arising worry vanished without a trace the moment he reconnected with the infinite immortal spiritual power.
Nothing could be worse than knowing the predetermined date of the mortal world's doom.
Casting aside all distracting thoughts, Li Fan immersed himself in the study of the immortal skin and its immortal spiritual power.
Time flew by.
The duration he could wear the immortal skin this time was identical to the first, without the slightest discrepancy.
Even so, Li Fan did not jump to conclusions just yet.
As soon as the cooldown period elapsed, he draped the immortal skin over himself again.
He repeated this process over and over.
In the blink of an eye, three years slipped past.
Li Fan finally confirmed that the duration for each use of the immortal skin was indeed fixed. It would not increase with growing "proficiency."
Yet three years of study had not been without reward.
The immortal spiritual power at his fingertip flared up once again like a flame.
This time, as Li Fan looked at the immortal spiritual power within "his own" body, a faint, inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up inside him.
It was as though it had become a part of his own body.
By "his own body," he did not mean the immortal skin, nor did he mean Ma Tiande.
He meant the core governing all his intent and actions—the divine sense that mirrored the Great Dao.
*The reason I have remained stalled at the half-immortal realm is that the Immortal Realm was destroyed, leaving me unable to undergo the baptism of immortal spiritual energy.*
*And the remaining strands of immortal spiritual energy in the world all seem to carry specific ownership markers. They cannot be misappropriated.*
*Only by relying on the process of ascending to immortality via the Xuanhuang Realm could these markers be washed away to a certain degree. That is how the infinite immortal spiritual energy of the Immortal Array Dissolution Disc came to be.*
*Yet what works for an immortal artifact cannot be applied to a True Immortal.*
With a thought from Li Fan, immortal spiritual power surged across his entire body like a tidal wave.
It seemed to form a miniature infinite ocean.
The former owner of this ocean had been that mysterious Nameless True Immortal who had been turned into a living foundation stake of the Dao Net.
Yet now...
This miniature infinite ocean had gradually become tainted with Li Fan's imprint.
*It's still far from a complete change of dynasties.*
*It merely carries a bit more of my imprint, that is all.*
*Yet I have only been in contact with it and familiarizing myself with it for three years. If I am given a bit more time...*
Li Fan's eyes flashed with thought. The immortal spiritual power blanketing his body vanished in an instant due to the restrictions of the immortal skin.
*Could it be that immortal spiritual power can actually be inherited?*
Immortal spiritual power originated from that unfathomable, unknown infinite ocean.
And that ocean of infinity was certainly not something an individual could directly contact and draw upon at will.
Not even a True Immortal could do so.
*The process of the immortal energy baptism at the Immortal Ascension Platform in days of old must have been the key to allowing an individual to connect to the infinite ocean.*
*If every True Immortal requires a unique marker to draw upon the infinite power, then as long as one grasps these unique markers, one might be able to control immortal spiritual power.*
Li Fan suddenly realized that, in a certain sense, the infinite ocean and the Dao Net bore an uncanny resemblance to each other.
Just like the miniature infinite ocean that had manifested across Li Fan's body, it mirrored the miniature Dao Net reflected within his divine sense.
Chapter 1443