Squinting slightly, Li Fan recalled Scholar Zhu's divine abilities and methods within the illusion just now.
Inside his divine sense, the miniature Dao Net flickered with erratic radiance as it searched for the corresponding laws of the Great Dao. Scholar Zhu had merged his body into the Dao Net, meaning the Great Dao he had comprehended was already one of its foundational pillars.
The replica within Li Fan's divine sense naturally bore its reflection as well.
The instant the connection was made, that string of the Dao Net emanated a distinctly profound, dark glow.
Li Fan's mind stirred slightly. *This is... the character "Grind"!*
Before his eyes, an image suddenly seemed to materialize: a square millstone relentlessly pounding and crushing targets across heaven and earth. As a steady stream of flowing light poured in from that string in the miniature Dao Net, Li Fan's comprehension of this Dao advanced by leaps and bounds within just a few breaths.
Yet after merely several breaths, Li Fan took the initiative to sever his comprehension of this Dao.
*Though Scholar Zhu has been cast into the Dao Net and turned into a living stake, he is still alive after all. This Dao of Grinding remains something with a master.*
*The deeper I delve into it, the easier it will be for its master to sense me.*
Though tens of thousands of Great Daos existed between heaven and earth, Li Fan needed only to focus on the Transformation of Real and Unreal. As for other paths and principles, he could treat them merely as convenient weapons to wield before ascending to the absolute summit.
Actively displaying the Transformation of Real and Unreal before Scholar Zhu had not been an act of bravado to show off in front of a former Nameless True Immortal. It had been a calculated test.
*It seems the Transformation of Real and Unreal is indeed infinitely marvelous. Even if figures in the ancient Immortal Realm covertly coveted it, not everyone knew of its existence. Even though Scholar Zhu attained the esteemed status of a Nameless True Immortal, when I displayed it right before his eyes, he failed to recognize it, merely taken aback by my inexplicable technique.*
Admittedly, this probe carried some risk, but Scholar Zhu was himself a prisoner trapped within the net. Furthermore, Li Fan's true body remained far away in the Pitch-Black Star Sea behind the Great Wall, cloaked by the Wuyou Dreamscape. Even if something went awry, he could calmly Revert to the True.
In truth, even when the Black Heavenly Physician crossed possibilities to descend upon him, Li Fan had still successfully activated Revert to the True. In this current "Primordial" possibility, there were truly few existences capable of posing a genuine threat to him.
In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.
True to his word, Scholar Zhu recommended "Ma Tiande" to the Governing Council.
Ma Tiande had originally been dispatched to the City of Ultimate Bliss by the Governing Council to manipulate the Dao Net and conduct surveillance. The Governing Council merely assumed Scholar Zhu was having an unpleasant time dealing with Ma Tiande and sought an excuse to transfer him away.
After verifying Ma Tiande's identity without error through the Dao Net and soliciting Ma Tiande's personal opinion, the Governing Council approved the recommendation.
The Immortal Hunt selection was held within the span of just half a day.
When the selection officially began, the ethereal Dao Net seemed to unveil its true countenance at last, giving birth to physical substance from the illusory.
A looming, translucent net enveloped the entire Shuoxing Sea.
It encompassed every faction within the star sea.
The shadow of the Dao Net spanned heaven and earth, stretching far beyond the confines of the world.
Such a magnificent, miraculous sight inspired feelings of reverence and worship in the heart of anyone who witnessed it.
Mortals dropped to their knees one after another.
Even cultivators bowed their heads in awestruck submission.
As the Dao Net spanned the heavens, Li Fan did not draw attention to himself, simply lowering his head and quietly observing.
Due to the miniature Dao Net in his divine sense, the sights in his vision differed from what the world saw.
Four figures exuding sacred, majestic auras hid behind the Dao Net like four great pillars. Beyond them, layers of eerie phantoms stood rigidly within the net. Yet the invisible giant hand pressing down upon the Dao Net was nowhere to be seen.
Catching sight in reality of these Nameless True Immortals serving as living stakes for the Dao Net made Li Fan's heart pound with alarm every time his gaze swept across them. Yet the projection within his divine sense grew noticeably clearer thanks to this close-range, meticulous observation. Thus, Li Fan never ceased his prying gaze.
A beam of light shuttled through the Dao Net.
Wherever it passed, every participant in this Immortal Hunt selection was illuminated by it.
Their bodies floated upward into the air uncontrollably, and Li Fan was no exception.
Watching nearly a thousand cultivators across the Shuoxing Sea rising just like him, Li Fan remained impassive. Allowing himself to be seized, he observed how the Dao Net operated in reality.
*Spanning the entire Shuoxing Sea, simultaneously and accurately locking onto a thousand targets and lifting them into the air... in breadth and precision of power alone, this feat of the Dao Net is no less than that of a True Immortal.*
Moreover, Li Fan faintly perceived that those participating in the Immortal Hunt were not merely being lifted into the air. Rather, they seemed to collectively enter a spacetime parallel to the real Shuoxing Sea.
The living beings of the Shuoxing Sea below could look up into the firmament and see them, whereas the participants gradually lost sight of what lay below, seeming to enter a completely isolated expanse.
*This must be an open trial held before all life in the Shuoxing Sea to ensure fairness and impartiality in the Immortal Hunt selection,* Li Fan realized.
Their surroundings grew dim and murky, as if they were suspended within an endless void. A thousand cultivators drifted there, quietly waiting for the selection to begin.
Before long, a rumbling voice echoed throughout the space.
Without a single wasted word, it cut straight to the point:
"First trial: Dao."
The Dao Net that spanned heaven and earth seemed to enter this trial space. Descending abruptly, it pressed downward in relentless pursuit.
What had once existed only at the edge of the sky now drew closer and closer until it was right before their eyes.
Before the majestic Dao Net, the thousand candidates truly resembled ants caught in a web.
The oppressive weight radiating from the Great Dao caused a full third of the thousand to shudder uncontrollably on the spot.
Flashes of light flared, and those trembling candidates were eliminated instantly, transported out of the trial space.
The remaining cultivators tightened their focus, bracing themselves with concentrated minds against the Dao Net bearing down right before their faces.
The Dao Net pressed closer, as though preparing to crush them completely underfoot.
Faced with the crisis of being ground to dust, not everyone could maintain their composure. Even if they had prepared thoroughly beforehand, the Dao Net they had imagined in ordinary times differed vastly from the real thing. Throughout this process, anyone whose expression faltered in the slightest was eliminated.
When the Dao Net bore down upon their bodies, both flesh and divine soul felt as though they had been ruthlessly crushed flat, before merging directly into the net.
By the time his vision cleared, Li Fan found himself in an area resembling a labyrinth.
The true countenance of the Dao Net was nowhere in sight.
*Bzzzz...*
An eerie sound came from not far away.
Li Fan turned his head and saw that the silver-white labyrinth paths were evaporating and vanishing without cause starting from the edges.
Moreover, this disappearance was rapidly spreading toward his position.
*The Dao Annihilation Tribulation?*
Naturally, these four words surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
Of course, it was not the actual Dao Annihilation Tribulation, but a simulated disaster scenario crafted from its essence for testing purposes.
*So what must be done now is escape through this Dao Net labyrinth,* Li Fan thought with sudden understanding.
He moved to step forward and advance into the depths of the labyrinth, yet despite exerting force by habit, he remained completely motionless.
Looking down closely, Li Fan discovered that his feet were bizarrely bonded to the Dao Net labyrinth.
The road ahead looked smooth on the surface, but it was fraught with uneven contours. Under normal conditions, every step would surely be an arduous struggle.
Li Fan observed for a moment and quickly grasped the intent of this first trial.
Branching out tentacle-like perceptions through his feet, Li Fan sensed the protrusions of the Dao Net ahead.
*I need to execute Dao Net commands to fill and mend these gaps.*
Li Fan did not bother handling it personally. Instead, he repeated his old trick: just as he had done during Scholar Zhu's test, he responded directly using the miniature Dao Net in his divine sense.
In an instant, a dim glow emerged from Li Fan's body, traveling through his feet into the ground to complete the missing gap.
The path ahead was no longer rugged, and Li Fan took a smooth step forward.
*Such a method of testing is rather amusing.*
The miniature Dao Net rapidly resonated with the various gaps along the road below.
Unhurried, Li Fan walked along at an easy pace.
Free of mental strain, Li Fan observed his surroundings, calibrating his speed to stay just behind the very front runners—not the absolute peak or overly conspicuous, but firmly within the leading echelon.
Behind them, the Dao Net evaporated ceaselessly, pressing close on their heels.
In this stage, roughly four hundred more candidates were eliminated.
Only when roughly three hundred-odd cultivators remained did the first trial conclude.
The Dao Net labyrinth vanished silently. Once again, the colossal voice rang out, straight to the point:
"Second trial: Martial."
While the voice still echoed through the space, an inexplicable aura descended upon the area.
Li Fan's pupils contracted sharply.
*A True Immortal?*
Standing opposite the three hundred cultivators was a tall figure clad in golden armor.
However, his hands and feet were bound by heavy shackles, and his armor was severely damaged and covered in scars.
His beard and hair seemed untrimmed for many years, so wild and tangled that they obscured his face.
Yet Li Fan could still see a sinister grin break across that figure's features.
"Rain!"
A somewhat hoarse voice, tinged with a faint murderous intent, resonated in everyone's ears.
Between heaven and earth, raindrops suddenly began to fall.
At first, there were only a few pitter-pattering drops. Then it grew heavier and heavier, turning into a torrential downpour in the blink of an eye.
Every raindrop seemed to bear the weight of a mountain range.
As it poured down upon their heads, many cultivators were caught off guard and cried out in agony, already battered into a mangled pulp of blood and flesh.
Light flickered as those on the brink of death were teleported out of the trial space.
Yet a few unfortunate souls perished in the heavy downpour before they could even be whisked away.
*They're playing for keeps.*
Li Fan watched with his own eyes as a fellow candidate beside him met a violent death.
Yet he felt not the slightest panic. He had far too many ways to ward off this immortal rain.
*Still, since this is the Immortal Hunt selection, I should naturally make use of the Dao Net's power as much as possible.*
Ever since that True Immortal appeared, Li Fan had sensed that he seemed to be closer to the Dao Net, apparently arranged to make it easier for the candidates to draw upon the Dao Net's strength.
"Rain..."
"Umbrella!"
With a thought, an umbrella manifested in Li Fan's hand.
Its circular canopy shielded his head, completely deflecting the falling deluge.
However, this trial could not be passed so simply. While protecting himself, Li Fan looked to his left and right, noticing that a good number of Shuoxing Sea cultivators had adapted immediately.
They each displayed their divine abilities: some, like Li Fan, shielded their bodies with umbrellas or protective armaments; others bent the falling trajectory of the raindrops with invisible force; while still others swallowed the deluge whole...
Once they gained a foothold in the rain, they swarmed toward the chain-bound, gold-armored True Immortal, unleashing an onslaught of diverse divine abilities and magical arts.
Among the most dazzling were a gust of wind and three swords.
The wind howled fiercely, blowing the pervasive storm back in reverse. The divine ability that the True Immortal had used to slaughter the tested cultivators was now turned back upon him.
The three swords belonged to a single person, hovering behind a purple-robed female cultivator. This cultivator seemed blind, her eyes kept firmly shut at all times. Yet through the torrential rain that obstructed all vision, she remained locked onto the gold-armored True Immortal's location. The three swords behind her were held respectively by a severed arm, a skull, and a circular vortex.
Sword light crisscrossed, cleaving through wind and rain as it slashed mercilessly toward the gold-armored True Immortal.
...
Amid the howling wind and driving rain, energy surged and ebbed like a turbulent tide.
Hiding in the shadows, Li Fan merely observed quietly without acting rashly. At the same time, using the miniature Dao Net in his divine sense, he recorded all the fluctuations of the surrounding spells and divine abilities.
It was clear that the subject of this trial was a genuine immortal.
Though restrained by the Governing Council and incapable of exerting his full strength, his protective defenses remained intact.
The myriad divine abilities of the cultivators bombarded his golden armor repeatedly, yet they produced only faint reverberations, unable to leave even the faintest pale scratch.
Looking upon the siege by these ants before him, the gold-armored True Immortal roared with unceasing laughter.
"Rain! Rain! Rain!"
In the True Immortal's chant, the wind and rain intensified further.
The shackles on the gold-armored True Immortal's limbs clanked and rattled, seemingly on the verge of breaking loose under his violent surges.
Meanwhile, the rain assailing the crowd began unleashing its true, miraculous effect: not only did it weigh as heavy as mountains, but it also began eroding their divine souls—and even the Great Dao of this local domain.
Seeing that the cultivators were gradually showing signs of defeat under the True Immortal's counterattack, Li Fan, who had been watching the spectacle all along, finally spoke:
"Strip armor!"
Standing behind all the cultivators, Li Fan pointed into the empty air toward the overbearing gold-armored True Immortal from afar.
Though his voice was faint, it penetrated the storm and reached the ears of everyone present.
The wind and rain paused momentarily.
As if some profoundly mystical power had descended, the armor upon the gold-armored True Immortal began to shake irresistibly.
"No!"
The gold-armored True Immortal, whose face had been full of ferocity just moments before, was now struck with utter panic.
He shouted aloud, seemingly desperate to stop his armor from falling away.
Yet the power of the Dao Net brutally stripped the protective gear from his body.
Within moments, the former True Immortal appeared stark naked before everyone.
Though matted hair offered some cover, it remained an unbearable, monumental humiliation!
Coming to their senses, the crowd of candidates swarmed once more to besiege the True Immortal.
The True Immortal merely roared, letting these attacks grind away at his flesh and blood.
Yet a pair of scarlet eyes pierced through the crowd, glaring fixedly at Li Fan!
Chapter 1445