Shadow of the Nameless Immortal

Li Buren peered ahead, trying to discern the traces of the Dao Annihilation Tribulation upon it. The Mound-Guarding Lord had gazed upon mountains and seas for over a hundred epochs, growing thoroughly familiar with both. Relying on his power now, Li Buren truly sensed faint wisps of a familiar aura from the massive character "Hunger" engraved upon the Immortal Ruins. "Whether the previous Hunger Immortal perished in the Dao Annihilation or turned their body into a pillar to hold back the cataclysm from the Immortal Realm, one thing is certain: they definitely had an intimate brush with the Dao Annihilation. "Though their body perished, their Dao endured. The current Hunger Immortal discovered the secret here. The temptation of ascending to Nameless was simply too great, which was why she was willing to take such an immense risk. Instead of fleeing like the other True Immortals, she stayed to comprehend the Dao here. "In truth, it wasn't all that dangerous. "From the perspective of the outside world, the Immortal Realm was destroyed long ago. But from the Hunger Immortal's perspective, less than a single day might have passed for her. Moreover, with the remnant of a Nameless True Immortal serving as a supporting pillar, the Immortal Ruins might actually be somewhat safer than anywhere else in this starry sky if the Dao Annihilation Tribulation were to erupt again. "If it were me, I would have made the same choice," Li Buren concluded. Although he was resolved to help the Hunger Immortal attest to Nameless, Li Buren never intended to truly disregard the Great Dao of Hunger as he had claimed. Any path capable of distorting the flow of time in its surroundings could never be associated with the word "weak." Hiding inside the small room representing the path of Hunger, Li Buren watched as the Hunger Immortal's form expanded and took up more and more space within it. He meticulously recorded the entire process. "If I'm not mistaken, once the Hunger Immortal attests to Nameless, all these records of mine will cease to exist. It would be comparable to the simulation and deduction that Revert to the True just ran in my mind. Yet there's a slight difference. Even if I Revert to the True, that simulated deduction accompanied by the final annihilation won't be recalled. "Whereas here with the Hunger Immortal... "If she dies, or if I go to the next life when no one has yet attested to the Dao of Hunger, these records will reappear. "Possessing both the remnant of the generation before last and the full breakthrough process of the previous Hunger Immortal, anyone with decent aptitude could directly attest to Nameless in a short time! It doesn't necessarily have to be this woman." Li Buren felt no ripples in his heart, continuing to record every minute detail. Eventually, the small room of the Dao of Hunger could no longer accommodate a second person. A mysterious, otherworldly fluctuation abruptly manifested between heaven and earth. The Second Great Wall that Li Buren had built with his own hands collapsed without warning. This was not because the Hunger Immortal had suddenly turned hostile, but rather a natural consequence of the shockwaves radiating from her ascension to Nameless. The wall Li Buren had replicated could hold back the Hunger Immortal while she was comprehending the Dao, but it could no longer withstand an existence that had already attested to the Nameless realm. At the same time, Li Buren sensed that a segment of memory in his mind had been erased without cause. Yet his mission remained firmly etched into his thoughts. The boundless, abyss-like aura ahead reminded him that the figure standing before him was a Nameless True Immortal. And his hunting target! The ascension to Nameless was not yet finished, meaning the optimal moment to strike had not arrived. Li Buren conserved his strength, ready to lock onto and strike down his quarry at any second. In the Pitch-Black Star Sea, it was as if an immense meteorite had plummeted into the deep, churning up monstrous waves that swept in all directions. Before this majestic power, none of the remnants in the star sea could maintain stability on their own. Relics and remnant realms were swept along like deadwood. Ultimately, they hurtled toward the boundary of the star sea, where the Great Wall stood. Boom! Boom! Boom! Thanks to the reverse suction accumulated beneath the Great Wall over ten thousand years acting as a buffer, many relics and remnant realms managed to halt their momentum in time. Still, a great number smashed headlong into the wall. Formed by the Mound-Guarding Lord's phantom, the wall stood firm like a towering levee, utterly motionless. All the relics pulverized into flying ash upon impact, like eggs striking stone. Yet on the Great Wall, not the slightest tremor occurred. It even firmly locked down the fluctuations emanating from the Nameless Hunger Immortal. The Great Wall's performance set Li Buren's mind thoroughly at ease. The power of the Mound-Guarding Lord was indeed dependable. Meanwhile, amidst the tempest unleashed by her breakthrough to Nameless, Li Buren noticed that in the depression beneath the Pitch-Black Star Sea where the Living Being Form lay, an inexplicable change seemed to occur in tandem. With Li Buren's current strength, even the faintest disturbance could not escape his notice. "Could it be... just like me, it quietly recorded the fluctuations from the birth of the Nameless Hunger Immortal?" This outcome surprised Li Buren somewhat. However, their methods of recording differed. Li Buren was making a comprehensive, full record, whereas the Living Being Form in the depression used the impact generated during the Nameless Hunger Immortal's birth to rewrite itself to a certain degree. It was like pressing hard onto an inkpad, leaving behind the fingerprint of a Nameless True Immortal—preserving information about a Nameless True Immortal that normally could not be recorded. In the depression, the long-dormant dark river of life suddenly boiled over due to the transformation of the Living Being Form. It resonated across the distance with the grand spectacle of the Nameless True Immortal descending into the star sea. Drawing upon nearly all the stored vitality, a figure corresponding to the Hunger Immortal quietly appeared at the center of the Living Being Form's pattern. "A shadow of the Nameless Immortal. "Fascinating." Li Buren's thoughts raced: "According to what was uncovered before, this Living Being Form was built by Xing Wuque on King Xuantian's orders. "While King Xuantian possessed peerless talent, he was merely at the half-immortal realm when he vanished. He absolutely should not have possessed methods capable of engraving the shadow of a Nameless True Immortal. That means there is a high probability the issue lies with Xing Wuque. "Exhausted of strength, soul almost scattered to the winds, leaving behind only a shattered mask..." If Xing Wuque had merely been a native cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm whose cultivation was inferior to King Xuantian's, it would have been utterly impossible for him to create such a Living Being Form. Yet when considered alongside the fact that the Xuanhuang Realm had once been a crucial site staked out to watch for Revert to the True, it was very likely that an avatar of a Nameless True Immortal had infiltrated it... Everything fell neatly into place. "Among the Twelve Dharma Kings, how many are truly untainted?" His hunting target remained the Nameless Hunger Immortal, so Li Buren pulled his gaze away from the nameless shadow in the depression for the time being. The waves gradually settled, and the disturbances subsided. How fortunate the Pitch-Black Star Sea was to welcome the birth of a Nameless True Immortal. Yet for her, it might also prove to be a misfortune. For the instant the Hunger Immortal attested to the Dao, she completely occupied the path of Hunger. Consequently, the remnant of the previous Hunger Immortal beneath her lost its original miraculous properties, turning completely into ordinary matter. Upon the land of the Immortal Ruins, the character "Hunger" first dimmed into deathly darkness. An instant later, it came alive again, manifesting anew. Yet it had a new master now, gradually converging into the Hunger Immortal's body. Boom! Boom! Boom! Faint apocalyptic rumblings seemed to echo from beyond the heavens. This was the erosion of the Dao Annihilation Tribulation, triggered by the sudden absence of the Nameless remnant that had served as a supporting pillar. It was like a hole slowly opening in an impregnable dike. Although the hole had not yet breached all the way through, the waters outside were already surging forward with immense fury. If Li Buren were to return the power borrowed from the Mound-Guarding phantoms now, the additional Origin Bone combined with the five Mound-Guarding phantoms would be more than enough to withstand the assault of the Dao Annihilation Tribulation. Yet Li Buren did not act rashly. He even resisted the pull seeking to reclaim power into the Mound-Guarding phantoms. He had never forgotten his hunting target. He was waiting for the perfect moment to strike. And the Hunger Immortal did not disappoint him. Whether out of a duty inherited from the previous Hunger Immortal or pure instinct upon the arrival of calamity, facing the surging tide of Dao Annihilation, the Nameless Hunger Immortal casually unleashed a portion of her power to serve as a temporary plug. At the same time, she sent a divine transmission to Li Buren: "Fellow Immortal, flee quickly! We cannot remain here for long." Even after attesting to Nameless, she still addressed Li Buren as Fellow Immortal. First, it was because Li Buren had aided her enlightenment and was her benefactor. Second, it was because the power Li Buren displayed, while seemingly bizarre, was practically not inferior to her own. Hence, her attitude was extremely amicable. Yet his next move defied her expectations entirely. Her "benefactor" turned hostile in an instant! Li Buren's body froze briefly before instantly shattering apart. He transformed into a sky-spanning silver Dao Net, receiving the power of the Mound-Guarding phantoms with total capacity. A roar even louder than the tide of Dao Annihilation rang in the Nameless Hunger Immortal's ears. Within the silver Dao Net before her, she vaguely glimpsed a towering figure standing with hands clasped behind his back. Like mountains, like seas. Even having embodied a Great Dao of heaven and earth, she seemed like nothing more than an ant dwelling between mountains and seas compared to him. That figure bore some resemblance to her "benefactor," yet looked even more like that figure from the ancient legends of the Immortal Realm... "The Mound-Guarding Lord??!!" The Nameless Hunger Immortal was shaken to her core, losing her composure in that instant. Right then, the boundless mountains and seas bore down upon her. Only when the oceanic tide reached her flesh and the mountain peaks loomed overhead did she snap awake from her shock. Without time to demand why, her instincts drove her to retaliate. Even if the other party truly was that great figure who had once stepped forth to save the Immortal Realm, she would never sit still and await death! "Hungry..." "I'm so hungry..." A ghostly, unfathomable voice drifted up from within the tide of mountains and seas. It seemed to come from the Hunger Immortal, yet sounded even more like a mysterious entity from beyond the ethereal Great Dao. All the power Li Buren had prepared to imprison the Nameless Hunger Immortal was treated as food, swallowed down in a single gulp. Facing the vast might of mountains and seas, she remained fearless. She wanted to devour mountains and drink seas, turning everything in the world into her nourishment! Resembling an immense vortex that consumed all things, the figure of the Nameless Hunger Immortal could no longer be seen clearly. Before this terrifying suction, Li Buren could feel his Dao Net body warp faintly. The strength of the Hunger Immortal after attesting to Nameless was indeed somewhat beyond expectations. Yet if she thought she could turn the tables with just this much... Li Buren's other body, seated upon the armchair, bowed slightly toward the five Mound-Guarding phantoms. An instant later, a fraction more power was siphoned from the five phantoms. This was the maximum share Li Buren had calculated he could borrow without the Great Wall collapsing under the pressure of the Dao Annihilation Tribulation: Roughly equivalent to two and a half Nameless True Immortals! Consequently, the Nameless Hunger Immortal felt the colossal force binding her instantly swell by more than double. The mountains and seas that had already seemed vast as heaven and earth now appeared to have been mere gravel from the peaks and single droplets from the ocean. The expansion of the mountains and seas seemed to have no end and no limit. Her momentum and resolve to swallow mountains and drink seas faltered upon realizing this horrifying truth. Even her endless hunger was nearly gorged to the brim. More critically... The pressure from the Dao Annihilation Tribulation, which she had casually resisted with plans to depart soon, intensified several times over. With both factors compounding, she found herself completely unable to move! In fact, as if sensing a potential breach in her, the Dao Annihilation Tribulation converged upon her like a sentient entity. In that moment, the pressure of Dao Annihilation she bore was many times greater than anywhere else in this star sea! It was not just the Hunger Immortal; Li Buren also noticed this shift in the battle. The more pressure the Hunger Immortal absorbed, the less the Mound-Guarding phantoms had to endure. Consequently, he could borrow even more power. Raising the stakes once more, power equivalent to three Nameless True Immortals abruptly erupted. Already struggling under the threat of the Dao Annihilation Tribulation, the Nameless Hunger Immortal was like a caged bird, finding escape utterly impossible. Li Buren's Dao Net body transformed into strands of rope, binding the Hunger Immortal tightly. As they tightened and locked down, they also slowly "nailed" her into this starry sky. Thud! Thud! Thud! "No!" "Have mercy, Mound-Guarding Lord!" Realizing his intention, the Hunger Immortal cried out in sheer terror. Nameless True Immortals made into Heavenly Pillars— This was no secret in the Immortal Realm. At the very least, she had known of it long ago. Back during her early cultivation, she had even witnessed with her own eyes the laying of a Heavenly Pillar's foundation. Who could have thought she would reenact that very fate today? Yet, despite all her unwillingness, she could not alter the outcome. The scene before the Nameless Hunger Immortal's eyes grew darker and darker. The boundless starlight, mountains, and seas were no longer visible. It was as if she were slowly sinking to the bottom of a fathomless ocean. All she could perceive around her was eternal darkness and increasingly crushing pressure. ... The instant the body of the Nameless Hunger Immortal vanished into the Pitch-Black Star Sea, a Nameless Heavenly Pillar was successfully nailed into this realm of heaven and earth by Li Buren. Yet sensing the faint sounds of Dao Annihilation continuing unabated, Li Buren decisively returned the power borrowed from the Mound-Guarding phantoms. The Origin Bone, the Hunger Immortal Heavenly Pillar, and the five Mound-Guarding phantoms. The levee jointly forged by so many powers was by no means something the current Dao Annihilation Tribulation could submerge. After testing the defenses and finding its efforts futile, the raging tide abruptly receded for the time being. Li Buren examined his Dao Net body. Due to the near approach of the Dao Annihilation tide, it had actually shown signs of direct discorporation. Fortunately, the surge of Dao Annihilation had not lasted long. Within a few deep breaths, Li Buren had returned to normal. "The tide of Dao Annihilation truly ebbs and flows. "Furthermore, there seems to be no pattern to speak of. "In the brief moment a breach is discovered, it can suddenly become tempestuous and overwhelming. "It's almost as if... "It possesses an offensive will of its own."