These scenes were not merely what Li Fan had personally experienced over years of cycles within Samsara; they also encompassed what he had glimpsed from Sinister Su Bai, Trueness, and even the Infinite Sea.
Countless apocalyptic spectacles, horrific beyond human endurance and utterly terrifying, played out before Situ Xing in an instant.
Even as a former Nameless True Immortal, upon witnessing scenes hundreds of millions of times more horrifying than hell itself, his complexion still paled slightly.
Situ Xing did not look away, taking in every single one of those images. Only after a brief silence did he speak with some difficulty.
Yet he had not changed his convictions because of this: "All living beings perish within the Dao Annihilation; such is their destiny under the immutable tide of fate. As it is said, they are born with the Dao, and they fall with the Dao. No one in this world is born with a responsibility for the life or death of others. Furthermore, in the eyes of True Immortals like us, these..."
"The vast majority cannot even be considered 'living beings.'"
Situ Xing's voice was faint at first, but the further he went on, the firmer it became.
Li Fan sneered. "All those high-sounding words of righteous indignation boil down to just one thing: the weak have no right to survive. Then today, you are the fish on the chopping board, and I hold the cleaver. You are about to be sealed to serve as a Heavenly Pillar—what do you have to say to that?"
Situ Xing parted his lips, but he did not contradict himself. "The strong prey on the weak; I have nothing to say. Being sealed into a Heavenly Pillar is merely due to my inferior skill—it is my own tribulation.
"I merely advise Senior that relying on two or three Heavenly Pillars can only secure safety for a single time and place. If you truly wish to seek salvation, you must journey to the Great World of the Other Shore. With Senior's strength, I imagine that will pose no problem..."
Situ Xing was about to say more, but he suddenly felt the surrounding Great Dao constrict heavily once again.
This time, Li Fan gave him no further chance to argue.
The Great Dao fused into his body; his sight and thoughts were completely frozen and sealed.
Beside the Bone of Yuanshi and the Hunger Immortal, another upright Heavenly Pillar stood within this space.
However, since its foundation was only the shadow of a Nameless Immortal, this third Heavenly Pillar was noticeably "frail" compared to the first two.
In fact, because it was not formed from a true Great Dao, this "Heavenly Pillar" could not help bear much of the pressure from the Dao Annihilation.
Yet Li Fan still intended to seal Situ Xing away.
It was not out of fear of this ancient Dharma King and lower-realm Nameless One. His primary motive was identical to how he treated the Hunger Immortal: to suppress him while slowly extracting past memories from his mind.
In Li Fan's eyes, Situ Xing was worth far more than the Hunger Immortal. For the first half of his life in the Immortal Realm, the Hunger Immortal had been nothing more than an immortal servant to Wuwei.
Situ Xing, on the other hand, was the Governing Immortal Chancellor of the Huang'ai Astral Sector. From the mere scraps of information he had let slip earlier, it was evident he knew countless secrets of the Immortal Realm.
*Immortal Chancellor—judging by the name, he must have been the sovereign of a celestial domain. The Nameless Realm certainly qualifies someone to govern an entire sector. Though Situ Xing himself claims that due to the collateral impact of the Tribulation of Dao Annihilation, his Upper Realm original body's memories are fractured and incomplete...*
*Whatever the truth may be, only what I see with my own eyes counts.*
If the Hunger Immortal's inner mind was merely a loose cluster of glowing light, then Situ Xing's consciousness was akin to a brilliant pearl. Countless thoughts and memories were compressed into an infinitesimal point, incomparably solid. For an outsider to pry into it, they would first have to wrench open a crack in this seamless whole.
Li Fan was indeed a master at manipulating the human heart. After observing carefully for a moment, he spotted the vulnerability in Situ Xing's psyche.
A cold sneer escaped him. *Talks a big game. His true body perishing in the Dao Annihilation has still cast an immense psychological shadow over him. All I need to do is strike from this angle...*
Li Fan formed hand seals.
His avatar Li Buren cooperated in tandem.
Within the Pitch-Black Star Sea, the phantom of Shouqiu, Yuanshi, and the Hunger Immortal—all acting as pillars against the Dao Annihilation—simultaneously began withdrawing their power.
It was as if they intended to let the newly arrived Situ Xing shoulder all the crushing weight alone.
When a great mansion teeters on the brink of collapse, a single timber cannot support it—let alone the apocalyptic Dao Annihilation.
A sound akin to a surging, thunderous tide faintly rolled in from beyond the heavens. Within the Pitch-Black Star Sea, which had just received the nourishment of a relatively intact Great Dao from an outer astral sector, wisps of black Dao Annihilation mist abruptly billowed forth.
Grim and horrifying, like vengeful specters.
The rejuvenating Great Dao instantly fell into disarray once more.
Living beings across the star sea felt an unprompted foreboding of impending doom. Though the vast majority lay asleep in the Xuanhuang Realm's Carefree Paradise, their brows instinctively knit tight, their expressions fraught with unrest.
If ordinary mortals were reduced to such distress, what of Situ Xing, who was holding up the sky "above" on their behalf?
Precisely because he had genuinely experienced the sheer horror of the Tribulation of Dao Annihilation, facing it once again shattered the mental defenses of this lower-realm Nameless One, who had spoken so eloquently moments before, in an instant.
Faced with imminent doom, he no longer possessed any of the composure his earlier words had projected.
He screamed in terror, howling on sheer instinct.
No different from the mortals Li Fan had depicted in the apocalyptic illusions.
"A Nameless True Immortal. Nothing more than this."
Li Fan watched the clownish Situ Xing and sneered with contempt.
The Heavenly Pillar Situ Xing formed alone could not hold out for long, and Li Fan had no desire to let the Dao Annihilation truly descend.
Seizing the opening created by the breach in his victim's defenses, Li Fan sent a strand of divine sense slipping through the fissure in Situ Xing's mental guard, entering his consciousness.
Though it could not compare to the thoughts within Trueness, the overwhelming past that surged forth all at once still plunged Li Fan instantly into stormy, tumultuous waves.
Yet having survived far greater tempests, Li Fan adjusted after a short while and managed to move about with relative ease.
*It seems Situ Xing wasn't lying after all.*
*This sea of mind is indeed fragmented and incomplete.*
Looking left and right, Li Fan found that Situ Xing's thoughts were not presented in a coherent, continuous stream like a normal person's. Instead, every short distance was interrupted by a pitch-black void.
From these voids, Li Fan sensed the aura of Dao Annihilation.
At this very moment, these voids within his thoughts resonated with the true Dao Annihilation outside, slowly expanding outward.
Doubtless, a day would come when they completely swallowed Situ Xing's mind.
*Even though his avatar escaped the Tribulation of Dao Annihilation, his inner mind is still being eroded by it. It isn't just a physical blow, but a spiritual one.*
Li Fan carefully skirted these voids of Dao Annihilation, turning his attention first to the memory closest to him, which was also the most conspicuous.
It was the most glorious moment of Situ Xing's life.
Even after his original body fell, his avatar still remembered it vividly.
It was precisely when Situ Xing attained the Nameless Dao!
Unlike the lonely scene Li Fan had witnessed when the Hunger Immortal attained the Dao, Situ Xing's memory showed countless True Immortal figures flanking him on both sides, watching and offering congratulations.
And far on the horizon, the gathered immortals flanked a towering, majestic figure.
"Congratulations to Situ!"
Amid the chorus of congratulations, Situ Xing bowed deeply from afar toward that towering figure in the distance.
"Bestow the Huang'ai Astral Sector."
"Bestow an Innate Spiritual Treasure."
"Bestow one hundred thousand immortal servants."
...
One decree after another echoed out.
Under the gaze of the gathered immortals, waves of emotion surged through Situ Xing, his heart surging with boundless excitement.
Chapter 1488