Huangfu Song seemed to have grown accustomed to Li Fan's encyclopedic knowledge.
When Li Fan posed this tricky, bizarre question, Huangfu Song showed not the slightest surprise.
Instead, he sneered and countered, "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"
"If you're really that curious, you can just feel it for yourself in a bit."
Rebuffed by Huangfu Song, Li Fan did not take it to heart.
From what little he knew, since the Heavenly Profound Mirror was inextricably linked to the ancient Profound Heaven Sect's supreme treasure, the Profound Heaven Treasure Mirror, there was a very high probability that the Spirit-Dissolving Stone and the Immortal-Severing Stone were the same thing.
Huangfu Song's retort had hit the mark by coincidence, and he was right.
Li Fan had used an Immortal-Severing Stone back in the Fallen Immortal Realm.
Once he saw the Spirit-Dissolving Stone shortly, he would naturally know whether the two were one and the same.
...
The Ten-Thousand-Li Flame-Scorched Shoal was truly a scorched expanse stretching for ten thousand li.
The Dust-Crossing Boat flew at full speed for several days, and all Li Fan saw was the same unchanging, apocalyptic desolation.
Between heaven and earth, only scorching heat endured, devoid of any traces of other life.
Throughout the journey, bursts of molten fire erupted from beneath the ground from time to time.
Like dark red dragons leaping from the depths, they threw the surrounding space into violent turbulence and chaos.
Faced with such terrifying sights, the Dust-Crossing Boat had no choice but to take detours.
Danger came not only from below.
Lethal perils also threatened from overhead at any moment.
Without any pattern, meteors and streaking fire would suddenly rain down from the sky,
colliding with the ground and unleashing terrifying, cataclysmic blasts of energy.
Li Fan had watched with his own eyes as an enormous fiery meteor plummeted in the distance.
The resulting shockwave, carrying a blazing torrent of fire, had tossed the Dust-Crossing Boat like duckweed in a gale, sending it tumbling out of control again and again.
"Just what kind of godforsaken place is this..."
In the Ten-Thousand-Li Flame-Scorched Shoal, peril lurked at every step; a moment of carelessness meant death.
Seeing such a sinister domain for the first time, Li Fan could not help feeling a degree of solemnity.
Fortunately, the helmsman, Huangfu Song, was vastly experienced and had visited before.
After five days in total, the group arrived at their destination without catastrophe: the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine.
Even from far away, Li Fan knew they had arrived without Huangfu Song needing to announce it.
It was simply that the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine stood out too starkly amidst the Ten-Thousand-Li Flame-Scorched Shoal.
A slender, winding cyan fissure lay abruptly across the crimson earth,
like a wound gouged deep into the earth, cutting far below.
The seemingly all-destroying molten fire seen along the way constantly surged, lashing at the deep cyan chasm.
Yet the moment it drew close, it transformed from crimson to cyan in an instant.
From molten fire, it turned into currents of dark cyan-green vapor that billowed high into the sky, rushing straight into the clouds.
"Watch out. Things might get a bit bumpy next."
As the Dust-Crossing Boat plunged into the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine, Huangfu Song's "well-intentioned" reminder suddenly sounded in Li Fan's ears.
Before his words faded, the speeding Dust-Crossing Boat instantly lost its power.
Even its forward momentum vanished without a trace,
leaving it falling straight toward the ravine's depths.
Li Fan also sensed the immense power within the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine that extinguished all spiritual energy.
In an instant, he was rendered no different from a mortal.
Plummeting rapidly, his heart leaped into his throat.
Inside the boat, cries of alarm erupted one after another.
Just as Li Fan almost thought the vessel was about to crash and kill everyone aboard,
a powerful gust of air mysteriously welled up from the bottom of the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine,
surging head-on against the falling Dust-Crossing Boat.
As though swept by a violent gale, the boat rocked fiercely while its descent gradually slowed.
When the updraft vanished, the Dust-Crossing Boat came to a halt, steadying itself with difficulty.
"Everyone, come out."
At Huangfu Song's command, the passengers emerged from the cabins onto the deck.
"Hahaha! Brother Huangfu! Long time no see!"
A hearty laugh boomed out. Moments later, a lean, bare-chested man leapt up from below, landing directly on the Dust-Crossing Boat.
With a loud bang, the entire vessel shook slightly under the impact.
"Brother Dongfang! It has been too long!" A broad smile instantly plastered Huangfu Song's fat face as he stepped forward warmly to embrace Dongfang.
"Twenty-three years have passed since we parted at the Thousand-Page Forest of Books. Brother Dongfang, your bearing is as magnificent as ever, undiminished by the years!"
Releasing each other, Huangfu Song sized Dongfang up with admiring clucks of his tongue.
"I can't compare to Brother Huangfu's advancing cultivation—it turns me green with envy!" Dongfang showed no reservations, patting Huangfu Song's big belly with a laugh.
Huangfu Song was not offended in the slightest. "Likewise, likewise!"
While the two exchanged greetings, Li Fan quietly observed this cultivator named Dongfang.
He could sense no ripple of spiritual energy from him either.
Yet the jump he had just made from the ravine below onto the Dust-Crossing Boat seemed to rely purely on physical strength alone.
Though he looked rather lean, the sharp contours of his muscles revealed the explosive power coiled within.
This was the first time Li Fan had encountered someone with such an overwhelmingly powerful physical body.
"Brother Huangfu, rest here for a few days. In half a month at most, the grand formation here will be finished," Dongfang told Huangfu Song.
With that, a strange cry suddenly issued from his throat.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, vaguely finding the sound familiar.
Suddenly, the "ground" upon which the Dust-Crossing Boat rested began to tremble.
A distant, resonant cry echoed from the ground beneath.
Then, this patch of ground began to fly and move,
diving further down toward the depths of the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine.
"This is..."
"A Realm-Rifting Whale?"
Li Fan was slightly taken aback.
Amidst the startled cries of everyone on board, he finally saw clearly that what carried the Dust-Crossing Boat was not ground at all,
but an enormous black beast.
Its appearance was remarkably similar to the Realm-Rifting Whale he had once seen sealing off the mortal minor world.
"The updraft that broke the Dust-Crossing Boat's fall earlier seems to have been blown out by this strange whale as well."
As the colossal beast dove deeper, Li Fan watched closely, deep in thought.
"It's not a Realm-Rifting Whale. It's much smaller. It just looks somewhat similar."
The Spirit-Dissolving Ravine seemed bottomless; the giant beast flew downward for a long time without reaching the very bottom.
Along the cliff faces on both sides, many exposed cyan stones were visible.
Several cultivators dressed in peculiar garments hovered in midair.
Holding hammers and spikes forged from unknown materials, they were mining Spirit-Dissolving Stones.
Now and then, formation masters clad in standard Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals uniforms brushed past the giant beast in a hurry.
As though unaffected by the Spirit-Dissolving Stones, they could still channel their internal spiritual power.
Yet the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine was not truly a bottomless abyss after all.
After roughly half a day, the whale-like beast let out a cheerful cry,
and the group finally arrived at the bottom of the Spirit-Dissolving Ravine.
A long, teal-green river traversed the deep chasm.
Chapter 373