The contradiction between the two made Li Fan frown slightly.
"Do they only erupt into a collective riot when they appear in the Xuanhuang Realm?"
Pondering this, Li Fan bypassed Qin Tang's stone statue and hurried toward the depths of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace.
His destination was an area he had never set foot in before: the sect master's residence.
In other words, where Hanhai was located.
With his current perspective, recalling the clashes he had once witnessed within the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, Hanhai had at most been at peak Dao Integration—never having attained Longevity.
Not to mention that he had perished long ago, reduced to existing as an anomaly.
Hence, Li Fan harbored no concerns about facing danger on this trip.
What weighed more heavily on his mind was whether the Heavenly Physician was lurking in some corner right now, watching his every move.
Soon, he arrived at the rearmost complex of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, entirely enveloped in a blue protective orb of light.
The seal locking down the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace originated here, spreading out to encompass the whole area.
Li Fan observed it for a moment and noticed invisible shockwaves rippling out from the blue sphere from time to time.
It was precisely these shockwaves that had caused the seal to gradually degrade.
"This is..."
Li Fan looked surprised.
Having thoroughly studied the Mending the Heavens Record, he quickly recognized that even in slumber, Hanhai's emotions were suffering enormous turmoil.
This caused an uncontrollable leakage of energy, releasing outward shockwaves.
Much like a mortal's sleepwalking, it was, strictly speaking, a form of illness in cultivators.
"Could it be that the Heavenly Physician guided me here to alleviate Hanhai's agony?"
"Surely not. If it were merely running an errand to reinforce the seal..."
"There must be a deeper meaning behind this."
After another moment of deliberation, Li Fan made up his mind.
Separating an infinitesimally faint, virtually blank wisp of divine sense, he passed through the blue protective membrane and slipped inside the sphere.
A blue-and-white orb floated in midair.
It bore an uncanny resemblance to the Vast Sea Pearl, yet possessed clear differences.
The sphere spun rapidly. Above the blue and white, a streak of black stood out with glaring sharpness.
Like an inescapable nightmare, it clung persistently to the blue-and-white orb, impossible to banish.
"Hanhai's true form has vanished, leaving only this pearl?"
After searching around and finding nothing else inside, Li Fan sighed softly.
"It seems that streak of black is the root of Hanhai's torment..."
After a brief hesitation, Li Fan ultimately plunged this wisp of divine sense straight into it.
A dizzying whirlwind engulfed him.
It felt as though he had entered a Fallen Immortal Realm, latching onto a completely new body.
He had no control over it and could only passively observe and experience whatever unfolded through this vessel.
"Venerable Heavenly Physician has been gone for so long. Who knows if this will actually succeed?"
Hanhai sat upright in the grand sect hall. At his feet, Taiyi—the turtle-snake currently no larger than an ordinary tortoise—spoke in a muffled voice.
"Before leaving, Venerable Heavenly Physician stated that there is at least a ninety percent chance of success. You and I ought to have a little more faith in Him," Hanhai replied with an easy smile, comforting the creature in contrast to Taiyi's gloomy expression.
Taiyi gave a slight shake of its head, curling both snake and turtle into its shell.
"I still have a hundred thousand years left to live. What do I have to fear? If worst comes to worst, I'll find a random pond and take a nap. Once whatever catastrophe has passed, what can anyone do to me?"
"I just heard from that boy Qin Tang that several other sects are already getting restless."
"Lately, they've secretly started spreading talk that it might be better to surrender..."
Hanhai snorted coldly. "Admitting defeat before the battle is even fought? Venerable Tianjue will deal with such scum!"
Taiyi gave a bitter chuckle. "How is it 'admitting defeat before the battle'? The struggle has dragged on for so long, and everyone's lamp is practically out of oil. It's out of desperation..."
"If you ask me, we can't blame them entirely. If this war drags on any longer, there won't be a shred of hope in sight..."
Hanhai barked sharply, cutting Taiyi off. "Enough!"
"How can you think that way too?"
"We have fallen into such a dire state, but do you think the other side is having an easy time?"
"At this stage, it's a test of who can hold out until the very end. If we surrender now, what meaning would the sacrifices of so many comrades hold?"
Taiyi sighed softly, falling silent.
A deathly stillness settled over the grand hall.
After a long while, as if to ease the awkward tension between them, Taiyi spoke up again: "Speaking of Venerable Tianjue, it feels as though I haven't seen Him in a long time either..."
Right then, screams from disciples suddenly echoed from outside.
"Venerable..."
"No!"
"Run, Venerable has gone mad!"
...
The cries were so abrupt that both Hanhai and Taiyi instantly paled.
Without a word, they streaked out one after the other as two beams of light—one blue, one black—racing straight toward the source of the screams.
In midair, they witnessed a scene they would never forget.
The revered Venerable Tianjue stood with closed eyes.
Wielding the Heaven Fiend Sword, He was slaughtering the disciples of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace without restraint.
With Venerable Tianjue's profound cultivation, the disciples had no hope of resisting His strikes.
Flashes of black sword light swept past, ruthlessly reaping the lives of the sect's disciples.
Hanhai's eyes nearly tore from their sockets as he roared, "Stop!"
A colossal blue palm descended from the sky, slamming toward Tianjue.
Tianjue did not spare Hanhai a glance. With a mere flick of sword light from the Heaven Fiend Sword, the blue hand was ripped to shreds.
The sword light pressed forward undiminished, hurtling toward Hanhai.
"Watch out!"
Taiyi expanded into its full form, using its indestructible shell to intercept the black sword light.
Boom!
Amid the massive tremor, Taiyi violently coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Hanhai regained some measure of reason.
"Hold off Tianjue! I'll cover the disciples' retreat!"
With that, threads of blue light shot toward every corner of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, seeking to rescue the disciples fleeing in terror.
Yet...
At that exact instant, the Heaven Fiend Sword erupted with thousands of black rays.
Striking second yet arriving first, they intercepted all of Hanhai's rescue attempts!
The black light pierced through every blue thread, dragging them backward so that they snapped back to Hanhai's side in an instant.
Before Hanhai could react, the strands pinned him in midair like a barrage of black needles!
"You aren't Venerable Tianjue?!"
Though his limbs were immobilized, Hanhai could still speak.
Terror filled his face.
"Who on earth are you?" Hanhai roared in fury and despair.
The figure resembling Venerable Tianjue ignored Hanhai entirely.
With eyes closed, He directed the Heaven Fiend Sword, mercilessly harvesting the lives of the remaining disciples of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace.
As sect master, Hanhai could only watch helplessly as his disciples were slaughtered before his very eyes, one after another.
"No... no..."
When no aura of life remained in the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace aside from their own, Hanhai could not even muster the strength to curse.
Trembling all over, tears of blood streamed from his eyes.
"Who... are... you... really..."
Chapter 953