"Back then, I indeed saw that immortal open his eyes. It seems he truly is still alive."
"To annihilate the Xuanhuang Realm with a single glance through the character Hunger is surely beyond what an ordinary immortal could achieve. Having sat in solitary meditation for tens of thousands of years and attained enlightenment, he is likely not far from breaking through to the realm of the Nameless True Immortal..."
An intangible pressure suddenly welled within Li Fan's heart.
If what Daoist Baihua said was true, then one day, this immortal would awaken from his meditation.
If by that time Li Fan had not managed to escape this Pitch-Black Star Sea...
He would have no choice but to use True Reversion.
In other words, the time he could remain in the Xuanhuang Realm actually had an upper limit.
However, for now, there was no need to worry overly much about this issue.
At least judging from the multiple cycles he had experienced, even up through year seven hundred of the anchor, the Immortal of the Immortal Ruins showed no sign of waking.
*Still, in that lifetime, the obelisks built by the Heavenly Alliance erupted with increasing frequency toward the end. Perhaps they sensed the crisis of the immortal awakening and were forced to take desperate measures,* Li Fan pondered silently.
*Rather than the True Immortal awakening, what I should worry about more is whether forcibly breaking free from the Immortal Ruins' pull, leaving Xuanhuang, and even crossing the High Wall might startle this meditating immortal awake.*
With this thought, Li Fan could not help asking, "Setting aside the origin of the cultivation world's calamity for now, what do you make of that invisible barrier enclosing the Pitch-Black Star Sea?"
Daoist Baihua remained silent for a moment before offering an answer that caught Li Fan somewhat by surprise.
"There are actually two possibilities for that invisible barrier."
"First, it was erected by beings outside the Pitch-Black Star Sea to prevent the calamity brought by the True Immortal seal characters from spreading."
Li Fan nodded slightly. This aligned with the King of Profound Heaven's deduction from years past.
"As for the second possibility..."
Daoist Baihua's tone abruptly deepened. "It is very likely something the Immortal of the Immortal Ruins arranged."
"As mentioned earlier, the path to True Immortality pursued by each immortal is unique. To prevent other immortals from discovering the presence of the character 'Hunger' and disrupting his progress, that immortal seeking enlightenment through it set up measures before meditating—sealing off this star region and isolating it from the outside."
The High Wall had been set up by the Immortal of the Immortal Ruins?
Li Fan was startled at first, but after a moment's reflection, he realized this was indeed not out of the question.
For some reason, he recalled the King of Profound Heaven's past assertion.
Only by breaking through to the True Immortal realm could one lead the Xuanhuang Realm across the High Wall.
*Given how the King of Profound Heaven claimed he was close to reaching it back then, the 'True Immortal' he spoke of should refer to the ordinary immortal realm, not the realm of the Nameless True Immortal.*
*Only by approaching or exceeding the power the Immortal of the Immortal Ruins possessed when erecting the High Wall could one hope to cross it. This makes total sense.*
*When the Immortal Realm collapsed back then, the survivors scattered and fled in all directions. Yet the Immortal of the Immortal Ruins sat down right at the entrance of the Immortal Realm passage to comprehend the Dao upon obtaining the Hunger Formula. Such audacity...*
*Even within the Immortal Realm, that must have been exceedingly rare.*
*Then for him to casually erect a High Wall sealing off the entire Pitch-Black Star Sea is hardly impossible.*
As Li Fan considered it, he began to feel that perhaps the second conjecture was closer to the truth.
If that was truly the case...
*I fear any attempt to escape the Pitch-Black Star Sea will inevitably disturb that Immortal of the Immortal Ruins.*
This was undeniably far more dangerous and seemingly unattainable than confronting Chuanfa.
Yet to seek unfettered longevity, only to discover right at the start of the journey that two insurmountable enemies—the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable and the Immortal of the Immortal Ruins—stood sequentially in his path...
How utterly despairing!
The vast majority of cultivators in the Pitch-Black Star Sea would have had their Dao hearts shatter the moment they learned the truth, losing all will to advance!
Li Fan merely narrowed his eyes, without the slightest dejection in his heart.
Whether Chuanfa or an immortal—even an ethereal Nameless True Immortal...
As long as they blocked his path to longevity, Li Fan would crush them underfoot!
"Alone I walk the path of longevity,
Though the world oppose me, my will remains unbent.
With one sword strike I cleave the star sea's sun,
Heaven weeps, earth mourns, and gods and immortals quake."
Li Fan slowly chanted within his mind, the cold glint in his eyes firm and resolute.
Not far away, Daoist Baihua had no idea what was transpiring, only sensing an inexplicable shift in the aura of the figure before her.
A chill crept over her heart, as though immense doom were about to descend.
Yet the sensation vanished in a flash. When she looked closely again, it was gone without a trace.
It was as if it had merely been her imagination.
However, Daoist Baihua knew that in her current state of the Liuli Body, illusions, hallucinations, and the like were completely impossible.
Therefore...
Daoist Baihua stared at the seemingly harmless, upright Li Fan, her vigilance deepening another fraction.
The Immortal of the Immortal Ruins was still too distant from his current circumstances. After brief consideration, Li Fan suppressed those thoughts for the moment.
He looked toward Daoist Baihua, whose figure was concealed within the golden light, and asked once more, "The immortal realm is not something we can fathom at present. By comparison, I am more curious about your own past."
"Weren't you a survivor of that ancient calamity? Why did you end up inside the fishing pond?"
"And what is your connection to the Dao child Liuli?"
Li Fan's gaze was sharp, and the sealing formations around them quietly reinforced themselves once more.
Daoist Baihua cast a barely perceptible glance at her surroundings and sighed. "Your wariness truly is extraordinary, Fellow Daoist."
"In truth, my presence within the fishing pond was purely an accident."
"As I said earlier, I had no control over it."
Daoist Baihua explained slowly, "That day, we survivors from various realms were gathered together, discussing ways to escape from the Sunken Star Sea."
"Unexpectedly, an inexplicable fluctuation swept through the void and locked onto me."
"I lost consciousness in an instant, and by the time I woke, I was already inside the fishing pond."
Li Fan gave a faint smile. "So you're saying you were caught by the fishing pond simply because of rotten luck?"
Daoist Baihua's voice carried a hint of helplessness. "Yes, and no. The fishing pond automatically scours the starry void for scattered treasures. The rarer an unowned object is, the more likely the pond will target it."
"My technique had reached full mastery, and my body was akin to a dark-light Liuli lotus. Rather than human, I was closer to a magical treasure."
"One can only say it was my destined tribulation."
"I sank within the fishing pond for countless years. Later, by a stroke of fortune, I attached myself to a Liuli Wisdom Fruit whose nature was similar to mine."
"After absorbing a portion of the fruit's energy, I became barely able to maintain my consciousness within the pond."
"And then..."
"I sensed a force tugging at the Liuli Wisdom Fruit and knew this might be my only chance to escape. Thus, together with Liuli, I was reeled out from the fishing pond."
"Heh, but I hid myself well, so none of you ever noticed."
Daoist Baihua spoke calmly.
Chapter 983