Chapter 1086: The Legend of Creation

"This dark power might indeed help us escape the Immortal Ruins, but only if we can safely control it." Li Fan's expression grew serious. "Otherwise," he added, "if the world is corrupted by this darkness, the consequences might be no better than being absorbed into the Immortal Ruins."

As the two spoke, the darkness that had consumed half of Mo Rubing's body suddenly expanded further, as if receiving sustenance. It nearly swallowed the entire corpse.

Strangely, however, the rhythmic pulsation emanating from his body never ceased; in fact, it grew even clearer than before. It echoed throughout the desolate dark realm like a throbbing heart, filling Li Fan with an unsettling premonition.

The cultivators in the team also sensed that something was amiss and quickly ordered everyone to retreat temporarily.

Only after they had retreated a significant distance did Li Fan's intense unease slowly subside.

"My suggestion," Li Fan stated, "is to completely seal off this desolate dark realm. Until we understand the true nature of this dark power, we should not approach Mo Rubing's corpse again." He added, "Once I return, I will immediately report this discovery to the Federation. I will inform you as soon as there is any update."

Seeing Li Fan's caution, Cultivator Zhou nodded in apparent agreement, though inwardly he remained somewhat unconvinced.

"There's no need to be overly concerned, fellow Daoist," Cultivator Zhou responded. "Regardless, the fundamental nature of this dark power—its divergence from the Immortal Ruins—will not change. This inherent quality ensures it won't invade the Xuanhuang Realm."

Li Fan simply shook his head, choosing not to elaborate further.

With Mo Rubing dead, Li Fan saw no reason to remain. While his quest for revenge had ended anticlimactically, the discovery of the dark power held immense significance.

After bidding farewell to the members of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, Li Fan swiftly convened the various department members of the Federation, recounting his experience in the desolate dark realm.

"Dark power..." Daoist Baihua was the first to speak. As someone who had survived since ancient times, he was remarkably knowledgeable, despite his mediocre strength.

"I recall a fellow Daoist from years past mentioning something similar," Daoist Baihua began. "He once witnessed, from a distance, his own homeland plummet into the Immortal Ruins—a surreal spectacle where everything disintegrated, forming a bizarre, twisted halo."

"According to his account, as the cultivation world vanished completely into the Immortal Ruins, a massive amount of matter simultaneously surged forth in the opposite direction. Neither physical sight nor spiritual perception could detect it. He was merely grazed by it, yet he immediately sustained severe injuries. Even after his recovery, he was left looking neither human nor ghost-like."

As Daoist Baihua depicted a horrifying image of a cultivator with a face covered in wriggling black holes, everyone's expressions grew solemn.

Layman Qiaogong also seemed to recall something. "Back when the power of the Immortal Ruins first enveloped the Ancestor," he began, "we were quite confident we could weather the calamity. We calculated that the strength of the Ancestor's remaining body at the time would be sufficient to resist the Immortal Ruins' pull. However, while the Immortal Ruins' gravitational pull did indeed intensify..."

Layman Qiaogong's face showed a look of sudden realization. "...the most fundamental reason was the Ancestor's gradually weakening strength! It was as if something crucial was continuously draining away, causing the Ancestor's body to slowly decay."

"At the time, all the elders were utterly perplexed and could only attribute it to the overwhelming power of the Immortal Ruins," Layman Qiaogong continued. "Now, it seems highly probable that what was being lost was precisely this dark power."

After listening to both of them, Li Fan mused, "So you're suggesting that dark power is actually an inherent part of a cultivator's power system. However, its nature is inherently opposite to the Immortal Ruins' gravitational pull, causing it to be forcibly stripped away as one approaches the Ruins."

"In other cultivation worlds, this dark power would detach. But in the Xuanhuang Realm, for some unknown reason, it all converged in one location, remaining intrinsically bound to the Xuanhuang Realm."

"If, one day, the Xuanhuang Realm manages to break free from the Immortal Ruins, the dark power should reintegrate into all things within the Xuanhuang world."

Layman Qiaogong and Daoist Baihua both nodded in agreement after hearing Li Fan's analysis.

At that moment, Liu Ruchen of the Medicine King Sect suddenly spoke up. "Although I haven't personally witnessed this 'dark power'," she said, "I once read a legend about it in an ancient text."

"It's a tale passed down among various human communities, concerning the origin of humanity itself."

"In the beginning, neither humans nor the various cultivation worlds existed. In absolute nothingness, only a few powerful beings roamed freely. Later, one of them, feeling bored, used their own essence to create and open up countless worlds."

"Gradually, the void began to fill. Other beings, drawn by these strange and wondrous worlds, followed suit. Using themselves as prototypes, they created a multitude of different races."

"And the ancestor of humanity was the very first being to create these myriad worlds."

This legend was clearly new to everyone, who listened with rapt attention.

"Although the world became much livelier, these powerful beings soon discovered an anomaly: none of their creations, unlike themselves, were immortal and indestructible; they all had what were called 'lifespan limitations'."

"The vibrancy was merely temporary; soon, the world would revert to silence. Creating out of occasional interest was one thing, but to continue creating indefinitely would become a burden."

"Thus, the powerful beings gradually lost interest in the lives they had created."

"However, one being was different. Unwilling to see his creations simply vanish, he astonishingly defeated his peers, extracted power from them, and bestowed it upon all beings in the world."

"Thus, the creatures of the world gained the ability to reproduce."

Liu Ruchen paused abruptly at this point.

Everyone, engrossed in the tale, subtly gestured for her to continue.

Liu Ruchen merely shrugged. "That's the end of it," she said.

"The rest is just rhetoric about thanking the gods for the grace of creation and so forth."

"The reason I connect this with the dark power is that it might offer insight into how losing or gaining this power truly affects us cultivators."

"If this dark power inherently exists within us but was merely precipitated by the emergence of the Immortal Ruins, doesn't that imply that we are now..."

"...incomplete?"

"What differences are there between us and cultivators from before the Immortal Ruins appeared?"

Layman Qiaogong's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this.

"I knew it! Ever since the calamity of the Immortal Ruins, my comprehension and creativity have seemed far inferior to what they once were."

"Could this be why?"