Chapter 1168: White Day Sword Star Appears

After finishing his act in front of Shang Shaojun, Saint-embryo Li Fan then turned his full attention to observing the changes outside the Dust-Crossing Boat.

At this moment, the Dust-Crossing Boat had already reached the world's boundary.

The entire Xuanhuang Realm was beneath him, visible in its entirety.

Li Fan had once observed the Xuanhuang Realm from such a perspective. However, at that time, the Xuanhuang Realm, much like what he had seen through the long-distance teleportation array, was enveloped by a hazy yellow glow, resembling a large ball of light. The details of the world's interior and the landscapes on the ground were completely obscured.

But now, influenced by the immense gravitational pull from the depths of the starry sea, a part of that faint yellow glow had been peeled away, revealing the true appearance of the world hidden beneath.

Saint-embryo Li Fan saw the distorted white mist barrier, and…

"Monsters sewn together from severed limbs and flesh."

This phrase suddenly surfaced in Li Fan's mind.

Even from high above, the subtle differences between various regions were discernible. While beings within the states might find it difficult to distinguish, looking down from beyond the Xuanhuang Realm revealed this disharmony instantly.

Saint-embryo Li Fan quickly snapped out of his brief daze.

The Dust-Crossing Boat emitted creaking sounds, a sign that it was under intense external pressure. Saint-embryo Li Fan felt no fear whatsoever, ignoring it, and even accelerated the Dust-Crossing Boat's speed again.

After completely departing from the Xuanhuang Realm, he felt his surroundings suddenly grow dark. It was as if the sun had instantly dropped below the horizon at dusk.

Gloom, coldness, deathly silence… All sorts of sensations flooded Saint-embryo Li Fan's mind.

The Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra spontaneously activated, protecting Li Fan from these negative emotions.

"What I knew through images and puppets truly differs from experiencing it firsthand."

"Neither the synchronized perception of puppets nor the lingering effects in the Medicine King Cauldron are as real as this moment."

As Saint-embryo Li Fan was thinking this, he suddenly turned his head to look. In that very instant, an inexplicable sense of insecurity arose within him. It was as if something might suddenly appear behind him and deliver a fatal blow. Even though his divine sense scan clearly indicated no danger behind him, his inner feeling persistently urged him to turn his head and see for himself. Only when he finally confirmed that there was no imagined danger, did the strange sensation in his heart slowly recede.

At this moment, the Dust-Crossing Boat's earlier faint creaking had turned into a roaring clamor. It was as if countless ancient beasts were constantly crashing into the hull, and cracks began to appear on the boat. The inscribed formations also showed signs of shattering.

Saint-embryo Li Fan, however, was already prepared to abandon the boat. Ninety-nine sword shadows suddenly appeared around him, swirling constantly. They carved out a buffer zone of fractured absolute space. Saint-embryo Li Fan's body slowly withered, losing its fleshy color. Instead, it began to display an eerie metallic sheen.

Although the immense power from the depths of the starry sea did indeed have some effect on the Immortal Ruins' gravitational pull, the Immortal Ruins were, after all, fighting on home ground, and some time had passed since the anomaly, so the unknown power from the starry sea had significantly weakened. Thus, the Dust-Crossing Boat did not drift towards the depths of the starry sea, unlike the stone puppets he had previously deployed. Instead, it was inevitably and slowly pulled down towards the Immortal Ruins.

However… Neither the curvature of the trajectory change nor the magnitude of the speed variation was comparable to when Li Fan had previously piloted the Medicine King Cauldron and deliberately rushed into the Immortal Ruins.

"My guess was indeed correct! This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to escape the Xuanhuang Realm!"

Seeing that the Dust-Crossing Boat was about to completely shatter, Saint-embryo Li Fan no longer hesitated.

"Ten Thousand Swords as One!"

The indistinct forms of thousands of rusty swords from the Sword Tomb faintly appeared behind him, and a moment later, all these sword shadows melted into his body. The dark void around the Dust-Crossing Boat was illuminated, and a dazzling white light erupted from Li Fan's body, completely engulfing his form. Man and Sword became one. Then, a brilliant sword light, as if splitting heaven and earth, was instantly unleashed. The Dust-Crossing Boat was swallowed by the sword light, vanishing without a trace. The white sword light, however, moved away from the Immortal Ruins, resolutely heading towards the depths of the starry sea!

This sword light was exceptionally bright and dazzling. Even in the sky of the Xuanhuang Realm below, a star instantly appeared that could rival the great sun in the daytime sky.

At this moment, countless cultivators cast their gazes towards Saint-embryo Li Fan's location. And Shang Shaojun was instantly lost in thought, feeling a profound sense of loss in her heart.

The sword light was unparalleled, moving forward at great speed. Saint-embryo Li Fan felt the restraints of the Immortal Ruins diminishing. The reason for such smooth progress, apart from transforming into the Qi of the Black Sword Heaven and unleashing an ultimate strike, was primarily due to the influence of the mysterious power from the depths of the starry sea.

Outside the Xuanhuang Realm, there was no interference from the various laws of the world. Therefore, he could more clearly sense the remaining power in the void.

"Unlike the Immortal Ruins' perpetual gravitational pull, this power of the starry sea is like a tide, intermittent and vast."

Saint-embryo Li Fan felt waves of immense power surging towards him, even giving him the illusion that he was currently piloting a small boat, adrift on a stormy sea.

"Hm? Are those the stone puppets I placed earlier?"

Not long after advancing through the void, Saint-embryo Li Fan once again felt the connection that had been broken earlier. But what made Li Fan's heart skip a beat was that not all of the puppets were still intact. At least one-third of the puppets had vanished for unknown reasons!

"It's possible they were unlucky and failed to escape the Immortal Ruins' shackles."

"But it's also possible…"

Saint-embryo Li Fan was accelerating towards the puppets' location. But suddenly, he unconsciously slowed down. Because just moments ago, another one of the seventy-four surviving puppets had inexplicably disappeared! Right within his perception and monitoring! It vanished without a trace! And Li Fan had no idea how that puppet had disappeared!

"The Dark Starry Sea is indeed fraught with dangers."

A chill inexplicably rose in Saint-embryo Li Fan's heart. Controlling his own flying speed, he let the remaining seventy-three puppets take the lead, while he followed from a distance. From then on, puppets that suddenly disappeared now and then revealed to Li Fan the treacherous nature of the Dark Starry Sea's void.

As more puppets disappeared, Li Fan slowly came to a realization.

"It doesn't seem like these puppets were attacked by some inexplicable entity, but rather that the places they passed through were wrong."

"There…"

"Even space itself ceases to exist. Only pure emptiness remains."

"It's like encountering one dark, bottomless cavern after another on a flat road; if one accidentally steps into it, they vanish without a trace, never to be seen alive or dead again."

While Li Fan was pondering this, another puppet disappeared. Only sixty-one remained.