Chapter 1169: Inner and Outer Time Difference

Li Fan did not know what the consequences would be if he fell into these voids. Nor did he have a way to discern their presence. He could only resort to a desperate measure: continue using the remaining stone puppets to scout ahead, while he himself avoided the paths where puppets had inexplicably vanished.

As the number of stone puppets steadily decreased, Li Fan's heart gradually sank. At this rate of attrition, it seemed utterly impossible to reach the depths of the Dark Star Sea in this lifetime.

However, what Li Fan feared did not come to pass. When only thirty-three puppets remained, and after soaring through the void for a considerable time, no more puppets suddenly vanished.

"It seems these voids are not widespread throughout the Dark Star Sea. Instead, they are densely concentrated in a specific region."

"Outside the Xuanhuang Realm?" Saint Embryo Li Fan pondered thoughtfully.

With the thirty-three puppets leading the way, Li Fan, transformed into a sword light, followed behind. Their speed continuously increased as they journeyed towards the unknown darkness ahead.

"This is smoother than I anticipated."

"We're already a considerable distance from the Xuanhuang Realm, but my sword-dao avatar of the Xuanhuang Realm hasn't felt any weakening of power."

"That's quite interesting."

By conventional understanding, without the support of world power, the various laws existing outside a world would inevitably weaken to some extent. Yet, this weakening had not occurred. In fact...

The sword dao, which had previously reached its limit in the Xuanhuang Realm and could not advance further no matter how much he comprehended, now, after a period in the void, its bottleneck directly loosened. Even though this Saint Embryo's talent wasn't particularly outstanding, he felt a flood of thoughts and insights arriving uncontrollably. It was as if he had directly transformed into some peerless genius. Saint Embryo Li Fan even felt an urge to cast everything aside and focus all his energy on comprehending the Dao. However, Li Fan suppressed it forcefully by activating the Immortal Heart Mantra. This abnormal phenomenon prompted many conjectures from Li Fan.

"Does the entire Dark Star Sea actually share a single set of laws?"

"The sword dao of the Xuanhuang Realm is part of the common sword dao of the entire Star Sea."

"Outside the world, within the void, one can witness a broader reality. The upper limit is invisibly expanded..."

"Indeed, it's a place where danger and opportunity coexist."

"Perhaps this is also why the Heavenly Doctor and Dharma Conveyor frequently venture into the Dark Star Sea."

Recalling the Heavenly Doctor and Dharma Conveyor, Li Fan's heart grew heavier. He had only been here for a short while yet had gained such remarkable insights. It was hard to imagine what level these two, who had lived in the Star Sea for thousands of years, had reached.

The Heavenly Doctor's advice was indeed invaluable. Even the "illness" of the void, which he had been very cautious about, still descended upon Saint Embryo Li Fan. Without the slightest warning.

Just as Li Fan was immersed in the joy of his impending breakthrough in sword dao comprehension, an inexplicable sense of weakness suddenly washed over him. Upon inner inspection, a black dot indeed appeared within his divine soul. The black dot corroded the divine soul, as if directly occupying the original soul itself. No matter how many soul-protecting treasures Li Fan had consumed earlier, none could stop its invasion. Furthermore, the prepared methods for nourishing the divine soul were ineffective.

"The upper limit of divine soul strength has decreased, rather than the divine soul itself being damaged."

Saint Embryo Li Fan grew somewhat solemn. Fortunately, the black dot was not spreading too quickly, and Li Fan still had time to take appropriate countermeasures.

Within his divine soul, a sword shadow appeared. The sword light flashed, directly severing the portion of the divine soul occupied by the black dot! As the divine soul was divided, Saint Embryo Li Fan's sword body instantly split into two. The part not corroded by the black dot abruptly accelerated, fleeing from its original location. The infected half, however, ceased its movement. It sat cross-legged in the void, concentrating on comprehending the inexplicable blackness within the weakened divine soul.

The pain of splitting the divine soul was indescribable. Even with the blessing of the Immortal Heart Mantra, Saint Embryo Li Fan felt his vision darken and almost fainted outright. A feeling of weakness even greater than that caused by the black dot's corrosion immediately surged through him; he disregarded the pain and debilitation. He hastily absorbed the essence of the previously refined soul-nourishing treasures. Without the black dot's suppressive effect, Saint Embryo Li Fan's clean divine soul slowly began to strengthen again.

"This is what they call 'scraping the bone to heal the wound'," Li Fan murmured with a sigh. It was precisely because the new method was so extraordinary, ensuring that his cultivation foundation remained indestructible and his body undamaged. Furthermore, he had built his cultivation foundation upon the Xuanhuang sword dao. Only then could he support such reckless division of his own divine soul, rather than instantly becoming imbecilic.

"Unfortunately, without the Five Elements Grand Cave Heaven and the Limitless Fullness-Emptiness Method, relying on external objects won't be a long-term solution after all."

"With each division, I become a little weaker than before."

"I hope I can persevere until I reach the depths of the Dark Star Sea."

Li Fan closed his eyes, temporarily cast aside all distracting thoughts, and began to heal his soul wounds.

Meanwhile, the other portion that had been infected by the black dot and left behind in the void had completely met its demise. It was a more desperate and terrifying end than death by old age. Just like a mortal afflicted with Alzheimer's, the half that had been comprehending the black dot found its thoughts slowing down. Its mind became increasingly dull, to the point where even what it wanted to do required a long time to recall. Even when synchronized consciousness from the other body was transmitted, it seemed to be blocked by layers, utterly incomprehensible. Ultimately, it completely sank into mental stagnation. Like the divine soul, it transformed completely into a dead silence.

"Just like this Dark Star Sea."

Xuanhuang Realm, Derivation Jade Space.

Li Fan's main body felt a chill in his heart as he received the visual information transmitted by the Saint Embryo. What made him frown was not the invisible voids or the black dot affliction in the Star Sea. It was the time difference between his main body and the Saint Embryo. The Saint Embryo, having transformed into a sword and utilized the vast power of the Star Sea, had traveled a considerable distance from the Xuanhuang Realm. Thus, Li Fan discovered that between the Xuanhuang Realm and the depths of the Dark Star Sea... the flow of time was out of sync.

"It seems it's still affected by the Immortal Ruins."

"While not as terrifying as the Immortal Ruins' edge, where a moment can equal a thousand years, it's still slower than the time flow in other parts of the Dark Star Sea."

"Currently, the ratio is approximately one to two."

"And as the Saint Embryo moves further away, this ratio continues to increase."

Li Fan couldn't help but ponder further.

"The Dark Star Sea within the High Wall is inevitably affected by the Immortal Ruins, to varying degrees."

"Does that mean the flow of time inside and outside the High Wall is also different?"

"Is it possible that tens of thousands of years have passed in the Xuanhuang Realm since the disaster that severed the ancient immortal path?"

"While outside the High Wall, perhaps..."

"...even more time has elapsed?"

Upon this thought, Li Fan involuntarily closed his eyes, concealing the faint glint within them.