Chapter 1252: Star Sea Origin Intent

Information regarding the Netherworld was a top secret of the Immortal Alliance. The Alliance envoy himself had very little additional knowledge about it.

To avoid alerting anyone, Li Ping decided not to tamper with the envoy further.

When the Immortal Alliance envoy, Jia Su, gradually awoke, he had no idea that his confidential thoughts had been fully exposed to the person before him.

He continued to praise, "The divine art of the Cult Master is indeed extraordinary. Even I, while reading it, found myself unknowingly falling into a state of self-forgetfulness."

Li Ping chuckled, "If it proves useful to the Immortal Alliance, that would be excellent. However, could we perhaps discuss the annual percentage of source power to be submitted?"

Before he could finish, the Immortal Alliance envoy's expression subtly changed, and he earnestly replied, "Cult Master, everything else is negotiable. But the Alliance's duties cannot be taken lightly."

The envoy hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice, saying, "To be frank, the higher-ups originally intended to levy even more this time..."

Seeing Li Ping's extremely displeased expression, as if he might erupt at any moment, the envoy quickly tried to reassure him, "However, Cult Master, haven't you just performed a meritorious deed? I'll try to speak on your behalf; we should be able to get some reduction..."

Without waiting for Li Ping to react, the Immortal Alliance envoy hastily bid farewell and departed.

The Emperor's anger slowly faded, replaced by an profound calm.

Leaving the puppet to continue overseeing the Lingyuan Cult followers, Li Ping returned to the Holy Dynasty.

The profound technique given to the Immortal Alliance was indeed a high-grade method for better developing a cultivator's internal source power, and it contained no hidden tricks.

After all, given its connection to the Sea of Darkness, the Immortal Alliance would undoubtedly treat it with extreme caution and repeatedly verify its properties.

The reason Li Ping passed this method to the Immortal Alliance was simply that, as its creator, he could roughly sense the locations of cultivators using it. He could even perceive the source power these cultivators generated while practicing with the method's enhancement.

The Sea of Darkness was endlessly dark, engulfing everything. Even the Netherworld race only operated within their familiar territories.

To locate the "Piercing Spear" that the Immortal Alliance had driven into the Sea of Darkness, a bit of ingenuity was naturally required.

However, it would still take some time for this method to be widely adopted.

Li Ping first resumed his uncompleted plan for the puppet body to gain enlightenment outside of Xuanhuang.

After the final refinements over the past few days, the puppet body now perfectly met the Emperor's requirements.

In fact, whenever his consciousness descended upon it, an instinctive urge to switch bodies would involuntarily surge, growing stronger each time.

As a result, Li Ping also reduced the frequency of testing this puppet body.

The large quantity of Ethereal Flowing Crystals collected in the Hongze Realm was also sufficient for him to escape the Immortal Ruin's gravitational pull and successfully fly out of Xuanhuang.

Without informing anyone, and concealed by array formations and the aura of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao, a rainbow light silently soared towards the firmament.

In an instant, it reached the world's periphery.

After losing the protection of Xuanhuang, the immense suction from the Immortal Ruin caused Li Ping's expression to subtly change.

Knowing of the existence of True Immortal power and experiencing it firsthand were two entirely different matters.

Only when truly confronted with the majestic divine power of a True Immortal, vast as mountains and seas, could one comprehend one's own insignificance.

This held true even for the Emperor, who was among the most powerful beings currently in the Xuanhuang Realm.

"The path is arduous and long."

The Emperor sighed softly to himself, sequentially releasing rainbow lights to counteract the Immortal Ruin's suction.

Meanwhile, the puppet body rapidly flew in the opposite direction.

The light of the Xuanhuang Realm gradually dimmed, leaving only darkness all around.

Unlike the darkness of the Sea of Darkness, the starry sea was utterly silent.

And...

Even though nothing seemed to exist ahead, the Emperor instinctively sensed that danger awaited him there.

He decisively changed course, bypassing that area.

Throughout the subsequent journey, he could predict and avoid any rampant residual immortal power in the Sea of Utmost Darkness that might pose a threat, as if he possessed prescience.

It was as if he was not stepping into this star sea for the first time.

The Emperor's puppet body narrowed its eyes, following an inexplicable sensation as it continued to delve deeper into the Sea of Utmost Darkness.

He had already perceived that the upper limit of the laws in the star sea was higher than that in the Xuanhuang Realm.

However, his destination was not at the base of the high wall mentioned in the sword-light message.

Instead, it was the place within this Sea of Utmost Darkness where new upper-limit laws were being nurtured.

There, the efficiency of enlightenment would be at its peak.

The rainbow light traversed rapidly, as if the concept of time had ceased to exist.

The Emperor gradually abandoned the guidance of his premonition, instead altering his direction to follow the mysterious rhythm inexplicably surging through the desolate star sea.

It was as if he were truly in an ocean, having found a turbulent undercurrent beneath a calm surface.

His speed suddenly surged, covering millions of miles in an instant.

Tremendous forces tore at him from all sides; even the protective rainbow light shattered under this unknown, immense power.

Li Ping remained focused, treating the risk of perishing as nothing. He calmly comprehended the mysterious changes around him, something he had never witnessed in the Xuanhuang Realm.

"Destruction and rebirth."

"People in the Xuanhuang Realm view this silent starry sky as the Sea of Utmost Darkness. However, unknown to them, life is slowly recovering within it."

"It is currently in its most primordial stage, and the entire process is so slow that it would be extremely difficult for human observation to detect it."

"This has nothing to do with comprehension. It is purely a distinction that different life forms are bound to exhibit at different scales..."

"But..."

A peculiar rhythm slowly awakened within the Emperor's puppet body.

It was the unique aura of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao!

Indeed, this time the Emperor had secretly sent the puppet body out of the Xuanhuang Realm for enlightenment without informing anyone in the Holy Dynasty.

But how could it escape the notice of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao?

At the Heavenly Dao's insistent request, with the resolve of no return, a wisp of its consciousness detached and attached itself to the puppet body.

It accompanied the puppet, leaving Xuanhuang and venturing deep into the starry sea.

Its purpose was different from years ago.

This time, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao had come to "learn the Dao"!

Before its destruction, the Sea of Utmost Darkness's upper-limit laws already surpassed those of Xuanhuang.

Although the Xuanhuang Realm had merely survived until now, its intrinsic strength had not been elevated over a long period.

Despite absorbing fragments from numerous cultivation worlds, which were then claimed by cultivators, its overall strength had only slightly increased compared to before.

However, the nascent Dao laws developing within the Sea of Utmost Darkness were inherently superior to those of the Xuanhuang Realm.

Certainly...

For the Xuanhuang Realm, observing these new entities in the Sea of Utmost Darkness was also a great opportunity.

Previously, there was neither a trustworthy cultivator suitable for possession nor a method to escape the Immortal Ruin's gravitational pull.

Therefore, even if the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao had this intention, it could not implement it.

But this time, with the fated Emperor present, everything changed.

Li Ping also fully relinquished control of the puppet body to the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao.

He merely acted as an observer, sensing and comprehending.

Such a simple act would have been almost impossible for any other cultivator in the Xuanhuang Realm.

It was like a child who had not ventured outside for a long time encountering an astonishingly beautiful scene.

Li Ping felt exhilaration, throbbing excitement, and more from the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao...

And the increasingly luminous Sea of Utmost Darkness.

Calling it luminous might be an exaggeration.

It was merely an occasional scattering of tiny lights.

Yet, in this originally dark and silent star sea, they were remarkably conspicuous.

The puppet body seemed to vanish, and his perspective suddenly zoomed out by countless magnitudes.

The center of the entire Sea of Utmost Darkness, not in a spatial sense but in a vital sense, appeared before Li Ping.

It was like a faintly beating heart, weak but undeniably representing life, hope, and the future.

The Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao and Li Ping arrived at the heart's base.

They greedily seized and absorbed the revitalizing power of the star sea, which emanated outwards with each beat.

In an instant, countless images flooded their minds.

There were worlds perishing and star seas rising and falling.

There were beings growing powerful, favored by the heavens.

And shadows like terrifying beasts, lurking like dark mist, ready to pounce at any moment.

Amidst these countless complexities of change and constancy, the Sea of Utmost Darkness, after its destruction, still steadily and persistently attempted to burst forth with new life.

While this was certainly the fundamental Dao of this star sea, it was also a profound persistence capable of moving one to tears.

Unable to withstand such vast and pure fundamental Dao intent from the star sea, the puppet body began to disintegrate inch by inch.

But the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao's consciousness and the Emperor Li Ping were, at this moment, free from worry and fear.

"Compared to the entire Sea of Utmost Darkness, what do the calamities suffered by the Xuanhuang Realm amount to?"

"If the star sea can recover from destruction, then the Xuanhuang Realm can surely do the same."

Seizing their final opportunity, both of them tried to imprint as much understanding as possible into their memories.

Li Ping also knew that the fundamental Dao intent of the Sea of Utmost Darkness was not something he could currently fully fathom.

What they called comprehension at this moment was more akin to a blind person touching an elephant.

Everything they saw and comprehended was merely the sliver he wished to see and was capable of perceiving.

Yet, even this insignificant portion, relative to the entire star sea, held profound meaning for them.

Just as the puppet body was on the verge of completely disintegrating and vanishing.

The nascent, recovering consciousness of the star sea seemed to detect the presence of Li Ping and the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao.

It cast a wisp of attention upon them.

However, it was clear that the fragile puppet body was utterly incapable of bearing such immense and incomparable power any longer.

It was annihilated by the vast power.

Nevertheless, before his consciousness completely faded.

With the help of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao, Li Ping saw a fleeting, blurred image.

It appeared and vanished so quickly that Li Ping couldn't even be sure if it was an illusion.

The immortal path crumbled, the star sea was destroyed, and calamity spread.

A figure, whose face and details were indistinguishable, grew increasingly faint.

It completely vanished.

Only its light laughter echoed for a long time within this star sea, where catastrophe was about to spread.

"What does it have to do with me?"

"What does it have to do with me?"

"Hahahaha..."

The Emperor abruptly returned to reality.

He let out a muffled groan and spat out a mouthful of golden blood.

Cat Treasure, who had been sleeping, suddenly looked up and flew at light speed to the still-floating blood.

It directly swallowed the blood.

"Meow! Meow meow!"

Then, seemingly afraid of Li Ping's reproach, Cat Treasure meowed a few times coaxingly.

Circulating his golden source power to slowly repair his internal injuries, Li Ping did not concern himself with Cat Treasure.

His thoughts were entirely focused on the image he had just seen.

"That figure..."

The Emperor's heart was heavy with solemnity.

Anyone unforgettable to this star sea, even in its rebirth from destruction, was certainly not a simple individual.

The mere presence of that memory, lingering briefly in his mind, caused a subtle sense of crisis to emerge within the Emperor.

He was immediately startled and alarmed, slowly forcing himself to stop thinking about it.

But the Emperor soon realized his concerns were unwarranted.

Because even if he didn't actively try to forget, the memory of that figure was uncontrollably fading.

"This situation..."

"It hasn't reached the legendary realm of an Unnamed True Immortal, yet it seems to be just a step away."

The Emperor carefully savored the meaning the nascent star sea wished to convey in that fleeting moment.

"If I'm not mistaken, the mastermind behind the widespread calamities in the star sea is very likely this individual..."

The Emperor frowned slightly, trying to desperately grasp the fading memory in his mind.

Ultimately, a vast amount of details slowly faded away.

All that remained were the four characters: "What does it have to do with me?"

"Immortal Hegan." The Emperor's expression was unreadable.

Seated on his throne, Li Ping remained silent for a long time.

Cat Treasure also seemed to sense something, lowering its body and scanning its surroundings, adopting a hunting posture.

It seemed to be searching for the entity that Li Ping greatly feared.

But in the end, it found nothing.

Cat Treasure then became languid again, falling asleep on Li Ping's shoulder.

The Emperor, meanwhile, began to process the insights gained from his journey deep into the star sea.

It wasn't just him.

Even the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao had begun to undergo changes it hadn't experienced in a long time, thanks to this distant journey.

Like the nascent Sea of Utmost Darkness, these changes were subtle and went unnoticed by most.

But they were indeed happening.

Only a handful of individuals in the world could perceive them.

Great Qi.

Stone Slab, who was chatting with someone in a tea house in Shengjing City, subtly changed expression and looked into the distance.

In the Human Longevity Cauldron space, Ruomu, who was pruning his withered branches, stared in astonishment at the new shoots emerging from the dry, yellow tips.

Tens of thousands of miles underground, the Ancient Earth Vein Tree felt the surging power from the Xuanhuang Realm growing more turbulent without warning, as if something was brewing. It felt both anticipation and trepidation.

"A thousand sails pass by the sunken boat; ten thousand trees bloom before the diseased tree."

In the Yanjue Realm, Li Fan's mind was suddenly filled with these two lines of poetry.

"So, it turns out that one can only gain the greatest insights by using the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao to comprehend the star sea."

"This is because the human perspective is different from the world's perspective."

"It's like when I comprehended the Formless Killing Intent with the help of the Vast Sea Pearl back then."

"Creating the Emperor's clone in this life to help the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao truly was an unexpected stroke of luck."

Li Fan's heart swelled with delight.

Although the connection between him and the Emperor was already very faint.

However, because the impact of the star sea's fundamental Dao intent was so immense, he gained some understanding of the insights of both the Emperor and the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao.

The most crucial point was that he had grasped the method.

As long as he knew the method, he could replicate it in his next life.