Chapter 1254: Infinite Rift Realm

Naturally, in the cultivation world, strength reigns supreme. The crucial point is still the final battle against the Preacher.

As the saying goes, 'He who knows himself is enlightened.' The Saint Emperor was well aware that his current strength still had a clear gap compared to the Preacher. After all, the opponent had dominated Xuanhuang for thousands of years and had attained enlightenment deep within the Star Sea. He was truly unfathomable.

Although the Saint Emperor had just barely reached the limits of the Xuanhuang Realm and had the fortuitous encounter of comprehending the Star Sea's primordial dao intent, he had not yet truly converted this encounter into actual strength.

“I need more time.”

A profound sense of urgency settled deep within the Saint Emperor's heart.

“Time waits for no one.”

Before his journey to the Star Sea, he hadn't felt this way. But ever since his return, an ethereal intuition told him that perhaps not much time was left for him.

The Sun Family.

Sun Luyuan circulated his spiritual energy, warding off the bone-chilling cold surrounding him, and slowly entered the room. Seeing Sun Tianci sitting cross-legged on the bed, neither crying nor fussing, but merely staring blankly, a feeling of helplessness welled up in his heart.

Every family has its own troubles. Outsiders only knew that Sun Tianci was born with the Dao, extraordinarily imposing, but they didn't know that this child, perhaps due to witnessing his birth mother's death at birth, had become extremely indifferent to outsiders. His body naturally emitted an aura of extreme cold, making it difficult for outsiders to approach him. If not for his innate Dao-Integration cultivation, he would likely have starved to death in a few days due to lack of care.

But no matter how extraordinary, he was still just a newborn infant who needed care. The several Dao-Integration experts of the Sun family could only take turns looking after him.

“Ci’er…” Sun Luyuan showed a gentle smile and took out the prepared supreme spiritual liquid. “How about you eat something?”

Sun Tianci merely shook his head slightly, refusing.

A wave of helplessness washed over Sun Luyuan. Then, suddenly remembering something, he softly said, “I visited your father this time. When he learned of your birth, he personally created a cultivation method for you. Have a look…” With that, Sun Luyuan mentally transmitted *Righteous Spirit Ascendant*, created by Li Fan, to Sun Tianci.

Hearing that it was created by his father, whom he had never met, the icy aura around Sun Tianci softened slightly. He slowly read through the words of *Righteous Spirit Ascendant* one by one, seeming to gain some insight, and closed his eyes.

Noticing that the surrounding environment was returning to normal, Sun Luyuan was overjoyed. More importantly, Sun Tianci’s seemingly innate sense of sorrow was also slowly fading.

“What a truly uplifting Righteous Spirit Ascendant!”

“Lu’er still has a way!”

Knowing that the child was currently in a state of Dao comprehension, Sun Luyuan dared not disturb him. He merely gently placed the spiritual liquid aside and quietly withdrew. After sealing the room with a restriction to prevent outside disturbance, he finally felt somewhat relieved.

“It’s good that Tianci has such a disposition. Staying indoors, disappearing from public view, people will forget his existence in just a few years.”

“During this period of great change, our Sun family should focus primarily on lying low and preserving our strength.”

Thinking of this, Sun Luyuan couldn't help but recall the mission the Sacred Dynasty had assigned him this time. Since joining the Sacred Dynasty, he had lived a very leisurely life. The Sacred Dynasty had never issued any mandatory tasks. His previous plan to abduct Immortal Kongyou to the Sacred Dynasty to serve as Dao companions for the Saint Emperor’s disciples had been interrupted by Xuyuan Xian’s sudden request. Now, he couldn't even contact Xuyuan Xian, so the plan had to be temporarily shelved.

This left Sun Luyuan, who had always wanted to earn merits and increase his influence, feeling somewhat depressed. Finally, he had received an assignment from the Sacred Dynasty, but it was truly troublesome and he couldn't find an opportunity to act.

“The Nether Prison…”

“Isn't that just a place to imprison major criminals? What does the Sacred Dynasty want by getting involved?” Sun Luyuan muttered to himself.

It wasn't difficult to enter the Nether Prison. However, to infiltrate the Nether Prison and maintain constant contact with the outside world—that was truly challenging.

“The Nether Prison operates as an independent system within the Immortal Alliance, governed by the Preachers on a rotating basis. To interfere…”

Although the Sacred Dynasty's current assignment didn't explicitly state the consequences of failure, Sun Luyuan knew it was definitely a test from the Sacred Dynasty. Faces flashed through Sun Luyuan's mind as he began to consider a list of individuals who could assist him with this matter. After a long time, he still found no solutions.

Habitually, he went to the underground secret chamber. His younger brother, Sun Luyao, who was also the spirit of the Limitless Mirror, saw his expression and couldn't help but ask for the reason.

“Brother, I’ve found some information that might be useful.”

Sun Luyuan looked at the message from his brother, and his tightly furrowed brows relaxed.

“Perhaps it can work.”

“I'll give it a try.”

Just as he was about to leave in a hurry, he suddenly heard Sun Luyao ask, “Oh, by the way, Brother, you promised to take me out for some fresh air. When can we leave?” Sun Luyuan paused, then replied vaguely, “Wait a bit longer. The Sun family is still being watched by those people. Taking you out now might lead to another incident like last time when we went to search for fragments and were ambushed by the Chen family of the Medicine Hall.”

“Let’s wait until the coast is clear.”

With that, he hurried away without waiting for Sun Luyao to respond.

“Alright, I understand, Brother…”

Before leaving, he heard his younger brother say this. But his tone seemed a bit strange. However, Sun Luyuan didn't think much of it.

The information Sun Luyao had gleaned from the Heavenly Profound Mirror showed that a major criminal from the Immortal Alliance was about to be sent to the Nether Prison. However, this person's identity was special: he was a direct descendant of Preacher Sun. With such a background, he shouldn't have been sent to a place like the Nether Prison. But the crime he had openly committed this time was truly significant.

As widely known, the Immortal Alliance was organizing its second World-Evading Rainbow Light, destined for the depths of the Star Sea. And Empty-Nether Flowing Crystals were the crucial material needed to achieve this goal. Previously, through implicit and explicit compromises, it was agreed that the slots for participating in this Rainbow Light would be equally distributed among the Immortal Alliance's Dao-Integration experts, regardless of their background. The Immortal Alliance also seized this opportunity to re-emphasize the scarcity of Empty-Nether Flowing Crystals, citing righteousness. They began employing various methods, including but not limited to entrapment, to recover privately hoarded flowing crystals from various civilian families.

And Sun Wanyun, the direct descendant of Preacher Sun, was caught red-handed for privately acquiring and purchasing large quantities of Empty-Nether Flowing Crystals. The cultivators responsible for the arrest naturally knew Sun Wanyun's identity well. But under the watchful eyes of the public, they had to put on a show. So, they could only bite the bullet and arrest him. They had originally intended to quietly release him afterward, but someone behind the scenes had fanned the flames. In less than half a day, news of Sun Wanyun's impartial and merciless arrest by the Myriad Immortal Alliance had quietly spread everywhere. Everyone even praised Preacher Sun for upholding the Immortal Alliance's laws and sacrificing personal ties for the greater good.

With matters having reached this point, the Myriad Immortal Alliance couldn't possibly slap themselves in the face. Moreover, Empty-Nether Flowing Crystals were indeed too important, so Sun Wanyun was rightfully imprisoned in the Nether Prison according to the law. But since he was a direct descendant of a Preacher, no one knew when he would be released. Thus, he naturally enjoyed some privileges within the Nether Prison.

“This person should be a suitable breakthrough point.”

“All I need to do is hand him the item bestowed by the Saint Emperor, under the guise of a visit…”

Thinking this, Sun Luyuan arrived at the temporary detention facility for Sun Wanyun at the Immortal Alliance headquarters. Upon seeing it, he was immediately dumbfounded. It turned out there were quite a few 'smart people' who knew how to offer help in times of need. The entrance was crowded with cultivators coming to visit, bustling with activity. It didn't look at all like the treatment for a major criminal of the Immortal Alliance who was about to be imprisoned in the Nether Prison. This scene truly seemed ironic.

Although they shared the surname Sun, Sun Luyuan had no blood relation to Preacher Sun or this Sun Wanyun. He had merely met them a few times. Even Sun Luyuan, the head of the Sun family—a family with five Dao-Integration experts, seemingly incomparably illustrious to outsiders—could only obediently stand in line at the entrance.

Meanwhile, in the Sun family’s underground secret chamber.

Li Fan’s clone was mercilessly mocking Sun Luyao.

“I told you long ago, your brother would never let you out. How about it now?”

“I took you out before because you would occasionally go mad and were constantly at risk of the Limitless Mirror losing control.”

“Now, with this old man's assistance and conditioning, the source of the Limitless Mirror's rampage—that destructive wind tribulation—is slowly being eliminated, and you've become increasingly stable.”

“You, young man, are now an immortal artifact, and even more, you represent the hope for the Sun family’s rise. How could your brother easily let you out? What if, by some chance, you were taken away by someone?”

Sun Luyao listened to Li Fan’s taunts, saying nothing. Only the reflection in the mirror occasionally distorted, revealing his inner resentment.

“Senior…”

After a long silence, he wisely opened his mouth to ask Li Fan for help. Sun Luyao knew that this mysterious being before him wouldn't say so much just to mock him a few times.

“Heh heh. You’ve gotten smarter, young man.” Li Fan cackled. As he spoke, he conjured a pair of large hands that reached for Sun Luyao's head. Sun Luyao's heart trembled, but he forced himself not to dodge. The gigantic dark hands enveloped him, and the Limitless Mirror vibrated violently within.

A phantom image was pulled out from Sun Luyao’s body by Li Fan. With a gentle wave, Li Fan sent this phantom image floating out of the Limitless Mirror, where it began to merge with a pile of materials that had appeared out of nowhere in the secret chamber. Before long, another “Limitless Mirror” that looked exactly the same appeared before Sun Luyao. As the spirit of the Limitless Mirror, Sun Luyao was naturally intimately familiar with this immortal artifact. But even he couldn't distinguish between the object before him and the immortal artifact he inhabited!

Filled with doubt and surprise, Sun Luyao flew into the counterfeit, only to find it was merely an empty shell inside. He then returned, full of excitement.

“Senior’s methods are truly unfathomable! To be able to counterfeit even immortal artifacts, and so realistically!” Sun Luyao flattered.

“Hmph, it’s merely a façade,” Li Fan said indifferently, “Project another strand of your divine sense and hide it in this mirror. With this old man’s craftsmanship as the foundation and your essence as an enhancement, it will certainly be enough to fool your brother.”

Seeing freedom so close, Sun Luyao didn't hesitate in the slightest, enduring the sharp pain of his soul being cleaved to split off a strand of divine sense. When Sun Luyao’s divine sense entered the counterfeit Limitless Mirror, the forged artifact became utterly flawless. Because, in a sense, it could already be considered a clone of the true Limitless Mirror. Although it was just an empty shell, as long as the true Limitless Mirror existed, it could synchronize all information detected by the main body at any time.

“Senior, can we sneak out now?” Looking at the counterfeit Limitless Mirror floating quietly in the air in its place, Sun Luyao asked eagerly.

“Fool! What do you mean ‘sneak out’?”

“This is called, ‘Fish leap freely in the vast ocean, birds soar high in the boundless sky!’”

Li Fan’s clone cackled loudly, enveloped the Limitless Mirror, and transformed into a black streak. Disregarding the numerous restrictive defenses personally set up by Sun Luyuan, they left the Sun family in an instant.

Seeing the blue sky above again, Sun Luyao was greatly exhilarated.

“Senior, where are we going?”

“As we discussed before, to search for the lost immortal artifacts of the Xuanhuang Realm?”

Even without a physical body, Sun Luyao took a deep breath of the free air, then cautiously asked Li Fan.

“Immortal artifacts… no rush,” Li Fan merely replied.

Seeing that he wouldn't elaborate, Sun Luyao dared not press further. He could only allow himself to be carried along by Li Fan, speeding south through the Xuanhuang Realm.

Seven days later, noticing the surging energy fluctuations ahead, Sun Luyao instantly perked up.

“That’s…”

In the endless ocean, turbulent currents converged towards a central point. Fierce winds howled and crackled. Violent storms even tore open space, unleashing streaks of thunderbolts. Beside the colossal vortex, which seemed to gather all the water in the world, was a striking chain of islands resembling a long, coiled dragon.

This highly distinctive sight immediately told Sun Luyao where they were.

“The Fissured Realm Great Vortex!” he blurted out.

Although he had already known about this natural wonder from countless pieces of information gleaned through the Heavenly Profound Mirror, the experience of being there in person was truly a world apart.

“Such surging and tumultuous currents, such wild and violent winds…”

“How could mere informational projections represent even a fraction of it?”

Since his youth, he had been trapped in a small, lightless mirror, unable to witness the magnificent sights of the world. This grand scene before him couldn't help but stir Sun Luyao’s emotions, making him feel as if he had reverted to the passionate youth he once was.

“Shouting like that, truly ignorant,” Li Fan's strange tsk-tsk sound pulled Sun Luyao out of his continuous exclamations.

“Done marveling? Let’s get to business.”

With a gentle point at the Limitless Mirror, Sun Luyao’s phantom image was instantly sucked into it. A moment later, the mirror surface uncontrollably emitted a faint glow. It aimed at the Fissured Realm Great Vortex not far away. The body of the Limitless Mirror vibrated gently, and countless images flashed within it like a waterfall. Li Fan merely narrowed his eyes, quietly awaiting the changes within.

“Limitless, discerning primal forms.”

“With this grand array as its core, the Limitless Mirror should, in theory, be able to analyze all secrets in the world.”

“Although it is now damaged, using it to peer into the secrets of this Fissured Realm should not be difficult.”

“After all, the might of the original realm fissure was simply too immense. Even after all this time, the wounds left on the Xuanhuang Realm have not yet healed.”

As Li Fan pondered, the Limitless Mirror seemed to have reached its limit. Cracks actually began to appear on its surface.