Chapter 1334: Li Fan's Self-Defense

The elders of Xianzhou were far from as young as they appeared.

For millennia, they had repeatedly used the "Ancient Character Technique" to reverse their age, rejuvenating themselves and maintaining their youth. However, this reversal was not equivalent to immortality.

Yet, old age continued to accumulate quietly within them.

Now, as Lu Yuzhi and others were assaulted by Reverend Yin's Death Qi, the accumulated aging from their past years violently erupted all at once.

The consequence was that the effect of this "Death Character Technique" was far more potent than anticipated.

The three Xianzhou members' hair instantly turned frosty white, and deep wrinkles rapidly spread across their faces.

An aura of decay surged within their bodies.

"Ancient!" Lu Yuzhi, regaining his senses, forcibly calmed himself and swiftly inscribed an ancient character in the air with a slightly trembling hand.

His target was not the unknown enemy, but themselves!

Under the shroud of the "Ancient" character's power, their rapid physical aging was somewhat alleviated.

But it was only a temporary measure.

The power of reversal they now faced was not the authentic True Immortal Seal Script. It was merely a crude imitation. The extent to which it could revert their past state was far less than the speed at which they were aging.

Moreover, the rampant Death Qi storm around them was intensifying. If this continued, all four of them would likely be reduced to mere skeletons very soon!

Under the combined influence of the Death Qi storm and the Ancient Seal Script, Li Fan and Xu Gongding also suddenly awoke.

They looked terrified and bewildered.

"Hurry, go!"

Lu Yuzhi, struggling to hold on, roared at Li Fan.

Li Fan's already salt-and-pepper hair had turned completely white. However, he looked in the direction where the sealed sphere had vanished, a hint of struggle in his voice: "But the gray chess piece..."

"If your life is gone, everything is gone!" Lu Yuzhi also showed reluctance in his eyes, but he still bellowed.

"Argh!"

With a long, cathartic howl, the wooden sword's phantom unsheathed, temporarily alleviating the onslaught of Death Qi.

The sword light flickered, carrying the four away from the terrifying, pervasive Death Qi.

As the four figures vanished into the sky, Baihua and Reverend Yin slowly revealed themselves.

Suddenly controlling and unleashing such a massive Death Qi storm was not an easy feat for Reverend Yin, who had only recently absorbed the Yin-Yang Orb.

Seemingly beyond his control, the swirls in his black and white eyes spun faster and faster.

Reverend Yin had no choice but to close his eyes and compose himself.

Meanwhile, Baihua, following Li Fan's instructions, projected golden lights to seal the sphere they had just acquired.

"I wonder who those three were, accompanying the Saint Master just now?"

"The characters they used seemed identical to the residual True Immortal power found in the Star Sea..."

"But honestly, the Saint Master's acting was truly remarkable. If he hadn't deliberately sent us a telepathic message to cooperate, even I would have been completely fooled." Baihua's expression was subtle as the sealing array in her hands continued to work.

This sealing array was exceptionally intricate, but with Li Fan's guidance, Baihua could just about manage to set it up.

Outside the Great Wall of the Shattered Realm.

The Xianzhou group, having narrowly escaped death, still looked visibly shaken.

Even though they had escaped the Death Qi storm, a small amount of Death Qi remained within them, constantly eroding their lifespan.

"Back to Xianzhou first." Lu Yuzhi was now extremely frail, like an old man of seventy or eighty, seemingly at the end of his life. Even these four short words took all his remaining strength to utter.

The others were not in much better condition.

Li Fan, in particular, could only shake his head slightly, indicating he was utterly exhausted and no longer had the energy for escape techniques.

Among the four, only Nangong Lie was in relatively better shape.

He helped support the others, flying towards Xianzhou while simultaneously sending out distress signals.

After about fifteen minutes, Zhong Daogong arrived with seven Xianzhou elders. To prevent a diversionary tactic, they had not deployed all their forces, even though it concerned the lives of four elders.

Zhong Daogong and his reinforcements looked gravely at the four dying individuals, enveloped in an aura of decay and frailty.

Realizing the urgency of saving lives, they did not immediately inquire about the incident's details but first brought the four back for treatment.

Through the efforts involving the authentic Ancient Character Scripts and numerous lifespan-extending artifacts, the few individuals finally managed to temporarily escape danger.

Three days later.

Li Fan stood in the small courtyard, his expression somewhat dazed.

"Only about ten years of life left."

"Just one trip cost half my lifespan!"

Hearing this, Lu Yuzhi gave a bitter smile: "My situation is similar to yours. Less than fifty years remaining..."

Nangong Lie and Xu Gongding's faces were also extremely grim.

With such a major incident occurring, the Elder Council was bound to conduct a thorough investigation. They recounted their experiences truthfully.

Zhong Daogong offered them comfort and tried various methods to extend their lifespans.

But all efforts yielded little effect.

"Hmph!"

The courtyard grew quiet for a moment, then Nangong Lie suddenly slammed the stone table. "We suffered a terrible calamity, and what's more, four gray chess pieces were stolen..."

"It's an utter disgrace! Zhong Daogong should immediately lead an expedition, if not to seek justice, then at least to ascertain the precise details of the perpetrators."

"But look now, so much time has passed, and he hasn't made a single move. When asked, he offers pleasant words about needing to 'consider things carefully'... Bah! I think they're just scared after seeing our imminent demise!" Nangong Lie vented his frustration.

Lu Yuzhi frowned. "But Elder Zhong isn't entirely wrong. That Death Qi storm was indeed too bizarre and terrifying. Even after recovering these past few days and constantly pondering it, I haven't found a way to directly counter it. The four of us were severely wounded; Xianzhou cannot afford another similar blow in the short term."

Li Fan also nodded in agreement. "Though regrettable, that's true. The Death Qi appeared too suddenly, clearly targeting the gray chess pieces in our possession."

"Don't forget, there's still one more in Xianzhou. It's possible that unknown enemy could attack us at any time..."

Li Fan's words instantly silenced the few people present.

Xianzhou had always prioritized the bigger picture.

They were capable of discerning the relative importance of personal grievances versus the overall interests of Xianzhou.

"The enemy is formidable!" Lu Yuzhi sighed deeply, his eyes filled with worry.

To address this formidable unknown enemy, Xianzhou soon convened a joint meeting of all elders.

Li Fan, as an eyewitness to the incident, also attended.

Zhong Daogong began with a summary statement: "The enemy was undoubtedly targeting the gray chess pieces. The gray chess piece we possess has now lost some of its ability to sense the others. Those must be the four pieces they took."

"However, there are two points of doubt."

"Firstly, how did they precisely pinpoint the location of Elder Lu Yuzhi's group?"

"Secondly, what method did they use to block our gray chess piece's sensing ability?"

"As for the Death Qi storm used in the attack..."

"After searching Xianzhou records, we've found some possibilities."

Zhong Daogong's words immediately captured everyone's attention.

Jian Daosheng cleared his throat and explained, "Death Qi and vitality are opposing yet interdependent forces. After the Great Cataclysm, vast regions of the Star Sea fell into silent darkness. Theoretically, it's impossible for such an immense amount of Death Qi to exist there."

"Therefore, we speculate that the source of this Death Qi must be some cultivation world."

"And to be able to use Death Qi as a consumable weapon for attack... the quantity of Death Qi they possess is absolutely unimaginable." Jian Daosheng's tone was heavy.

Upon hearing this, the Xianzhou elders quickly voiced their doubts.

"After the Star Sea Cataclysm, countless realms were destroyed long ago. Where could they have gathered so much Death Qi?"

"It completely defies logic!"

Zhong Daogong sighed. "That's precisely the crux of the matter. It's likely that this Death Qi was accumulated by the enemy from ancient times, before the Star Sea suffered the catastrophe."

"The enemy is very likely a civilization that has survived from ancient times, just like us."

"They were able to foresee and evade the attacks of the True Immortal Seal Script; they possessed a thorough understanding of the gray chess pieces, which are creations of the True Immortals, catching us off guard. From beginning to end, they never revealed themselves..."

"Judging by their various actions, this unknown civilization is at least as strong as, if not stronger than, our Xianzhou."

When Zhong Daogong finished speaking, the meeting fell into an unsettling silence.

All the elders frowned deeply, lost in thought.

Li Fan broke the silence, remarking, "I never imagined that this seemingly desolate Star Sea would harbor other brilliant civilizations besides Xianzhou and Daqi."

The Xianzhou elders' gazes all converged on Li Fan.

Jian Daosheng narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Fellow Daoist Li, is it possible that this unknown enemy who attacked you is from your homeland, Daqi?"

This was a question all the Xianzhou elders harbored.

Now that Jian Daosheng had asked, everyone stared intently at Li Fan, eager to hear his reply.

"Daqi?" Li Fan clearly hadn't expected Jian Daosheng to ask that.

"How could it..." He instinctively began to deny it.

But soon, as if realizing something, he frowned and fell into deep thought, his words abruptly stopping.

After a long pause, Li Fan spoke again softly: "Firstly, one thing I can confirm is that I absolutely have no surveillance methods from Daqi on me. And I would never be an inside agent for Daqi..."

"I can't offer any proof. But you've spent so much time with me, surely you understand my character."

Li Fan paused, then stated proudly, "To say something you might not want to hear: if I were truly a Daqi spy, targeting those gray chess pieces, back when I helped reconstruct Xianzhou's defensive arrays, with my unparalleled escape techniques, I could have simply stolen them and fled."

"There would have been no need for such elaborate measures."

The meeting grew even quieter.

No one refuted him. The vast majority tacitly accepted Li Fan's statement, though a few still eyed him with a hint of suspicion.

Li Fan's self-defense continued: "Furthermore, when we were attacked, we were planning to proceed deeper into the Great Wall of the Shattered Realm to collect more pieces. If I were truly an inside agent, why wouldn't I wait until more were found before notifying them to act and capture everything in one swoop?"

"After the deed was done, why would I return to Xianzhou?"

"At the time, the other three Xianzhou elders were utterly weak. Without my escape techniques, they would have likely perished. Wouldn't it have been better for them to simply vanish without a trace, leaving no one the wiser? Why go through all this trouble?"

The more Li Fan spoke, the more anger seemed to build within him.

He scoffed, "If I hadn't come to view Xianzhou as my final resting place after my last contacts with it, I wouldn't be wasting so many words on you all."

"If I wanted to leave, who among you could stop me?"

Not a single Xianzhou elder could offer a rebuttal.

After all, the wooden sword's phantom, capable of ignoring almost all restrictive forces, was indeed astonishing.

At this point, Zhong Daogong quickly stepped in to mediate. He chuckled, reassuringly saying, "Fellow Daoist Li, there's no need to be so agitated. We absolutely trust you, but we know very little about Daqi, your homeland. It's natural for suspicions to arise."

Li Fan's anger subsided slightly.

He pondered for a moment, then replied cautiously: "Within Daqi, there are numerous factions. I'm only familiar with the research from my master's lineage..."

"However, I've truly never heard of anyone within Daqi possessing such a vast amount of Death Qi."

"Furthermore, my face holds some renown in Daqi. If the enemy were truly from Daqi, they would never dare to attack me! Otherwise, even if I died, my master would never let them off!" Li Fan stated with utmost certainty.

Zhong Daogong nodded slightly, temporarily halting his questions.

"Regarding the complete sequence of this attack, I've put forth some conjectures. I'd like to share them for discussion."

"The gray chess pieces have rested undisturbed in Xianzhou's secret vault for many years, never causing any trouble. Yet now, they've suddenly come under attack..."

"Excluding the possibility of deliberate leakage, it might be that gathering too many pieces at once attracted attention."

Zhong Daogong declared, "This unknown civilization might have been searching for traces of the gray chess pieces for years. But lacking any pieces themselves, they couldn't use sensing to locate them."

"However, during our collection process, the concentration of pieces allowed them to pinpoint our location, thus exposing us to the attack..."

Upon hearing this, all the elders present fell into solemn thought.

While it sounded somewhat bizarre, it was currently the only plausible explanation.

"If my conjecture is true, then our immediate concern is an attack on Xianzhou by this unknown civilization." Zhong Daogong's tone suddenly shifted.

"The gray chess pieces can sense each other. The piece that was transformed into Xianzhou's outer keratin armor could undoubtedly provide the enemy with Xianzhou's approximate location at all times..."

"This is clearly unacceptable to us."

At this, the Xianzhou elders' expressions all changed.

"The immediate priority is to resolve this matter."

"Either we strip off the keratin armor and separate it from Xianzhou, effectively discarding the gray chess piece."

"Or, we find a way to block the sensing ability between the gray chess pieces," Zhong Daogong concluded.

The Xianzhou elders exchanged glances.

For a moment, they fell into debate.