Chapter 1345: A Crack in the High Wall

"A message from King Xuantian..."Li Fan mused thoughtfully for a moment before exclaiming, "This must be a secret only True Immortals can access.""Could it be information about the true culprit behind King Xuantian's disappearance?"

Mo Rubing shook his head. "Speculation without basis is meaningless. While we can't know the exact content of Brother Xuanyuan's message back then, this communication through the Eye of the Beast might point us in the right direction."

With that, Mo Rubing once again manipulated the Eye of the Beast.Thousands of bubble-like images around them froze, then rapidly receded, as if the Eye of the Beast were traveling straight forward through the sea of stars."This is the trajectory of Brother Xuanyuan's message through the sea of stars back then," Mo Rubing slowly explained. "The High Wall traps all living beings in the Dark Star Sea. Perhaps this message was the only one to escape the star sea in ten thousand years.""I can calculate the exact location where the message broke through the High Wall. Then we can go there in person to investigate."

Li Fan frowned. "At most, the message would have just left some traces on the High Wall. Could it really have punched a hole through it?"

Mo Rubing smiled mysteriously and softly retorted, "Why not?""Fellow Daoist, do you know what the High Wall truly is?" Mo Rubing asked, seeing Li Fan's surprised expression.Li Fan replied, "It's called the High Wall, but it's actually the end of the star sea, with no path forward. Yet, this 'end' was artificially created, blocking the original path, like a high wall descending from the heavens to seal off the star sea.""Precisely. The High Wall is not a creation, but a rule. Since Brother Xuanyuan's message to the Faceless Immortal back then very likely broke through the High Wall and reached beyond the starry sky, then it means...""The rule was broken," a glint of light flashed in Mo Rubing's eyes.

At this moment, Li Fan also understood."If that broken rule within the High Wall hasn't been repaired for ten thousand years, then it might be a gap leading beyond the High Wall!""But... is that possible?" Li Fan was skeptical. "After all, so much time has passed. Would the gap in the High Wall still exist?"Mo Rubing smiled. "That depends on our luck. The phenomenon of the Dao Annihilation's descent is about to swallow the star sea. If we can't find a way to cross the High Wall...""Then we'll likely face only a dead end." His smile was chilling.Upon hearing this, Li Fan's face also grew somber.

Mo Rubing cupped his hands. "The journey to the edge of the star sea is long. I've observed your unparalleled evasion technique before, so I'd like to request your assistance."Li Fan solemnly replied, "It's nothing."

A viscous film covered them both. Moments later, they had left the interior of the Eye of the Beast and arrived in the Dark Star Sea.

The phantom wooden sword quietly unsheathed itself, enveloping Li Fan and Mo Rubing.

Mo Rubing chanted an incantation, and an oval, brownish-yellow eye suddenly split open and emerged from his forehead.This eye felt exactly like the Eye of the Beast Li Fan had been in earlier."This is one of the auxiliary formations of the Eye of the Beast, allowing one observation point to be attached to the body. It can guide us during our navigation through the star sea," Mo Rubing explained as he manipulated the brown eye, which emitted a beam of light.The light didn't illuminate the dark starry sky, perhaps only visible to Li Fan and him, extending straight into the depths of space, indicating their direction.

"Fellow Daoist, just follow this path," Mo Rubing said. "If there are dangerous areas along the way where residual True Immortal power gathers, the Beast's guidance will steer us clear."

As if to confirm Mo Rubing's words, the previously straight beam of light suddenly curved, seemingly avoiding an obstacle, then continued deeper into the star sea.Li Fan waved his hand. "No need for such trouble."The phantom wooden sword suddenly accelerated, neither dodging nor avoiding, charging directly towards the dangerous area marked by the Eye of the Beast.Mo Rubing's expression changed slightly in an instant.However, before he could speak, he was astonished to find that in just a moment, they had rapidly traveled a significant distance through the star sea. The dangerous area blocking their path had no effect whatsoever, even as the phantom wooden sword traversed it.

Thus, a somewhat comical scene unfolded.The guiding light from the Eye of the Beast continuously twisted and curved ahead, while the phantom wooden sword simply forged straight on, never taking a detour.The light had no choice but to constantly adjust, changing its guiding direction. The phantom wooden sword's flying speed was so incredibly fast that the Eye of the Beast's guidance sometimes disappeared for a period.Li Fan had to stop and wait for it to reappear.In this manner, the two hastened towards the edge of the star sea."I thought your evasion technique was already powerful," Mo Rubing exclaimed, finally recovering from his astonishment, "but I never expected it to be even stronger than anticipated! You can actually ignore the residual True Immortal power accumulated in the star sea?""I've simply made some new gains recently. My lifespan, which was almost at its end, has even increased a bit because of it," Li Fan said calmly.Mo Rubing's gaze lingered on Li Fan's face for a moment before he ultimately said nothing more.

With Li Fan's evasion technique protecting them, the originally arduous journey across the star sea transformed into a clear, danger-free path.Almost a full day passed, and they had already traversed the Sea of Relics and the Great Wall of Fragmented Realms, arriving at the edge of the star sea.The guiding light from the Eye of the Beast began to dim and blur.Li Fan accordingly slowed his pace.Even though the core of the phantom wooden sword was based on the transformation between reality and illusion, existing between the virtual and the concrete, colliding head-on with the High Wall at such high speed would likely result in severe injury.Mo Rubing used the attached Beast Eye to observe their surroundings.As the saying goes, 'a miss is as good as a mile'. The distance from the Xuanhuang Realm was immense, and even if their initial calculations were flawless, a slight deviation in the target location was inevitable once they reached this edge of the star sea.

"It should be nearby," Mo Rubing said. Before he finished speaking, the phantom wooden sword controlled by Li Fan abruptly stopped."No path ahead; the High Wall has been reached."These eight words instantly made Mo Rubing's expression grave."Please, Fellow Daoist, move along the boundary. If I observe any traces of that message from back then, I will immediately inform you."Li Fan nodded in understanding.

It wasn't that Li Fan was deliberately acting aloof; rather, the residual True Immortal power gathered beneath the High Wall was on an entirely different scale than that found in the regular star sea.Furthermore, without the resistance and dissipation provided by the Great Wall of Fragmented Realms, fighting this immense power solely with his own strength meant that even Li Fan, now mastering supreme evasion techniques, had to exert his full effort.They painstakingly moved, exploring along the High Wall.After an unknown period, Mo Rubing still hadn't found their target.Li Fan, however, began to feel a faint sense of dizziness. An inexplicable dread welled up within him, urging him to leave.Yet, his instincts didn't signal any actual danger; it was merely an unprompted internal sensation. Li Fan endured it, trying to understand the reason for this change in his heart.Soon after, he had a realization: "This is a delusion of the High Wall collapsing and crushing down, caused by staying beneath it for too long. It's because the difference between my own power and that of the High Wall is too vast."Understanding this, Li Fan felt somewhat at ease. Since there was no actual danger, he decided to ignore these internal disturbances and continue exploring the High Wall.

However, Li Fan had clearly underestimated the oppressive power of the High Wall's presence.After another quarter of an hour, the dread in Li Fan's heart intensified. The Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Chant became completely ineffective, even impacting the circulation of his spiritual energy and the clarity of his thoughts.To his horror, Li Fan also discovered that under the High Wall's oppressive force, his body size and height had imperceptibly shrunk slightly.Upon further inspection, Li Fan found that not only this, but his spirit, and even his cultivation level and strength, were similarly compressed and diminished.It was as if the High Wall truly was pressing down on them!Li Fan no longer tried to push through.He temporarily retreated, moving away from the High Wall."This is my first time staying so close to the High Wall for so long," Li Fan said, letting out a long breath only after his body returned to normal.He looked at Mo Rubing, whose condition was even more severe than his own.Perhaps due to prolonged observation of the High Wall, the attached Beast Eye on Mo Rubing's forehead seemed to be forcefully squeezed by a hand, slowly closing. Its opening was nearly halved compared to before.Mo Rubing's body, meanwhile, trembled uncontrollably, as if he had encountered something utterly terrifying.

Seeing this, a hint of doubt flashed in Li Fan's mind. Given Mo Rubing's temperament, even seeing the High Wall in person shouldn't have frightened him to this extent.Ultimately, Mo Rubing spoke, explaining the reason."Thousands of demon hearts, all seeing the High Wall. Their emotions were magnified a millionfold and imposed upon me...""You must be laughing at me, Fellow Daoist," Mo Rubing slowly returned to normal.Li Fan shrugged it off. "We are beings beyond the mundane after all. It's good that you're alright.""Have you found any traces of King Xuantian's message?"To Li Fan's surprise, Mo Rubing nodded. "I compared the section of the boundary we passed through. I did find one spot that was slightly different from the others.""However, the observation sample is too small to be certain. Next, we need to examine at least the entire area locked by the Eye of the Beast.""That works too."

After a short rest, once both men had returned to their peak condition, they set off again.Approaching the High Wall once more, Li Fan's expression suddenly changed drastically.He realized that the crushing sensation he had felt earlier, with no preamble whatsoever, had resurfaced!Their previous rest had not alleviated the High Wall's oppressive presence. Upon returning to its foot, Li Fan and Mo Rubing directly resumed their previous experience, once again enduring the High Wall's immense power.Mo Rubing's body began to tremble violently. The look of fear on his face indicated that he was experiencing the same predicament as Li Fan."Since turning back is useless, we can only persevere," Mo Rubing said in a broken, trembling voice.Li Fan closed his eyes, forcefully suppressing the various discomforts in his heart.Following the guidance of the attached Beast Eye, they laboriously explored along the wall.

As they advanced step by step, they felt themselves growing smaller and smaller. The High Wall appeared increasingly vast, further intensifying the fear in their hearts.Fortunately, the area they needed to investigate wasn't particularly extensive."Indeed, the spot we found earlier is different from other parts of the High Wall. Hurry!"The Beast Eye, almost completely closed, emitted a dim light, pointing the way for Li Fan.Under the High Wall's oppressive force, as their strength was continuously diminished, the effectiveness of the phantom wooden sword's evasion technique also steadily weakened.Li Fan had a premonition that if they stayed much longer, he might be unable to maintain the phantom wooden sword state. Without the aid of evasion techniques, they wouldn't be able to escape from the foot of the High Wall. And with the High Wall's pressure increasing over time, they might eventually be crushed and obliterated by it. He would then have to rely on his True Immortal state for survival.Thankfully, before that happened, Li Fan managed to bring Mo Rubing to their target location.It truly was just a single point.One of countless endless points in the vast, dark star sea.Without specific guidance, finding its exact location under the High Wall's influence would have been pure fantasy.But with King Xuantian's message from back then, the impossible had become possible.

Li Fan had originally intended to escape with his evasion technique before his power ran out.But once he stepped onto this point, the High Wall's presence remained, yet... it no longer accumulated.It felt as if they had returned to their first time beneath the High Wall.Li Fan and Mo Rubing exchanged glances, seeing euphoria in each other's eyes."Indeed, my guess was right! The High Wall's rule was pierced by Brother Xuanyuan's message!"Li Fan agreed, "This place is like a weak spot, a flaw, in the High Wall. First, we can at least stay here indefinitely to study the High Wall.""Otherwise, let alone studying it, even prolonged proximity would be a luxury."Mo Rubing squinted his eyes, his face completely lost in reverie.He gazed intently, as if seeing the hope of escaping the Dark Star Sea.A demonic heart flew out from his body, its expression identical to Mo Rubing's main body, attempting to reach out and touch the end of this space-time.One moment, two moments, three moments...Mo Rubing's expression gradually froze.Because he felt nothing.Yes, after all that effort, they had truly arrived at the spot where King Xuantian had broken through the wall, yet Mo Rubing still felt nothing from the High Wall, even with its flaw.Even a flawed High Wall was beyond the reach of beings below the True Immortal realm.Understanding this truth, a hint of bleakness flashed across Mo Rubing's face.Not just Mo Rubing, but even Li Fan couldn't perceive anything from this so-called loophole.Ahead was still merely the void's end.It was unfathomable, inscrutable.Whether there was a flaw or not, they simply couldn't distinguish it.They could only sense it through the specific effects the High Wall had on them.

Li Fan, naturally, was unwilling to give up.The thought immediately arose to use the Ascension Formation to elevate his own presence, thereby reducing the perceived distance between himself and the High Wall, and to get a glimpse of its true nature.However, he then remembered that Mo Rubing was by his side, and the Ascension Formation would surely draw his attention. He therefore temporarily suppressed the idea."I'll save it for next time, when I'm alone," he thought.They could only sigh, gazing at the wall, and fell silent for a time.But the High Wall's pressure did not diminish in the slightest due to their silence.Soon, it reached an unbearable level again.With no other option, Li Fan had to lead Mo Rubing back to a safe zone for the time being.