Chapter 1374: Zeng Lifan's Death

Li Fan’s thoughts churned, but his hands did not stop.

He separated the myriad variations of the Xuanhuang Apocalypse from the Ink Kill’s true form. Each of these variations could give rise to a Xuanhuang Deification Realm expert of considerable strength.

“Though named ‘Apocalypse,’ they are, in fact, variations of life,” Li Fan mused. “I can collect them for now. Even if the Xuanhuang Realm eventually ascends to an Immortal Realm, releasing them all at once would instantly plunge the Xuanhuang Realm into chaos!” As Li Fan thought this, the golden threads swiftly moved, forming an enclosure that sealed and suppressed the numerous apocalyptic variations within his body.

“As for Ink Kill…” Li Fan’s expression grew serious once more. The shadowy figure, which had been reduced to a minuscule ink dot, surprisingly recovered completely in a short time after a brief respite. It was endless, continuing to erode everything around it.

“One is all. It truly lives up to its nature as a weakened, pre-version of the Tribulation of Annihilation. Unless completely eradicated, even a single trace can quickly resurface!” Li Fan recalled everything he had seen about Ink Kill in the past. Ink Kill rarely struck, but each time it did, it caused cataclysmic devastation, annihilating entire regions. Even when the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Council of Five Elders detected Ink Kill’s presence, they chose to evade it, allowing it to rampage unchecked.

“Those five old turtles probably sensed Ink Kill’s extraordinary nature long ago. It’s certainly not comparable to ordinary Heaven and Earth Souls. Ink Kill is integrated into the Xuanhuang Realm’s Heaven and Earth laws, causing the Xuanhuang Realm to develop a specific resistance. Even if it annihilates everything, life will ultimately reappear.” A thought struck Li Fan. “If that’s true, wouldn’t it mean that once Xuanhuang ascends to an Immortal Realm, it would possess the power to resist the Tribulation of Annihilation? Presumably, the True Immortals of the past designed it this way. Of course, whether it succeeds or not remains to be seen in this current era.”

Li Fan pondered deeply and conducted numerous experiments, gradually understanding Ink Kill’s various properties. He then took it to the center of the Star Sea, near the Sea of Black Qi. The surging black qi devoured the surrounding Star Sea at a steady pace. The Star Sea’s consciousness remained unaware, but Li Fan frowned, startled by the increasingly alarming continuous black qi. Even with the layered golden thread seals, Ink Kill instantly became more “lively” upon sensing the nearby black qi. Originally, it had been a coiled mass, patiently waiting for an opportunity to break through. But now, it frantically darted back and forth, recklessly assailing the golden threads, desperate to escape.

“Just as I thought!” A glint flashed in Li Fan’s eyes. After confirming that Ink Kill indeed had some connection to the Tribulation of Annihilation, he noticed that the sealed Ink Kill, being too close, seemed to be drawing some kind of energy from the continuous Sea of Black Qi. Li Fan dared not linger and quickly departed.

He returned Ink Kill to the Xuanhuang Realm, within the Cloud Sea. He was waiting for it to advance into a Heaven and Earth Immortal Soul for his Dao integration, so Li Fan naturally couldn't kill it now. Ink Kill, having escaped, searched the entire world but couldn't find the enemy who had sealed it previously. It had no choice but to unleash its fury upon Hong Xi and the Cloud Sea. Poor Hong Xi, who had just integrated with the Dao, was returning to Myriad Immortals Island, receiving the veneration of cultivators within the Cloud Sea. But suddenly, a wave of ink-like blackness spread from the horizon and then enveloped and swallowed everything.

Although Ink Kill had only briefly touched the black qi, various subtle changes had still occurred within it. Not only Li Fan, but even the Xuanhuang Heaven and Earth seemed to have noticed this. Ink Kill’s apocalyptic actions were not fully carried out. The Cloud Sea had been eroded down to its last thin layer of bedrock when Ink Kill was forcibly recalled by the Heaven and Earth’s consciousness.

“Its actions are swifter and more brutal than before. Furthermore…”

Li Fan teleported to the last remaining bit of the Cloud Sea and observed it carefully. Although Ink Kill had vanished, a corrosive power still lingered, preventing the resurgence of vitality in the Xuanhuang Realm.

“This conflicts with the Xuanhuang Realm’s original intention. Ink Kill was dispatched for annihilation precisely for the sake of complete integration afterward. But now…” Li Fan extended his right index finger and pressed it against the Cloud Sea bedrock. “Sizzle…” A sound like something being burned by fire or corroded by strong acid echoed. The void power that annihilated everything began, through this contact, to devour Li Fan’s body and soul. It was exactly the same as when he had previously come into contact with Ink Kill.

“The main body was recalled, yet power remains. For a Heaven and Earth Soul, this is almost impossible. Yet, it has truly happened… It shows signs of being out of control even before full contact, doesn’t it?”

He chipped off a large piece of the Cloud Sea’s last bedrock and took it back for study. Li Fan’s tightly furrowed brows remained. After realizing Ink Kill’s possible true nature, the unease in Li Fan’s heart, stemming from the ‘Reincarnation’ system’s self-simulated lifetime, not only didn’t diminish but grew even stronger. He temporarily set aside all his tasks and habitually went to where Mount Disintegration used to be. He sat cross-legged in the center of the preaching platform and began to ponder.

“I still need to trust my intuition. This level of unease has never occurred, even after so many cycles of reincarnation. The source of this unease…”

“It must be that time when ‘Reincarnation’ inexplicably initiated a self-simulation. Normally, without me actively activating ‘Reincarnation,’ it shouldn’t be able to directly begin a new simulation. The Three-Forked Tree left by Sun Piaomiao must involve resonance with a Great Dao, or even be a Great Dao itself. That’s why, after absorbing it, ‘Reincarnation’ underwent such a strange change. Actually, ‘Reincarnation’ self-simulating a lifetime isn’t terrifying. What’s truly terrifying is that I retained no memory of it.”

A shadow crossed Li Fan’s face. “Up to now, every simulation by ‘Reincarnation’ has been based on me as the main body. Every reincarnation cycle has been my personal experience. And now, ‘Reincarnation’ is still unified with me, showing no signs of losing control. Therefore, there’s only one possibility: during that simulation, due to some unforeseen event…”

“I died.”

A cold light flashed in Li Fan’s eyes. His body stiffened abruptly for a moment, then he continued to ponder: “I didn’t even have time to actively activate ‘Reincarnation’ before I died. It was ‘Reincarnation’ itself that reversed everything. Therefore, the experience of that lifetime exists only within ‘Reincarnation,’ not within my personal experience. Only after consuming Kou Hong’s near-eternal remnant thought did ‘Reincarnation’ release that memory.”

As these thoughts flashed, and he deduced this conclusion, the unease in Li Fan’s heart suddenly lessened slightly. Even if it hadn’t completely vanished, he had at last clarified the possible reason.

“I… have already died once?”

An unprecedented chill settled in Li Fan’s heart. “So those vague memory fragments I learned from ‘Reincarnation’ weren’t from this lifetime’s experience. They happened in the lifetime where I died. I am currently continuing along the original trajectory. If I don’t make changes…”

“It’s a dead end!”

As if he saw the scene of his future demise, Li Fan’s heart suddenly relaxed. “In short, after ‘Reincarnation’ absorbed the Three-Forked Tree in this lifetime, it initiated a simulation. The ‘me’ in that simulation didn’t realize the divergence had occurred. I continued to follow the original plan: to elevate the Xuanhuang Realm into an Immortal Realm and integrate with the Dao using the Heaven and Earth Immortal Soul. Unaware of the hidden crisis, despite a myriad of preparations, I still died and failed.” Li Fan let out a long breath.

“The Three-Forked Tree truly is a divine object. If not for this pre-simulation, I might have followed in the footsteps of that failure. I wonder if ‘Reincarnation’ will still be willing to absorb it again in the next lifetime?”

Li Fan’s thoughts quickly returned to the main issue. If everything Li Fan had surmised was true, then a life-or-death question now lay before him.

What exactly caused Li Fan’s death in the simulation? Currently, Li Fan had immortal arrays and supreme escape techniques protecting him. He also had Tian Yang and Qiu Shui, two Grand Protectors. Even if the Dao integration plan failed, it wouldn’t be so catastrophic that ‘Reincarnation’ wouldn’t even have time to react.

“In fact, there aren’t many things that can truly threaten me. Within the High Wall: the True Immortal of the Immortal Ruins, the True Immortal corpse from the Xuanhuang Abyssal Sea with its will to survive, and the black qi representing the Tribulation of Annihilation. Outside the High Wall: all unknown existences.”

Thinking this, Li Fan’s thoughts paused, and then a hint of realization flashed across his face. “And… one of the main materials for promoting Xuanhuang’s ascent to an Immortal Realm: the Immortal Realm fragment left by Sun Piaomiao.”

After much deliberation and eliminating all other possibilities, only these suspicious targets remained. “The Tribulation of Annihilation is a terrifying calamity specifically targeting the Immortal Realm. Even if there’s no trend of its full descent now, only endless black qi is revealed. But there’s no guarantee that it won’t suddenly occur the moment I facilitate Xuanhuang’s ascension to an Immortal Realm. Even countless True Immortals of the past couldn’t escape it. If caught off guard, I, too, would likely be unable to escape death.”

Li Fan first identified the greatest possibility that led to his failure. “As for the two True Immortals in the Abyssal Sea and the Immortal Ruins—one dead, one alive. I should be able to stall them for an instant with the Xuanhuang Myriad Lives Array. As for the forces outside the High Wall… with the High Wall itself providing cover, based on my previous life’s experience, I have enough time to react. But it’s still not enough! When the High Wall collapses and the Star Sea becomes turbulent, I will stir up colossal waves in the Star Sea to obscure any external gaze!” Li Fan instantly thought of the endless vitality and the life-form within the Rift Valley. “The arrival of external forces will inevitably pose an extreme threat to the Star Sea itself. By catalyzing it with the Grand Armor Divine Art, the infinite power of the Star Sea should be able to delay the external forces for a moment.”

After much deliberation, Li Fan added a heap of preparations to his to-do list.

“Finally, there’s the Immortal Realm composed of numerous ‘chess pieces’. Although I had previously tried to integrate it, and the process was more than halfway complete, I didn’t sense any True Immortals within it—it seemed to be just a pure Immortal Realm world. But thinking about it now, I was still a bit too hasty.”

Li Fan’s expression was serious: “After all, they are True Immortals; it wouldn’t be difficult for them to evade my perception. Without fully unfolding the Immortal Realm, how can I be sure it’s truly safe? At worst, it’s just wasting one reincarnation cycle, twenty or thirty years.”

As Li Fan thought, he had already made up his mind. Regardless, he must first fully unfold the Immortal Realm within the ‘chess pieces’ to ascertain its safety.

“The re-emergence of an Immortal Realm will, after all, shake the Star Sea. I must find a secure place and prepare early. If there truly are True Immortals hidden within, I will decisively activate ‘Reincarnation.’ In the next life, I’ll find other methods to anchor the world’s momentum. If there’s no trickery within, then all the better…”

Li Fan still wanted to minimize the impact of unfolding the Immortal Realm. “Using the lowliness of the Rift Valley to offset the loftiness of the Immortal Realm. The Rift Valley, the lowest point of the Star Sea, should be an excellent location. Moreover, the intricate nature of the rift, combined with the presence of the life-form, should be able to partially confuse potential enemies.”

Li Fan then returned beneath the Star Sea. He did not disturb Xu Ke, who was still tirelessly expanding the area. He arrived at the central point of the roughly explored area, ensuring as little disturbance from external factors as possible.

With unprecedented seriousness, Li Fan slowly set up layer after layer of immortal arrays. Employing every technique he currently mastered, Li Fan resolutely restarted the unfolding of the Immortal Realm.

Buzzing… Within the immortal array, a great wind seemed to stir, mercilessly assailing and raging. Li Fan’s proud array, like a dilapidated thatched hut, could not endure for long and was on the verge of collapse. Li Fan had no choice but to continuously mend and reinforce it with essence of primal power, prolonging its existence as much as possible. His expression was focused, his gaze fixed on the overlapping, blurry light and shadow at the center of the immortal array.

It seemed human, yet was not. It seemed like scenery, yet was not. Just as he had seen before. Only, the previous unfolding of the Immortal Realm had been disturbed and interrupted by the black qi at the center of the Star Sea. This time, however, under Li Fan’s will, it was able to continue!

Immeasurable light, countless rays, blossomed from the Immortal Realm. Li Fan faintly saw that those figures were clearly profound and abstruse characters. They scattered and flew, then melted like water, transforming into countless interwoven horizontal and vertical lines that supported heaven and earth! Countless characters emerged from the immeasurable light. More and more horizontal and vertical lines intertwined, weaving the world into increasing brightness and vividness. The Immortal Realm was about to be born within the utterly dark Star Sea!

Li Fan could already sense the various changes occurring within the Star Sea. These included, but were not limited to, the awakening of the True Immortal of the Immortal Ruins, the astonishment regarding the Heavenly Doctor’s transmitted laws, and the vibration of the Star Sea’s consciousness. But he had no time to attend to them now. His gaze was fixed solely on the forming Immortal Realm.

He wanted to determine whether the Immortal Realm fragment left by Sun Piaomiao that year contained any other existences besides the Immortal Realm laws.

“The Immortal Realm’s manifestation is creating even greater commotion than I imagined! It seems that even if there’s no danger within the Immortal Realm, I cannot stay long in this lifetime. However, it’s not a case of starting strong and finishing weak; after all, I avoided a certain death situation. In the next lifetime, all I need to do is repeat the steps in an orderly fashion!”

Li Fan’s thoughts were as swift as lightning. And at this moment, as the Immortal Realm, like a fruit blossoming from a flower, was about to burst through the Star Sea Rift Valley and return to the normal Star Sea…

Li Fan finally saw clearly the last faint image that emerged within the Immortal Realm: an unadorned stone tablet, standing tall between the heaven and earth of the Immortal Realm!