Chapter 1415

Nameless Immortals Must Be Exterminated

The encounter between the Sky Profound Mirror and Dharma Transmission Heavenly Venerable was, in a sense, inevitable.

It was just like how, when Li Fan's power grew to a certain extent, he was destined to meet Dharma Transmission, Hunger Immortal, and others.

Although its primary power was not to defend against enemies or harm people, it was, after all, an immortal artifact that had manifested in the mortal realm. If only Dharma Transmission were present, Mirror Profound might still have been able to barely contend with him. But he never expected that behind Dharma Transmission, there was also the existence of a Heavenly Physician.

The two great powerhouses joined forces and together subdued the Sky Profound Mirror.

For Mirror Profound, this was certainly not a pleasant memory.

After indistinct light and shadows rapidly flickered, the Sky Profound Mirror transformed, becoming the foundation and an unparalleled crucial artifact of the Myriad Immortals Alliance.

During the days the Sky Profound Mirror measured the heavens and the earth, it was not without gain. As its analysis of the Xuanhuang World deepened, the Sky Profound Mirror also evolved several abilities it did not possess before.

For example, differentiation and secondary generation.

Differentiation refers to the Sky Profound Sub-Mirrors scattered across the various states of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, as well as the Sky Profound Small Mirrors that can be used individually by people. They all possess a portion of the Sky Profound Mirror's functions and are identical to the Sky Profound Mirror's main body. They can be seen as outward extensions of the Sky Profound Mirror itself.

Secondary generation is in contrast to differentiation. If differentiation is replication, then secondary generation is mutation. The various secondary entities born from the Sky Profound Mirror—such as the Azure Profound Scrutiny Mirror, the Doomsday Stone Disk, and the Dissolution Disk—although on the surface appear to be specialized forms of certain functions of the Sky Profound Mirror, only Mirror Profound in the world knows that the abilities of these secondary entities in their respective fields even surpass his own as the main body.

And in the process of evolving these secondary entities, Mirror Profound was also able to advance his corresponding abilities by studying them. This research process was completed the moment a secondary entity was born. Therefore, the secondary entities currently in existence are indeed useless to the Sky Profound Mirror.

Besides these two major abilities, differentiation and secondary generation, the Sky Profound Mirror's most important realization was the grand path of "establishing the Dao within oneself, and enacting the Dao externally."

Mirror Profound firmly believed that his ability to comprehend such a grand Dao was definitely not just because he measured the Xuanhuang World, but also due to the hidden guidance from that woman before she left.

"Establishing the Dao within oneself" means continuously strengthening the part of one's existence that relies on the Dao. The Grand Dao spans all, and all things exist in accordance with the Dao. If one cannot pursue the elusive goal of merging with the Dao and becoming a nameless True Immortal, then it's better to settle for the next best thing and only seek a part of the Dao. The birth of every living being is a fusion of various Daos. By fully grasping the foundation of one's inherent existence, even if one's power is still weaker than a nameless True Immortal, it might not be by much. Not to mention, there are some exceptionally gifted beings in the world who, simply by comprehending their own Dao, can rival nameless True Immortals!

"Enacting the Dao externally," on the other hand, is transcendence after establishing the Dao. Compared to the infinite Daos of heaven and earth, one's own existence is ultimately limited. But if one can cross the boundary between "self" and "other," it would be like a fish leaping over the dragon gate, potentially becoming infinite thereafter.

The manifestation of "establishing the Dao within oneself, and enacting the Dao externally" on the Sky Profound Mirror is the coexistence of artifact and human, mutually reinforcing each other. Under circumstances where there are no obstacles, either the Sky Profound Mirror's main body or its human avatar can forge a grand path to heaven. Furthermore, once one side achieves success, it can even feed back into the other.

Li Fan was not particularly interested in the gossip about King Xuanti and his childhood sweetheart.

Instead, the Sky Profound Mirror's method of enlightenment made Li Fan think of many things.

"The primordial Dao forms of the monster beast race can be seen as 'establishing the Dao within oneself' in its most extreme form."

"And this concept, in fact, shares the same ingenious principle as building the foundation with oneself; it is also entirely attributed to oneself. However, in general, the difficulty of establishing the Dao is far greater than building the foundation."

"And enacting the Dao externally..."

Li Fan's eyes slightly narrowed. He couldn't help but think of Ji Yuzhen's "Immeasurable Heavenly Pivot Severance Divine Art."

When this cultivation method is practiced to its extreme, taking the primordial soul as a medicinal catalyst, it can achieve the heaven-defying effect of Dao fusion.

"The Grand Daos of heaven and earth all originate from the Primordial. This might be the theoretical basis for 'enacting the Dao externally' and the feasibility of Dao fusion."

"Whether relying on oneself or external objects, they are essentially the same: to merge one's body with more Daos."

Li Fan absorbed the knowledge voraciously. The Sky Profound Mirror's insights from thousands of years instantly transformed into resources for Li Fan's future Dao authentication.

Although, in terms of current strength and realm, it seemed to offer him no immediate help, Li Fan had a premonition that this method would be extremely useful if the immortal Dao no longer existed.

"King Xuanti's childhood sweetheart seemed to have inherited King Xuanti's legacy. Not only was her cultivation speed astonishing, but in a short span of time, she also gained insights that ordinary cultivators could hardly achieve. Truly, when one person achieves the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!"

As Li Fan appropriated all of the Sky Profound Mirror's insights on "establishing the Dao" and "enacting the Dao," his progress in replicating the Sky Profound Mirror's spirit instantly made a leap.

By continuously encroaching on the control of all Sky Profound Mirror's functions, he believed that soon, Mirror Profound, the artifact spirit, would exist in name only.

Looking at the figure before him, which increasingly resembled him and grew more spirited, Mirror Profound's face turned ashen, and he gave up struggling.

And witnessing Li Fan, with a mere flick of his hand, subdue the Sky Profound Mirror—which even Dharma Transmission Heavenly Venerable had failed to completely suppress for thousands of years—Emperor Sanmo and Dharma Transmittor Zhou also fell silent, their reverence growing even deeper.

Dharma Transmittor, Mirror Master, and Illusion True Sage, the three actual wielders of power in the Myriad Immortals Alliance, had all been subdued by Li Fan. The Myriad Immortals Alliance had quietly changed hands.

Sensing Dharma Transmission and Heavenly Physician, who were still speeding through the sea of stars, Li Fan faintly smiled.

In the face of absolute power suppression, so-called backup plans and schemes were all nonsense.

Li Fan had no intention of asserting his identity as the new master of the Myriad Immortals Alliance.

All affairs of the Immortal Alliance remained unchanged. The replicated Mirror Profound continued to maintain the balance of the Myriad Immortals Alliance in an orderly manner.

Li Fan first ordered someone to bring over the cultivator named Qin Zhuang, who was imprisoned in the deepest part of the Nether Prison.

Previously, Li Fan tried using a downgraded immortal array to probe the secrets within Qin Zhuang's mind, but was affected by invisible interference and failed.

At first, Qin Zhuang's expression was somewhat disdainful and mocking.

But after seeing Li Fan, he became somewhat startled and uncertain.

Li Fan didn't waste words with him and pointed a finger at Qin Zhuang's glabella.

Within the illusion array, Qin Zhuang's experiences indeed showed inconsistencies that hadn't been present before.

Furthermore, some flashes occasionally appeared, seeming to be Qin Zhuang's past memories.

"What a joke! Make me go into the Annihilation Land? Don't talk about missions or not, I, Qin Zhuang, will absolutely not go!"

"The Ancestor personally ordered it? Then I'll think about it again."

"Your goal this time is to search for a Saint Merchant bloodline within the Annihilation Land. According to the information provided by Supreme Elder Ji, that infant's relatives all died in internal power struggles within the Saint Merchant. His parents, before their demise, sent him back to the Annihilation Land. If we can find him, we will have an excuse to openly intervene in the Saint Merchant's internal affairs."

"However, within the Annihilation Land, dangers abound. Beneath the broken walls and ruined foundations, there seem to be remnants of ancient civilizations. To be safe, we must perform a small procedure on your mind. Don't worry, everything will be restored to normal when you return."

Inside the illusion array, a middle-aged cultivator with a square face was speaking to Qin Zhuang with a serious expression. Suddenly, as if sensing something, the middle-aged cultivator's gaze suddenly left Qin Zhuang.

And met Li Fan, who was outside the illusion array, in mid-air.

As if stained by frost, Qin Zhuang's memories instantly became mottled, pale, and indistinct.

Li Fan further noticed that Qin Zhuang, who had endured all the torture of the Myriad Immortals Alliance and yet had always maintained his vitality, began to decay uncontrollably.

His spirit and body, both.

"Hmph, it still triggered the restriction."

Having finally found a channel to glimpse information from beyond the wall, how could Li Fan easily let Qin Zhuang die?

He pointed another finger.

However, this time it wasn't an illusion array, but an illusion representing the power of the entire Xuanhuang World.

Even though the opponent's method of stripping away vitality was something Li Fan had never seen before, neither a divine ability nor a formation, overwhelming power conquers all. Under the irrigation of such immense power, it was enough to temporarily sustain Qin Zhuang's life.

In the illusion array, although Qin Zhuang's memories turned from color to intermittently flashing grayscale, they still continued to play out.

Li Fan frowned slightly and quickly scrutinized them.

After a full seven days and seven nights, all the memories in Qin Zhuang's mind that could be extracted had been retrieved. With no further utilitarian value, Li Fan then stopped sustaining his life.

Like ashes left after being burned by fire, Qin Zhuang's skeletal body turned into countless gray powders, scattering in the air.

Li Fan keenly perceived that these powders seemed to want to transmit some kind of signal to the outside world.

With a flicker of his gaze, he had already sealed them with an immortal array.

After carefully observing for a while and ensuring that no accidents occurred, he then slowly savored the insights he had just gained.

"Perhaps Qin Zhuang's memories were originally edited. The environment he grew up in made him completely unaware that powerful beings could appear from beyond the realm of possibility."

"In his worldview, the darkest sea of stars within the high wall was located in the so-called Annihilation Land."

"Within the Annihilation, which is where the Calamity of Dao Annihilation once descended, in almost all areas, existence had already vanished. To mistakenly enter it meant a one-way trip. Only in small spaces supported by broken walls and ruined foundations was there a small amount of vitality remaining."

"The high wall in our eyes is what they call broken walls and ruined foundations."

Li Fan pondered in silence.

Outside the Annihilation Land, in the endless starry sky, life seemed to still be vibrant. As the place where the Calamity of Dao Annihilation once descended, all cultivators feared it and avoided it like the plague, let alone exploring it.

If the Ancestor had not personally ordered and entrusted him, Qin Zhuang would never have risked his life.

In Qin Zhuang's memories, Li Fan saw the Ancestor's appearance.

"Indeed, it's Heavenly Sword Sect, Situ Yao."

"That Supreme Elder Ji..."

Li Fan's gaze flickered. This person was also an old acquaintance of his.

It was precisely the cultivator named Ji Zhaoxuan whom he had possessed in the Fallen Immortal Realm, Heavenly Sword Sect's Sword Forging instance.

"Beyond the high wall, various forces stand in parallel."

"The place where Qin Zhuang lived was no longer called the Heavenly Sword Sect. Instead, it had been renamed Sword Domain. And that Saint Merchant, suspected to be Jiao Xiuyuan's hometown..."

"Merchant Immortal Ark?" Li Fan was somewhat uncertain.

Because judging from Qin Zhuang's memories, the Saint Merchant was the most formidable existence among all forces outside the high wall.

Various mysterious and wondrous treasures emerged endlessly, and often, producing just one could instantly turn the tide of battle between two major forces.

But for some unknown reason, the Saint Merchant's interactions with the outside world became increasingly rare.

They even began to recall treasures that had once been sold externally.

This made other forces, who had long coveted the Saint Merchant's technology, begin to stir with ambitious thoughts.

Although many forces had risen outside the high wall, there was one point that was a consensus among all forces:

The former Immortal Dao had led to the advent of the Calamity of Dao Annihilation.

To prevent the calamity from continuing, cultivators abandoned their previous methods of cultivation.

And "Immortals" also became the target of everyone's hunt.

"Nameless Immortals Must Be Exterminated?"

Li Fan looked thoughtful.

In Qin Zhuang's memories, there was awe for Immortals, but not fear.

Because the major forces outside the high wall all possessed their own unique methods for dealing with Immortals.

And the Cat Treasure that Li Fan had once seen was precisely a creation of the Saint Merchant!

And the White Circle Descending to the Mortal World...

Li Fan speculated based on Qin Zhuang's memories that it should be from a place called Heavenly Mechanism.

Although Heavenly Mechanism, like the Saint Merchant, excelled in creation, their methods were more "traditional," closer to the artifact-refining techniques of past cultivators.

Outsiders speculated that Heavenly Mechanism might be an aggregation of immortal cultivation sects that had fled from various places in the past.

However, all cultivators of Heavenly Mechanism consistently denied this.

"Besides relying on external objects, the reason why forces outside the wall could contend with nameless True Immortals and even hunt them was because they also had a particularly targeted trump card."

"The methods employed by each faction were not entirely the same, but their principles were generally similar."

"A weakened, directed Calamity of Dao Annihilation..."

Nameless True Immortals merge with the Dao.

And if their own Grand Dao were implanted with this weakened version of the Calamity of Dao Annihilation, it would be like a maggot on a bone, extremely difficult to eradicate. Not only would their own strength be greatly diminished, but they would also constantly have to worry about being targeted by the true Calamity of Dao Annihilation.

"An Immortal-Mortal Miasma version for nameless True Immortals?"

"Or perhaps, a specialized Ink Kill?"

Li Fan generally understood the situation outside the high wall.

Although it wasn't perfectly clear yet, he could at least roughly outline its appearance.

What puzzled Li Fan was that within the vibrant lands outside the high wall, although the existence of the Calamity of Dao Annihilation was widely known, there was no particular concern.

They even dared to use the Calamity of Dao Annihilation as a means of attack.

They seemed to have special confidence that the Calamity of Dao Annihilation would not affect them.

"Is this truly the case, or is it a false appearance created?"