Chapter 1428: Dark Submersion in the Northern Star Sea

The ideal was good.

However, after observing for several days, Li Fan still couldn't find any trace of the so-called Dao Net. It seemed even more elusive than the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth itself.

Nevertheless, Li Fan did not lose heart. From what he could tell, the Dao Net was likely the Myriad Star Sea's trump card against the True Immortal forces. If it could contend with an unknown True Immortal, how could Li Fan, a newcomer, possibly decipher it so easily?

“Even the most fortified stronghold can be breached from within.”

“Since I can’t forcibly infiltrate the Dao Net for now, I might as well lie low and blend into the Myriad Star Sea. I can’t rely entirely on Di Sanmo…”Li Fan shook his head slightly. First, he meticulously used his dream power to create a “rubbing” of the residual fluctuating traces at the location. Only then did he continue exploring towards the Myriad Star Sea.

Although the traces of the great battle seemed to have been completely erased by the white-robed cultivator’s Heaven-Mending technique, Li Fan knew there was nothing absolute in the world. Anything that had ever existed would leave a trace. The current inability to detect them was merely due to insufficient ability, but it didn't stop Li Fan from recording them for future study.

The distant Myriad Star Sea did not uniformly contain vitality. Instead, it formed numerous clusters, like islands. The aura emanating from these clusters varied in strength, not determined by their size, and each possessed distinct characteristics.

“To have survived in this starfield until now, they must all be extraordinary individuals.”Li Fan observed from afar, identifying some familiar auras among them.

He successively discovered the Sword Domain, which appeared to be the former gathering place of the Ten Immortal Sects of the Xuanhuang Realm. However, the Sacred Merchants, from Qin Zhuang’s memory, were nowhere to be found.

“The Mysterious Immortal Boat can still sense the presence of merchant immortal boats beyond the wall, so the Sacred Merchants shouldn’t have gone extinct.”Considering the Sacred Merchants’ peculiar actions in Qin Zhuang’s memory—stopping all external communication and even recalling previously sold treasures—the Dao Transformation Stone in his Sea of Consciousness flickered. After some deduction, the most probable conjecture instantly surfaced in Li Fan’s mind.

“There’s a high probability that the Sacred Merchants discovered something and either chose to seclude themselves or simply fled.”

The Sacred Merchants were merely an entry point; Li Fan wasn't fixated on pursuing the former merchant immortal boats.He began to probe the weakly defended forces within the Myriad Star Sea one by one.

Indeed, as he sensed, the strength of these forces had little correlation with the amount of vitality they gathered.

There were two solitary life force auras, one large and one small, seemingly ostracized and living on the edge of the Myriad Star Sea. But before Li Fan even got close, a strong sense of danger erupted in his heart just from a distant glance. Even his dream tentacles were affected, twisted and partially corrupted. Li Fan could only keep his distance.

There was also a vast gathering place that amassed the aura of tens of millions of living beings, yet it was enveloped by a massive dark cloud woven from malodorous negative emotions such as slaughter, resentment, and greed. Even with numerous defensive measures outside this gathering place, isolating Li Fan's dream power from direct erosion, Li Fan, observing the emotional cloud from afar, had already found a breakthrough point for dream infiltration.

However, Li Fan was not in a hurry to act.This vulnerability could also be a trap deliberately fabricated by the Myriad Star Sea forces to lure and capture True Immortals.

After probing all the other gathering places, he found that only this one offered an opportunity to access the Dream Paradise. Li Fan, with extreme caution, first accumulated a vast amount of dream power to create an extra replica of the Dream Paradise. He then instilled a wisp of his divine sense into this replica and severed its connection with the main Dream Paradise world.

Ensuring absolute safety, Li Fan's divine sense then initiated the infiltration of this gathering place.

This replica of the Dream Paradise was empty. Being a severed copy, its dream power diminished with every use. If it didn't receive effective replenishment before its energy was depleted, this replica world would perish.

Although Li Fan had only split off a wisp of his divine sense, it carried nine projections of the Xuanhuang Realm and computing power equivalent to a supreme-grade Dao Transformation Stone.

“If all these preparations can’t open a path, then I’ll have to find another way.”

Progress was not smooth.That invisible barrier completely severed the contact between dream power and the minds of living beings. Even though the suppressed negative emotions of the beings were almost tangible, spanning across the sky, a membrane in between rendered them unreachable.

“If I disregard the consequences and expend all the replica’s power at once, I might be able to force open a breach. But that would inevitably trigger a collective alert from the Myriad Star Sea forces.”“The gain wouldn’t justify the loss.”

After some deliberation, Li Fan ultimately decided against alerting the enemy. Instead, he chose to patiently wait for an opportune moment.

In the Myriad Star Sea, cultivators would indeed leave their gathering places and travel through the starfield. Li Fan didn't believe that all these “passersby” would possess strength so great that he couldn't approach them.

As it turned out, Li Fan’s judgment was correct.Although the target he was watching didn't travel as frequently as members of other factions, they still did so occasionally.

Li Fan observed for half a year before a streak of light finally flew out from it.Its destination seemed to be in the direction of the Sword Domain.

As the light shot forth, it stirred up a large emotional cloud. The individual's emotional fluctuations were so distinct that Li Fan could clearly sense their thoughts without even actively eavesdropping.

“They’re making me run errands again!”“I, Ma Tiande, at least passed the examination and am a Dao Master certified by the Myriad Star Sea. Even if I’ve only just scratched the surface, I can still coordinate and manipulate the Dao Net patterns within a single unit area!”“Making me do trivial little things every day is simply a waste of Ma Tiande’s life…”

This cultivator, named Ma Tiande, sped through the starfield, burdened with deep resentment.

Li Fan did not act, merely watching the individual enter a gathering place adjacent to the Sword Domain. After spending three days inside, the person slowly returned.

Having seemingly vented, the resentment was gone. The person hummed a cheerful tune, leisurely returning along the original path.

Seeing that Ma Tiande was about to enter the protective barrier, Li Fan decisively launched his attack.

Ordinary methods of body-snatching or infiltration had a high probability of being detected by the gathering place’s defensive layers. Even any power related to Immortals could trigger an alarm.

Therefore, Li Fan employed the Mysterious Immortal Boat’s "Dao Pill" technique. Ma Tiande, fleeing through space, merely paused for a fleeting moment.Meanwhile, he had already been refined by Li Fan into a “human pill” that could be swallowed at any time. Li Fan's divine sense silently swallowed the pill, instantly transforming into Ma Tiande.

Temporarily severing his connection with the Dream Paradise replica, Li Fan organized the information in Ma Tiande’s mind while flying straight towards the gathering place.

“City of Bliss?”“Interesting.”

Theoretically, this body was still Ma Tiande’s. It was just that his mind now contained an additional train of thought compared to before.Any living being was bound to experience such fluctuations in thought.

Furthermore, the Dao Pill technique was unique to the Mysterious Immortal Boat. It had not appeared in this starfield before.Although the defensive layer outside the City of Bliss was strong, it was difficult to guard against such an unpredictable method.

Without a hitch, “Ma Tiande” successfully flew into the City of Bliss.

Unlike the foul-smelling emotional cloud seen from outside, Li Fan’s gaze fell upon a scene of festive peace and prosperity.Multicolored lights stretched to the horizon. Unrestrained laughter, decadent moans, uninhibited shouts of anger…Filled every corner of the city.

“The City of Bliss has three years of day, three years of night, a six-year cycle.”“During the night, indulge in pleasure, carefree.”“During the day… slaughter without punishment?”

Li Fan organized the information in Ma Tiande’s mind as he proceeded to report.

Ma Tiande’s trip to Blade Island had been specifically to deliver an invitation on behalf of the City Lord of Bliss.Thirty days later, it would coincide with the transition from day to night in the City of Bliss.It was an invitation for the people of Blade Island to come and witness the grand event.

With the information flashing through his mind, Li Fan unhurriedly arrived at the center of the City of Bliss.

Compared to the bustling and lively scenes around it, the central mansion was strikingly desolate and eerie. This sharp contrast instilled a chilling sense of dread in anyone who set foot there.

Even though it wasn't Ma Tiande’s first time there, he instinctively felt fear.Li Fan did not suppress these feelings, appropriately displaying corresponding changes in his expression.

He cautiously approached the Lord of the City of Bliss and reported the situation.

“Scholar Zhu, I delivered the invitation. But it’s hard to say how many people from Blade Island will come,” Li Fan said, a troubled expression on his face, recounting every detail. “As soon as I entered, the islanders invited me to spar. They even threatened to tear up the invitation if I didn’t accept. I really had no choice but to agree.”“They called it sparring, but it was just me getting unilaterally beaten…”

Li Fan, subtly mimicking Ma Tiande’s original demeanor, complained to the Lord of the City of Bliss.

The Lord of the City of Bliss, or Scholar Zhu as Ma Tiande called him, appeared incredibly ancient from his outward appearance.His body was hunched and shriveled within a voluminous robe, making him look rather comical. However, the monstrous sinister aura emanating from Scholar Zhu prevented Li Fan from underestimating him.

Li Fan even vaguely sensed that nine-tenths of the vast emotional cloud accumulated above the City of Bliss was sustained by Scholar Zhu.

Facing Ma Tiande’s incessant complaints, Scholar Zhu did not interrupt. He simply remained quiet, his gaunt, bony fingers lightly tapping on the table. Occasionally, he would drag a fingernail across the long table, producing an incredibly grating sound.

Li Fan clearly saw that the long table before Scholar Zhu was meticulously crafted from stacked and polished human skulls.Even the lingering resentments within the skulls had not completely dissipated. As Scholar Zhu’s fingers lightly glided across them, faint sounds of pained wails could be heard.

Cold sweat dripped from “Ma Tiande’s” forehead. Yet, he didn't stop speaking, completing his report from beginning to end.When he finished, he respectfully stood by the long table, awaiting the City Lord's instructions.

Silence settled in the mansion for a while.From outside, occasional sounds of clamor drifted in.

Scholar Zhu, hidden within his robe, pressed his fingers on the long table. Each press brought an outdoor sound to an abrupt halt.Not until the room was completely silent, with no more outside noise audible, did Scholar Zhu finally speak.

It was not the voice of an aged elder, but the innocent, carefree voice of a child.

“You’ve worked hard on your journey.”“Have dinner before you return.”

As the words were spoken, a ghostly figure floated out from the shadows, appearing before Li Fan.With a rustling sound, a bowl of steaming red soup materialized in front of Li Fan.

Ma Tiande’s body trembled slightly.It was both an instinctive reaction of the body and, to some extent, a reflection of Li Fan’s emotional fluctuations.

The red soup in the bowl was conspicuously made of countless bits of minced flesh mixed with blood.Floating in the bowl were one eye after another.They seemed to possess their own consciousness, staring collectively at Li Fan from within the bowl.

Although Li Fan had annihilated worlds multiple times and viewed living beings as nothing, he had never done anything so “disgusting.”

“Mr. Ma, drink quickly. Why aren’t you drinking yet?”Seeing Li Fan hesitate, Scholar Zhu’s voice immediately became a little agitated, like a mischievous child who had suddenly lost their beloved toy. A strange aura began to spread from Scholar Zhu.

“Aren’t you hungry? Or are you not satisfied with this soup?”“It’s fine, I’ll have my servants prepare something better right away.”

In Li Fan’s mind, Ma Tiande’s understanding of the Lord of the City of Bliss flashed through.“He can manifest various dispositions.”“Old man, child, seductive maiden, cruel butcher…”“Among them, the most emotionally unstable is the child.”

A decision made, he said, “No need to trouble Scholar Zhu. This soup truly tastes exquisite.”With that, Li Fan took the red soup and drained it in one gulp.

To his surprise, it wasn't bloody at all, unlike its appearance. There wasn't even a hint of blood or flesh.Instead, it possessed an indescribable deliciousness. With Li Fan's extensive experience, having undergone hundreds of reincarnations in the Xuanhuang Realm and practically unearthing its secrets, he struggled to recall anything comparable in taste.

After finishing the bowl of red soup, Li Fan looked at the empty bowl and surprisingly felt a tinge of reluctance.

“What, do you want another bowl?”Scholar Zhu also noticed Li Fan's shift in mood, becoming somewhat excited as if he had found a kindred spirit.

With great willpower, Li Fan shook his head and refused.“Such a rare delicacy must be savored properly,” he said solemnly. “Better to have less than more.”

Hearing this, Scholar Zhu let out a muffled chuckle.His voice subtly transitioned from that of a child back to an elder.

“There’s some truth to what you say.”“In that case, you may leave for now.”

Li Fan bowed and took his leave.Just as he was about to exit the mansion, Scholar Zhu’s faint words suddenly drifted into his ear.“For this Day and Night Grand Ceremony, I’ve also prepared a seat for you.”

Li Fan’s face lit up with joy, and he quickly bowed again, “Thank you, Lord Zhu!”

The light and shadows before him shifted, and the City Lord’s mansion vanished.In its place stood a red building, continuously emitting decadent sounds.

Li Fan licked his lips.Ma Tiande’s memory data resurfaced: “Scholar Zhu, a member of the Myriad Star Sea Governance Council.”“Once a True Immortal, later transcended into a mortal!”