Chapter 1432: Death of the Nameless Immortal

The flow of time within the Darkest Star Sea was inherently inconsistent due to the Immortal Ruin's existence. Therefore, Li Fan only compared the Mysterious Yellow World to the City of Elysium in the Stellar Sea.

Under normal circumstances, it was a staggering 120 times faster!

In other words, while over 120 years passed in the Stellar Sea, barely one year had elapsed in the Mysterious Yellow World.

"With a time flow over a hundred times faster, it's no wonder the disparity between inside and outside the high wall is so immense."

"Even the current state of the Stellar Sea is vastly different from when Qin Zhuang left. It can be said that times have changed."

Having initially constructed a projection of the Great Dao and a miniature Dao Net within himself, Li Fan's understanding of the Dao had reached a completely new stage.

Therefore, confronted with this inconceivable time differential phenomenon, Li Fan naturally began to feel suspicious.

"Theoretically, when the Hunger Art is comprehended to its extreme, it could indeed achieve such an effect. But..."

"That would be the manifestation of an Anonymous Immortal who has achieved Dao through Hunger, and only then should such a display be possible."

"From what I've seen of the Hunger Immortal's performance, it's clear she hasn't reached this level."

In Li Fan's mind, various scenes he had witnessed of the Hunger Immortal flashed by.

When Mao Bao appeared, she was embarrassingly captured; it wasn't even the Dao Annihilation Tribulation itself that arrived, but merely the dark mist tide of its precursor, and her expression changed upon seeing it. It seemed she could only rely on the Southern Immortal Sky Pillar to escape the calamity; even when Evil Su Bai approached extremely close and trampled on her face, she remained unaware...

"Perhaps she is only one step away from being Anonymous. But this single step's difference, when manifested externally, is a world of difference!"

"The abnormal time flow in the Darkest Star Sea should not be caused by the Hunger Immortal. Or rather, only a small part of it is due to the Hunger Immortal's enlightenment."

"The larger reason seems to come from the Immortal Ruin itself."

Li Fan recalled the scenes he had witnessed within the Immortal Ruin.

Apart from vast stretches of ruins and wreckage, the most striking feature was the colossal character for "hunger" (饥) on the ground.

Li Fan had previously speculated that this "hunger" character might have been personally inscribed by the Inscribing Dao Immortal. Now, it seemed there might be another profound mystery behind this character.

"The Hunger Immortal could break free from her shackles at any time; those golden chains were clearly self-imposed. The Immortal Ruin was once the ascension channel leading to the Immortal Realm. When the Immortal Realm suffered the Dao Annihilation Tribulation, the Great Dao was crushed, and all things collapsed. The surviving immortals desperately fled downwards through the Immortal Realm channel." Li Fan deduced and retraced the situation at that time.

"The Dao Annihilation Tribulation could destroy even the Immortal Realm. At that time, who could guarantee that the terrifying calamity wouldn't spread down through the ascension channel? Theoretically, it would be best to flee as far away as possible. However, the Hunger Immortal halted in such a dangerous place and even disregarded the danger to attain enlightenment on the spot..."

"Previously, I overlooked the illogical aspects of this."

Li Fan's gaze involuntarily swept towards the Immortal Ruin above his head: "If the Hunger Immortal absolutely had to use the True Immortal Seal Script inscribed on the ground for enlightenment, she could have directly taken the entire piece of land, along with the character, and carried it away. She could then have entered seclusion for enlightenment in a safe place."

"However, she didn't do that."

"The Dao Annihilation Tribulation abruptly stopped. It did not extend to the lower realms. The anomalies caused by the True Immortal Seal Script on the Immortal Ruin's ground even amounted to the realm of enlightenment for an Anonymous Immortal. And the Anonymous Immortal's leg bone, serving as an Immortal Sky Pillar..."

These numerous clues flashed one by one through Li Fan's mind. They finally linked together completely, pointing to the most probable truth.

"The Hunger Immortal didn't move that 'hunger' character, not because she was unwilling. She simply couldn't. Because beneath that character, or perhaps the character itself, is the transformed skeleton of an Anonymous True Immortal!"

"This Anonymous Immortal, whether voluntarily or by force, after falling, returned to the Great Dao, transforming into a sky pillar. They temporarily propped up the collapsing heavens of the Immortal Realm!"

"And precisely because of this, the one who attained Dao through hunger in the Immortal Ruin had the intention of comprehending the 'hunger' character and re-proving their anonymity!"

Li Fan's heart jolted and his thoughts began to spread out again.

Given the vastness of the Immortal Realm and the lower Star Sea, the so-called ascension channels are very likely not just one.

Judging by the current state of the lower Star Sea, although most regions have been annihilated by the Dao Annihilation Tribulation, there are still many surviving areas.

"Perhaps this is the protection of other Anonymous True Immortals!"

"Using their own bodies as pillars, they resisted the overwhelming catastrophe pressing down."

Li Fan let out a long breath.

"If the high wall is a crumbling ruin that has already collapsed, then the Anonymous Immortals are the pillars holding up what's above."

"With the protection of Anonymous True Immortals, the Darkest Star Sea is already so desolate..."

"Perhaps the lower Star Sea can continue to exist with life. The sacrifice of Anonymous True Immortals is absolutely indispensable."

Anonymous True Immortals merge their bodies with the Dao. Compared to mortals, or even True Immortals, they can be said to no longer be the same species.

But this was merely Li Fan's perspective.

Perhaps among these Anonymous True Immortals, there were individuals with noble natures like Su Bai, willing to sacrifice themselves to save the beings of heaven and earth, even if only temporarily.

Or perhaps, the immortals who fled down had already anticipated that the Dao Annihilation Tribulation would pursue them. For their own lives, some of them needed to step forward and "sacrifice themselves" to buy enough time for everyone else to escape.

In any case, some Anonymous True Immortals transformed into pillars standing between heaven and earth, temporarily resisting the Dao Annihilation Tribulation.

However, this method could only ensure temporary survival, not eternal protection.

The Dao Annihilation Tribulation would only be postponed, never truly disappear.

"Behind the Dao Net, there are faintly still traces of these immortals' work."

"Furthermore, some Dao Net nodes I observed still carried the aura of Anonymous True Immortal remains."

However, Li Fan was not surprised by this.

The miniature Dao Net in Li Fan's divine sense was merely a projection. He deeply understood how difficult it was to perfectly align real, existing creations with the ethereal Great Dao.

"When the Dao Net operates, it is unstable and erratic."

"The great hand I observed outside the Dao Net, used to stabilize it, could only serve as a supplement. That great hand, clearly, did not manifest all the time. What truly anchored the Dao Net was..."

Li Fan seemed to once again see the Dao Net stretching across heaven and earth.

All other irrelevant lines disappeared. Only a few most crucial nodes remained.

They belonged to the Dao Net. And they also existed within the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth!

It was precisely because of the unique nature of these nodes that the Dao Net could cling tightly to the formless and invisible Great Dao of Heaven and Earth!

"Anonymous True Immortals!"

"Furthermore, there is a high probability that they are living Anonymous True Immortals!"

After his mind transformed into a spirit, Li Fan once again probed the true secrets of the Dao Net.

The only remaining Dao Net nodes in his vision faintly manifested as blurry human figures. Then, staring intently at Li Fan, they suddenly opened their eyes without warning!

Each and every Anonymous True Immortal seemed to reveal their true forms.

All of them looked at Li Fan!

A sudden sense of dread surged in his heart, and startled, Li Fan broke free from the illusion.

The figures were gone; they seemed to be just ordinary nodes.

Yet, Li Fan's heart was far from calm.

Was it just an illusion?

Li Fan didn't think so.

Having cultivated to his current realm, even a genuine immortal-grade illusion array would find it difficult to affect him.

Much less would an illusion appear before him without reason.

"The most likely explanation is..."

"The Anonymous True Immortal nodes exist simultaneously within both the Dao Net and the Great Dao."

"My Great Dao projection in my mind-spirit transformation also reflected these nodes."

"Therefore, in a sense, I truly saw them!"

With a shift in his thoughts, Li Fan reached a conclusion.

Soon, a question arose in his heart.

Since Li Fan could see them, could these Anonymous True Immortals see Li Fan?

Inevitably, a wave of disquiet surged within Li Fan.

He believed he could contend with Anonymous True Immortals. Yet, that didn't mean he could remain composed under the gaze of several Anonymous True Immortals.

Although his usually accurate spiritual sense showed no warning of danger at this moment, and he had been nailed into the Dao Net, becoming a "living stake" node, the presence of these Anonymous True Immortals that Li Fan perceived still made him feel uneasy and on edge.

But for Li Fan to easily abandon the power of his mind-spirit transformation that he had just acquired simply because of this unarrived danger was utterly impossible!

Li Fan's true body's thoughts raced, pondering countermeasures.

Meanwhile, in the City of Elysium in the Stellar Sea, Li Fan's divine sense, in the form of Ma Tiande, was already beginning preparations for the Grand Ceremony of Elysium.

The mind-spirit transformation's ability for full-range communication allowed his divine sense to ignore spacetime blockades and know everything his true body had deduced.

However, these worries would naturally be borne by his true body.

What the divine sense needed to do now was to continue lying low in the City of Elysium and further investigate the Dao Net.

However, first, he had to get through the current hurdle: the Grand Ceremony of Elysium.

Scholar Zhu clearly had a strong aversion to the Dao Net's encroachment. But for some reason, he wouldn't directly turn hostile; he would only vent his anger on Ma Tiande, who was directly carrying out the work before him.

A cultivator like Ma Tiande, though wearing the guise of a Dao Net operator, was still merely an ant in Scholar Zhu's eyes.

Li Fan quietly sat in Ma Tiande's residence, pondering an escape plan.

"For this grand ceremony, the Saber Isle did not give Scholar Zhu face. Not a single person came. Instead, the Sword Domain sent three cultivators to participate."

"The identities of these three are currently unknown, but representing a top power in the Stellar Sea, their lives should not be as precarious as mine." Li Fan's divine sense thought to himself with self-mockery.

"Only the Sword Domain participated from the entire Stellar Sea. While it's called a grand ceremony, in reality, it's merely Scholar Zhu's self-amusement. And we are his toys."

In Ma Tiande's memories, there were scenes from past grand ceremonies.

In the City of Elysium, the beings who had indulged in pleasure for three years began to slaughter wantonly. Only when only a few survivors remained would this slaughter cease.

These survivors might even feel fortunate to have escaped from the boundless hell. But they would not know that they were merely tempting fruits on Scholar Zhu's plate.

"Those invited to participate in the grand ceremony could all consume these fruits of slaughter."

"It is indeed an extremely precious divine medicine; even if my true body has reached the mind-spirit transformation realm, there are still many benefits. But for the weak, it is an absolute poison!"

Li Fan was well aware of Scholar Zhu's intentions.

Yet, Scholar Zhu wasn't being petty, nor did he necessarily intend to kill Ma Tiande.

He merely bestowed a fruit, which could certainly be called a natural treasure. Who told him he couldn't handle it?

"With my current, strengthened divine sense, consuming the fruit of slaughter shouldn't be a problem."

"But the difficulty is how to consume the fruit safely without being suspected by Scholar Zhu and the Sword Domain cultivators at the ceremony. After all, given Ma Tiande's displayed strength, there's no way he should survive the fruit of slaughter."

Although abandoning Ma Tiande's identity wouldn't result in any significant loss, Li Fan's divine sense, however, was unwilling to simply vanish in such a humiliating way.

"Perhaps the opportunity lies within the Dao Net of the City of Elysium."

"Ma Tiande" looked up at the invisible dark clouds shrouding the City of Elysium, revealing an inexplicable expression.

Soon after, three streaks of sword light arrived from beyond the heavens.

"Junior Ji Xingdao!"

"Junior Situ Tiantian!"

"Junior Zhao Xing!"

"We pay respects to Scholar Zhu!"

Three resonant voices echoed across the sky. Two men and one woman.

While their voices still reverberated in the sky, the three had already flown into the City of Elysium.

The City Lord's Mansion materialized out of thin air, drawing the three from the Sword Domain inside.

In Li Fan's ear, Scholar Zhu's somewhat charming voice simultaneously spoke: "Come quickly, let's receive our guests."

A shiver of revulsion ran through Li Fan's heart.

And according to Ma Tiande's past habits and behavior, he didn't conceal it, letting it show directly on his face.

Knowing this was Scholar Zhu, in his most twisted and unfathomable psychological state.

Li Fan, with extreme caution, hurried towards the City Lord's Mansion.

By the time he entered the mansion, the three from the Sword Domain were already seated.

Li Fan glanced at them; the three appeared extremely young, one could even say somewhat "naive." Their eyes were clear yet foolish, almost completely lacking sophistication.

Clearly, the Sword Domain intended to use the fruits of slaughter refined in the City of Elysium to "temper" these three young ones.

"With such a rapid method, even if they could withstand it, they would probably become somewhat twisted in nature and perhaps even insane."

"Three promising talents, even in our Mysterious Yellow World, they would be considered prodigies. Is the Sword Domain just wasting them like this?"

Li Fan remained impassive, first bowing to Scholar Zhu.

Then, with a look of aloofness, he merely gave a slight nod to the three from the Sword Domain.

Theoretically, a Dao Net operator of the Governance Council held a status no lower than that of the three from the Sword Domain.

But in reality...

Consumables could be replaced infinitely. Direct disciples, however, required painstaking cultivation.

The two were clearly not on the same level.

The three Sword Domain disciples seemed to understand this in their hearts.

They showed no anger at Ma Tiande's attitude. They merely exchanged a smile, completely unconcerned.

First, with relish, they drank the three bowls of red soup before them.

Compared to what Li Fan had tasted before, it looked even more horrifying. It wasn't just eyeballs; there were also severed limbs and flesh of various non-human monsters.

Yet the three from the Sword Domain casually ignored it and, without changing expression, savored it slowly.