Chapter 1438: Initial Hunt for the True Immortal

The True Immortal was enraged, causing the rain to become even more violent. Raindrops pierced through like curtains, dividing the intense battlefield into sections.

In the pouring rain, Li Fan saw through the gaps that more than ten cultivators, who were seizing this crucial opportunity to besiege the True Immortal, couldn't withstand the immense pressure of the rain and were instantly crushed to dust. Then, the powdered remains, mixed with rainwater, began to writhe and transform into “Rain People”! Using the omnipresent rain on the battlefield, they instantly attacked Li Fan from all directions.

Li Fan pretended his expression changed drastically. Holding an umbrella, his body transformed into a streak of light, rapidly escaping the encirclement. His speed was even greater than that of the falling rain; it was as if the torrential rain passed right through him, not a single drop touching his body.

After escaping to a distant, temporarily safe spot, Li Fan looked at the True Immortal, who was still fixated on him. He sneered and pointed again: "Shave!"

The voice seemed to possess a strange magical power, causing everyone present to stiffen slightly and their attacks to pause. The True Immortal, eyes wide with fury, let out another earth-shattering roar.

"Kill you! Kill you! Kill you…" Resentment surged, and rage boiled over.

The rain, which had been falling evenly everywhere, now seemed to be drawn by some force. Like water spouts, all of it roared towards Li Fan. However, the True Immortal's act of retaliation could not stop the Dao Net command Li Fan had already issued.

Invisible Dao Net fluctuations instantly swept across the battlefield, descending upon the True Immortal again. It was as if countless pairs of scissors were simultaneously trimming the True Immortal's hair and beard. As the ruined coverings were slowly removed, the True Immortal's true appearance was finally revealed. Even with a slightly gaunt face, his extraordinary handsomeness was still evident. However, his body was covered in massive, bone-deep, unhealing wounds. His flesh continuously wriggled, but an inexplicable force constantly prevented it from regenerating.

The remaining besieging cultivators, understanding implicitly, directed all their spells and divine abilities towards these wounds. The True Immortal cried out in agony.

Not far away, Li Fan, merely holding an umbrella, was already unable to contend with the sky-filling water spouts. The heavy rain fell from all directions, eroding Li Fan's body and mind. Sounds reaching his ears were drowned out by the rain, and his vision was enveloped by thick curtains of water. Even though he was wearing a meticulously protective raincoat, Li Fan slowly began to feel as if he was being severed from the world around him. It was like the dust of the world, being thoroughly cleansed by this great rain!

"Is this the Dao of Rain..." Li Fan mused. "If I don't do something soon, I might completely vanish from this world. All traces of my existence will be like mud stains washed away by the rain, never to be found again. Even while bound by the Dao Net, this True Immortal can still unleash such divine abilities. It seems he was by no means weak in his prime!"

Amidst the rain, Li Fan experienced the Grand Dao's divine abilities up close, gaining considerable insight. At the same time, as various inspirations flashed through his mind, another rain began around him. The raindrops fell in the exact opposite direction to those conjured by the True Immortal. As the raindrops collided, the wind and rain around Li Fan immediately weakened. Even if it couldn't completely counteract the True Immortal's divine abilities, the raincoat still ensured his safety.

Li Fan continued to sense the Dao of Rain around him. Observing the disheveled True Immortal not far away, who was under siege by cultivators, a sudden sense of alarm welled up within him.

"It's merely shedding armor and clothing, being completely exposed," he thought. "Compared to being captured alive by mere mortals, this humiliation is utterly insignificant. This Golden-Armored True Immortal is behaving far too poorly, shouting and screaming as if he has almost completely lost his mind... This is completely unlike someone capable of comprehending such divine abilities. Wait!"

Li Fan's heart tightened, and he instantly realized something. He looked at the battlefield. The golden armor, hair, and beard that he had removed earlier using the 'Shed Armor and Shave' technique had vanished without a trace, and no one knew when! His current state was merely a decoy, intended to distract everyone. The goal was to seize the opportunity to escape while unnoticed.

Li Fan's thoughts raced. He was about to connect with the local Dao Net and activate a capture ability. But then he reconsidered. This wasn't a true battlefield for fighting True Immortals. It was merely a test by the Polaris Sea Governance Council to recruit Immortal Hunters. With so many people watching, could a mere True Immortal really escape?

"This must be an additional test. If I expose it, it will undoubtedly draw extra attention from the Governance Council. But if I pretend not to know..."

Li Fan hesitated for a moment but still made the unusual decision to reveal his special insight. He then shouted loudly in mid-air: "Everyone, be careful! Don't let him sneak away!"

He quickly scanned his surroundings, simultaneously chanting a solemn incantation: "Seize!"

The Dao Net revealed on the battlefield seemed to be suddenly stirred by a gust of wind. It rustled. The horizontally and vertically interwoven Dao Strings became even clearer. Amidst slight tremors, a dazzling silver glow emanated. The golden armor, hair, and beard, which had scattered and fled to the edge of the battlefield, were all simultaneously locked down and bound! The Dao Strings swayed continuously, as if the True Immortal was struggling fiercely.

At this moment, the cultivators on the battlefield finally awoke as if from a dream. Some continued to besiege the True Immortal's body, while others surrounded the golden armor, hair, and beard. The situation was clear: the True Immortal had completely lost any chance of turning the tide. He was about to die before these "ants"…

A flash of light appeared, and the dying True Immortal vanished directly from everyone's sight. It wasn't that he had escaped; rather, the second stage of the test had ended. Li Fan felt the strange glances from the surrounding cultivators but simply responded with a smile.

"The third test..." a cold voice announced. "Live!"

Before the cold voice finished, the Dao Net, which had been merely a backdrop, suddenly descended directly overhead. Like a collapsing sky, Dao Strings stretched across, resembling massive broken walls of rock. Amidst this sudden calamity, many cultivators died on the spot. From their appearance, it seemed they weren't teleported away before death, but truly perished then and there! The Dao Net, which they could rely on, had now turned into a deadly weapon. The cultivators participating in the test could only rely on their own abilities to evade this inexplicable disaster.

However, Polaris Sea cultivators, especially those participating in the Immortal Hunter selection, had almost all their cultivation and power rooted in Dao Origin Symbols and Dao Net commands. Without the Dao Net's augmentation, the methods they could employ were pitifully few. How could they survive such a heaven-crushing disaster? Except for the elites of the major factions, everyone else died on the spot within a short time. The remaining individuals were merely struggling desperately in the face of the Dao Net's overwhelming collapse. As the Dao Net's descent worsened, their hiding places became fewer and fewer. Everyone was clearly being pushed to a dead end.

Relying on his light-transformation escape technique, Li Fan was still moving with ease. However, seeing the brutal reality of the selection, with only sixteen people remaining including himself, a doubt arose in his mind. "Previous Immortal Hunter tests weren't this strict at all. Could something major have happened recently in the Polaris Sea?"

The severity of this assessment had clearly exceeded everyone's expectations. The composure they had before was gone from their faces, replaced by uncontrollable panic. They used every available method, fighting for their lives in this apocalyptic scene.

"Ah!" Another person was crushed to death by a falling Dao String. It happened right before Li Fan's eyes. Their soul was extinguished, turning into points of light and merging into the Dao Net.

However, just that glimpse allowed Li Fan to spot a clue. Li Fan had witnessed the annihilation of countless beings. But the "deaths" occurring now seemed different from the true demise of cultivators. With a stir in his heart, Li Fan understood.

"So that's it. This test, seemingly for candidates, is actually a test of death. Those who can survive such a collapsing Dao Net disaster without relying on the Dao Net's power must have reached a miraculous level of cultivation and attainment themselves. Polaris Sea cultivators, from childhood, learn everything related to the Dao Net. It's almost impossible for them to pass this test… If anyone manages to last until the end, they're probably not from around here, but rather a scoundrel secretly lurking from another domain! Dying, paradoxically, means passing the test. Those who survive until the end will likely be apprehended and severely interrogated."

As Li Fan pondered, he already understood the brilliance of this test. "Of course, dying too quickly probably won't work either. Those first few people likely truly died. However, having no reaction capability whatsoever when disaster strikes is also a deserved fate. Only those who die at just the right moment, not too early and not too late, can be selected." Li Fan pondered the deeper meaning of the test from the perspective of the examiner, rather than the examinee. Naturally, he quickly grasped the underlying principle.

So, he slowly pretended to be losing strength, falling into a precarious situation. It must be said that even if one could guess the truth of this test, facing the collapsing Dao Net strings, an ordinary person would find it incredibly difficult to give up resistance and calmly embrace death. There is great terror between life and death. And the scene of the Dao Net's collapse could especially ignite an instinctive struggle for survival within people's hearts. Even for someone like Li Fan, who had constantly teetered on the edge of life and death, surviving countless near-death experiences, when he perceived the silver-white Dao Net string about to crush him, he still almost couldn't resist the urge to break free and escape its falling range. Fortunately, he managed to forcefully restrain himself, allowing the Dao String to crush him to dust.

Instantly, his vision was filled with an endless silver glow. Li Fan's divine sense seemed to lose consciousness. Amidst his unconsciousness, Li Fan vaguely perceived a vast consciousness sweeping through his mind. Under instinctive alertness, Li Fan's mind became completely still, returning to infinite tranquility. In an instant, he relied on the miniature Dao Net hidden within his divine sense, effortlessly bringing Ma Tiande's life memories to the surface. The miniature Dao Net and the full Dao Net were essentially imprints of the Grand Dao, with no fundamental difference. At this moment, it blended in perfectly, so much so that even the vast consciousness, after a brief scrutiny, did not detect it.

The urgency of being watched by a terrifying entity in the shadows vanished. Li Fan "died and resurrected," recovering his body and consciousness. He was no longer in the previous test space but had arrived at a circular floating island suspended in the void. Outside the island, many figures stood. Their faces were unclear, but they were all gazing at the remaining participants in the arena, pointing and laughing, though without malice.

Li Fan scanned his surroundings. He noticed that the other survivors seemed not to have fully recovered their wits, appearing somewhat disoriented. Figures continued to flicker into existence, then appeared within the circular floating island. It wasn't until half a cup of tea's time had passed that all personnel had arrived. Only then did the announcing voice resound again. This time, however, it lacked the previous coldness and solemnity; instead, it carried a touch of warmth.

"Final test: Battle!"

Li Fan understood: "Presumably, reaching this point means the test is complete. This so-called battle is more like determining ranks." It must be said that those who remained until this round were definitely among the prodigies of the Polaris Sea.

Although they hadn't fully recovered, upon hearing the command, they instinctively launched surprise attacks on their nearby "enemies." Li Fan naturally came under attack as well. Moving like lightning, he easily dodged all incoming attacks. At the same time, he angrily shouted, "Shed Armor!"

The cultivators targeting Li Fan all stiffened slightly and retreated abruptly in unison. Everyone present was intelligent; they all understood that this final test was merely a formality. Losing the battle itself wasn't a big deal. Those observing nearby were clearly fellow Immortal Hunters. If one were to be stripped of their clothes and left naked, how could they possibly interact in the future? Thus, under the deterrent of the "Shed Armor" technique, everyone tacitly avoided choosing Li Fan as an opponent. They only occasionally launched sneak attacks, all of which Li Fan easily evaded. This match was merely a demonstration.

It became clear very quickly. Above the circular floating island, a light screen descended. The names of everyone present were listed. There were twenty-eight people listed, from top to bottom. The comprehensive ranking was based on their performance in the four tests. Ma Tiande's name was ranked fifth.

"He must have boosted his score during the second test, the True Immortal capture operation," Li Fan mused.

Li Fan looked at the person ranked first on the list. Nine out of ten gazes in the arena were focused on him. It was the cultivator who had previously used wind-based divine abilities to blow back the True Immortal's rain. His surname was Dao, and his given name was Yuan. He had a tall and slender build, with deep-set eyes. Facing the crowd's scrutiny, he showed no fear, instead smiling and cupping his hands in greeting.

Recalling the information he had seen earlier, Li Fan remembered this person's background. He was from the Ten Thousand Dao Palace in the Polaris Sea. Since the Ten Thousand Dao Palace dared to name itself after the Dao, it naturally had its reasons. It was originally a group of surviving factions from other ruined Star Seas, yet they managed to establish themselves firmly despite being coveted by many. It is said that they made extremely significant contributions to the establishment of the Dao Net. Now, they are a power comparable to the Sword Domain and Blade Isle.

"Since you have joined the Immortal Hunters, from now on, you must obey orders," a voice announced. "Those who defy orders shall be executed without mercy. Next, is the first mission you must face."

Everyone present showed subtle expressions upon hearing this. They hadn't expected to be assigned a mission immediately after joining the Immortal Hunters, without any training.

"Half a day ago, a True Immortal, lured by our immortal bait, crossed the Land of Annihilation and entered the Dao Net's covered region," the voice continued. "It's already not far from the Polaris Sea. This True Immortal is severely wounded, and the Dao he cultivates is 'Yi'. He is perfectly suited to be your practice target for your first hunt..."

A figure emerged from among the observers outside the circular floating island. Though short in stature, he was powerfully built with hardened muscles. He wore a blood-red tunic and carried a black stone pillar on his shoulder, looking incredibly strange.

"I hope your first hunt is a swift success!" The man in blood-red clothes grinned menacingly, patting the stone pillar on his shoulder.