Chapter 1449: Coffin Duel Between Two Immortals

The singing inside the Profound Coffin of Transience grew more urgent. An ethereal aura gradually enveloped the coffin. The gap left by the coffin lid narrowed, as if Qian Ruochang, inside the Profound Coffin, truly intended to emulate the previously departed Xi and Yi Immortals and escape from the world.

The newly promoted Immortal Hunters, also mesmerized by the Profound Coffin and eager to seize the chance to fly inside, suddenly found themselves bound by the Dao Net, unable to move. They could only silently watch as events in the field seemed to spiral out of control.

Just as everyone started panicking for no apparent reason, Dao Yuan was the first to step forward and calm the mood, saying, "Don't panic, trust Leader Qian!"

However, the truth was, besides choosing to believe, they had no other options. But their trust seemed to be useless.

The coffin lid closed at a steady pace, finally shutting completely under everyone's desperate gaze. In an instant, the Profound Coffin erupted with dazzling, multicolored light!

However... the scene everyone expected, of the Profound Coffin escaping from the world, did not occur. Instead, the singing abruptly ceased. The multicolored light seemed to freeze, completely still. The vibrant area within the Annihilation Ground instantly fell into an eerie silence.

Then, the Profound Coffin of Transience suddenly jolted violently. Bang! Bang! Bang! The commotion grew louder and louder, each violent tremor seeming to echo in everyone's hearts, as if a trapped beast inside was struggling desperately to escape!

Everyone was somewhat at a loss, but then they suddenly noticed that the Dao Net's restraints had quietly lifted. This was not intentional; rather, most of the power within the localized Dao Net had been diverted, leaving insufficient energy to maintain their confinement.

"This is... Wu Xian has entered the coffin, and Leader Qian is fighting him intimately inside?" Jin Changyue was the first to react, exclaiming in surprise.

"We didn't detect any sign of his movement at all? This place is under the coverage of the localized Dao Net!""Oh no, Leader Qian is facing Wu Xian alone, won't he be in danger?"

Everyone exchanged glances. They were both alarmed by Wu Xian's unfathomable strength and concerned for Qian Ruochang's situation. But they were helpless.

Even with all their initial enthusiasm before departure, now that they truly encountered a True Immortal's battle, they clearly realized that without the power of the Dao Net, they could not intervene in a conflict of this level. Moreover, the Profound Coffin was now sealed shut. Without knowing how to open it, even if they wanted to join the fight, they couldn't get in.

"This Wu Xian acts so mysteriously. Leader Qian could only use himself as bait, using the impending closure and escape of the Profound Coffin to force him to appear. With the coffin lid sealed, no matter how much Wu Xian can escape, he has nowhere to go. So, what we need to do is..."

After a moment of thought, everyone quickly realized. "Quick! Transport this coffin back to Immortal Hunter Headquarters!"

Even with the suppression of the entire localized Dao Net, the Profound Coffin, originally bait and now a cage, vibrated with increasing intensity. From a distance, everyone felt an intense apprehension. They feared that Wu Xian, trapped inside, would break free at any moment.

"This place is too far from the Astral Sea. Reaching it with ordinary flight techniques would definitely be too late. Stabilize the localized Dao Net and re-establish the connection with the Astral Sea's Dao Net!" Everyone quickly agreed.

After such long training, they finally had some unspoken understanding. Without needing anyone to direct them, commands flew out, slowly stabilizing the localized Dao Net, which had been precarious during the True Immortal's battle.

The next step was to reconnect the localized Dao Net to the main Dao Net. Although the Dao String that previously linked the two had been severed, this location was not too far from the Dao Net's boundary. Only one person was needed to fly there quickly and act as a medium to successfully establish the connection.

"I'll go!" This was no time for polite deference; Jin Changyue stated firmly.

She reopened her Triple-Pupil Eyes. Perhaps due to frequent use in a short period, her strange eyes were still bloodshot, like a crimson spiderweb, appearing quite eerie. Two pupils gazed at a distant target, while the central void pupil oddly scanned the surroundings.

Like a rainbow sword light, Jin Changyue vanished from everyone's sight before her words had even finished. Her next sentence then belatedly rang out: "The number of people... it's a bit off!"

Everyone froze for a moment, then looked at each other. After a few breaths, a chilling premonition swept over them. There were twenty-eight newly promoted Immortal Hunters in total for this mission. Excluding Jin Changyue who had left, and Feng Zengyuan who had died earlier while dissecting the True Immortal, there should have been twenty-six people remaining. However, there were only twenty-five people left at the scene!

More crucially, after recalling and taking stock, they couldn't even remember the name or information of the mysteriously missing person! It was as if this person had never existed in the world from the very beginning.

Everyone instinctively looked towards the Profound Coffin of Transience. A terrifying thought arose in their minds: "Was that Wu Xian lurking among us all along?"

Li Fan's expression was also extremely serious. Even when he used the miniature Dao Net within his divine sense to recall, he could only conjure a blurry shadow, unable to ascertain the person's identity. Li Fan's thoughts raced: "Did he blend in from the start, or did he replace someone midway?""But no matter what, since he already knew this was a trap, why did he still enter the coffin at the last moment?"

Recalling the moment the Profound Coffin of Transience erupted with brilliant multicolored light, Li Fan suddenly mused, "Qian Ruochang must have anticipated Wu Xian's secret infiltration long ago.""His entry into the coffin was an overt ploy. If Wu Xian hadn't revealed himself at the end, he might have truly escaped using the coffin, just like the Xi and Yi Immortals!""And seeing a chance to completely escape disaster right before him, Wu Xian ultimately couldn't resist the temptation. Moreover, Wu Xian had been observing Qian Ruochang closely for some time, so perhaps he believed that even if it was a trap, his strength would be enough to suppress the other party. That's why he made a desperate attempt..." As Li Fan pondered, he seemed to reconstruct the truth of the situation.

But soon, a new question arose for Li Fan. "If that's truly the case, Qian Ruochang was actually able to resist the bait of escaping from the world. When Wu Xian appeared, he abandoned his original goal and instead started hunting Wu Xian...""Was capturing this True Immortal more important to Qian Ruochang than escaping from the world?" Li Fan couldn't help but look at Qian Ruochang with new respect.

As time passed, the struggle within the Profound Coffin not only failed to subside but intensified. Qian Ruochang seemed to be inevitably losing ground. Even with their combined efforts, it became difficult to stabilize the localized Dao Net. It was like duckweed in the wind, about to be completely scattered and detached from the attached Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Just as despair began to settle in their hearts, a sword light appeared from the dark horizon. It was rapidly flying towards them! It was Jin Changyue's valiant figure.

Behind her, everyone faintly saw a Dao String glowing with a crystalline white light. Although the Dao String was as thin as a thread, it was still heavier than heaven and earth. Jin Changyue was pulling it, no longer bearing the pressure of a cultivation world on her back. Even so, her flying speed did not decrease at all, which showed Jin Changyue's remarkable strength.

As Jin Changyue's figure drew closer and the Dao Net connection seemed imminent, for some reason, her flying speed suddenly slowed down. Everyone vaguely saw that the eyelids of Jin Changyue's Triple Pupils were constantly touching each other.

"Oh no, Jin Changyue must have reached her limit, quickly go and help her!" Everyone exclaimed.

Dao Yuan and most of the others remained in place, struggling to stabilize the Dao Net. Meanwhile, Jiang Yuming led three people to go and meet Jin Changyue and the Dao String, which was crucial to everyone's lives.

Jin Changyue seemed to have truly overdrawn all her power, and her flight speed in the dark void grew increasingly slow. Finally, she came to a complete halt. Her eyelids closed, as if she had fallen directly into a deep sleep!

Seeing this, Jiang Yuming felt anxious and accelerated his approach again. However... before reaching Jin Changyue, the four Immortal Hunters who went to assist also flew slower and slower. Eventually, like Jin Changyue, they quietly fell asleep.

Dao Yuan and the remaining newly promoted Immortal Hunters all paused their command-issuing rhythm. Although they didn't know exactly what had happened, an ominous premonition surged in their hearts.

Before they could speak, a strange and unfathomable power enveloped them. It felt as if all the fatigue accumulated since birth suddenly erupted in an instant. Many Immortal Hunters instantly fell into a deep slumber. Even outstanding individuals like Dao Yuan and Nangong Hongzhao couldn't resist the intense weariness for long. They soon drifted into a heavy sleep, entering a dreamland of bliss. "Ma Tiande," whom Li Fan possessed, was also affected. In the entire starry sky, apart from the Profound Coffin, which was still violently shaking, there was no other movement.

The newly promoted Immortal Hunters slept soundly, while the battle between the two True Immortals inside the Profound Coffin remained undecided for a time. One day, two days... After thirty days had passed, the person inside the coffin seemed to finally perceive a possible change outside, or perhaps a victor had finally been determined. The commotion of the struggle slowly diminished. Yet, no one emerged from the coffin. The Profound Coffin of Transience merely floated silently in the void.

Xuanhuang Realm. Li Fan observed the floating Profound Coffin from a distance through the power of dreams. His intervention this time had been thoroughly thought out. He had even prepared to escape for his life if his true self behind the scenes was discovered. Regardless of whether Wu Xian, the Immortal Hunters' target, was He Ganxian or not, for Li Fan, there was value in resolving or contacting him.

Having infiltrated the Astral Sea, he had gained a preliminary understanding of the general situation of its various forces. However, regarding the True Immortal faction opposing the Astral Sea, Li Fan remained completely ignorant. Li Fan's true self was currently no different from an Immortal, except for the absence of Immortal Qi within his body. He could barely be considered to be in the same camp. If he could save Wu Xian and glean some information from him, it would undoubtedly benefit the advancement of Li Fan's plan.

However, Li Fan did not brazenly appear and confront him directly. Instead, he silently observed the changes within the Profound Coffin first. Like a hunter waiting for prey to take the bait, he had plenty of patience.

The profound silence within the coffin lasted for seven full days. Still sensing no changes outside, the person inside the coffin seemed to be losing patience. The sacred chanting resonated once more. It seemed prepared to escape from the world directly, regardless of external circumstances!

But the chanting did not last long. In the void, another ethereal murmur suddenly echoed in sync. Its tone, utterly different from the chanting, caused subtle changes in the coffin's singing. The multicolored light also seemed to be disturbed, flashing continuously but ultimately unable to coalesce.

The person inside the coffin did not give up. After a slight pause, the colorful light suddenly surged, and the chanting sound even doubled in intensity. But as the saying goes, "the Dao is one foot tall, the devil is ten feet high," the illusory sounds from the surrounding dreamland amplified tens of times over. It completely suppressed the chanting. The multicolored light retracted back into the Profound Coffin, leaving no further movement.

After completing its disruptive act, the murmuring vanished as mysteriously as it had appeared. In this section of the void, only the Profound Coffin remained, along with the quietly floating group of newly promoted Immortal Hunters.

Li Fan personally wove a beautiful dream for them. Of course, for caution, he was also inspired by the existence of the localized Dao Net. This dream was independent of the Xuanhuang Realm's dreamland and could be discarded as a pawn at any time. Moreover, with high walls to block it, it would leave no flaws. He gathered all the dream power developed outside the high walls during this period. Combined with the demonic sounds from the Xuanyuan clan's bloodline memory, it was able to interrupt the Profound Coffin of Transience's traversal.

Li Fan had previously used the Grand Master's Calamity-Averting Profound Sounds to neutralize the effects of the Profound Heaven King's demonic sounds. Therefore, when he heard the chanting sound of the Profound Coffin activating, which bore some resemblance to the Calamity-Averting Profound Sounds, this idea came to him. Now, with practical application, it indeed proved feasible. "It seems these two types of Daoic melodies are, to some extent, opposed to each other," Li Fan mused.

Although the Profound Coffin was trapped here, the Astral Sea Immortal Hunters did not ignore it. Clearly, the Immortal Hunter Headquarters was aware of Qian Ruochang's plan to some extent. However, to deceive Wu Xian, Qian Ruochang obviously didn't reveal too much. The Annihilation Ground was still an unknown place full of dangers for the Astral Sea. Furthermore, since Li Fan had already severed the Dao String, they wouldn't be able to find their way there anytime soon.

"Let's see how long you can last." To capture Wu Xian, the Profound Coffin must have been tampered with, allowing it to be opened only from the outside. Unless one was powerful enough to shatter the coffin directly, escape from the sealed Profound Coffin was impossible. This had originally been Qian Ruochang's seemingly perfect hunting method. Unexpectedly, it now became the very reason Li Fan dared to show himself.