Chapter 1458: Shouldering the Path Obliteration Calamity

"I have experienced hundreds of reincarnations, yet my spirituality remains undiminished. Even an 'Unnamed True Immortal' probably couldn't compare to me." A wave of joy surged in Li Fan's heart after he realized his unique nature.

He tried to communicate with Huanzhen again, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea; he received no response.

It was a long time before Li Fan calmed down from his agitated state.

Naturally, a greater question arose in his mind.

"The profundity of my spirituality is perhaps extremely rare, or even unique, throughout the entire mortal realm. What exactly caused such a characteristic...?"

Li Fan immediately connected this to his identity as a "transmigrator."

But whether this was truly the case, and why the spirituality of a "transmigrator" was so different, or if other "transmigrators" would exhibit the same qualities as him...

There were even deeper questions.

What was the "purpose" of "Huanzhen" attaching itself to Li Fan?

However, these were not questions Li Fan could currently explore.

Suppressing all the swirling thoughts deep within his heart, Li Fan mused, "At the very least, my relationship with Huanzhen has seemingly become closer. Since its return from the Infinite Sea, it has become more 'lively,' which is a good thing. If it can guide me once, it can guide me again. And Huanzhen's guidance..."

"...It's even better than directly comprehending the Grand Dao!"

While his main body gained substantial insights, the clone puppet, Li Buren, showed no emotional changes due to these discoveries.

His mission was to investigate the matters within the Great Wall. With so much still shrouded in mystery, how could he relax?

"Based on the current clues, it can be concluded that this place was originally part of a facility within a Celestial Realm experimental field. The purpose of the experiment was to find a way to counter the Dao Annihilation. Naturally, this experimental field possessed certain methods to defend against it."

"Although the reason for its abandonment is unknown, it still transformed into the Great Wall during the outbreak of the Dao Annihilation calamity. This prevented countless star seas within the experimental field from facing complete annihilation."

"Similarly, the mission of the experimental field dictated that it must possess extremely covert properties. For internal protection, restraints at the True Immortal realm were sufficient to trap the beings within the experimental star seas."

"Externally, however, it needed to account for the prying eyes of cultivators above the True Immortal realm, those at the Unnamed realm. No wonder Qian Ruochang of the Shuoxing Sea, and that 'No Immortal,' were so close to the Great Wall yet seemed to ignore it. It wasn't that they chose not to see, but that they truly couldn't. It could even, to some extent, block gazes from other possibilities..."

The exact meaning of the message left by Sun Piaomiao remained unclear. Li Buren simply decided to put it aside for now.

"The reason I discovered the peculiarity of the Great Wall was because the Immortal Domain chess piece was captured by it and vanished without a trace. Since that's the case, I might as well return to the root cause of the matter and track the current whereabouts of that chess piece..."

The Immortal Domain chess pieces left by Sun Piaomiao could sense each other. However, separated by the Great Wall, this connection was severed.

Even Li Buren's body, forged from an Immortal Domain chess piece, could not sense the presence of its "kin" within this laboratory.

After a moment of thought, Li Buren simply returned to the Darkest Star Sea for the time being. He left the Medicine King Cauldron chess piece in Xuanhuang to prevent the fragments from reassembling and the Immortal Domain from reappearing.

Then, from his body, faint silver limbs, resembling both a net and arms, extended. Using the power of the Dao Net projection, he roughly "wrapped and secured" all the other remaining chess pieces onto himself.

He then sharply collided with the Great Wall once more.

The moment he entered the Great Wall, Li Buren felt an enormous suction force emanating from outside. The Immortal Domain chess pieces within his body flew uncontrollably towards the source of the suction.

Li Buren did not resist this force; his body even reverted to its original chess piece form. He flew with his "brothers" towards the unknown.

"Indeed, it's different from entering as an intruder. This time, I'm on a different path."

Li Buren rapidly swept over countless cubic star seas within the experimental field. He then passed through the vast void that served as the boundary for all the star seas.

He arrived in a space that was both familiar and strange.

It was familiar because it seemed to be the same place as the cylindrical hall Li Buren had visited before. However, this location was at the very top of the cylinder, an area invisible from the bottom.

Upon arriving here, the suction force on the Immortal Domain chess pieces disappeared.

Li Buren, in chess piece form, observed his surroundings.

He found that the previously vanished chess piece, along with the ones he carried this time, a total of eleven pieces, were all quietly floating in formation.

Six of them had already mysteriously merged, appearing in a rainbow-like form, just as Li Fan had seen before. The other five were also tightly clustered together, awaiting the inclusion of Li Buren's final piece.

From the nearby chess pieces, Li Buren sensed an urge to gather and return. However, perhaps due to the absence of the most crucial Medicine King Cauldron piece, or because this was the true core area of the experimental field with some unknown restrictions, Li Buren felt that the attraction of the chess pieces towards him had not yet reached an uncontrollable level.

Maintaining his stability, he surveyed his surroundings.

As he looked around, he suddenly realized there were five blurry figures silently standing around him.

Li Buren's mind instantly tensed, and he rapidly retreated, entering a combat stance.

However, he found that no matter how quickly he moved, these five figures continuously revolved around him.

They encircled him in the center.

He could neither approach nor move away. To Li Buren, the five phantoms were like the vast sky to beings living on the ground.

An eternally fixed distance was maintained between them.

Fortunately, these phantoms seemed to have no aggressive intent. They were simply like inert objects, showing no reaction whatsoever to Li Buren, the intruder.

Li Buren first collected all the Immortal Domain chess pieces, then observed the five phantoms, confirming there was no immediate danger.

"They subtly exceeded my perception capabilities, which is why I didn't detect them immediately."

"Only by truly observing and gazing can their presence be discovered."

The words "Unnamed True Immortal" suddenly popped into Li Buren's mind. This scene was remarkably similar to what Li Fan had previously glimpsed in the Shuoxing Sea: Unnamed True Immortals being used as living stakes to construct the Dao Net!

Furthermore, the Celestial Pillars of the Immortal Realm were crafted from the leg bones of Unnamed True Immortals, also possessing a certain degree of resistance to Dao Annihilation. It didn't seem unbelievable that Unnamed True Immortals might also be used as building materials within the Great Wall.

Yet, Li Buren instinctively felt that this place was different from both the Dao Net and the Southern Celestial Pillar.

"Using the Dao as pillars—this seems to be the ability demonstrated by these five phantoms, it should be correct."

"The key is..."

Li Buren frowned slightly: "It's actually the same Grand Dao?"

For a True Immortal to ascend to the Unnamed realm, they must merge with the Dao.

In the world, the Three Thousand Grand Daos are all distinct. There are absolutely no duplicates.

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for Unnamed True Immortals to achieve enlightenment through the same Dao path.

Not even two.

Let alone five appearing at once!

"From different possibilities?" Li Buren was startled, but he quickly dismissed this judgment.

He had personally witnessed the aura of powerful beings capable of traversing possibilities.

While the five phantoms before him were strong, they were still far inferior.

"So, there's only one answer."

"These five phantoms are transformations of the same Unnamed True Immortal."

"They are not flesh and blood, like the leg bones in the Southern Celestial Pillar, but merely projections of their own being."

Li Buren's heart trembled.

"Just five phantoms can form a wall and withstand the Dao Annihilation calamity?"

"What kind of realm is this?"

The five phantoms revolved around Li Buren like stars. Their facial details were unclear, and it was impossible to discern if they were male or female. Yet, like mythical deities, they evoked a sense of solemn awe and worship.

These were the instinctive emotions that surge in the mind and body of a lower being upon encountering a higher one.

"I once speculated that beneath the Immortal Ruins lay a martyred Unnamed Immortal, who used their own being as a pillar to block the Dao Annihilation calamity emanating from the Immortal Realm."

"But now, this Unnamed Immortal before me doesn't need to sacrifice themselves. They can achieve the same feat merely by manifesting five phantoms..."

The shock in Li Buren's heart was inexpressible.

Clearly, the one who left these five phantoms was among the strongest of all Unnamed True Immortals.

This form of strength was different from being able to traverse possibilities. Li Buren could not discern which was superior.

But he knew deeply that their display was equally awe-inspiring.

"In Su Bai's memories, facing the overwhelming Dao Annihilation calamity, even Evil Su Bai could only flee in disarray."

"Yet, in the original possibility where I exist, there is such an unparalleled expert who, using their own phantoms, can withstand the Dao Annihilation."

"Perhaps they chose a different path?"

"Where is this powerful being now? Were they originally in charge of this laboratory project?"

All sorts of questions arose in Li Buren's mind.

"If there were more such powerful beings, I reckon the Dao Annihilation calamity wouldn't be so difficult to deal with."

Gazing at the five phantoms before him, Li Buren couldn't help but have this thought.

Capable of forming Celestial Pillars and resisting the Dao Annihilation calamity, the phantoms left by an Unnamed True Immortal should theoretically be infinitely close to the Dao itself.

Yet, despite being so close, Li Buren could not discern or comprehend the Grand Dao they represented.

It was as if this Dao was not within the Grand Daos of heaven and earth that Li Buren currently knew or had encountered!

Seeing yet not seeing, hearing yet not hearing, knowing yet not knowing!

"Either this individual came from another possibility, and the Dao they merged with does not exist in the original possibility. To me, it's a completely foreign entity, which is why I'm utterly unable to comprehend or glimpse it."

"Or perhaps..."

"This person's realm has already reached perfection. Taking the Dao they merged with, they leaped beyond the confines of this world, walking alone!"

Li Fan had a previous conjecture.

That Unnamed True Immortals merged with the Dao, then drifted away, extracting the Grand Daos that originally served as pillars in the world. It was like breaking the load-bearing walls of a building, which then brought about the Dao Annihilation calamity.

However, later, after encountering many powerful beings at the Unnamed True Immortal realm, and having the fortune to enter the Infinite Sea and witness the subtle common origin between the Infinite Sea and the Dao Annihilation calamity, he became doubtful of this conjecture.

Nevertheless, facing these five phantoms now, he truly witnessed an Unnamed True Immortal expert who had "leaped beyond the Three Realms and was not within the Five Elements."

"It's unlikely that someone from another possibility would sacrifice themselves to help resist the Dao Annihilation calamity. They could simply flee on their own."

"This person should be a native of the original possibility."

As Li Buren observed, he tried to use his divine sense to reflect the Grand Dao represented by these five phantoms.

However, the mirror of his mind, capable of reflecting the Grand Daos of heaven and earth, remained completely blank when faced with these five phantoms.

"Is this individual still within the current possibility?"

"If they have already departed, and the phantoms left behind still have such an effect..."

"Then that's quite terrifying."

Up until now, among all the things Li Fan had witnessed, only the Dao Annihilation and the Infinite Sea were truly terrifying.

Previously, only Huanzhen could contend with these two.

Now, there was also this unknown, powerful entity.

Although still slightly weaker than Huanzhen, it still showed Li Fan the upper limits that a "cultivator" could reach.

After his attempts at reflection yielded no results, Li Buren stopped his futile efforts.

"These five phantoms must be the core of the Great Wall."

"Such a crucial area attracting the Immortal Domain chess pieces must have a reason. It's just that the method to trigger it hasn't been found yet."

Remaining here, Li Buren could only manifest in the form of an Immortal Domain chess piece. Otherwise, he would quickly be expelled.

"Could it be that no changes are occurring because the Immortal Domain chess pieces are not yet complete?" This thought soon emerged in Li Buren's mind.

After transmitting this idea to his main body, Li Fan, in the Xuanhuang Realm, after weighing his options, finally handed the Medicine King Cauldron to his clone puppet.

The true Medicine King Cauldron had been collected by Li Fan in this lifetime without alerting the Hunger Immortal. Naturally, all the members of the Medicine King Sect within the cauldron had been sent into the Land of No Worries to contribute to the construction of the dream realm.

The true Medicine King Cauldron transformed back into its original appearance: a simple, unadorned white chess piece.

It was then reconnected by Li Buren to the center of the Great Wall, where the five phantoms resided.

Li Fan's main body was on extreme alert, ready for Huanzhen at any moment.

Li Buren was also prepared for his body to reassemble and evolve into an Immortal Domain.

However, events unfolded somewhat unexpectedly for Li Fan.

Even with all the chess pieces present, the Immortal Domain did not unfold in the space where the five phantoms were.

Instead, in the unseen, a force in the surroundings was suppressing the formation of the Immortal Domain.

But just as Li Buren had anticipated, once all the Immortal Domain chess pieces arrived, anomalies began to occur in the surroundings.

It was as if a foreign object had fallen into water, creating ripples.

The faces of the five phantoms, distorted by these ripples, actually became somewhat clearer.

Their gazes were all fixed on the chess pieces in the center.

It felt as if the entire heaven and earth were pressing down on him.

Li Buren's body, transformed from the Immortal Domain chess piece, felt at times as if it could barely withstand the pressure.

"This is..."

"With all the chess pieces gathered, bearing the significance of the Unnamed True Immortals, they can finally catch the attention of the five phantoms!"