Chapter 1473: Please All the Great Ways Disperse

As Grand Master Tiandu spoke, his tone was noticeably more respectful than when he had mentioned Lianshan, Guihai, or even his own Master.

This demonstrated the profound reverence he held for this last "unspeakable" Sacred Monarch.

"The Immortal World has been destroyed, and the Sacred are no longer sacred," Li Buren declared coldly, displaying the fearlessness of ignorance.

The Grand Master shook his head. "One does not become sacred by bearing responsibility. It is because of one's inherent sacred nature that one attains sacredness. The survival or destruction of the Immortal World actually has little bearing on the Sacred Ones. If Master had understood this sooner, perhaps he could have lived much longer."

"If your Master had known you would say such things, he should have taken you with him when he perished."

Faced with Li Buren's sharp words, the Grand Master was momentarily speechless.

It also seemed that these words plunged him into distant memories.

"Your Master was one of the Four Sacred Ones of the Immortal World, and you served by his side for countless eons. How is it that you are still only a Half-Immortal?"

Li Buren continued, chatting aimlessly with the Grand Master, sentence after sentence.

While probing for information, he was also subtly using the Black Ink-Slaughter Aura to infiltrate the Grand Master's only remaining true body.

The myriad Dao manifestations previously absorbed by Li Buren held no memories; they were merely records of the feedback from illusory projections.

However, judging by the situation during this casual conversation and the infiltration of the Black Ink-Slaughter Aura, although the Grand Master only possessed a Half-Immortal cultivation, his body and spirit were perfectly integrated, like a flawless creation that shouldn't exist. No weaknesses could be found.

He could indeed easily slay him. But to possess him and peer into his past...

...was beyond Li Buren's current capabilities.

The Grand Master seemed completely unaware of Li Buren's covert actions.

"Lianshan will ultimately return to the sea."

"Master and the other two Sacred Monarchs have all proven this. Why should I repeat their mistakes?"

"Moreover, if it weren't for my 'Half-Immortal' body, how could I have escaped the great catastrophe when the Immortal World perished? This is what is called 'every action is predestined, every outcome secretly determined.'" The Grand Master was completely unperturbed by Li Buren's mockery.

"If it weren't for you, fellow Daoist, a being who should not exist, I would certainly have taken the step I envisioned," the Grand Master said with a hint of regret.

Li Buren was about to continue his taunts, hoping to shake the Grand Master's resolve and allow the Black Ink-Slaughter Aura to infiltrate more smoothly.

Grand Master Tiandu, who had been answering questions, suddenly became the questioner without warning. "Fellow Daoist, you exist outside the destiny of heaven and earth. Could it be that you have obtained that treasure?"

"Treasure? I don't know what you're talking about," Li Buren replied very naturally. Though Li Fan's true self was greatly shaken upon hearing this, Li Buren's ego-consciousness was suppressed, making him merely a tool executing Li Fan's commands.

"Stop making excuses for your failures. Didn't King Xuantian, ten thousand years ago, almost capture you alive? With merely Half-Immortal cultivation, why would he need someone outside of destiny to deal with you?" Li Buren responded with contempt.

The Grand Master stared intently at Li Buren for a while but found no flaws.

Then he turned his gaze to the outside, to Yuandao Continent and the Xuanhuang World.

Gazing at the Xuanhuang World, where much had changed over time, he slowly said after a long moment, "It was merely an instant of seclusion, yet the outside world has been turned upside down. But what's peculiar is that none of these changes affected the area where I was enlightened."

"Fellow Daoist, you have long been wary of me. But this is clearly our first meeting..."

The Grand Master slowly closed his eyes, silently pondering something unknown.

"Is your reputation as Grand Master Tiandu not renowned enough in the Xuanhuang World?" Li Buren did not explain further, merely giving this understated reply.

"You are certainly not from the Xuanhuang World. The Xuanhuang World, and even this starry sky, everything that has ever appeared, now exists, or will be born in the future, is already predetermined. Like pieces on a chessboard, taking turns in various games. Even with the destruction of the Immortal World, which introduced more variables, the pieces remain pieces. They cannot transform..."

"...into precious jade," the Grand Master said, suppressing some inner emotion, his words coming out very slowly.

Upon hearing this, Li Buren narrowed his eyes.

The Black Ink-Slaughter Aura, like dark clouds, swirled overhead, enveloping the Grand Master. The myriad Dao manifestations that had been absorbed around them cast extremely cold gazes towards the Grand Master.

Regardless of what the other party had guessed, Li Buren would no longer allow this Grand Master to live.

"Master's plan from back then was actually viable."

"It's just a pity, it's too late."

Grand Master Tiandu, unfazed by the countless cold gazes around him, suddenly opened his eyes and looked back at Li Buren,

as if he had seen some rare treasure.

"No!"

"It's not too late now!"

"If I could..."

The Grand Master, who had previously appeared resigned to his fate, suddenly became incredibly agitated for some unknown reason.

A sudden, immense force expelled the Black Ink-Slaughter Aura that Li Buren had infiltrated from his body. The Grand Master's Daoist robe rustled as if in a strong wind, though none was present.

"Everything. Can be salvaged," the Grand Master said heavily, staring at Li Buren.

Although surrounded by the myriad Dao manifestations controlled by Li Buren, the Grand Master seemed to have, on the contrary, surrounded Li Buren and the others.

In an instant, he gained the upper hand. The shift in power dynamics was complete.

Li Buren perceived that although the surrounding myriad Dao manifestations were under the control of his Black Ink-Slaughter Aura, before the Grand Master, they still irresistibly wanted to bow in worship.

Just like the scene Li Buren had witnessed when he first intruded into the Grand Master's body.

The Grand Master stood amidst the countless Dao manifestations, receiving their profound reverence.

He was like an Emperor, like a Saint, noble beyond words!

Even Li Buren was subtly affected. His body, constructed by the Dao Net, began to curve unreasonably due to the Grand Master's presence. It was as if the Grand Master's singular weight surpassed that of the myriad other Great Daos!

Knowing he could no longer wait, Li Buren immediately commanded the myriad black ink energies to surge forth from the Dao manifestations, assaulting Grand Master Tiandu in the center.

The Black Ink-Slaughter Aura, tainted with different Great Daos, transformed into various twisted humanoid figures. All manner of Daoist techniques manifested, exploding around the Grand Master like fireworks.

"First there was Grand Simplicity, then Immortals."

"The Boundless preceded Grand Simplicity."

These two faint sentences, like wind-calming pearls, instantly stabilized the countless fluctuations of the Great Dao.

The Grand Master's figure stepped out, one by one, from the mottled Dao shadows.

"Since you have seen the Boundless..."

"Why not disperse?"

He asked softly again, and the countless Dao fluctuations surrounding him actually dispersed like a gentle breeze.

Even though the Black Ink-Slaughter Aura had already gained dominance, it could not stop this process.

In the blink of an eye, Li Buren's "enforcers" were gone.

Only the power of the Black Ink-Slaughter Immortal Soul remained.

Furthermore, Li Buren also sensed that Illusory Birth and Eternity, the two main pillars of the Black Ink-Slaughter's existence in the world, were beginning to resist.

Suppressing the commotion, Li Buren had to reassess Grand Master Tiandu before him.

"The Boundless preceded Grand Simplicity?"

"What arrogance."

Although the Grand Master still appeared as a Daoist youth, his aura had undergone a complete transformation.

Lofty and aloof, he overlooked all living beings. It was as if Grand Simplicity Sacred Monarch himself had arrived, making it impossible to meet his gaze directly.

"Grand Simplicity Sacred Monarch is indeed my Master."

"However, he took me as his disciple mainly because I am extraordinary."

"Do you really think anyone can safely remain under a Sacred Monarch's tutelage for countless eons?" the Grand Master said with arrogance.

"Master, please disperse."

The Grand Master pointed distantly at the pervasive black aura.

Then he bowed slightly.

Li Buren only felt that the two main foundations of the Black Ink-Slaughter Aura instantly wavered, losing nearly half their power. The Dao of Illusory Birth, due to years of evolution, was not entirely equivalent to Grand Simplicity, so a small amount of power still remained.

"Senior Martial Uncle, please disperse."

The Grand Master bowed again.

With this single sentence, the other major foundation of the Black Ink-Slaughter Aura, the Dao of Eternity, suddenly dispersed amidst a slight tremor.

Just these two simple sentences directly undermined the very foundation of the Black Ink-Slaughter Immortal Soul's existence!

The pervasive black aura still remained but had completely lost any possibility of being controlled. It became like the Calamity of Dao Annihilation, recognizing no one.

While the Black Ink-Slaughter Aura had subtly taken over countless Dao manifestations, Grand Master Tiandu had actually seen through the true nature of the Black Ink-Slaughter Immortal Soul with perfect clarity!

The rampaging black aura made the Grand Master's face appear terrifying and awe-inspiring.

Although he had lost the aid of the Black Ink-Slaughter Immortal Soul, Li Buren did not panic.

He was pondering the reason for this sudden change.

Everything in the world has a reason.

How could the Grand Master's two sentences cause the Daos of Eternity and Illusory Birth to simply vanish into thin air?

Recalling the scene he had witnessed earlier, of the Grand Master receiving reverence from myriad Dao manifestations, Li Buren suddenly realized something.

"The Grand Master's goal is not to simultaneously comprehend all these different Dao paths."

"Rather, he treats them as tools, just like the illusory projections."

"Tools to aid his own cultivation."

Li Buren could not hide his surging emotions: "He doesn't cultivate the myriad Great Daos. He cultivates the Dao that makes the myriad Great Daos bow in worship!"

"Is this 'nobility'? Or 'reverence'?"

For ordinary beings in the mortal world, it would likely be impossible to attain such an incredible Dao path.

But if what the Grand Master said was true, that his identity was special and possibly related to the Boundless before Grand Simplicity, then perhaps he truly could achieve it!

"Cultivating this Dao path means that no Daoist technique or divine ability in the world can harm him."

Li Buren tried it, and indeed it was so.

All divine abilities and spells that came within one *zhang* (approx. 3.3 meters) of the Grand Master vanished into thin air.

As Li Buren was pondering a countermeasure, the Grand Master strolled leisurely through the center of the now uncontrolled Black Ink-Slaughter Aura,

gradually approaching Li Buren.

"That King Xuantian you mentioned, who almost captured me alive..."

"Born at the juncture of the Immortal World's destruction, he was indeed extremely special. Because of this, he had the potential to jump off the chessboard, and his future was immeasurable. I didn't want to clash with him, but he kept trying to cause me trouble, so I could only use a Dao Incarnation to deceive him."

"However, I didn't expect his luck to be truly remarkable. By chance, he simply vanished from this starry sky."

The Grand Master spoke as he came to Li Buren's side.

Wherever he went, all Great Daos yielded.

Li Buren, whose body was constructed by the Dao Net, felt an unprecedented weakness because of this,

as if he would dissipate at any moment.

"But to judge my strength based solely on King Xuantian is somewhat unfair," the Grand Master said slowly and deliberately, finally standing before Li Buren.

His eyes met Li Buren's.

"Hand over the treasure, and I will let you go," the Grand Master solemnly promised.

Li Buren frowned.

Not because of the demand made by the other party.

But because the Grand Master actually seemed so...

...naïve.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Li Buren repeated his previous statement.

The Grand Master, however, was extremely certain of his own conjecture.

Seeing that Li Buren still refused to admit it, he shook his head with some regret.

"Then, I'll just have to take it myself."

"Boundless..."

"Please, all Daos, disperse."

The Grand Master bowed slightly towards Li Buren.

Li Buren only felt that the remaining Dao principles within his body were about to suddenly disperse with these words.

Once all Daos dispersed, only the treasure from beyond the Great Dao would remain.

"Are you that confident?"

Just as the Grand Master felt utterly confident, Li Buren suddenly spoke.

A strong, powerful hand suddenly clamped tightly around the Grand Master's throat.

They were so close that when this sudden burst of power erupted, the Grand Master had no time to react.

"How is this possible?"

The Grand Master looked at Li Buren, who had suddenly become full of power again, his face filled with disbelief.

"Perhaps all Great Daos in heaven and earth are subject to your control."

"But what about the mountains and the sea?"

Li Buren's figure became indistinct, as if he stood atop mountains and by the edge of vast oceans.

The Grand Master was stunned for a moment, then, as if waking from a dream, he uttered, "Lord Shouqiu?"

Li Buren shook his head slightly. "It seems you truly have not met Lord Shouqiu."

"Nor are you aware that Lord Shouqiu once left a contingency here."

"And that's to be expected. After all, you are merely a Half-Immortal. Your words were correct: 'every action is predestined, every outcome secretly determined.'"

Li Buren returned the Grand Master's own words to him.

After such a turn of events, Li Buren's intent to kill the Grand Master had become unstoppable.

However, as for how to deal with this Grand Master, Li Buren was momentarily hesitant.

After all, he had suppressed him for now, relying on Lord Shouqiu's power.

But ordinary methods would still find it extremely difficult to kill the Grand Master. Moreover, he might be connected to the so-called Boundless.

Held tightly by Li Buren, the Grand Master remained unfazed.

"The matter of Lord Shouqiu indeed came as a surprise."

"But my origin lies beyond heaven and earth, at the very beginning of the Great Dao. Therefore, life and death are irrelevant to me."

"You cannot truly kill me."

It was as if Li Buren was the one being seized, as the Grand Master still tried to persuade Li Buren to hand over the treasure.

Li Buren found it somewhat ridiculous: "You don't even know what that treasure is, or what its specific functions are. Why are you so fixated on it?"

The Grand Master, however, said very earnestly, "If you possess the treasure, at most you can turn the tide of fate and save the world from peril."

"But if I possess it, I can rectify everything that should not have happened."

"My Master, and the other three Sacred Monarchs of the Immortal World—their destinies, perhaps, will also be rewritten."

Li Buren shook his head. "No, it cannot. The so-called treasure cannot accomplish all of this."

"It can."

The Grand Master affirmed again.