Chapter 1475: Understanding the Infinite Principle

After the "Return to Truth" strike, silence reigned.

The Grand Master seemed frozen, his expression rigid. He ultimately couldn't utter the words "Save me," and his body, as if covered by a layer of gray, dimmed.

Li Buren remained vigilant, as the Grand Master's vital signs had not yet vanished. However, after observing for a while, he finally confirmed that the opponent would likely not move again.

Though not dead, the Grand Master, his spirituality eroded to the extreme, transformed into something resembling a stone statue.

Around the stone statue, it remained a forbidden zone for all Great Dao.

The "Great Dao Dispersion" effect was not significantly weaker than when the Grand Master was alive. It no longer deliberately targeted anyone but naturally emanated its properties outwards. Thus, Li Buren could barely maintain his body from dissipating.

He stared at the statue, observing it carefully. After a long time, he finally discerned something.

"It seems the Grand Master wasn't lying."

"He truly has a profound connection to the Primordial Limitless that existed before the celestial beings. He might even be a direct manifestation of the Great Dao, much like the ancient Dao forms of the Beast Race."

"No..."

Recalling the Grand Master's previous statements and how, despite living for countless ages, he remained quite "naive," Li Buren speculated that the Grand Master might not have achieved his manifestation solely on his own. Rather, he was enlightened by someone else.

"After the Limitless, heaven and earth were born. The Grand Master's Limitless is indeed genuine. Only the Four Sacred Sovereigns of the Immortal Realm would likely be qualified to enlighten such a primordial being."

"Lian Shan, Gui Hai..."

"The Four Sacred Sovereigns can be traced back to the very genesis of the Immortal Realm. In fact, the entire cultivation system of Immortals was created by them. The Grand Master, as a remnant of the Limitless Dao after the creation of heaven and earth, was discovered by them and then transformed into human form."

Li Buren mused, gradually reconstructing the Grand Master's past.

"Limitless." He pondered the peculiar power surging from the stone statue before him.

If the Sacred Sovereigns of the Immortal Realm bestowed life upon the Grand Master, then Li Fan, with each strike, severed the Grand Master's "life" and restored him to his original, inherent state.

Without personal desires or thoughts, he was now pure Limitless.

The Limitless and the world evolved from the Great Dao are inherently incompatible. While alive, the Grand Master could suppress his power, but after his demise, the power of the Limitless was unbound. It began to gradually spread outwards.

This was a trend. Like the birth and demise of Dao, or the rise and fall of Dao, it was the "destiny" of the Great Dao of heaven and earth itself, unstoppable.

"If allowed to spread, the Primordial Possibility would center on the Xuanhuang Realm and restart the elements of earth, fire, water, and wind."

"However, this kind of destruction is vastly different from the Calamity of Dao Annihilation. This is an inherent evolution of heaven and earth, a unique cycle of reincarnation. Even if it returns to the Limitless, there will always be a day when heaven and earth reopen after many years. But if swallowed by the Calamity of Dao Annihilation..."

"That would be eternal oblivion."

Li Buren was not forced back by the power of the Limitless; instead, he called upon more power from the projection of Lord Shouqiu to suppress the spread of the Limitless as much as possible.

Although dealing with the Grand Master was troublesome, once he had guessed that Li Fan might possess "Return to Truth," there was no reason to let him live. What's more, at the very last moment, the Grand Master had already begun to call for help.

If he had managed to call out to that last surviving Sacred Sovereign Uncle-Master, even with the protection of Lord Shouqiu's projection, Li Fan would have been forced into a difficult "Return to Truth."

"This turn of events occurred entirely because I underestimated the Grand Master's origins. It's not that I was careless; who would have thought that the Grand Master of Tiandu, who fought back and forth with King Xuantian, had such a significant background? Not only was he involved with the Immortal Realm, but he was also a primordial being..." Li Fan's main body ordered Li Buren to temporarily guard the Grand Master's statue. Meanwhile, he observed and comprehended the Limitless synchronously through Li Buren's perspective, feeling a sense of awe.

Even having subdued such an esteemed being whose origins and background surpassed all others in the Primordial Possibility, Li Fan felt no apprehension.

After truly realizing the power of "Return to Truth" and understanding that he was useful to it, and that it would likely intervene to save him in critical moments, he no longer feared even the Four Sacred Sovereigns of the Immortal Realm as much.

"The Limitless state before the birth of heaven and earth is still contained within the realm of possibility. With a single thought, 'Return to Truth' can construct possibilities from nothing. It can even return to a time before heaven and earth first opened..."

"This means that the Limitless is also encompassed within the authority of the 'Transformation of Truth and Illusion.'"

The Limitless repels the Great Dao of the mortal world, but for beings that transcend the mundane, this repellent quality is significantly diminished.

Li Buren, using the projection of Lord Shouqiu, could barely stand and restrict it. As for Li Fan, with the power of "Return to Truth," he could comprehend it. He could even turn it to his own use!

This was the conclusion Li Fan reached after observing the Grand Master's statue for a long time.

"Simulate the Limitless with the Transformation of Truth and Illusion."

Perhaps because he had been steeped in countless past memories of the mortal world within the thought storm of "Return to Truth," Li Fan felt that his comprehension abilities had improved considerably.

Even with the Limitless, he inexplicably felt a sense of déjà vu. Of course, this familiarity did not refer to his familiarity with the Grand Master. Rather, it was as if Li Fan himself had become a primordial being who, before the birth of heaven and earth, had observed the Limitless from an outsider's perspective.

This inherent advantage allowed him to quickly gain a preliminary grasp of how to use the Limitless, at an incredibly abnormal speed. Or rather, to "simulate" it.

A speck of gray light suddenly appeared at Li Fan's fingertip.

The Great Dao of heaven and earth, which had been stable, instantly became chaotic. Where the gray light existed, the Great Dao receded, forming an absolute void where only the gray light resided.

Lasting only three breaths, Li Fan depleted the power of one Xuanhuang Realm projection within his body. The rapid energy consumption made it difficult for power to circulate for a time. Furthermore, Li Fan did not possess the characteristic of "infinity."

Therefore, he merely scratched the surface, quickly dispersing the gray light at his fingertip.

Accompanying the massive energy consumption was extreme mental exhaustion.

Far surpassing the "False Becomes True" transformation into the Stone Mother he experienced previously, Li Fan felt as if he had undergone several reincarnations in those brief moments.

"It seems I cannot force myself to simulate and use it too much right now."

"But for preserving my life in critical moments, it's absolutely perfect."

"As long as one has not transcended to 'Mountains and Seas' and remains within the Great Dao system, I can largely ignore them..."

"No matter how high their cultivation, the result will be the same. This is the suppression of the innate over the acquired."

The feeling of observing from the sidelines and truly controlling something were completely different experiences.

Don't be fooled by how easily Li Fan severed the Grand Master's spirituality. This disciple of a Sacred Sovereign seemed pitifully weak.

But only after Li Fan gained some mastery over the power of the Limitless did he truly understand its immense power.

"It's almost a strike that disregards the level of cultivation."

"No wonder the Grand Master always seemed indifferent to everything. Even after living for countless years, he lacked much cunning. With the power of the Limitless protecting him, most things that happened in the world couldn't affect him. Naturally, he didn't need to scheme or overthink with others. Innate power... was ironically a form of restraint."

"Perhaps it's more fitting for him to be a disciple at the side of some great figure."

Thinking of this, Li Fan's eyes narrowed, and an idea formed in his mind.

But it was only a preliminary concept. Its concrete implementation would have to wait for the next few lives.

With the help of his main body, Li Buren finally managed to control the rapidly spreading Limitless.

However, the cost was that he had to divide off a small portion of his power. The surplus power used to suppress the Hungry Immortal was thus sharply reduced by almost half.

But Li Fan believed this deal was absolutely worthwhile. Aside from the power of the Limitless he had glimpsed and learned, the information the Grand Master mentioned alone was of immense value to Li Fan.

The various Sacred Sovereigns of the Immortal Realm were, of course, not to mention. What Li Fan cared about most was the "Return to Truth" treasure, which was suspected to have been circulating since the very genesis of the Immortal Realm.

"The more ancient the existence, the more likely they are to know the true nature of 'Return to Truth.' All the lies I've fabricated to conceal its existence might be meaningless before these powerful beings. They might see through them instantly..."

For now, Li Fan hadn't come up with a countermeasure. But since he now knew this, his situation wouldn't be overly passive.

After leaving the Grand Master's body, the myriad Dao manifestations re-established contact with heaven and earth. The dissipated parts were replenished.

Countless Dao Annihilations with different appearances, like all living beings, were hidden within the vast black mist of the Ink-Killing Immortal Soul.

In the Shuo Xing Sea, Li Fan had acquired a body-refining cultivation technique called "Great Dao Embodiment."

"Great Dao Embodiment": theoretically, if cultivated to the extreme, the person *is* the mortal world. But a mortal body, to bear the Great Dao, would require unimaginable tempering.

"In comparison, the Ink-Killing Immortal Soul's ability to devour and accommodate different Dao principles is far too easy."

"Perhaps I can first let the physical body adapt to the Ink-Killing characteristics."

Li Fan felt the Ink-Killing within him, which seemed to possess a slight "vitality," and many thoughts surfaced in his mind.

Of course, he didn't rashly experiment on himself. Instead, he still sent Li Buren to do it.

Li Buren's physical body was completely destroyed, leaving only his Dao Net projection body. It was perfect for testing the transformed Ink-Killing Immortal Soul.

A drop of essence blood was flicked by Li Fan towards Li Buren. After absorbing the essence blood, flesh began to writhe within the silver-glowing Dao Net.

Li Buren's "physical body" was thus hastily created.

Without adding any heavenly materials or earthly treasures, this flesh-and-blood body was exceptionally frail. But with the integration of a wisp of Ink-Killing black energy, the body immediately became extraordinary.

If it were the pure power of the Ink-Killing Immortal Soul before, even if Li Fan had integrated it with Dao, he couldn't have merged such destructive power with a flesh-and-blood body. But now, the Ink-Killing was not merely pure destruction. Instead, it had integrated various Dao pathways between heaven and earth.

The first to be experimented with was the most basic Dao of Five Elements.

Five similar yet distinct black energies continuously rotated and merged. Li Fan was extremely familiar with the process of the Five Elements circulating and integrating into a body, so he very smoothly transplanted this black vortex into Li Buren's body.

The frail body did indeed slowly dissipate due to the destructive properties of the Ink-Killing. In an instant, it became riddled with holes and severely damaged. It looked quite frightening.

But a small portion still persisted, relying on the Five Elements properties within the Ink-Killing. Using this as a foundation, it slowly repaired the physical body.

Li Buren moved slightly, performing various tests. After half a day, he drew a conclusion.

This newly created body not only had an extremely strong capacity to bear the laws of the Great Dao but also possessed impressive resistance to Dao Annihilation.

When Li Fan forcefully summoned all the power of Lord Shouqiu's projection, leaving only the Primordial Bone and the Hungry Immortal Celestial Pillar struggling to hold on by themselves, facing the impending overwhelming calamity of Dao Annihilation, the instinctive fear that arose in Li Buren's heart was far less intense than before.

"Though the flood is widespread, at least now I have the ability to dive. Although it's still hard to avoid the ultimate fate of being swallowed, I can at least endure for a while," Li Fan thought with joy.

One must know that surviving the Calamity of Dao Annihilation was something only transcendent powerhouses could achieve. Yet, Li Fan, relying on the "Ink-Killing Immortal Soul," achieved nearly the same effect through indirect means.

More critically, Li Buren's current body had only integrated the Ink-Killing power with Five Elements properties. When, in the future, he gradually integrates all the myriad Great Dao into his body, perhaps he would be able to face the tides of Dao Annihilation without batting an eyelid.

However, this was destined to be a long process. Li Fan temporarily handed this arduous task over to Li Buren.

He planned to resolve all the hidden troubles of the Xuanhuang Realm in one go.

Silver light, like a cloak, suddenly enveloped his entire body, seeming to form a protective suit draped over Li Fan. This silver light was precisely the power of the Limitless.

Li Fan's destination this time was the Abyssal Sea, located deep within the Xuanhuang Realm.

The darkness that could swallow everything retreated three paces before the silver light representing the Limitless. Like a giant orb of light, it illuminated this area that had been eternally dark.

Li Fan strolled through it at a leisurely pace. All the fearful emotions he had experienced in previous reincarnations were absent.

He explored the shallow layers of the Abyssal Sea but found nothing special. Li Fan walked towards the deeper parts, where the True Immortal's will to survive resided.

The restrictions left by King Xuantian and Chuanfa in the past needed no breaking by Li Fan himself. Under the illumination of the silver light, they all scattered on their own, offering no resistance whatsoever.

He once again saw the immense "momentum" accumulated for tens of thousands of years in the depths of the Abyssal Sea.

Before the energy condensed into myriad strange forms, like clouds in the sky, Li Fan couldn't help but pause slightly.

He was now a Half-Immortal; looking at these convergences, he no longer gazed upwards. Instead, it was like standing on a mountaintop, looking out at an equal level.

"The reason Immortals were originally Immortals is because of Lian Shan."

"With the mountains, the Immortals were born."

"The momentum of Immortals..."

Li Fan looked at the mountain peaks before him, as if seeing the Immortals of the Immortal Realm from the past.

"Immortals, return!"

He extended his right hand and gently grasped. The Abyssal Sea instantly churned. The abyssal power, accumulated for tens of thousands of years, surged towards Li Fan's palm.