Chapter 1575: Survival in Desperation

Li Fan saw a transient burst of radiance from the outside, which was caused by the explosion of everyone's mental dam.

"I knew it. After all, the Lan Ke Dojo is supported by the phantom of Patriarch Shouqiu; it shouldn't have fallen so quickly. So, these people were behind it..."

As the current de facto owner of the Lan Ke Dojo, Li Fan was not angered by this. What truly concerned him was the abnormal situation in the Ancestral Immortal Boat Realm.

Even with everyone's protection, the collision between the mental dam and the Dao Annihilation would cause catastrophic destruction to the Ancestral Immortal Boat Realm. Therefore, the collective consciousness also had to divert some power to petrify the world, ensuring its complete protection.

Each act of salvation was a tremendous drain on the collective consciousness.

Within a century, when the next accumulation of Dao Annihilation reaches its limit, enough successors must sacrifice themselves and integrate their consciousness to ensure the strength of the collective consciousness. Otherwise, the Ancestral Immortal Boat Realm will face its doom.

Li Fan had previously learned from the Dao Inheritance Office that the total "potential" of a single possibility might be fixed. Each time a prodigy is born, a portion of the potential pool is diminished. The number of powerful individuals that can emerge within a single possibility is limited.

This principle can be analogized to a particular world.

Even a peculiar world like the Xuanhuang Realm doesn't always have a multitude of powerful experts and numerous prodigies in every era. From the perspective of later generations looking back at history, after a period of flourishing cultivation, a decline is inevitable. This continues until, after several years, the birth of a peerless prodigy heralds the arrival of a new era.

Ordinarily, given the Ancestral Immortal Boat Realm's foundation, it shouldn't be able to support the continuous birth of so many prodigies over such a long period.

The time flow in the Ancestral Immortal Boat Realm is nearly a hundred times faster than in the outside world. Since the Great Calamity descended, tens of thousands of years have passed in the Lan Ke Dojo. Here, it has been millions of years!

For millions of years, countless chosen ones have continued to emerge like sparks, rushing towards the flame like moths, to save the mortal world.

What a marvel! What a wonder! What an anomaly!

Although this collective consciousness dao network before him cannot compare in all aspects to his Myriad Phases Dao Network, it still has its merits.

Li Fan's consciousness left the merging dark cloud before him and once again searched the heavens and the earth, hoping to discern the reason for the Ancestral Immortal Boat Realm's enduring prosperity.

However, with his discernment, even after several examinations, he couldn't find any clues.

He even found nothing within this collective consciousness itself.

"He who tied the bell must untie it." It seems that to find the answer to this problem, I must personally venture into this Ancestral Immortal Boat Realm!

After a moment of contemplation, an idea came to Li Fan.

"Heavenly Demon Reincarnation!"

To fully uncover the mysteries of this realm, simply dividing his consciousness and infiltrating it would likely not work. Only by using the Heavenly Demon Reincarnation secret art, like the Celestial Physician once did, to deceive the Heavenly Dao of this world and become a true native, would he have a chance to unravel the mystery.

In the Ancestral Immortal Boat Realm, as the kneeling and prayer ritual of billions of beings to the "Divine Spirit" concluded, a new life was born.

Linshan City, under the jurisdiction of the Yin-Yang Demon Extermination Sect in the Ancestral Immortal Boat Realm.

His surname was Li, and his given name was Fan.

All infants born on the Day of Divine Revelation were adopted by the City Lord and personally trained.

This was because there was a widespread rumor that beings born on this day were blessed by the gods and had boundless futures. Past experiences and traditions largely corroborated this.

Thus, Li Fan, from a young age, received meticulous nurturing from the Linshan City Lord, alongside these other divinely blessed children.

And they indeed lived up to the City Lord's high expectations, with a total of seventy-two individuals, including Li Fan.

More than half of them had officially entered the Qi Condensation realm before their first birthday.

Reaching the perfected Qi Condensation realm by their first birthday was a crucial dividing line. Only those who met this requirement were deemed worthy of continued cultivation as divinely blessed ones. Those who failed would lose their preferential treatment, but with the City Lord's support, they would still live worry-free lives.

A total of thirty-nine infants were taken into the sect by the Immortal Masters of the Yin-Yang Demon Extermination Sect to begin formal cultivation.

The Yin-Yang Demon Extermination Sect was one of the five great immortal sects of the world, dedicated to expelling demons and punishing evil.

What are demons? What is evil?

Those who disobey are demons. Those who disrespect are evil.

Disciples of the Yin-Yang Demon Extermination Sect were required to slay a specific number of fiends and evildoers each year of their cultivation to retain their status as sect disciples.

Wherever Demon Extermination Sect disciples traveled throughout the land, fiends and evil spirits would lose all courage at the mere mention of their name.

Among the divinely blessed disciples, Li Fan's talent was also among the top tier.

At one and a half years old, he officially established his foundation, receiving personal empowerment from the Demon Extermination Sect Master.

A scroll, the Demon Extermination Heavenly Tome, containing the cultivation insights and enlightenment experiences of countless past masters of the Demon Extermination Sect, was forcibly instilled into his mind.

A total of thirteen divinely blessed disciples underwent the empowerment. Only six survived the tome's impact and managed to maintain their lucidity.

Blessed by the Heavenly Tome, Li Fan's cultivation speed advanced by leaps and bounds from then on.

At three years old, he officially formed his Golden Core and descended the mountain to exterminate evil.

A three-year-old child seeking to slay evil spirits sounds like a joke.

But in the Yin-Yang Demon Extermination Sect, it was merely an ordinary occurrence.

After receiving the personally transmitted "Rivers and Mountains in Shared Sorrow" sword from the Sect Master, Li Fan was flung tens of thousands of miles away with a flick of a sleeve. He was only permitted to return to the mountain after slaying ten thousand fiends.

The tens of thousands of miles journey back had to be paved with the fresh blood of evil spirits.

Li Fan, sword in hand, traversed the land, scrutinizing the world. Whenever he encountered a fiendish presence, he struck it with the force of thunder.

When he successfully returned to the sect half a year later, the Rivers and Mountains in Shared Sorrow sword was already stained crimson with blood.

The Sect Master reached out and took the Rivers and Mountains in Shared Sorrow sword. Its crimson blade slowly converged to form the characters "Li Fan," engraved on its surface, emitting an eerie glow.

Only then did Li Fan see that, besides his own name, there were hundreds of other densely packed names on the sword. All names were inscribed in blood, though their crimson intensity varied.

"Ranked among the top three," the Demon Extermination Sect Master said, a trace of joy flashing in his eyes, as he officially accepted Li Fan as his personal disciple.

After becoming the Sect Master's disciple, Li Fan received further preferential treatment.

Most importantly, he was able to spar and exchange pointers with disciples from other immortal sects.

"Do you know what 'sparring' means?" the Sect Master asked, stroking his beard.

Li Fan replied solemnly, "It determines both superiority and life or death. That is sparring."

The Sect Master's face showed satisfaction.

Over five years, Li Fan sparred nearly a thousand times with disciples from other immortal sects, without a single defeat.

He gradually became the "undefeated legend" spoken of among the disciples of the five great immortal sects.

After another exhilarating victory, he finally broke through to the Nascent Soul realm.

After reaching the Nascent Soul realm, he could no longer pick on junior disciples of the Immortal Boat. Instead, he had new objectives.

Under the guidance of a mysterious black-clad figure, newly promoted Nascent Soul disciples from the five great immortal sects gathered in a Blessed Land Grotto-Heaven.

The grotto-heaven was filled with ancient formations and ruins.

Emitting a terrifying aura.

According to the mysterious figure, these ruins were all the work of immortals.

They would be confined here for ten years.

Ten years later, the restrictions within the ruins would activate precisely on time. If they could not unravel the mysteries of the immortal restrictions, their only fate would be a tragic death.

This was the trial they had to undergo after advancing to the Nascent Soul realm.

Facing this life-or-death predicament, all the immortal sect disciples remained composed. None clamored to return to their sects. In their view, life and death were ordinary matters. Being able to remain safely for ten years was already an immense blessing.

Within the sealed grotto-heaven, there was no guidance from teachers; everything relied on individual comprehension.

Some formed groups to study together, while others, being solitary by nature, immersed themselves in individual research.

Occasionally, conflicts erupted, and many died in the struggles.

However, for the majority of the time, everyone was engrossed in studying the immortal ruins.

Just when they thought they truly had to stay in this sealed grotto-heaven for the full ten years...

On a certain day in the sixth year, the grotto-heaven suddenly rumbled and shook. As everyone wondered what was happening, a long-unseen light from the outside world shot down from the sky.

It shone directly on Li Fan.

The gazes of all the prodigious disciples from the five great immortal sects turned to Li Fan, their faces filled with disbelief.

The mysterious black-clad figure who had led them into the grotto-heaven earlier reappeared.

Staring at Li Fan, he murmured, "Fifty-second among all past generations. This achievement is acceptable. I hope he can contribute another one."

When the prodigious disciples heard the black-clad figure's words, their expressions became even more shocked. They had thought Li Fan unraveling the immortal secrets ahead of time was already defying the heavens, but they didn't expect him to only rank fifty-second among all past generations.

What kind of monstrous talents were the previous fifty-one?

Just as everyone's hearts were still reeling, they heard the black-clad figure speak again.

"As for the rest of you..."

"Go through the reincarnation trial again."

"I hope next time, you can be born into a better life and have higher comprehension."

The black-clad figure took only Li Fan, while all the others were buried in the collapsing grotto-heaven.

Li Fan watched silently as the grotto-heaven, which had consumed over a hundred prodigies from various sects, transformed into a black pill in the black-clad figure's hand.

"Eat it," the black-clad figure said indifferently, tossing the pill over.

Li Fan swallowed it without hesitation.

Instantly, a flash of insight erupted in his mind, and countless thoughts surged forth. These were all the insights and contemplations of those prodigies within the grotto-heaven. Although their progress in comprehending the immortal ruins was not as advanced as Li Fan's, there were still valuable lessons to be learned from them.

Five years of secluded cultivation, combined with the grotto-heaven and the prodigies transforming into a pill, Li Fan ascended directly into the Soul Transformation realm.

Before he could even rest, Li Fan was led by the black-clad figure, soaring towards the Nine Heavens.

The fierce gales were piercing and seemed to possess an erosive power; his protective spiritual energy was useless, and they stung Li Fan's cheeks.

Before long, faint trickles of blood began to seep from various parts of his body.

Li Fan merely narrowed his eyes slightly, calmly wiping away the blood. He followed closely behind the black-clad figure.

They continued to ascend towards the high heavens.

It seemed endless; the higher they went, the greater the resistance.

Only after crossing a certain boundary did Li Fan's vision suddenly clear.

A magnificent purple dao palace, like a celestial abode, stood atop the clouds.

The people within the dao palace all seemed hurried and indifferent to other matters.

Li Fan followed them all the way to the central hall of the dao palace.

What stood in the great hall was not someone's statue, but a peculiar device.

Within countless surrounding rings, the light and shadow revealed the myriad beings below.

"This is the Sky-Peering Divine Ring. Within it, you can behold all the secrets of heaven and earth."

"But do not be greedy. Remember, even if you see a myriad of Great Daos before you, you can only choose one."

"Go," the black-clad figure said, offering a rare few words of instruction, then pointed towards the Sky-Peering Divine Ring ahead.

He did not explain the consequences of failure.

Li Fan had no other choice and approached the divine ring step by step.

The closer he got to the divine ring, the more rapidly the light and shadow within it seemed to pulse before Li Fan's eyes.

His blood surged, feeling as if it could burst forth at any moment.

Li Fan suppressed his discomfort and slowly stepped into the light and shadow.

The moment his body was swallowed by the divine ring's light and shadow, Li Fan felt as if he had completely disappeared.

He seemed to transform into the ring itself, and all people, events, and objects in the world unfolded before his eyes.

For people, their names, life experiences, talents, and supernatural abilities were all clear at a glance.

For events, from the Xuan-Shang Grotto-Heaven breaking through the realm and the world's sealing, all past occurrences, no matter how trivial, appeared before him scene by scene.

For objects, their outer appearances were broken down inch by inch, revealing their inner foundations and the Great Dao laws they represented.

Truly worthy of the name Sky-Peering Divine Ring. With its aid, Li Fan, even in the Soul Transformation realm, could fully comprehend the principles of a world.

But being of mortal flesh and blood, gradually, his body began to falter under the strain.

The light and shadow, formed by heaven and earth, gradually became illusory, and the image of the ring began to emerge.

Li Fan knew he had to make a choice.

Instead of looking back at everything in the world, he focused his gaze intently on the emerging Sky-Peering Divine Ring.

"If I can obtain this item, wouldn't it be equivalent to gaining the world?"

"Why seek something far away when something is close at hand?"

As if enlightened, he resolutely abandoned all the insights he had gained with the divine ring's assistance.

He simply and determinedly gazed at the Sky-Peering Divine Ring, attempting to comprehend its principles.

If it were an utterly unfamiliar wondrous item beyond his comprehension, Li Fan certainly wouldn't have been able to decipher it in such a short time.

But Li Fan discovered that he was not unfamiliar with the divine ring's essence. Although he had never formally encountered it before, principles very close to it had frequently appeared throughout his cultivation journey, ever since he began Qi Condensation.

It was as if the entire world was actually transformed from this Sky-Peering Divine Ring. His cultivation path was merely using his body as a hand to touch and perceive a part of the divine ring.

As his thoughts gained vitality, the divine ring before him also materialized from illusion.

The pressure it brought no longer existed from that moment, because Li Fan had truly become one of the countless parallel rings within the Sky-Peering Divine Ring!

With a blur before his eyes, Li Fan found himself in a pitch-black space.

Countless figures sat cross-legged in a circular, tiered arrangement.

They merely nodded in acknowledgment to Li Fan, the newcomer.

Then they continued to focus their gaze on the center.

Although nothing concrete was visible there, Li Fan acutely sensed that it seemed even darker than other areas.

Even...

The darkness of the entire space originated from here.

"This is..."

"Dao Annihilation?"

A single word inexplicably flashed through Li Fan's mind.

Then, like a chain reaction, it triggered all of Li Fan's original memories.

Unnoticed by anyone present, Li Fan's eyes underwent a subtle change.

"I've finally woken up. The cultivation selection process in this world is quite interesting. Even a bit cruel."

"All other beings can be sacrificed at any moment, solely to most rapidly cultivate true prodigies capable of entering this place."