Chapter 1625: Same Origin Culprit

A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples!

Dao Yan seemed to sense something, and a tide began to rise.

Li Fan felt something was wrong. His senses immediately sharpened, always ready to revert to his true form.

Fortunately, this unknown, strange power only severed the statue's head and made no further moves.

After the initial shock, He Ganxian touched his own neck.

The moment the statue's head fell, he felt as if he had been attacked himself.

He Ganxian's moral cultivation flowed, almost perfectly complete. He prided himself on being just one step away from the Saint realm.

Yet, when faced with that strange power just now, he seemed utterly powerless to resist!

How could this be?

Could it really be a Saint who made a move?

“Can you grasp its origin?” Li Fan asked, his expression grave.

He Ganxian gazed into the distance at the mountains and seas. After a long pause, he shook his head and replied, “It arrived strangely and elusively… difficult.”

“Besides, even if I could sense it, I wouldn't dare investigate further.”

“Although my other self was slightly weaker, his true moral essence remained. It would be exceedingly difficult to kill him, even with transcendent power.”

He Ganxian's meaning was quite clear.

However, Li Fan held a different opinion.

Even for someone like Baixiao Immortal, who was suspected of threatening the safety of the entire Mountains and Seas, the Saints did not slay him, but merely suppressed him within the Myriad Ancient Heavenly Steps.

Although Faceless Immortal lacked virtue, he had not committed any morally depraved acts up to that point.

The Saints had no reason to intervene.

“Then, besides them, who else in the Mountains and Seas possesses such power?”

A strange silence fell between the two.

Faceless Immortal's sudden demise completely shattered their plans.

He Ganxian's hope of attaining the Dao in a short time was dashed, and Li Fan's intention of glimpsing the true essence of morality also came to naught.

At the unexpected turn of events, Li Fan was inwardly startled and, at the same time, inexplicably annoyed.

“In the previous life, Faceless Immortal lived perfectly fine, but this time he died strangely. Is it related to the Primordial Annihilation or Baixiao Immortal?”

“I can clearly still feel his immortal power residual on the Faceless Statue…”

Li Fan couldn't help but look at He Ganxian with some suspicion.

As if sensing Li Fan's doubt, He Ganxian, with a sigh, explained, “The flow of morality is endless, constantly regenerating; this is our divine ability to avert disaster. Wherever we leave traces, there remains a remnant of moral aura. This can be seen as a special avatar we leave behind; if the main body unfortunately perishes, as long as these moral aura remnants still exist in the Mountains and Seas, we can be reborn amidst destruction.”

“It should have been this way,” He Ganxian stated heavily, his expression extremely grim.

“But now, he is dead.”

He Ganxian pointed a finger at the headless statue: “Although moral aura still flows upon it, it has lost its essential core. Even if the moral aura could resurrect itself in the future, he will not return.”

“This means he is truly dead.”

Li Fan vaguely detected a trace of shared sorrow and unconcealable fear in He Ganxian's words.

After all, he and Faceless Immortal were two sides of the same coin after the division of morality.

Since that unknown, strange entity could slay Faceless Immortal, it could likewise kill him, He Ganxian!

“While slaying the main body, it also erased him as an individual entity from the Mountains and Seas.”

“All contingencies he had left behind became irrelevant the moment he vanished.”

“This is a true method of eradication!”

While the method was terrifying, what disturbed Li Fan even more was its appearance without any warning and its elusive, traceless nature.

One must know that Li Fan had once traveled nearly a tenth of the Mountains and Seas. Coupled with the vast influence of the Holy Dynasty, which spanned across the Mountains and Seas, it could be said that for Li Fan, there were now few unknown territories left in the Mountains and Seas.

He had originally thought so.

The mysterious appearance of this strange power, which slew Faceless Immortal, thoroughly startled him.

This scene was like how he always thought he had thoroughly explored the secrets of the Xuanhuang Realm, only for the Xuanhuang Realm to bring him another surprise every time.

More crucially…

This power seemed very close to him!

If the Mountains and Seas were considered a gradually familiar pond, then now, a terrifying beast that preyed on humans was hidden deep within its waters.

How could this not fill Li Fan with alarm and anger?

What alarmed and angered him was not the opponent's strength, but their unknown nature.

While the Saints of the Other Shore and Emperor Taiwei were powerful, Li Fan could not provoke them, but he could avoid them.

What he feared were those who were powerful enough to threaten him yet always remained hidden in the shadows.

If he was unlucky, Li Fan, while traveling through the Mountains and Seas, might one day stumble right into them.

Unable to suppress the unease in his heart, Li Fan immediately made a decision: he would seize the opportune moment, while Faceless Immortal had just been slain and some clues still lingered, to gather as much information about the opponent as possible.

Even if he couldn't completely ascertain their identity, he at least needed to determine their general location within the Mountains and Seas. Before his strength was sufficient to avoid danger, he would try his best to steer clear.

With that thought, Li Fan looked at He Ganxian again and sneered, “Are you scared?”

“The chance to become a Saint was right before you, yet someone severed it with a single stroke. As the saying goes, obstructing someone's path to the Dao is like killing their parents.”

“You two are two sides of the same moral coin. His death is as if you died.”

“The person who killed your family is right there, and you choose to flee?”

“Do you not even have the courage to pursue them?”

He Ganxian heard Li Fan's taunting words, but his expression remained completely unchanged. He calmly replied, “If one's strength is inferior to the opponent, what can one do?”

“If it were me, I would at least ascertain their identity. Otherwise, when you gain enough strength to seek revenge later, it would be tragic if you couldn't even find your target, wouldn't it? I don't think you would be so disheartened by this setback that you'd become completely dejected and give up on revenge, would you?” Li Fan fixed his gaze on He Ganxian.

He Ganxian fell silent again, seemingly very indecisive inwardly.

“If that’s the case, then just pretend I didn’t say anything. I never expected the legendary True Immortal of Morality to be so timid,” Li Fan remarked, shaking his head with a click of his tongue.

“You don't need to provoke me. I'm rather curious why you care so much about this killer,” He Ganxian retorted.

“Firstly, it’s because I’m angered by the painful loss of an opportunity to witness the birth of a Saint. Secondly…”

Li Fan’s gaze deepened: “I suspect this killer is the one I’ve been tracking all along.”

Those words once again stirred waves in He Ganxian's heart: “Are you so certain you can help me become a Saint?”

“If your morality were intact, then it would be almost certain. But now… perhaps you’ll have to wait several years for morality to circulate and the Faceless one to regenerate. I hope by then, these Mountains and Seas still exist, and you are still alive.” Li Fan smiled, his meaning unclear.

With that, his figure gradually faded, about to vanish.

“Wait!” At the last moment, He Ganxian suddenly spoke out.

“Let's give it a try today. I hope that in the future, when the time is ripe again, you can help me once more!”

After all, the temptation of becoming a Saint was simply too great. Even if it was just a vague, baseless promise, He Ganxian was reluctant to give up on it.

“It's a deal! Rest assured, if the opportunity arises, I will certainly help you become a Saint!” Li Fan declared proudly.

After the two reached an agreement, He Ganxian looked at the headless Faceless Statue before him and took a deep breath.

Then he reached out and grabbed his own head, letting out a low cry.

He actually lifted his own head clean off his body.

“Please, precious one, take your rightful place.”

He Ganxian's head, held in his own hands, glared with wide, angry eyes and murmured faintly.

He Ganxian's body, rather stiffly, walked step by step towards the Faceless Statue.

Finally, holding it in both hands, he very solemnly placed his head onto the smooth neck of the statue.

The Faceless Immortal's statue body, He Ganxian's head.

The two, originally parts of the same being, immediately underwent an extremely profound transformation upon this combination.

It was as if the Faceless Immortal, who had been completely dead before, was now revived!

As if reborn to experience everything the Faceless Immortal had encountered in life, a hint of fear gradually emerged on He Ganxian's face.

His limbs flailed uncontrollably, seemingly instinctively trying to escape.

But he could not escape, neither in reality nor while re-experiencing the memories.

Fear eventually turned into despair.

“My life is over!”

With a wail, He Ganxian's head shot up into the sky, detaching itself from the statue.

The same scene recurred, but this time, a large quantity of fresh blood spurted from the statue's body!

Just moments later, the flying head's eyes regained clarity.

While searching for his body, he cried out, “Run!”

Li Fan's reaction was faster than his.

When he sensed that strange power strike again, severing He Ganxian's head, and noted its tendency to spread to the surroundings, Li Fan had already ignited the true spirit fire seeds he had pre-planted in the surrounding possibilities.

In an instant, blazing fires raged, burning mountains and boiling seas!

They formed a terrifying wall of light and heat, obscuring the tentacles of power emanating from the depths of the Mountains and Seas.

The "arena" originally used to trap the True Immortal of Morality now became a straw to save both their lives.

It was precisely because of this method that Li Fan, even though he was in an extremely dangerous situation, still did not revert to his true form.

The true spirit fire incinerated possibilities into fragments. Once support was lost, it immediately drew in the great tide of Dao Annihilation.

Water and fire raged, engulfing the Mountains and Seas.

In mere moments, it was as if the apocalypse had arrived!

At this moment, He Ganxian, who had found his separated body, reattached his head, and returned to normal, stared blankly at the scene before him.

He had never imagined that Li Fan would be so reckless!

Such magnificent Mountains and Seas, just burned away!

“Why are you still standing there stunned? The fire is raging; if we don't run now, when will we?”

Li Fan's low shout pulled He Ganxian back to reality.

He Ganxian no longer cared about anything else and instinctively followed Li Fan, rushing into the blazing light.

After all, the great fire was ignited with Li Fan's spirituality as fuel. With Li Fan leading the way, He Ganxian was not scorched by the true spirit flames at all. He merely dodged wave after wave of the Dao Annihilation tide.

They rapidly escaped from the blockade of water and fire.

After fleeing through countless possibilities, as the firelight faded into the distance and the intense sense of crisis in their hearts gradually dissipated, their pace finally slowed.

He Ganxian looked back at the ruins of the Mountains and Seas, now incinerated and swallowed by Dao Annihilation, still shaken.

After a long while, he cupped his hands to Li Fan and said admiringly, “If not for your decisiveness, Fellow Daoist, in igniting the Mountains and Seas, I fear we truly would not have escaped this catastrophe.”

Li Fan's expression turned serious: “You must not slander me. When have I ever committed such a monstrous act as burning the Mountains and Seas? It was clearly done by that villain who sought to kill us!”

He Ganxian was stunned by these words.

Then he laughed bitterly.

“After facing such immense danger, have you gained anything?” Li Fan asked.

He Ganxian nodded, then shook his head.

“Using the Method of Moral Unity, I did indeed see scenes from my other self's life, but only the last brief period.”

“Furthermore, the perpetrator never truly revealed their form from beginning to end. So…”

“Their true identity remains unknown.”

“But I remember the place of demise and the opponent's aura. If we encounter them again, I will certainly feel an early warning.”

This outcome was within Li Fan's expectations: “Can you point me in the right direction?”

He Ganxian then marked a location in the Mountains and Seas.

“It should be near this place.”

“Hmm?”

Li Fan stared at the flickering phantom of the Mountains and Seas before him, sensing a hint of familiarity.

“This is…”

He Ganxian also noticed Li Fan's unusual reaction and quickly pressed, “Could it be that Fellow Daoist knows this place?”

Li Fan remained silent. After a long pause, he slowly uttered a few words.

“The Five Lords of Calamity, the Realm of Creation and Destruction!”

“The Realm of Creation and Destruction?” He Ganxian murmured, repeating the name. With his knowledge, he had never heard of such an existence within the Mountains and Seas.

He couldn't help but believe Li Fan's earlier words about the killer possibly being someone he had been tracking.

In fact, even after a hundred reincarnations, Li Fan had only heard about the Realm of Creation and Destruction once.

It was from the memories of the Fallen Immortal Realm and the Grand Dao Scripture!

Long ago, the black shadow named Zhukong, who stole thirty True Immortal Seal characters from the Primordial Grand Dao Scripture, was from the Realm of Creation and Destruction.

Besides Zhukong, there were four other individuals. Together, they resisted the attacks of the Primordial Engraved Dao Immortal.

Engraved Dao Immortal called them the Five Lords of Calamity.

To reclaim the thirty stolen True Immortal Seal characters, Engraved Dao Immortal pursued Zhukong. But from then on, he never returned.

The peril of the Realm of Creation and Destruction was evident from this.

Relying on the subtle connection between the Grand Dao Scripture and the stolen True Immortal Seal characters, Li Fan knew the approximate location of the Realm of Creation and Destruction.

Therefore, during his subsequent travels through the Mountains and Seas, he deliberately avoided it.

It now seemed he had indeed avoided a catastrophe.

“After so many years, have the so-called Five Lords of Calamity become this powerful?”

“That sense of crisis that surged within me just now…”

“Even if they aren't Saints, they're not far off.”

“Of course, it's also possible that it was due to the Five Lords acting together.”

“I just wonder how Faceless Immortal managed to provoke such formidable individuals?” Countless thoughts flashed through Li Fan's mind in an instant.

At the same time, he also felt a sense of relief.

The Mountains and Seas were still the Mountains and Seas he knew; no new fatal enemy had appeared out of thin air.

It was merely that the level of caution for the already vigilant targets needed to be raised by several layers.

“Next, where do you intend to go, Fellow Daoist?”

Having endured a significant turmoil, and still mindful of Li Fan's promise to help him become a Saint, He Ganxian couldn't help but ask Li Fan, who was deep in thought.

Li Fan glanced at He Ganxian and said gravely, “I intend to go to the Realm of Creation and Destruction to investigate thoroughly.”

“Are you willing to accompany me?”