Chapter 878: Third True Immortal Character

Everything was within Li Fan's grasp; he had successfully obtained two copies of the grey mold.

The entire process was surprisingly smooth.

"Fortunately, I possess a treasure like the Seven-Colored Jade Void Flowing Light, which acts as a container to seal the grey mold," Li Fan mused. "Otherwise, it would be impossible to control with ordinary means."

"If this grey mold were to escape, it would likely lead to a world-ending catastrophe."

Despite holding such terrifying objects, Li Fan showed no trace of fear on his face.

He observed the different reactions of the grey mold within the three light clusters.

The largest cluster, having witnessed the fate of the mold that was lured out, became subdued once more.

It quietly lurked inside the skull, just as Li Fan had seen it before.

The second light cluster, however, seemed unwilling to accept its containment and continued to frantically erode the surrounding Seven-Colored Divine Light.

However, with Li Fan's continuous supply of Cavern-Heaven power, its efforts were utterly futile.

The grey mold in the third light cluster was the smallest in quantity. Perhaps because it had only recently split off, it was the calmest. Its external color was also not as deep grey as its two predecessors.

"This is..."

Li Fan was thus able to see the true appearance of the grey mold.

It was composed of many regular horizontal and vertical lines, like...

...a kind of script.

Li Fan narrowed his eyes involuntarily.

In his mind, the enormous character on the Immortal Ruins suddenly appeared.

What was hidden within this grey mold seemed to share many similarities with that character!

Although the two differed greatly in scale, after Li Fan examined and compared them from a calligraphic perspective,

he still found that some of the "strokes" were almost perfectly identical!

Since he had not seen the complete character, Li Fan could not be sure which character had formed this terrifying world-ending grey mold.

But Li Fan could assert that this character, like 'Hunger' and 'Chaos', was one of the sources of turmoil across various realms!

"There are also differences among the three."

"I haven't seen the true character for 'Chaos'; I've only seen copies transcribed by a mysterious figure."

"The complete character for 'Hunger' led to the formation of the Immortal Ruins, affecting the boundless void and countless cultivation realms."

"This new character, however, has no complete physical form; it transforms into countless grey molds, eroding various worlds."

In Li Fan's mind, various characters flashed rapidly.

He tried to find one that corresponded to the disaster brought by the grey mold.

But none matched.

"Right, what I'm seeing is merely a superficial manifestation."

"All of it is just the external impact created by the characters of True Immortals."

"Just like when I saw the Xuanhuang Realm being drawn towards the Immortal Ruins before..."

"The gravitational pull was merely an external manifestation. The true core, however, could only be understood by witnessing the character of a True Immortal firsthand. It was the character for 'Hunger'..."

"What then, is the essence of this grey mold?"

Li Fan quietly observed the three light clusters before him and fell into prolonged thought.

After an unknown period of time, he finally emerged from his contemplation.

It was clear that simply guessing, even with Li Fan's comprehension, would not allow him to unravel its mysteries.

"Perhaps if I cultivate more grey mold and observe its proliferation process, I might discover something."

"However..."

After a moment of deliberation, Li Fan decided to put this idea aside for now.

Even if the Seven-Colored Divine Light had a natural sealing effect on the grey mold, it didn't mean that the Seven-Colored Jade Void Flowing Light was inherently superior to it.

After all, all Li Fan could do was seal the grey mold.

As time passed, the grey mold wouldn't disappear or weaken on its own, but the Seven-Colored Divine Light would be continuously eroded.

To be precise, he was merely using the power of a realm's Heavenly Dao origin to delay the outbreak of the grey mold.

"It's the same principle as the Xuanhuang Realm being able to sustain itself for nearly ten thousand years under the Immortal Ruins' pull."

"Even with my Five Elements Grand Cavern-Heaven, the Seven-Colored Divine Light is unlikely to be fully depleted."

"But to be safe, three sealed light clusters are already more than enough."

"After all, my goal has been achieved."

He once again stored these light clusters deep within his Cavern-Heaven, suppressing them heavily.

"With this item in hand, even a Heaven-Ascension expert would fall into my calculations."

As for the consequences of using the grey mold...

At worst, the Xuanhuang Realm would be destroyed, and 'Restore Truth' would simply restart everything!

However, Li Fan wouldn't use this ultimate trump card lightly.

Now his strength had greatly advanced, and his soul's previous weakness had been addressed. He could even exchange a few blows with a Heaven-Ascension Venerable.

Coupled with the Seven-Colored Divine Light protecting his body, he believed he wouldn't face a situation like before where he couldn't even use 'Restore Truth'.

He wouldn't be instantly killed and could use 'Restore Truth' in time.

Under these two premises, gaining more experience fighting against Heaven-Ascension realm experts would also be beneficial.

Li Fan had already begun to strategize about the most suitable candidates.

"I'll start with those who attained Heaven-Ascension through ancient methods."

Unfortunately, those who achieved Heaven-Ascension through ancient methods and survived until now were, without exception, ultimate old monsters.

For a time, Li Fan couldn't find an easy target.

Just as Li Fan was in the Spirit Wood Realm, with his mind stirring with ideas,

outside, the Dharma Idol of the Transmitting-Dharma Heavenly Venerate, conjured by the thirty-three Immortal Chosen Ones in unison, had acted again!

This time, the Dharma Idol of the Heavenly Venerate appeared, strikingly, within the territory of the Five Elders Association!

Specifically, Yongliang Prefecture, which bordered Jiushan Prefecture!

Unlike its overwhelming and suppressive performance in Jiushan Prefecture, this time, after the Dharma Idol of the Heavenly Venerate emerged above the sky and opened its eyes,

the countless beings in Yongliang Prefecture truly felt the immediate approach of a great impending disaster.

But at this critical moment, the illusory figure of a scholar blocked the Dharma Idol of the Heavenly Venerate.

He was seen with his head slightly tilted back, his lips slightly parted, seemingly speaking something.

And slowly, the cultivators of Yongliang Prefecture surprisingly discovered that the Transmitting-Dharma Heavenly Venerate Dharma Idol in the sky actually slowly closed its eyes again!

*Boom...*

Amidst a slight tremor, the illusory Dharma Idol of the Heavenly Venerate vanished into thin air.

A world-ending catastrophe was thus averted.

The scholar's figure also slowly disappeared, and countless cultivators bowed towards the Heavenly Venerate, expressing their gratitude.

"It seems that within areas covered by the Heaven-Ascension Venerates' 'Reverse Principle', contending against Heaven-Ascension realm cultivators is still quite challenging."

"No wonder the Myriad Immortals Alliance hasn't gained any substantial advantage over the Five Elders Association for so many years."

"The power of the Heavenly Venerates is simply too great."

"Rather than fighting with cultivators, it's more like engaging in a magical duel with five Heaven-Ascension experts."

"There's no chance of winning at all."

This was Li Fan's thought after receiving the video from the Five Elders Association.

However, immediately afterwards, he frowned slightly.

The Myriad Immortals Alliance always plans thoroughly before acting and avoids meaningless endeavors.

They absolutely couldn't have been unaware that the Transmitting-Dharma Heavenly Venerate Dharma Idol wouldn't achieve anything within the Five Elders Association's territory.

Yet they still did it.

"Could they be experimenting with something?"

Li Fan's interest was piqued.