Chapter 184: Seeking to Cross the Heavenly Dao Severance Sea

“An Empty Vessel, Bereft of Self…”

Li Shun realized that the reason he had completely lost all sense of Li Qing was because Li Qing's state of mind had undergone a transformation, almost as though he had been reborn.

He no longer held any attachments to the past.

Without the Xuanhuang Qi serving as a link between them, Li Shun naturally could no longer peer into Li Qing's condition.

“Walk the path you were meant to walk.”

“That is good, too.”

Li Shun repeatedly read through Li Qing's letter in his mind several times, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Because Li Qing had always obeyed everything his elder brother, “Li Shun,” said, he had even regarded “Li Shun's” life as more important than his own.

After gradually discovering that Li Qing was exceptionally convenient to command, Li Shun had grown increasingly accustomed to treating him as a tool who would always do whatever suited his needs.

Yet he had overlooked Li Qing's own will.

“How could a golden-scaled dragon remain forever trapped in a pond?”

“Someone like Elder Wei would never have chosen Li Qing as the successor to the inheritance of the Regicide Path if he were merely an ordinary man willing to spend his entire life running errands for others. Even if those errands were for the elder brother he valued above all else, he would not accept such a fate.”

“Li Qing's awakening and departure were inevitable sooner or later. In fact, the reason he waited until now to leave was precisely because his brotherly bond with ‘Li Shun’ had truly grown deep.”

Li Shun felt neither anger nor resentment.

Instead, he felt somewhat relieved, even expectant.

There were things anyone could do.

But there were also things that only certain people could do.

'I hope he can give me a pleasant surprise before long.'

His attention withdrew from Dongshan Town and returned once more to the Martial Dao World.

Fei's project of opening up an entirely new realm was already nearing completion.

Naturally, Fang Han had witnessed the entire process.

It was extremely similar to the previous creation of a sealed domain used to store and suppress the gathering points of the world's Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.

The difference was that this new realm occupied a full one-fiftieth of the Martial Dao World.

The difficulty of the undertaking was therefore considerably greater.

“It isn't truly creating a new world out of thin air within the Martial Dao World. It is more like cutting the existing world apart and dividing it into two layers.”

“The outer world will remain the Yao race's pasture. The inner world, meanwhile, will become the gathering place for forces resisting the Yao race.”

Fang Han watched as that invisible boundary line was about to close completely, unable to hide a trace of regret.

“The upper limit of the pasture world's power was fixed long ago. No matter how hard the human martial artists within it cultivate or how extraordinary their talent may be, the highest they can ever reach is the Grandmaster realm.”

“Even if the inner world were filled entirely with Grandmasters, their actual strength would still be extremely limited. There would be no need for a Heaven-Earth realm expert to act. A Creation Yao King would be enough to suppress them all.”

“If only there were some way to forcibly raise this world's upper limit…”

As though sensing Fang Han's thoughts, the Xuanhuang Qi within the Fangcun space suddenly began surging violently.

It seemed almost eager to volunteer itself.

This was the first time the Xuanhuang Qi had ever acted so proactively, and there was an almost seductive quality to its movements.

Fang Han merely snorted coldly and ignored it completely.

No matter how the Xuanhuang Qi behaved, he remained unmoved.

Fang Han was perfectly clear-headed.

The Xuanhuang Qi might indeed be capable of raising the upper limit of the Martial Dao World's power.

But what would the price be?

It involved the karma of countless living beings throughout an entire world. The amount of accumulated karmic debt would inevitably become astronomical.

It might even cause the original order of the Martial Dao World to collapse.

“Recklessly introducing an unknown higher-level power system is absolutely not a wise decision.”

“Unless…”

A sharp glint suddenly flashed through Fang Han's eyes.

“Unless I first understand that higher-level power system thoroughly and confirm that it carries no particularly serious dangers.”

“Then I can make a move.”

After more than a year of various experiences within the Martial Dao World, combined with his repeated questioning of the exotic beast Fei, Fang Han had already reached a basic conclusion.

The Martial Dao World, the Yao Race World, and even the Great Qian World were all fragments formed from the Ancient Primordial Wilderness after the catastrophe that followed the Severance of Heaven and Earth.

The fragments merely differed in size.

The Great Qian World was unquestionably far more vast than the Martial Dao World.

It was almost comparable to the Yao Race World.

“The Yao race is capable of capturing these fragmented worlds and turning them into pastures.”

“Great Qian has undertaken similar actions as well. In the 193rd year of the New Calendar, the Left Chancellor submitted a memorial proposing the eradication of the southern Blood Miasma in order to expand Great Qian's territory…”

Fang Han immediately recalled this matter.

After a moment, however, he could not help frowning.

“But that was merely a rumor that appeared in the imperial court. No one knows what actually happened, nor what the final outcome was.”

“I suspect it ended in failure. Otherwise, given the Left Chancellor's temperament, he would certainly have publicized the achievement on a massive scale and made sure the entire world knew about it.”

Fang Han had never personally ventured to the four border regions of Great Qian and witnessed what lay beyond the boundaries of the world.

Naturally, he had no way of determining how the fragments of the Ancient Primordial Wilderness were distributed.

But one thing could be confirmed.

The Great Qian World was undoubtedly in a far worse situation than the Yao Race World.

At the very least, the Yao Race World did not possess things like the Heavenly Dao Severance Qi, the Interminable Blood Miasma, or the Withered Sands of Time.

'I wonder exactly how the Yao Race World searches for and captures other fragmented worlds. If Great Qian also possessed such a method…'

A vague outline of a plan instantly took shape within Fang Han's mind.

“Before the Yao race discovers the abnormalities within the Martial Dao World, I must collect as much Xuanhuang Qi as possible.”

“If an opportunity arises, I can even secretly infiltrate the Yao Race World and investigate how they capture fragmented worlds.”

“Once the Yao race notices something…”

“By then, the situation will already be beyond recovery.”

“Then I will find a way to reveal the existence of the Martial Dao World and even the Yao Race World to Great Qian.”

“Borrow Great Qian's military might to create chaos.”

“However, this plan has one prerequisite.”

“I must find a normal way to travel from Great Qian to the Martial Dao World.”

“Traveling through the Xuanhuang Qi of Heaven and Earth is not a method that can be universally used.”

The four borders of Great Qian were surrounded by forbidden regions, while the Martial Dao World was located somewhere completely unknown.

Under such circumstances, finding a passage connecting the two worlds was practically impossible.

Yet for Li Shun, it was not entirely impossible.

Previously, when he had repeatedly traveled between the two worlds through the gates formed from Xuanhuang Qi, he had already faintly sensed something strange.

Whenever he instantly transferred to another world, the sensations within his body from the preceding moment still remained.

It was almost as though his body had been divided into two halves, simultaneously existing within two different worlds.

Across endless spacetime, their gazes faced one another from afar.

“I don't know the distance between them.”

“I don't know what lies along the way.”

“I only know their general directions.”

“But as long as I can confirm that they belong to the same greater world, then with a direction, I will have a target.”

Li Shun once again began experimenting by repeatedly transferring himself at high speed, carefully sensing the connection between the two worlds.

After a long while, he finally reached a conclusion.

“The Martial Dao World…”

“Lies to the east of Great Qian.”

“To reach it, I must cross the boundless Heavenly Dao Severance Sea.”

With a slight movement of his thoughts, the phantom of Shentu Xin silently appeared in Dongshan Town.

He slipped underground and followed the veins of the earth, heading directly east toward the Heavenly Dao Severance Sea.

“Shentu Xin's phantom has developed an extremely strong resistance to the Heavenly Dao Severance Qi.”

“As long as he isn't killed instantly, no matter how severe his injuries are, he can return to the Fangcun space and recover completely.”

“Although the Heavenly Dao Severance Sea is boundless, Shentu Xin may not be incapable of crossing it.”

“I hope I can truly find a passage.”

Within the Martial Dao World, the existence of the puppet Fang Han was like the North Star, pointing Shentu Xin toward his destination.

Shentu Xin traveled without pause.

He neither tired nor rested, racing endlessly toward the location of the Martial Dao World.

At the same time, he silently recorded everything he encountered along the way.