Chapter 1466: Shouldering the Dao Annihilation Calamity

“I have undergone a hundred lifetimes of reincarnation, yet my spirituality has still not diminished. Even an Nameless True Immortal would probably be unable to compare with me.”

After realizing how extraordinary he was, Li Fan could not help but feel waves of delight rising within his heart.

He wanted to communicate with [Truth] once again, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea. He received no response whatsoever.

Only after a long while did Li Fan finally calm down from his agitated state of mind.

Naturally, an even greater question surfaced in his heart.

“My spirituality is so pure and abundant that, perhaps throughout the entire mortal world, it is exceedingly rare, or perhaps even unique. What exactly caused this characteristic…”

Li Fan immediately associated it with his identity as a 'Transmigrator.'

But whether that was truly the reason, why the spirituality of Transmigrators was so different, and whether other Transmigrators would possess the same characteristics as him...

There was an even deeper question.

“What exactly is [Truth]’s purpose in attaching itself to me?”

These were questions that Li Fan could not investigate at present.

Suppressing all his surging thoughts deep within his heart, Li Fan secretly thought, “At the very least, my relationship with [Truth] has become somewhat closer on the surface. Ever since it returned from the Infinite Ocean, it has become more ‘lively.’ This is a good thing. If it can guide me once, then it can guide me a second time. And [Truth]’s guidance…”

“It is even better than directly facing the Great Dao and comprehending it!”

While his true body had gained a qualitative harvest, his clone puppet, Li Buren, did not experience the slightest emotional fluctuation because of these discoveries.

His mission was to investigate the truth behind the High Wall. The mysteries surrounding it remained deep and unfathomable. How could he possibly relax?

“Based on the clues we have now, it can be determined that this place originally belonged to some part of the facilities within the Immortal Realm’s experimental sites. The purpose of the experiment was to find a method capable of resisting Dao Annihilation Calamity. Naturally, these experimental sites possessed certain means of defending against Dao Annihilation Calamity.”

“Although I do not know why it was abandoned, when the Dao Annihilation Calamity erupted, it still transformed into the High Wall, preventing the countless star seas within the experimental sites from suffering complete annihilation.”

“Likewise, the very purpose of the experimental sites meant that they had to possess an extremely concealed nature. As for internal protection, it only needed to restrain the living beings within the experimental star seas. Restrictions at the True Immortal level would have been sufficient.”

“But externally, it needed to take into consideration the prying of existences above the True Immortal level, those at the Nameless Realm. No wonder Qian Ruochang of the Shuoxing Sea and that Devoid Immortal were so close to the High Wall yet seemed to turn a blind eye to it. It was not that they were unwilling to see it. They simply could not. It could even block out the gazes of other possible existences to a certain extent…”

The specific meaning of the information left behind by Sun Piaomiao was still unclear. Li Buren simply decided not to concern himself with it for the time being.

“The reason I discovered something strange about the High Wall was because an Immortal Domain Go piece was captured by the High Wall and vanished into thin air. Since that is the case, why not return to the source of the matter and track down where that Go piece is now…”

The Immortal Domain Go pieces left behind by Sun Piaomiao could sense one another. But once separated by the High Wall, that connection was severed.

Even Li Buren’s body had been constructed from an Immortal Domain Go piece. Yet within this laboratory, he still could not sense the existence of his ‘kind.’

After pondering for a moment, Li Buren simply returned to the Darkest Star Sea for the time being, leaving behind only the Go piece within the Medicine King Cauldron in the Xuanhuang Realm, preventing the fragments from being assembled and the Immortal Domain from appearing once again.

Afterward, from his body, he extended faint silver limbs that resembled both a net and arms. Relying on the projection power of the Dao Net, he brutally “wrapped and bound” all the remaining Go pieces around himself.

Then he suddenly charged toward the High Wall once again.

The instant he entered the High Wall, Li Buren felt an extremely enormous force of attraction coming from the outside.

The Immortal Domain Go pieces within his body flew rapidly toward the source of that attraction, completely beyond his control.

Li Buren did not resist this force. His body even transformed back into the original form of a Go piece.

Together with his ‘brothers,’ he flew toward an unknown destination.

“Sure enough, entering as an intruder is different. This time, I have taken a different route.”

Li Buren seemed to fly rapidly above the countless cube-shaped star seas within the experimental sites.

He then passed through the Great Void that served as the boundary of all the star seas.

He arrived at a space that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

It was familiar because it seemed to be part of the same place as the cylindrical hall Li Buren had previously visited. However, this place was located at the very top of the cylinder, in an invisible region opposite to its bottom.

Once he arrived here, the force of attraction acting upon the Immortal Domain Go pieces disappeared.

Li Buren, still in the form of a Go piece, observed his surroundings.

He discovered that the one Go piece that had suddenly disappeared before, together with the pieces he had brought this time, made a total of eleven Go pieces, all quietly floating in formation.

Six of them had already inexplicably merged into one. Just like what Li Fan had once seen, they displayed a seven-colored appearance.

The remaining five were also tightly clustered together, waiting for Li Buren, the final piece, to join them.

From the Go pieces nearby, Li Buren sensed an urging intent, a desire for him to return.

But perhaps because the most crucial Go piece, the one belonging to the Medicine King True Cauldron, was missing, or perhaps because this place was the true core region of the experimental sites and possessed some unknown restriction, Li Buren felt that the attraction exerted by the Go pieces upon him had not yet reached the point of being uncontrollable.

Maintaining his stability, he surveyed his surroundings.

Only after looking carefully did he suddenly discover that there were five blurry figures standing silently around him.

Li Buren's mind instantly became tense. His body retreated rapidly as he entered a combat stance.

Yet he discovered that no matter how quickly he moved, the five figures continued to surround him.

They encircled him at the center.

He could neither approach them nor move farther away.

To Li Buren, those five phantoms were like the azure heavens to living beings upon the earth.

The distance between them remained eternally indeterminate.

Fortunately, these phantoms seemed to possess no offensive nature. They were merely lifeless objects, showing no reaction whatsoever toward Li Buren, the intruder.

Li Buren first drew all the Immortal Domain Go pieces toward himself, then carefully observed the five phantoms.

After confirming that there was no immediate danger, he thought:

“They vaguely exceed the limits of my perception, which is why I failed to notice them at first.”

“Only by truly observing and staring at them can their existence be perceived.”

“…”

The four words, “Nameless True Immortal,” suddenly appeared in Li Buren’s mind.

This scene was so similar to what Li Fan had previously witnessed while spying upon the Shuo Star Sea, where an Nameless True Immortal had been used as a living pillar to construct the Dao Net.

The Immortal Celestial Pillars of the Immortal Realm had been forged using the leg bones of Nameless True Immortals as materials. They likewise possessed a certain degree of resistance to Dao Annihilation Calamity.

Thus, it was not difficult to believe that Nameless True Immortals had also been used as building materials within the High Wall.

Yet instinctively, Li Buren sensed that this place was different from both the Dao Net and the Southern Immortal Celestial Pillar.

“To use the Dao as pillars. That should indeed be the ability displayed by these five phantoms.”

“The key is…”

Li Buren slightly furrowed his brows.

“Could they actually be the same Great Dao?”

For a True Immortal to ascend into the Nameless Realm, they had to merge their body with the Dao.

And the three thousand Great Daos of heaven and earth were each different.

Yet there could never be duplicates.

Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for two Nameless True Immortals in this world to attain the Dao through the same path.

Two were already impossible.

Let alone five appearing at once!

“Could they come from different possibilities?”

Li Buren's heart jolted.

But very soon, he rejected this conclusion.

He had personally witnessed the aura of existences capable of crossing between possibilities.

The five phantom figures before him were indeed powerful, but they were still worlds apart from him.

“So, there is only one answer.”

“These five phantom figures were all transformed from the same Nameless True Immortal.”

“They are not flesh and blood like the leg bone within the Southern Immortal Celestial Pillar. They are merely projections of his own existence.”

Li Buren’s heart trembled.

“With just five phantom projections, he can transform them into walls and withstand the Dao Annihilation Calamity?”

“What realm has he reached?”

The five phantom figures surrounded Li Buren like stars. Their facial features were impossible to make out, and even their gender could not be distinguished. Yet they were like divine beings from mythology, naturally inspiring solemnity and the urge to bow and worship.

It was the instinctive emotion that lower beings experienced when facing those of a higher order.

“I once speculated that beneath the land of the Immortal Ruins, there was a Nameless who had sacrificed himself for the Dao. He used his own body as a pillar to block the Dao Annihilation Calamity descending from the Immortal Realm.”

“But now, the Nameless before me does not need to sacrifice himself. Simply splitting off five phantom projections is enough to accomplish the same thing…”

The shock in Li Buren’s heart was indescribable.

It was obvious that the one who had left behind these five phantom projections was among the strongest even among all the Nameless True Immortals.

This kind of strength was different from the ability to traverse countless possibilities. Li Buren could not determine which of the two was superior.

But he knew very well that the manifestations of both were equally astonishing.

“In Su Bai’s memories, when faced with the overwhelming Dao Annihilation Calamity, Evil Su Bai could only flee in disarray.”

“But in the [Yuanchu] possibility where I reside, there is actually such an unparalleled expert who can withstand Dao Annihilation Calamity with nothing more than his own phantom projections.”

“Perhaps he chose to walk in a different direction?”

“Where is this expert now? Was he originally responsible for this experimental site’s plan?”

Countless questions arose in Li Buren’s mind.

“If there were more experts like this, I fear the Dao Annihilation Calamity would not be so difficult to deal with.”

As he gazed at the five phantom projections before him, Li Bu Ren could not help but develop such a thought.

To transform into Immortal Pillars and resist the Dao Annihilation Calamity, the phantom projections left behind by the Nameless True Immortal should have been infinitely close to the Dao itself.

Yet although they were right before his eyes, Li Buren was completely unable to perceive or comprehend the Great Dao they represented.

It was as though this Dao did not belong to any of the Heavenly Great Daos that Li Buren currently knew or had come into contact with.

Seen, yet unseen. Heard, yet unheard. Known, yet unknown.

“Either this person came from another possibility. The Dao he merged with does not exist within the [Yuanchu] possibility. To me, it is a completely unfamiliar existence, which is why I am entirely unable to comprehend or perceive it.”

“Or…”

“This person’s realm has already reached the pinnacle of perfection. Carrying the Dao with which he merged, he has escaped the constraints of this world and now walks entirely on his own!”

Li Fan had previously entertained a similar speculation.

Perhaps the Nameless True Immortals had merged with the Dao and then drifted away, taking with them the Great Daos that had originally served as pillars supporting heaven and earth. It was like destroying the load-bearing walls of a building, thereby bringing about the Dao Annihilation Calamity.

But later, after witnessing many experts who had reached the realm of the Nameless True Immortals, and fortunately entering the Infinite Ocean and discovering that the Infinite Ocean and the Dao Annihilation Calamity seemed to originate from the same source, he had begun to doubt this speculation.

However, after directly facing these five phantom projections, he had truly encountered a Nameless True Immortal who had escaped the Three Realms and transcended the Five Elements.

“Coming from another possibility yet sacrificing himself to help resist the Dao Annihilation Calamity. The likelihood of that is small. He could have simply fled on his own.”

“This person should be a native of the [Yuanchu] possibility.”

As he observed them, Li Buren attempted to use his divine sense to reflect the Great Dao represented by these five phantom projections.

Yet the mirror of his mind, which could reflect the Great Daos of heaven and earth, remained completely empty when facing these five phantom projections.

“Who knows whether this person still exists within the current possibility?”

“If he has already departed, yet the phantom projections he left behind can still produce such an effect…”

“That would be somewhat terrifying.”

Up until now, among everything Li Fan had encountered, only Dao Dao Annihilation Calamity and the Infinite Ocean had inspired the greatest fear within him.

Previously, the only existence capable of contending with these two had been [Truth].

Now, there was another unknown expert.

Although this expert was still somewhat weaker than [Truth], he had nevertheless allowed Li Fan to glimpse the upper limit that a cultivator could reach.

After several unsuccessful attempts to reflect their Great Dao, Li Buren stopped wasting his effort.

“These five phantom projections must be the core of the High Wall.”

“Such an important region has nevertheless attracted the Immortal Realm Go pieces. There must be a reason for this. It is simply that I have yet to find the method to trigger it.”

While staying here, Li Buren could only manifest in the form of an Immortal Domain Go piece. Otherwise, he would soon be repelled.

“Nothing has happened for so long. Could it be because the Immortal Domain Go pieces are still incomplete?”

This thought soon surfaced in Li Buren’s mind once again.

After transmitting this idea to his true body, Li Fan in the Xuanhuang Realm weighed the matter carefully before finally handing the Medicine King Cauldron to the clone puppet.

The Medicine King True Cauldron had already been collected by Li Fan in this life without alerting the Hunger Immortal. Naturally, everyone from the Medicine King Sect within the cauldron had also been sent into the Carefree Paradise, contributing to the construction of the dreamscape.

The Medicine King True Cauldron transformed into its original appearance, an ordinary white Go piece.

Li Buren then reconnected it to the center of the High Wall, where the five phantom projections were located.

Li Fan’s true body remained extremely vigilant, ready to invoke [Truth] at any moment.

Li Buren had also prepared himself to reconstruct his body and transform into an Immortal Domain.

But the development of events was somewhat beyond Li Fan’s expectations.

Even with all the Go pieces gathered, the Immortal Domain did not unfold within the space where the five phantom projections resided.

Instead, there seemed to be a force surrounding the area, suppressing the formation of the Immortal Domain.

Yet just as Li Buren had anticipated, when all the Immortal Domain Go pieces gathered here, an abnormal change occurred around them.

It was as though a foreign object had fallen into water, creating ripples throughout the surroundings.

The faces of the five phantom projections actually became somewhat clearer amid the distortion caused by those ripples.

Their gazes all turned toward the Go pieces at the center.

It was as if the weight of the entire heaven and earth had been pressed down upon them.

For a moment, even the body transformed from Li Buren’s Immortal Domain Go piece seemed unable to withstand the pressure.

“This is…”

“The Go pieces have gathered, and they have finally received the weight of the Nameless True Immortal. They can finally enter the gaze of the five phantom projections!”