Chapter 1894: Chapter 1503: I Am One with All Realms

“An immortal from the Other Shore?” Li Fan’s pupils contracted as he leaned in closer.

“Is it that Other Shore?” he asked in a low voice.

“Yes and no.” Cheng Dao seemed to drift into memories, his expression a bit dazed.

It was a while before he came back to his senses, gently pointing towards the blue smoke before Li Fan.

Amidst the curling blue smoke, many images emerged.

These were memories from Cheng Dao’s time as a Spirit Stone on the edge of Mountain and Sea.

“The legendary Other Shore is indeed the place all beings in the Immortal World yearn for. Even my master, after transcending, went there. However, the term ‘Other Shore’ does not merely, absolutely refer to that sacred domain.”

“Anything beyond the realm of unknown possibilities can be referred to as the Other Shore.”

“In the ancient Immortal World, immortal coffins would occasionally, along with the calamity of Dao Yan, drift and float through the Mountain and Sea. Inside, the nameless slept, typically having their hometowns destroyed by Dao Yan with no means of escape. To seek a line of vitality, they sealed themselves in the coffins, drifting with the waves between mountains and seas, attempting to find another sanctuary…”

Listening, Li Fan couldn’t help but think of the previous Hungry Immortal, who clearly came from a possibility beyond the Primordial, bearing the Taoist Aura.

“It seems that he might indeed be one of these Coffin Immortals.”

“Unable to rely on his own strength to transcend possibilities, he could only drift on an immortal coffin. His power not yet reaching the Realm of Transcendence, yet the immortal coffin could persist amidst the Dao Yan tides until successfully reaching another possibility. Such strength certainly stands at the pinnacle among the nameless.” Li Fan thought rapidly.

But a doubt simultaneously sprouted.

“This… what exactly is this so-called immortal coffin? How can it protect those nameless from Dao Yan’s erosion? If enough immortal coffins were gathered, wouldn’t it be possible to make an unsinkable ship that floats forever above the Dao Yan tides?” Li Fan asked aloud.

Cheng Dao chuckled mildly: “There is no such thing as forever. It’s merely a case of keeping the flames under control. Those immortal coffins are, in fact, the last remaining Taoist condensations of one possibility.”

“They cannot halt Dao Yan’s erosion, but due to a special method of compression and condensation, they can delay the erosion to the greatest extent possible. Who originally devised this method is unknown, but it is unexpectedly universal across the heavens. However, it is indeed extremely effective, granting the Coffin Immortals considerable drifting time.”

“I remember, my master once saw and retrieved an immortal coffin. But unfortunately, the nameless within had long since decayed and fallen. Out of pity, my master melted what remained, along with the immortal coffin, into a stubborn stone like me, and then cast it beyond the Mountain and Sea. Hoping that one day, it might regain vitality…”

Li Fan gazed at the stubborn stone within Cheng Dao’s memory, inexplicably feeling a sense of familiarity.

Yet searching his memory thoroughly, he could not pinpoint its source.

Until Cheng Dao waved his hand and the scene was intended to be disbanded. That stubborn stone transformed into countless points of light, suddenly awakening Li Fan.

Every fragment of the evolving stubborn stone resembled an elixir!

“Medicine King Sect, square stone?”

The Alchemy Emperor’s Classic, passed down by Sun Piaomiao. Derived from a square giant stone upon which he sat during daily alchemy.

By any other means of identification, this square giant stone was nothing more than a pure, ordinary rock. Only when one determined it as an elixir in their heart and then ingested it, would a faint sound of legacy be heard by the ear.

This method of being indistinct when whole, yet evident when divided, Li Fan had only seen in Sun Piaomiao’s inheritance. Now, however, it was glimpsed in Cheng Dao’s memory.

“Could it be, Sun Piaomiao was transformed from that stubborn stone?”

“Drifting between mountains and seas for an unknown number of years, the immortal body has already decayed. Indeed, it provides the means to explore the secrets of Mountain and Sea.”

“Moreover…”

Li Fan recalled a statement once made by Sun Piaomiao from Liu Ruchen’s memories.

“Life, aging, sickness, and death, these are the eternal principles of the Dao, even this starry sky cannot avoid. So how could you?”

Li Fan’s thoughts were arrested: “This indeed sounds like something spoken by one who has truly experienced the cycle of Dao life and death. Moreover, the technique of compacting True Immortal Seal Characters into chess pieces to transform the Immortal Domain resembles the methodology of the immortal coffin.”

“If he really is the reincarnation of a Coffin Immortal…”

Cheng Dao seemed not to sense the disturbance in Li Fan’s heart and, after dispersing the image of the stubborn stone, continued to speak of the Coffin Immortals.

“You’ve mentioned before that the treasures of Daoist Sword and Knife from Guangwu Star Sea originated from other possibilities. It demonstrates they have means of connecting with other possibilities. Though they might not be capable of full transcendence, they would at least manage salvage and capture.”

Cheng Dao smiled: “Junior brother, you might have encountered formidable opponents this time, aren’t you afraid?”

Li Fan, matching the mood, responded with a carefree smile: “With senior brother beside me, not to mention a mere Coffin Immortal, even a transcendent strongman, I would dare to fight to the last!”

Cheng Dao was quite satisfied with Li Fan’s boldness, yet his smile faded: “Confidence is good. But junior brother must not be careless. After all, these Coffin Immortals survived the Dao Yan Calamity of possibility destruction, their strength mustn’t be underestimated.”

“Moreover, that immortal coffin from the Guangwu Star Sea was deployed targeting your method of taming the Daoist Sword and Knife. Perhaps, it wasn’t a random coffins chosen…”

“Speaking of which, junior brother, how exactly did you manage to secure that pair of knife and sword? Were I to intervene, even I might fall short.” Cheng Dao suddenly asked smiling, fixing his gaze on Li Fan.

The answer to this question, Li Fan naturally had prepared well in advance.

Without a hint of hesitation, he retrieved the Daoist Sword and Knife, then right before Cheng Dao, exhibited the Net of the Infinite Aspects.

This Divine Technique, which Li Fan had employed during his engagement with Cheng Dao, was not unfamiliar to the latter. Yet the next moment, the purple-black aura emerging from the Dao Network changed Cheng Dao’s expression.

“This Daoist Sword and Knife indeed originate from another possibility. Not even the Wuji Dao could budge them in the slightest. However, ever present between mountains and seas, they can’t transcend the Mortal World. The core of my Net of the Myriad Phenomena, the Ink-Killing Immortal Soul, is near the power of Path Annihilation. Naturally, it can suppress them!” Li Fan declared with pride.

Then, the spectral image of the Ink-Killing Immortal Soul, shrouded in purple-black aura, floated out from the Network of the Infinite Aspects, standing before Cheng Dao.

Cheng Dao, being a Spirit Stone conceived at the edge of Mountain and Sea, was naturally acquainted with the aura of Mountain and Sea meld.

At this moment, upon seeing the shadow of the Ink-Killing Immortal Soul, he instinctively stood up, showing a nervous expression.

“Senior brother, there’s no need to worry. This power is completely under my control,” Li Fan retracted the Ink-Killing Immortal Soul and said calmly.

“This… Where does it come from?” Cheng Dao’s eyes flashed with a hint of confusion, a trace of uncertainty.

Li Fan saw it clearly, thus did not lie: “Senior brother, you and I both come from the Rotten Stump Dojo, so naturally, we should be aware of the various mystic aspects of this experimental space.”

Seeing Cheng Dao slightly nod, Li Fan continued: “In my world, there’s an existence called the Essence of Heaven and Earth. It’s generally the embodiment of laws in heaven and earth.”

“The Ink-Killing is one of them. I happened to discover the wonders of Ink-Killing, so I tried everything to tame it…”

Li Fan, speaking truthfully mixed with falsehoods, unfolded his story eloquently.

The Ink-Killing Immortal Soul could be considered one of Li Fan’s most critical secrets. To reveal it suddenly, even Cheng Dao couldn’t help but be profoundly shaken.

The most ingenious part of this lie is, at this moment, the Net of the Infinite Aspects is suppressing the power of the Daoist Sword and Tao Blade due to the power of the Ink-Killing Immortal Soul.

Unless one is the owner of the Ink-Killing Immortal Soul, it’s impossible to know the inside story. What Cheng Dao saw was the Net of the Infinite Aspects, empowered by the Ink-Killing Immortal Soul, easily suppressing the Daoist Sword and Tao Blade.

Cheng Dao couldn’t help but exclaim: “Junior brother is truly lucky. If I’m not mistaken, this should be one of the goals Immortal World wished to achieve with their experiment back then.”

“The power of Mountain and Sea Meld.”

“In the starry sky where I was born with spirit wisdom, there was also a similar creation. It’s the spring eye that washes the stream…”

“However, compared to your Ink-Killing, it’s far inferior by more than one level.” Even though there was some envy, it was merely envy. Cheng Dao, enlightened by Lord Guardian Hill, had no intention of claiming his junior’s treasure.

“By the way, senior brother. Do you know why Immortal World suddenly abandoned this experimental dojo back then? Even ignoring the master’s legacy? Based on my observation, perhaps we’re not far from truly finding a way to solve Path-obliterating Calamity.” Li Fan showed a puzzled expression.

Li Fan didn’t reveal that he knew the initial purpose of the experimental field was to capture the so-called “World-saving Treasure.”

Just redirected the conversation towards combating the Tao Yan Tribulation.

Cheng Dao remained silent for a moment.

Suddenly, he looked at Li Fan, his expression somewhat strange: “How do you know they haven’t?”

“Hmm?” Li Fan was slightly puzzled.

“This dojo was built at great cost and effort by Immortal World. There’s no possibility of sudden abandonment.”

“Now it’s empty, perhaps because they’ve achieved their desired goal.”

“But Immortal World eventually perished, and the Path-obliterating Calamity still descended, right?” Li Fan was stunned.

Cheng Dao sighed: “Junior brother, you’re too naive. Like Master, who had no intention of dying to resist Path-obliterating Calamity and save One Realm, otherwise, he wouldn’t have left swiftly at the climax of the Path-obliterating Calamity. What about everyone else?”

“From the beginning to the end, all the immortals in Immortal World, including the Ruling Immortal Emperor, pursued methods that allowed most True Immortals to survive.”

“Immortal World is gone, it can be rebuilt above Upper Mountain.”

“Ultimately, the Other Shore is truly recognized as the place to resolve the Mountain and Sea Meld Catastrophe.”

“Others…”

“Are irrelevant.”

Li Fan listened to this statement, and couldn’t help but be stunned.

“Then when Immortal World perished, the True Immortals fell like ants in the calamity…”

Cheng Dao laughed: “Those who died in the Tribulation of Annihilation aren’t even within the category of ‘most’. Those who left are the real representatives of ‘Immortal Realm’.”

“The so-called Three Treasures of Seclusion are just pitiful people saving themselves after being abandoned.”

…

Li Fan vaguely felt that this statement was wrong.

“Then what about the Four Saint Lords of Immortal World? Among the four, three fell; are they not the true Immortal World?”

Cheng Dao sighed softly: “Mountain Lian, Gui Hai, Taiyi, these three Saint Lords simply didn’t want to live anymore. Look at Jingfen Great Saint; isn’t he living well? Could it be that Jingfen Great Saint’s power surpasses the previous three Saints?”

“Moreover, the so-called fall of the Three Saints might not actually be a real fall.”

“It might just be a selective abandonment.”

Perhaps due to Li Fan revealing the secret of his Ink-Killing Immortal Soul before, earning complete trust from the other party.

This time, Cheng Dao explained in exceptional detail.

Li Fan slowly recovered from the shock and slowly savored the meaning behind Cheng Dao’s words.

“Senior brother, do you mean that Mountain Lian, Gui Hai, Taiyi, these three Saint Lords, traverse the Mountain and Sea, yet are just one person?”

“Perhaps not before. But since they opened Upper Mountain and connected Infinite Spring, this is the case.”