“Oh? Fellow Daoist, you seem to know of this creature?” Li Fan asked, a note of expectation in his voice.
Dao Xuanzi shook his head. “I’ve only seen related records in an ancient text. It is said that there was once an ancient sect called the Beast Taming Sect. The Beast Taming Sect did not possess profound techniques. Instead, they relied on a single Beast Taming Art to control exotic beasts and make them fight on the cultivators’ behalf. At the peak of the Beast Taming Sect’s power, it was said they could rival top sects like the Taishang Sect and Great Dao Sect.
“Unfortunately, during the Great Reformation, a sect that cultivated only a single technique was also the fastest to fall.
“Among the most famous exotic beasts controlled by the Beast Taming Sect, there seems to have been this type of great whale.”
“Now that you mention it, I think I remember,” Kou Hong clapped his hands and said hurriedly. “I think it was called something along the lines of ‘Realm-Splitting Whale’?”
Li Fan’s heart stirred, and he quickly asked, “Do the two of you know how one might avoid this Realm-Splitting Whale?”
Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi both offered awkward, sheepish smiles. “We’ve only heard rumors about it. Such an exotic beast vanished from the cultivation world thousands of years ago. How could we possibly know its behavioural traits?”
Li Fan couldn’t help but feel disappointed. In the end, must he still rely on himself?
He handed the Thousand Mechanisms Jade Cosmos Scripture to Dao Xuanzi, sent the two men on their way, and then ended this lifetime.
Name: Li Fan
Realm: Mortal
Biological Age: 20/86
Psychological Age: 418/1116
This was his ninth life!
In this life, Li Fan once again opened Qian Hong’s tomb, intending to absorb the Halt Stele Fragment to increase the charging progress of the next anchor point.
Unfortunately, Return to Truth showed no reaction whatsoever.
Though he found it pity, Li Fan had long been mentally prepared for this. Thus, the charging progress of the next anchor point remained fixed at 51%.
In Anchor Years 20, 35, and 50, Li Fan tried every method he could think of. But under the watchful, predatory gaze of the great whale, he still failed to charge through the Darkness Layer.
In Anchor Year 65, Li Fan turned eighty-five years old. He had reached his twilight years, and his life’s flame flickered like a lamp about to burn dry.
This time, he had not chosen to end his lifetime early, because he did not know how many more tries it would take to make it through the Immortal-Slaying Grand Array.
There was no harm in making one more attempt.
Unfortunately, he was simply too old this time; his thoughts had grown sluggish, and his reactions were dulled.
Unable to match the great whale in wits and courage any longer, Li Fan did not force the issue. Instead, he completely relinquished control of the Taiyan Boat, allowing it to drift slowly downward into the depths of the Abyssal Chasm from the very start.
The Gale Layer, the Mirage Light Layer, the Inversion Layer, the Meteor Fire Layer, the Arcane Ice Layer, the Thunderstorm Layer, the Darkness Layer...
Li Fan drifted into a hazy sleep. When he awoke, he was shocked to discover that the Taiyan Boat was already nearing the bottom of the Abyssal Chasm!
What’s going on? Why didn’t the Realm-Splitting Whale appear this time? Li Fan was utterly perplexed, but that did not stop him from revving up the boat’s power and speeding at full velocity toward the scattered points of light.
But as Li Fan accelerated, the roar of the great whale suddenly erupted!
Why did it suddenly detect me now? Li Fan deeply furrowed his brow.
Then, like a lightning bolt illuminating the night sky, Li Fan abruptly understood.
So that’s it! This Realm-Splitting Whale cannot see, or perhaps it ignores, objects moving at a constant velocity! As long as one maintains the exact same speed, one can pass through this Immortal-Slaying Grand Array safely and unharmed!
Having unraveled this crucial point, Li Fan could not help but laugh aloud.
With that, the final shackle binding him to this Immortal Forsaken Land was completely shattered!
Amid Li Fan’s wild laughter and the great whale’s furious roars, the Taiyan Boat burst through the rift between the two worlds, about to return to the cultivation world.
His surroundings blurred, and he felt himself traverse the distance of multiple worlds in an instant. The immense pressure made Li Fan grunt sharply, and blood streamed from his nose and eyes.
But he paid it no mind whatsoever.
Drawn endlessly upward, Li Fan turned his gaze back toward the Immortal Forsaken Land. From such vast distance and soaring height, he witnessed a sight that would be seared into his memory for all eternity:
Thousands upon thousands of Realm-Splitting Whales, moving non-stop in great pods, carved out swathes of pitch-black space from the void.
Meanwhile, the Immortal Forsaken Land that Li Fan had left receded ever farther from the cultivation world.