NOVPUB"Could it be..."
"Immortal Realm?"
The thought surfaced in Shang Shaojun’s spirit consciousness.
As he knew, some of the refugees from other worlds of immortal cultivation were indeed existences of the Immortal Realm.
Although they were not as unrivaled as the Immortal Sovereign of the Xuanhuang World, they indeed were not something that ordinary Integration Cultivators could contend with.
"It must be so," Shang Shaojun’s heart chilled, and he became even more cautious around Li Fan.
The two continued deeper into the Roaring Abyss, as the degree of blending of different world laws reached its peak.
In the darkness, new strange phenomena began to emerge.
A red glimmer of light illuminated the way ahead.
Vast expanses of shattered continents, inverted, floating above their heads.
From a distance, they could vaguely see the ruins scattered across the lands and the dense bones intermingled within those ruins.
All floating world fragments were engulfed in deathly silence.
Thick, root-like red tendrils grew from these shattered continents, spreading to the Roaring Abyss and hiding in the darkness.
Sounds that sent chills down the spine occasionally echoed through the space.
It was like the sound of a metal blade scraping across bone, or like the heavy breathing of a dying person.
The eerie atmosphere here made Li Fan and Shang Shaojun, who had come to explore secrets, instinctively halt their steps.
Seeing Li Fan seemingly observing the strange scene ahead intently, Shang Shaojun pondered for a while before conveying his own insight through a voice transmission, "These broken worlds seem still alive?" He was somewhat unsure.
The Sacred Embryo Li Fan did not respond.
He simply released a streak of sword light, flying straight toward one of the broken worlds.
Upon seeing this, Shang Shaojun’s heart tightened, and he immediately became more vigilant.
Although he had witnessed how extraordinary Li Fan’s sword art was, the backlash from the world, even one on the verge of death, was not to be underestimated.
The silver-white sword light had instantly crossed the space and arrived above that shattered continent.
What somewhat surprised Shang Shaojun was that the sword strike Li Fan delivered seemed not intended for destruction.
After piercing the barrier and arriving, it stayed completely still.
And the trail it left in the air did not fade away.
The sword light condensed, seeming to form a silver thread.
Connecting Li Fan with that shattered world.
Li Fan’s figure floated, standing on the silver line, his eyes closed as if perceiving something.
"Is this..."
Initially, Shang Shaojun was puzzled by Li Fan’s actions.
But as he watched, he couldn’t help but have an image of a mortal doctor taking the pulse of a patient to diagnose and treat them come to mind.
"With the sword as a guide, surveying life and death."
"Could it be that this person is not only exceptional in swordsmanship but also has profound expertise in the [Art of Healing]?"
Shang Shaojun was inwardly shaken.
And Li Fan’s next actions made his heart race even more.
Li Fan gently stomped on the silver line, and a wave of vibration spread along the thin line into the shattered world.
Initially, it was an inconspicuous slight tremor.
But then, as if triggering some resonance, the tremor grew more and more intense. The originally silent land abruptly awakened.
A roaring sound came from underground, and with the world’s roar, countless streams of magma erupted furiously.
...
At that moment, Li Fan gently flicked his fingers, severing the sword light under his feet.
Then he swiftly fled toward the direction from which they had come.
"Stay back a bit."
Before Li Fan’s words had finished, Shang Shaojun felt an immense force hit him. Uncontrollably, his form tumbled backward through the air.
His blood seethed within, evidently sustaining light injuries.
Shang Shaojun turned his head in alarm and discovered that the world Li Fan had "diagnosed" had already succumbed to a destructive fate amid violent collisions with itself.
It was originally just fragments; the world was incredibly fragile.
It simply couldn’t withstand such intense energy fluctuations from within.
The ground completely disintegrated, turning into endless crimson Raging Flames.
As it released its final glow in the darkness, it also signified the passing of a world.
Watching this scene, Shang Shaojun couldn’t help but be slightly mesmerized.
Li Fan, beside him, began to explain, "If we had destroyed this world with external force, not only would it cause the world’s own backlash, but it might also alert the presence behind all this."
"But if we forcefully stimulate the last remaining power of the world, letting it die naturally…"
As Li Fan spoke, a thousand Sword Shadows simultaneously emerged behind him.
Sword Light crisscrossed, bursting and then merging into the air.
"Enter the Array."
Upon hearing Li Fan’s transmitted message, Shang Shaojun’s heart skipped again.
However, he had already been shocked to the point of numbness, and merely followed instinctively.
As soon as he entered the Array Space, Shang Shaojun saw Sword Shadows swiftly flying around him.
A thousand swords flew together, creating a highly covert hiding spot.
Before hiding in the Sword Array, Shang Shaojun also saw Li Fan destroy several shattered worlds ahead in succession as if replicating the process.
The terrifying impact released when the worlds perished made the deepest part of the Roaring Abyss truly seem like Purgatory for a moment.
Countless dark red ashes, driven by the violent energy, spurted out towards the outside of the Abyss.
It was like a night parade of a thousand demons, a stampede of beasts.
The array of a thousand swords seemed somewhat strained.
It kept contracting.
The numerous spinning Sword Lights also spun faster and faster, almost forming concentric circles.
Yet Li Fan showed no concern about the Array’s ability to hold.
Eyes closed, standing upright, he seemed to be doing something unknown.
"Wait."
Seeing the confusion in Shang Shaojun’s eyes, Li Fan simply transmitted a message and then fell silent.
Shang Shaojun took a deep breath, the chill in the air quickly bringing a sense of tranquility.
The surrounding Sword Light danced, not only isolating the outside scene.
Even his Divine Sense was blocked, unable to see what was happening outside.
But judging from the periodic loud crashes through the Sword Array from large objects striking it, the impact of several world fragments shattering must have been extremely terrifying.
"Were it not for this person, just this impact alone would likely have left me in a dire situation," he thought.
"Sword Art, [Art of Healing], Array Techniques... could there really be someone in the world proficient in so many disciplines?"
Shang Shaojun’s thoughts churned, and even with the bolstering of the Immortal Heart Spell, he couldn’t completely suppress his inner speculations about Li Fan’s identity.
He didn’t know how much time had passed.
The storm outside the Sword Array finally began to calm down.
But Li Fan seemed to have no intention of dissolving the Sword Array
And from his increasingly serious expression, it seemed there was some presence outside, perhaps even more terrifying than the destruction of many realms.
"The mastermind behind the scenes?"
Images of numerous World Shards suspended above his head flashed through Shang Shaojun’s spirit consciousness.
This clearly couldn’t be naturally occurring.
Thinking of an existence strong enough to treat worlds as mere toys, possibly appearing close by at this very moment, Shang Shaojun couldn’t help but feel his scalp tingle.
"I wonder if this Sword Array can really remain hidden?"
"If we’re discovered by It, it’s surely a path to death!"
