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The contradiction made Li Fan frown slightly.
"Do they only erupt collectively when they appear in the Xuanhuang World?"
While pondering, Li Fan passed the Statues of Qin Hall and hurried towards the interior of the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters.
The area he was heading to was where he had never set foot before, the dwelling of the Sect Leader of the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters.
It was also the location of the "Hanhai".
With his current perspective, Li Fan recalled the struggles within the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters he had witnessed years ago. Hanhai’s peak was nothing more than the Unity Path Summit Realm, and he had not achieved longevity.
Not to mention that he had long since fallen and could only exist as a strange wraith.
Therefore, Li Fan was not worried about any dangers on this trip.
What concerned Li Fan more was whether the Supreme Heavenly Physician might be lurking in a corner this very moment, spying on every move he made.
He quickly arrived at the last cluster of buildings of the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters, where a blue protective sphere completely enveloped the area.
The Forbidden Formation that sealed the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters began to take effect and spread to the entire region from here.
Li Fan observed briefly and noticed that from the blue sphere, invisible shockwaves were being emitted from time to time.
It was because of these shockwaves that the Forbidden Formation was gradually failing.
"This is..."
Li Fan looked somewhat astonished.
Having thoroughly read the [Sky Mending Record], Li Fan quickly realized that this was Hanhai’s energy leaking uncontrollably due to immense emotional disturbance even while in slumber, releasing shocks to the outside.
It was similar to a mortal’s "sleepwalking", and strictly speaking, it was also a kind of ailment for cultivators.
"Could it be that the Supreme Heavenly Physician guided me here to alleviate Hanhai’s suffering?"
"It shouldn’t be just a simple errand, strengthening the Forbidden Formation’s seal..."
"There must be profound meaning behind this."
After pondering for a moment, Li Fan made up his mind.
He separated a strand of his divine consciousness, extremely subtle and almost entirely blank, and passed it through the blue protective film to enter the sphere. 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝑚
A blue-and-white bead was floating in mid-air.
It was extremely similar to the Ocean Pearl but also distinctly different.
The bead was spinning rapidly, and on top of the blue and white, there was a streak of black light that was particularly jarring.
It was like a nightmare that constantly plagued the blue-and-white bead, unable to be dispelled.
"Has Hanhai’s true form already vanished, leaving only this bead behind?" Li Fan said with a slight sigh after he had searched and found no other presence inside.
"It seems that smear of black is the source tormenting Hanhai..."
Li Fan hesitated for a moment but eventually decided to send the strand of divine consciousness into it.
A whirlwind of disorientation enveloped him.
It was as if he had entered the Fallen Immortal Realm, attaching to a completely new body.
But he could not control it and could only passively observe and experience what happened to this body.
"The Supreme Heavenly Physician has been gone for a long time, it’s unknown whether this will succeed or not," Hanhai said as he sat in the Sect Main Hall, with the Turtle-Snake Taiyi beneath his feet, no bigger than an ordinary turtle, speaking in a low voice.
"Before the Supreme Heavenly Physician left, He said there was at least a ninety percent chance of success. You and I should still have some faith in Him," Hanhai said soothingly with a smile, contrasting with the gloomy expression of Taiyi.
Taiyi shook his head slightly, retracting both the turtle and snake into his own shell.
"I can live for another hundred thousand years; what do I have to fear? If all else fails, I’ll just find a pond and take a nap. Once the tribulations pass, what can they do to me?"
"It’s just that, Qin Tang said, some sects are becoming restless."
"They’ve started to secretly spread the sentiment of surrendering..."
Hanhai snorted coldly, "To speak of defeat before the battle, such losers, the Tianjie Venerable will deal with them!"
Taiyi smiled bitterly, "It’s not about speaking of defeat before the battle. It’s after such a long struggle, almost everyone is at their wit’s end. It’s a last resort..."
"In my opinion, they can’t be entirely blamed. If this war drags on, when there is no hope in sight..."
Hanhai shouted angrily, interrupting Taiyi, "Enough!"
"Do you really think that way, too?"
"If we are in such straits, do you think the enemy fares any better?"
```
"By now, it’s all about who can hold out until the end. If we surrender at this juncture, what meaning would there be to the sacrifice of so many comrades before?"
Taiyi sighed softly, silent and speechless.
In the grand hall, there was a deathly silence.
After a long while, as if to alleviate the awkwardness between them,
Taiyi took the initiative to speak again, "Speaking of Tianjie Venerable, it seems I haven’t seen Him for a long time..."
Just then, suddenly, the agonized screams of disciples came from outside.
"Venerable... "
"No!"
"Run quickly, the Venerable has gone mad!"
...
The screams were so sudden that Hanhai and Taiyi both instantly changed their expressions.
Without a word, they transformed into a streak of blue and black radiance, rushing towards the source of the screams.
In the sky, they witnessed a scene they would never forget.
Their highly revered Tianjie Venerable, with his eyes closed.
Wielding the Sky Slaughter Sword, indiscriminately slaughtering the disciples of the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters.
With the cultivation base of Tianjie Venerable, his attacks left no room for the disciples to resist.
Streaks of black sword light flashed by, mercilessly reaping the lives of the disciples.
Hanhai’s eyes were about to split with rage as he bellowed, "Stop!"
A colossal blue hand descended from the sky, striking towards Tianjie.
Tianjie didn’t even glance at Hanhai, and with just a single release of sword light from the Sky Slaughter Sword, he tore the giant blue hand apart.
Then, without diminishing its force, the sword light charged towards Hanhai.
"Be careful!"
Taiyi manifested into his complete form, using his incredibly hard shell to block the black sword light.
Boom!
In the midst of the immense vibration, Taiyi spat out a mouthful of blood.
At this point, Hanhai had also regained some semblance of rationality.
"You hold off Tianjie, I’ll cover for the disciples to retreat!"
With those words, streaks of blue threads flew towards various parts of the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters,
attempting to rescue the disciples who were running in all directions for their lives.
But...
Just then, the Sky Slaughter Sword also suddenly burst forth with thousands of strands of black light.
Acting later but arriving first, it blocked all of Hanhai’s rescues!
The black light passed through each blue thread, dragging them back in an instant to Hanhai’s side.
Then, before Hanhai could react, like numerous black needles, they pinned him in mid-air!
"You are not Tianjie Venerable?!"
Although Hanhai couldn’t move his limbs, he could still make a sound.
His expression was one of shocked horror.
"Who are you, exactly?" Hanhai roared angrily and desperately.
But the Tianjie Venerable paid no attention to Hanhai at all.
With closed eyes, he directed the Sky Slaughter Sword, mercilessly harvesting the remaining lives of the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters’ disciples.
And Hanhai, as the sect leader, could only helplessly watch his disciples die tragically one after another before his very eyes.
"No... no..."
When, apart from them, there was no longer any breath of life left in the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters,
Hanhai couldn’t even utter a curse.
His body trembled slightly, tears of blood streaking from his eyes.
"You... in the end... are... who..."
