Or more precisely, it was that small figure who was trying to flee before Li Buren, carrying along the phantom figure that continued chanting scriptures without pause.

“Move the soul a thousand times, shift the spirit a hundred times.”

“Infinite, without limit, without calamity.”

...

Profound sounds echoed all around. Li Buren was actually surprised to discover that the two figures were truly beginning to fade slowly, as if they were about to evade this overwhelming calamity and escape his grasp.

The feeling this gave Li Buren was extremely strange. The two were clearly within arm’s reach, yet the desire to hunt them down in his heart was far weaker than before.

He had even developed an attitude of indifference toward whether he captured his targets or not.

Clearly, even Li Buren’s Dao Net Body could not resist the influence of the phantom’s chanting.

Unfortunately, although these profound sounds possessed the divine effect of avoiding calamity, they were not an omnipotent wish granting machine.

With a slight invocation of the power of the Hill Guardian phantom, Li Buren instantly broke free from the surrounding chanting.

The sound was no longer drifting faintly from the ends of heaven and penetrating his soul. Instead, it was merely like the buzzing of mosquitoes and insects, something that could be ignored at any moment.

Li Buren reached out and grasped at empty space.

The phantom of the Daoist child, the so called Heavenly Capital Grand Mage, was instantly rendered speechless, like a rooster whose neck had been seized.

However, what surprised Li Buren was that the chanting phantom beside the Grand Mage was barely affected at all. It merely rippled like water before continuing to chant as before.

Influenced by the profound sounds beside him, Li Buren keenly sensed that the Grand Mage, whom he was holding tightly in his hand, was also slowly slipping away between his fingers.

This escape had nothing to do with the difference in strength.

Instead, it represented a certain trend.

It was like a conceptual law, Avoid Calamity, Without Calamity.

Li Buren had a feeling that even with the power of the two or more Nameless True Immortals he had mastered, he still could not simply ignore this conceptual trend.

Perhaps...

If the power of all five Hill Guardian phantoms were unleashed, he might be able to give it a try.

If Li Buren had used all his power from the very beginning, the Grand Mage might truly have been able to slowly escape from his grasp.

Fortunately, in Li Buren’s eyes, the Grand Mage possessed only Half Immortal cultivation. When he first attacked, he had only used a tiny portion of his strength. After discovering that he could not alter the trend of his prey gradually slipping away, he slowly increased the force with which he restrained him.

He was not directly suppressing him through sheer force.

Instead, he was using one trend to oppose another.

The power Li Buren could invoke had its limits. Eventually, the Grand Mage would successfully escape with the aid of the chanting phantom.

But before that happened, he was like someone struck by a Binding Spell, standing motionless where he was.

Unable to move.

Li Buren slowly approached. After blocking the influence of the profound chanting, he finally saw clearly the Heavenly Capital Grand Mage, a figure renowned throughout the history of the Xuanhuang Realm.

He truly resembled a Daoist child beneath the seat of a Sage. His clothing was plain, his features youthful, and he looked like an ordinary child. Yet his eyes were pitch black and profound, as though they had witnessed all the principles of the world, all its rises and falls, all its successes and failures.

His entire body exuded an indifferent aura. Even with Li Buren approaching so closely, his expression remained unchanged.

He even looked as though he could not see Li Buren at all.

Li Buren did not pay attention to him for the moment. Instead, he first turned his gaze toward the profound chanting beside the Grand Mage.

After witnessing the Dao Net, Hill Guardian, Primordial Origin, and the others, his horizons had long since expanded far beyond what they once were.

Observing it from such close range, he could naturally see what this phantom truly was.

“A remnant left behind after transcending and departing...”

“Only, this remnant was not used as a pillar supporting Dao Annihilation. Instead, it continues along its original Dao path.”

“No wonder the Grand Mage has always remained completely indifferent to everything that happens, refusing to leave with this phantom.”

A strange glint flashed through Li Buren’s eyes.

“After a Nameless being transcended, the Dao it had integrated should have disappeared from the world forever. But if some remnant remains, then after countless years, a new manifestation of this Dao may emerge between heaven and earth.”

“It is equivalent to beginning its growth anew from infancy. Compared to evolving from nothing into existence, it would be countless times faster.”

Li Buren stared intently at the phantom, attempting to penetrate the profound chanting and see its inner essence clearly.

“When calamity comes, avoid calamity.”

“When someone seeks a teacher, transmit the scriptures.”

Recalling all kinds of rumors regarding the Heavenly Capital Grand Mage in the Xuanhuang Realm, a thought slowly emerged in Li Buren’s mind.

“It does not grant every request. Instead, it evolves itself according to changes in the outside world.”

“Following the trend and guiding it accordingly, exhausting the possibilities of change.”

“This is...”

“The Dao of Illusory Life!”

This was a Dao path that had already disappeared from the Yuanchu possibilities, leaving behind only this newly born remnant within the phantom.

The Dao of Illusory Life was clearly no inferior to the Dao of Primordial Origin, the Dao of Effortless Action, and the others. With only a few preliminary glimpses, Li Buren had already gained an enormous amount.

It was only at this moment that he realized that what a completely new Dao path represented was far more than a single Dao path.

It could also allow one to vaguely glimpse the shadows of an entire chain of related Dao paths.

Even though the vast majority of these Dao paths no longer existed within this world.

They were, after all, all among the Three Thousand Great Daos. Through comprehension of the Dao, one could reconstruct these ‘departed Daos’ to a certain extent through inference and imagination.

“The Grand Mage truly has incredible luck. This Illusory Life Dao Shadow would be a supreme treasure fought over by the immortals even in the Immortal Realm. Yet he has been able to occupy it for ten thousand years with merely a Half Immortal body.”

Li Buren could not help but sigh.

As for why the Grand Mage had always hidden above the Daoyuan, refusing to leave and refusing to emerge.

The fundamental reason was that he could not control the coming and going of the Illusory Life Dao Shadow. Until he completely refined and mastered it, he could only follow it wherever it went.

“So I made a mistake earlier. Knowing that this chanting of profound sounds was extremely mysterious, I subconsciously spent too much effort dealing with it. I should not have targeted the Illusory Life Dao Shadow. I only needed to capture the Grand Mage himself.”

“If it cannot sense any threat or calamity, then naturally it will not evolve a means of avoiding calamity.”

With a thought, Li Buren adjusted the distribution of his restraining power. All his binding force was transferred onto the Grand Mage in the form of a Daoist child.

The Grand Mage’s expression, which had remained as still as an ancient well all this time, finally changed.

“After sitting in meditation before the Illusory Life Dao Shadow for so many years, it seems he has indeed gained something.”

Li Buren sensed that there truly was a faint connection between the Grand Mage and the Illusory Life Dao Shadow.

The means he applied to the Grand Mage still inevitably affected the Dao Shadow.

However, the power of avoiding calamity manifested as a result was far weaker than before.

In other words, Li Buren now had much more time to slowly deal with the Heavenly Capital Grand Mage.

However, regardless of what secrets the Grand Mage concealed, they ultimately could not compare with the Illusory Life Dao Shadow.

Thus, Li Buren was in no hurry to question him. His attention remained focused on the Dao Shadow.

After a long while...

“The Dao of Illusory Life, simply put, is the concept of ‘survival of the fittest’ evolved to its utmost extreme.”

“It transforms everything unfavorable into something beneficial to itself. In theory, perhaps even the Dao Annihilation Calamity could be transformed into a means of countering it.”

“However, that is only a theory. The prerequisite is that it must not already have been devoured by Dao Annihilation before it can evolve the necessary traits.”

As Li Buren pondered this, he suddenly thought of Ink Death in the Xuanhuang Realm.

“Ink Death has countless connections with Dao Annihilation.”

“Perhaps it was some kind of experiment conducted by the experimental site in an attempt to completely resolve Dao Annihilation. Yet Dao Annihilation annihilates all things, and there should originally be nothing in this world related to it...”

Thinking further, why would this Illusory Life Dao Shadow happen to come to the Xuanhuang Realm in the first place?

Li Buren shifted his gaze and looked toward the Daoyuan Prefecture below.

“The successful creation of Ink Death, the Spirit of Heaven and Earth, should have involved the infusion of a trace of Illusory Life power.”

“This strand of power did not even disappear when Illusory Life Nameless transcended and departed. It still exists within the Xuanhuang Realm.”

“It thus became, within the [Yuanchu] possibility, the only source of Illusory Life power besides the Illusory Life Dao Shadow itself. It is precisely because of this connection that the Dao Shadow came here.”

Li Buren's thoughts raced as his divine sense through the Dao Net swept across the land of the Daoyuan Prefecture, as well as its deep underground regions.

Ever since ten years of time had been inexplicably swallowed away, Li Fan had never set foot in the Daoyuan Prefecture again. Even after reaching the Half Immortal realm and mastering the Carefree Dreamscape, he had still avoided this prefecture out of concern for the Grand Mage's existence.

Thus, to him, this place had always been a completely blind spot.

Now, with the support of the power of the Hill Guardian phantom, the shadows within this blind spot were finally swept away.

Thirty-three thousand three hundred zhang beneath the Daoyuan Prefecture.

There was a strange space that seemed to exist independently of the Xuanhuang Realm.

A mass of ink-like shadow, resembling a heart, was faintly visible, continuously pulsing.

Every pulse was exceedingly strange.

It was not a smooth and continuous motion. Instead, it seemed as though frames had been extracted from a sequence, leaving behind a series of intermittent images.

The closer Li Buren's divine sense approached, the stronger the sense of familiarity that arose within him.

This was something brought about by his true self's Dao Integration with the Spirit of Heaven and Earth, Ink Death.

Li Buren proceeded cautiously, drawing closer without disturbing it.

He already knew exactly what the object before him was.

“Although Ink Death is a Spirit of Heaven and Earth, it is not something that inherently or originally belonged to the Xuanhuang Realm.”

“Rather, it was artificially modified and generated afterward.”

“Unlike the other Spirits of Heaven and Earth, the Ink Death Laws were never integrated into the heavens and earth of the Xuanhuang Realm.”

“This region deep beneath the Daoyuan Prefecture is the independent source from which Ink Death was produced.”

The ink-like shadow seemed extremely wary of the approach of an external object. The moment it discovered Li Buren, it immediately became somewhat agitated.

Within the intermittently changing images, the ink shadow churned violently.

Li Buren sensed that if he approached any further, he might be attacked.

He was not afraid of it, but doing so might affect his subsequent investigation into the mystery behind the origin of Ink Death.

Thus, Li Buren decisively stopped.

“This matter still requires the true self to handle.”

Li Buren abruptly turned around and continued confronting the Grand Mage.

Meanwhile, Li Fan's true self condensed the power of the Ink Death Celestial Spirit within his body and separated out a figure.

It descended straight downward and entered the depths beneath the Daoyuan Prefecture.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the place Li Buren had previously investigated and saw that mass of ink-like shadow.

Compared to its wariness toward Li Buren, the shadow clearly regarded Li Fan as one of its own.

It merely assumed that he was a Spirit of Heaven and Earth, Ink Death, who had gone outside to carry out a mission on behalf of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao.

Even so, Li Fan could still sense countless vague thoughts observing him with a trace of curiosity.

It seemed that they were questioning the 'difference' on Li Fan's body.

Although he had already ascended to the level of an Immortal Spirit, his essence was still the power of Ink Death.

Li Fan ultimately entered the mass of ink shadow safely.

This allowed him to observe it from an even closer distance than he had with the Illusory Life phantom just now.

Above, below, and in every direction around Li Fan, countless strands of black ink surrounded him. He was completely immersed within a sea of ink.

His heart held neither sorrow nor joy. He simply observed quietly.

“Hmm... the Dao of Destruction originating from Dao Annihilation.”

“The power of Change belonging to the Illusory Life Dao Shadow.”

“Besides these two, there is also...”

It was like taking a sip of fine tea. Li Fan savored it with incomparable care.

Clearly, this was yet another Dao path that had already disappeared from the present possibility.

Although Li Fan had never encountered or studied it before, because it possessed such a strong connection with the [Dao of Illusory Life], he had vaguely glimpsed traces of this Dao within the vanished Dao Shadows he had observed earlier.

“If the Dao of Illusory Life is the evolution of [Change] to its utmost extreme...”

“Then this Dao is its opposite.”

“Eternal Order...”

Li Fan stared intently at the center of the churning sea of ink.

As an existence capable of destroying and devouring everything, what exactly was maintaining the continued existence of Ink Death itself?

Amid the intertwining powers of destruction and transformation, it was precisely because there was an eternal and unchanging force serving as the connecting bond that [Ink Death] could continue to exist in this world.

“Change, and Unchanging.”

“Two completely opposite and mutually contradictory powers have come together.”

“Binding the source of destruction originating from Dao Annihilation.”

A trace of astonishment flashed through Li Fan's eyes.

“Illusory Life, Eternity.”

“These two Daos are not beneath Primordial Origin. They once joined forces to conduct an experiment...”

Eternity served as the foundation of continued existence, while Illusory Life served as the support for evolution.

After an unknown period of evolution within this ink-like shadow, the Ink Death of today had finally been formed.

If this experimental site were still in its normal state, perhaps Ink Death could have become even more extraordinary and approached the goal that the experiment had originally sought to achieve.

But the experimental site had long since been abandoned for unknown reasons. Moreover, due to various circumstances, the Xuanhuang Realm, which served as the incubation ground for the evolution of Ink Death, had remained in a state of barely preserving itself for many years.

It simply could not support Ink Death's next stage of evolution.

Only after Li Fan had pushed the Xuanhuang Realm toward ascension into an Immortal Domain in his previous life did he bring a new variable to this experiment that had remained stagnant for so long.

After observing and hesitating for some time, the ink surrounding Li Fan seemed to have confirmed Li Fan's 'advancement.'

It actually began to imitate him spontaneously, churning and surging like boiling water.

It wanted to become like Li Fan.

But the transformation Li Fan had achieved had only come about after pushing an entire world through ascension and transformation. How could the surrounding strands of ink possibly imitate it so easily?

Like a group of mischievous children, they continued churning restlessly, yet they could never figure out the method.

As Li Fan observed this scene, he suddenly felt something in his heart.

“The accumulation is already sufficient.”

“What is lacking is merely energy.”

And this was something Li Fan certainly did not lack.

With a thought, the immense power of feedback obtained after pushing the Xuanhuang Realm toward ascension in his previous life was transmitted through the Ink Death incarnation and poured into this mass of ink.

From the perspective of the outside world, the shape and size of the mass of ink remained unchanged.

But only Li Fan, who was inside it, could clearly see the earthshaking transformation taking place within.

It directly skipped the intermediate process required for the Xuanhuang Realm to ascend into an Immortal Domain.

Once they understood the result that Li Fan had presented before them, they could directly imitate it.

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