“It’s very likely. And it makes sense,” Li Fan murmured after a long pause, nodding slowly.
This conclusion finally resolved a question that had puzzled Li Fan for a long time:
When the Immortal Ruins appeared, why didn’t they directly swallow the Xuanhuang Realm?
Instead, the cultivators within were given enough time to continuously capture nearby heavenly caves and small worlds to resist?
Given the terrifying suction power of the Immortal Ruins now, if it had been the initial Xuanhuang Realm alone, it would have been impossible to hold out.
Moreover, capturing small worlds is not something that happens overnight. The countless surrounding worlds must be the result of thousands of years of tireless efforts by sects like the Xuantian Sect and the Ten Great Immortal Sects.
All this evidence points to one conclusion: the suction power of the Immortal Ruins has been growing steadily stronger over time.
As for why the suction power keeps increasing…
It’s very likely because the Xuanhuang Realm is gradually getting closer to the Immortal Ruins.
On the endless Void Sea, countless cultivation worlds floated like ships on water.
One day, a black hole known as the “Immortal Ruins” appeared above the Void Sea.
Its powerful suction continuously devoured everything around it, forming a massive vortex.
Under the influence of the Immortal Ruins, the cultivation worlds in the Void Sea were uncontrollably pulled closer to it.
At first, due to the minimal changes, people in the cultivation worlds didn’t notice.
It wasn’t until the speed of descent toward the Immortal Ruins increased significantly that they realized something was wrong.
Out of survival instinct, akin to a drowning person clutching at anything to stay afloat, the cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm began tying “ropes” to distant, relatively fixed “reefs” in the Void Sea — heavenly caves and small worlds — in an attempt to delay their inevitable demise.
Of course, during this process, there were cultivators who sought to abandon the ship and search for new vessels to escape on their own.
But if everyone did this, the Xuanhuang Realm would sink even faster.
Thus, the leaders of the Xuanhuang Realm — whether it was the Xuantian Sect, the Ten Great Immortal Sects, or the current Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Association — unanimously decided to keep the true state of the Xuanhuang Realm’s plight a secret.
Initially, they believed that by relying on these ropes, they could gradually pull the Xuanhuang Realm out of the vortex.
But they were wrong.
“The weight of cultivators may be tied to these ropes. Initially, the ropes connected directly between worlds, but after cultivators conquered realms, they became part of the connection themselves.
“If a cultivator suddenly dies, it’s like several strands in a rope disappearing.
“Though the heavens can mend the rope over time, there’s still a delay.
“If the death rate of cultivators stays normal, it’s manageable. But if it surpasses a certain threshold…”
Li Fan recalled from his previous life how Ji Hongdao, when directly confronting Senior Sister Zhao in the Tianling Prefecture, used the ‘Tianxuan Spirit-Locking Formation to instantly kill a state’s worth of cultivators, using mutual destruction as intimidation. 𝙍äŎ฿Êṡ
At the moment when many cultivators lost their lives, even the entire Xuanhuang Realm trembled slightly.
“These attached heavenly caves and small worlds are crucial for the Xuanhuang Realm’s survival. The so-called ‘ropes’ are not so easily severed.
“If it were possible, some cultivators would’ve fled to these small worlds through the Immortal Severance Passage and severed the connections to the Xuanhuang Realm.”
“It’s not that they didn’t want to; they just couldn’t.”
“The Empire’s use of the Ten Thousand Rift-Whales to carve paths in the Void Sea isn’t cutting the ropes but extending them.
“When the ropes stretch far enough — the distance between the Xuanhuang Realm and these worlds grows sufficiently large — and when the Xuanhuang Realm finally falls into the Immortal Ruins and disintegrates, perhaps the other end of the ropes will break free, allowing them to escape.”
“Unfortunately, this process takes too long. The Xuanhuang Realm might not last that long.”
Li Fan suddenly thought: If the Xuanhuang Realm can capture heavenly caves and small worlds, why not connect to worlds of similar scale? A complete world would be much more effective than heavenly caves.
“Maybe they tried and failed.”
“Or maybe… they couldn’t locate those worlds in the first place.”
An idea struck Li Fan.
Other worlds floating on the Void Sea, realizing the Xuanhuang Realm’s plight, would likely avoid being dragged down by hiding themselves.
Heavenly caves and small worlds can’t hide, but highly developed cultivation worlds likely can.
Those that couldn’t hide have likely already been pulled into the Immortal Ruins along with the Xuanhuang Realm.
Adding to this, the Immortal Ruins’ presence has caused the Void Sea itself to shift, making previous landmarks unreliable.
This could explain why the Xuanhuang Realm suddenly lost contact with other cultivation worlds.
“What was once a luminous Void Sea turned dark in an instant. Each world now faces not only the threat of the Immortal Ruins but also the need to hide themselves to avoid detection by others.”
“A truly despairing scenario.”
Though Li Fan considered this grim reality, he felt no fear.
With the presence of the [Truth], finding a way out among countless possibilities was no challenge.
Moreover, if even the remains of True Immortals can remain intact within the Immortal Ruins, it suggests that falling into the Immortal Ruins doesn’t necessarily mean death. Survival might simply depend on sufficient strength.
…
After a long silence, Li Fan raised his head, his gaze piercing through the transparent wall of the Medicine King Cauldron and into the heavens.
“If my guess is correct, it’s easy to verify.
“All I need to do is leave the Xuanhuang Realm and face the Immortal Ruins directly.”
“Thousands of years ago, Liu Ruchen used the Medicine King Cauldron to fly in the Void Sea for a while before being drawn to the Immortal Ruins.
“Now, so much time has passed. Once I leave the Xuanhuang Realm and lose its protection, I might be pulled toward the Immortal Ruins immediately.”
“Perhaps one day, as we draw closer, we’ll even see the Immortal Ruins and the remains of the True Immortals standing silently there.”
Li Fan summoned the control core of the Medicine King True Cauldron into his hand.
“In this era, before I return with the [Truth], I should make the most of this opportunity to explore the truth.”
After a long time, Li Fan put the crystalline core away.
“Now that I have full control over the Medicine King True Cauldron, the lives of the Medicine King Sect’s slumbering members are in my hands.
“Currently, there are six Dao Integration cultivators, twenty-three Soul Transformation cultivators, and countless Nascent Soul and lower-level cultivators.”
“My greatest gain this time isn’t just these cultivators but also the knowledge of a hidden secret realm: the Valley of Longevity.”
“I wonder if it still exists after thousands of years.”