Chapter 875

“If no outsiders break this cycle, this phenomenon might only completely stop once the power that nurtures soul bodies within the Yellow River fully dissipates.”

“However, I can sense that the energy here remains incredibly strong. If not for my Seven-Colored Divine Light protecting me, I probably wouldn’t be able to stay here for long.”

“This level of power… It shouldn’t have only lasted for just twenty or thirty years, right?”

A trace of doubt arose in Li Fan’s heart.

“What broke the peace of the Soul Shade Realm and released the countless trillions of souls from the Yellow Springs?”

“Unless… it was a cultivator like me who accidentally entered this place.”

“Or perhaps…”

In an instant, a thought flashed through Li Fan’s mind—he recalled the skull he had suppressed not long ago.

“Could it be… that person isn’t actually dead?”

The idea suddenly surged forth.

This wasn’t mere paranoia brought on by the eerie surroundings.

The Soul Shade Realm was unimaginably remote. Even at Li Fan’s current speed, it would take over a month of continuous flight to reach it.

The chances of someone mistakenly wandering here were incredibly slim—unless they had a clear and definite purpose.

On the other hand, that skull…

Although it was just a severed head, the black-gold patterns on its cranium remained intact despite the relentless corrosion of the gray mold growing upon it.

“The black-gold patterns remain untouched on the surface, while the gray mold festers within the skull.”

“This could mean that the two forces are evenly matched, unable to overpower one another.”

Recalling the peculiar appearance of the skull, Li Fan increasingly felt that his speculation held some truth.

“If it had been completely corroded, it should have turned to dust like everything else in this realm.”

“The fact that the skull remains… suggests that it hasn’t truly perished.”

The cultivation world contained countless secret techniques. In the Xuanhuang Realm, some cultivators had even achieved the feat of preserving their personal cave-heaven indefinitely, attaining a form of immortality.

If this mysterious skull could use its black-gold markings to revive, it wouldn’t be all that shocking.

“It’s certainly dangerous. But it’s also an opportunity.”

“If I can use this to learn what’s happening in the other cultivation realms…”

Li Fan’s eyes flickered as he instantly devised dozens of ways to take advantage of the situation.

However, he didn’t forget his primary purpose for coming here.

“Little Junior Brother, this Rift-Whale has the ability to carve out space within the void. These spirit bodies are drawn to it, which must mean they hold some great benefit for them. Do you want to give it a try as well?”

Tianyang quickly shook his head.

“They aren’t actually human souls. They just look similar.”

“These spirit bodies are simply condensed manifestations of the Yellow Springs’ energy.”

Seeing Tianyang’s distaste, Li Fan explained further.

Hearing this, Tianyang felt somewhat reassured.

He reached out and captured a long-drowned, unrecognizable old soul from the Yellow Springs’ waters.

Channeling his spiritual energy, he absorbed it.

Moments later, his eyes lit up.

“Senior Brother, I understand now why those great whales love devouring them.” Tianyang spoke excitedly.

“This small world was originally formed from the energy of this Yellow Springs. It’s like a fruit growing on a tree.”

“The Yellow Springs’ water contains rare and powerful laws. The most abundant of these… is the authority to create and expand space.”

“Although it’s only at the small-world level, it’s still useful to me.”

Tianyang quickly transmitted his thoughts while retrieving another spirit body crystal to absorb.

This time, however, he frowned slightly.

“Unfortunately, it seems that the gray mold’s influence has corrupted it, causing some instability.”

“Just one is enough. Taking more won’t be beneficial.” Tianyang concluded.

Li Fan nodded slightly.

His spiritual sense swept across the area and found an ancient spiritual crystal.

Upon absorbing it, a series of images instantly surfaced in his mind.

The waters of the Yellow Springs surged in a circular flow.

At specific intervals, remnants of power would accumulate.

Over countless years, this power grew stronger and stronger.

Eventually, it blossomed and bore fruit, forming a ring of nine "worlds."

An unknown amount of time passed before life emerged in these worlds.

Civilizations began to appear.

When the beings of these worlds died, they would return to the Yellow Springs. The river’s current would carry them forward, sending them to other worlds to experience new lives.

Days of peace continued—until this day...

A golden chain tore through the sky, descending from the distant void.

It spread across the Yellow Springs World in an instant, tightly binding and sealing it.

Then...

Under an immense pulling force, the Yellow Springs World trembled violently.

Mountains and rivers collapsed as if the apocalypse had arrived.

Yet the chains showed no sign of loosening.

From them, a continuous surge of sacred golden energy poured out.

The energy sharply severed the Yellow Springs World’s connection to space itself, as if dragging it toward some unknown destination.

This was an overwhelming power beyond the Yellow Springs World’s comprehension.

Resistance was futile—the entire realm was forcibly dragged through the void for an unknowable amount of time before it finally stabilized.

In the end, the extreme force tore the Yellow Springs World apart.

Of the nine worlds, only one remained, drifting through the cosmos alongside the Yellow Springs, arriving in this unfamiliar starry sky.

…

The images in Li Fan’s mind gradually faded.

A strange light flickered in his eyes.

He had long known that in ancient times, the Xuanhuang Realm possessed an unfathomable formation.

A formation capable of capturing distant cave-heaven and entire worlds from the void.

Even opening spatial passages to wage war against other realms.

Most of the countless Cave-Heaven and small worlds within the Xuanhuang Realm today had come into existence through this method.

However, ever since the fall of the Xuantian Sect and the rise of the Ten Great Immortal Sects, this formation seemed to have been damaged.

Its name faded into obscurity, seemingly lost in the river of history.

Now, through the lingering memories of the Soul Shade Realm’s shattered Heavenly Dao, he had the fortune of witnessing the power of this ancient formation in action.

Li Fan was shaken.

"Traversing the void, golden chains binding enemies…"

"How powerful must this be?"

Li Fan was already considered a grandmaster of formations.

With the Final Dissolution Disc in his possession, there might not be a single person in the Xuanhuang Realm who surpassed his mastery of formations.

Yet even he found it difficult to imagine how such a grand formation could have been constructed.

"Seizing the stars, grasping the moon—this must be the work of a True Immortal, right?"

The thought crossed Li Fan’s mind.

Moreover, from his brief glimpse into the Yellow Springs’ lingering memories, he realized that the golden chains he saw…

Seemed somewhat similar to the one he had encountered in the Immortal Ruins—

The one used to imprison a True Immortal’s remains.

"Could there be some connection?"

"That True Immortal was trapped right at the boundary of the Xuanhuang Realm’s Immortal-Mortal Passage. That can’t be a coincidence."

"Before the Immortal Path was severed, the cultivation world and the Immortal Realm still had contact."

"If they could receive immortal artifacts as aid, then having assistance in constructing formations should also be possible."

Li Fan's thoughts surged.

Tianyang, seeing his senior brother motionless for a long time, feared something had gone wrong.

He transmitted his voice in inquiry, finally snapping Li Fan out of his trance.

"Little junior brother, did you also see the image of the golden chains tearing through the void?"

Li Fan couldn’t help but ask.