Immortality starts from the liver proficiency

Chapter 488 In the Undercurrents
Without further hesitation, Sanzang transformed into a dim golden streak, trailing a long, bloody mist, and fled westward in a disheveled state.

At this moment, Xu Yunfan, who was falling straight down, was less than ten feet away from the hard and cold bluestone square of the Wancheng Sword Sect.

On the plaza, countless low-ranking disciples of the Wancheng Sword Sect, who were looking up at the sky, could clearly see his tightly closed eyes, pale face, and weak breath.

Some were astonished, some were wary, and some even instinctively tightened their grip on their sword hilts.

After all, this person's origins were unknown. Although his aura was dispersed by the sword light, a faint trace of ferocity and demonic nature remained and was still detected by those with keen perception.

However, just as Xu Yunfan was about to make fatal contact with the cold square, eliciting gasps of alarm,

Another mutation occurred.

The space, like the surface of water tossed with a pebble, rippled very slightly beneath Xu Yunfan.

There was no shimmering light, no energy fluctuations, and not even the slightest change in the sound of the wind.

He just vanished abruptly.

It was as if an invisible, formless giant hand had silently "erased" it from its predetermined trajectory.

The square fell silent for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, an incredulous gasp and a cacophony of voices erupted.

"What about people?!"

"It was just here a moment ago, how did it suddenly disappear?"

"Is it some kind of profound escape technique? Impossible! There wasn't even a ripple of spiritual energy spreading out."

"Could it be that he was... reduced to ashes by the ancestral master's sword light? But that doesn't make sense..."

"Is this some kind of ghost?!"

The disciples looked at each other, their faces filled with bewilderment and surprise.

The inner sect steward responsible for patrolling the mountain gate had a solemn expression. His divine sense swept across the square and the surrounding void repeatedly like a tide, but he could no longer detect a trace of Xu Yunfan's aura.

It was as if this person had never fallen to this point.

The scene changes abruptly.

Dongzhou is the core of the Yuanshi Sect and one of the nine immortal mountains.

This mountain is isolated, unique, and perilous, suspended in the sky. Its peak is shrouded in a strange gravitational storm and turbulent winds all year round, and ordinary cultivators who touch it will be crushed into dust.

At the summit, an ancient Taoist temple stands peacefully, behind which lies a grove of purple bamboo, within which a corner of a pond shrouded in ethereal mist can be glimpsed.

This is the Daoist temple of Qingyuan Mountain, Zizhu Temple, and Tianlian Pond, one of the nine great Zhenjun of the Yuanshi Sect and the Daoist master of Qingyuan Miaodao Chengyun Xuanqiong.

Qingyuan Zhenjun was dressed in an ancient black Taoist robe, embroidered with images of the celestial bodies turning and the mountains and seas rising and falling. His face looked like that of an ordinary middle-aged man, but his brows were broad and his eyes had a profound Taoist charm that flowed between opening and closing, as if the sun and moon were falling and time and space were changing.

He sat cross-legged on the cloud bed in the main hall of the Taoist temple, his body surrounded by a pure aura, as if he had merged with the laws of the entire Qingyuan Mountain and even the broader天地 (heaven and earth).

Just as Xu Yunfan abruptly disappeared from in front of the Wancheng Sword Sect's mountain gate.

On Qingyuan Zhenjun's calm and composed face, a very subtle ripple suddenly spread across his eyes, which contained the stars of eternity.

The fingers, which had been in a mysterious state of communion, trembled slightly unconsciously, as if they had encountered an unexpected obstacle while plucking the strings of the law.

"Hmm?" A barely audible hum came from his nose.

Qingyuan Zhenjun frowned slightly, and his vast magical power and divine sense surged forth without reservation.

In an instant, the starry river in his eyes reversed, his fingertips formed hand seals like phantoms, and the innate five elements and eight trigrams runes were created and destroyed from the void. His extremely vast primordial spirit transcended the nine heavens and established a mysterious connection with the long river of destiny in the endless depths of time and space. Countless threads of cause and effect and fragments of fate trajectory related to "Xu Yunfan" converged and deduced like a torrent.

however.

Something extremely strange happened to him.

No matter how he traced or deduced, no matter how many supreme methods he used to glimpse the secrets of heaven and discern cause and effect, the trajectory of the existence of "Xu Yunfan" was clear at that very moment.

That is, Xu Yunfan suddenly broke apart just before he fell towards the Wancheng Sword Sect Plaza.

It is not severed, nor concealed, but completely disappeared.

It was as if an invisible sword, capable of severing even fate, or a vortex of creation that encompassed everything and dissolved all things, had forcibly erased its existence from the entanglement of the past and future of time, from the spatial markers, and even from the causal traces that sustained the existence of living beings.

The result of the deduction was a chaotic void.

There is no direction, no good or bad fortune, no life or breath.

There is only absolute "nothingness".

"How could this be?"

Qingyuan Zhenjun spoke in a low voice, his voice unusually heavy with a hint of solemnity and confusion.

This feeling of being out of control is extremely rare, especially since he ascended to the position of True Lord and took charge of the destiny of the Yuanshi Sect lineage for thousands of years.

Logically speaking, Xu Yunfan carried the "seed" that he had secretly planted, and his destiny and energy had already been marked by him with a special secret method. Even if the other party fell into the Wancheng Sword Sect, or was even imprisoned by Chunyang Zhenjun, he should still be able to vaguely sense his existence and state, at most he could only obscure his specific location.

But at this moment, it is a complete "no such person found".

Its celestial trajectory was broken cleanly and abruptly, which was startling!
"What kind of immense power did Chunyang's sword light contain? How could it even sever the object I marked?"

Qingyuan Zhenjun's mind raced, and his apprehension towards his old rival deepened.

Immediately, a deeper worry surfaced: "If Xu Yunfan truly falls into Chunyang's hands, given that old Taoist's temperament, and considering Xu Yunfan's display of the 'Eight Scenes of Xuandu Refining Heaven and Creating Cloud Book,' it will undoubtedly arouse his great interest... Once he digs deeper, his background will inevitably be discovered..."

If he remains under Chunyang's watchful eye, wouldn't my plans for the 'Primordial Dao Seed' be... ruined?

Just then, an extremely subtle thought, hidden deep within the void and folds of the corner of the Taoist temple, concealed by the immense earth energy of Qingyuan Mountain, also let out a faint sigh.

"What a pity! The Eight Views of Xuandu, the evolution of creation... the foundation and potential of this furnace far exceeded expectations. It was originally the most superior 'breeding ground,' and given time, it would have been enough to support my 'Primordial Dao Seed,' forging an unparalleled foundation for taking that step. But alas... it just so happened to run into the Wancheng Sword Sect, alarming that old fellow Lü Chunyang!"

The mastermind behind this idea was none other than the man behind the spread of the peculiar technique "The Eight Scenes of Xuandu: Refining Heaven and Creating Clouds," and one of the true architects of this scheme.

His or her aura is ethereal and uncertain, as if it parasitizes the gaps in the laws, and is extremely adept at concealment.

"A thousand years ago, Chunyang's sword intent pierced through the Nine Netherworlds and cut down a demonic star from beyond the heavens. Its magnificent power still makes one tremble with fear when thinking about it."

His swordsmanship has reached its pinnacle, simplifying complexity and returning to the essence of pure Yang energy. Such a master of swordsmanship possesses a clear understanding of all laws and keen insight into the subtle and profound.

Once Xu Yunfan falls into his hands, any further schemes will be as difficult as ascending to heaven. The 'trigger' I left on this boy, under the shroud of that pure Yang sword aura, has probably evaporated like dew and is no longer effective..."

(End of this chapter)