Chapter 18: In the Deep Abyss, Fish Leap

Li Fan no longer cared what kind of reaction Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi would have upon returning to the Cultivation World and discovering that they both Cultivated the same Cultivation Technique.

At this moment, he had finished handling all matters and piloted the Taiyan Boat to the top of the Void Abyss.

According to common logic, one should wait for the day the White Mist disperses, which happens once every fifteen years, before exploring this Void Abyss.

However, Li Fan was already 71 years old, and it would be another 14 years until the next time the White Mist dispersed.

By then, he would already be 85, his lifespan nearing its end, and he would struggle even to walk, let alone pilot the Taiyan Boat.

Therefore, it was better to explore the reality of this Immortal Severing Grand Formation sooner.

In any case, there was nothing left for him to be attached to in this life; he could start the next life at any time.

Manipulating the Taiyan Boat, Li Fan slowly descended toward the bottom of the Void Abyss.

Without Divine Sense to scout the path, he could only rely on his vision to discern the direction.

Enveloped by heavy fog, everything around him was a vast expanse of white, giving Li Fan a feeling of extreme unreality.

The surroundings were also extremely quiet, and he could only hear the sound of his own breathing.

With his attention highly concentrated, he continued to fly downward.

Suddenly, as if it had struck something, the hull of the Taiyan Boat began to shake violently.

Li Fan immediately became tense.

It seemed to be squeezed by an invisible, immense force, and sounds resembling metal grinding against metal came from outside the Taiyan Boat.

Fortunately, the defensive Formation activated in time, and a faint golden light screen enveloped the Taiyan Boat.

The hull gradually stabilized, and the somewhat creepy, strange noises also disappeared.

Only the constantly twisting and changing protective light screen spoke of the terrifying pressure from the outside.

"After passing the Gale Wind Layer, below is the Illusory Light Layer." Li Fan recalled Kou Hong's previous introduction regarding this Immortal Severing Grand Formation.

The Immortal Severing Grand Formation was primarily designed to prevent banished Mortals from returning to the Cultivation World.

The Gale Wind Layer was filled with strong winds.

Wind blades could easily tear apart a Mortal's body, and even a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage had to use spiritual power for protection and proceed with caution.

Below the Gale Wind Layer was the Illusory Light Layer.

Seven-colored radiance, like silk ribbons, flowed everywhere in this layer of the abyss.

Once a Mortal saw it, they would fall into endless illusions.

Below the Illusory Light Layer was the Inversion Layer.

Upon entering this layer, one would feel the world shifting, unable to distinguish up from down or left from right.

Coupled with the fact that everything around was a vast expanse of white, without Divine Sense to discern the direction, one would inevitably get lost within it.

After the Inversion Layer was the Flowing Fire Layer.

Tens of thousands of Flying Star flowing fires flew at high speeds without any pattern in this layer of space, smashing everything in their path to pieces.

With the thick White Mist acting as cover, it was difficult for anyone to defend against them.

Below the Flowing Fire Layer was the Profound Ice Layer.

From this layer onward, the thick fog gradually became sparse.

There was nothing else in the Profound Ice Layer, only extremely low temperatures.

If one did not have the corresponding protective measures, it was feared that one would be frozen into an ice cube the moment they entered.

Below the Profound Ice Layer was the Thunderstorm Layer.

Thousands of thunderbolts, emitting an aura of destruction, roared ceaselessly in this layer of the abyss.

Finally, there was an empty space several times wider than the previous six layers combined.

According to Kou Hong, this layer was not dangerous, but it was pitch black, which ironically made people feel palpitations.

After passing through the Darkness Layer, one could leave the Immortal Severing Grand Formation and go to the Cultivation World.

Li Fan carefully controlled the Taiyan Boat and, after spending half an hour, finally crossed the Gale Wind Layer.

Upon entering the Illusory Light Layer, under the illumination of the flowing light, Li Fan immediately fell into layers of illusions.

In the illusion, he successfully escaped the Immortal Severing Grand Formation, and after arriving in the Cultivation World, he obtained a rare Cultivation Technique by chance. In just a short hundred years, he had formed a Golden Core.

Afterward, his cultivation journey was smooth sailing all the way. A thousand years later, he attained the Dao and achieved Ascension.

Upon reaching the Immortal Realm, Li Fan started from the lowest level of immortal official and cultivated step by step, eventually becoming the Immortal Emperor who looked down upon the Immortal Realm.

Subsequently, Li Fan broke through the spatial barrier of the Immortal Realm and ascended to the Divine Realm.

Starting as a miner in the Divine Realm, after ten thousand years, Li Fan cultivated to the God King stage, becoming the most powerful existence in the Divine Realm.

Afterward, Li Fan went through great hardships to ascend to the Primordial Divine Realm, becoming a bottom-level gatekeeper in the Primordial Divine Realm.

And started over again with great difficulty.

He continued this nesting loop for who knows how many layers…

Finally, the illusion collapsed.

Li Fan woke up, and the various experiences from before rapidly receded from his mind like an ebbing tide, leaving behind only faint traces.

Feeling somewhat speechless about his previous encounter in the illusion, Li Fan steadied his mind and continued downward.

His brain felt dizzy, and he immediately lost his sense of direction; Li Fan knew he had arrived at the Inversion Layer.

Surrounded by the endless White Mist, the Taiyan Boat was like a drop of water in the vast ocean, not knowing where was up or down, and not knowing where to go.

Just when he thought his journey of exploring the Formation in this life would end here, Li Fan was pleasantly surprised to discover that a mysterious intuition emanated from the Taiyan Boat, telling him where to steer.

Following the guidance of the Taiyan Boat, it didn't take long for Li Fan to leave the Inversion Layer.

Next, having tasted the sweetness of success, Li Fan did not intentionally control it at all; he merely provided power, allowing the Taiyan Boat to fly through this Immortal Severing Grand Formation on its own.

Flowing Fire, Profound Ice, Thunderstorm…

These places appeared extremely dangerous, but the Taiyan Boat flew unhurriedly, yet it always managed to brush past one destructive crisis after another.

The journey was full of alarms but no danger, and Li Fan arrived smoothly at the last layer, the Darkness Layer.

"That's right, this Taiyan Boat was specifically responsible for transporting Mortals a thousand years ago. The Great Migration era lasted for several hundred years; this flying boat definitely didn't just make one round trip. Judging by its level of damage, perhaps the migration work hadn't stopped for a hundred years. The Cultivators responsible for this must have felt that manual control every time was a laborious task, so they left a backdoor in this Taiyan Boat, allowing it to automatically pass through the Immortal Severing Grand Formation…" While overjoyed, Li Fan suddenly understood why this trip had been unexpectedly smooth.

The Taiyan Boat moved quietly through the darkness.

Thinking that the Cultivation World he had longed for for a hundred years was just ahead, even with Li Fan's composure, he couldn't help but feel excited at this moment.

Suddenly, in the incomparably silent darkness, a desolate, ancient, distant, and profound cry inexplicably rang out.

This strange sound instantly spread throughout the entire Darkness Layer, echoing within it.

Li Fan's heartbeat stopped instantly, as if he had encountered some natural predator, and the blood throughout his body turned cold in an instant.

The cry grew closer and closer, and in the blink of an eye, it seemed to surround the small Taiyan Boat, coming from all directions.

Suddenly, the sound disappeared.

It became silent again.

The surroundings were still pitch black, but it felt different from the darkness before.

Li Fan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

He knew the Taiyan Boat had been swallowed by some kind of existence.

"Bang!"

The protective light shield of the Taiyan Boat shattered in an instant, and the hull of the Taiyan Boat subsequently began to disintegrate.

The charging progress began to plummet in this instant.

Taking one last deep look at the darkness outside, Li Fan silently recited.

"Huan Zhen!"