Chapter 20: Unintentional Success

Li Fan piloted the Taiyan Boat back above the Void Abyss.

"What the hell is that…" Li Fan's expression darkened.

Although he had used a small trick to see the monster's true form, he had no idea how to escape its sight and successfully cross the Dark Layer.

"That Rift Whale is so huge, and the Taiyan Boat is so small. Yet every time I go over, it always finds me like a cat spotting a mouse…" Thinking about this, Li Fan felt troubled.

"I can only try other methods. Fortunately, I still have enough attempts." Li Fan sighed helplessly.

…

Another fifteen years passed, anchor year 35.

Li Fan had already infiltrated the Thunderstorm Layer early.

During these fifteen years, he had tried several times to forcefully cross the Dark Layer.

But in these days, the time from when he entered the Dark Layer to when he was discovered had greatly decreased. Given the Taiyan Boat's speed, he simply couldn't escape in time. So he could only return in disgrace after skirmishing with the giant whale each time.

"Only on the day when the White Mist recedes does the giant whale seem delayed by something, discovering me only after a while. With that extra time, maybe I can fly to the bottom of the Void Abyss."

This time, Li Fan decided to go all out, crossing the Dark Layer at maximum speed before the giant whale could react.

A strong wind began to rise.

The Taiyan Boat's power was fully activated, unleashing astonishing speed.

The illusory scene grew closer, nearly within reach, when the giant whale's terrifying cry sounded again.

And it approached rapidly.

"About a quarter of the distance left. Too late." Li Fan made his judgment.

Narrowing his eyes, Li Fan's ferocity was stirred.

Instead of flying toward the bottom of the Void Abyss, he turned around and charged fiercely in the direction of the giant whale's cry.

Unfortunately, his fierceness was of no use.

There was no collision. Li Fan only felt darkness around him and knew he had been swallowed by the giant whale again.

"Huan Zhen!"

Li Fan roared angrily.

…

[This simulation has ended.]

Li Fan sighed gloomily.

After spending a long time calming down, Li Fan chose to speed up the charging progress this time.

Name: Li Fan

Realm: Mortal

Physiological Age: 20/86

Mental Age: 368/1116

Mental Age had reached its limit and would no longer increase.

"At least I still have 748 years to squander." Li Fan could only console himself this way.

Eighth Life.

anchor year 4.

Li Fan opened Qian Hong's tomb again.

"Chargable item detected: zhibu remnant stele (Damaged)."

"Proceed with charging?"

Seeing the prompt from [Huan Zhen], Li Fan's mood finally improved a bit.

At this moment, the anchor charging progress had reached 51%.

"At least this life wasn't wasted…" Li Fan said somewhat self-deprecatingly.

anchor year 5, Day of White Mist Receding. The Virtualization charging progress was nearly 90%. But to Li Fan, anything less than 100% made little difference. He could only wait patiently.

anchor year 20, Li Fan tried, failed.

anchor year 35, Li Fan tried again, still failed.

However, these attempts were not entirely useless. At the very least, he became more adept at controlling the Taiyan Boat and could hold out longer under the giant whale's pursuit.

anchor year 50, Li Fan did not choose to force his way through the Dark Layer again.

He was already old; his reactions and mental faculties had declined significantly. Going would have no chance of success.

So he chose to visit two old friends, hoping to get some clues from them.

On Li Fan's seventieth birthday, Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi arrived on time.

"Dao Xuanzi, don't go too far!"

…

Listening, Li Fan suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia.

Still using the name of a Golden Core Cultivation Technique to lure the two to the Grand Preceptor's Mansion, after three rounds of wine, Li Fan brought out a scroll.

The painting looked quite old. It depicted a terrifyingly huge whale hidden behind darkness, revealing only a ferocious mouth, ready to devour.

"Have you two ever seen such a monster? My ancestor said on his deathbed that if we ever get a chance to escape this place, there's nothing else to worry about. Protected by our Sect's Taiyan Boat, we'll be safe. Except for the last layer, where a giant whale lurks—we must be very careful." Li Fan inquired.

"There's such a Vicious Beast in that pitch-black empty place?" Kou Hong looked at the painting, frowned slightly, and seemed skeptical. "I haven't seen it."

"Could it be…" Dao Xuanzi seemed to recall something.

"Oh? Fellow Daoist, do you know this beast?" Li Fan asked expectantly.

Dao Xuanzi shook his head: "I've only seen related records in an ancient text. It is said that in ancient times, there was a Sect called the Beast Taming Sect. They had no profound Cultivation Techniques, but relied on the Beast Taming Incantation to control strange beasts of heaven and earth to fight for them. At its peak, the Beast Taming Sect was said to rival top Sects like Taishang and Dadao."

"Unfortunately, during the Great Tribulation, the Beast Taming Sect, which only cultivated one technique, was the fastest to perish."

"Among the most famous strange beasts controlled by the Beast Taming Sect, there seemed to be this kind of giant whale."

"Now that you mention it, I recall. Isn't it called the Rift Whale?" Kou Hong clapped his hands and quickly said.

Li Fan's heart stirred, and he hurriedly asked: "Do you two know how to avoid this Rift Whale?"

Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi both smiled sheepishly: "We've only heard fragments. Such strange beasts have disappeared from the Cultivation World for thousands of years. How could we know their habits?"

Li Fan couldn't help feeling disappointed.

In the end, he still had to rely on himself?

After handing the Thousand Machines Jade Universe Golden Chapter to Dao Xuanzi and sending the two away, Li Fan chose to end this life.

…

Name: Li Fan

Realm: Mortal

Physiological Age: 20/86

Mental Age: 418/1116

Ninth Life!

In this life, Li Fan opened Qian Hong's tomb again, hoping to absorb the zhibu remnant stele for charging.

Unfortunately, [Huan Zhen] had no response.

Though disappointed, Li Fan had already prepared himself mentally.

Thus, the anchor charging progress of [Huan Zhen] was fixed at 51%.

anchor year 20, anchor year 35, anchor year 50—Li Fan tried various methods, but all failed to break through the Dark Layer under the giant whale's watchful eye.

anchor year 65, Li Fan was already eighty-five years old, nearing the end of his life.

He did not choose to end early this time, because he didn't know how many more attempts it would take to break through the Immortal Severing Grand Formation.

One more try was always good.

Unfortunately, he was too old this time; his thinking had become slow, and his reactions sluggish.

Unable to outwit the giant whale, Li Fan didn't force it. He simply gave up controlling the Taiyan Boat entirely, letting it drift slowly toward the bottom of the Void Abyss from the start.

Gale Layer, Illusory Light Layer, Inversion Layer, Flowing Fire Layer, Mystic Ice Layer, Thunderstorm Layer, Dark Layer…

Li Fan dozed off and woke up to find, to his astonishment, that the Taiyan Boat was nearly at the very bottom of the Void Abyss!

"What's going on? Why didn't the Rift Whale appear this time?" Li Fan was extremely puzzled, but that didn't stop him from accelerating at full speed toward the place where faint glimmers of light appeared.

But as Li Fan sped up, the giant whale's roar suddenly emerged!

"Why did it suddenly notice me now?" Li Fan frowned deeply.

Then, like a flash of lightning illuminating the night sky, Li Fan suddenly realized.

"So that's it! This Rift Whale can't see, or rather ignores, objects moving at a constant speed! As long as I maintain the same speed, I can safely pass through this Immortal Severing Grand Formation!"

Understanding this key point, Li Fan couldn't help but laugh heartily.

With that, the final shackle to leaving this Immortal Extinction Land was completely undone!

Amid Li Fan's wild laughter and the giant whale's roars, the Taiyan Boat broke through the rift between the two Realms, about to return to the Cultivation World.

The surroundings became blurry, as if crossing the distance of several worlds in an instant. Under immense pressure, Li Fan grunted, blood streaming from his nose and eyes.

But he didn't care at all.

Looking back at the Immortal Extinction Land he had come from, with the distance allowing an infinitely high perspective, Li Fan saw a sight he would never forget:

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of Rift Whales, in groups, day and night, carving out pitch-black spaces in the void.

And the Immortal Extinction Land he had come from was, from this Cultivation World,

getting farther and farther away.