Eternal life suddenly disappeared

After a long and dusty journey back to the Sect, Li Fan and Senior Sister Zhao were both greatly astonished.

The Sect was draped in white mourning cloth, and the Sect Disciples were all filled with grief.

After quickly inquiring, they learned what had happened.

The Sect Leader of the Great Dao Sect, Fang Dingge, an Eternal Life Realm powerhouse, had fallen.

While their hearts were greatly shaken, endless questions arose.

The Eternal Celestial Venerable was already the strongest in this world. As the leader of one of the Ten Immortal Sects, Fang Dingge's accomplishments were profound and his cultivation unfathomable.

Even among the Eternal Celestial Venerables, he was one of the best.

How could such a figure fall just like that?

And the deeper they delved into the matter, the more absurd and bizarre it seemed.

Not only was the cause of Fang Dingge's death a mystery, but even his body was nowhere to be found.

It was less like a fall and more like… a disappearance.

However, the shattered fate lamp preserved within the Sect was solid proof that this Eternal Life Realm powerhouse had passed away.

No matter how many questions or how much reluctance they had, it couldn't change this fact.

In fact, the public announcement of the Sect Leader's death was only finalized after several rounds of intense discussion among the Sect's Elders.

Such a major event, even if they wanted to hide it, couldn't be kept secret.

Because Fang Dingge of the Great Dao Sect was not the only Eternal Life Realm powerhouse to have passed away.

It was said that in Sects such as Taishang, Tianjian, Du'e, and Yushou, Eternal Life Realm powerhouses had also fallen.

This news was too shocking.

Although the Ten Great Immortal Sects strictly sealed off the information, they could not prevent its rapid spread.

So many Eternal Life Realm powerhouses, all falling at once.

Who did it?

Li Fan and Senior Sister Zhao immediately thought of Chuan Fa.

Because these departed Eternal Celestial Venerables were precisely those who, over twenty years ago, had agreed to unite and assassinate Chuan Fa.

Now that they had suddenly died, the Immortal Venerable of Dharma Transmission of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was naturally the biggest suspect.

But this didn't make sense logically.

Chuan Fa had not yet ascended to the Eternal Life Realm. If he truly possessed earth-shattering combat power, capable of slaying an Eternal Life Realm Cultivator with the Dao Unification Realm, then he should have taken advantage of his great victory to rally all Cultivators and overthrow the Ten Immortal Sects.

However, from beginning to end, this Immortal Venerable of Dharma Transmission only showed his face during his initial preaching and at very few specific times.

The rest of the time, he was nowhere to be found, his whereabouts unknown, extremely mysterious.

Or perhaps Chuan Fa himself was severely wounded after slaying the Eternal Celestial Venerables of the Ten Immortal Sects and had to go into hiding?

Even so, he could have announced his great feat to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance to boost morale.

But as far as Li Fan knew, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance also appeared very surprised by the simultaneous fall of the Eternal Celestial Venerables.

It seemed they were also unaware of it.

From beginning to end, this incident was shrouded in mystery and absurdity.

Li Fan and Senior Sister Zhao also took a long time to recover after learning the news.

The Eternal Life Realm, which they so desperately sought, was actually so fragile? Falling just like that?

What was the difference from ordinary Cultivators?

Did their cultivation still have meaning?

Amidst endless confusion, the two engaged in Dual Cultivation for several days before finally recovering.

"This matter is certainly not as simple as it seems. Rather than a fall, I believe they severed their shackles and transcended the world," Senior Sister Zhao said calmly, her expression steady.

"Shackles?" This was the first time Li Fan had heard of it, and he couldn't help but ask.

"It was a long time ago, Master once mentioned it to me by chance," Senior Sister Zhao frowned slightly, seemingly trying hard to recall.

"At that time, I asked Master, what is true freedom and ease? Is attaining Eternal Life considered freedom? Master was silent for a long time, then sighed and said, 'Heaven shackles all beings, no one can escape. Even Eternal Life Realm powerhouses are still imprisoned. The Ten Immortal Sects overthrew the Xuantian Sect back then, but they didn't completely overthrow it.' When I tried to ask more, he refused to say anything further."

Li Fan's heart was greatly shaken upon hearing this: "Eternal Life Realm powerhouses are still not free?"

Senior Sister Zhao saw her lover's lost expression and couldn't help but comfort him: "Their simultaneous disappearance this time might actually be a good thing. At the very least, it shows that the Eternal Life Realm has the possibility of severing shackles and truly achieving Transcendence."

Li Fan pondered for a long time, then finally nodded: "Senior Sister, when the time comes, we will both attain the Dao and transcend the world, from then on flying together, free and at ease, leaving behind a beautiful story in the Xuanhuang World."

A blush spread across Senior Sister Zhao's face.

Moved by their emotions, the two resumed Dual Cultivation.

——

The disappearance of the Celestial Venerables had a profound impact on the current格局 of the Xuanhuang World.

After the funeral arrangements were completed, the Great Dao Sect fell into a vortex of vying for the Sect Leader position.

The incident happened so suddenly that even Fang Dingge himself probably didn't anticipate his sudden disappearance. Therefore, the next Sect Leader had not yet been decided.

And how could Fang Dingge's direct Disciple, with only Soul Transformation cultivation, bear the heavy responsibility of Sect Leader?

After the two remaining Eternal Life Realm Seniors within the Sect both expressed no interest in inheriting the Sect Leader position, the various Elders below began to eye it covetously.

Thus, conflict was inevitable.

Senior Sister Zhao's Master, Zhang Wangshuang, had already broken through to the Dao Unification Realm over the years. She naturally harbored ambitions to succeed as Sect Leader.

The struggle for power is often cruel.

A year later, the dust settled.

Zhang Wangshuang, due to a slight lack of internal foundation within the Sect, unfortunately lost.

The Sect Leader of the Great Dao Sect was inherited by Ji Changxi of the Tianchen lineage.

Although internal strife within the Sect did not lead to a fight to the death, severe damage to its Origin Qi was unavoidable.

After becoming Sect Leader, Ji Changxi did not implement any drastic reforms. Instead, he focused on recuperation and restoring strength.

Furthermore, to address the situation of dwindling Sect Disciples, he specifically ordered a relaxation of the requirements for Outer Sect Disciple promotion. He also mandated a grand competition within the Sect every three years, making the quality of Disciple cultivation an important assessment criterion.

It was under these circumstances that Senior Sister Zhao, who repeatedly won in the grand competitions, gradually became the most brilliant gem among the younger generation of Great Dao Sect Disciples.

In contrast, Li Fan, who won less and lost more, seemed to have faded into the crowd.

The most beautiful gem could only be possessed by the strongest hero.

Li Fan's mediocre performance, coupled with his constant presence behind Senior Sister Zhao, naturally caused considerable dissatisfaction among some Sect Disciples.

Many talented individuals openly disregarded Li Fan's existence and pursued Senior Sister Zhao fiercely.

Even Zhang Wangshuang, who had originally held a rather favorable attitude towards Li Fan, gradually changed.

Sensing the crisis, Li Fan made a decisive move.

On a bright, sunny afternoon, he proposed to Senior Sister Zhao.

There were no Heaven And Earth Treasures or peerless Magical Artifacts.

He simply gazed at her deeply and said, "Senior Sister, be my Dao Companion. From now on, hand in hand, we will seek Eternal Life together."

Without the slightest hesitation, Senior Sister Zhao agreed.