“ mò shā jìn dào yān zhī néng ， yīn qí xiào fǎng de běn jiù shì shān hǎi xiāng róng zhī lì 。”
“墨杀近道湮之能，因其效仿的本就是山海相融之力。”
"Near Daoian's ability to suppress the path, it is because he emulated the very power of merging mountains and seas."
“ ér xiàn zài de zhè zhǒng dào huà ……”
“而现在的这种道化……”
"And now this transformation..."
lǐ bù rén jiāng miàn qián qí zhōng yī zūn zǐ sè dào huà sù xiàng zhāo zhī rù shǒu ， zǐ xì guān mó 。
李不仁将面前其中一尊紫色道化塑像招之入手，仔细观摩。
Li Buren summoned one of the purple Daoist transformations in front of him into his hands, carefully observing.
“ zhǐ shì shān hǎi zhī pèng zhuàng 。 xiāng róng de guò chéng ， què tí qián zhōng zhǐ le 。”
“只是山海之碰撞。相融的过程，却提前中止了。”
"Just a collision between mountain and sea. The process of fusing has been prematurely halted."
“ shān hǎi gòng xì ……” lǐ bù rén dùn shí xiǎng qǐ le shān hǎi yù yán zhōng de yī jù miáo shù 。
“山海共戏……”李不仁顿时想起了山海寓言中的一句描述。
"Mountain and Sea in Play..." Li Buren immediately recalled a phrase from the original text.
“ ér dào shēng yān 。 yuán lái jìng shì zhè yàng ？”
“而道生焉。原来竟是这样？”
Indeed, it was true. The path of Hunger originated beyond the initial possibilities.
lǐ bù rén xú xú jiāng suǒ yǒu de zǐ qì sù xiàng quán dōu tūn rù fù zhōng ， tǐ wù zhe zhè xiē shēng líng zì shēn bāo hán de dào zé 。 jiāng dú dān wèi yǎng gěi qiáng dà shēng líng ， yòng tā men de xìng mìng 、 líng zhì wán chéng yī cì zhuǎn huà zhī hòu 。 lǐ bù rén shí fēn què dìng ， zhè xiē dào huà de zǐ sè sù xiàng ， yǐ jīng bù zài shǔ yú 【 dào dān 】 de fàn chóu le 。 yīn ér néng zhí jiē fú yòng 。
李不仁徐徐将所有的紫气塑像全都吞入腹中，体悟着这些生灵自身包含的道则。将毒丹喂养给强大生灵，用他们的性命、灵智完成一次转化之后。李不仁十分确定，这些道化的紫色塑像，已经不再属于【道丹】的范畴了。因而能直接服用。
Or rather, it wasn't entirely the original path but a product of merging with an external path on one of the great ways.
suī zài dào huà de guò chéng zhōng ， sì hū sǔn shī le shén me jí wéi zhòng yào de dōng xī 。 dàn néng wú fēng xiǎn de jí dà zēng jiā wù dào xiào lǜ ， yě jué duì shì zhí de de 。
虽在道化的过程中，似乎损失了什么极为重要的东西。但能无风险的极大增加悟道效率，也绝对是值得的。
In his vision during Daoian's transmission, he had not seen the projection of the path of Hunger. But there were some vague representations that must be part of its prototype.
“ chú le fǔ zhù wù dào yǐ wài ， zhè dú dān běn jiù shì liǎo bù dé de shā shāng shén tōng 。”
“除了辅助悟道以外，这毒丹本就是了不得的杀伤神通。”
Like the Dao Sword and Dao Knife, paths beyond initial possibilities filled in the gaps of the myriad paths network far more effectively than local paths. Perhaps they directly opened up new branches of the Dao, causing the myriad paths network to grow visibly into a new blank area. Even though it wasn't fully filled yet, he could already estimate its full scale.
“ qí běn zhì ， jiù shì yǐ liàn dào yào wáng jīng de shǒu duàn ， jiāng mò shā xiān pò suǒ dài biǎo de lì liàng ， zhí jiē gēn dí rén xiāng róng 。 zài dà dào jī chǔ céng miàn ， jìn xíng zhí jiē zhì mìng dǎ jī ……”
“其本质，就是以炼道药王经的手段，将墨杀仙魄所代表的力量，直接跟敌人相融。在大道基础层面，进行直接致命打击……”
---
“ dàng zhēn shì fáng bù shèng fáng ！”
“当真是防不胜防！”
For a moment, Li Buren almost couldn't resist continuing to refine Hunger's essence without considering his obligations to Daoian's transmission. But after thinking about it, he held back.
chú le néng rú dú wù yì bān shā rén yú wú xíng ， gèng zhòng yào de shì hái kě wú shì shí lì chā jù 。 zhǐ yào duì fāng táo bù guò dào yān 、 wú fǎ wán quán bì miǎn mò shā xiān pò de lì liàng ， dōu néng bèi zhè dú dān de shǒu duàn yǐng xiǎng 。
除了能如毒物一般杀人于无形，更重要的是还可无视实力差距。只要对方逃不过道湮、无法完全避免墨杀仙魄的力量，都能被这毒丹的手段影响。
"I can wait until the next life to refine Hunger. She has always been in the Immortal Wilderness."
“ zhòng dú ” chéng dù qīng ruò zhī bié bà le 。
“中毒”程度轻弱之别罢了。
"There are still things I need from Daoian's transmission this life."
lǐ bù rén yòng hóng huāng xiān jiè zhōng bèi fēng cún de wú míng zhēn xiān men zuò qǐ le shí yàn 。
李不仁用洪荒仙界中被封存的无名真仙们做起了实验。
"Not now."
suī rán dā yìng huì fàng tā men lí kāi ， dàn què bù fáng ài zài cǐ zhī qián fèi wù lì yòng 。
虽然答应会放他们离开，但却不妨碍在此之前废物利用。
Among the sealed mountain pillars, what surprised Li Buren most was the performance of the Primordial One's bone. Under the assault of the black and purple force, it retreated step by step, even less than the fallen main body and surviving avatar of Starlight.
wú xíng wú xiāng de liàn dào dān huǒ ， jiāng tiān zhù bāo wéi 。
无形无相的炼道丹火，将天柱包围。
It didn't deserve the weighty title of "Primordial."
mò shā xiān pò zhī lì ， qiāo wú shēng xī de shèn tòu qí zhōng 。
墨杀仙魄之力，悄无声息的渗透其中。
After some research, Li Buren understood why this strange phenomenon occurred.
yī zhào shí lì de gāo dī ， chǎn shēng de biàn huà yě bù jìn xiāng tóng 。
依照实力的高低，产生的变化也不尽相同。
"Therefore, what is here is not a complete Primordial One's bone. It can be said to be just a tiny part of the Primordial One."
zuì cǎn dí dàng shǔ sī tú xīng 。
最惨的当属司徒星。
"The rest is mostly elsewhere."
běn jiù bìng fēi wú míng zhēn xiān běn zūn ， mò shā qīn xí zhī xià ， jǐ wú fǎn kàng zhī lì 。 huī sè de tiān zhù ， cóng shàng zhì xià ， màn màn biàn wèi zǐ sè 。 nèi lǐ què xiǎn xiàn chū guǐ yì de yī mǒ hēi sè 。
本就并非无名真仙本尊，墨杀侵袭之下，几无反抗之力。灰色的天柱，从上至下，慢慢变为紫色。内里却显现出诡异的一抹黑色。
Li Buren could even sense that some traces of black and purple power were tracking through the connection with other Primordial Ones.
zhè zǐ hēi zhī sè wán quán tūn mò tiān zhù zhī qián ， lǐ fán jí shí shōu le shén tōng 。 zhè cái bǎo zhù le sī tú xīng yī mìng 。 què yě zhǐ shèng xià le yī lǚ shén zhì gǒu yán cán chuǎn 。
这紫黑之色完全吞没天柱之前，李凡及时收了神通。这才保住了司徒星一命。却也只剩下了一缕神智苟延残喘。
"Southern Immortal Mountain Pillar," Li Buren thought, shaking his head slightly. "I can only wish for good luck to those beings under its protection."
lǐ fán shǒu wò dào huà tiān zhù ， méi fèi shén me lì qì ， jiù jiāng qí gēn tiān zhù de zhèng cháng bù fèn fēn lí kāi lái 。 jìng zhí tūn rù fù nèi 。
李凡手握道化天柱，没费什么力气，就将其跟天柱的正常部分分离开来。径直吞入腹内。
---
bǐ qǐ zì shēn màn tūn tūn de gǎn wù ， zhè bān de zhí jiē tūn shì guǒ rán xiào lǜ jí kuài 。
比起自身慢吞吞的感悟，这般的直接吞噬果然效率极快。
Li Buren did not go all out; although most of the mountain pillar was Daoianized, it still retained some semblance of a mountain pillar. The sealed immortal essences inside were still alive but severely injured, needing millions of years to recover.
liàn dān yī kè ， jiù yuǎn chāo bǎi nián kǔ gōng 。
炼丹一刻，就远超百年苦工。
All that Li Buren had learned was fed back to his original self, Master Li Fan.
“ guǒ zhēn shì wú shàng miào fǎ ！” lǐ bù rén xīn zhōng àn zì chēng zàn 。
“果真是无上妙法！”李不仁心中暗自称赞。
However, he did not reveal this in front of Daoian's transmission; he kept his skills hidden and maintained the image of a diligent and curious junior disciple.
dàn yě bìng fēi suǒ yǒu de wú míng zhēn xiān ， dōu rú sī tú xīng zhè bān jī hū háo wú dǐ kàng zhī lì 。
但也并非所有的无名真仙，都如司徒星这般几乎毫无抵抗之力。
---
yóu qí shì jī xiān 。
尤其是饥仙。
Three years later, Shenhua brought news again.
jí biàn zài bèi fēng yìn zhuàng tài xià ， yě néng gēn mò shā xiān pò hù xiāng jué lì 。 suī cháng jiǔ lái kàn ， zhù dìng huì shī bài 。 dàn néng zài zhè yī shí sān kè bù là xià fēng ， yǐ jīng shuō míng le tā de bù fán zhī chù 。
即便在被封印状态下，也能跟墨杀仙魄互相角力。虽长久来看，注定会失败。但能在这一时三刻不落下风，已经说明了她的不凡之处。
"That Shenhua is overly cautious. I had to show him the fully intact network to ensure you hadn't come calling before we finally agreed to work together."
lǐ bù rén cóng jī xiān tiān zhù shàng ， kōu xià le shǎo xǔ dào huà de zǐ sè bù fèn tūn fú 。
李不仁从饥仙天柱上，抠下了少许道化的紫色部分吞服。
"We also noticed that someone has been trying to probe near the new moon coast recently. Fortunately, our network was repaired quickly enough; otherwise, it would have shown a flaw," Chaos said, sighing in relief.
piàn kè zhī hòu ， wēi wēi mī yǎn ：“ guǒ rán 。 jī zhī dào ， lái zì 【 yuán chū 】 kě néng xìng zhī wài 。”
片刻之后，微微眯眼：“果然。饥之道，来自【原初】可能性之外。”
"Even so, Shenhua still wouldn't reveal his full plan. He just told us to 'follow orders and adapt as needed.' Hmph..." A hint of ferocity flashed in Shenhua's eyes.
“ huò zhě shuō ， bìng bù wán quán shì 【 yuán chū 】 zhī dào ， ér shì mǒu tiáo dà dào 、 gēn wài lái zhī dào xiāng hù róng hé hòu de chǎn wù 。”
“或者说，并不完全是【原初】之道，而是某条大道、跟外来之道相互融合后的产物。”
"Be patient; don't show any flaws." Li Fan said calmly, and Shenhua immediately complied.
lǐ fán zài chéng dào zhōng suǒ kuī jiàn de wán zhěng dà dào tú jiàn nèi ， bìng méi yǒu jiàn dào jī zhī yī dào de tóu yǐng 。 dàn què jiàn dào le sì shì ér fēi de 。 xiǎng lái zhè jiù shì 【 jī 】 zhī yī dào de yuán xíng zhī yī 。
李凡在承道中所窥见的完整大道图鉴内，并没有见到饥之一道的投影。但却见到了似是而非的。想来这就是【饥】之一道的原型之一。
"You do as instructed," Li Fan smiled at Daoian. "Brother Senior, may I?"
gēn dào jiàn dào dāo yī yàng ， kě néng xìng zhī wài de dà dào ， duì yú wàn xiāng dào wǎng de tián bǔ néng lì ， yuǎn chāo běn tǔ dà dào 。 huò xǔ shì zhí jiē kāi pì le dào de quán xīn kě néng fēn zhī ， wàn xiāng dào wǎng jī hū yǐ ròu yǎn kě jiàn de sù dù ， shēng zhǎng chū le yī piàn quán xīn de kòng bái qū yù 。 jí biàn xiàn zài hái wèi wán quán dé dào tián bǔ ， què yě néng yù gū dào qí wán quán tǐ guī mó jiū jìng huì yǒu duō dà le 。
跟道剑道刀一样，可能性之外的大道，对于万相道网的填补能力，远超本土大道。或许是直接开辟了道的全新可能分支，万相道网几乎以肉眼可见的速度，生长出了一片全新的空白区域。即便现在还未完全得到填补，却也能预估到其完全体规模究竟会有多大了。
The withered old man stretched his stiff body: "It has been a while since I've left. It feels good to change places for now."
miàn duì zhè kē dà bǔ shén yào ， yī shí jiān ， lǐ bù rén dōu yǒu xiē rěn bú zhù ， yào wú shì duì chéng dào de jiāo dài ， jì xù liàn huà jī xiān 。
面对这颗大补神药，一时间，李不仁都有些忍不住，要无视对承道的交代，继续炼化饥仙。
With that, blue light emerged from Daoian's figure, and the virtual avatar of Daoian took over, sitting deep within the network.
dàn xiǎng le xiǎng ， hái shì rěn zhù le 。
但想了想，还是忍住了。
Li B Fan carefully observed; he found that none of the Dao strings in the network had changed despite the switch between the main body and avatars.
“ liàn huà jī xiān ， kě yǐ děng xià yī shì 。 fǎn zhèng tā yì zhí dài zài xiān xū zhī nèi 。”
“炼化饥仙，可以等下一世。反正她一直待在仙墟之内。”
"Brother Senior, your method of creating a virtual avatar is almost as good as Master's!" Li Fan exclaimed. "It seems transcendence is just around the corner!"
“ zhè yī shì hái yǒu xū yào yǎng zhàng chéng dào de dì fāng 。”
“这一世还有需要仰仗承道的地方。”
Daoian stood up, stroking his beard with a broad smile, but he modestly said: "Overpraise, overpraise. I still have a long way to go compared to Master. This avatar can only replace me for a century at most; any longer and it won't work."
“ bù jí 。”
“不急。”
"Given your talent, you will be able to maintain Daoian's transmission forever," Li Fan chuckled.
ér zhè xiē bèi fēng jìn tiān zhù zhī zhōng ， zuì ràng lǐ bù rén gǎn dào yì wài de ， shì 【 yuán shǐ 】 zhī gǔ de biǎo xiàn 。 zài mò shā zǐ hēi sè lì liàng de gōng shì xià ， jié jié bài tuì 。 shèn zhì dōu bù rú běn zūn yǔn luò 、 fēn shēn cún shì de sī tú xīng 。
而这些被封禁天柱之中，最让李不仁感到意外的，是【元始】之骨的表现。在墨杀紫黑色力量的攻势下，节节败退。甚至都不如本尊陨落、分身存世的司徒星。
Chaos and Shenhua were used to Li Fan's blind praise and paid no attention. "Brother Senior, please." Li Fan led Daoian into the Avant-World Immortal Realm.
gēn běn pèi bù shàng hòu zhòng wú bǐ de 【 yuán shǐ 】 èr zì 。
根本配不上厚重无比的【元始】二字。
---
yī fān yán jiū hòu ， lǐ bù rén zhī xiǎo le dǎo zhì zhè zhǒng guǐ yì xiàn xiàng de yuán yīn 。
一番研究后，李不仁知晓了导致这种诡异现象的原因。
They just waited for the people from Light World Sea to fall into their trap.
“ yīn cǐ zài cǐ chù de bìng fēi shì wán zhěng de yuán shǐ zhī gǔ 。 shèn zhì kě yǐ shuō shì 【 yuán shǐ 】 de qí zhōng jí xiǎo yī bù fèn 。”
“因此在此处的并非是完整的元始之骨。甚至可以说是【元始】的其中极小一部分。”
After a dozen days of progress, Shenhua finally met with Shenhua again, still attached to that black cat.
“ shèng xià de jué dà duō shù ， dōu zài tā chǔ 。”
“剩下的绝大多数，都在他处。”
"Friend, you are too cautious. We lost so many companions, yet you act like this," Shenhua said unhappily.
lǐ bù rén shèn zhì kě yǐ gǎn yìng dào ， yǒu xiē sī sī mò shā zhī lì ， shùn zhe tóng wèi 【 yuán shǐ 】 zhī jiān de lián xì 、 zhuī zōng ér qù le 。
李不仁甚至可以感应到，有些丝丝墨杀之力，顺着同为【元始】之间的联系、追踪而去了。
Shenhua also complained: "Brother Senior Shenhua, don't mention it. I didn't want to either. After losing the precious treasure, I almost had my flesh and bones stripped away and sealed in a mountain pillar. Fortunately, at the last moment, I remembered the details of how that thief captured the treasure, giving me an opportunity for redemption."
“ nán xiān tiān zhù 。” lǐ bù rén xiǎng dào le yuán shǐ zhī gǔ de zhēn zhèng míng huì ， wēi wēi yáo tóu 。
“南仙天柱。”李不仁想到了元始之骨的真正名讳，微微摇头。
"But this is my final chance. If it fails again, you might never see me again."
“ zhǐ néng zhù tiān nà tóu chù zài tiān zhù bì yòu xià de shēng líng men hǎo yùn le 。”
“只能祝天那头处在天柱庇佑下的生灵们好运了。”
Shenhua seemed to feel sympathy, stroking the cat's head: "It must be hard on Brother Senior. If all else fails, come to our Light World Sea. At least..."
……
……
"Hmm," Shenhua was somewhat embarrassed.
lǐ fán shì méi yǒu zuò jué ， tiān zhù suī bèi dào huà le yī dà bù fèn 。 dàn hǎo dǎi yě réng yǒu tiān zhù de mú yàng 。 qí nèi bèi fēng jìn de wú míng zhēn xiān men ， yě shì yī jiù xìng cún 。 zhǐ shì yuán qì dà shāng ， xiǎng yào bǔ huí lái xū yào qiān wàn nián de zī yǎng bà le 。
李凡事没有做绝，天柱虽被道化了一大部分。但好歹也仍有天柱的模样。其内被封禁的无名真仙们，也是依旧幸存。只是元气大伤，想要补回来需要千万年的滋养罢了。
"Alright, let's get down to business. This operation isn't actually led by me; I only relay messages and communicate."
lǐ bù rén suǒ wù ， quán dōu fǎn kuì gěi le běn zūn lǐ fán 。
李不仁所悟，全都反馈给了本尊李凡。
"Oh?" Shenhua paused, stroking the black cat, "How should we cooperate?"
bù guò tā zài chéng dào miàn qián ， méi yǒu xiǎn lù chū lái 。 cáng zhuō ， rán hòu wéi chí zhe zì jǐ qín xué hǎo wèn de xiǎo shī dì xíng xiàng 。
不过他在承道面前，没有显露出来。藏拙，然后维持着自己勤学好问的小师弟形象。
Shenhua fell silent for a while, seemingly waiting for instructions from elsewhere.
……
……
After some time, he finally spoke: "There is a coffin. Inside lies an unconscious immortal essence. You just need to bring it and try every means possible to place it in the Avant-World Immortal Realm."
zú zú sān nián zhī hòu ， shàn huà cái zài dài lái xiāo xī 。
足足三年之后，善化才再带来消息。
Before Shenhua could wait for more details, Shenhua had already finished speaking and fell silent.
“ nà kuī xīng zuò shì jí wéi jǐn shèn 。 hái shì wǒ dài tā cān guān le wán hǎo rú chū de dào wǎng 、 què dìng qián bèi nín méi yǒu dǎ shàng mén lái ， zhè cái zuì zhōng xuǎn zé gēn wǒ hé zuò 。”
“那窥星做事极为谨慎。还是我带他参观了完好如初的道网、确定前辈您没有打上门来，这才最终选择跟我合作。”
"Is that all?" Shenhua was unsatisfied.
“ wǒ men yě chá jué dào ， zuì jìn yī duàn shí jiān ， shuò xīng hǎi biān chuí ， sì hū yǒu rén yì zhí shì tú kào jìn chá tàn 。 xìng hǎo wǒ men dào wǎng xiū fù de xùn sù ， fǒu zé kǒng pà yào lù chū pò zhàn le 。” hùn dùn chù lì yī páng ， zhí hū jiǎo xìng 。
“我们也察觉到，最近一段时间，朔星海边陲，似乎有人一直试图靠近查探。幸好我们道网修复的迅速，否则恐怕要露出破绽了。”混沌矗立一旁，直呼侥幸。
"After so much effort, you only prepared this? Relying on just one unconscious immortal essence, how can we deal with the Hidden Emperor's power?"
“ jí biàn rú cǐ ， kuī xīng tā yě bù kěn tòu lù quán pán jì huà 。 zhǐ shì ràng wǒ men ‘ tīng mìng xíng shì 、 suí jī yìng biàn ’。 hēng ……” shàn huà de yǎn zhōng ， yě shǎn guò yī sī xiōng guāng 。
“即便如此，窥星他也不肯透露全盘计划。只是让我们‘听命行事、随机应变’。哼……”善化的眼中，也闪过一丝凶光。
Shenhua comforted: "Brother Senior, rest assured. I risked my life; how could I be careless? With this unconscious immortal essence, even if that Hidden Emperor has great powers, he won't turn things around!"
“ nài xīn diǎn 。 bú yào lù chū pò zhàn 。” lǐ fán dàn dàn de shuō le yī jù ， shàn huà lì kè shōu liǎn 。
“耐心点。不要露出破绽。”李凡淡淡的说了一句，善化立刻收敛。
"This time, let him pay back everything."
“ nǐ men jiù yī qiè àn zhào tā men fēn fù xíng shì ， wǒ gēn shī xiōng ， réng zài hóng huāng xiān jiè 、 děng hòu dà jià guāng lín 。” lǐ fán kàn xiàng chéng dào ， xiào le xiào 。
“你们就一切按照他们吩咐行事，我跟师兄，仍在洪荒仙界、等候大驾光临。”李凡看向承道，笑了笑。
After some thought, Shenhua finally agreed.
“ shī xiōng kě fǒu yí bù ？”
“师兄可否移步？”
Before going to the appointed location to find the sleeping immortal in the coffin, he detailed the situation to Li Fan.
kū shòu de lǎo zhě ， huó dòng le xià sì hū yǒu xiē jiāng yìng de shēn qū ：“ zhèng hǎo wǒ yě yǒu xiē nián tóu méi yǒu chū qù le ， biē dé huāng 。 zàn shí huàn yī chù dì fāng dài dài yě bù cuò 。”
枯瘦的老者，活动了下似乎有些僵硬的身躯：“正好我也有些年头没有出去了，憋得慌。暂时换一处地方待待也不错。”
"It's fine. Just bring the coffin as instructed."
shuō zhe ， chéng dào shēn qū wài ， lán guāng yǒng xiàn 。 chéng dào xū yǐng fēn shēn ， dài tì běn zūn ， pán zuò dào wǎng zuì shēn chù 。
说着，承道身躯外，蓝光涌现。承道虚影分身，代替本尊，盘坐道网最深处。
Hearing Li Fan's reply, Shenhua relaxed and went to search for their target on the new moon coast.
lǐ fán zǐ xì dǎ liàng zhōu wéi ， fā xiàn zhěng zuò dào wǎng de dào xián ， jìng méi yǒu yīn wèi zhè cì de běn zūn 、 fēn shēn de gǎi huàn ， ér fā shēng rèn hé de wān qū 。
李凡仔细打量周围，发现整座道网的道弦，竟没有因为这次的本尊、分身的改换，而发生任何的弯曲。
In the Avant-World Immortal Realm,
bù yóu jīng tàn dào ：“ shī xiōng nǐ zhè chéng dào xū yǐng zhī fǎ ， jī hū gēn shī zūn tā lǎo rén jiā méi shén me liǎng yàng le ！ xiǎng lái chāo tuō ， yě shì zhǐ rì kě dài ！”
不由惊叹道：“师兄你这承道虚影之法，几乎跟师尊他老人家没什么两样了！想来超脱，也是指日可待！”
Li Fan and Daoian faced a central figure sitting cross-legged, with a blue smoke rising faintly.
zhàn qǐ shēn de chéng dào ， fǔ xū dà xiào ， yǎn shì bú zhù de dé sè 。 dàn zuǐ lǐ què yī jiù qiān xū ：“ guò yù 、 guò yù le 。 wǒ gēn shī zūn xiāng bǐ ， hái chà de yuǎn ne 。 zhè xū yǐng zuì duō kě yǐ dài tì chéng dào bǎi zài 。 zài jiǔ yī xiē ， jiù bù xíng le 。”
站起身的承道，抚须大笑，掩饰不住的得色。但嘴里却依旧谦虚：“过誉、过誉了。我跟师尊相比，还差的远呢。这虚影最多可以代替承道百载。再久一些，就不行了。”
"Brother Senior, do we have any leads on the unconscious immortal in the coffin?"
“ yǐ shī xiōng zhī tiān zī ， yǒng shì chéng dào yě bú huì tài jiǔ 。” lǐ fán xiào hē hē dì shuō dào 。
“以师兄之天资，永世承道也不会太久。”李凡笑呵呵地说道。
"Perhaps it's an immortal from beyond."
hùn dùn gēn shàn huà duì lǐ fán jī hū máng mù dì chuī pěng xíng wéi ， yǐ jīng shì jiàn guài bù guài le 。 yǎn guān bí bí guān xīn ， quán dōu méi yǒu tīng jiàn 。
混沌跟善化对李凡几乎盲目的吹捧行为，已经是见怪不怪了。眼观鼻鼻观心，全都没有听见。
Silent for a moment, Daoian slowly spoke, his tone heavy.
“ shī xiōng ， qǐng 。” lǐ fán dài zhe chéng dào ， yú hóng huāng xiān jiè zhōng zhù xià 。
“师兄，请。”李凡带着承道，于洪荒仙界中住下。
There was one more chapter of 3000 words to be updated. Two updates were scheduled.
zhǐ děng guāng wú xīng hǎi de rén shàng gōu 。
只等光吾星海的人上钩。
For additional updates, they were based on word count, not chapters. He had three chapters overdue, and each chapter was 4000 words, totaling 12000 words. His normal update rate was 4000 words a day; he had already added 5000 words, leaving him with 7000 more to complete during the National Day holiday.
ér yòu jīng guò shí duō tiān de jìn zhǎn ， shàn huà zhōng yú zài cì gēn 【 kuī xīng 】 jiàn miàn 。
而又经过十多天的进展，善化终于再次跟【窥星】见面。
If completed early, he would still try his best to add updates even after the holiday ended.
"Near Daoian's ability to suppress the path, it is because he emulated the very power of merging mountains and seas."
"And now this transformation..."
Li Buren summoned one of the purple Daoist transformations in front of him into his hands, carefully observing.
"Just a collision between mountain and sea. The process of fusing has been prematurely halted."
"Mountain and Sea in Play..." Li Buren immediately recalled a phrase from the original text.
Indeed, it was true. The path of Hunger originated beyond the initial possibilities.
Or rather, it wasn't entirely the original path but a product of merging with an external path on one of the great ways.
In his vision during Daoian's transmission, he had not seen the projection of the path of Hunger. But there were some vague representations that must be part of its prototype.
Like the Dao Sword and Dao Knife, paths beyond initial possibilities filled in the gaps of the myriad paths network far more effectively than local paths. Perhaps they directly opened up new branches of the Dao, causing the myriad paths network to grow visibly into a new blank area. Even though it wasn't fully filled yet, he could already estimate its full scale.
---
For a moment, Li Buren almost couldn't resist continuing to refine Hunger's essence without considering his obligations to Daoian's transmission. But after thinking about it, he held back.
"I can wait until the next life to refine Hunger. She has always been in the Immortal Wilderness."
"There are still things I need from Daoian's transmission this life."
"Not now."
Among the sealed mountain pillars, what surprised Li Buren most was the performance of the Primordial One's bone. Under the assault of the black and purple force, it retreated step by step, even less than the fallen main body and surviving avatar of Starlight.
It didn't deserve the weighty title of "Primordial."
After some research, Li Buren understood why this strange phenomenon occurred.
"Therefore, what is here is not a complete Primordial One's bone. It can be said to be just a tiny part of the Primordial One."
"The rest is mostly elsewhere."
Li Buren could even sense that some traces of black and purple power were tracking through the connection with other Primordial Ones.
"Southern Immortal Mountain Pillar," Li Buren thought, shaking his head slightly. "I can only wish for good luck to those beings under its protection."
---
Li Buren did not go all out; although most of the mountain pillar was Daoianized, it still retained some semblance of a mountain pillar. The sealed immortal essences inside were still alive but severely injured, needing millions of years to recover.
All that Li Buren had learned was fed back to his original self, Master Li Fan.
However, he did not reveal this in front of Daoian's transmission; he kept his skills hidden and maintained the image of a diligent and curious junior disciple.
---
Three years later, Shenhua brought news again.
"That Shenhua is overly cautious. I had to show him the fully intact network to ensure you hadn't come calling before we finally agreed to work together."
"We also noticed that someone has been trying to probe near the new moon coast recently. Fortunately, our network was repaired quickly enough; otherwise, it would have shown a flaw," Chaos said, sighing in relief.
"Even so, Shenhua still wouldn't reveal his full plan. He just told us to 'follow orders and adapt as needed.' Hmph..." A hint of ferocity flashed in Shenhua's eyes.
"Be patient; don't show any flaws." Li Fan said calmly, and Shenhua immediately complied.
"You do as instructed," Li Fan smiled at Daoian. "Brother Senior, may I?"
The withered old man stretched his stiff body: "It has been a while since I've left. It feels good to change places for now."
With that, blue light emerged from Daoian's figure, and the virtual avatar of Daoian took over, sitting deep within the network.
Li B Fan carefully observed; he found that none of the Dao strings in the network had changed despite the switch between the main body and avatars.
"Brother Senior, your method of creating a virtual avatar is almost as good as Master's!" Li Fan exclaimed. "It seems transcendence is just around the corner!"
Daoian stood up, stroking his beard with a broad smile, but he modestly said: "Overpraise, overpraise. I still have a long way to go compared to Master. This avatar can only replace me for a century at most; any longer and it won't work."
"Given your talent, you will be able to maintain Daoian's transmission forever," Li Fan chuckled.
Chaos and Shenhua were used to Li Fan's blind praise and paid no attention. "Brother Senior, please." Li Fan led Daoian into the Avant-World Immortal Realm.
---
They just waited for the people from Light World Sea to fall into their trap.
After a dozen days of progress, Shenhua finally met with Shenhua again, still attached to that black cat.
"Friend, you are too cautious. We lost so many companions, yet you act like this," Shenhua said unhappily.
Shenhua also complained: "Brother Senior Shenhua, don't mention it. I didn't want to either. After losing the precious treasure, I almost had my flesh and bones stripped away and sealed in a mountain pillar. Fortunately, at the last moment, I remembered the details of how that thief captured the treasure, giving me an opportunity for redemption."
"But this is my final chance. If it fails again, you might never see me again."
Shenhua seemed to feel sympathy, stroking the cat's head: "It must be hard on Brother Senior. If all else fails, come to our Light World Sea. At least..."
"Hmm," Shenhua was somewhat embarrassed.
"Alright, let's get down to business. This operation isn't actually led by me; I only relay messages and communicate."
"Oh?" Shenhua paused, stroking the black cat, "How should we cooperate?"
Shenhua fell silent for a while, seemingly waiting for instructions from elsewhere.
After some time, he finally spoke: "There is a coffin. Inside lies an unconscious immortal essence. You just need to bring it and try every means possible to place it in the Avant-World Immortal Realm."
Before Shenhua could wait for more details, Shenhua had already finished speaking and fell silent.
"Is that all?" Shenhua was unsatisfied.
"After so much effort, you only prepared this? Relying on just one unconscious immortal essence, how can we deal with the Hidden Emperor's power?"
Shenhua comforted: "Brother Senior, rest assured. I risked my life; how could I be careless? With this unconscious immortal essence, even if that Hidden Emperor has great powers, he won't turn things around!"
"This time, let him pay back everything."
After some thought, Shenhua finally agreed.
Before going to the appointed location to find the sleeping immortal in the coffin, he detailed the situation to Li Fan.
"It's fine. Just bring the coffin as instructed."
Hearing Li Fan's reply, Shenhua relaxed and went to search for their target on the new moon coast.
In the Avant-World Immortal Realm,
Li Fan and Daoian faced a central figure sitting cross-legged, with a blue smoke rising faintly.
"Brother Senior, do we have any leads on the unconscious immortal in the coffin?"
"Perhaps it's an immortal from beyond."
Silent for a moment, Daoian slowly spoke, his tone heavy.
There was one more chapter of 3000 words to be updated. Two updates were scheduled.
For additional updates, they were based on word count, not chapters. He had three chapters overdue, and each chapter was 4000 words, totaling 12000 words. His normal update rate was 4000 words a day; he had already added 5000 words, leaving him with 7000 more to complete during the National Day holiday.
If completed early, he would still try his best to add updates even after the holiday ended.