Success Without Intending It

Success Without Intending It

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

"What the hell was that thing..." Li Fan's expression darkened.

Though he had used a small trick to see the monster's true form, he had no idea how to evade its gaze and successfully cross the Darkness Layer.

"That Giant Whale is so enormous, while the Taiyan Boat is so tiny. Yet every time I go over, it always finds me like a cat spotting a mouse..." Thinking of this gave Li Fan a headache.

"I can only try other methods. Fortunately, I still have plenty of chances to try." Li Fan sighed helplessly.

Fifteen more years passed. Anchoring, year thirty-five.

Li Fan had infiltrated the Thunderstorm Layer early.

Over those fifteen years, he had tried several times to force his way through the Darkness Layer.

But during this time, the Giant Whale took far less time to discover him after he entered the Darkness Layer. At the Taiyan Boat's flying speed, he simply could not escape in time. Thus, every time, after circling and fighting with the Giant Whale for a while, he could only retreat in disarray.

"Only on White Mist Dissipation Day does the Giant Whale seem to be held up by something, taking a while before it notices me. With that extra bit of time, perhaps I can fly to the bottom of the Void Abyss."

This time, Li Fan decided to stake everything on one throw. At maximum speed, he would cross the Darkness Layer before the Giant Whale could react.

The wind gradually rose.

The Taiyan Boat's power was fully unleashed, erupting with astonishing speed.

The illusory scenery drew closer and closer. Just as he was about to arrive, the Giant Whale's terrifying cry rang out once more.

And rapidly approached.

"There's about a quarter of the distance left. Too late." Li Fan made his judgment.

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

Rather than continuing toward the bottom of the Void Abyss, he turned around and rammed viciously toward the source of the Giant Whale's cry.

Unfortunately, being fierce was of no use.

There was no collision. Li Fan only felt the surroundings go dark, and knew that the Giant Whale had swallowed him once again.

"Return to Truth!" Li Fan roared viciously.

This simulation has ended.

Li Fan let out a depressed breath.

After taking a long time to calm himself, Li Fan chose to speed up the charging progress this time.

Name: Li Fan

Realm: Mortal

Physical Age: 20/86 Mental Age: 368/1116 Mental Age has completely reached its limit and will no longer increase.

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

Eighth life.

Anchoring, year four.

Li Fan opened Qian Hong's Tomb once again.

Chargeable item discovered: Halting Remnant Stele (damaged).

Charge it?

Seeing Return to Truth's prompt, Li Fan's mood finally improved somewhat.

At this point, the Anchor Charging Progress had reached 51%.

"At least this life hasn't been for nothing..." Li Fan said with self-mockery.

Anchoring, year five. On White Mist Dissipation Day, the Transformation of Emptiness charging progress was already nearing 90%. But anything short of 100% made little difference to Li Fan. He could only wait patiently.

Anchoring, year twenty. Li Fan tried and failed.

Anchoring, year thirty-five. Li Fan tried again and still failed.

However, those attempts had not been entirely useless. At the very least, he became increasingly proficient at controlling the Taiyan Boat and could hold out longer under the Giant Whale's pursuit.

Anchoring, year fifty. Li Fan did not choose to force his way through the Darkness Layer again.

He was already old. Both his reactions and mental state had greatly deteriorated. Going would not make success any more likely.

So he chose to visit two old friends and see whether he could obtain any clues from them.

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

"Dao Xuanzi, don't push people too far!"

Listening to it, Li Fan suddenly felt a touch of nostalgia.

He still used the Golden Core Technique as bait to fool the two into coming to the Grand Tutor Estate. After three rounds of wine, Li Fan took out a painting scroll.

The painting looked rather old. It depicted a terrifying, colossal Giant Whale hidden behind darkness, revealing only its savage maw as though ready to choose someone and devour them.

"Have either of you seen such a monster? Before my ancestor passed away, he said that if we ever had the chance to escape this forsaken land, there would be no need to worry about anything else. With our sect's Taiyan Boat protecting us, we would surely be safe. Only at the final layer does a Giant Whale lie in wait, and there one must be exceedingly cautious." Li Fan asked.

"Such a vicious beast exists in that pitch-black, empty place?" Kou Hong glanced at the painting, his brows slightly furrowed in disbelief. "Why have I never seen it?"

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

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

Dao Xuanzi shook his head. "I merely saw related records in an ancient book. It is said that in Ancient Times, there was a sect called the Beast Taming Sect. The Beast Taming Sect possessed no profound techniques, yet with its Beast Taming Art, it could control the strange beasts between Heaven and Earth and make them fight on its behalf. At the height of its power, the Beast Taming Sect was said to be comparable to supreme sects such as Taishang and Great Dao."

"Unfortunately, during the Great Heavenly Calamity, the Beast Taming Sect, which cultivated only a single technique, was also among the fastest to perish."

"Among the most famous strange beasts controlled by the Beast Taming Sect, there seemed to be a Giant Whale like this."

"Now that you mention it, I remember. Was it called a World-Splitting Whale?" Kou Hong clapped his hands and hurriedly said.

Li Fan's heart stirred, and he quickly asked, "Do either of you know how one might evade this World-Splitting Whale?"

Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi both gave embarrassed smiles. "We have merely heard a few scattered fragments. Such a strange beast vanished from the Cultivation World thousands of years ago. How could we know its habits?"

Li Fan could not help feeling disappointed.

In the end, did he still have to rely on himself? After giving the Thousand Machines Jade Ring Golden Chapter to Dao Xuanzi and sending the two away, Li Fan chose to end this life.

Name: Li Fan

Realm: Mortal

Physical Age: 20/86 Mental Age: 418/1116

Ninth life! In this life, Li Fan opened Qian Hong's Tomb again, intending to absorb the Halting Remnant Stele for charging.

Unfortunately, Return to Truth showed no response at all.

Though regret filled his heart, Li Fan had long been mentally prepared.

Thus, Return to Truth's Anchor Charging Progress remained fixed at 51%.

Anchoring, year twenty. Anchoring, Anchoring, year thirty-five. Anchoring, year fifty. Li Fan tried every sort of method, yet none allowed him to rush through the Darkness Layer beneath the World-Splitting Whale's watchful glare.

Anchoring, year sixty-five. Li Fan was already eighty-five years old, nearing the end of his oil and the exhaustion of his lamp.

This time, he did not choose to end things early, because he did not know how many more attempts it would take to break through the Immortal Forsaken Grand Formation.

One more attempt was always better.

Unfortunately, he was too old this time. His thoughts had slowed, and his reactions had dulled.

Unable to outwit the World-Splitting Whale any longer, Li Fan did not force the issue. He simply gave up controlling the Taiyan Boat entirely, letting it drift slowly toward the depths of the Void Abyss from the very beginning.

The Gale Wind Layer, Illusion Light Layer, Inverted Layer, Falling Fire Layer, Profound Ice Layer, Thunderstorm Layer, Darkness Layer...

Li Fan slept muddledly for a while. When he woke, he was stunned to discover that the Taiyan Boat had nearly reached the very bottom of the Void Abyss!

"What's going on? Why didn't the World-Splitting Whale appear this time?" Li Fan was utterly baffled, but that did not stop him from increasing power and speeding at full force toward where specks of light had appeared.

But as Li Fan accelerated, the Giant Whale's roar suddenly rang out! "Why did it suddenly notice me at this moment?" Li Fan frowned deeply.

Then, as though a bolt of lightning had lit up the night sky, Li Fan instantly understood.

"So that's it! This World-Splitting Whale cannot see—or rather, it ignores—objects moving at a constant speed! As long as I maintain the same speed throughout, I can safely pass through the Immortal Forsaken Grand Formation!"

Having grasped the key, Li Fan could not help bursting into laughter.

At last, the final shackle preventing him from leaving this Immortal Forsaken Land had been completely undone!

Amid Li Fan's wild laughter and the Giant Whale's roar, the Taiyan Boat burst through the rift between the two realms, about to return to the Cultivation World.

The scenery around him blurred, as though he had crossed the distance of several worlds in an instant. Crushed by immense pressure, Li Fan gave a muffled groan, blood streaming from his nose and eyes.

Yet he did not care in the slightest.

Looking back at the Immortal Forsaken Land from which he had come, the immense distance raised his viewpoint without limit, allowing Li Fan to witness a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life: hundreds upon thousands, thousands upon tens of thousands of World-Splitting Whales, moving in groups day and night, carving out patches of black space within the void.

And the Immortal Forsaken Land from which Li Fan had come drifted farther and farther away from the Cultivation World here.