A Fateful Encounter

Just moments ago, the 'Devil Sect Dharma Protector' were working together in formation to fight the BOSS, but the moment the candlestick appeared, they tore off their disguises and revealed their true colors as demonic cultivators.

If I manage to snatch it, it means this treasure is destined for me.

So nobody cared about the cockroach immortal or the final blow anymore; everyone displayed their unique abilities and headed straight for their own goals. Some were fighting over the candlesticks, some over the egg cases, and others outside the Red Sand Formation were vying for three large red gourds that probably contained the Bloodbreak Sand.

Only Li Fan, the cockroach immortal who was torn into a Y shape but was still alive and kicking, danced around while locking his Dao body!

"The Great Fiend Sword--"

"Help me--!"

"Save your mother--! Get the hell out of my way!"

Li Fan originally wanted to immediately hunt down those cultivators who had clearly been possessed by the cockroach's primordial spirit and had eaten the egg sheaths to escape, but before he could even unleash the Tai Sha Sword Rainbow, the cockroach remains had already stuck to his body!

Well, even though the Cockroach Immortal is probably only at the level of a cockroach among immortals, he actually managed to withstand two Ten Ultimate Formation, and even after being torn open and having his mouth filled with immortal light, he still didn't die!

Moreover, the Feather Transformation Immortal's strength is truly incredible! Li Fan's star core has already devoured many planets in the Void Abyss. If he were to unleash the power of the Ghost Hand, he could even unleash the power to shatter stars. However, unexpectedly, this cockroach grabbed him like a lifeline, pulling him into its arms and locking his joints, making it impossible for him to break free for a moment! The two of them fell together, plunging into the red sand on the ground!

Moreover, not only was his physical body bound, but he was also attacked by a swarm of cockroaches in his divine court, suffering minor damage. Li Fan could also clearly feel that the area in the cockroach immortal's abdomen, where a large number of egg cases had previously been gestating, was now swirling and frantically absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy. The torn shell and dried-out internal organs were visibly healing and regenerating!

Damn it, I still can't win in a head-on confrontation!

"Charge! Finish him off! He's still not dead, damn it!"

Li Fan yelled for help, but no one came to watch him wrestle with the cockroach fairy on the ground.

Although it's unclear whether these Xuanmen cultivators are simply stupid, genuinely evil, or both, deliberately leaving the BOSS with a sliver of health unkilled and initiating internal strife.

It can only be said that forming alliances during the Three Great Sects' struggles and then fighting amongst themselves when dividing the spoils is probably a long-standing and fine tradition. At this moment, there is clearly no "entire demonic sect," only a small group of seven disciples, four friends, five immortals, six monsters, and eight heroes.

Although it's unclear which side has the advantage, or who in the Weaving Bureau will ultimately seize the opportunity to grab the magic weapon while Li Fan is locked in a fierce battle with the cockroach, it's certain that everyone around them will rush to snatch it. Once they get their hands on it, they'll immediately turn and run, never turning back to help subdue the cockroach immortal.

Incidentally, just moments ago, the Heavenly Annihilation Formation was changing personnel so frequently, as if they were truly exhausted and drained of their energy. But now, they're all fighting like they're on drugs, showing no signs of being exhausted at all.

Except for a few who were possessed by cockroaches and quickly escaped the battlefield, the others were fighting fiercely among the clouds, chasing each other in the night sky above Sanyuan. Amidst the blood-red clouds and thick smoke in the sky, nine-colored streams of light flashed and flew wildly, as if dozens of comets were chasing and colliding with each other. Every now and then, large areas of Sword Light and lightning would be projected out, and they would be blasted away by their opponents from afar, only to be dodged by their escape lights.

But those Sword Light and lightning attacks that missed their mark didn't just disappear; they were projected outwards, landing in the Wang Jing city, causing the ground to collapse, buildings to explode, and countless palaces to be engulfed in flames, resulting in the <Against Fate> countless innocent people.

"Ahhh! The Demonic Child Sword!"

Li Fan knew there was no point in hoping for these people anymore, so he roared and unleashed a fierce Sword Light from his eyes, shooting it straight into the gap in the cockroach immortal's body, trying to stop the immortal from resurrecting.

However, the Sword Light of the child had little effect. Although the Sword Light could 'sever' the newly healed muscle tissue, it could not destroy the Dao body like the immortal light, nor could it penetrate the refined bones of the cockroach immortal.

Even when Li Fan used his own Dao power to launch the Sword Light, the overflowing Dao Breath was actually absorbed by the cockroach! To some extent, this accelerated the cockroach's recovery speed!

Clearly, this cockroach immortal could use any Taiji Dao Breath energy he possessed! Moreover, although the red sand array had just blocked out the Dao Breath, the array was now broken! Although the effect was limited, Li Fan could still observe and probe, vaguely sensing the rhythm of the spiritual veins of the Three Enclosures. The cockroach that was locking him was clearly throbbing inside, resonating with the spiritual veins!

Once it absorbs the Qi of Taiji Heaven and Earth and Qi Refinement Stage form, all the previous efforts will have been in vain! This cockroach will then achieve an immortal, Feather Transformation Immortal body!

"Go! Go! Go! The Revered Heavenly Demon has transformed!!"

Knowing he could no longer hesitate, Li Fan immediately unleashed the full power of the star core, causing his power to surge instantly!

After merging with so many planets, Li Fan's Tai Sha Star Core had exceeded his control. The system had also set a threshold to remind him, so going all out now was not only courting death, but also like stepping on the gas pedal to accelerate the countdown to the world's destruction.

But it doesn't matter! Going berserk is losing control! Getting killed by the cockroach fairy is also losing control! I'll risk it all!

Instantly, Li Fan's shadowy humanoid form expanded, its limbs swelling like inflated balloons into purple bubbles. A dense aura of malevolence, like tar from some kind of air sac, poured out, covering the cockroach immortal's entire body!

These are all the evil energies that Li Fan absorbed from the Tai Su Devil Domain, but which he has not yet refined. Naturally, they cannot cause much damage to the body of the Feather Transformation Immortal. However, they can use the high concentration of evil energies to block the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth for a short time, thus slowing down the regeneration speed of the cockroaches!

The cockroach immortal clearly realized the problem. With a push of its feet, it leaped away from Li Fan and spread its wings, trying to fly out of the red sand formation!

Good heavens, its wings have recovered in just a short while!

Li Fan couldn't let this thing escape, so a face materialized from the pervasive baleful energy bubbles. It opened its mouth and spewed out thousands of black hands, like vengeful spirits grabbing at the cockroach fairy. It pulled at its antennae and wings, trying to drag it back and seal it in a cocoon formed from baleful energy.

At first, the cockroach immortal could tear open the black hand and jump out, but now Li Fan had almost spat out two or three times the evil energy of the Tai Su Devil Domain to capture it, so how could it escape? Moreover, this evil energy, which was like smoke and mist and resembled tar rubber, was also shaped by Li Fan as an anti-Newtonian fluid, making it feel like it was stuck in a swamp. The cockroach immortal struggled desperately, and the faster and stronger it became, the more indestructible the surrounding evil energy became!

Finally, the cockroach fairy was covered in layers and clumps of malevolent energy, wrapped in a cocoon of malevolent energy, and temporarily captured, looking like a black lump of coal!

Yes, for the time being, Li Fan has only isolated the spiritual energy to prevent the cockroach immortal from recovering, but it still has a powerful Dao body. Even once it understands the properties of non-Newtonian fluids, it may still be able to escape!

But Li Fan couldn't delay any longer. At this moment, the purplish-black bubbles had accumulated into a three-zhang-tall infant, sitting cross-legged in the red sand array, one hand forming a hand seal to desperately resist the ever-expanding Dao body, the other hand pressing down hard on the cockroach ball as he roared...

"Hey! Where are the constables?! Someone come and help me, damn it!"

However, no one came to help.

Upon seeing Li Fan reveal his true form and engage in a fierce battle with the Feather Transformation Immortal, none of the treasure hunters dared to linger nearby. They had all transformed into flying rainbows and scattered in all directions, disappearing without a trace. Only a ring of red sand remained nearby, too close to the battlefield for anyone to dare collect.

As for the Immortal Palace, well, the Immortal Palace didn't send out a single soldier, yet it watched as a tenth of its city was engulfed in war. The Jingji region was heavily fortified with troops and countless experts, but not a single one dared to stop the 'Demon Sect'.

Of course, they could claim that they didn't have an order from a superior, permission from the imperial court, or the abilities of a spirit official or deity.

But the Grand Tutor, who was at the Enlightenment Stage, and the head of the Three Enclosures Duke of Shouyang, remained as steady as an old dog, hiding in his mansion and pretending to be dead the whole time, refusing to show his face.

Li Fan was truly speechless.

This is your territory! Nobody asked you to play chess, and the 'Demon Cult' has already fallen apart after this. What's the point of pretending anymore? Damn it, you should get through your own tribulations!

Li Fan could no longer delay. Enraged, he picked up the cockroach ball and hurled it toward the Grand Tutor Manor. Then, with a leap, he compressed the giant infant into human form, jumped out of the Red Sand Array, and crawled with all his might toward the outside of Sanyuan City to find the Spiritual Spring to seal his Tai Su Dao Body, which was on the verge of going out of control.

At this time, the spiritual veins of the entire Wang Jing had been almost completely disrupted by the two great formations. Although the burned area was not large, many spiritual palace formations were contaminated by the red sand and lost their effectiveness, which led to the collapse of a large number of immortal Immortal Palace and even the city's defensive formations lost their effectiveness.

However, it's also possible that the opposite is true: the foundation of the Wang Jing's formation was secretly destroyed by that 'demonic sect' before the Ten Ultimate Formation could be set up.

But it doesn't matter anymore. Li Fan's countdown has reached its limit. If he explodes, he will devour half of the Three Realms into the star core. Now he can only rush out of the city and find a sparsely populated place to self-destruct and reduce the damage.

However, as Li Fan said, it was just a technical adjustment, because his backup plan arrived in time.

When Li Fan rushed to the city gates, the 'Yuan Gong' Microdust Avatar, whom he had previously arranged to be Qin Jiu's bodyguard, had already arrived in an instant, transforming into a white cloud and wrapping around Li Fan, sealing the core of the Tai Sha once again!

Having solved a small problem, Li Fan immediately turned around, used his teleportation ability to fly back to the Three Palaces, and headed straight for the Grand Tutor Manor to find the cockroach dumpling.

Well, Li Fan was truly speechless. The Grand Tutor had actually run away...

The Grand Tutor, the Imperial Secretary, and all the guards and attendants in the Grand Tutor Manor, along with piles of magical artifact spirits and servants, have all run away!

Damn it, he didn't even take action himself. This bastard is really irresponsible...

However, this cunning old fox always has a plan and a backup plan. At this time, there were people on duty in the Grand Tutor Manor. Not only were there many retainers and guards, but also a large number of experts on guard. They even managed to control the cockroach ball.

Li Fan quickly rubbed his face, pretending to be an envoy from the Li Country who had come out to admire the moon in the dead of night, and shouted, "I'm here to protect the Grand Tutor!" as he forced his way in.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he slipped into the Grand Tutor Manor and saw that the nine Xuanmen cultivators who remained inside were all dressed in blue robes and were at the Transformation Stage. They held Ruyi whisks and command flags and formed a magic array around the cockroach ball. Blue lotuses bloomed under their feet, forming a continuous expanse that enveloped the cockroach ball.

"Penglai! My apologies. I am Qingyue, Ink Bamboo Mountain Lou Guan Dao, and I have come to confirm the Grand Tutor's safety."

Li Fan was shocked and secretly looked around, carefully examining the corner of the wall to see if anyone was crouching there!

The deity opposite was used to Li Fan's reaction. The leader stepped forward and blocked Li Fan's path, glancing at him before bowing in return.

"The Xuan Girl of the Nine Heavens Maiden, the Supreme Emperor, and the Supreme Divine True Man, greet the Qingyue Divine Lord. The Grand Tutor is safe and sound and has been moved elsewhere; fellow Daoist, there is no need to worry."

They actually managed to hire cultivators from Penglai as guards! So, it turns out that the Grand Tutor was able to sweep through Zhen because he secretly joined forces with those two cunning bastards, Xianhua and another one.

Li Fan returned the greeting while blatantly lying.

"Greetings, Divine Lord Shixin. I foresaw tonight that the heavenly secrets would be in turmoil, the Demonic Sect would be causing chaos, and a Heavenly Demon would even take the opportunity to descend upon the world and wreak havoc in the Jingji. Could it be that monster causing all this trouble? I wonder how you divine lords intend to suppress it, and whether you need my assistance?"

Nashi Shenjun politely declined, saying, "I appreciate your kind offer, but it's unnecessary."

Li Fan didn't react for a moment, then turned to look at the little dumpling that was struggling desperately.

"... Huh? No need?"

"No need. I, Jiuzhen, have my own secret methods for suppressing immortals. Besides, this object fell from the sky and landed in front of us. It must be destined for Penglai, so it belongs to Penglai."

Shi Xin Shenjun waved his whisk, and the gods behind him formed an array. Their true energy gathered and bloomed layer by layer like lotus buds, enveloping and sealing the cockroach ball inside.

"Oh, this..."

Li Fan hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but offer Shi Xin his suggestion.

"Can your sect really handle this? You're Feather Transformation Immortal, don't push your luck."

Just as Shi Xin was about to speak, Li Fan saw a stone archway suddenly appear behind Shi Xin, with the words "Daiyu" written on it. But in the time it took to rub his eyes, the archway disappeared, taking the cockroach ball wrapped in lotus flowers with it.

Shi Xin immediately shut his mouth, his face expressionless.

"What Feather Transformation Immortal? I haven't seen any. This is the Grand Tutor Manor; there are no Feather Transformation Immortal here."

"..."

Li Fan and Shi Xin glared at each other for a while, then saw a group of old men from Penglai surrounding them with layers of lotus-shaped true qi, as if preparing to set up an array. They had no choice but to leave silently.

Returning to the area where the battle had just taken place, the 'Demon Cult' had already dispersed, and even the red sand on the ground had been swept away by others.

Li Fan remained silent for a while, looked at the blood and fire engulfing Wang Jing, a scene of utter devastation, and calculated with his fingers that since the Grand Tutor had not yet appeared to face the calamity, the tribulation was not yet over.

Meanwhile, the army of the Three Enclosures remained unmoved, strictly guarding the Ziwei Forbidden Palace, completely unconcerned about such a trivial matter as the 'demonic sect wreaking havoc in the Jingji's tonight. They could only sigh and fly into the sea of fire to bring rain and help the disaster victims.

They worked like this until dawn before the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies and the Imperial Guards came to find Li Fan and stopped him. They said that last night, some petty thieves had set fires Fourth Department, disturbing the peace of the Imperial City and frightening the Marquis. The Central Guard was worried that the Marquis was not comfortable staying in the villa, so they specially ordered the Heavenly Workshop to build an Immortal Palace for him to serve as his residence. They invited the Marquis to come and see the new house.

Li Fan knew without a doubt that the imperial court was concerned about its reputation and didn't want him, an envoy from a foreign territory, to linger in the disaster area. He also didn't bother with these officials. Looking at the sky, he turned and flew to a mountain god temple outside the city.

None of the old Tai Su Dao sect members, including Wang Hu, who claimed they would come to seize seats and discuss the Tai Su Dao yesterday, showed up.

I spent the whole night killing cockroaches. Who knows who's in charge of the Weaving Bureau now? I had no time to listen to lectures.

However, there were still quite a few people at the mountain god temple. They were probably refugees who had fled the city overnight. The nobles and officials had intermarried and had relatives to stay with. Most of these people were ordinary citizens under the emperor's nose and ordinary people in the Tian Shi District. When they saw the apocalyptic scene of raging fires and blood-red sand and immortal light, they all thought that the Three Realms were about to fight each other again. Those who were quick on their feet fled with their families. Some of them came to the mountain god temple to rest.

Looking at the bewildered and helpless expressions on these people's faces, Li Fan thought for a moment and decided, "Whatever. These people's lives are like duckweed, easily extinguished with a breath. No matter how careful they are, they might be caught in the crossfire and die sometime during a natural disaster, man-made calamity, or even if his bomb explodes. What's there to worry about?"

Perhaps, this meeting is also a preordained destiny?

So Li Fan understood, cleared his throat, sat down on the ground in front of the mountain god temple, and said loudly,

"The Dao I have observed is the Primordial Chaos, an extraordinary Dao that cannot be described in words or recorded with pen and paper. Legend has it that in the beginning of heaven and earth, there was something indescribable, which was Non-Thing nor object, yet it had a name. This was the beginning of all things in this world. Its name is the Chaos Dao Ancestor..."