Chapter 1511: The Immortal Emperor's Fate Was Ultimately Predetermined

The initial fusion of two Daos was the most difficult.

The Giant Rat Immortal had originally cultivated the Great Dao of [Imperial Law]. The more subjects submitted to him, and the more loyal they were, the stronger the feedback he received from them.

The accumulation of two hundred million years had pushed his Great Dao of [Imperial Law] almost to its theoretical limit. Beneath the heavens, all living beings submitted to his rule.

It was precisely by relying on his overwhelmingly powerful Great Dao of [Imperial Law] that the Giant Rat Immortal could fuse the second Great Dao into himself and absorb it by his side, as though it were a subject submitting to its sovereign.

If he could do it once, he could do it again. If he could do it again, he could do it a third time.

Using his title as Immortal Emperor, he would secretly summon the various immortals to meet him. Then, one by one, he would devour them in secret.

At first, the cautious Giant Rat Immortal only targeted True Immortals of ordinary strength who had little reputation. But later, as he fused more and more Great Daos, he gradually became increasingly unscrupulous.

Nevertheless, it had to be said that the Giant Rat Immortal truly lived up to his title of [Eternal Immortal Emperor].

Even as his greed for the Dao gradually overwhelmed his mind, he never forgot his original purpose. With one body embodying three Sages, he sought to save a collapsing world from ruin.

Under his governance, the world, which had been teetering on the brink of destruction beneath the Dao Annihilation Calamity, somehow managed to endure for another hundred million years. It even seemed as though there was genuine hope that it might continue to exist forever.

But every story must eventually reach its end.

After being held back for hundreds of millions of years, the Dao Annihilation Calamity seemed to have finally lost all patience with this prolonged stalemate. It mobilized its forces and concentrated its attacks.

Then, one day, the Giant Rat Immortal discovered to his horror that the pressure exerted by the Dao Annihilation Calamity upon the Immortal Realm had inexplicably doubled.

The hundred million years of peace and stability had long since dulled the immortals' ability to recognize danger. By the time they finally realized what was happening and attempted to mend the heavens with their own immortal bodies, everything was already too late.

The Giant Rat Immortal could only watch helplessly as the terrifying tide of Dao Annihilation swept forward with unstoppable momentum, swallowing up most of the Immortal Realm in an instant.

Countless True Immortals perished. Those who survived were thoroughly terrified, and they could no longer summon the courage to resist the calamity.

As the de facto ruler of the Immortal Realm, watching his dominion collapse in an extremely short period of time dealt him an immense blow. Yet by then, such things as "emotions" had already ceased to matter.

Survival was the only thing that truly mattered.

However, the Giant Rat Immortal, the [Eternal Immortal Emperor], discovered in despair that with the calamity upon them, there was nowhere left to flee.

The immortals gathered around him, desperately begging him to find a way to save their lives.

Yet as the Giant Rat Immortal looked upon the Immortal Realm, already riddled with countless wounds, even he had fallen into despair.

Nevertheless, he had ruled the Immortal Realm for a full three hundred million years. The Giant Rat Immortal was not someone who would give up so easily.

In this desperate situation, a mad idea suddenly emerged in his mind.

He would gather the strength of all the immortals and reach the Transcendent Other Shore.

Within the possibility inhabited by the Giant Rat Immortal, legends about the Other Shore and other possibilities also circulated. However, these tales were known to very few and were among the most closely guarded secrets. Even the Giant Rat Immortal himself had only heard of them by chance from the Three Sages when he was young. As for producing a genuine Transcendent expert, that was even further beyond their reach.

With no one whose experience he could draw upon, the Giant Rat Immortal could only rely on his own efforts to find a way.

But the most crucial problem was that he had very little time left.

After searching every remaining corner of the Immortal Realm, the Giant Rat Immortal finally found a method that could barely allow him to cross between possibilities.

Crossing the Possibilities in an Immortal Coffin!

Unfortunately, among the surviving immortals, it seemed that only he possessed sufficient strength to survive inside the Immortal Coffin formed from the world itself as it drifted through the tide of Dao Annihilation.

Even if the others could somehow enter the Immortal Coffin, they probably would not last long before being utterly destroyed, let alone reach the Other Shore.

The Giant Rat Immortal could certainly have fled alone. But as the dignified Eternal Immortal Emperor, could he really watch his subjects perish before his eyes without doing anything?

Clearly, the Giant Rat Immortal was not such a selfish person.

Drawing upon his extensive experience secretly devouring immortals and fusing their Daos over the years, he actually came up with an ingenious method at the final moment. He would use the [Imperial Law] to control the Daos and maintain the balance between them.

As long as the immortals remained in a state of being devoured, but not completely absorbed, they would not truly become part of him. They would still retain their independent Daos, cultivation, memories, emotions, and everything else that made them who they were.

Once they had hidden inside the Immortal Coffin and successfully drifted to the Other Shore, he could release the immortals, allowing them to escape this calamity.

After experimentally absorbing more than ten True Immortals, the Giant Rat Immortal discovered that this method was viable. It had only one drawback. He himself had to direct the devouring of their Daos while simultaneously struggling to keep each Dao distinct from the others.

These two contradictory tasks would subject him to the most extreme torment.

Furthermore, the torment would increase proportionally with the number of Daos he absorbed and the length of time he had to maintain the balance between them.

For a brief moment, he hesitated. Yet during that very moment of indecision, countless more True Immortals perished.

The Giant Rat Immortal immediately made up his mind.

The Immortal Realm was already in an extremely precarious state, and the final tide of Dao Annihilation could erupt at any moment. There was simply no time left to explain things to the surviving True Immortals one by one.

Even if he explained everything, they might not believe him. Holding firmly to this conviction, the Giant Rat Immortal began devouring the immortals on a massive scale without the slightest hesitation.

Faced with the Eternal Immortal Emperor's sudden act of devouring his own people, the immortals were horrified and terrified.

Yet they were utterly powerless to resist.

In despair and panic, they could only curse him furiously and plead for their lives.

Although the Eternal Immortal Emperor never hesitated in his actions, the words and behavior of the immortals became deeply engraved in his heart.

"Giant Rat! You are the greatest rat in the entire Immortal Realm!"

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

"Even if you devour me, I will become a vengeful spirit and wait for the day you fall!"

...

At first, he would still listen to those voices in his heart.

But as the number of immortals he devoured continued to increase, the Giant Rat Immortal instinctively grew more and more indifferent. Eventually, he simply stopped paying attention to them altogether.

In the final instant before the Immortal Realm was utterly destroyed and the tide of Dao Annihilation swallowed everything, the Great Dao twisted and took physical form. An Immortal Coffin descended from the sky.

The Giant Rat Immortal brought the surviving True Immortals and took refuge inside it.

What followed was an extraordinarily long stretch of time, so long that even the Giant Rat Immortal's memories gradually became blurred.

Within the coffin was absolute darkness. Beyond it raged the world-destroying tide of Dao Annihilation.

The Giant Rat Immortal could clearly sense the process by which Dao Annihilation was continuously eroding the Immortal Coffin.

All he could do was silently pray that they would reach the Other Shore before the coffin was completely corrupted.

Perhaps ruling an Immortal Realm for three hundred million years had exhausted all his fortune. No one knew how much time had passed, but he had encountered neither the Other Shore nor even a single place of safety.

The Immortal Coffin drifted aimlessly with the waves, floating amid the surging tide of Dao Annihilation.

It seemed that hope would never come.

And the Giant Rat Immortal had also underestimated just how difficult it would be to maintain the fusion of ten thousand Daos.

Perhaps this could have been sustained in the environment of an ordinary Immortal Realm. However, within the Immortal Coffin surrounded by the great tide of Dao Annihilation, maintaining that balance became increasingly difficult.

He had never truly wished to devour the immortals.

Yet he could only watch helplessly as his own body fused with his former subjects.

He seemed to have truly become the "Giant Rat" cursed by billions of people.

The last glimmer of light in his heart gradually went out. The Eternal Immortal Emperor descended into endless darkness...

An unknown number of years passed. By the time the Immortal Coffin had completely decayed and could no longer withstand the tide of Dao Annihilation, a tremendous rumbling shook the void.

In a daze, as though awakening in another world, the Immortal Giant Rat discovered that he had finally arrived in a different starry sky.

Although this starry sky was likewise filled with the ravaged aura left behind by the rampage of Dao Annihilation, it was at least temporarily safe.

...

Li Fan and his senior brother, Inherit Dao, stared at the scene unfolding before them. Neither spoke for a long time.

"If it had been me, I doubt I could have done any better than this Eternal Immortal Emperor."

"He did everything in his power, yet the greater tide of events was beyond his ability to turn back." Li Fan sighed.

Inherit Dao also offered his assessment. "His plight deserves sympathy, and his actions are forgivable. If he had not been so relentlessly aggressive, perhaps we would not have needed to take his life."

Li Fan revealed an ashamed expression. "I was too rash. I never expected that this terrifying-looking rat would have such a past."

Inherit Dao waved his hand. "Junior Brother, there is no need to blame yourself. The vast majority of Immortal Rats are no good. You must not change your judgment simply because the Eternal Immortal Emperor was an exception."

"Senior Brother is right."

Next, Inherit Dao recounted in full the Dao path he had comprehended from the Immortal Rat Dao Pill. From time to time, he even added his own insights into the Great Dao.

The comprehension of this disciple of the Spirit Stone by the Mountains and Seas, and the guardian of the mound, was truly extraordinary. Li Fan even suspected that swallowing the Dao Pill himself would not have yielded any better results.

As he listened to the teachings on the Dao, Li Fan also secretly observed Inherit Dao.

It seemed that after swallowing a single Dao Pill, the other party had shown no unusual reactions whatsoever.

'However, I cannot draw such a conclusion so easily. I should feed him a few more pills first.'

'Guangwu Star Sea, hmph...'

Ninety-nine days later, Inherit Dao finished imparting the teachings.

"Senior Brother, have you noticed that the Dao path in the possibility where the Eternal Immortal Emperor lived seems far weaker than the one in our own possibility?" Li Fan asked suddenly, frowning slightly after closing his eyes and reflecting on what he had heard. There was some uncertainty in his voice.

"It is not your imagination. That is indeed the case." Inherit Dao nodded.

"Why is that?"

Inherit Dao narrowed his eyes and remained silent for a moment before slowly replying, "Perhaps it is because an extraordinary figure, one rarely seen throughout the ages, has already emerged in that possibility."

"Hm?"

"This is only my speculation. Master has not confirmed it."

Inherit Dao clarified this point before continuing.

"Setting the Three Sages aside, it seems that there is a certain upper limit to the number of powerful beings who can emerge within any given possibility."

"It is not determined by numbers alone. Rather, the combined factors of their numbers, cultivation realms, and other such aspects determine the limit."

"Of course, by powerful beings, I mean those Transcendent experts who can escape the confines of their own possibility."

Using his finger as a brush, Inherit Dao drew a circle before Li Fan.

"Imagine a pool of fixed size. Every time a powerful being emerges, a portion of the pool is claimed by that being. Once the entire pool has been occupied, those who remain will be unable to reach the Transcendent realm, no matter how heaven-defying their talent may be."

Li Fan carefully watched the circle as its area was continuously divided among the emerging figures. His expression gradually became thoughtful.

"Senior Brother, the Three Sages actually disappeared from the world where the Eternal Immortal Emperor lived. Could that be because its potential has already been exhausted, leaving it unable to produce any more Transcendent experts?"

Inherit Dao looked at Li Fan with a faintly amused expression, but did not answer.

Seeing this, Li Fan already had his answer.

He continued examining the small circle before him, then waved his hand and redrew the hundreds of regions into which it had been divided.

"That world could not produce experts like Master. Even Transcendent beings were exceedingly rare."

"Just how powerful, then, was the extraordinary figure who emerged there in the past?"

"Could that person really have nearly exhausted the potential of an entire possibility?"

Li Fan temporarily used the term [Potential] to represent the small circle before him.

"Could their strength actually have surpassed Master's?" Li Fan could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.

Inherit Dao, however, remained remarkably calm.

"In the past, when Master resolved the Dao Annihilation and saved the Immortal Realm from destruction, even as the Immortal Emperor and the countless immortals looked up to him with reverence, Master remained exceedingly humble."

"He has never considered himself any sort of powerful being among the Mountains and Seas."

"To use Master's own words, he is merely the [Immortal Shengde, Guardian of the Mound]."

Upon hearing this, Li Fan immediately grew solemn and nodded in agreement.

"Master is worthy of being our teacher not merely because of his strength, but also because of his breadth of mind and bearing. Even if one day Senior Brother surpasses him in strength, I believe you will continue to respect him as your teacher."

"Naturally!" Inherit Dao did not deny it.

"There truly are countless powerful beings among the Mountains and Seas."

Li Fan's gaze returned to the small circle before him. Looking at the inner circle that occupied almost the entire region, he fell into a daze.

"I truly wonder what the legendary Other Shore is like. So many unimaginable powerful beings have gathered there together."

Inherit Dao smiled. "Junior Brother, there is no need to worry. With the talent of us two brothers, reaching the Other Shore one day is all but certain."

Li Fan burst into laughter. "Then I shall thank Senior Brother in advance for your auspicious words."

"Let us set the Other Shore aside for now. If you wish to meet visitors from other possibilities, you can do so right now."

After remaining silent for a short while, Inherit Dao suddenly spoke.

"Senior Brother, are you referring to the Guangwu Star Sea?"

"Precisely."

Inherit Dao then displayed an entirely new scene before Li Fan.

Nine Celestial Pillars stood arranged in a circular formation.

At the center, enclosed by the nine pillars, lay absolute darkness. From within it, Li Fan sensed the familiar aura of Dao Annihilation.

Beyond the nine Celestial Pillars, hundreds of supporting pillars were densely distributed, gradually increasing in number from sparse to tightly packed.

Although not every Celestial Pillar necessarily contained a sealed Nameless being, the sheer grandeur of this undertaking was still unmistakable.

Unlike Li Fan's own method of simply using Celestial Pillars to support the collapsing heavens, these pillars were not all built to the same specifications. Instead, they grew progressively stronger from the inside out, from the weakest to the strongest.

They formed something resembling a staircase.

The nine Celestial Pillars at the center were the weakest point.

After all, they were actually attracting Dao Annihilation toward themselves.

The hundreds of pillars densely arranged around them, however, formed a sturdy protective barrier. They prevented the Dao Annihilation drawn toward the center from spreading outward.

Li Fan studied the region surrounded by the nine Celestial Pillars. It resembled a reservoir designed to collect water.

Suddenly, he realized something.

"Is that the method the Guangwu Star Sea uses to salvage objects from other possibilities?"

"That should be it. It is indeed rather ingenious."

"Yet ingenuity is not all there is to it. The ability to construct these hundreds of Celestial Pillars demonstrates that the Guangwu Star Sea possesses strength that absolutely cannot be underestimated. I had underestimated them before." Inherit Dao voiced his praise.