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Chapter 1458: The First Test of Truth Becomes Falsehood

To force the two immortals in the coffin to make their next move, and to study the so-called Transcendent World Coffin in greater detail, Li Fan unleashed the power of his Ink Death Immortal Soul, wrapping it layer by layer around the sarcophagus.

The Ink Death Immortal Soul was a power akin to the Dao Annihilation Calamity itself, capable of almost completely sealing off the influence of the Dao Net.

A faint black mist not only enveloped the coffin but also began to seep into it, finding every conceivable crack and crevice.

The Transcendent World Coffin, though rumored to be able to evade any disaster in existence, could only do so by escaping to other possibilities. In truth, it offered no defense against the Dao Annihilation Calamity.

It couldn't even achieve complete isolation between its interior and the outside world.

After a moment of silence, the two immortals within the coffin clearly sensed the destructive aura outside. A violent tremor once again shook the Transcendent World Coffin.

This time, however, the commotion was far more intense than before.

Previously, it had been the aftershocks of their struggle against each other. But now...

But an object chosen as a prison for the Nameless Immortal was not so easily shattered. Even with Qian Ruochang and the Nameless Immortal working together, it was no different. They tried for a while, only to quickly realize their efforts were futile. So, they changed their approach.

And in this life-or-death situation, Li Fan finally witnessed the true methods of a True Immortal.

A seemingly sacred chant rose once more from within the coffin.

This time, however, it was nearly inaudible. Li Fan could only just perceive it by using the power of the Ink Death Immortal Soul that enveloped the coffin.

The chanter still appeared to be Qian Ruochang.

Li Fan intended to repeat his previous trick, weaving a demonic, sutra-like sound from his dream power to interfere.

But the two melodies seemed to exist in different worlds. They were parallel and independent, unable to affect one another!

The chanting continued unabated, and the seven-colored light within the coffin grew ever more brilliant.

"A force is isolating the coffin from the world," he observed. "Though I can perceive it through the Ink Death Immortal Soul, I can't affect it in any way."

"This must be the work of the Nameless Immortal."

"Since they can't break out, they've decided to join forces and transcend this world together."

Li Fan scoffed inwardly. Since he had dared to force their hand with the threat of death, how could he not have anticipated this reaction from the two immortals?

"Crossing between possibilities..."

"Let's see just how it works."

The black mist transformed into thousands of tentacles, wrapping tightly around the Transcendent World Coffin. They acted as an extension of Li Fan's senses, touching and analyzing the coffin's very essence.

Without any external interference, the Transcendent World Coffin was fully activated.

A seven-colored radiance burst forth from within, momentarily repelling the power of the Ink Death Immortal Soul.

Li Fan felt as though he were seeing countless phantoms appear and superimpose themselves upon the coffin.

Each shadow of the coffin was identical to the others; only the surrounding scenery differed.

The chant grew louder and more intense. The physical coffin seemed to be pulled into this cascade of overlapping shadows, about to detach from reality.

Simultaneously, the infinite number of potential destination shadows began to rapidly collapse.

In the fleeting glimpses that flashed by, Li Fan saw only "perfect worlds" that were, for the moment, free from the ravages of the Dao Annihilation Calamity.

Although he still held the coffin tightly bound, Li Fan's tangible connection to it grew fainter. The coffin was about to fade and slip from his grasp.

"This Transcendent World Coffin doesn't travel to other possibilities unconditionally. It seems it can only go to possibilities where an identical Transcendent World Coffin also exists."

"It uses the coffin's principle of 'Returning to One' to escape the current possibility."

"I see..."

A flicker of understanding ignited in Li Fan's mind.

If identical individuals from different possibilities could cross over and devour each other, then it stood to reason that certain special objects could do the same.

The coffin's so-called "Transcendent World" ability was simply a clever exploitation of this very characteristic.

In fact, when Li Fan used [Truth] to retain items from a previous simulation and bring them into his current reality, it could be considered a form of "Returning to One." Not all objects, however, could grow stronger through this process. Only the "Heaven and Earth Marvels" of the Xuanhuang Realm seemed to spontaneously devour each other upon appearing in the same reality. The Dao Transformation Stones from beyond the heavens, on the other hand, could not; they required Li Fan to actively facilitate their fusion.

"The materials used to forge this Transcendent World Coffin must have properties similar to those of a Marvel."

"It must be perfectly identical to its counterparts in other possibilities to harness the power of 'Returning to One' and leap between them..."

No matter how powerful the entangling force of the Ink Death Immortal Soul was, the Transcendent World Coffin inevitably grew more and more indistinct.

As Li Fan observed and pondered, the coffin had almost completely escaped the current possibility.

A power that transcended everything, a power that even a True Immortal could not perceive, silently descended.

"When truth is made false, falsehood too is true."

Before Li Fan's eyes, those seven familiar, grand characters seemed to appear once more.

Now at the half-immortal realm, he could already manage a semblance of "Fantasy Becomes Truth." He could even create from nothing the Ancient Azure Source Essence—an energy that helped the demon race leap between possibilities.

But he had never been able to grasp the first principles of the path of "Truth Becomes Falsehood."

Theoretically, destruction should be easier than creation.

Li Fan had been puzzled by this for a long time. It was only just now, after clearly observing the coffin's entire process of world-transcendence with the aid of his Ink Death Immortal Soul, that he realized he had been thinking about it too rigidly.

The ability to turn a complete, existing object into nothingness—the difficulty of using this power of "Truth Becomes Falsehood" did not depend on the target.

Whether the target was a powerful being like Evil Su Bai or the Black Heaven Physician, or an ant on the ground, the difficulty for Li Fan to affect them would be the same.

Because as long as they were beneath the level of the "True False Transformation" itself, they could not resist the concept of "truth becoming falsehood."

However, turning a complete object from true to false was the counterpart to transforming a false object into something real—something whose existence would not vanish even after the power of "True False Transformation" dissipated.

This was a state of great mastery, something that the current Li Fan, who was barely a novice, could not possibly achieve.

"Perhaps it's because an object's 'true' state can be maintained for a time, but once it enters a 'false' state, there is no chance for it to become true again."

"Once it disappears, it's gone forever."

The reason he suddenly grasped this key point was his observation that the Transcendent World Coffin's process of "disappearing" from the current possibility was not instantaneous.

Instead, the countless microscopic particles constituting the coffin had to verify their consistency with their counterparts in other possibilities. Only then could they enter the "Returning to One" state and escape the current reality.

It wasn't the coffin's "body" that traveled, but rather its division into countless "individuals."

After arriving in the other possibility, it would then reassemble from its fragmented state.

"There are shackles binding the possibilities together. Compared to a complete entity, these minuscule particles, some so small they are beyond my ability to observe, must be much easier to move across."

"Breaking the whole into parts."

"By the same token, what I need to do isn't to turn the entire coffin from true to false."

"I just need to disrupt its verification process. Make this coffin different from how it was before."

Understanding dawned on Li Fan in an instant.

The power of the True False Transformation instantly enveloped the coffin.

In his mind, he visualized and recalled the feeling of countless simulations and rebirths, one life after another.

"Truth... becomes... falsehood!"

He declared, word by word, in his mind.

His target was not the coffin as a macroscopic object.

It was a single, random particle of the coffin that he was in contact with.

It was like gently wiping away a speck of dust.

Outwardly, the coffin appeared completely unchanged.

But...

The chanting had reached its crescendo.

Yet, the overlapping shadows of the coffin within the seven-colored light suddenly extinguished.

Though only an insignificant particle was missing, the coffin was no longer the Transcendent World Coffin.

Truth had turned to falsehood, and its journey across worlds could not continue.

Qian Ruochang's chanting came to an abrupt halt.

As if unable to accept this reality, the two immortals inside the coffin remained unresponsive for a long time.

The coffin fell terrifyingly silent.

Qian Ruochang and the Nameless Immortal were as still as if they had already departed this world, without a single sound.

It was as if they had accepted their fate and would struggle no more.

Li Fan's attention was not on them. Instead, he was elated by his successful use of the True False Transformation.

Theoretically, the degree to which he could turn truth to falsehood should be equivalent to his ability to turn falsehood to truth.

In other words, while he couldn't completely eliminate an individual yet, his ability was certainly not limited to just erasing a few particles.

"I can now achieve a threefold power amplification for a short period."

"Conversely, I should be able to achieve a certain degree of weakening as well."

In Li Fan's understanding, if a part of a person or an object as a whole was suddenly shaved away, it would inevitably be weakened. But how this weakness would manifest...

Li Fan subconsciously thought of experimenting on himself.

But the moment the thought arose, his heart leaped into his throat. Even [Truth] faintly pulsed, as if issuing a warning.

This was completely unprecedented.

"It seems this weakening from 'Truth Becomes Falsehood' is even more terrifying than I imagined."

Setting the Transcendent World Coffin aside for the moment, Li Fan first found several test subjects to experiment on.

There were ten in total: some were ordinary mortals, others were cultivators.

Among the cultivators, they were further divided into those with average aptitude, those with considerable talent, and one who could be considered a prodigy.

Their consciousnesses had all been immersed in a carefree dream. For the sake of rigor, Li Fan now recalled them all.

He once again recalled the feeling of using the divine ability.

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. This time, Li Fan's execution was not as clumsy or difficult.

It was like an eraser, gently rubbing against a portrait.

After completing the technique, Li Fan carefully examined the ten subjects.

"Strange..."

"Their cultivation levels haven't dropped. Their souls and consciousness seem no different than before either."

"So where exactly did my 'Truth Becomes Falsehood' ability take effect?"

After a long while with no answers, Li Fan's brow furrowed.

If an examination revealed no answers, it meant the change was not yet significant enough.

So Li Fan continued the experiment.

Compared to the "Fantasy Becomes Truth" ability, which he could now use with ease, this "Truth Becomes Falsehood" divine ability placed an immense burden on him.

This was true even though his power was far greater than before, and he was bolstered by the dream power of the thousands of beings immersed from the Xuanhuang Realm.

After performing it three times in a row, he felt utterly drained and exhausted.

An unprecedented sense of weakness washed over him.

Li Fan was secretly alarmed and wisely halted the experiment.

Fortunately, his efforts were not in vain.

After repeated "erasures," Li Fan finally saw where his divine ability had taken effect.

The changes in the mortals were still not particularly noticeable.

Even among the average cultivators, Li Fan couldn't discern any obvious difference.

The key was the "prodigy."

His name was Yin Changshou. Originally, due to issues like his birth and lack of resources, he had been an unknown figure in the Xuanhuang Realm.

But after everyone entered the Land of Carefree Joy, he had risen to prominence with startling speed.

His performance had surpassed even the likes of Wang Xuanba and Sun Erlang. He had already found his way to the boundary of the dreamscape, near the High Wall.

When Li Fan was selecting his test subjects earlier, he had singled him out at a glance.

But now...

Under Li Fan's scrutiny, he discovered that the "aura of brilliance" on Yin Changshou seemed to have vanished.

This aura was not the same as spiritual energy.

It was something mysterious and profound.

It had nothing to do with his current cultivation realm, but was rather a kind of "premonition" of his future achievements.

Previously, with a single look at Yin Changshou, Li Fan knew that if left to develop freely without major external interference, reaching the Dao Integration stage was a near certainty, if not the Longevity realm itself.

But now...

It was as if his potential was exhausted, and the path ahead was completely blocked!

This sense that he now had no future, that he would never amount to anything, had appeared on the very prodigy Li Fan had singled out before.

The stark contrast between before and after shocked Li Fan.

"What I call this 'aura of brilliance' is the sum of everything—comprehension, luck, innate constitution, talent. Though my 'Truth Becomes Falsehood' ability can't directly lower cultivation for now, an effect like this..."

"...is like a blade that carves out the bones and scrapes the soul. It's even more vicious!"

"No wonder [Truth] issued a warning when I had the idea to test it on myself."

"If I were to strike myself with this blade, I'm afraid even I couldn't reverse the change."

For a true genius, perhaps death was not so terrifying. What was truly terrifying was to have the talent one took pride in suddenly vanish one day. To fall from a genius to a mediocrity, or even a fool.

This was a punishment that crushed the spirit, far worse than merely killing the body!

"This ability... it severs one's entire future."

"And I have a faint feeling that's not all it does."

It was as if the inspiration was right in front of him, within reach, but a layer of mist separated them, and he could not break through.

After resting for a moment, Li Fan resumed his experiment.

The blade of Truth and Falsehood fell, inch by inch.

In Li Fan's eyes, Yin Changshou gradually became something less than a mortal.

A mortal could still be pushed along the path of cultivation with sufficient resources, but Yin Changshou's path was now completely and utterly severed.

No matter what method was used, he could not advance another step.

"A complete regression in cultivation is now a certainty. But why do I still feel that the true harm has yet to manifest?"

Li Fan stared intently at Yin Changshou for a long time before delivering the final slash.

It was like repeatedly rubbing an eraser over a canvas, eventually wiping the image away completely.

In reality, Yin Changshou did not simply disappear.

Instead, some possibility related to him was utterly severed.

Li Fan felt something and suddenly raised his head, looking out beyond the heavens.