Chapter 1462: The Parable of Mountain and Sea
Chapter 1462: The Parable of Mountain and Sea
For a being like Li Bu Ren, a pure creation of destruction, an emotion such as "fear" was practically non-existent.
The reason he possessed infinite power yet dared not use it stemmed from pure "instinct."
The moment the thought of wielding the infinite immortal spiritual force arose in his mind, the boundless vista of the Infinite Sea would reappear before his eyes.
Monstrous waves, each droplet heavy with the weight of a trillion years of history, would surge through the channel he had opened to the Infinite Sea and come crashing down, drowning all things in the world, even the Great Dao of heaven and earth. Nothing in the mortal realm would survive.
This unspeakable pressure made it impossible for Li Bu Ren to press that invisible "button," even though the power was right there, within his grasp.
Beyond the pressure from the magnificent Infinite Sea itself, what concerned Li Bu Ren even more were the terrifying entities hidden beneath its depths, beings he had not yet seen. The mere ripples caused by their thoughts upon sensing [Truth] were enough to stir up tempests in the Infinite Sea.
Ever since returning to reality, Li Fan had been trying to communicate with [Truth] to learn more about the Infinite Sea, but he had received no response.
Fortunately, what brought Li Fan a small measure of comfort was that the power of [Truth] seemed unaffected in real-time; he could still activate it with a single thought. [Truth] was likely just in a poor state of mind, too listless to reply.
For instance, the fact that the Infinite Sea seemed to have a profound connection to the Dao Annihilation Calamity.
And that [Truth] must have a deep and ancient link to the Infinite Sea. It was likely an old acquaintance of the terrifying, unknown beings lurking beneath its waves.
"Virtualize everything, return to the initial anchor point."
"That Infinite Sea, existing above the endless worlds... I wonder if it was rewound as well..."
An incredibly heavy, yet unavoidable reality had been thrust before Li Fan.
All this time, as Li Fan's cultivation realm had advanced, so too had his understanding of [Truth]'s abilities. From appearing somewhat strained when facing True Immortals, to being able to conjure a separate timeline fragment called the [Unending Samsara] out of thin air, it seemed there was no end to its power.
But today, after using the methods left behind by the ancient Immortal World to leap up and connect to the Infinite Sea, Li Fan seemed to have finally glimpsed the limits of [Truth].
"The terrifying entities hidden in the Infinite Sea seem to be old acquaintances of [Truth]. If they are beings of the same caliber, I'm afraid [Truth]'s power of regression might not work on them."
"But to confirm this, I would need to enter the Infinite Sea again in the next life. However..."
A shadow of gloom flickered in Li Fan's eyes.
This was the first time since he began his cyclical cultivation that he had to face an enemy who, like him, could exist outside the cycle of reincarnation. The experience of nearly "drowning" in the Infinite Sea, in particular, filled Li Fan with a sudden, heavy pressure.
Moreover, the display of power from [Truth] upon the Infinite Sea, those forces that transcended everything in the mortal realm, couldn't help but remind Li Fan of the legend of the creator god he had once heard from Liu Ruchen.
"The mighty creator god defeated his own kind. He then drew upon their power to bring forth all living beings in the world..."
Liu Ruchen had claimed to have read this legend in an ancient tome.
Li Fan had previously searched Liu Ruchen's soul and had indeed seen the memory of this book. However, when the Medicine King Sect fled the Xuanhuang Realm, they had done so in a hurry. The ancient book was not considered important and was left behind, its whereabouts now unknown.
"This legend of a creator god has not been passed down or recorded anywhere else in the Xuanhuang Realm."
"There is reason to suspect that this so-called ancient tome might have been the personal notes of Sun Piao Miao..."
"Liu Ruchen only skimmed through the book. Apart from the legend of the creator god, he only read one other tale—a parable about a dialogue between a mountain and the sea."
Li Fan recalled what Liu Ruchen had seen back then.
In the distant beginning, only the Mountain and the Sea existed in the world. They encircled each other, nestled together in harmony. Their existence was peaceful until one day, life suddenly blossomed within the Sea.
These were beings entirely different from the Mountain and the Sea. They added a great deal of vitality to the Sea and naturally captured its attention.
At first, the Mountain paid them no mind.
The creatures of the sea had limited lifespans, while the Mountain and the Sea were eternal, never to perish. Compared to their nearly endless existence, the creatures of the sea were destined to be fleeting visitors.
But as the years passed, the Mountain was surprised to find that the number of creatures in the sea had not diminished. Instead, they had grown ever more prosperous. Upon investigation, the Mountain was shocked to discover that the Sea, unable to bear watching the creatures die one after another, had shared its own infinite lifespan with them.
The Mountain grew furious. "O Sea! Why have you done this? By what right do these tiny specks deserve to share in our infinite lifespan?"
But the Sea gently replied, "O Mountain, why can it not be so? You and I will exist in this world forever. Sharing our lifespan with them will not weaken us in the slightest. Isn't it better for the world of mountain and sea to be a bit more lively?"
The Mountain was at a loss for words.
It observed the evolving creatures in the Sea and sighed, "O Sea, it is not that I am stingy. But once these tiny specks possess something that was not originally theirs, they will instinctively crave more."
The Sea asked in return, "What do you mean, 'originally theirs'? This infinite lifespan of ours, was it truly ours from birth?"
The Mountain fell into silence.
...
"It seems like a simple parable. But if you combine it with the story of the creator god and what I witnessed upon the Infinite Sea, there's likely a deeper mystery here. Sun Piao Miao..."
Li Fan pondered for a moment, then decided he had to find that lost ancient book.
However, back then, the entire Medicine King Sect had fled, an act deemed treasonous by the Ten Great Sects. Their sect grounds were quickly ransacked and plundered. In the chaos of that time, no one knew where that ancient tome ended up. It might have even been burned to ashes.
Li Fan first summoned the stone slate.
Although the slate claimed to be able to record everything that happened in the Xuanhuang Realm, Li Fan knew its scope was limited to the original Xuanhuang Realm. Furthermore, transcendent powers like the Fishing Pool could not be recorded by the slate.
So, he did not hold out much hope.
As expected, he couldn't find the ancient book from Liu Ruchen's memory.
However, with Li Fan's current grasp over the Xuanhuang Realm, as long as the book still existed within its borders, it would be found.
Without needing to act personally, Li Fan issued a command, and cultivators from both the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council awoke from their dream states. They began to rummage through their own storehouses, searching high and low.
Li Fan's attention returned to his avatar puppet, Li Bu Ren.
Although he hadn't drawn upon the immortal spiritual force, Li Bu Ren, having returned from the Infinite Sea, had already acquired the attribute of "infinity."
Coupled with the lingering wisp of immortal spiritual energy transmitted from the immortal skin...
It was as if some kind of verification had been passed.
What was once a small, confined area, its invisible boundary like a high wall, suddenly manifested a physical form and folded backward.
It was a rather strange, yet difficult to describe, visual distortion.
Li Bu Ren felt as if this small space was rapidly expanding in all directions.
And as the volume of the space increased, a diagonally ascending staircase began to appear where nothing had existed before.
The expansion of the space seemed endless, and the staircase that appeared before Li Bu Ren also seemed to extend upward indefinitely.
There was no end in sight.
Li Bu Ren did not step onto the staircase rashly. Instead, he first surveyed his surroundings.
This space did not extend infinitely like the staircase. After expanding to a certain limit, it began to display a peculiar curvature. Although it was still expanding, the rate at which its volume increased had slowed considerably.
The space gradually filled out, but apart from the celestial staircase glowing with a faint silver light before him, there was nothing else.
To uncover the true secrets of the High Wall, Li Bu Ren finally stepped onto the staircase.
In the next moment, Li Bu Ren felt as if he had returned to the Infinite Sea.
The surroundings were filled with lines moving at high speed. Some lines were solitary, others gathered in clusters. Some were simple black and white, while others were a kaleidoscope of seven colors.
Li Bu Ren tried to make contact with these lines and discovered that, like the waters of the Infinite Sea, they stored and recorded vast amounts of historical and biological information.
However, the sheer quantity of data was on a completely different scale from the real Infinite Sea. Li Bu Ren could withstand it without any pressure.
Furthermore, the information within the lines was encrypted in some way. Li Bu Ren could only glimpse vague shadows.
He was in a torrent of lines, surging forward at great speed.
Before long, Li Bu Ren emerged from it.
He arrived at the entrance of a dim passageway, which emanated a faint aura of death.
The door sealing the passage had been blasted open for some unknown reason, leaving a large hole. Four broken puppets lay by the door.
Their components were scattered all over the ground.
Li Bu Ren looked back the way he came and found that this spot was the very entrance of the passage.
"No boundary ahead."
"To leave, one must pass through that stream of lines again."
Li Bu Ren looked at the fallen puppets not far away.
Even though they had been broken for who knows how many years, Li Bu Ren could still feel a faint sense of threat from them.
He reached out and levitated a fragment from the ground. Exerting his full strength, he found he couldn't completely crush it, only cause further damage.
"The material used to forge these puppets is no ordinary thing."
Choosing not to get entangled with these guardian puppets, Li Bu Ren's figure flickered, and he slipped through the gateway of the passage.
"Hmm?"
Once he started flying, Li Bu Ren keenly noticed the difference between this place and the star sea outside.
In the mortal star sea, he could merge with the Dao Net and travel along its paths, crossing the Darkest Star Sea in just three breaths.
But this place seemed to be a desolate land where the Great Dao was not manifest.
The connection between him and the Dao Net felt as if it were obstructed by an invisible barrier, becoming much more strenuous.
In his divine sense, the projection of the shining Dao Net instantly dimmed, with only a few specific paths remaining unaffected. It was as if the complete Dao Net had been burned away, leaving only a few remnants.
As a result, Li Bu Ren's flight speed was greatly reduced, and even the combat power he could exert was significantly diminished. RA; but nobes
But he was not in a hurry.
Instead, he began to study this dim passageway with great interest. For him, just seeing this place was already worth the trip.
"In front of the Law Enforcement Hall of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, there is a long path paved with Spirit Transformation Stones. Within that path is a dead zone for spiritual energy; cultivators cannot fly and must walk on foot."
"This passageway has a similar effect. Except the target of its restriction isn't ordinary cultivators, but Dao-Enlightened True Immortals!"
"In fact, it's not just this passageway, but all the structures here."
The passage Li Bu Ren was traversing also lacked physical boundaries, only possessing a conceptual constraint like that of the High Wall.
It forced anyone who entered to move in a specific direction.
"Originally, the walls of this passage should have had some images on them. But they seem to be damaged and are not displaying anything."
The passage was not long. As he reached the exit, Li Bu Ren suddenly looked back, a feeling of understanding dawning on him.
After that, there were no more twists and turns. He walked out of the darkness, through the only circular, illuminated exit.
A chaotic, cylindrical, hollow hall appeared before Li Bu Ren's eyes.
The cylindrical hall was so tall that its ceiling was not visible.
It looked somewhat empty, as if it had been plundered.
Following the faint aura of death he had sensed earlier, Li Bu Ren found a spot on the ground that had been cleaned.
"This is..."
He rubbed his fingertip on the ground, lifted it to his eyes, and a phantom, twisted face materialized.
It screamed, "Save me!"
It was just a lingering trace, re-energized by Li Bu Ren's immortal power. It couldn't communicate, only mechanically repeating phrases like "Save me" and "Run."
Li Bu Ren shook his head slightly, and after withdrawing his immortal power, the twisted face dissipated on its own.
Upon careful inspection, he found thirty-seven such remnants of will within the cylindrical hall. And these were only the ones that had left traces.
As for those that had been thoroughly cleansed, it was impossible to guess their number.
"Judging by the intensity of these remnant wills, they must have been left behind by fallen True Immortals."
"The reason they are far weaker than the will to survive in the Gloomy Sea of Darkness is firstly due to the difference in strength before their deaths, and secondly, because this place was subjected to a thorough cleansing."
"True Immortals were slaughtered like ants. What exactly happened here?"
Apart from the thirty-seven traces, there was nothing else to be found in the cylindrical space.
And apart from the passage through which Li Bu Ren had arrived, there seemed to be no other connections in this cylindrical hall.
The investigation had reached a dead end.
After a moment of contemplation, Li Bu Ren suddenly looked at the few Great Daos that still shone brightly in the miniature Dao Net within his divine sense.
An idea gradually formed in his mind. He saw his body, which was an unfolding of immortal domain fragments, fold back upon itself.
It transformed into a single chess piece, hiding within the other paths of Dao suppressed by this place.
He left only the still-luminous parts exposed, harmonizing with the Dao principles that remained here.
The cylindrical hall, originally of infinite height, suddenly shrank to a size of ninety-nine feet.
One by one, objects began to appear, filling the empty hall.
And on the cylindrical walls of the hall, Li Bu Ren was stunned to see countless square spaces arrayed, each displaying a different scene.
(End of this chapter)
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