Chapter 1547: Lost to the River, Lost Forever
In a single thought, a perfect reflection of another Xuanhuang Realm appeared, as if in a mirror.
The First One even saw his own shadow within it.
Though that shadow lacked the true essence of an immortal, it was still vividly real—it was himself as a mortal.
Such power was so profound that even the First One, a True Immortal, felt a deep sense of shock.
...
The final scene in the residual memories of the First One's immortal body was the moment he executed the final step of the Immortal-Mortal Separation.
He gazed at his own reflection before him, a storm of complex emotions swirling within his heart.
In the end, all of it dissolved into acceptance.
The First One mused silently. After bidding farewell to his past self, he committed his consciousness to the mortal vessel.
"I truly hope that one day, I can return."
This was the last lingering thought of the First One after transforming from an immortal into a mortal.
...
Li Fan withdrew from the First One's memories.
It was clear the First One had never fulfilled his wish.
Once the heavens begin to fall, how could it be so easy to turn back the tide?
"The crucial factor was the Three Saints' abandonment."
"Because it was unrelated to the final outcome, the Three Saints, despite having the power to save them, wouldn't 'waste' their strength on such a trivial matter. With no powerhouse who had transcended the Primal Possibility, they could only choose to save themselves. Or simply leave altogether."
Li Fan shook his head slightly. "Speaking of which, I still don't know what the Heavenly Net Emperor's plan truly was. To completely resolve the Dao Annihilation Calamity and have the entire Immortal Realm transcend once more..."
Before, Li Fan couldn't even begin to imagine a possible method.
However, after reading the complete parable of the Mountain and Sea, he had found a possibility.
Born of the sea, standing upon the mountain—this was the path to transcending the Mountain and Sea.
If this theory was correct, then as long as one could find a Mountain and Sea Great Dao, like Longevity or Truth, and fuse it with the Immortal Realm...
Then it might be possible for the entire realm to transcend beyond the Mountain and Sea.
Naturally, it would no longer be troubled by the Dao Annihilation Calamity.
But this was only a theory.
Beyond the Mountain and Sea, there seemed to be another, greater terror. The fate of the first being in the parable, who connected the sea to the mountain and then looked beyond, proved that this path was fraught with immense danger.
"Even if it succeeded, the outcome would likely be no better than being devoured by the Dao Annihilation Calamity."
Li Fan was still somewhat curious about the ultimate fate of the Heavenly Net Emperor and the Immortal Realm. Unfortunately, at this point in time, everything was already set in stone, and there was no way to investigate.
"Perhaps by traveling further upstream against the River of Time, I could uncover more clues. But it would be of little significance."
Li Fan reined in his thoughts, focusing his gaze on the First One's immortal body before him and awakening its consciousness.
The First One opened his eyes. After a moment of confusion, he quickly understood his situation and bowed to Li Fan.
Li Fan, in turn, used the First One's body to observe the state of the Dao Annihilation Calamity outside the Xuanhuang Realm.
"Hmm, it's considerably more stable than it was ten thousand years in the future."
"The total collapse that the First One feared before becoming mortal never happened. It must be due to the bones of the previous Hunger Immortal, buried beneath the Immortal Ruins, quietly holding everything together."
After a brief inspection, Li Fan withdrew his gaze.
For now, he had no intention of provoking the Hunger Immortal.
In the past, he could act with reckless abandon, wiping out worlds at the slightest disagreement, knowing that Truth had his back. But not anymore.
With this immortal body, supplemented by an immortal array, capturing the Hunger Immortal shouldn't be a major issue.
However, Li Fan couldn't guarantee that he could protect the Xuanhuang Realm's safety while they fought.
If the Xuanhuang Realm were damaged, all the anchor points he had painstakingly established in this timeline would be destroyed. At that point, let alone capturing the Hunger Immortal, he might not even be able to protect himself.
"Staying so close to the Immortal Ruins is still a bit too dangerous."
"Next, I need to devise a way to safely relocate the Xuanhuang Realm."
Li Fan had experience in this area. After a moment of contemplation, a plan began to take shape in his mind.
"In this era, the Ten Great Immortal Sects still hold some measure of authority. Any trivial matters can be left to them."
"But, before that..."
A thought flickered in Li Fan's mind, and he instantly took control of the First One's immortal body.
With a flash, he left the Root of Heaven and Earth and appeared beside the hill where the Fishing Pool was located.
Standing in mid-air, he stared intently at the ground below.
"The life force of the Ruomu tree still sustains it."
"Does that mean... there is still a Mount Tai Emperor here?"
Li Fan's eyes narrowed. On full alert, he slowly walked into the underground village.
It was almost identical to what he had seen ten thousand years in the future.
It was as if time itself had frozen in this small hamlet.
However, when Li Fan followed his memory to the painting where the Mount Tai Emperor had been hiding, his steps faltered.
The painting was still the same painting.
The young Xuantian King, his childhood sweetheart, and the many children of the village were all depicted within it.
But one figure was missing—the old man who had been lying down to rest!
"He's gone." For a moment, Li Fan felt an unexpected sense of loss.
It was mingled with a small measure of relief.
The spot where the Mount Tai Emperor had once lain was now empty.
Even the Reverse Flow Boat had vanished.
Yet the life force, absorbed and manipulated by the Xuantian King's secret technique, continued to tirelessly nourish the scroll.
Without the Mount Tai Emperor, all the life force was being absorbed by the painting alone.
As a result, the painting had undergone a rather mystical transformation. Li Fan could almost hear the voices of Xuanyuan Hong and his childhood friend playing in the distance.
The two children in the painting even seemed to notice Li Fan's approach from outside the canvas.
They slowly turned their gazes toward him.
Witnessing such an eerie scene, Li Fan couldn't help but recall the fate of Xuanyuan Hong's descendants.
After a moment's thought, Li Fan temporarily stored the painting away.
Having cut off the prying eyes from within the scroll, he first pondered the matter of the Mount Tai Emperor's disappearance.
"It seems that once you master the Dao of Reverse Flow and travel upstream through the River of Time, if you perish at any point along the river, your existence at all other points in time will also vanish."
It seemed a bit difficult to comprehend.
But as Li Fan recalled his own experiences traversing the River of Time, he slowly began to understand.
"Originally, I was just a drop of water in the river, able to only drift with the current."
"But once I gained the ability to travel in reverse, I formed a line along the river by moving upstream."
"This line is my complete self now. In a sense, I have become a life form similar to the River of Time itself."
"However, my main consciousness is currently trapped in this segment of the river, unable to perceive what is happening to the other parts of my body. It's as if my senses have been sealed."
"This is because my understanding of the Dao of Reverse Flow is still rudimentary. If I were to master this Dao, I would be able to leap above the river, and all my experiences within it would become clear to me..."
As Li Fan stood transfixed in the place where the Mount Tai Emperor had vanished, numerous insights flooded his mind.
The Reverse Flow Boat within him, once shattered and broken, began to slowly mend itself.
Although the repair speed was slow, it was a qualitative change compared to its previous state of being completely unable to self-repair.
"Generally speaking, once one has mastered the Dao of Reverse Flow, they cannot be killed by ordinary means."
"What dies is merely a drop of water in the river. As long as the river flows, the drops form a line, and one becomes undying and indestructible."
"Unless the river's current itself assimilates one's consciousness. Or the Dao Annihilation Calamity swallows an entire segment of time. Or, like the Mount Tai Emperor, one willingly gives up their own life."
Only now did Li Fan realize the true extent of the sacrifice the Mount Tai Emperor had made to help him achieve enlightenment.
Indeed, due to excessive reverse travel, the Mount Tai Emperor's body and soul had decayed, leaving only a faint remnant to survive.
But that didn't mean he had no chance of a full recovery.
He didn't even need the intervention of a Mountain and Sea Great Dao like Shou Qiu's. As soon as the section of the River of Time blocked by the Dao Annihilation Calamity was cleared and flowed freely again...
The "waters" from upstream would once again flow down, and the Mount Tai Emperor would instantly be restored to his peak state from a previous time.
While this might seem even more difficult to achieve than being saved by a Mountain and Sea Great Dao, it was not so.
It wasn't the entire River of Time that needed to be reconnected to save him, but only the connection to the previous segment of time.
Since Shou Qiu could cross the Eternal Silent Void Realm, he could have easily carried the Mount Tai Emperor's remnant to a previous segment of time and revived him.
After all, the plan to pass on the embers of the past was already in motion; it would have been a simple detour.
Even if no one was willing to help, the Mount Tai Emperor didn't have to do anything. He only needed to patiently survive and wait.
Wait until the day the River of Time flowed once more.
Taking a long-term view, the fate of the entire Mountain and Sea world had only two possible outcomes.
Either complete fusion with the Mountain and Sea, swallowed by the Dao Annihilation Calamity.
Or the successful self-rescue by the embers of life within the Mountain and Sea.
If it was the former, then the fate of all beings would be the same. Death was just death. If it was the latter, the Mount Tai Emperor would naturally be revived.
"The Mount Tai Emperor must have understood this. Yet, he chose to give up this chance."
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, recalling the enlightened words of the Mount Tai Emperor before he vanished.
"To linger here any longer is meaningless. So today, I shall impart to you all that I have comprehended of the Dao of Reverse Flow!"
"If one day you can go to the Eternal Silent Void Realm in my stead and lend your aid, then my sacrifice today will not have been in vain!"
The Mount Tai Emperor's resolute expression seemed to be right before his eyes.
Li Fan shook his head repeatedly. "Although he saved my life, it's still hard to understand."
"To give up the only, yet incredibly stable, chance at life..."
"In the future, when the river reconnects, perhaps a new Mount Tai Emperor from another time will appear. But the one who experienced the endless cycles of trying to save the world in this timeline... he will never return."
"*This* one showed me the Dao and saved my life. As for the others... that Mount Tai Emperor is not *this* Mount Tai Emperor."
"Perhaps, in all the Mountain and Sea, the only way to restore him is with [Truth]," Li Fan's mind suddenly stirred.
But his comprehension of the True False Transformation was currently insufficient even to fully restore his own peak cultivation.
Let alone creating an Immortal Emperor who had been utterly annihilated from thin air.
Li Fan sighed helplessly and temporarily abandoned the thought.
After solemnly sealing the underground village with an immortal array, Li Fan left the subterranean space and instinctively glanced toward the nearby Fishing Pool.
At this point in time, no Daoist temple had been built around the Fishing Pool.
It was just a solitary pool of water, lying peacefully in the mountains. No one would ever imagine that this seemingly ordinary pool was connected to the nameless realm.
"It might even surpass the nameless realm."
"After all, the Mount Tai Emperor referred to it as the [Mountain and Sea Fishing Ground]."
Even while controlling an immortal body, Li Fan did not approach. He merely observed from a distance.
"If there is a Mountain and Sea Fishing Ground, then the Fishing Pool connects not to a single possibility, but has been built to link the entire Upper Mountain..."
"Truly a magnificent feat. The 'Fishing Immortal' behind this must be, at the very least, a transcendent expert. I just don't know if they can cross the Eternal Silent Void Realm like Shou Qiu can."
But Li Fan suddenly recalled that besides the time the stone slate tried to comprehend the Dao of Fishing and was abruptly sucked away, the Xuantian King also seemed to have vanished into this Fishing Pool.
"Someone with the 'leisurely interest' to fish like this is likely still within this segment of time. They probably haven't reached the level where they can cross the Eternal Silent Void. But even so, they are not someone I can afford to provoke right now."
A trace of apprehension flashed in Li Fan's eyes.
Even when protected by Truth, Li Fan had steered clear of the Fishing Pool and its master. The situation was even more precarious now that he only had a plank from the Reverse Flow Boat for protection.
"No need to rush. Sooner or later, I will have to face this [Fishing Immortal]."
Li Fan suppressed the various emotions in his heart and returned to the Root of Heaven and Earth.
He handed the scroll to his original body.
His true self slowly unrolled the scroll, and in an instant, his eyes met those of the young Xuantian King in the painting.
It was as if the boy had long anticipated someone looking from outside the painting.
Li Fan was not surprised. Without the Mount Tai Emperor inside, he wasn't about to be frightened by a mere painting.
Ignoring the probing gaze of the young Xuanyuan Hong, Li Fan listened carefully to the rustling whispers coming from the scroll.
"Just as I thought. It's identical to the demonic sound I heard before from the Xuanyuan clan's bloodline, like a curse. Only this is much clearer."
"Is the Xuantian King trying to convey something through this method?"
If the True Immortal Scripts inscribed the Dao in characters...
Then this demonic sound depicted the path of the Dao through melody.
Among those who painted the Dao with sound, Li Fan had only seen it done by the Grandmaster in the Primal Possibility.
Other True Immortals mostly followed the path of the Inscription Immortal.
"It seems, perhaps, that this Dao of Mysterious Sound does not originate from the Primal possibility, but from another possibility, where the Xuantian King went after he disappeared."It seems, perhaps, that this Dao of Mysterious Sound does not originate from the Primal possibility, but from another possibility, where the Xuantian King went after he disappeared."
"The Grandmaster was a disciple of the Three Saints. Since the Three Saints exist across many possibilities, it makes sense."
Li Fan attempted to analyze the melody conveyed by the Xuantian King.
When the three Daos had fused, his being had merged with the Mountain and Sea.
Now, comprehending the Great Daos of the Mountain and Sea was far easier than before.
Besides, his aptitude for comprehension had never been weak.
Before long, he had a rough result.
(End of Chapter)
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