Chapter 1572: The Eternal Path of Dao Transformation
Chapter 1572: The Eternal Path of Dao Transformation
Li Fan found it increasingly inconceivable.
After all, Ink Death was the "answer" upon which the denizens of the Immortal Realm had pinned their hopes, their ultimate weapon against the great calamity of the Mountain and Sea's convergence. Since Li Fan had serendipitously recreated the power of the Ink Death Immortal Soul, it had proven almost universally effective, invincible in every confrontation.
Yet now, this skeleton hidden within the Merchant Immortal Boat could completely ignore the assault of Ink Death!
If it had merely resisted Ink Death in a stalemate, Li Fan could have grudgingly accepted it. But the current situation was an almost one-sided counter, a reality he simply couldn't wrap his head around.
"Either this Dao exists outside the mortal world, transcending the Mountain and Sea itself," he murmured.
"Or..."
The dark clouds of Ink Death surged like a pack of furious hounds, determined to devour the immortal skeleton. Their actions, however, were destined to be futile.
The skeleton was submerged by the dark clouds and vanished, only to quietly reappear a moment later.
Li Fan temporarily suppressed the doubts churning within him and continued to observe with patience.
The Dao contained within this skeleton was of an exceptionally high order, but it absolutely could not transcend the Mountain and Sea.
After countless cycles of cultivation, Li Fan was confident he still possessed that much discernment.
So why was it immune to the corrosion of Ink Death?
Watching the cyclical scenes unfold before him, Li Fan became lost in thought, unaware of how much time had passed. Suddenly, a realization dawned.
He stared at the churning sea of ink before him and mused, "The only things Ink Death cannot devour, aside from that which is beyond the scope of its power..."
"...are itself."
"Could it be...?"
Li Fan's thoughts drifted back to his first meeting with the Tiandu Grandmaster.
Through the countless phantoms dwelling within the Grandmaster, Li Fan had come to understand the two cornerstones of Ink Death: Tai Yi and Eternal.
It was the interweaving of these two divine forces—one of change and one of permanence—that had forged a power capable of contending with the convergence of the Mountain and Sea.
"Back then, I tried to suppress the Grandmaster with Ink Death, but he dispelled it with two simple phrases."
"'I beseech Master to disperse. I beseech Martial Uncle to disperse.'"
"Tai Yi was the master of Wuji, and Eternal was Wuji's martial uncle."
"The term for an uncle implies seniority. Although Eternal was not one of the Three Saints, to be addressed as 'Martial Uncle' by Wuji meant his power and status could not have been low."
"The Great Dao contained within this skeleton is not [Tai Yi]."
In a flash of a thousand thoughts, Li Fan recalled the image of the Merchant Immortal Boat, utterly destroyed, being restored in an instant under the skeleton's hollow gaze.
He finally had his answer.
"The Eternal Dao..."
Before he identified it, no amount of observation could reveal its true nature. But once he recognized its origin, it was as if layers of disguise had been stripped away from the skeleton.
It was no longer a skeleton before his eyes.
Instead, its original form manifested: a middle-aged man with a smiling, round face and a kind, benevolent expression!
However, he appeared to be in a deep slumber, his eyes tightly shut, seemingly indifferent to the outside world.
"I once came into contact with and gained some insight into the Daos of [Tai Yi] and [Eternal] through the Grandmaster. But that was merely my perception of them. Just as I mistook Tai Yi for the Dao of Illusory Creation, my understanding of [Eternal] was also flawed. That's why I failed to recognize it when it was right in front of me."
Li Fan gazed at the round-faced, middle-aged man, and in a trance, it was as if he was seeing an existence that had remained unchanged since the dawn of time. The man sat there quietly, a point around which time and space seemed to coalesce. While the ages flowed around him, he remained utterly unaltered.
The Eternal Dao was undoubtedly one of the supreme Daos of the primordial era. Just by looking at it, countless insights seemed to flood Li Fan's mind.
Li Fan's aptitude for comprehension was already exceptional, and now, with the aid of the Myriad Phenomena Dao Net and the Supreme Dao Scripture, he held an innate advantage in understanding all the Daos of the primordial era.
Yet, as he observed the [Eternal] Dao, even though countless insights arose every moment, they were as fragile as bubbles, popping and vanishing after a brief existence, leaving no trace behind.
No matter how hard Li Fan tried, the result was the same.
The faint smile on the round-faced man's face seemed to be a silent reminder to Li Fan: the Dao of the Eternal belonged, and would always belong, to him alone.
Finally understanding, Li Fan, not one to press a lost cause, decisively halted his attempts at comprehension.
With a wave of his hand, he recalled Ink Death, but he did not retreat from this space.
After some observation, he became even more certain of his earlier judgment.
"Although the Eternal is still alive, his state is... peculiar."
Li Fan squinted, continuing his observation for a long while before he began to grasp the source of this strangeness.
"The Eternal Dao still exists. But the True Immortal who attained this Dao..."
"His consciousness seems to have dissipated. His recent actions were driven by mere instinct."
"What's before me is less the [Eternal True Immortal] and more the [Eternal Dao] itself. However, it's different from the original Eternal Dao; this is a version that has been transformed by, or rather, fused with, the True Immortal who mastered it."
Although he couldn't yet fully grasp the reason for this bizarre scene, Li Fan had a few theories.
"I'm afraid it's inextricably linked to the nature of [Eternity] itself."
"If one's own consciousness fluctuates, it would likely be impossible to maintain a state of true eternity. Only by completely merging one's will into the pure Dao can the premise of eternal existence be established. In some cultivation worlds, the highest realm for a cultivator is not ascension, but becoming one with the world's Heavenly Dao."
"This alternative form of 'Dao Integration,' while allowing a cultivator to transcend themselves and become as powerful as the world, erases their individual will, turning them into a machine that maintains the Heavenly Dao's operation."
"The Eternal's current situation is somewhat similar to this kind of Dao Integration."
He observed carefully for a while longer. After several experiments, Li Fan was able to tentatively verify his judgment.
"It has no independent aggression, but it constantly maintains the characteristics of its own Dao."
"It also responds accordingly to external stimuli. There's no mistaking it."
And so Li Fan, who had been startled by the sudden appearance of the Eternal Dao, felt his mind begin to race with possibilities once more.
In a sense, the [Eternal] before him was a tangible manifestation of Dao principles. Moreover, these principles were highly independent, powerful, and could not be comprehended by others.
"But they can be triggered and used." Recalling the scene where the Eternal had restored the destroyed Merchant Immortal Boat, Li Fan's eyes lit up.
"With this being around, it's like having a miniature [Truth] for protection. No wonder the Merchant Immortal Boat was able to survive the great calamity of the Immortal Realm's destruction and has always managed to stay one step ahead of everyone else, escaping the High Wall and the primordial era. It's because they had the Eternal as their ultimate safety net that they had the confidence to undertake all sorts of seemingly perilous and irrational experiments."
Although Li Fan now had designs on the Eternal Dao, successfully triggering its power like the Merchant Immortal Boat had was no easy task.
The Merchant Immortal Boat had possessed the Eternal for who knows how many years, and all they could manage was to make it open its eyes and restore the boat.
Li Fan was a newcomer, and because of the Eternal's nature, he couldn't comprehend it. To reach the Merchant Immortal Boat's level of application in a short time seemed like a fool's dream.
He tried numerous methods, but none had any real effect.
So, Li Fan changed his approach.
The Eternal immortal skeleton existed in serene isolation, a self-contained entity that was indestructible and inextinguishable.
However, since the Merchant Immortal Boat could use the Eternal's power to restore the destroyed vessel, it meant there had to be some kind of connection between the space below and the Eternal skeleton before him.
"If I can't study it myself, I'll learn by reverse-engineering their method."
While he couldn't comprehend the Eternal Dao, Li Fan was confident he could decipher the mysterious connection forged by the Merchant Immortal Boat.
With a flicker of his thought, the Ink Death-driven Myriad Phenomena Dao Net manifested once more. This time, however, its target was not the Eternal skeleton.
It was everything else in this space.
The tide of ink surged, sweeping over every inch to ensure nothing was missed.
Like panning for gold, as the dark clouds rolled by, everything hidden within this space was revealed.
And so, Li Fan saw the Merchant Immortal Boat's method clearly.
What it used to forcibly create a link with the "Dao-ified" Eternal, to draw the Eternal skeleton's gaze toward the Merchant Immortal Boat's space...
was a meditation cushion!
The cushion looked utterly ordinary, as if woven from purple bamboo.
"Huh? This cushion... it looks familiar."
After a moment of stunned silence, Li Fan quickly found its origin in his memories.
It was the very same meditation cushion that [Saint Tai Yi] sat upon in the images from the Tiandu Grandmaster!
Compared to how it appeared in the Grandmaster's memories, this cushion seemed to have suffered many calamities; it was now worn and old. Yet, its unique spiritual rhythm had not changed.
The longer Li Fan stared, the more a daze came over him, as if he could see the faint silhouette of [Saint Tai Yi] seated upon the cushion!
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