Chapter 1583: Words Become Law
"You have this much power without even setting foot in the Mountain and Sea. Give it some time, let you truly test yourself there, and your future will be boundless. But..."
Evil Su Bai's tone shifted, his voice turning cold. "The help of others can be your ship, your oar. But if you truly wish to transcend, you must ultimately rely on yourself!"
"Do you..."
"Have anything that is uniquely yours?"
The icy whisper echoed in Li Fan's ears like a demonic incantation. At the same time, a strange light glinted in Evil Su Bai's eyes.
Li Fan felt his consciousness drawn in against his will.
Their eyes met. In a moment of daze, Li Fan suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar space and time.
The surrounding space was an expanse of pure nothingness. Only Li Fan and Evil Su Bai stood there, facing each other.
"Without all those external advantages, how will you face your enemies?"
"Kid, watch closely. In here, I won't be holding back."
Before his words had even faded, the figure of Su Bai before him split into two, then four, then eight...
In an instant, a virtually infinite number of phantoms manifested, filling the entire void.
The expression on each Su Bai was different. Some looked upon the world with sorrowful compassion, others wore gentle smiles, and some had eyes as calm as still water.
Around them, scenes from countless different possibilities swirled into view.
In some, the Immortal World still existed, and Su Bai was the Grand Chancellor of the Immortal Domain. In others, Su Bai was merely a mortal, yet he held all living beings in his heart and earned the reverence of millions. But all these manifested versions of Su Bai were, without a doubt, kind-hearted souls.
Only the black-robed Evil Su Bai, surrounded by the infinite phantoms, stood apart. Like the moon surrounded by a sea of stars, he stood proudly at the center.
Under the will of the central Evil Su Bai, the scenes of different possibilities surrounding the countless phantoms slowly began to merge and connect.
Like a hundred rivers converging into a sea, like earth and stone piling up to form a mountain.
In a matter of moments, Li Fan found himself encircled by a mountain and a sea!
The momentum of the mountain, the might of the sea. It was almost indistinguishable from the Infinite Sea and the Upper Mountain that Li Fan had witnessed in person!
"Or rather," he mused, "it's almost indistinguishable from the *image* of the Mountain and Sea that I can perceive, not the real thing."
"If he could devour all versions of himself across every possibility and achieve a state of true unity, that 'almost' could probably be dropped."
"To manifest the form of the Mountain and Sea with the power of a single person... Is this the true transcendent realm?"
Faced with the Mountain and Sea, Li Fan's heart remained perfectly calm.
Though Evil Su Bai's display was grand, he felt not a shred of fear.
First, this was merely a mindscape. It was a clash of wills, where victory, defeat, life, or death would have no real impact on reality. His bluff had, to some extent, served its purpose as a deterrent.
And second...
Li Fan had crossed swords with Evil Su Bai before.
The process had been a bit convoluted, but the final outcome was him instantly killing Evil Su Bai.
It had happened within the eternal remnant thought left behind by the Xuanhuang Realm's Su Bai.
"Even if the power Evil Su Bai is displaying here is on a completely different level than what was in that eternal remnant thought, to me, there's no fundamental difference."
The roar of the mountain and the crash of the sea, like a furious gale and colossal waves, pressed in on him inch by inch. It seemed Evil Su Bai was doing this deliberately, intending to crush Li Fan's will with slowly mounting pressure.
But Li Fan remained undaunted, laughing freely amidst the storm of the Mountain and Sea. "Senior, have you ever heard of a power where 'Words Become Law'?"
"This junior is untalented; most of my strength comes from my divine abilities!"
His smile vanished. Li Fan enunciated each word, his voice sharp and severe. "A storm gathers? Then let the 'Rain Cease and the Wind Still'!"
His clear voice spread throughout the Mountain and Sea manifestation.
It was as if an invisible hand had gently pressed down upon the landscape. The fierce, whistling gale was instantly suppressed, reduced to a near-inaudible whisper.
Though a few ripples still disturbed the Mountain and Sea, they were no longer a threat.
Seeing this, shock flickered across the faces of every Su Bai.
Before they could react, they heard Li Fan speak again. "This realm of Mountain and Sea is beautiful, but it's a bit of an eyesore. Be gone!"
In the mindscape, the vast Mountain and Sea fell still for a moment.
And then...
The mountain crumbled, and the sea vanished.
Along with them, the countless phantoms of Su Bai who had manifested the great image all dissipated like smoke!
CRACK!
The mindscape shattered in an instant, and both Li Fan and Evil Su Bai returned to reality.
Though Evil Su Bai's face remained calm, a tempest was raging within his heart.
"What was that just now?"
"My manifestation of the Mountain and Sea... it just dissipated, without any ability to resist? Even in a mindscape, a clash of wills, that shouldn't..." Evil Su Bai was stunned into silence.
He had sparred with Shou Qiu and the Three Saints before.
Even before those saints who could traverse the Eternal Silent Void Realm, he, Su Bai, had never been so helpless.
"But that defeat was real. Doesn't this mean that, in theory, this kid's potential ceiling is even higher than Shou Qiu and the Three Saints?"
"'Words Become Law'? Such a divine ability exists within the Mountain and Sea? One that can even influence the Mountain and Sea itself?"
"This..." Evil Su Bai was staggered by his own thoughts.
It was unbelievable, but upon careful reflection, it provided a reasonable explanation for everything he had witnessed in this so-called Xuanhuang Immortal Realm.
"No wonder those old geezers were so generous." Evil Su Bai suddenly understood.
While Evil Su Bai's mind reeled, Li Fan's heart was also heavy.
"The gap in our power is still too great. [Truth] is dormant right now. Even in the mindscape, it took two steps of 'Truth to Lies' to eliminate his manifestation."
Naturally, Li Fan possessed no such divine ability as "Words Become Law."
The method he used to defeat Evil Su Bai was exactly the same as the one he'd used in the eternal remnant thought. It was the True-False Transformation.
Through his understanding of Evil Su Bai from the eternal remnant thought, and the slight fluctuation of the True-False Transformation he had released at the start of their mental clash, Li Fan was certain that Evil Su Bai was unaware of its existence.
Faced with something beyond his comprehension, even if Li Fan used it right in front of him, he naturally wouldn't be able to identify what divine ability it was.
And the power to dissipate the manifested Mountain and Sea in a single breath did indeed fit the description of 'Words Become Law'.
"First, we're inside the Xuanhuang Immortal Realm. Second, I already have a decent understanding of Evil Su Bai. That's why I dared to use the True-False Transformation."
"I can't be so reckless in front of other transcendent experts."
With their minds racing, the two stood in a stalemate for a moment.
In the end, it was Su Bai who broke the silence with a cold, wicked laugh.
"Not bad. You've, I suppose, barely passed the test."
"Consider yourself qualified to officially set foot in the Mountain and Sea."
"Since that's the case, I'll leave this body of mine in your care for now. I'll come to collect it when we formally meet again in the Mountain and Sea," Evil Su Bai declared, his gaze falling on the Xuanhuang Su Bai, who was standing with the Dharma Spreader and feeling a sudden, inexplicable unease.
With that, his figure began to fade, as if he were about to depart.
"Senior, wait," Li Fan called out, stopping him.
"Hm?" Evil Su Bai turned to Li Fan, his expression indifferent.
"Senior, please accept this."
As he spoke, Li Fan reached out, drew the heavenly pillar that the Hunger Immortal had become toward him, and offered it over.
Evil Su Bai was slightly taken aback.
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