Chapter 1603: The Mountain Sea Sacrificer's Plea for Survival
Chapter 1603: The Mountain Sea Sacrificer's Plea for Survival
It was like a desperate cry for help, a plea from a dying creature that had suddenly found one of its own kind.
A faint tremor emanated from the fragment, swelling into a sound like the roar of mountains and the crash of a tsunami.
Li Fan knew this was a peculiar kind of "language." It was a language the fragment had created by mimicking the sounds of the Mountain and Sea's communication it had once glimpsed.
The voice of the Mountain and Sea!
In his current state, Li Fan naturally couldn't grasp its meaning, but that didn't stop him from trying to analyze its inner significance and perform a degree of "translation."
His method involved repeatedly infusing and retracting his power, recording the changes in the fragment's vibrations. He then experimented with various permutations and combinations.
Just as yin and yang can give rise to all things in heaven and earth.
This simple act of giving and taking was enough to facilitate communication between two beings from different eras of the Mountain and Sea.
"What era is this? Has the dynasty fallen?"
Those few simple words had cost Li Fan over thirty years.
Fortunately, as the saying goes, the beginning is always the hardest. Their subsequent exchanges flowed much more smoothly.
"This is the end of the Mountain and Sea. The world has weathered countless calamities. The dynasty has long since perished, faded from the memory of the masses. I know not what day this is."
After this sentence was transmitted, the fragment seemed to freeze over, falling instantly silent. It almost reverted to its previous transparent, invisible state.
It seemed to be lost in this unacceptable reality, remaining unresponsive for a long time.
Li Fan didn't press it, nor did he infuse it with the power of longevity again. He simply waited in silence.
The fragment's silence lasted for a full three years.
It appeared this ancient being's perception of time was different from that of the current inhabitants of the Mountain and Sea.
"Who might you be? I thank you for this rebirth, for raising me from the brink of death."
What came next was, surprisingly, a message of gratitude.
Li Fan was inwardly speechless, but he maintained a flawless composure, replying with grave solemnity: "A humble immortal, unworthy of mention. By heaven's grace, I encountered the fortune of longevity. Aiding you was a simple matter, not worth speaking of."
Then, without giving the other a chance to respond, he immediately seized control of the conversation and pressed on: "And who might you be? From what era do you hail? How could you survive countless calamities to exist to this day?"
The ancient being seemed to have no intention of hiding anything from its savior.
It slowly recounted its past: "I am a Mountain Sea Sacrificer. I served the sovereign to commune with the unseen and sought the heavenly path for the myriad people. Yet, I witnessed an age of great upheaval, an age where mountains fell and valleys rose, and I was powerless to save it. I clung to a life that whitened my temples, bearing guilt and sorrow. This remnant of a body dares not claim to be special; it is but decaying grass and a firefly's fleeting light..."
From its words, Li Fan caught a faint glimpse of an ancient civilization that had once existed within the Mountain and Sea.
It was a vast dynasty that called itself the [Yì]. Born from the Infinite Sea, it evolved and flourished to an extreme degree. Its sovereign, and even its subjects, possessed power nearly equivalent to the "Immortals" of the present. The most powerful entities within the dynasty, responsible for safeguarding its future and security, were a group of beings known as the [Mountain Sea Sacrificers].
The Mountain Sea Sacrificers of the dynasty were the first to recognize the true state of the Mountain and Sea they inhabited and to attempt to harness its power for their own use. It was with their help that the Yì Dynasty was able to establish a boundless and immense dominion across the vast Mountain and Sea.
The Mountain Sea Sacrificers prayed day and night, communing with the unseen and the divine, able to glimpse the communication of the Mountain and Sea with their mortal forms.
The more ancient the Sacrificer, the longer they spent immersed in the communication of the Mountain and Sea. Their bodies seemed to undergo a transformation, becoming beings that were closer to the Mountain and Sea itself.
A single being, no matter how powerful, could not endure such a transformation for long. To ensure the dynasty's eternal continuation, generations of Mountain Sea Sacrificers decided to merge all their bodies and consciousness into a single, collective entity.
This was their way of resisting the transformation imposed by the Mountain and Sea.
The erosion from the Mountain and Sea continued, but with a constant stream of new priests joining from all corners of the dynasty, the Mountain Sea Sacrificers were able to persist, stable and serene, according to their plan.
But one day, a change no one could have anticipated suddenly occurred within the Mountain and Sea.
"The day came when the Mountains and Seas began to merge. Our spiritual platforms were assailed, and we began to lose our true selves. Some fell into abysses of madness, others initiated conflicts amongst ourselves, like the last ants in a boiling cauldron devouring their own kin..."
"All the Sacrificers perished, and I alone survived!"
Li Fan could feel the profound sorrow within this ancient being.
To close the distance between them, Li Fan also displayed a similar profound grief. He showed the Mountain Sea Sacrificer the image of his own homeland, the Primal Possibility, being destroyed by a single Dao.
This shared experience, coupled with the fact that Li Fan had saved its life, indeed made it trust him even more.
"The calamity that befell your people is a thousand times worse than ours. How tragic..."
Li Fan nodded grimly. "The Mountain and Sea are overturned; there is no safe harbor. We could only build a solitary boat to drift, suspended above the Mountain and Sea."
The Mountain Sea Sacrificer replied: "That is no long-term solution, merely a way to prolong a desperate existence."
A somber expression crossed Li Fan's face. "We are well aware of this, but the merging of the Mountain and Sea... we are powerless to stop it. Senior, do you have any sound advice to offer me?"
This time, the Mountain Sea Sacrificer fell into a silence longer than all its previous ones combined.
Yet, the longer it remained silent, the more expectant Li Fan became.
Because Li Fan had a faint feeling that the Sacrificer was not silent out of refusal, but was instead contemplating a truly viable strategy!
Perhaps it wished to remedy the regret of failing to save its dynasty back when it was a Mountain Sea Sacrificer, to find that redemption in the current age.
"I have a method, one that was devised by all the Sacrificers of the Mountain and Sea in a bygone era..."
"Please, Senior, speak freely," Li Fan said directly, afraid it might have reservations.
And as the Mountain Sea Sacrificer's tremors, like the ancient communications of the Mountain and Sea, continued to resonate, Li Fan's eyes gradually lit up.
He had to admit, the Mountain Sea Sacrificers were truly worthy of their reputation as the collective of the most powerful beings in that ancient dynasty of the Mountain and Sea.
This plan for salvation was in no way inferior to the current civilization's Other Shore project—if anything, it was superior!
"The merging of the Mountain and Sea is an unstoppable, irreversible trend. Not even a power that encompasses the Mountain and Sea itself can halt it. This was the conclusion the Mountain Sea Sacrificers reached after observing the communications of the Mountain and Sea day and night."
"This merger is destined to bring with it endless annihilation. But this annihilation is only from the perspective of the beings within the Mountain and Sea, and for the Mountain and Sea itself."
"In reality, the merging of the Mountain and Sea is not a true disappearance. It is a transition to another, higher form of energy. This energy form is beyond the comprehension of the beings born within the Mountain and Sea, so from their perspective, the merger is akin to annihilation. An endless void."
"The plan proposed by the Mountain Sea Sacrificers was, in essence, the same as the research on Ink Death in the Rotten Axe Dojo. Both were attempts to find a way to survive within the Dao Annihilation."
"However, what this ancient civilization plotted was far more extreme."
"The [Yì] was born from the Infinite Sea and aspired towards the Upper Mountain. From being unable to adapt to the Upper Mountain at first, they eventually succeeded in surviving and spreading throughout the Mountain and Sea. The Mountain Sea Sacrificers of the Yì Dynasty had immense faith in the adaptability of their sovereign and subjects. Thus, their plan was just as insane: to cross the mountains and seas, to venture beyond the Mountain and Sea itself!"
"It bears some resemblance to the Heavenly Net Emperor's plan."
"I don't know what the Heavenly Net Emperor relied on back then to support his plan of elevating the Immortal Realm and transcending the Mountain and Sea. But the plan of these Mountain Sea Sacrificers was no mere castle in the air..."
A strange look flickered in Li Fan's eyes.
In their many years of sacrificial observation, the Mountain Sea Sacrificers, from the perspective of the Mountain and Sea, had occasionally caught glimpses of a presence that was suspected to be the result of the Mountain and Sea's fusion!
At first, they didn't understand. They weren't clear on what they were seeing. They simply followed protocol, strictly recording and sealing away their findings.
It wasn't until later, when the calamity of the merging Mountain and Sea began and the dynasty started to crumble, that they remembered what they had once recorded.
"The voice of the Mountain and Sea roared, a great and unusual disturbance."
"It seemed to carry a sense of panic."
This was how the records of the Mountain Sea Sacrificers described the scene they witnessed at the time.
In stark contrast to the anomaly of the Mountain and Sea was a "gaze" that swept across it.
It seemed to come from beyond the heavens, instantly pervading the Mountain and Sea and instilling in it a primal fear.
To describe it with the word "gaze" seems profoundly mysterious.
But that was exactly what it was.
Now, so many years later, when the Mountain Sea Sacrificer, reduced to a mere fragment, described the scene from that year to Li Fan...
...Li Fan, too, truly felt a sense of being watched.
One could only imagine the terrifying authority a being that could frighten the Mountain and Sea itself would hold over the creatures within it.
It was as if he were a mortal seeing the Hunger Immortal for the first time; Li Fan's mind was instantly struck by a violent impact.
Fortunately, with the Sacrificer's prior warning, and since Li Fan was no longer the mortal he once was—his will, tempered by countless experiences, was far beyond ordinary—
he forcibly suppressed the terror in his heart.
He followed the source of this feeling of being "watched" and looked up.
As if high above the Mountain and Sea, he saw a lone star hanging in the void, illuminating the Mountain and Sea, indifferent to all living things!
"It really is *It*."
"The final destination after the merging of the Mountain and Sea, the being that even the Mountain and Sea fears, the one that ensures 'the Mountain and Sea will never be seen again'."
"The so-called [Star]."
Only today did Li Fan realize that the various elements in the Mountain and Sea parable left by Sun Piao Miao were not mere metaphors.
They were the sights and knowledge that would naturally surface after truly witnessing the lingering light and shadows of the past.
The moment he saw the [Star], for some unknown reason, all the fear in Li Fan's heart vanished completely.
In its place came a sense of release, as if a great burden had been lifted.
It was as if, for the beings of the Mountain and Sea, perishing in the Dao Annihilation was nothing to be feared. It was simply their destiny.
Li Fan's heart was a sea of tranquility. In the face of this preordained ending, all his desires completely subsided.
Without desire, his heart held no motivation.
His very symbol as a "living being" began to rapidly fade. Though his life force did not diminish, Li Fan gradually became like a living stone, his reactions to the outside world growing increasingly faint.
"My friend, awaken!"
Just as Li Fan was about to sink into oblivion and lose his independent consciousness, a thunderous roar from the Mountain Sea Sacrificer jolted him awake.
The vision of the Star shattered with a crash. The Mountain and Sea he had seen was gone.
Li Fan returned from the illusion to reality!
"I was almost lost. I am fortunate to have been saved by you, Senior. I am moved to tears with gratitude, beyond what words can express!" Li Fan exclaimed.
A faint tremor of response came from the Mountain Sea Sacrificer.
In truth, since Li Fan had long known of the [Star]'s existence from the Mountain and Sea parable, how could he have been completely unprepared? With his current mental fortitude, there was no way he would have been enthralled by the Star's gaze without any resistance at all.
He had intentionally allowed himself to sink into that state, letting the Mountain Sea Sacrificer beside him intervene and save him. He did this to deepen the bond between them.
Li Fan understood the hearts of people; he was a master of such arts.
And it had never failed him.
Sure enough, by saving each other, the trust between them grew much stronger.
Thus, in their subsequent, continuous communication, Li Fan obtained more details about the Yì Dynasty's world-saving plan.
Although the Mountain Sea Sacrificers had captured a few wisps of the Star's gaze, it was obviously unrealistic to think they could transcend the Mountain and Sea with that alone.
Their plan was to use the Star's gaze as a kindling, igniting it and spreading it among the subjects of the dynasty.
Those who see the Star, the Star shall see.
The gaze of an ant can hardly behold the true face of the Star.
Yet, the unceasing gaze of billions of ants might eventually earn the Star's true attention.
And the moment the high-hanging Star cast its gaze upon the ants of the Mountain and Sea—that would be the perfect opportunity for the Mountain Sea Sacrificers to lead the Yì Dynasty in transcending the Mountain and Sea!
"This plan of the Mountain Sea Sacrificers..."
"It does have a certain degree of feasibility."
Li Fan concluded after a careful assessment.
"However, it requires the vast territory of the Yì Dynasty as its foundation."
"First, given the insignificance of the beings within the Mountain and Sea, the cost of attracting the Star's attention would surely be terrifying. Moreover, maintaining that intensity for a mere moment would be useless."
"It would require an accumulation over an unimaginably long time, over years and eons..."
A rough calculation was enough to make Li Fan's scalp tingle at the sheer scale of the numbers involved.
Even with Li Fan's current strength, the moment he received the Star's gaze, all his desires nearly vanished, and he almost turned to stone. To say nothing of other, weaker beings.
The price of gazing at the Star, though not death, was no different from it.
"Only a vast, ancient dynasty that spanned the Mountain and Sea would have the audacity to carry out such a plan."
"But in reality..."
"...it's nothing more than a gamble."
Li Fan shook his head inwardly.
In the Mountain and Sea, no being had ever known the true nature of that [Star].
Even if they truly did attract the Star's gaze, what would happen next, whether they could use it to transcend the Mountain and Sea, was still an unknown.
"The reason the Mountain Sea Sacrificers of the Yì Dynasty had such confidence was because of an innate characteristic they possessed as ancient beings of the Mountain and Sea."
"Like how certain schools of fish can always navigate in a boundless ocean, they relied on this ability to forge a unified dynasty across the vast Mountain and Sea and its endless possibilities."
"Such an ability is truly enviable."
To be specific, the sacred beings of the current mortal world are incapable of perceiving their other selves across different possibilities.
Only those who have reached a transcendent state, like Evil Su Bai or the Black Heaven Physician, can observe their other selves.
But the people of [Yì], from the moment they were born, could simultaneously perceive countless versions of themselves existing at the same time.
In any given moment, countless versions of themselves died, and just as many were born.
They had long grown accustomed to such a life.
And under the guidance of a unified will, they could assign an infinite number of themselves to carry out any single task together.
Their efficiency was unimaginably high.
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