Chapter 1608: A Warning from Truth
Chapter 1608: A Warning from Truth
Committing suicide was out of the question.
This simulation was unlike any other. All signs indicated that dying within this 'simulation' would mean true and final death, the complete annihilation of his soul.
Though he couldn't find a way out for the moment, the despair and anxiety that had plagued Li Fan before were gone.
"Since this is a simulation, it means things haven’t reached an irreversible point. As long as I can return to reality, [Truth] will return to me, and all my troubles will be solved."
At this moment, having lost [Truth], Li Fan yearned more than ever before to reclaim the secret treasure that could defy heaven and alter fate.
Having experienced this ordeal, some of Li Fan’s thoughts had also quietly, unknowingly, begun to change.
"As the saying goes, a summer insect cannot comprehend ice. A person cannot imagine things beyond their own cognition. Even though I tried my best to reasonably estimate the power of the Saints of the Other Shore, when I truly stood before them, I didn't have even a shred of strength to resist."
Recalling his encounter within the halo of the Nine Saints, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a lingering fear, even knowing he was in a simulation.
"Until I find a way to deal with the Saints, going to the Other Shore is a certain death sentence."
If someone had warned Li Fan like this before he arrived at the Other Shore, he would have scoffed at them. Even if the warning had come from [Truth], he would have, at most, taken it very seriously.
He would have felt that after making "sufficient" preparations, he would likely still have embarked on the journey. Just like the Li Fan in this simulation.
After all, before facing the Saints this time, having scattered the seeds of his true spirit throughout the Mountain and Sea, Li Fan had also felt his preparations were exceptionally sound.
"The gap between a Saint and a Transcendent cultivator is simply, unbelievably vast. Especially on the Other Shore, where all Nine Saints were gathered."
"In the past, as a mortal, I could still struggle against a True Immortal, activating [Truth] at critical moments to turn the tide."
"But now, before the Nine Saints, there was no room for resistance at all."
Li Fan replayed the moment he met the Saints, the instant his body and soul were shattered into countless fragments. He went over it again and again, but he couldn't devise any way to break the deadlock.
"The power of the Saints is beyond the scope of my current understanding."
"The figures of the Nine Saints hang high above the Mountain and Sea, like the mysterious [Star] from the fables. If I’m not mistaken, the power of a Saint has likely reached a level on par with the Mountain and Sea itself. With the Nine Saints united, they can, to some extent, even surpass it. And this is just my speculation based on their performance that day. Their true strength is nearly impossible to fathom."
"And I... I still need an immortal boat just to traverse the Mountain and Sea..." Li Fan shook his head slightly.
He now thoroughly understood the immense gap between himself and the Saints of the Other Shore.
"Faced with such a disparity, any schemes, threats, or divine arts... they’re all just a joke. Even [Truth] was useless."
Suddenly, Li Fan seemed to understand the reason for this simulation’s abnormality.
"Could it be... a warning from [Truth]?"
"At the end of my last life, a moment of carelessness on my part triggered the tribulation of three merging Daos. Though I was lucky to survive, I fear it caused [Truth] to suffer damage."
"[Truth] knows my temperament well. It could probably even deduce what I would experience upon reaching the Other Shore. Faced with the power of the Saints, once danger strikes, it would be unable to save me. It might even be subdued by the Saints itself. So, it used this method to make me understand completely..."
Realizing this, a strange feeling welled up in Li Fan’s heart.
[Truth], the seemingly omnipotent treasure that had accompanied him throughout his growth, could no longer protect him.
From now on, he would have to find a way to pass the trial of meeting the Saints on his own.
"Or... I could hide within the Mountain and Sea for the rest of my life and never enter the Other Shore."
The thought had barely formed before Li Fan extinguished it.
To possess [Truth] yet act as a coward hiding in its shell forever—that was never an option for Li Fan.
"I made it from the Immortal Severing Land of the Great Xuan to where I am today, step by step. I can surely find a way to stand against the Saints!"
The confidence that had been crushed by the Nine Saints of the Other Shore slowly began to rebuild within Li Fan’s heart.
"The Other Shore is a creation of the Saints. Since I can’t find a way to exit this simulation for now, I might as well study this place. Perhaps I can uncover some clues from the Saints’ handiwork."
Li Fan collected himself, and a hundred years after arriving at the Other Shore, he began to wander through it for the first time.
The region he was currently in was called the [Myriad Phenomena Heaven].
It was a place where many Transcendent experts of the Other Shore resided.
Within the Myriad Phenomena Heaven, a single thought could manifest an entire world from one’s mind. There was no need to expend one's own energy; it all relied on the Heaven's innate power of evolution. The Myriad Phenomena Heaven seemed endless, and the worlds created by the Transcendent experts were like stars, scattered sparsely throughout its expanse.
However, Li Fan could sense that only a minority of these star-like worlds were actually presided over by a Transcendent expert.
"The Myriad Phenomena Heaven is mostly empty. The majority of the Transcendent beings are either in the Mountain and Sea, pursuing the path to Sainthood, or they are in other regions of the Other Shore."
Li Fan came to this conclusion after a period of observation.
Choosing not to expend energy manifesting a world of his own, Li Fan focused his mind and summoned a guiding rainbow of light, preparing to visit the other regions of the Other Shore.
Within the Myriad Phenomena Heaven, a stream of purple qi appeared from nowhere, forming a bridge to guide him.
It came and went in utter silence.
If Li Fan hadn't been constantly and vigilantly observing, he would have barely noticed its movement.
"Perhaps on that day, when I first saw the guiding rainbow, I should have realized just how powerful the Saints were."
Li Fan sighed inwardly.
If they could use so-called 'Mountain and Sea Compatibles' to build their transportation routes, how could the true creators of the Other Shore possibly be weak?
His next destination was the [Eternal Heaven Steps], which he intended to investigate.
Just before departing, a thought suddenly crossed Li Fan’s mind, and he sought out Xiao Wangsheng first.
Though a hundred years had passed since they last met, Xiao Wangsheng looked exactly the same as when he had left the halo of the Nine Saints.
It seemed the blow he had suffered was even greater than Li Fan’s loss of [Truth]; he had yet to recover from his despondency.
"Brother Xiao, there’s no obstacle that can’t be overcome. What has brought you to this state?" Li Fan tried to console him patiently.
After all, Li Fan was Xiao Wangsheng’s savior, and the two had once spoken at length for an immensely long time.
After a long silence, Xiao Wangsheng finally spoke with bitterness in his voice. "The Mountain Sea Sacrificers of the dynasty all once believed that by using the gaze of the Star, we could transcend the Mountain and Sea. But on that day, when I truly met the Star’s gaze through the power of the Saints..."
"I discovered that we were utterly and completely wrong!"
A trace of irrepressible terror surfaced on Xiao Wangsheng’s face.
He shared his experience from that day within the halo of the Nine Saints with Li Fan.
In a trance, it was as if he had returned to that deep, dark space. Beyond the ring of light stood nine figures.
The pain of having [Truth] torn away seemed to strike him anew. Li Fan shivered instinctively.
Fortunately, it was just a stress reaction.
This time, he was an observer, watching the scene unfold.
The Nine Saints of the Other Shore already hung high above the Mountain and Sea.
But as the Nine Saints pointed in unison, Xiao Wangsheng, within the halo, seemed to be pulled along. He slowly raised his head.
And so, he was able to see what lay even higher.
A lone star hung suspended, like the eye of a god, gazing down indifferently upon all living beings in the Mountain and Sea!
As his gaze met the Star’s, Xiao Wangsheng seemed to witness once more the annihilation of his former dynasty, and even the collapse of the Mountain and Sea itself!
Even under the protection of the Saints, Xiao Wangsheng’s newly restored body began to decay.
Without any warning, small holes began to appear on his body, as if he were being eroded by the Dao Annihilation.
Terrified, Xiao Wangsheng struggled like a drowning man, desperate to look away from the Star’s gaze.
But his eyes seemed to be held fast, completely unable to move.
The surface of his body turned a strange, purplish-black.
The Dao Annihilation holes on Xiao Wangsheng’s body multiplied.
He was about to dissipate completely within the Mountain and Sea.
Just then, the halo of the Nine Saints erupted with a dazzling light, flooding Xiao Wangsheng’s vision and cutting him off from the lone [Star] suspended above.
Only then was Xiao Wangsheng able to avert his gaze.
Even though meeting the Star’s gaze was what he had so desperately sought.
"The endless changes of the Mountain and Sea are but a fleeting moment in the eye of the [Star]."
"To attempt to glimpse the mysteries of the Star with our perception of time is no different from suicide."
As the Saints spoke their faint words, Xiao Wangsheng’s injuries were completely healed.
The figures of the Nine Saints dimmed, but he could not escape the memory of meeting the Star’s gaze.
He had languished for a hundred years.
And it was plain to see that he would continue to languish.
"We were wrong, my friend. All our ideas were wrong."
"An ant trying to shake a great tree. How laughable and ignorant of our own limitations!"
"Laughably ignorant!"
Xiao Wangsheng refused Li Fan’s suggestion to travel the Other Shore together.
Instead, he remained in the Myriad Phenomena Heaven, in the world of the dynasty he had created with a single thought, and once again took on the role of a Mountain Sea Sacrificer.
Li Fan didn’t insist. Watching Xiao Wangsheng immersed in his "role-playing," he departed in silence.
"When the real is treated as false, the false becomes real."
"Real and fake... who can tell the difference?"
With a sigh, Li Fan stepped onto the guiding rainbow bridge and headed for the Eternal Heaven Steps.
This journey was slightly different from the last.
As he moved forward, fragments of light and shadow containing scenes of the Mountain and Sea would burst forth from the long, purple qi bridge.
They were like the spray kicked up by a boat skimming across the water’s surface.
Li Fan casually plucked a few fragments, and it felt as if he were rapidly traversing the Mountain and Sea himself.
"One could comprehend the path of Transcendence from these fragments. For cultivators who have not yet transcended, these are undoubtedly treasures of immeasurable value. But for those who have already transcended and forged their own path, they are of little worth."
"But they are perfect for me."
There was little surprise in Li Fan’s heart; he simply observed them as they came.
After all, if he couldn’t find a way out of this simulation, he would likely be trapped on the Other Shore for the rest of his life. He would have all the time in the world to comprehend them.
And if he did manage to leave, he could return at any time to study the path of Transcendence.
The guiding rainbow flew onward, kicking up sprays of the Mountain and Sea, and time flowed by unnoticed.
On this day, the solid purple qi beneath his feet suddenly dispersed, and Li Fan finally reached his destination.
A river of profound familiarity cascaded down from the Nine Heavens.
It surged and roared, endlessly.
"This is..."
"The River of Time?"
Having once struggled to swim against its current, Li Fan recognized the river’s true nature at first glance.
"This isn’t an illusion. It is the true River of Time, manifested and solidified here by some unfathomable power."
"Passing through this shimmering light would mean truly falling into it."
Li Fan was inwardly amazed.
What caught his attention even more were the ancient bluestone slabs floating above the river!
Like a staircase, they connected the past and the present!
In an instant, Li Fan understood the meaning of the Eternal Heaven Steps.
"On the Other Shore, not all Transcendent experts have comprehended the Dao of [Reverse]. If they wish to travel to different points in the Mountain and Sea’s timeline, they need the help of these Eternal Heaven Steps."
Li Fan scanned the vast River of Time, trying to find the beings who had forged these steps.
"The Hunger Immortal once said that two Transcendent experts who failed the Saints’ trial are imprisoned here."
"My plan to burn the mountains and boil the seas was considered forgivable by the Saints. I wonder what heaven-enraging, people-offending deeds these two must have committed."
Li Fan truly wanted to meet them and learn a thing or two.
But what appeared to be just a section of the river stretching from heaven to earth was, upon closer inspection, made up of infinite, detailed manifestations. Like the endless Mountain and Sea, it was impossible to survey in a short time.
But besides escaping the simulation, Li Fan had no other goals at the moment. So, he simply stood by the shore of the River of Time and began to observe patiently.
Back then, after absorbing the power of the Heavenly Demon within the Dharma Spreader's body, Li Fan felt he had made progress on the Dao of Reverse. He simply never had a chance to enter the River of Time to verify it.
Now, standing by the river, bathed in the fragments of time it occasionally spewed forth, he confirmed his judgment.
"It seems the Heavenly Demons are indeed deeply connected to the River of Time. Perhaps they are even [Compatibles] of the river."
A so-called [Compatible] was a being whose existence could perfectly adapt to its environment.
The guiding rainbow was constructed from Mountain and Sea Compatibles, allowing it to rapidly traverse the Mountain and Sea.
And the sense of ease Li Fan felt when facing the River of Time after absorbing the Heavenly Demon was proof that they were Compatibles of the river.
"I may not have reached the point where I can traverse it freely at will, but this is far stronger than the ordinary Dao of Reverse."
"Even though I haven’t comprehended the Dao of Reverse, I can still roam within it without relying on these Eternal Heaven Steps."
As he was thinking this, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed from the illusion of the River of Time.
Li Fan focused his gaze and saw one of the bluestone slabs, which had been suspended outside the river, inexplicably fall into it, splashing up countless fragments of time.
It caused millions of intricate currents downstream to change their course.
Li Fan keenly sensed that along with the falling bluestone slab, a figure had plunged into the river.
"So, the Eternal Heaven Steps are consumables. They get used up after a Transcendent expert uses them to cross." Li Fan mused thoughtfully.
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