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Chapter 1609: Wonders of the Other Shore

Chapter 1609: Wonders of the Other Shore

"But I wonder," he mused, "if one travels through the River of Time to different points in the Mountain and Sea's history and then returns to the Other Shore, how does time flow here during that absence?"

Li Fan gazed across the vast expanse of the River of Time, a faint suspicion forming in his mind. "Perhaps," he thought, "time on the Other Shore is entirely independent of the Mountain and Sea, operating on its own separate system."

As if to confirm his suspicion, it wasn't long before the very figure he had watched plunge into the River of Time leaped back out. Though only a moment had passed from Li Fan's perspective, the figure's aura had changed dramatically.

Furthermore, the points where the figure entered and exited the river were not the same. While the slab from the Eternal Heaven Steps used for entry had been consumed, the being had used a different stone from another point in time to return smoothly.

A rainbow bridge materialized from the horizon, carrying the somewhat disheveled figure away to another region.

Throughout the entire process, the figure showed no sign of acknowledging Li Fan, the silent observer.

Within the ethereal vista of the River of Time, he could glimpse many such figures, shuttling back and forth through the currents of history.

Li Fan did not disturb them, content to watch in silence.

He turned his gaze instead to the river's origin and its distant end.

It descended from the canopy of the sky without any apparent source, a torrent of time that rushed and swirled before coming to an abrupt halt at the edge of a black abyss.

It had no head or tail, no beginning or end.

Only its central stretch teemed with vitality.

As for the black abyss beyond the river, the moment Li Fan's gaze fell upon it, his spiritual sense began to scream warnings. It felt as if merely looking too long would invite a terrible catastrophe upon himself.

This was an unprecedented sensation.

"The Eternal Silent Void Realm."

"The true dead end, a place where the Mountain and Sea ceases to exist."

Though he had only stared for a brief moment, Li Fan was already drenched in a cold sweat, forced to avert his eyes.

"It's truly difficult to imagine," he thought, horrified. "What level of cultivation would one need to cross that abyss safely?"

Li Fan was appalled, gaining a new and starker appreciation for the power wielded by the Saints of the Other Shore.

To prevent the immortals of the Other Shore from straying into the Eternal Silent Void Realm, barriers had been erected along the River of Time near the two great abysses that marked its beginning and end.

They resembled two ethereal lines, segmenting the river.

"Mount Tai Emperor once said he traveled upstream for seventy-four thousand, eight hundred and seventy-six years, reaching the very beginning of our segment of time. The start of time is understandable—like a great wall with no path beyond. But what of the river's end? What does that look like?"

"One moment, the entire Mountain and Sea still exists, maintaining its presence. Yet on the temporal plane, the future of the Mountain and Sea has already been completely consumed by the Dao Annihilation. And so..."

"...in a single instant, an immeasurable tide of Dao Annihilation descends, destroying the mortal realm of the Mountain and Sea, and even everything on the Other Shore!"

"It's a truly terrifying cataclysm!"

Another bead of cold sweat traced a path down Li Fan's brow as he recoiled from the horrifying vision.

"It's not that my will is weak," he rationalized, "but being so close to the phantom of the river and the abysses of its beginning and end, one is naturally subject to their oppressive influence."

"The power of the Eternal Silent Void Realm can pierce through time itself to affect me, even here on the Other Shore."

"No wonder there are no other observers here besides a newcomer like myself."

Having gained a preliminary understanding of the River of Time and the Eternal Silent Void Realm, Li Fan decided not to linger.

He summoned the guiding rainbow and journeyed to the next region.

"The Mountain Sea Infernal Forest."

As the rainbow bridge approached this region, its speed naturally began to decrease.

For within this Mountain Sea Infernal Forest were buried all the Transcendent experts who had passed away on the Other Shore!

A forest of stone steles floated amidst the sprawling phantoms of the Mountain and Sea, like a fleet of solitary skiffs.

Though these Transcendent experts were long gone, the true essence of their transcendence remained preserved here.

Every time his gaze rested upon a stele, a corresponding vision of transcendence bloomed in his mind.

The spectacle left Li Fan breathless.

"These essences of transcendence," he realized, "seem to be deeply connected to the stability of the Other Shore, and to the light that radiates across the entire Mountain and Sea."

"Therefore, the defenses here are formidable, arguably the strongest on the Other Shore."

The barriers Li Fan had seen sealing off the Eternal Silent Void Realm were more symbolic than functional. Truthfully, if Li Fan were determined to breach them, he could. After all, there was no point in forcibly stopping someone determined to seek their own death.

But this place was different.

If Li Fan were to grow greedy for the countless essences of transcendence filling the air and tried to take them by force...

The wrath of the Nine Saints would descend upon him like lightning in the very next moment.

And being sentenced to build the Eternal Heaven Steps in the River of Time would be the mildest of punishments.

"I can look, but I can't touch."

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the stone steles.

"No wonder I traversed one percent of the Mountain and Sea and never found any other essence of transcendence besides the Solitary Sail."

"It wasn't that [Truth] was deliberately blocking me during this simulation. It's because any immortal on the Other Shore who discovers a new essence of transcendence in the Mountain and Sea and brings it here is credited with a great merit. Depending on its quality, one could even use that merit to request guidance from the Saints..."

"Even a Transcendent expert would benefit greatly from observing the steles in the Mountain Sea Infernal Forest."

"It is said that one of the Nine Saints achieved enlightenment right here in the Mountain Sea Infernal Forest."

"If one can resonate with an essence of transcendence, they can experience the life of the fallen Transcendent, just as I did when I absorbed the Solitary Sail. It's almost like living another life, and the life of a Transcendent expert at that."

"With enough talent, this entire forest of steles could become fuel for one's own enlightenment."

"But that's only in theory. One's own path on the Dao is unique. Attempting to cultivate another path would first risk the collapse of your own foundation. To comprehend a second path is already a blessing from the heavens. To command three simultaneously is a feat few on the entire Other Shore can manage. And any more than that..."

"Would mark one as having the potential of a Saint!"

As he observed the Mountain Sea Infernal Forest, a stream of related information surfaced in Li Fan's mind.

"It seems the Hunger Immortal told me all of this when I left the Nine Saints' presence. But I was in such a daze over losing [Truth] that I didn't hear a word of it."

"It doesn't matter, though."

Li Fan's expression was unreadable. Setting aside the various pieces of cultivation lore, he could already see a glimmer of hope for escaping this simulation.

"The Solitary Sail from the Xuanhuang Immortal Boat can be removed and reforged into a stele. However, it belonged to a failure who never reached the Other Shore, so its quality won't be enough to grant me an audience with the Saints."

"I might have to scour the Mountain and Sea again. Fortunately, I've already deployed numerous phantom Xuanhuang Immortal Boats. I just need to have them search. Once they find something, I'll make the trip myself."

With a single thought, the billions of phantom immortal boats that had fallen silent across the Mountain and Sea due to his stupor once again set sail.

But this time, their mission was not to scatter the seeds of True Spirit. It was a focused search for the essence of transcendence.

Logically, with the power of the Transcendent experts on the Other Shore, any lingering essences of transcendence in the Mountain and Sea should have been collected long ago.

And that was largely true. The fact that Li Fan had encountered the Solitary Sail before even reaching the Other Shore was a stroke of incredible luck.

However, this didn't mean that the Mountain and Sea would one day be completely depleted of such essences.

"The Mountain and Sea is, in fact, in a constant state of flux."

"The temporal shifts I just witnessed—caused by the falling slabs of the Eternal Heaven Steps and the constant travel of Transcendent experts—are a major driving force behind the Mountain and Sea's changes."

"The Mountain and Sea... is not static."

"One could see it as an experimental field where new variables are constantly being introduced."

As Li Fan wandered the Other Shore, his understanding of the Mountain and Sea and the mortal realm deepened with each passing moment.

He had completed the transformation from a creature of the mortal world to a being with the perspective of the Transcendent Other Shore.

Afterward, Li Fan visited several other regions on the Other Shore.

The Time Desert: An expanse of yellow sand stretched to the horizon, each grain a solidified fragment of the Mountain and Sea. Some of these fragments were remnants of what the Dao Annihilation had consumed in ages past. Others were echoes of possible futures that had once existed within the Mountain and Sea's timeline but had since vanished due to its ever-shifting nature. Yet, by the unfathomable power of the Other Shore, their existence was preserved here. In the Time Desert, Li Fan could glimpse far more possibilities of the Mountain and Sea than existed in his current reality.

The Karma Myriad Kalpa Abyss: The Hunger Immortal had once said that upon reaching the Other Shore, all karma is erased. But how could the grudges in a person's heart be so easily relinquished? Even Transcendent experts could not escape the web of desire. Had he not seen Evil Su Bai's reaction upon meeting the Hunger Immortal of the Immortal Ruins in the primal possibility? This Karma Myriad Kalpa Abyss was a place where one could let go of lingering desires. Similar to a simulation by [Truth], the abyss could manifest boundless worlds. However, it required both parties of a karmic entanglement to enter simultaneously. Through cycles of reincarnation, their grudges and affections would dissolve. Upon emerging, they would be able to face each other with true peace of mind. It was said that the Nine Saints created this place to resolve potential tensions among the inhabitants of the Other Shore. But due to its strict conditions and non-compulsory nature, not many Transcendent experts were willing to enter. Only when a conflict was truly irreconcilable and threatened the existence of the Other Shore would the Saints intervene and forcibly throw the two parties into the Karma Myriad Kalpa Abyss. Such an event was exceedingly rare; it had only happened once in the history of the Other Shore.

The Life Death Tide Hub: This was an observation post on the Other Shore. Its purpose was to monitor not only the Eternal Silent Void Realm but also the opposing factions within the Mountain and Sea, such as the Tai Wei Sacred Dynasty. It was divided into an outer and a core area. Li Fan was not permitted to enter the core hub and could only observe briefly from the periphery.

The All Saints Tower: Though the tower contained no residual will of the Saints, nine commemorative statues stood within. The Saints had initially disapproved of the immortals building this memorial tower. However, since the Saints were merely remnants of will, they would not interfere with the actions of the Other Shore's immortals as long as the realm's safety was not threatened. Thus, the memorial tower was eventually built. Li Fan lingered outside for a moment, but the faint, aching pain that pulsed through his body made him snort coldly and walk away without a second glance. He did not enter to observe.

...

The final stop on Li Fan's tour of the Other Shore was a construct called the Chain of Infinite Light.

The radiant power that bathed most of the Mountain and Sea, as well as the colossal wall of light Li Fan had seen upon his arrival, were both manifestations of this Chain of Infinite Light.

"The form of this chain is remarkably similar to the substance of the Mountain and Sea's power. And its source..."

He could only gaze from afar, through billions of light beams.

Li Fan vaguely saw what appeared to be a scroll floating within.

The image depicted on the scroll was that of the continuous Mountain and Sea.

But the scroll vanished in a flash. Despite several more attempts, Li Fan could not see it again. He wasn't even sure if what he had just seen was a figment of his imagination.

Having toured the Other Shore, the prospect of finding a new essence of transcendence still seemed distant.

Li Fan returned to the Mountain Sea Infernal Forest and sat down quietly in meditation, contemplating how he might exploit a weakness the next time he faced the Saints and escape the simulation.

He chose this place because the forest of Transcendent steles, with its myriad bursting auras and concepts, was the perfect cover for the fluctuations of his thoughts.

Even the Nine Saints of the simulation possessed unimaginable power. Li Fan needed to take every precaution to prevent them from prying into his thoughts.

Time flowed on. The passage of time in the Mountain and Sea was different from that on the Other Shore.

Perhaps Li Fan's luck was truly exceptional. After meditating beneath the Infernal Forest for three years, he actually found another essence of transcendence!

However, the phantom immortal boat and its emissaries alone were not strong enough to retrieve it.

So, Li Fan had to make the trip himself.

No one appeared to stop him as he prepared to leave the Other Shore.

Sensing the temporal coordinates of the immortal boat in the Mountain and Sea, he aimed for the phantom of the River of Time and leaped.

The familiar sensation of being scoured by the currents of time washed over him.

But this time, Li Fan was no longer panicked; he was calm and composed.

Not only was his own power far greater than before, but with the phantom Xuanhuang Immortal Boat as his guide, he would not get lost.

Years had no meaning within the Mountain and Sea.

By the time Li Fan arrived at his destination, the essence of transcendence was being fought over by tens of thousands of True Immortals in that possibility, including many in the Nameless realm.

The current Li Fan truly saw them as nothing more than ants.

He felt as if he could erase this entire possibility with a casual wave of his hand.

He waved his hand gently. The ordinary True Immortals still caught in the heat of battle were instantly turned into stone sculptures, unable to move. A gust of wind blew past, and they crumbled into dust that scattered across the sky.

The Nameless True Immortals fared slightly better. However, the foundations of their existence were severely damaged. Terrified, they fled in a panic.

And this was with Li Fan holding back.

"Unknowingly, I've become this strong."

"At the same time, I can now understand the mindset of Evil Su Bai and the Black Heaven Physician back then."

"Speaking of which, I've been on the Other Shore for so long this time, but I haven't seen either of them."

Annihilating countless True Immortals with a wave of his hand, Li Fan felt not a single ripple in his heart.

As he casually mused, he retrieved the hard-won essence of transcendence.

Even after having seen countless transcendent steles in the Mountain Sea Infernal Forest, Li Fan couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise as he looked at the object in his hand.

A bronze-colored ancient bell floated quietly before him.

Its body was covered in small cracks, but they did not stop the faint, ancient chimes that seemed to echo from within it.