Chapter 1613: Creating a Saint at One's Own Expense
"The simulated memories of a person closely related to myself from this simulation..."
"And these memories can be inherited by that person."
Li Fan mulled over the description of the third option, a look of understanding dawning on his face.
"The information on the [Truth] panel, like my previously bound items, divine abilities, and cultivation techniques, has never been arranged randomly. It always follows a specific order, such as the sequence of binding or their relative strength."
"Following this line of thought..." Li Fan reviewed the three options again.
"Three choices: an item first, a cultivation base second, and inherited memories third."
"If it were me using the 'Fantasy Becomes Truth' ability, manifesting a cultivation base would be more difficult than manifesting an item."
"This difference in difficulty isn't affected by the rarity of the item or the level of the cultivation base. It stems from their fundamental nature. An object, after all, is just an object. But a cultivation base is something far more profound, touching upon the powers of the Infinite Sea and the Upper Mountain."
"And as for the third option, inheriting memories..."
"In fact, that this option is listed alongside items and cultivation bases already says a great deal."
"I've simply overlooked it all this time."
His aunt’s every memory from the previous life flooded Li Fan’s mind. From the initial anchor point to her final demise, he grasped every thought and memory in meticulous detail.
To put it another way, it was as if Li Fan had lived through the entire last simulation in the guise of his aunt.
Before him, his aunt, Rinsing Moon Bai, had no secrets left.
And from this exchanged perspective, the heartfelt, undying care his aunt felt for 'Li Fan' moved him ever so slightly.
When he felt her final worry before death—whether the stay-at-home Li Fan would have enough to eat in the future—
—even Li Fan's heart, which had grown exceedingly cold from countless regressions, could not help but stir with ripples of emotion.
But these ripples lasted only a moment before quickly fading away.
Ice built over millennia could not be thawed by a single candle's flame.
Li Fan suppressed these unnecessary emotions and focused on the significant change brought about by the third option.
Because Li Fan had chosen to let his aunt inherit her memories from the last life, he could now clearly perceive the subtle changes in her after this regression of a sort.
Before this, his aunt was merely a mortal. Her talent for cultivation was so poor that even reaching the Qi Refining stage was a feat she likely could not achieve in a lifetime of arduous practice.
But now...
She was just barely able to officially begin cultivating!
It was as if his aunt from the previous life and his aunt from this life had overlapped and merged!
"An increase in spirituality! The medium for these simulated memories is spirituality itself!"
A strange light flickered in Li Fan's eyes as he understood the key in an instant. "Spirituality cannot be born from nothing; even [Truth] cannot create something out of thin air. Therefore, this extra spirituality is fundamentally paid for by me. It's the same principle as activating [Truth] itself, which consumes from my own infinite spirituality."
Even though it had been his choice, this realization left Li Fan feeling a little unsettled.
After all, harming himself to benefit another was something he had never done before.
"But perhaps, this is the key to breaking the stalemate!" With that thought, Li Fan could only force himself to endure it.
Having received the memories of her past life, the reborn Rinsing Moon Bai took the better part of a day to finally calm down completely.
She crept to the outside of Li Fan's room and peered through the crack in the door, her gaze falling upon the silhouette of Li Fan, still sleeping quietly in his bed. Tears of emotion welled in her eyes.
After staring for a long time, she finally made up her mind.
"This life, I can't let my Fan'er suffer with me again."
"At the very least, I have to make sure he eats hearty meals."
With Li Fan's current power, clearly sensing her thoughts was no difficult task.
Li Fan could almost see it: this kind-hearted woman, in one life after another, expanding her understanding of the world little by little, until she finally stumbled upon the secrets of cultivation.
"However, my aunt's vision is limited, after all. And she lacks my powerful drive to cultivate. She will need a helping hand from me!" Li Fan smiled faintly, a profound look in his eyes.
Drawing on the memories of her past life, his aunt cleverly thwarted the village chief's brother, who coveted her family's ancestral lands, and successfully protected her property.
Time and again, she helped her fellow villagers at critical moments, resolving their misfortunes.
She even secretly joined forces with the village mystic, using tales of spirits and gods to predict the great drought in Jiangnan four years later. She successfully helped the villagers survive the disaster, establishing a position of authority in their hearts.
In the years that followed, she led the villagers through one natural disaster after another. Her fame spread far and wide, eventually attracting the attention of the government.
Even the county magistrate condescended to visit her, not to ask about the common people, but about matters of ghosts and gods.
With just a few words of guidance from her, the magistrate achieved remarkable political success and was promoted to prefect a few years later. To return the favor, he reported her virtuous name to the sovereign.
As a result, his aunt was granted the title of a court lady, completing the leap from commoner to nobility.
From then on, she lived without worry for food or clothing, and it seemed she was about to fulfill the vow she had once made. But at this crucial moment, for some unknown reason, Li Fan fell gravely ill and never recovered.
His aunt summoned numerous famous doctors to treat Li Fan, but his condition only worsened day by day. His body grew increasingly gaunt until, finally, he succumbed to his illness and died.
The old burying the young—his aunt was heartbroken, her hair turning white overnight.
Two years later, overcome with grief that turned to illness, his aunt also passed away.
The people of the prefecture mourned together. Every household set up a memorial tablet for her, revering her as the Guardian Spirit Mother.
...
"[Return to Truth]!"
A soft murmur echoed through the darkness. The world, like a flower in a mirror or the moon on the water, shattered and reformed.
His aunt awoke from the nightmare once more.
Only this time, a deeper confusion and doubt flickered in her eyes.
Li Fan, too, felt the impact of his aunt's memories.
The ripples in his calm mind grew more intense.
Having fully inherited his aunt's memories and lived a lifetime from her perspective, Li Fan deeply felt the heart-wrenching pain of an elder burying the young.
It was one of the most intense emotions a living being could experience, like a boulder thrown into a placid lake, sending great splashes into the air.
Even though Li Fan quickly suppressed this feeling, he still frowned slightly.
During a simulation, he could naturally manipulate everything from a detached, behind-the-scenes perspective.
But when the memories of someone *inside* the simulation became something he had to experience in turn, the situation became rather different.
"Is doing this..."
The thought had barely surfaced before it was extinguished.
"Without experiencing all manner of suffering, how can one forge the resolve to seek the Dao?"
Li Fan looked at his aunt, who was slowly recovering, his expression turning cold once more.
"Let me see the change in your spirituality this life."
"Just as I expected, it has increased again. Her cultivation limit can now just barely touch the threshold of the Foundation Establishment stage."
Li Fan nodded slightly.
"This is only the third time of inheritance and stacking. One can only imagine what will happen after many more..."
"It might not be impossible for me to personally forge a transcendent expert!"
"And perhaps, even go a step further... and help them attain the realm of a Saint..."
"Through them, I can probe the reality of the Saints on the Other Shore. That is the key to breaking this stalemate!"
"And I don't need to fear losing control. I just have to hide, wait for the dust to settle, and then activate [Truth]. Then I can acquire their memories..."
With hope so close at hand, Li Fan was delighted.
A moment later, however, he suddenly frowned. "But there are many issues to consider. This method of stacking inheritances is like alchemy. Once started, it cannot be abandoned halfway until the probing is successful."
"Unless the stacked spirituality can be preserved within the [Truth] space through some special method..."
At this thought, Li Fan paused, as if waiting for an answer from [Truth].
Unfortunately, after providing the hint about the third option, [Truth] seemed to have been angered. It was completely unwilling to give any more information, offering no reaction at all.
Li Fan was unconcerned. "Since there's no way to preserve the stacked spirituality, the only option is to continuously regress and inherit, causing the target's spirituality and potential to rise until they reach the realm of a Saint!"
"This shall be the [Saint Creation Plan]!"
"There are a few points I must pay close attention to."
"As I thought before, once the Saint Creation Plan begins, it cannot be stopped midway, or all previous efforts will be wasted. How can I ensure the target remains under my control through cycle after cycle of reincarnation? As the target grows stronger, how can I ensure I am not discovered by them?"
"Once they notice me, even if I can regress in an instant, all my past efforts will vanish like smoke. Even I would find that heart-wrenching."
"Therefore, before officially launching the plan, I must first restore my own transcendent-level strength. I need to be qualified to act as the one behind the scenes."
"Furthermore..."
Li Fan's divine sense swept over his own body.
"The Saint Creation Plan, the constant stacking and enhancement of the target's spirituality, comes at the cost of reducing my own infinite spirituality. Although my spirituality is said to be infinite..."
"The Mountain and Sea was also called infinite, yet it was still swallowed whole by the Dao Annihilation. Sometimes, infinite is not truly infinite. This is something I must pay close attention to. If the cost is too great, I may need to find another way."
"And also..."
Thinking of this final point, Li Fan's expression changed subtly.
A trace of dread even surfaced in his heart.
A panic even greater than the thought of his own infinite spirituality possibly being depleted.
"The target reincarnates toward sainthood, but at the same time, I have to endure the impact of their memories."
"..."
Although he was unwilling to admit it, Li Fan was beginning to realize deep down that after fully accepting the memories of someone inside the game, he could no longer see them as a mere NPC.
They had become flesh and blood, a tangible, real 'person'.
Though he didn't yet know what specific effect this would have on him, the unknown was precisely what Li Fan feared deep inside.
"Regardless, the plan must proceed."
"After all, this path was essentially ordained by [Truth], and it's the only way I've found to break the stalemate."
"The Saints of the Other Shore..."
Li Fan's expression became indifferent once more, his gaze looking far beyond the Primal Possibility, as if peering into the Other Shore itself.
In this life, Li Fan paused the Saint Creation Plan that centered on his aunt.
Instead, he first began to restore his own strength.
Just as before, he forged the Xuanhuang Immortal Boat and broke out of the Primal Possibility.
After finding transcendent truths like the Solitary Sail and the Calm Calamity Wave Bell, he went into seclusion within the Mountain and Sea, no longer advancing toward the Other Shore.
After a vast amount of time, he had almost completely grasped the essence of these two transcendent truths.
His strength had nearly reached the pinnacle possible for a transcendent being who had not entered the Other Shore but roamed the Mountain and Sea.
With a thought, he returned to truth, back to the moment of the first anchor point.
Li Fan chose to preserve his cultivation base.
Then, a new anchor point was set!
"This will be the starting point for my Saint Creation Plan from now on."
The arrival of a transcendent expert threatened to stir up a monstrous storm within the Primal Possibility.
But Li Fan contained all the turbulence within half a foot of his own body.
No one else could detect the slightest hint of it.
Li Fan's gaze was deep as he looked at his aunt. "Now, let us continue."
"Bai Shuyue."
Bai Shuyue was, of course, his aunt's name.
It had been given to her by the village scholar and was not like the names of ordinary women.
Now, with Li Fan's silent call, Bai Shuyue began her experience of reincarnation through regression once more.
Just as before.
First life of the Saint Creation Plan: Li Fan lay in bed for twenty-three years while Bai Shuyue worked herself to death.
Second life of the Saint Creation Plan: The reborn Bai Shuyue endured countless hardships to ensure Li Fan was well-fed and clothed. Yet in the end, the old buried the young, and she passed away in grief.
Third life of the Saint Creation Plan!
Waking up, Bai Shuyue once again peered through the crack in the door at Li Fan sleeping in his bed. A soft light flickered in her eyes.
"My Fan'er, Aunt will definitely find a way to cure you."
The naive Bai Shuyue simply believed that heaven had given her chance after chance to be reborn for the sole purpose of saving her pitiful nephew.
Thus, her heart was filled with unwavering resolve.
Over the next few years, Bai Shuyue used her foreknowledge to steadily increase her influence while simultaneously studying medical texts, trying to find a cure for Li Fan's "strange illness." In her last life, she had consulted countless famous doctors, but none could cure Li Fan. This life, she was determined to find a way herself.
"Even if Fan'er dies from his illness, I can't just give up on life. I must spend the rest of my days studying medicine. After all, I don't know how many times this rebirth can happen." Though this life had only just begun, a sense of urgency had already taken root in Bai Shuyue's heart.
In her previous life, Bai Shuyue had risen from commoner to official, so she deeply understood the vast difference in resources one could command. For a commoner, even finding medical texts to read was no easy task. Thus, in this life, in order to gain as much "official power" as possible, she set her sights on the future emperor.
Though a woman, Bai Shuyue understood the principle that there was no greater merit than backing a future ruler.
First, using the name of spirits and gods, she built up immense influence within the prefecture.
Then, in the fifth year, amidst an onslaught of refugees, she saved the family of Prince Langya.
Comments