Chapter 1663: The First True Xuanpin
Chapter 1663: The First True Xuanpin
Like a fish about to take the bait, startled away by a stone suddenly dropped into the water.
Or like a behemoth from the depths, its shadow rising as it swiftly approached to devour the fish that was meant to be caught.
The moment the white mist appeared, the Xuanpin Great Dao—which the Saints had surrounded, eagerly awaiting its arrival—vanished without a trace, like ice melting into water.
But now, the Saints paid no mind to the fleeing Mountain and Sea Great Dao.
Within the boundless white mist, every living being still capable of movement focused their attention on that one phrase: "Return to Truth."
"We searched the entire Mountain and Sea, and now you finally reveal yourself. You hid well!"
"This power..."
From the white ring of the Other Shore, the phantom forms of the Saints combined their power, erupting in a dazzling halo as they tried to resist the encroachment of the white mist.
Time froze throughout the Mountain and Sea, and only the Saints were spared.
But the power of the vast white mist surpassed even that of the Dao Annihilation. The combined efforts of the Saints were ultimately futile.
Figure after figure vanished into the white mist.
Motionless and unseen.
And yet, aside from the Saints, Xing Fu—who had witnessed the entire event—was somehow still able to think clearly within the white mist.
"Return to Truth..."
"So that's how it is."
Xing Fu stood stunned and speechless.
Then, he repeated the words silently in his mind: "Return to Truth!"
The billowing white mist surged forward, vast and mighty, swallowing the Mountain and Sea.
An unknown amount of time passed, or perhaps only an instant.
The white mist receded, and the Mountain and Sea reappeared, just as it had been.
Only the Saints of the Mountain and Sea, who had been eagerly pursuing "Return to Truth" moments before, now seemed slightly bewildered.
After a moment, they recovered their senses, their astonishment unabated. "Where is the Xuanpin Great Dao? How did it vanish without a trace?"
Only Xing Fu had a strange glint in his eyes.
He lowered his head and frowned, wrestling with a question he couldn't answer. "Re... Return to Truth?"
"What is Return to Truth?"
...
Anchor Point: 1 Year!
Xuanhuang Realm!
Li Fan's eyes snapped open.
The Truth panel materialized before him.
Compared to before, it now displayed an additional line of ethereal characters shimmering with a seven-colored, flowing light.
Dao Return to Truth: The First Xuanpin.
The moment Li Fan's mind touched this line, the seven-colored characters instantly dissolved, transforming into a wisp of profound and mystical imagery.
"Endless and ever-present, the root of Heaven and Earth."
"Profound and mysterious, beyond all measure."
"In stillness it gathers, in motion it unfurls, giving birth to all things."
...
Even though Li Fan had known nothing of the Xuanpin Great Dao before this moment...
...the instant the seven-colored characters entered his vision, countless insights regarding the Xuanpin Great Dao flooded his mind.
This Mountain and Sea Great Dao was supposed to be profoundly arduous and obscure—something even a Nameless True Immortal might fail to comprehend in a lifetime.
Yet to Li Fan, it was like an open book.
Utterly without difficulty.
This wasn't because Li Fan had suddenly gained some heaven-defying aptitude or had an epiphany.
The entire transformation was thanks to Truth!
Taking a deep breath, he temporarily suppressed the influx of insights about the Xuanpin Great Dao.
Li Fan stared intently at the words "Dao Return to Truth" on the panel.
"Dao Return to Truth... Dao Return to Truth..."
"And following it, The First Xuanpin."
"Does this mean... Truth has captured the Xuanpin, a Great Dao of the Mountain and Sea?"
A storm of shock and horror raged in Li Fan's mind.
This was something he had never anticipated.
In fact, he had no idea how Truth had managed to accomplish such a feat.
Li Fan began to recall the events of his previous life.
Ever since sending his clone, Xing Fu, into the Life and Death Realm, he had anticipated that the Saints of the Other Shore would scour the Mountain and Sea for any trace of Truth. And so, he had gone into hiding.
Thanks to his past experiences roaming the Mountain and Sea, he had hidden himself well.
Even when the transcendent beings of the Other Shore emerged and joined forces with the Tai Wei Sacred Dynasty, turning nearly the entire Mountain and Sea upside down in their search...
...he remained undiscovered.
It was just as the Five Fellow Calamity Venerables had said: if a Great Dao of the Mountain and Sea truly wished to hide, it was nearly impossible for anyone to find it.
But later, with the emergence of the Xuanpin Great Dao, the Saints of the Other Shore and the Tai Wei Saint Emperor all revealed themselves. The commotion grew, alarming Li Fan. Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, he decisively chose to activate Truth.
He did so even though the true nature of the Xuanpin Great Dao had not yet been revealed.
Upholding his principle of safety first, Li Fan made the decisive choice to activate Truth.
But then, the unexpected happened.
Truth, once again, did not respond.
And unlike past instances where he'd lost control, this time there were no external forces—like the Saints—interfering.
Nor was it because Truth had been severely wounded by the tribulation of the three Daos merging.
The failure was for one reason and one reason only...
Truth seemed to have withdrawn itself from his body.
Even now, recalling that moment, Li Fan could still feel the visceral terror he had experienced.
It was a different feeling from the times Truth had fallen into slumber.
Back then, even though he couldn't use it, a part of him always believed that Truth would eventually awaken. All he had to do was lie low and wait for that day.
But when Truth truly departed from his body...
Only through loss does one truly appreciate what they had.
That period—so brief yet agonizingly long—was perhaps the most painful experience Li Fan had endured since his cycles of reincarnation began.
Li Fan didn't want to dwell on the memory.
Even though Truth eventually returned, responding to his call and activating once more...
...Li Fan still felt a flicker of resentment over its unannounced departure.
That resentment vanished the moment this new life began and he saw the new line on the Truth panel. All his doubts and anxieties dissolved.
Replaced entirely by joyous surprise.
And with that, Li Fan finally understood the reason for Truth's sudden departure.
It had released the boundless white mist, feigning an appearance to draw the attention of the Mountain and Sea Saints.
In reality, it had been a diversion. While they were distracted, it had secretly captured the newly manifested Xuanpin Great Dao!
"Dao Return to Truth."
"Return to Truth."
"A perfect description!"
Li Fan was overcome with joy.
Every time he thought he had seen the limits of Truth, but every time.
It would surprise him yet again.
Li Fan had never imagined that Truth was capable of capturing a Great Dao of the Mountain and Sea.
"How did it manage that?"
"Shouldn't Truth be on the same level as the Mountain and Sea itself? Xuanpin is one of its Great Daos, yet it seemed to offer no resistance, captured so easily by Truth."
He recalled how Truth had been grievously wounded during the merging of the three Daos.
Now, feeling the Xuanpin Great Dao firmly bound within Truth, Li Fan was utterly baffled.
However, just like always.
Even after performing such a heaven-shaking feat, Truth still wouldn't offer a single word of explanation.
No matter how Li Fan asked, it remained silent in response.
It made Li Fan grind his teeth in frustration.
"Still, this is a tremendously good thing."
Li Fan sighed, deciding not to dwell on it.
He began to blissfully immerse himself in the insights of the "returned" Xuanpin Great Dao.
At the same time, he didn't forget to check the memories of his aunt, Rinsing Moon Bai, from the previous life.
"Hss..."
The moment he chose to accept Rinsing Moon Bai's memories, a sharp, piercing pain shot through his sea of consciousness, as if a needle had been driven into it.
The sheer volume of memories from a transcendent being was on another level entirely.
If Li Fan hadn't been a powerhouse of equal standing, tempered by countless cycles of Truth, his mind would have likely shattered the instant he tried to inherit them.
It took quite a while for Li Fan to slowly recover and digest his aunt's memories.
"Aunt took less time to reach the Other Shore than I expected."
"Perhaps it really was due to her heaven-defying aptitude. It was as if something was guiding her. Without a guide, she took almost no wrong turns and found the Other Shore directly," Li Fan marveled.
"After that, it was just as I predicted. Before the Saints of the Other Shore, Aunt's secret of continuous reincarnation was directly exposed."
"However, Aunt had never done anything to harm heaven or earth, and after a thorough examination, the Saints determined that the reincarnation was not her own doing but the work of someone behind the scenes. In the end, they merely imprisoned her on the Eternal Heaven Steps of the Other Shore and didn't make things too difficult for her."
"At the same time, they ordered a search for my whereabouts..."
Li Fan smiled faintly.
"On the Eternal Heaven Steps, even seeking death was impossible. Aunt could only toil day and night, diligently crafting the azure bricks that would pave the path for transcendent powerhouses across the river of time."
"Until she was released, Aunt decisively chose to kill herself and start a new life. Hmm?"
Reading this, Li Fan's eyes immediately narrowed.
He faintly sensed something was wrong.
The Saints of the Other Shore had not yet found the person behind the scenes, so why would they suddenly release his aunt?
Li Fan repeatedly went over his aunt's memories again and again.
He confirmed there were no gaps.
And the Saints of the Other Shore never revealed the truth of the matter to his aunt from beginning to end.
His own existence behind the scenes had also not been exposed.
But Li Fan still felt a faint unease.
Choosing to trust his intuition, Li Fan did not rashly choose to let Rinsing Moon Bai inherit the memories of the previous life.
"It's better to go through the trouble of starting a new round of the 'Saint-making Project' than to stumble due to a moment of carelessness."
"However, the Saint-making Project is a long and arduous process. It would be best if Aunt could inherit only the memories from the life before last, skipping the most recent one."
As if sensing Li Fan's request.
The Truth panel suddenly changed.
From the seven-colored characters of The First Xuanpin, a ribbon of light drifted out.
It transformed into a marvelous brush and began to write, modifying the selection text of Truth.
The text changed the very instant the thought formed, perfectly matching his desire.
"Truth can mirror my thoughts and allow her to inherit only the memories from the life before last?"
This change left Li Fan dumbfounded.
"It seems I have far from fathomed the profound and mysterious uses of the Mountain and Sea's Great Daos."
After a long while, Li Fan sighed deeply.
Since Truth had already provided a solution, Li Fan was no longer in a hurry.
He began to carefully contemplate his current situation.
"The reason I initially wanted to start the 'Saint-making Project' was because in a simulation run by Truth, I encountered a scenario where I entered the Other Shore unprepared and my secret was seen through by the Saints."
"So I wanted to find a way to deal with the Saints. But I couldn't meet them myself, so I could only find a substitute. Truth gave me a hint at that time."
"As the person I am most familiar with, Aunt naturally became my chosen target."
"Aunt's reincarnations allow her aptitude and spirituality to stack continuously."
"And I have also gained much in these rebirths. This Xuanpin Great Dao is the most important among them."
"For Truth to run a pure simulation, it needs a Mountain and Sea Great Dao as an energy source. The previous simulation consumed all the longevity power I had comprehended from Shou Qiu Gong."
"But the longevity I obtained was not the complete Longevity Great Dao, but just a small part shared by Shou Qiu Gong. Now, however, I have a complete Mountain and Sea Great Dao in my hands..."
"Does this mean I can now use it to run a simulation?"
A thought stirred in Li Fan's mind.
This time, Truth did not remain silent.
It gave an answer.
"Indeed, it is feasible!"
"Using the Xuanpin Great Dao as energy, it is indeed possible to run a simulation. A simulation whose results can overwrite the current segment of the Mountain and Sea!"
"However..." Sensing the threads of information coming from Truth, Li Fan frowned in thought.
"A simulation involving the Saints consumes an immense amount of energy. Although it won't exhaust the Xuanpin Great Dao in one go, it will have a significant impact on it."
"After one use, it will need a considerable amount of time to slowly recover. If I disregard the consumption and run continuous simulations..."
"It can only be sustained for three times at most?"
Li Fan's mind trembled.
The cost of activating a Truth simulation was even greater than he had imagined.
"I cannot do this lightly."
At the same time, from Truth's answers, Li Fan also sensed its attitude towards the Xuanpin Great Dao.
"It seems... it doesn't particularly care?"
Li Fan couldn't help but be stunned.
This seemed to contradict its action of leaving his body to capture it.
After pondering it carefully, Li Fan slowly came to a realization.
"The logic should be the same as with the Foundation Establishment Wonders and the Eternal Remembrance."
"From having nothing to possessing it for the first time. That is what's most important."
"Once Truth has occupied it, whether it continues to exist in its original form doesn't matter anymore."
Li Fan looked again at the four words "Dao Return to Truth" on the Truth panel.
"If I'm not mistaken, Truth has now acquired the complete properties of the Xuanpin Great Dao?"
As the thought moved in his mind, the four words "The First Xuanpin" burst forth with a seven-colored light.
Brilliant light filled Li Fan's mind.
Just like in the past, when Li Fan used the True False Transformation to simulate the true intent of the Solitary Sail.
At this moment, under the shroud of the seven-colored brilliance, an ancient, primordial Xuanpin aura, on par with the Mountain and Sea itself, emerged from his body.
"But it's different from a simple simulation."
"It's more like, because the Xuanpin Great Dao has returned to its place, Truth is able to invoke its rhythmic power."
Truth could fully manifest Xuanpin.
But Li Fan could not completely grasp its essence.
Therefore, Li Fan, even under the blessing of the seven-colored light, was unable to reproduce Xuanpin at the level of a Mountain and Sea Great Dao.
"It's as if I'm caught in some kind of strange loop."
This familiar scene made Li Fan mutter to himself.
"However, now that Xuanpin has 'returned to truth,' I can peruse its secrets at any time. Pretending to be a Xuanpin Saint is just a matter of time and effort."
The Great Daos of the Mountain and Sea were extraordinarily profound.
Especially now, as it lay completely unguarded and exposed before Li Fan, for him to peer into at will.
Every time Li Fan cast his gaze upon it, his mind almost became lost in its depths.
Fortunately, Li Fan was able to pull himself back to clarity each time.
"My foundation is ultimately Truth, the True False Transformation."
"If I were to truly get lost in comprehending this Dao, I would be missing the point entirely, making a truly foolish mistake."
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