Chapter 1672: The Body Refuses to Leave
Chapter 1672: The Body Refuses to Leave
"I birth the infinite!"
Using the method of Empty Thought Construction, the experimental subject replicated countless versions of himself.
Facing the surging, destructive torrent of accumulated True Spirit, he used his own bodies as a dam, miraculously withstanding the initial impact!
"I behold the True Spirit!"
In that instant, all the experimental subjects opened their eyes.
Through the immense pressure they felt, they seemed to truly "see" the formless, shapeless True Spirit that filled the heavens!
Although there were numerous subjects on the scene, they all originated from a single source. Furthermore, they were all countless avatars created by one main body through the method of Empty Thought Construction.
Thus, they appeared to share a single True Spirit barrier.
The dam formed by thousands of subjects finally began to buckle under the tremendous pressure, and a fissure appeared.
The accumulated True Spirit seized the opening and surged through. Silently, it carried a devastating force, arriving with the fury of a tempest.
If only one experimental subject had faced this disaster, the outcome would have been certain: they would have been drowned and dissipated by the accumulated True Spirit.
But now...
Faced with this terrifying calamity, the thousands of subjects remained entirely unafraid.
With the original body as the defensive core, they collectively and evenly distributed the immense pressure brought by the accumulated True Spirit.
For one person to face it would be like an ant trying to shake Mount Tai; annihilation would come in an instant.
But what about tens of thousands, or even hundreds of millions?
What's more, a yellow light constantly flickered and pulsed from the original test subject. With a steady stream of reinforcements created from thought joining the fray, the accumulated True Spirit, despite its ferocious advance, could not break through the collective dam.
What had been a galloping dragon was instantly splintered into thousands of parallel streams.
The experimental subject itself certainly couldn't endure the single, concentrated river formed by the impact of the accumulated True Spirit. However, absorbing a thousandth of a splintered stream was not nearly as difficult.
Although the efficiency of absorbing and utilizing the accumulated True Spirit that Li Fan had summoned was further reduced, the initial goal had been achieved!
As his True Spirit was nourished, the experimental subject's once muddled and dull eyes gradually grew bright and sharp with intelligence.
He glanced around, seeming to understand his predicament.
He didn't curse the heavens or rail against the observing Saints.
Looking at the countless other versions of himself by his side, a moment of insight struck him, and he focused his mind.
He began to retract the thought-form avatars that had been created to share the pressure of the accumulated True Spirit.
This subject had never studied the Dao of Empty Thought before; these avatars had only been generated with Qiu Xinhui's help.
Consequently, the speed of retraction was not particularly ideal at first.
The vast majority of the thought-form avatars, having fulfilled their purpose, simply dissipated into nothingness.
The accumulated True Spirit they had borne, now without a vessel, quietly seeped away like flowing water.
But to have been noticed by the Saints and chosen as a test subject, his innate talent was extraordinary.
Now, infused with True Spirit, his own spiritual essence was unlike before.
He learned quickly.
And he didn't lose his composure as the thought-form avatars around him rapidly dissolved.
He simply went with the flow, doing his utmost.
At the beginning, only one or two figures were drawn back to him.
But soon, the subject's speed at retracting the thought-form avatars grew faster and faster.
Like myriad stars across the sky, all returned to a single body.
An endless, brilliant light converged upon the experimental subject.
...
The white-haired Master stroked his beard and praised, "The thought-form avatars carry the True Spirit. Although it cannot be fully absorbed at once, it is ultimately stored within his own body, ready to be converted into nourishment for his growth at any time. It's like having an infinite treasure mountain inside him, which he can continuously excavate to enhance his potential as his strength grows."
"He can benefit from this until the very day he becomes a Saint."
"This method of birthing the infinite to receive the True Spirit is truly ingenious beyond measure! If this were during the prosperous age of the Mountain and Sea, this method might have truly been able to create thousands of Saints!" The shifting figure flickered with constantly changing scenes, seemingly deducing the possibilities of a Mountain and Sea where the "I birth the infinite" method was widespread.
The Saints' gazes couldn't help but gather on Li Fan once more.
"It is a pity. The method of Empty Thought Construction can indeed be learned by anyone. But the means to summon and control the accumulated True Spirit from the void is unique to the Mountain and Sea."
"Since we have reached the End of the Mountain and Sea, there is no going back."
A silent sigh passed through the hearts of the Saints.
"The past is for the people of the past to bear. We need only concern ourselves with our future," Qiu Xinhui said with a smile, drawing the Saints' attention away from Li Fan.
"With Fellow Daoist Fan's help, all our deficits have been replenished. Moreover, we've managed to create far more assistance than anticipated..."
The shifting figure spoke up at that moment, "Our chances of victory are now over fifty percent!"
"Above fifty percent, any higher chance is meaningless. Everyone, let us each display our powers and impart the method of 'I birth the infinite.' We no longer need the aid of more Saints, just a thousand or so half-Saints..."
"Then it will be time to trouble the Master to unseal the river of time, so we may face the End of the Mountain and Sea directly," Qiu Xinhui said, bowing slightly to the white-haired Master.
The white-haired Master nodded proudly, looking almost impatient.
Among the Saints present, only Li Fan hesitated.
"Isn't this... a bit hasty?"
"Since we have a way to continuously strengthen our side, why not accumulate more power?" Li Fan asked, somewhat perplexed.
Qiu Xinhui merely smiled without answering.
"Only by fighting can we win."
"A thousand schemes and a hundred calculations are, in the end, no match for a single, direct battle."
Qiu Xinhui was, without a doubt, the core of the Saints. Since she had made up her mind, Li Fan couldn't very well object further.
Now Li Fan had two choices.
Either use Truth right now, or wait a little longer.
Wait to see the outcome of the final clash between the Mountain and Sea and the void, the Saints' desperate gamble.
Although the fated final battle of the Mountain and Sea was indeed captivating, Li Fan had not lost his senses.
At the End of the Mountain and Sea, the moment the final battle arrived, it would be perilous beyond measure.
Even for Saints, survival would be decided in an instant.
And Li Fan, unlike the other Saints, had not made sufficient preparations.
"Using the power of the first Xuanpin, I smoothly traversed the void. I gained the method to control the accumulated True Spirit and even used the Saints' power to deduce the 'I birth the infinite' infusion method."
"The gains in this life have already far exceeded my expectations. It's time to go back."
After all, Li Fan was not a true Saint, merely a transcendent cultivator wearing the cloak of the Xuanpin Dao.
Though in the time that had passed, the Saints' attention had been captivated by the True Spirit infusion method, and rarely focused on Li Fan.
But now that the method was complete, the probability of the Saints' gazes falling upon him would only increase.
With every moment he lingered, the secret of Truth he carried became more likely to be exposed.
"I must not tarry here."
Finding a opportune moment when the Saints were distracted, Li Fan silently called upon Truth in his mind.
The mystical power of the True-False Transformation once again surged silently, preparing to overturn and reset everything as it had before.
But suddenly, Li Fan sensed that something was wrong.
As if sensing his imminent departure, strange forces began to rise from the surrounding Mountain and Sea. Like countless tentacles, they wrapped around Li Fan's body, preventing him from returning to truth!
Li Fan's expression shifted slightly. He scanned his surroundings, searching for the source of this power.
Yet the Saints seemed unaware of the change, their expressions unaltered.
It was only then that Li Fan realized with a start that it wasn't some other entity preventing his departure.
The force binding him was the very foundation of his Sainthood, the Xuanpin Dao!
"This..."
To be shackled by himself was utterly absurd.
Li Fan felt a mix of shock and anger, trying desperately to break the chains on his body.
It worked.
As a Saint of Xuanpin, he still had control over the Xuanpin Dao.
But...
For it to take full effect would require some time.
Li Fan forced himself to calm down. After a moment of careful reflection, he finally understood what had happened.
In this life, he had used the First Xuanpin Dao to achieve Sainthood in the Mountain and Sea.
As a Saint, he had slowly become the embodiment of the Mountain and Sea's Xuanpin itself.
As he had thought before, Li Fan's core was the True-False Transformation; Xuanpin was merely a cloak he wore, one he could take off at any time.
But now, he had worn this heavy garment for too long.
So long, in fact, that it had begun to adhere to his very being. He couldn't remove it in a short amount of time.
The Xuanpin Dao was connected to the present Mountain and Sea by a thousand threads.
When Li Fan tried to activate Truth, these connections became obstacles.
"To return to truth, I must first shed the cloak of Xuanpin."
"This is not something that can be done in a day."
"How long have I existed with the power of a Saint? To completely detach will probably take about a tenth of that time?"
It was actually quite efficient, but for Li Fan, it was unacceptable.
He had truly never imagined that impersonating a Saint would lead to such consequences!
He had already spent a long time at the End of the Mountain and Sea, and now, its final, fated battle was about to begin.
And at this very moment, he was unable to use Truth.
"This..."
"Truth! Truth!"
Li Fan repeated the call in his mind.
Not trying to force its activation, but trying to awaken the slumbering Truth.
But the situation was just as he had experienced in his simulations. Truth remained silent.
"There's no grievous injury from the fusion of three Daos. It's purely playing deaf and dumb."
Once he understood this, the shock and anger in Li Fan's heart quickly subsided.
"If there were real danger, Truth wouldn't be so indifferent."
"And my spiritual senses haven't issued any warnings."
"What on earth..."
Li Fan's unease finally caught the attention of the Saints.
"Worry not, fellow Daoist. Simply do what must be done."
To reduce the number of gazes falling upon him, Li Fan could only nod silently.
Compared to the long years of research that preceded it, the preparation for the final, fated battle seemed incredibly rushed.
After the True Spirit infusion method had produced over a thousand cultivators just one step away from Sainthood, the shifting figure performed some calculations and nodded.
The white-haired elder then pointed a finger, shattering the frozen river of time.
Like breaking ice, the stalled torrent roared to life with a thunderous boom.
In that instant, Li Fan felt a brief wave of dizziness.
It was as if the moment the river of time resumed its flow, all the years he had experienced in that stasis suddenly erupted forth.
Countless images flowed before his eyes; a million years passed in a flash.
There was no time for preparation. The End of the Mountain and Sea had arrived!
The last glimmer of the sun was about to dip below the horizon.
The final tip of the iceberg was about to be swallowed by the sea.
The last possibility of the Mountain and Sea where they stood was about to sink into the endless Dao Annihilation!
As if to celebrate the final victory in this long and drawn-out battle, strange and turbulent ripples emanated from the cold, dead void around them.
Li Fan could feel with perfect clarity that something was hidden beneath the accumulated True Spirit.
It swam, sometimes slowly, sometimes swiftly.
It watched with predatory eyes, staring at the soon-to-be-submerged Mountain and Sea.
The darkness pressed in, drawing closer with every step.
And at this moment, the dying Mountain and Sea let out its final, sorrowful cry!
Li Fan had heard the voice of the Mountain and Sea before.
But never had it filled him with such a deep, empathetic sorrow, and such unwillingness to yield!
Before Li Fan's eyes, a glorious image of the Mountain and Sea's birth seemed to appear.
The Mountain and Sea had resonated as one, celebrating the theft from God, celebrating new life.
But its rise was meteoric, its fall just as sudden.
The Mountain and Sea had endured for countless eons, yet in Li Fan's eyes, it was but a fleeting moment.
The images flashed by at an indiscernible speed.
By the time Li Fan came back to his senses, the vision had merged with the reality of the Mountain and Sea's demise before him.
Like a candle in the wind, its end was now inevitable.
The great cry was the last sound the Mountain and Sea could make.
And it did not last long.
When the darkness completely enveloped everything, the resonance of the Mountain and Sea abruptly vanished.
The Mountain and Sea died at that moment!
His body, after all, originated from the Mountain and Sea.
Now that the Mountain and Sea was gone, not only were Li Fan's emotions affected, but his very existence began to dissipate along with it.
As if empowered by its final victory, the corrosive force of the Eternal Silent Void became a hundred times more potent than when he had first crossed it.
It surged in from every conceivable dimension.
Li Fan's body disintegrated at a rate beyond imagination.
"Why aren't they doing anything?"
Li Fan tried to find Qiu Xinhui and the others in the darkness.
But it was as if they had been swept away in the Mountain and Sea's demise; there was no sign of them.
"Did their struggle fail just like that?"
Just as this thought flashed through Li Fan's mind, a beam of light re-illuminated the Eternal Silent Void.
It was the Mountain and Sea, which had been completely devoured, somehow returning from nothingness, appearing once more!
But this resurgence was only a brief, final flicker.
The image of the Mountain and Sea was already blurred.
It was quickly compressed by the Eternal Silent Void until only two white dots remained.
Yet the tenacity of these two white dots seemed to surpass that of the entire Mountain and Sea.
No matter how the black tide surged, for a time, it could not completely extinguish their faint light.
During the stalemate, another change occurred.
Two thin lines emerged from the white dots of the Mountain and Sea.
They escaped into the void.
Instantly, the darkness began to churn violently.
The pressure on the white dots eased slightly.
The white dots blazed with light, once again manifesting the vision of the Mountain and Sea.
"This is..."
Li Fan, struggling to maintain his own existence, felt a familiar aura from one of the white lines.
It was the same terrifying presence he had sensed when he first entered the Infinite Sea.
At this moment, even if Truth was right beside him, that entity was too preoccupied to care.
It was locked in a life-or-death struggle with the Eternal Silent Void.
Intense shockwaves swept over them, and the foundation of Li Fan's existence was battered like a ship in a storm.
He disintegrated further.
"Truth!" Li Fan, unable to protect himself, called out to Truth once more.
But the result was the same.
Just as the battle between the Mountain and Sea and the void reached its most critical moment, with Li Fan reduced to a mere remnant of his body, the Saints of the End of Time, who had been waiting for their moment, finally moved.
They had not been devoured by the Eternal Silent Void.
In fact, it was as if they had known all along what would happen at the End of the Mountain and Sea, waiting patiently for the perfect opportunity.
Comments