Chapter 1674: A Solitary Star, Suddenly Suspended
"The Mountain and Sea was annihilated; the Star descended. What I just witnessed was no illusion—it was real."
A solitary Star, suspended high, tore open the void realm, its gaze like that of a god.
Whenever Li Fan recalled the scene, a chill crept into his heart, as if, even now, that unknown entity was staring at him from within the Eternal Silent Void Realm.
But now, there was no sign of the Star, and the Mountain and Sea had reverted to its final, broken state.
"The river of time itself is merely a tributary of the Mountain and Sea. Even after the Mountain and Sea's destruction, it can still return to its origin. This isn't a simple reversal of time..."
"It's a complete reversal of everything that has happened."
"The True-False Transformation?"
Though his heart was filled with disbelief, everything he had experienced at the End of Mountain and Sea seemed to confirm it without a doubt.
A fire seemed to burn in Li Fan's throat.
...then what, exactly, was [Truth]?
Li Fan stared intently at the phrase on the [Truth] panel—"When truth is made false, the false is made true"—and a thousand doubts flooded his mind.
His thoughts swirled until Qiu Xinhui, having successfully healed everyone from the Life and Death Realm, stood before him once more.
Since the existence of [Truth] was already exposed, he saw no reason to hold back. Li Fan asked his questions directly.
"The Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood..."
A look of yearning crossed the white-haired Qiu Xinhui's face, and for a moment, she seemed lost in thought.
Then, she shook her head wistfully. "I have only grasped 'the false becoming true,' not 'the true becoming false.'"
The answer was both unexpected and, upon reflection, perfectly logical.
"The false becoming true"—a more advanced expression of the Empty Thought Construction method.
Recalling it now, after the Mountain and Sea's destruction and the fall of the Saints, Qiu Xinhui had single-handedly turned the tide, constantly summoning manifestations of the Saints from thin air to support an imagined Mountain and Sea against the Eternal Silent Void Realm. It certainly had the flavor of "the false becoming true."
Li Fan couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
At the same time, his doubts, far from diminishing, only multiplied.
He never imagined that someone else in the entire Mountain and Sea could possess one half of [Truth]'s True-False Transformation.
"A long time ago, before I achieved Sainthood, I personally witnessed the destruction of the Mountain and Sea."
"The memories are still vivid. Despair and regret filled my heart."
"On the verge of my own demise, from the unseen depths of the Mountain and Sea's final, fading light, I comprehended the Dao of 'the false becoming true.'"
"From that annihilated void, I recreated the 'End of Mountain and Sea'..."
Qiu Xinhui spoke slowly, her voice filled with emotion.
At the same time, as if sensing the questions in Li Fan's heart, she continued without waiting for him to ask, "I was born at the End of Mountain and Sea, and I grew up at the End of Mountain and Sea."
"I achieved my Dao at the End of Mountain and Sea. My entire existence is confined to this era. Although I can glimpse scenes of the past through fragments of light and shadow, it is like seeing only a single spot on a leopard through a tube. I have more than enough power to recreate an imagined Mountain and Sea..."
"...but to truly recreate the Mountain and Sea in its prime..."
Qiu Xinhui sighed. "My power is insufficient."
"If you were to travel to an older era of the Mountain and Sea and witness its entirety, wouldn't you be able to do it then?" Li Fan asked thoughtfully.
"With your power, you should be able to, shouldn't you?"
Li Fan was, of course, referring to Qiu Xinhui's ability to continuously manifest the Saints to resist the void realm's corrosion.
Unexpectedly, Qiu Xinhui gently shook her head in denial.
"Traveling downstream is already an arduous task."
"To go against the current is harder still. Fellow Daoist Fan, you underestimate the dangers involved."
"Besides, the Saints still exist, so how could I recreate them?" Qiu Xinhui stated the most crucial point.
Realization dawned on Li Fan.
The great power Qiu Xinhui had displayed earlier was only possible *after* the Saints at the End of Mountain and Sea had sacrificed themselves and perished. The Great Daos they once governed were left empty and unclaimed.
Therefore, she could summon their figures from the void, reclaim their Daos, and wield their saintly might.
But at this point in time, when the Saints at the End of Mountain and Sea were still alive...
...her creations could only be shadows, devoid of their true power.
The logic was sound, but Li Fan remained unconvinced.
"So what?" he thought. "Just explain the situation to the Saints. I'm sure they'd be willing to sacrifice themselves to save the Mountain and Sea. And if not, then we just find an opportunity..." Li Fan's eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint hidden within them.
As if reading his thoughts, Qiu Xinhui gave a bitter smile.
"The Saints came at my call. How could I possibly betray them?"
"For us to unite and strive to save the world, carrying on their will after they have fallen—that is one thing."
"But to covet their power while they still live, even to plot against them and take their lives—that is another matter entirely."
"I will not do it," declared Qiu Xinhui, the Saint of the Mountain Sea's End, her expression solemn.
"Pedantic," Li Fan thought, shaking his head inwardly.
However, he didn't argue the point with her.
Instead, another matter suddenly came to mind.
According to the Saint of the Mountain Sea's End, as long as the Saints existed, no one else could touch the Great Daos they governed.
In that case...
"Is there truly a connection between [Truth]'s True-False Transformation and the power Qiu Xinhui wields?"
Qiu Xinhui continued, "Other Saints will venture to the Beginning of Mountain and Sea. My plan is precisely as I described: to use an imagined Mountain and Sea to seek a sliver of hope at the juncture between the old and the new."
"Through our repeated attempts, it seemed we had truly glimpsed a ray of hope."
"Until... today, when we finally came face-to-face with the Star."
The terrifying image of the solitary, suspended Star once again flashed before Li Fan's eyes.
Hazy, fragmented memories surfaced along with it.
"After you called on me to act... what exactly happened?" Li Fan's heart skipped a beat as he asked urgently.
Qiu Xinhui studied him for a moment before shaking her head slightly. "Fellow Daoist Fan, you have your own path to walk. If I were to reveal it so easily, it would only hinder you."
"What happened is ultimately unimportant. You only need to know this: the moment the Star appeared, all our struggles became futile."
"Fortunately... there is still a turning point." Qiu Xinhui looked directly at Li Fan.
Even though the enigmatic Qiu Xinhui spoke in riddles, Li Fan could roughly guess what had happened to him.
It was what he had feared all along.
[Truth] had lost control, possessed his body, and acted of its own accord.
A shadow flickered in his eyes, and a fire ignited in his heart.
Though furious, Li Fan thought it through...
...and realized there was little he could do.
He couldn't very well shatter the barrier around his own True Spirit and take them both down in mutual destruction, could he?
Things were far from that desperate.
Without any need for persuasion from Qiu Xinhui, Li Fan quickly talked himself down, forcibly suppressing the rage in his eyes.
Noting the change in his expression, Qiu Xinhui nodded to herself.
"For this next attempt, you need not act, Fellow Daoist. Simply watch in silence."
"When the dust settles, you can..."
"...return with [Truth]."
When Qiu Xinhui spoke the word "[Truth]," Li Fan's heart inevitably gave a heavy thud.
It was the first time since he began his cycles of reincarnation that he had heard the name of [Truth] from another's lips.
Even though he already knew its existence had been exposed...
...having his suspicions confirmed still filled him with a profound unease.
"What about the True Spirit Infusion?" he asked, changing the subject.
"It is but a futile effort. There is no need for your trouble, Fellow Daoist." Qiu Xinhui smiled, bowed, and departed.
And so, in this cycle at the End of Mountain and Sea, Li Fan was like a ghost.
Though the other Saints knew of his existence, they only knew him by his title, "Xuanpin."
He did not participate in the Saints' plan to save the world.
At the End of Mountain and Sea, where the river of time was frozen, time itself had no real meaning.
An unknown period passed, and the seal was not broken by the white-haired Master's volition.
Rather, the Master simply exhausted his power and perished.
The river of time surged forth once more, carrying everyone toward the final conclusion.
Without the aid of Li Fan's True Spirit Infusion, the imagined Mountain and Sea fared even worse.
It could barely withstand the corrosion of the Eternal Silent Void Realm at its peak.
To say nothing of facing the solitary, suspended Star.
Before they could even lay eyes on the Star, the imagined Mountain and Sea, along with all the Saints, had already perished.
"Saints, assemble!"
Qiu Xinhui's solemn voice echoed alone in the darkness.
Even knowing his fate in advance, he did not abandon the struggle.
Until, at last, the surging tides of the void struck, completely extinguishing the imagined brilliance.
"Fellow Daoist Fan..."
"It is time."
"This time, the experience may be... different than before."
Qiu Xinhui's final words drifted toward him.
And within the dark tides, Li Fan, having finally broken the shackles of the Xuanpin Dao, once again softly called upon [Truth].
His heart stopped, his expression tense.
Fortunately, there were no surprises.
That familiar sensation finally descended upon him.
And just as Qiu Xinhui had said, this experience was different from before.
The billowing white mist, the signature of [Truth], did not appear.
Li Fan could only feel a strange, wondrous power separating him from the surrounding Eternal Silent Void Realm, protecting him from harm.
It was like returning to the womb; all the agitation and unease in his heart vanished in an instant, replaced by utter tranquility.
Even though [Truth] did not activate immediately, seeming to wait for some change to occur...
...Li Fan felt not a shred of anxiety.
He waited with it, silently.
When the last glimmer of the imagined Mountain and Sea was devoured by darkness...
...when the final two points of light from the Primal Mountain and Sea vanished for good...
...the raging Eternal Silent Void Realm fell into a brief silence.
Then, the void erupted in unprecedented, frantic waves. It was a wild celebration, welcoming the arrival of its emperor.
Though he couldn't see these tempests, Li Fan could sense their presence through the increasing vibrations of his own being.
Their power was several times greater than when they had consumed the Mountain and Sea, and even the protection of [Truth] was violently shaken.
"This is the true, peak state of the void."
At the same time, Li Fan understood what [Truth] was waiting for.
It was waiting for the advent of the Star.
Compared to before, when it had torn open the void and leaped into view...
...this time, the Star was like a rising sun.
Ascending from the sea's horizon.
At first, the Star's light was not particularly dazzling.
But with every passing second of its existence, the pressure it exerted on the outside world increased a thousandfold.
The protection of [Truth] rattled as if battered by a hurricane.
The Eternal Silent Void Realm, too, began to seethe as if boiling.
Bathed in the Star's unique radiance, the darkness completely dissipated.
But what followed the darkness was not light.
It was a strange luminescence that belonged solely to the Star.
The Star's power was simply too overbearing.
It tolerated no other existence besides itself.
Not even the Eternal Silent Void Realm was an exception.
Under the Star's light, the darkness evaporated completely.
As far as the eye could see, there was only the solitary, suspended Star, which began to expand without end.
Face to face with the Star.
Even under the protection of [Truth]'s power, the urge to flee erupted in Li Fan's mind.
He also understood, then, the absurdity of Qiu Xinhui's plan.
What talk of breaking away to stand alone, of merging with the Star.
It was all pure nonsense.
Once the Star descended, nothing would remain.
Nothing except the Star itself.
What terrifying power was this!
Li Fan's entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Even if he shut his eyes and severed his divine sense...
...and even with the protection of [Truth]...
...he could not stop the Star from slowly rising in his mind.
Its image grew larger and larger, as if it would completely consume him.
Under the Star's divine pressure, the indescribable gap in power was so immense that Li Fan couldn't even form the thought of escape.
His mind went blank as he stared, dumbfounded, silently awaiting death.
It was at this moment...
...that a seven-character stream of light drifted from an unknown place.
It was the phrase he knew so well: "When truth is made false, the false is made true"!
The stream of light was severed in two as if by a blade, exploding outward.
The part reading "When truth is made false" transformed into a sky full of light and shadow, meeting the solitary, suspended Star.
The Star's infinite expansion came to an abrupt halt.
It was as if a hand had reached out from beneath the sea's surface...
...and was forcibly dragging the Star, which had already breached the horizon, back down!
This force was slow, yet resolute.
Unstoppable, inviolable. Not even the Star was an exception!
The solitary Star trembled, utterly enraged.
Its light seemed to erupt, a thousand times more blinding than before.
Judging by its previous performance, perhaps the entire void would have been vaporized by this sudden burst of starlight.
But now, all of its brilliance was completely blocked by the radiance of the four characters: "When truth is made false."
The Star's fury, compared to before, made no difference at all.
The two streams of light vied for supremacy.
Li Fan, who had witnessed the entire scene, was lost in a state of utter shock.
Even if he was like an ant compared to the Star and [Truth]...
...it didn't mean he couldn't understand what he was seeing.
His comprehension of the True-False Transformation, gained through countless reincarnations, was not for nothing.
At that moment, Li Fan's fear of the Star had completely vanished. Instead, overcome by extreme excitement, he began to mutter to himself.
"'When truth is made false,' 'when truth is made false'..."
"So that's how it is."
"So that's what it means!"
Li Fan had always believed that "truth made false" referred to all the Great Daos and matters within the Mountain and Sea.
It wasn't until now, after personally witnessing the light of [Truth] contend with the Star, that Li Fan finally understood.
"'The true becoming false' has nothing to do with the myriad things of the Mountain and Sea."
"Or rather, it's not *just* about the Mountain and Sea."
"The most important thing is..."
"...to erase the light of the Star's advent!"
"To eliminate the Star's influence!"
A roar echoed in Li Fan's mind.
"I have only grasped 'the false becoming true,' not 'the true becoming false.'" The complex expression of the Saint of the Mountain Sea's End resurfaced in his thoughts.
Only now did Li Fan understand its meaning.
"The power of [Truth]... is this immense?" Li Fan cried out in disbelief.
Li Fan's inner turmoil had no effect on the outside world.
In the contest of strength, [Truth] ultimately proved superior.
The light of the Star slowly faded.
The dark void, having vanished, reappeared.
When all had returned to tranquility, the remaining three characters from the seven-character stream of light—"the false is made true"—
—burst open without a sound.
They transformed into a boundless Mountain and Sea, forcing back the Eternal Silent Void Realm.
Before Li Fan had time to process it all, he was swept up and cast into it.
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