Chapter 1694: The Hungry [Truth]
Chapter 1694: The Hungry [Truth]
Li Fan, who had always been so timid and cautious before the Saints, suddenly dared to cast off the cloak of the Xuanpin Dao. Naturally, he had an ace up his sleeve.
And that ace was the transformation of [Truth]!
The recent reconnection of the Mountain and Sea had yielded little for Li Fan himself, but the same could not be said for [Truth].
It was as if [Truth]'s perspective had suddenly expanded, its vision sharpening considerably. The temporal scope it covered within the Mountain and Sea had nearly doubled, seemingly granting it a much freer hand to act.
While this change wasn't explicitly stated in the text on the [Truth] panel, glimpses of it could be seen in subtle, overlooked details.
Take, for instance, the [Divine Blessing] category.
The words [Fantasy Becomes Truth] now shimmered with the same dreamlike, iridescent seven-colored light as [Dao Return to True].
When Li Fan's consciousness touched it, the magnificent light erupted, wrapping itself tightly around the name "Li Fan" in the corresponding section of the [Truth] panel.
As for Li Fan himself, he felt as if a shadow had passed overhead, or as though he had inexplicably been draped in a heavy, protective cloak. A sense of security washed over him, even in the presence of the Saints.
The previous sense of crisis—that he could be seen through, laid bare at any moment—was gone.
"Compared to before, maintaining [Fantasy Becomes Truth] no longer costs anything. And it can remain active passively at all times."
"More critically, its effect is significantly enhanced. Under its protection, I don't have to worry about my true nature being exposed, even when I'm right in front of the Saints."
"But the price for this is..."
At that moment, Li Fan's gaze fell once more upon the [Dao Return to True] section.
The iridescent light on the characters for the Xuanpin Dao seemed suppressed, having grown dim.
Comparing the two, a realization dawned on Li Fan. "Both the Xuanpin Dao and [Fantasy Becomes Truth] hold the power of a Saint. With my current strength, I can probably use [Truth] to temporarily ascend to a Saint's realm. However, I can only choose one; I cannot wield both at once."
"Perhaps in the future, when I truly ascend to the level of a Saint, I'll be able to ignore this limitation. But for now..."
Li Fan's decision to temporarily relinquish the Xuanpin Dao wasn't born from a sudden bout of benevolence, nor from an inability to watch a Saint perish.
The true reason was the intense hunger surging from within [Truth].
It was as if, after a long slumber, the artifact was finally beginning to stir.
And the first sensation of its reawakening was an almost unbearable, desperate desire to feed.
The feeling was similar to when he first encountered Su Bai's skull, only this time it was a thousand times more intense.
If Li Fan's willpower hadn't been tempered and strengthened through countless cycles of reincarnation, he likely would have lost his composure on the spot under the artifact's overwhelming influence.
And in doing so, expose his true nature.
But suppressing it was not a long-term solution. He had to help [Truth] feed as quickly as possible to quell its ravenous appetite.
As for what [Truth] consumed...
Even as it urged him, a faint ripple of energy from the artifact informed Li Fan that something edible for it existed within this very segment of the Mountain and Sea.
This was precisely why Li Fan had put on such a noble and magnanimous act.
He couldn't locate it on his own, but he was confident that the Saints, eager to keep this "True Spirit Infuser" on their side, would undoubtedly offer their help.
He simply hadn't expected results to come so quickly.
Li Fan stared at the anomaly in the Mountain and Sea that Sundial Fate had indicated.
As his gaze fixed upon the location, the agitation from [Truth] indeed grew more intense.
"Everyone, I'll be on my way."
"Await my good news!"
With that, he didn't look back, transforming into a streak of light and plunging into the anomaly.
Back on the Other Shore, the Saints watched Li Fan depart, an eerie silence falling over them for a moment.
"This traveler of the Mountain and Sea is mysterious indeed," Tai Yi remarked with a chuckle.
"It matters not. Though we claim to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Mountain and Sea, it is boundless, and we would not dare claim to know all its secrets. As long as he can truly create a Saint..."
"We can settle everything else once the Mountain and Sea is reconnected and our powers are fully restored."
The Saints, their expressions varied, nodded in silent agreement.
As for Li Fan...
In a mere moment, he had plunged into a gulf stream of myriad possibilities.
Following the subtle guidance from [Truth], he sped toward the location of its "food."
As he gradually distanced himself from the Armillary Ring, Li Fan could feel the changes it had wrought upon him with increasing clarity.
"So it wasn't my imagination. Real changes were occurring. Thankfully, I wasn't there for long, and my will is resilient. If I had stayed any longer, I might have become of one mind with them forever."
A chill went down Li Fan's spine.
"Even though I'm away for now and have the protection of [Fantasy Becomes Truth], I can't let my guard down."
"After all, the Saints are undoubtedly still watching me from the Other Shore. If things go south, I'll just have to use [Truth] to escape."
This was another reason Li Fan had wanted to leave the Other Shore temporarily.
Away from the Saints, there was at least some margin for error when activating [Truth].
If he tried to use it right under their noses, he risked being stopped.
After all, the power of Lian Shan and the other two Saints was truly terrifying.
Reining in his thoughts, Li Fan descended into this new possibility and began to assess its peculiarities.
It was just as he had glimpsed from the Other Shore.
The river of time here did not flow in a straight line. Instead, its beginning and end were joined, forming a perfect loop.
The vast majority of beings within this possibility were completely unaware of their true circumstances.
Only a rare few possessed the strange ability to momentarily leap outside the current of their reality.
"This manifests as the ability to briefly exist in the future at certain moments, through some unknown method. It feels like a dream, yet it is real. Every action, whether in the present or that future, affects the entire possibility."
"Though it forms a loop, it remains in a constant state of flux."
Li Fan's eyes scanned the countless flowing possibilities, trying to pinpoint the so-called 'opportunity for enlightenment'—the very Dao that served as his target.
But his prey, seemingly sensing the approach of the predator that was [Truth], had quickly hidden itself away.
Li Fan searched for a long time to no avail.
"The looping nature of these possibilities must be related to that Mountain and Sea Great Dao," he mused.
After a moment of contemplation, Li Fan settled on a plan.
Forming a blade with his fingers, he selected one of the looping possibilities and slashed, severing it completely.
What was once a self-contained loop, coiling tenuously within the Mountain and Sea, was now broken.
The circle was now broken by Li Fan's hand.
Severed from the whole, the possibility could no longer merge back into the Mountain and Sea.
It drifted alone, like a solitary boat on an endless ocean.
Having lost its cyclical nature, the beings within that possibility were robbed of their "future."
Their lives were frozen, fixed at their final moment in time.
It was as if the devouring Dao Annihilation had arrived; in the next instant, they would all fade into nothingness.
But the changes didn't end there.
The very beginning of that possibility, now deprived of its "source" from the future, began to wither away.
Like a plucked flower, it could sustain itself for a short while, but its eventual decay was inevitable.
"The lynchpin maintaining these looping possibilities is the Mountain and Sea Great Dao."
Li Fan watched silently, lost in thought, as a brilliant civilization within that possibility faded away.
He then turned his attention back to the countless looping possibilities that remained intact.
If he were to follow his true inclinations, he would simply sever all the possibilities with brute force. The Mountain and Sea Great Dao hiding behind them, the very thing maintaining their cyclical nature, would inevitably be exposed.
However...
To do so would mean the end for countless living beings.
The Saints on the Other Shore would be watching. Such an act would be a stark contrast to the persona he had presented, and it would only serve to arouse unnecessary suspicion.
"It might be better to show the Saints my more... subtle methods!"
With that thought, Li Fan abandoned the idea of using brute force.
His form dissolved into a streak of light, merging completely into the most prominent of the looping possibilities.
Li Fan had once existed as a "line" while traversing the river of time against its current.
Unlike his normal state of being, which existed at a single point in time, he had covered an entire, lengthy period at once.
Now, as Li Fan merged with this new possibility, the streak of light spread throughout the loop.
It eventually encompassed the entire cycle.
This allowed Li Fan to witness the history of this possibility from the perspective of its native inhabitants.
The civilization of this world was born from the ruins of a great war.
Beset by strange beasts and endless calamities, humanity struggled for survival in the cracks.
Upon the desolate lands, they gradually built cities that shone like scattered stars.
From the ruins of antiquity, they salvaged wondrous artifacts and rediscovered lost knowledge.
Based on the different ancient records they found, they gradually split into two distinct factions.
The first centered on strengthening the self. They used everything available in the wilderness to modify and enhance their own bodies.
The second followed the path of "Control." Their own bodies were fragile, but they could cultivate a special spiritual power that allowed them to control beasts and even machinery.
Initially, there was no irreconcilable conflict between the two.
But everything changed when both sides reached the pinnacle of their cultivation.
The path of Control could also be used to dominate cultivators with enhanced bodies.
And the spiritual power of the Controllers was a potent tonic for the body-enhancers. Consuming it was equivalent to a hundred years of arduous cultivation.
And so, a world-shattering war erupted.
In the end, the civilization they had so painstakingly rebuilt from the ruins was once again laid to waste.
There were no survivors, only a few scattered records left behind.
After a long period of silence, new life began to emerge.
And history repeated itself.
Within this possibility, there were indeed beings who saw this tragic cycle for what it was. Several times, they tried to stand up and save their world, to change its fate.
But the conflict between the two cultivation methods was almost impossible to resolve.
The power of an individual was ultimately a drop in the ocean, unable to stop the surging tide of destiny.
Thus, this possibility was trapped in an endless cycle.
"The past can influence the future, and the future can change the past."
"However, because of that world-ending war, the impact of all variables has been minimized. It might take hundreds of millions of cycles before a change significant enough to alter the civilization's fate occurs..."
Li Fan's consciousness covered the entire timeline. After a moment of thought, he began to search for the root of the problem.
"The entire cause stems from the fundamental conflict between the two cultivation methods. If I can resolve that..."
"Perhaps this loop will be broken."
"And to maintain this state, the hidden Mountain and Sea Great Dao will be forced to intervene and twist it back."
Two figures subsequently appeared in a city reborn from the ruins.
They each joined a different faction.
After decades of study and cultivation, both reached the pinnacle of their respective arts.
"Indeed, whether it's Control or Body, both have reached the absolute limit of cultivation in this world."
"To advance further, one must devour the other."
"This is a limitation of the world itself, or rather, a limitation of the [Dao]."
"But it won't stop me."
The two avatars Li Fan created, with their astonishing mastery of their respective schools, deservedly became the leaders of their factions.
With iron-fisted methods, they temporarily suppressed the momentum of war.
Instead, they focused their efforts on reforming their cultivation methods.
In the eyes of the public, this was merely a pointless delay. They never imagined that in less than three years, an effective, improved method would be introduced to the world.
"The path of Control can master all things, so naturally, it can master the self. The stronger the body, the more effortlessly it can be controlled."
"All things in the world can serve as sustenance for the body. The same is true for one's own spirit. A spirit tempered a thousand times can be consumed by the self like a golden elixir. Once ingested, it illuminates every flaw in the physical form."
...
At first, the people were skeptical, but there were always curious souls willing to try.
After some practice, they discovered that the two methods could truly be cultivated in tandem, and even complemented each other!
And so, the shadow of war gradually receded.
Communication and prosperity began to take root across the land.
His work done, Li Fan looked up, sensing a quiet change once again beginning to stir in the world.
Under the influence of a strange power, the civilization's prosperity did not last long.
After only a brief period of peace, the seeds of war began to sprout anew.
It started when cultivators discovered that while dual cultivation was effective, it was simply too slow!
The world was filled with more mediocrities than geniuses. Cultivating a single path was already a lifetime's effort, let alone cultivating two.
Their strength was actually less than those who focused on a single discipline.
What was worse, the old method of devouring cultivators of the opposing faction to fuel one's own cultivation still worked!
The greed in people's hearts was impossible to eradicate.
Beneath the calm surface, ripples began to form.
More and more killings began to occur.
...
Li Fan captured that wisp of world-altering power, but he wasn't confident he could strike it down in one blow.
He did not act rashly, but instead continued to play cat and mouse with it.
The two leaders collaborated once again, improving the new method.
The cultivation efficiency was increased several times over.
And as for those who dared to use other cultivators for their own practice, they were killed without mercy.
Another round of bloody slaughter forcibly suppressed the greed in people's hearts.
Besides, the path of cultivation wasn't completely blocked; there was still an acceptable way to practice.
So, people slowly came to accept this slower method of cultivation.
Li Fan used governance to change the world. Heaven and earth began to shift again.
Cultivating both spirit and body sometimes led to a state of qi deviation.
Some would have their bodies transform into the beasts of the wilderness, but their minds would remain sane.
Others would have their minds descend into madness, while their bodies remained normal.
Either way, a sudden outburst was enough to pose a great threat to civilization.
At first, people could tolerate it, but as the incidents became more frequent, cultivators began to doubt the rationality of dual cultivation once more.
Of course.
Once again, Li Fan resolved it.
Just as the world was about to change for a third time, Li Fan, who had been hidden behind the scenes, suddenly opened his eyes.
"Still playing games? I've found you!"
His true form erupted from the looping possibility, a colossal figure that towered between heaven and earth.
A single step pinned down the myriad looping possibilities below.
Then, his hands closed upon the void!
(End of Chapter)
Comments