Chapter 1706: Slaying Four Saints with One Heart
Chapter 1706: Slaying Four Saints with One Heart
Within the Armillary Ring, Li Fan, Shou Qiu, and the Unceasing One became one, their individual selves dissolving into a unified consciousness, indistinguishable from one another.
"Back then, you stumbled upon a fragment of the Great Dao of Longevity. It truly seems that some things are destined! But you underestimated me. Even if I knew you possessed Truth Realization, I would never have tried to take it from you. The supreme treasures of the Mountain and Sea do not belong to the virtuous, but to those capable of obtaining them. Just as I obtained the Dao of Longevity—once acquired, it was my fate. It is not so simple for others to simply snatch it away."
"But as they say, times change. With Truth Realization in my possession, I have to be cautious. Even now that I understand your character, Shou Qiu, I might not dare to so easily reveal the secret of Truth Realization to you in the next life."
"Perhaps you could use the 'inherit memory' function. As I see it, this so-called inheritance of memory is more like using the True False Transformation to re-materialize beings that have already been destroyed. Just like the cycles of rebirth you have experienced."
...
As they conversed, they watched Sundial Fate and the other three Saints charge toward them, desperate to stop the Armillary Ring's reappearance. Li Fan chuckled. "Like ants trying to shake a great tree—a laughable overestimation of their own strength. Today, we shall make an example of these four Saints to celebrate our newfound understanding."
"Excellent," Shou Qiu agreed with a nod.
The marvels of the Armillary Ring were truly beyond imagination. With the memories, knowledge, and perceptions of Li Fan, Shou Qiu, and the Unceasing One completely fused, it was as if Shou Qiu's countless eons of existence were simultaneously experiencing the True False Transformation that Li Fan had wielded.
As for the Unceasing One, though his insights were somewhat less profound than Li Fan's, he still offered his own unique perspective.
A threefold interweaving, a trinity of minds.
In the brief moments since entering the Armillary Ring, Li Fan's comprehension of the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood had already multiplied exponentially.
The Armillary Ring, which should have required the combined efforts of all three of them over several decades to forge, was now, under the influence of the Dao of Truth and Falsehood, completed in a matter of breaths!
A deafening roar of white light erupted, enveloping the Mountain and Sea just as Sundial Fate and the three other Saints arrived.
Within that blindingly familiar light, an instinctual terror surged through the hearts of the Saints.
"How is this possible? The Armillary Ring was clearly shattered!" Sundial Fate cried out, his voice choked with disbelief.
Shou Qiu's voice boomed, "If you cannot see its face, you can never comprehend its supreme mysteries. Cease your pointless struggles and enter the Dao Return Hall!"
As Shou Qiu spoke, rings of white light, like ethereal ropes, coiled around the four Saints, shrinking from the outside in, constricting them.
The four Saints might have been able to break one or two of the rings with their sacred powers.
But the Armillary Ring's bonds were numberless. Just as it had been in their past defeat, it took only a few moments before they were utterly suppressed.
They had thought they were merely returning to the Other Shore to resume their duty of saving the world.
But they never expected...
Compared to the time when the Three Saints presided over it, the atmosphere within the Armillary Ring now felt profoundly strange.
"Shou Qiu, what are you planning to do?"
Sundial Fate and the others sensed a deep unease from the words "Dao Return Hall."
"What am I planning? I am doing what must be done, of course."
Shou Qiu chuckled again, but his expression was utterly frigid as his gaze swept over the bound Saints. "You all possess the realm of Saints, yet you are of no use in saving the Mountain and Sea. Better that you contribute to Friend Fan. When the world-ending crisis has passed, your names can at least be recorded in the annals of merit."
"Shou Qiu's words resonate deep within my heart," Li Fan concurred.
"Stop your nonsense! We were right about you all along. Without the Three Saints, you finally reveal your true nature! All that talk of great virtue was nothing but a pretense to deceive the world!" Broken Prophecy shot back coldly.
"Even if we have been captured, you only managed it with the power of the Armillary Ring. The ring can only suppress, not harm. If you want to kill us, I fear it won't be so easy!" Karma Judge retorted, his eyes cold and defiant even in his subjugation.
"Is that so..." Shou Qiu's expression was unreadable.
"How can mortal eyes perceive such profound mysteries? Today, I will let you witness it for yourselves. To glimpse the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood... you can consider it a worthy death." His soft words sealed the four Saints' fate.
"Friend Fan, watch closely."
Within the Armillary Ring, infinite images of the Mountain and Sea suddenly surged into existence.
This was not like before, a mere shaping of illusions.
The Saints could feel the authentic aura of the true Mountain and Sea emanating from them.
The Upper Mountain stretched boundless, and the Infinite Sea was vast and immeasurable.
The sheer pressure of the Mountain and Sea was enough to make the Saints' breath catch in their throats. Amidst the phantasmal landscape, one figure stood out.
Sitting before the mountains, gazing upon the sea, with his back turned to all living things.
"The roar of the mountains, the howl of the sea—have you ever heard it?"
"The crush of the mountains, the flood of the sea—have you ever seen it?"
"The collapse of the mountains, the sinking of the sea—have you ever endured it?"
"The end of the mountains, the silence of the sea—have you ever feared it?"
...
Surrounded by the phantoms of the Mountain and Sea, the Saints could no longer see Shou Qiu's form.
There was only the might of the Mountain and Sea, its fury, its annihilation—a thousand calamities converging upon them like swords of frost and blades of wind.
This was both the experience Shou Qiu had once endured and something more—a reality made tangible, infused with the True False Transformation.
Sundial Fate and the other three Saints, though formidable in their own right, could not possibly escape such a vast and overwhelming calamity.
The phantoms of the Mountain and Sea appeared, then shattered. Everything returned to tranquility.
And Sundial Fate and the three other Saints, as if they had truly lived through the world-ending apocalypse, had been quietly erased.
From that moment on, they ceased to exist!
Only four faint streams of light remained, suspended within the Armillary Ring.
They were the Dao Paths of the four Saints.
Though Li Fan was stunned by the sheer destructive power Shou Qiu wielded after mastering the Dao of Truth and Falsehood, he did not hesitate, immediately awakening Truth Realization.
Under his gaze, the four Dao Paths were absorbed in an instant.
In the section for the Dao Return Hall, several new characters flickered into existence.
"To achieve the Dao of a Saint is already extraordinary. Yet now, seeing this, it seems to be nothing more than an insignificant brick in the endless wall of Truth and Falsehood." Having personally witnessed the Dao Return Hall through Li Fan's eyes, the Unceasing One couldn't help but sigh in wonder.
Shou Qiu remained silent for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Even the Great Dao of Longevity is among them."
"When this age ends, we too can enter it."
Shou Qiu's words implied that he was willing to dissolve his own being before Li Fan returned to his anchor point, becoming one with the Dao Return Hall!
"There's no rush for that. I was just observing your technique, Shou Qiu. Its power is truly terrifying. Even without the Armillary Ring's suppression, I doubt an ordinary Saint could have withstood it."
"The art of perceiving the potential of possibilities is called 'Viewing the Mountain and Sea.' This divine ability to slay Saints, we can call it..."
"Razing the Mountain and Sea."
Li Fan replayed the entire process, from the emergence of the Mountain and Sea phantoms to their collapse, feeling both astonished and overjoyed.
Although he could grasp the technique perfectly in their current three-in-one state, he knew that in the next life, without this state, he might no longer comprehend its meaning.
Sensing Li Fan's thoughts, Shou Qiu began to explain everything in painstaking detail.
"A thousand techniques and ten thousand methods, all are but a re-manifestation of what I have personally experienced, brought to life through the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood and turned back upon the enemy."
"Without the aid of the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood, it would be nothing more than a highly realistic illusion. But under its influence, it can be transformed into the very law of the Saints!"
"The Three Saints of Connecting Mountains might be able to endure it. But the other Saints on the Other Shore... even the strongest among them, Stealing Opportunity, could not escape this calamity," Shou Qiu declared with absolute confidence.
With their minds interwoven, learning was even faster than when Li Fan wore the mantle of a Saint's Dao through Truth Realization.
Even though the technique "Razing the Mountain and Sea" encapsulated the countless eons of Shou Qiu's enlightenment, its core remained the True False Transformation.
In less than a hundred years, Li Fan had completely mastered it.
During this time, the white light of the Armillary Ring covered most, but not all, of the remaining Mountain and Sea.
They maintained the Mountain and Sea's state of near-collapse, yet they did not resolve the crisis of its annihilation.
This was to create the illusion that Li Fan was still struggling, to prevent the Three Saints of Connecting Mountains from crossing over from the future.
"This method cannot last forever. The wisdom of the Three Saints... even I cannot fully fathom it. Perhaps they have already faintly sensed that you possess Truth Realization. But they do nothing, knowing it cannot be taken, or that taking it would be useless. That is why they allow you to act," Shou Qiu stated calmly.
"As long as we don't expose it, it should be fine. I will continue to play the role of the True Spirit Infuser, the Mountain Sea Walker. For the sake of reconnecting the Mountain and Sea, the Three Saints will have to compromise, perhaps even push things along," Li Fan mused before responding.
"Journey upstream against the flow of time, absorb the myriad Saints, and fill the Dao Return Hall. I have a premonition that if that grand hall can be re-materialized from the void, then even if the plan to reconnect the Mountain and Sea fails, the Mountain and Sea itself can still be saved. As for the Three Saints..."
"Do not disbelieve them. But do not fully trust them, either," was Shou Qiu's advice.
"What do you mean?"
"Before the Mountain and Sea is reconnected, they may act as they always have. But after it is reconnected, what then? That remains unknown. And the ultimate goal of the Three Saints is to return to the moment the Star descended and split the Mountain and Sea. Otherwise, even if the Mountain and Sea returns to its full glory, it will be no match for the Star."
...
Within the Armillary Ring, Li Fan and Shou Qiu discussed many things.
Shou Qiu's experiences over countless eons, especially his interactions with the Three Saints, were an unimaginably precious treasure for Li Fan.
He began to lay out rough plans for his future reincarnations.
"You should be able to journey upstream until the time I entered the Other Shore without much trouble. But any further back..."
"I may not be able to help you."
"It matters not. I have long grown accustomed to walking this path alone. Besides, I may still find companions along the way," Li Fan said lightly.
Three distinct fluctuations within the Armillary Ring interrupted their exchange.
Shou Qiu glanced over and chuckled. "The Connecting Mountains Staff, the Returning to Sea Shovel, and the All Living Beings Stick. The three treasures have fully recovered and are desperately trying to break free."
"Though they do not know of our great fortune, they could sense something amiss from the execution of the four Saints. It goes against the mission of the Three Saints, so naturally, they wish to leave. But now, it is no longer up to them."
With a downward press of his hand, Shou Qiu easily suppressed the three treasures.
Before he understood the True False Transformation, Shou Qiu might not have been a match for the three treasures combined.
But now, with the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood at his command, as wondrous as the three treasures were, they were not the Three Saints themselves.
Aided by the Armillary Ring, they naturally could not escape Shou Qiu's grasp.
"Time is running short. Now that we have dealt with the four Saints, let us begin to deconstruct the Armillary Ring."
"Although we have reforged it, our success was largely due to the three treasures providing the mold. If we have no mold in the next life and must create an Armillary Ring from scratch..."
"Even with the aid of the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood, I fear it will not be so easy," Shou Qiu said slowly, his gaze sweeping over the white light of the ring as it enveloped the Mountain and Sea.
"Exactly. And without the Armillary Ring by his side, Daoist Fan probably wouldn't feel at ease," the Unceasing One added with a nod.
Li Fan did not refute the Unceasing One's teasing remark.
Instead, he frowned and said, "The Armillary Ring is a supreme treasure crafted by the Three Saints. Even if I could recreate it from thin air in the next life, the Three Saints would surely detect it. I must completely grasp its principles, to create something that *is* an Armillary Ring, but *is not* **the** Armillary Ring."
"Or rather, an Armillary Ring that belongs only to me."
Li Fan's words were slightly convoluted, but Shou Qiu and the Unceasing One instantly understood his meaning.
"I have no absolute certainty, but let us try with all our might," Shou Qiu said.
The analysis of the Armillary Ring proved to be more difficult than Li Fan had anticipated.
Even with the combined wisdom of all three, their progress was painstakingly slow.
After all, this was the very foundation the Three Saints used to unite others in Same Heart Same Virtue; it would not be cracked so easily.
Reaching an impasse, Li Fan was struck by a sudden, wild idea.
"The strength of the three of us may not be sufficient."
"But what if we add all the living beings of the Mountain and Sea?"
"Those who came later to the Armillary Ring were only subtly influenced, not forced into a singular mind. This might work," Shou Qiu said after a moment's thought, nodding in agreement.
The Unceasing One also concurred. "The wisdom of all beings in the Mountain and Sea is not necessarily weaker than that of the so-called Saints. They merely lack opportunity and fate. Once given the chance, they may forge a new path and see what we have overlooked."
Having reached a consensus, the light of the Armillary Ring abruptly swelled once more.
Its brilliance illuminated the entire Mountain and Sea.
At that moment, the innumerable beings of the remnant Mountain and Sea all looked up to see the dazzling white ring in the sky.
Though their physical bodies did not seem to enter, their spirits and consciousness were drawn within.
Inside the white ring of the Armillary Ring, where previously only the three towering figures of Li Fan, Shou Qiu, and the Unceasing One had stood in isolation, they were now surrounded by a sea of countless, star-like points of light.
Upon their arrival, some were startled, some were terrified, and some were ecstatic.
A cacophony of chirps and chatter filled the space.
The Unceasing One frowned slightly, Li Fan's eyes grew cold, while Shou Qiu simply gave a wry smile.
"Silence!" The Unceasing One's voice echoed, explaining their mission to the endless multitude of beings.
Those who sought the Dao, without needing to be asked, spontaneously began to probe the mysteries of the Armillary Ring.
As for those who were not interested, Li Fan was not worried that they would remain idle.
After all, with the influence of the Armillary Ring's Same Heart Same Virtue, unwillingness would eventually turn into willingness.
Slowly, the Armillary Ring grew quiet.
Countless points of light drifted everywhere, roaming to every corner of the ring.
What they knew, what they thought, what they felt, and what they understood.
All converged like trickling streams.
Though each was small and thin, like the hundred rivers of the world, they eventually formed a great sea.
Eight hundred leisurely years passed, and the research on the Armillary Ring reached a critical juncture.
"Friend Fan's brilliant idea was indeed effective. The collective exploration of the endless beings of the Mountain and Sea surpasses our solitary study."
"This Armillary Ring was likely created by the Three Saints by borrowing from the creation and evolution of the Mountain and Sea. To have the beings of the Mountain and Sea deconstruct it is like finding the key. Naturally, our efforts are multiplied."
Shou Qiu's voice echoed within the Armillary Ring.
Compared to eight hundred years ago, this place had become much brighter and more transparent.
Many parts of the Armillary Ring that were once obscure and difficult to understand now appeared as clear as glass to their eyes.
"So this is what the Armillary Ring looks like in the eyes of the Three Saints."
"However, there is still one final, crucial core that remains unsolved."
"And that is..."
"The secret of Same Heart Same Virtue."
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