Chapter 1714: The Art of Severing the Future
Chapter 1714: The Art of Severing the Future
Li Fan had once encountered the remnants of a peculiar civilization in the Mountain and Sea.
The Mountain and Sea Sacrificers of the Xuan Dynasty, and Xiao Wangsheng.
Although that ancient dynasty had long vanished into the river of history, Xiao Wangsheng had managed to survive, and Li Fan had a brief encounter with him.
Through him, Li Fan had glimpsed a corner of the ancient Mountain and Sea.
Now, to verify his own suspicions, Li Fan felt as if he had become one of the Mountain and Sea Sacrificers himself, searching amidst the countless, indistinct lines of the void realm for that familiar aura.
Though the Mountain and Sea had existed for innumerable ages since its birth, the Xuan Dynasty had also endured for countless eons. If not for the Dao Annihilation calamity that merged the Mountain and Sea, this group of beings who depended on the Mountain and Sea for their existence might not have been so easily wiped out.
In the end, the Xuan had left its own indelible mark upon the history of the Mountain and Sea.
And now...
It felt as if the other Sacrificers he knew, the countless citizens of the Xuan Dynasty, had not truly died. Instead, they were still gathered there, calling for his return!
Li Fan followed the trail, but in the end, he did not find the shattered reality he expected.
What he saw was merely an endless stream of light and shadow from the Xuan's past existence within the Mountain and Sea, coalesced into a single thread.
This thread represented the mark the Xuan Dynasty's civilization had left upon the Mountain and Sea!
Li Fan’s consciousness returned to his own body, withdrawing from the vision of the Xuan Dynasty's thread. He surveyed his surroundings.
Civilization threads like this one...
Were infinite, boundless, and endless!
A profound shock rippled through Li Fan's heart.
"When I first left the Primal Possibility, I saw the countless parallel possibilities of the Mountain and Sea and thought I understood its immensity."
"But from all that I have seen today, I finally realize..."
"The Mountain and Sea's depth in time is just as staggering as its infinite breadth."
"It was an unfathomable, seemingly endless expanse of time!"
Li Fan was also reminded of the strange little black box he had once fished out of the Dao Annihilation.
It was an ancient Mountain and Sea artifact, a manifestation of something that had turned from azure to the deepest black.
"It was one of the vast number of algal life forms that existed during the period when the Mountain and Sea devoured the gods. Only after I went through countless ages did it evolve into that state."
"Perhaps even that era after the Mountain and Sea devoured the gods was far, far longer than I had imagined."
The algal life forms had no subjective consciousness, only the instinct to survive.
But if even they held the impression of having experienced an "extremely long" time, it was a testament to the sheer antiquity of the Mountain and Sea.
"Towards the mountain they went, thus he is called the Connecting Mountains."
"From the sea they came, thus he became the Returning to Sea."
"The answer had been hiding in plain sight all along."
Amidst the turbulent storm of infinite civilization threads, Li Fan seemed to see the true origin of the powers of the two Saints, Lian Shan and Gui Hai.
"Every attempt by an ancient Mountain and Sea civilization to connect the mountains and cross the sea fueled the birth of the Connecting Mountains Saint."
"And the process of every civilization's demise, its return to the Infinite Sea, was the catalyst for the Returning to Sea Saint's emergence."
"It was not the power of a single individual at a single moment that reached the summit, but the collective push of countless eons and innumerable civilizations. Only then could that world-shaking leap into existence occur!"
Li Fan couldn't help but recall Lian Shan's own account of his encounter with Sundial Fate during his initial ascension.
After Lian Shan's ascension, Sundial Fate reacted as if it had seen something utterly terrifying and fled in a panic.
"Thinking back now, perhaps in the instant Lian Shan succeeded, Sundial Fate saw its true nature, just as I have."
"The source of the Connecting Mountains Saint's power is, in fact, the sum of all beings who attempted to 'connect the mountains' but failed. This means that everyone who tried to ascend became its nourishment."
"What Sundial Fate must have seen in that moment was a terrifying monster standing upon a mountain of countless stacked corpses. It was no wonder it fled in fear."
Although he now understood the two Saints' method of attaining the Dao, many questions still lingered in Li Fan's mind.
For instance, how could "abstract" concepts like a civilization's attempt to connect the mountains or its inertia to return after falling manifest as real, tangible beings?
"The Mountain and Sea divided its divinity, and then living beings and civilizations were born. Was this inevitable, or a coincidence?"
Within the void realm, Li Fan had an epiphany.
And Shou Qiu, whose mind was linked with his, simultaneously understood something as well.
"Brother Fan, do you still remember the true master of the Great Dao of Longevity? After you used [Truth] in the last life, the Great Dao of Longevity inexplicably resisted returning to the Dao Return Hall."
"Within these endless threads of civilization, I have faintly glimpsed the traces of its existence!"
"It existed only in the antiquity of the Mountain and Sea, before a certain moment. It used a method akin to perishing to stop itself from evolving along with the Mountain and Sea."
"Perhaps it foresaw the end result of the Dao Annihilation, where the Mountain and Sea would merge!"
"I can vaguely understand its thinking. The instant the Mountain and Sea was consumed by the Dao Annihilation, it was shattered into countless segments. Even beings as powerful as the Three Saints could not prevent this change."
"Their power inevitably declined due to this separation. If one wished to avoid that..."
"Then, on the scale of time, they had to sever their own future!"
"By concentrating their full power within a single segment of the Mountain and Sea, they could largely preserve their strength through the great calamity, while the Three Saints still needed to constantly swim against the current of time to slowly recover their peak power."
"And so, they could seize the initiative in the contest for the 'Mountain and Sea's divided divinity'!"
A single thought from Shou Qiu sparked a hundred more, as he deduced the motivations of that master of Longevity from the endless, chaotic threads of civilization.
Influenced by him, a storm of thought also raged in Li Fan's mind.
"The Saints of the Mountain and Sea have withered away to this extent... perhaps it doesn't mean they truly perished. It's highly possible that, like 'Longevity,' they severed their own futures and proactively retreated into hibernation."
"If the future is destined to end, then continuing to move forward with it may not be a good thing."
"As for the Three Saints..."
"It's not that the Three Saints are weaker than these future-severing Saints. Rather, their very existence is so inextricably linked with the evolution of the Mountain and Sea's civilizations that they cannot be so easily severed."
The collision of civilization threads grew more violent.
Every intersection of the chaotic lines seemed to represent the mutual slaughter of countless civilizations.
Though there was no bloodshed, a palpable killing intent permeated the space.
This was a battle for survival—either you die, or I do!
There was no room for retreat.
Li Fan also began to vaguely understand why the void realm was sworn to kill the Three Saints.
Besides the fact that the Three Saints' transcendent power made them the greatest obstacles to the Dao Annihilation's consumption of the Mountain and Sea, perhaps in the eyes of the void realm, the Three Saints were an intrinsic part of the Mountain and Sea's civilization.
They might even be the main force that needed to be annihilated!
And the Three Saints were clearly aware of their own fate, which was why they had not chosen to back down when the void realm's avatars descended.
"Given the Three Saints' foundation, Brother Fan, that technique of yours, the Collapse of Mountain and Sea, might prove more wondrously effective than you imagine."
"Go ahead and use it without any reservations. Don't worry even if it affects the true bodies of the Three Saints."
"For now, stay hidden and act when the opportunity arises!"
As Shou Qiu Gong spoke, he revealed his form.
In the midst of the fierce battle of the six Saints, another figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere, instantly drawing the attention of both the Three Saints and their void realm avatars.
Shou Qiu directly used the Connecting Mountains Staff, the Returning to Sea Shovel, and the All Living Beings Stick as tokens of his allegiance, making his intentions clear.
"Shou Qiu..."
The Three Saints naturally recognized Shou Qiu Gong.
In fact, from their perspective, they had only just parted ways not long ago.
But...
In that short time, the aura around Shou Qiu Gong had, for some reason, undergone a world-altering transformation.
Now, upon appearing, he thrust himself into the conflict without a word, like a sharp sword driven into the most intense point of the battle!
Instantly, his presence sent shockwaves through the battlefield, chilling the very fabric of the realm!
The already complex situation took another turn.
Innumerable, endless threads of civilization instinctively swarmed towards him, launching an attack on this interloper.
At this moment, the killing intent erupting from every single black thread was no weaker than the full-powered strike of a transcendent expert.
Though the civilization threads were but phantoms of a past that once existed, here, in the arena of the six battling Saints, they had become real blades capable of destroying heaven and earth.
Enveloped by what looked like a mass of twisted black threads, Shou Qiu's clothes were instantly riddled with a thousand holes.
But Shou Qiu himself remained as unshakable as a mountain.
He chuckled lightly. "I once sat upon the mountain and watched the sea, and I saw the Mountain and Sea collapse."
"You perished, but I did not. You were extinguished, but I was not."
"The merging of the Mountain and Sea, the calamity of Dao Annihilation, may have annihilated civilizations as numerous as the stars. But..."
"What harm can you do to me?"
A profound aura enveloped his body. Facing the assault of countless civilization threads, Shou Qiu Gong was perfectly at ease.
It was as if he were impervious to all techniques, indestructible through all calamities!
At first glance, it seemed as though Shou Qiu had comprehended and mastered the essence of the Great Dao of Longevity.
But on the battlefield, only Li Fan could see clearly.
Longevity was merely a facade.
What truly allowed Shou Qiu Gong to stroll so leisurely in the face of this overwhelming calamity...
Was the Transformation of True and False!
What did the blades and swords of civilizations matter? What did the assault of Dao Annihilation matter?
With a single thought, he could render them false, and they could no longer harm his body!
After establishing a foothold in the six Saints' battlefield, Shou Qiu once again looked toward the center where the void realm avatars presided.
The bodies shrouded in gray shadow were no different from the true bodies of the Three Saints.
Even the changes in their expressions after witnessing Shou Qiu's bizarre performance were identical to their true bodies!
But they did not pause their assault because of this unexpected variable.
Instead, they attacked Shou Qiu in unison.
Their movements were stern, their momentum ferocious.
And this time, what they revealed were not merely the techniques of the civilization threads!
A thin piece that looked like a turtle shell flew out from beside Lian Shan's void shadow.
In an instant, it was above Shou Qiu's head.
On the surface, it appeared as light as nothing. But when it truly descended upon Shou Qiu...
It felt as if it carried the weight of a thousand mountains!
And these were the mountains of the Upper Mountain!
Though Shou Qiu could sit on the mountain and watch the sea, in his eyes now, it was as if heaven and earth had flipped in an instant.
The endless mountain ranges were now all pressing down upon him!
Shou Qiu couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, his body seeming to have been compressed, shortened by the pressure.
Yet he did not lower his head in the slightest. Instead, he raised it higher, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light as he examined the turtle shell above him.
It emitted a faint greenish-blue light, and the patterns upon it were endlessly profound.
They resembled the veins of a mountain range.
Though confined to a small area, the images of the mountains within it were in a state of constant, infinite evolution.
The pressure on Shou Qiu also seemed to increase with every passing moment.
This turtle shell shadow was something the Connecting Mountains Saint had never used before.
But its void realm avatar had thrown it out without hesitation after witnessing Shou Qiu's transformation.
It had clearly glimpsed some of the reasons for the change.
And the void realm avatars of Gui Hai and Tai Yi also unleashed their killing moves.
A crystal-clear stone sliver, or perhaps a bone fragment, shot towards Shou Qiu Gong in a flash.
Ignoring the distance between them, it arrived the very instant it was launched.
It struck him squarely between the eyebrows!
Shou Qiu's figure wavered slightly, and his mind went blank for a moment.
He was jolted back to his senses by Li Fan's voice.
"Shou Qiu, maintain the Transformation of True and False to protect yourself! This bone..."
"It's incredibly strange!"
Without needing Li Fan's elaboration, Shou Qiu had already sensed the harm this bone fragment was inflicting upon him.
The damage from the impact was secondary; what truly made Shou Qiu Gong's expression change was the fragment's parasitism, and its attempt to replace him!
After hitting his brow, the bone fragment took root, continuously burrowing deeper into Shou Qiu Gong's body.
Normally, when faced with the invasion of a foreign object, one's own power would naturally mount a defense.
But now, this bone fragment seemed as if it had originated from Shou Qiu Gong himself.
Faced with its invasion, all the power within his body chose to let it pass.
It was allowed to advance unopposed!
The bone fragment took root, growing vigorously along the meridians and bones within Shou Qiu Gong's body.
It seemed to want to grow an entirely new body from within!
Shou Qiu felt a premonition: if he allowed the foreign bone to fully form inside him, he would truly be replaced!
But conventional methods, even the Great Dao of Longevity, had a negligible effect against the invasion of this foreign bone.
Shou Qiu Gong could only use the Transformation of True and False to desperately slow down his own alteration.
Though alarmed, he was not panicked, knowing that even if he died now, everything would reset to the origin once Li Fan activated [Truth].
"Even if I perish, it will be worth it to figure out the Three Saints' true methods."
He immediately cleared his mind of distracting thoughts and began to carefully observe the foreign bone within him.
As the bone fragment occupied his body and soul, Shou Qiu Gong was likewise able to observe it up close.
The more he looked, the more his heart trembled.
"It's not that it has tricked my senses in some way. It's..."
"It's as if it truly is my bone, my body."
"No, more accurately, it's that I myself originated from this very bone fragment!"
Connecting this to the source of the Returning to Sea Saint's power—the inertial force of civilizations returning to the Infinite Sea after their demise—Shou Qiu Gong had a sudden realization.
"This bone..."
"Is it the Ancestor of all living beings in the Mountain and Sea?"
It was as if this were the source of all life in the Mountain and Sea; to come from it and return to it seemed perfectly natural.
Shou Qiu's heart shook uncontrollably.
Even with the body of a Saint, upon seeing this ordinary bone fragment, he couldn't help but feel an urge to prostrate himself in worship.
It was an instinctual reverence that arose in the heart when encountering the beginning of life itself.
From this brief glimpse, Shou Qiu Gong could only determine that the bone fragment was the Ancestor of all living beings in the Mountain and Sea.
As for what connection this Ancestor of Life had with that creator, the True God...
That was something Shou Qiu Gong could not know at this moment.
Under the suppression of both the turtle shell and the Ancestral Bone, Shou Qiu Gong was almost instantly pushed to his absolute limit.
But the killing move from the Returning to Sea Saint's void avatar had also arrived.
It appeared to be just a segment of a broken hemp rope.
But upon closer inspection, the countless fine threads making up the rope were composed of innumerable different living beings!
It was like a fusion of every life form that had ever appeared in the Mountain and Sea. The very sight of it induced a sense of dizziness, one's heart pounding in their chest!
It felt as if he could be captured and bound by this rope at any moment!
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