Chapter 1715: Shou Qiu Turns the Tide
The method Saint Tai Yi’s Life Rope used against its foe was not to bind it like a common rope. Instead, thousands of finer black threads swarmed out from within it.
Like a pair of invisible, nimble hands weaving with incredible speed, a figure braided from hemp rope soon appeared on the battlefield—an effigy of Shou Qiu Gong.
The moment the rope doll came into being, it was as if some unknown existence had locked it to Shou Qiu, binding them as one.
Staring at what felt like another version of himself, the hairs on Shou Qiu's neck stood on end. He instinctively felt a sense of mortal danger.
And what followed swiftly proved his premonition correct.
A gentle breeze seemed to sweep through the Void Realm.
One of the fine threads that composed the rope effigy of Shou Qiu suddenly drifted out from its body, only to be instantly swallowed by the surrounding Dao Annihilation tide.
And in response...
Shou Qiu felt a part of himself truly being plucked from existence, dissipating into nothing!
Though he held his head high, his entire body had been crushed down a notch. Threads of blood seeped from his skin and were absorbed by the Ancestral Bone the moment they appeared. The ossification was becoming more pronounced; from the outside, the bone looked as if it were plastered all over Shou Qiu's stooped frame.
Threads unraveled from a fraying rope—a life hanging by a single strand!
The draining effect of the Life Rope continued.
Shou Qiu felt with increasing clarity that his life was rapidly fading away. Under this mortal threat, the Longevity Dao he had comprehended and mastered bloomed with an unprecedented, brilliant green light, doing its utmost to repair his injuries.
Had he only faced the pressure of the Turtle Shell and the Ancestral Bone, Shou Qiu might have been able to hold on for some time, relying on the properties of his Longevity Dao. But the Life Rope was draining his very source. As the rope effigy before him grew more withered, the very substance of Shou Qiu's life grew thinner.
Even as the power of longevity continuously nourished him, it could only replenish his physical form. It could not stop the reduction of his life's upper limit.
"This technique of the Life Rope... it’s strangely similar to the divine ability of [Fantasy Becomes Truth]!"
"But it doesn't negate my existence through the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood. Instead, it uses some unknowable power to drain the very substance of my life..."
His life was like a candle in a gale, on the verge of being extinguished.
Yet Shou Qiu's heart was calm, devoid of sorrow or joy. He seized the final moments of his life to comprehend the three artifacts—the Turtle Shell, the Ancestral Bone, and the Life Rope—and to contemplate a way to counter them.
He even took the initiative to abandon his resistance, trading his own swifter decline for the chance to test different countermeasures.
"The Turtle Shell, though small and thin, seems to represent the boundless Upper Mountain."
"The Saints claim their bodies are one with the Mountain and Sea, but only when the Mountain and Sea truly presses down upon them can they feel its true weight."
"Even those at the level of the Three Saints probably couldn't withstand it directly."
"Perhaps... one could use one's understanding of the Mountain and Sea to dissolve a portion of the suppressive force. As if one were already part of the mountain itself..."
"The Ancestral Bone absorbs all within my body, pulling everything back into it without resistance. It is like all the waters of the world flowing east into the sea, a momentum that seems to follow the principles of heaven. But in this world, there are waters that flow west to form their own great oceans! You may be the ancestor of all living things, but I am Shou Qiu Gong, the Keeper of the Mountain and Sea!"
A low flame seemed to burn in Shou Qiu’s eyes. As if sensing his thoughts, the flow of his flesh and blood toward the Ancestral Bone momentarily stalled.
It seemed to be caught in a dilemma, uncertain and lost.
"As for this Life Rope..."
"Its method of draining life's substance is truly impossible to guard against. The moment the rope effigy is born, any negative effect that befalls it is mirrored on my own body. This corresponding link... perhaps it can only be broken through a transformation of truth and falsehood."
Shou Qiu had faintly grasped a solution, but he forcefully suppressed the urge to try it.
This moment was different from before. He was already locked by the life-effigy, with the Ancestral Bone parasitic upon him. The Void Realm incarnation might well be aware of his internal state.
If he were to forcefully use the transformation of truth and falsehood now, the enemy might detect the existence of Return to Truth.
"A deathbed struggle is meaningless."
"So be it."
On the verge of perishing, Shou Qiu's mind was a vast, lucid emptiness.
Because he knew that the moment Li Fan activated Return to Truth again, he would return from the void.
He did not dwell on the question of whether the him who returned would still be him.
Instead, the dying Shou Qiu felt a wave of melancholy.
It was precisely this belief—that he would inevitably return—that prevented his heart from generating the appropriate emotions in the face of the great terror of life and death.
This strange feeling made his lifelong pursuit of Longevity seem utterly worthless.
"Without death, what meaning does longevity have?"
"The Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood... it empties the world of all meaning!"
...
Just then, the aid from the true bodies of the Three Saints finally, belatedly, arrived.
They seemed wary of deploying the Turtle Shell, Ancestral Bone, and Life Rope, lacking the decisiveness of their Void Realm incarnations. Only when they saw Shou Qiu on the verge of death did they finally release the three items.
Silently, they enveloped Shou Qiu's body.
Compared to the items released by the Void Realm incarnations, the true versions seemed...
Even more sinister!
What the Void Realm incarnations had deployed were purely "things."
But what the Three Saints produced now felt like living beings.
Shou Qiu could even faintly perceive three distinct gazes examining his body from top to bottom.
Faint, eerie laughter echoed intermittently by his ear.
A cold, malevolent aura seeped into his body, drilling its way in through every opening.
It made Shou Qiu feel an intense "discomfort."
It was not pain, but a primal urge to repel and distance himself from it!
Fortunately, the three items were ultimately under the control of the Three Saints, and they had not forgotten their mission.
Turtle Shell against Turtle Shell—the shadow of the endless Upper Mountain pressed down, met by the resistance of the free and boundless Upper Mountain.
Ancestral Bone against Ancestral Bone—as another surge of power from the ancestor of all living things seeped in, the flesh and blood draining from Shou Qiu’s body instantly lost its direction, not knowing where to go.
Life Rope against Life Rope. In the void, another rope effigy of Shou Qiu silently appeared. The substance of life that had been invisibly drained away was slowly replenished by it!
The true bodies of the Three Saints had acted, and in an instant, they reversed Shou Qiu's precarious situation, pulling him back from the gates of hell!
The Three Saints and their Void Realm incarnations were like the tip of a needle against the point of an awl.
Perfectly matched, it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand!
Having escaped death, Shou Qiu had no time to feel relief. Instead, an inexplicable unease grew in his heart.
Not for himself, but for the Three Saints.
"If they are only evenly matched... how did the Three Saints fall in the previous timeline?"
"Could it be...?"
Shou Qiu's heart trembled, and he was just about to shout a warning.
But the Void Realm incarnations seemed to have been waiting for this moment all along.
At the very instant the Three Saints released the Turtle Shell, Ancestral Bone, and Life Rope to save Shou Qiu, ripples spread through the Void Realm. Astoundingly, three more items descended!
Like meteors from beyond the heavens, they slammed into the battlefield.
The countless lines in the arena of the six battling Saints were instantly thrown into chaos!
The Life Rope bound Lian Shan, the Turtle Shell suppressed Gui Hai, and the Ancestral Bone seized Tai Yi.
As if it had been premeditated, the Void Realm had manifested another set of these three items, forcing them upon the bodies of the Three Saints!
Witnessing this, Shou Qiu understood in a flash.
The Turtle Shell, Ancestral Bone, and Life Rope wielded by the Void Realm incarnations were, after all, just manifestations of the Void Realm's power, not real objects.
As long as enough power was invested, a second or third copy could naturally be created.
But the Three Saints held only the true bodies of the Turtle Shell, Ancestral Bone, and Life Rope.
Now, because of a single moment's decision to save his life, they had thrown themselves into a crisis.
The Three Saints and their Void Realm incarnations were already evenly matched in strength.
The appearance of the extra Turtle Shell, Ancestral Bone, and Life Rope was the last straw that would break the camel's back!
The Three Saints tried to recall their treasures for support, but the first set of copies had already entangled them, clinging on desperately. They were even willing to let their own forms gradually disintegrate, just to hold their counterparts back.
Shou Qiu snapped his gaze toward the depths of the Void Realm. There, he could almost see a figure placing a piece on a board, a faint, triumphant smile on its lips.
Given Shou Qiu's character, he could not possibly sit by and watch the Three Saints die because of him.
Besides, Li Fan's plan for this life had been to save the Three Saints and observe their transformation.
He instinctively wanted to rush to their aid.
But that brief glance beyond the Void Realm made Shou Qiu hesitate for a fraction of a second.
It was not that he feared death, but rather...
In an instant, his mind ran through countless deductions, and finally, Shou Qiu found a suitable course of action.
"The plan has changed."
"Friend Daoist Fan, do not reveal yourself. Just observe from the shadows."
"If any other changes descend from beyond the Void Realm..."
"They will only be directed at me."
He sent the message, and without waiting for Li Fan's reply, Shou Qiu ceased to hide the various comprehensions he had gained in this life.
The Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood. The Mountain and Sea Variation Outline.
Without reservation, he unleashed them all.
In a single breath, his body, ravaged by the Turtle Shell, Ancestral Bone, and Life Rope, was restored to its peak condition.
With a single step, he crossed the sprawling Void Realm, arriving at the center of the encircled Three Saints.
"The myriad forms of fate are like truth and falsehood, dream and illusion. To think of it is void, to believe in it is false!"
He reached out from afar and lightly grasped the Life Rope that entangled Saint Lian Shan.
Attacked by a foreign object, the Life Rope instinctively tried to manifest a rope effigy to manipulate and drain its life substance.
But the thousands of threads that split off wove in the void for a long time, only to end up with nothing!
It was as if the Shou Qiu who now held it was not within the Mountain and Sea, not within the bounds of fate!
"In times past, when the mountains were serene and the seas calm, I sat upon the mountain and gazed at the sea. Now that the Mountain and Sea are in turmoil, I shall..."
"Shoulder them with my back, carry them with my body."
With an air of casual ease, he took the thin, pale slice that was suppressing Saint Gui Hai.
The Turtle Shell trembled, seemingly furious at Shou Qiu's audacious act.
But no matter how much light it released, Shou Qiu beneath it seemed to feel none of the weight of the boundless Upper Mountain.
He was completely unaffected!
"The ancestor of all living things... whether it exists or not is but a matter of a single thought."
Without another word from Shou Qiu, the Ancestral Bone, sensing the faint, extraordinary aura emanating from him, abandoned Saint Tai Yi without a second thought.
It launched itself at him, attempting to invade his body.
But no matter how exhaustively it searched, it could not find what it sought.
Shou Qiu's body was as if completely empty.
It was as if Shou Qiu himself did not exist in this world!
Shou Qiu's appearance to relieve the Three Saints had drawn the fire of the Turtle Shell, the Ancestral Bone, and the Life Rope.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
Within the Void Realm, the situation shifted abruptly.
The chaotic, tangled lines representing countless conflicting possibilities all fell silent.
Even the surging Dao Annihilation tide, which had never stopped its churning, fell into a strange, deadly stillness.
And then...
Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.
Faint, continuous rumbling sounds echoed from every corner of the Void Realm.
The endless Dao Annihilation, as if brought to a boil, surged into a monstrous wave.
It gradually closed in, surrounding the six Saints and Shou Qiu.
Within the Dao Annihilation tide, countless figures were brewing, taking shape.
Most of them bore the likeness of the Three Saints.
But other Saints were present as well.
It seemed the Void Realm had exhausted every power it could muster, determined to succeed in its hunt here.
And the six Saints, who had been locked in mutual combat, stopped their actions with perfect, tacit agreement.
They all turned to look at Shou Qiu, who stood encircled, his expression serene.
The three treasures—the Turtle Shell, the Ancestral Bone, and the Life Rope—pressed upon him, yet he stood as firm as a mountain.
The continuous waves of the Void Realm could not harm him in the slightest.
The six figures felt the aura emanating from Shou Qiu, their shock undeniable.
"The... Great... Dao... of... Truth... and... Falsehood..."
The Void Realm incarnation of Saint Lian Shan spoke slowly, word by word.
His eyes revealed a madness and greed that were entirely at odds with his identity as "Saint Lian Shan."
The other two Void Realm incarnations were exactly the same!
"We had already perished, created anew by the power of the Void Realm. But if we could grasp the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood..."
"What is life? What is death?"
Their dark bodies, formed by the Void Realm, twisted and writhed, as if fighting against the mission bestowed upon them. They would defy all orders to seize this truth and falsehood, to live again.
As for the true bodies of the Three Saints, though they were not as nakedly avaricious as their counterparts...
Their expressions were incredibly complex.
"We never imagined that the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood was hidden right beside us all along."
"Shou Qiu Gong, you truly hid it well!"
Shou Qiu merely smiled without a word.
Lian Shan immediately frowned and asked, "If you have hidden it for so long, why would you choose to reveal yourself now?"
Just as he was about to press the matter, he was cut off by Shou Qiu's words.
"Lian Shan, your thinking is flawed."
"The marvel of Truth and Falsehood is that there is no hiding or revealing."
"What does it matter if I tell you? With a single thought, I can return to truth, and you will no longer know."
"It is simply because I could not bear to see you all die to save me."
"When one is blessed with the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood, one must naturally do..."
"As one's heart desires!"
Shou Qiu spoke as if he were discussing something that had nothing to do with him.
He regarded the covetous gazes of the six Saints as nothing, a picture of serene detachment.
Even the legion of figures forming in the depths of the Void Realm did not seem to faze him in the least.
"The Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood can return all to stardust with a single thought."
"Mere creations of the Void Realm..."
"What does it matter if thousands more come?"
Shou Qiu spoke faintly, then closed his eyes. "This is a perfect opportunity to verify what I have comprehended!"
It was as if he had returned to the Primal Immortal Realm, sitting on the mountain and gazing out at the sea.
Shou Qiu's body and mind were tranquil, without sorrow or joy, reflecting all that he saw within his heart.
As his thoughts drifted, the power of Truth and Falsehood descended without a sound.
"I think, therefore I am not."
Shou Qiu's voice spread throughout the Void Realm.
Like a gentle breeze passing through.
It seemed harmless, but in reality...
The surging waves were pressed down by an invisible hand, forced into stillness.
The legion of manifesting figures was mostly erased.
And the three Void Realm incarnations closest to Shou Qiu had already become transparent!
When the breeze finally passed, they vanished completely.
Only then, a moment too late, did the Void Realm incarnations of the Three Saints register what had happened, and terror finally dawned on their faces.
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