Chapter 1718: The Wondrous Union with Shou Qiu
Chapter 1718: The Wondrous Union with Shou Qiu
"In the last life, it was all thanks to your help, Shou Qiu, that I was able to glimpse the true face behind the Void Realm. But in doing so, I also learned the truth of my [Truth] ability. It was a truly bittersweet revelation."
"You might laugh, but I've been stuck here on the peak of Jieli Mountain for years, and I still haven't fully processed it," Li Fan confessed with a sigh, shaking his head as he recounted what he had discovered after activating [Truth].
"Fellow Daoist Fan, there is no need for such thoughts. To possess the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood is a fortune that countless cultivators in the Mountain and Sea, even many Saints, could only dream of," Shou Qiu stated, his expression solemn as he pondered for a moment before continuing.
"Even if your suspicions are true..."
"[Truth] gained your infinite spirituality, using the power of reality and illusion to continuously reshape the Mountain and Sea. In return, you gained the convenience of its endless cycles, achieving the status of a first-rate Saint of the Mountain and Sea in a mere hundred lifetimes. This is what one would call a match made in heaven; the two of you are inseparable."
"Fellow Daoist Fan, perhaps you should ask yourself this: without the aid of [Truth], given your own aptitude, how many years could you have survived in this Xuanhuang Realm? What level of cultivation could you have possibly reached?" Shou Qiu's phantom gestured from the peak of Jieli Mountain toward the vast Xuanhuang Realm beyond the sea of clouds.
Li Fan recalled all he had been through in the Xuanhuang Realm. After a moment of silence, he answered helplessly, "I'm afraid it would have been a struggle just to leave this small world of Great Xuan."
"Precisely. To have [Truth] in your hands is already a blessing of the heavens. How could there be no cost at all? If that were the case, wouldn't all the good fortune in the Mountain and Sea belong to you alone?" Shou Qiu chuckled lightly.
As if remembering something, Shou Qiu's smile quickly faded. He asked, "How do you feel now? Has your infinite true spirit recovered?"
Li Fan carefully inspected himself and nodded slightly. "It seems to be fine. It feels no different from any other time I've woken up after a regression."
Shou Qiu couldn't help but marvel, "Infinite true spirit... Thinking about it now, it truly is incredible. The wonder of its creation is almost on par with [Truth] itself. This suggests that the feeling of being utterly drained, as if your lamp had run dry of oil during your crossing to the End of the Mountain and Sea, was most likely an illusion caused by your true spirit being consumed at a terrifying rate. Once the drain stopped, you would naturally recover over time, even without doing anything."
"Of course, there is another possibility..."
"It could be that you were truly on the verge of depletion, but after falling into slumber, you were replenished through some other means. In the end, both paths lead to the same destination," Shou Qiu offered another theory after hearing Li Fan's account.
Li Fan considered it for a moment, then slowly nodded in agreement.
"Regardless, the mechanics of [Truth] haven't had any significant negative impact on you so far. Even the most outstanding among the Saints are far from being able to participate in the game between [Truth] and the Star. What you should be doing right now, Fellow Daoist Fan, is to improve your own strength as much as possible," Shou Qiu advised, guiding him gently.
"For this life's inheritance option, it would still be best to choose the Mountain and Sea Variation Outline. It really shouldn't be wasted on letting me inherit your memories. In the last life, the interference from behind the Void Realm must have had a massive impact on the Mountain and Sea..."
Li Fan waved his hand dismissively. "It's a repeatable event, so it doesn't matter. I, for one, feel that having your help is more important. This is also the first time in all my reincarnations that I've let someone else inherit..."
Shou Qiu smiled. "And what about your aunt? Does she not count?"
Li Fan's words caught in his throat; he had almost forgotten about that.
But given his current familiarity with Shou Qiu, he didn't feel awkward and quickly moved past the topic.
"Shou Qiu, now that you have the memories of the last life, have you noticed any changes in yourself?"
"There has indeed been an enhancement, but the effect is more or less the same as your true spirit infusion ability. The aptitude boost from an increase in true spirit is most significant when the starting point is ordinary. Once one possesses the potential to become a Saint, even a massive increase won't produce a particularly noticeable change. The reason is..."
"This is the limit of creation within the Mountain and Sea."
"Living beings originate from the Mountain and Sea, and a Saint stands equal to the Mountain and Sea. Therefore, a Saint is the ultimate limit for a living being of the Mountain and Sea."
"To take another step forward, to contend with the Star and the God..."
Shou Qiu looked at Li Fan. "One either needs the aid of external forces and extraordinary treasures, or one must emulate the Mountain and Sea and devour a God!"
Li Fan naturally understood that the "external forces and extraordinary treasures" Shou Qiu spoke of referred to [Truth].
As for emulating the Mountain and Sea to devour a God, that was the path countless Saints, and even the Three Saints themselves, were attempting to tread.
"With the experience of the last life, we can make the plan for this life even more thorough. [Truth] is truly a wonderful tool..." Shou Qiu couldn't help but sigh with emotion as he discussed this life's course of action with Li Fan.
"My [Truth] is like your [Truth]. If you find it useful, then by all means, use it more. As the saying goes, the more, the merrier."
For over a hundred lifetimes, Li Fan had always guarded the secret of [Truth] and his own uniqueness alone. Now, being able to share everything unreservedly with another was an unprecedented relief.
More importantly, Shou Qiu was a person Li Fan could trust. And besides, the initiative remained entirely in Li Fan's hands. Whether to share the inheritance or not was his decision alone.
If things went awry, he could simply choose not to let Shou Qiu inherit in the next life and continue to guard the secret of [Truth] by himself.
Shou Qiu naturally saw Li Fan's thoughts as clear as day.
But he had no objections.
Just as he had advised Li Fan, everything in this world comes at a price. Li Fan was blessed by the heavens to have the aid of [Truth]. Was it not also a blessing for him, Shou Qiu, to be invited into the fold of [Truth]?
"To see sights one could never have seen before is already a tremendous blessing. One shouldn't ask for too much. It is enough to simply proceed and observe."
Holding this principle, Shou Qiu felt no resentment toward this relationship with Li Fan, which was half-utilitarian and half-cooperative.
"In the last life, you became a Saint directly through the shadow of the Mountain and Sea, which was a bit too high-profile. You must know that the act of true spirit infusion alone is enough to draw the attention of the Three Saints. It would be better to lie low, quietly assisting the Three Saints in their plan to reconnect the Mountain and Sea and travel to more ancient times."
"As for the matter of the Saints perishing in certain timelines, my advice is to simply watch from the sidelines. The Three Saints disappearing for a while won't affect their overall strength. On the contrary, the weaker the Three Saints around us are, the greater your own influence becomes. It might not even be impossible for the balance of power within the Armillary Ring to shift."
"Of course, if you wish to act alone without the Three Saints, that's also fine. But my recommendation is to hide behind them when you reach the Beginning of the Mountain and Sea..."
Shou Qiu analyzed the situation calmly, laying out the pros and cons without interfering with Li Fan's final choice.
After he finished, Li Fan pondered for a long time before nodding in agreement.
"What Shou Qiu says is reasonable. It's always cooler in the shade of a big tree. For the next few lives, we'll let the Three Saints be our tree!"
"But that is for later. The changes to the Mountain and Sea caused by the power behind the Void Realm are something I must investigate as soon as possible. I have a faint premonition that it might be of great help in comprehending the True False Transformation, and even how [Truth] reshapes the Mountain and Sea."
Recalling his experiences from the previous life, Shou Qiu also grew thoughtful. "The game between the Void Realm and the Mountain and Sea involves a clash of the most supreme powers in this universe. It's like a game of chess that has been going on for countless eons."
"The True False Transformation, remaking the Mountain and Sea. Perhaps this can be seen as returning all scattered pieces, both on and off the board, to their original positions. By observing the changes on the board, one can glimpse the hand that moves the pieces from outside..."
"It should be feasible."
Hearing Shou Qiu's words, Li Fan became even more certain of his plan.
After some discussion, they proceeded according to their agreement.
Since he had not chosen to inherit his cultivation base this life, Li Fan was, strictly speaking, still a mortal.
But with his current experience, returning step by step from a mortal to the realm of a Saint was not difficult at all.
However, to prevent any accidents, Shou Qiu's phantom left behind a sliver of power for protection before it departed.
Li Fan no longer used the image of the god he envisioned to achieve Sainthood in a high-profile manner. Instead, he cultivated step by step.
The path he chose was precisely the Zhouhui Dao.
Although it was step by step, his progress was still astonishingly fast, thanks to his profound understanding of the Zhouhui Dao and his familiarity with the Primal Possibility.
What took him five hundred years in the last life, he accomplished even faster this time. In just over three hundred years, he ascended to the realm of a Saint in a single day.
The Mountain and Sea trembled!
"Reincarnation itself is a tremendous form of creation."
Through his personal practice, Li Fan gained a new understanding of the Zhouhui Dao.
Correspondingly, on the [Truth]'s Dao Return Hall panel, the characters for "Second Zhouhui," which had been shimmering with a seven-colored light, changed once more.
The brilliance gradually faded, as if returning to its original simplicity, a gem polished to reveal its true, unadorned nature.
It now looked no different from the other Dao characters in their initial state.
But as the master of the Zhouhui Dao, Li Fan could clearly sense that "Second Zhouhui" had only now been truly acknowledged by [Truth].
Li Fan looked at the other still-empty positions in the Dao Return Hall, a strange light flickering in his eyes.
"Dao Return might not be about entering [Truth]. Rather, it's about them returning to their own original states."
"All the Great Daos of the Mountain and Sea originate from the God. But after the Mountain and Sea split from the God, they were stained by its changes, and the Daos changed along with it. Only by stripping away the influence of the Mountain and Sea can they, to some extent, recover their source and reveal their original form."
This was an insight Li Fan could not have gained without personally treading the path of cultivation once more.
And it was under Shou Qiu's influence that he had re-walked this path and obtained this enlightenment.
This made Li Fan even more certain of the wisdom in bringing Shou Qiu into the fold of [Truth].
Achieving Sainthood through the Zhouhui Dao naturally didn't cause the same uproar as the last time. He simply went to the Other Shore as a "friend of Shou Qiu" and took a seat in the Armillary Ring.
It was only when Li Fan "unintentionally" revealed his true spirit infusion ability that he once again drew the attention of the other Saints.
As for the origin of this ability, Li Fan himself claimed to have no idea.
He suggested it might be related to the Heavenly Net Emperor.
"Back when the Immortal Realm was devoured by the Dao Annihilation, I escaped on the brink of death. My original body perished, and only a sliver of my true spirit fled into the lower star sea. After countless reincarnations, I have finally achieved what I have today. After I was reborn, I noticed that I seemed to have undergone some sort of inexplicable change. Not only was my aptitude greater than before, but I even developed this strange ability."
"After much thought, I can only surmise that it might be connected to the Heavenly Net Emperor's insane plan back then."
"I've asked Shou Qiu, and he said he also benefited from it after our home Immortal Realm disappeared. It's just that his power was already so profound that the effects weren't as obvious on him as they were on me," Li Fan said slowly, a thoughtful frown on his face.
Shou Qiu also nodded in agreement.
With Shou Qiu as a witness, the credibility of Li Fan's story instantly rose by more than a few notches.
The other Saints in the Armillary Ring all wore contemplative expressions.
Li Fan seized the opportunity to ask, "With the power of the Three Saints, the entire Mountain and Sea should be within your grasp. Did you notice any clues regarding the strange transformation of my homeland back then?"
Saint Tai Yi chuckled. "The Mountain and Sea is in a constant state of flux. Countless possibilities vanish in an instant. We are not omniscient, so it's not surprising if we overlook something. However..."
Tai Yi paused, as if deducing something.
"Now that Zhouhui has mentioned it, I recall we did feel a strange premonition at that moment."
The Three Saints exchanged a glance, but their words trailed off.
After a long while, Lian Shan finally spoke up. "It felt as if some kind of opportunity had brushed past us. The feeling was quite similar to the tremor we felt when we first attained Sainthood."
"But it was just a fleeting, extremely subtle premonition. If Zhouhui hadn't brought it up today, we wouldn't have even noticed it."
"This Heavenly Net Emperor..."
"The God evolved the Mountain and Sea. Beyond the Mountain and Sea, there is only the Void Realm. If he wanted to transcend again, where could he possibly transcend to? The blessings you received might not necessarily be feedback from a successful transcendence. It's also possible that it was the aftershock from the instantaneous annihilation of that entire possibility's Immortal Realm, along with the Heavenly Net Emperor and whatever wondrous Dao artifacts he possessed. . ."
Shou Qiu instantly understood Saint Lian Shan's meaning. "So, you're saying the changes in us might have been caused by that item the Heavenly Net Emperor was guarding? What kind of creation would it have to be to cause such a transformation?"
Gui Hai smiled. "Everything has turned to nothing, so it's impossible to know. But perhaps there are still some clues in the Mountain and Sea of the past. Once we reconnect the Mountain and Sea and cross over to the time when the Heavenly Net Emperor was still around, we can ask him in person."
"And with Fellow Daoist Zhouhui's help, the chances of success have greatly increased."
Li Fan immediately offered a few humble words and dropped the topic.
The technique of true spirit infusion was indeed a game-changer for reconnecting the Mountain and Sea.
Not only could it generate an endless supply of backup Saints, but it also meant the assembled Saints no longer had to worry about the erosion of Dao Annihilation from the Void Realm. Their rearguard was secure.
They could focus entirely on reconnecting the Mountain and Sea.
Just as Li Fan had experienced in previous lives, the reconnection of the Mountain and Sea, a monumental project that even the Three Saints had to approach with caution, could now be completed with ease amidst the laughter and conversation of the Saints.
After the first successful reconnection, all the Saints received their share of creation's fortune, and a joyous atmosphere filled the Other Shore.
Only the Three Saints, gazing into the more ancient Mountain and Sea, foresaw their own impending demise.
"May I ask the Three Saints, is there something amiss ahead?"
This time, it was Shou Qiu who posed the question.
After a moment of contemplation, the Three Saints revealed the life-and-death crisis they faced in the Mountain and Sea of the past.
The joyous mood on the Other Shore dissipated in an instant.
Li Fan's expression turned grave. "The Three Saints are our pillars, the key to reconnecting the Mountain and Sea. There can be absolutely no mishaps. Since danger awaits them ahead, we must rush to their aid immediately!"
"If the Three Saints of one timeline face a crisis, what difference will it make if we join them?"
His words were righteous and impassioned, filled with heroic spirit.
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