Chapter 1732: A Taste of Its Own Medicine
In truth, given Snare’s actual power, a desperate, life-or-death struggle would not have resulted in such a swift collapse.
For one, Li Fan’s attack with the Dao of Truth and Falsehood was genuinely terrifying. The web of consumption that Snare had so carefully laid was crushed in an instant, utterly powerless to resist. The gap between them seemed as vast as the heavens and the earth. Shrouded in the unknown and filled with dread, Snare could not muster the will to fight.
For another, Snare was not a native of this segment of the Mountain and Sea to begin with; it had only come to hunt the Dao of “Mountain and Sea Living Beings.” Even if the hunt had failed, it suffered no substantial loss. But to become entangled with a fearsome, unpredictable entity like Li Fan...
Stealing Opportunity, All Knowing, Square Inch, Tai Wei, Li Fan...
All who had entered the web this time had come one after another, all well-prepared. Even if it defeated Li Fan, an even stronger foe might appear next.
Furthermore, its existence had been exposed. This was no longer a place to linger.
This combination of factors drove Snare to focus solely on escape, leaving it with no desire for battle.
It allowed Li Fan to rampage through its web, tearing through it with impunity as if it were an undefended realm.
The process of erasing the traces of Snare's web with Truth and Falsehood was also a process of Li Fan comprehending its very essence.
Under normal circumstances, the Mountain and Sea was guarded by numerous Saints. Even if Li Fan wished to freely wield his powers of Truth and Falsehood to test his understanding, he would lack a suitable opportunity. But now, he could unleash his abilities without restraint, to his heart’s content.
Though the Primordial Immortal Realm was merely a facade derived from what Snare had devoured from the Beginning of Mountain and Sea, its realism was no less than that of the current Mountain and Sea.
As Truth and Falsehood continuously erased the surrounding scenery, a torrent of profound insights flooded Li Fan’s mind.
It was like a feast after a long famine, and an unprecedented sense of satisfaction washed over him.
“As the saying goes, knowledge from books is shallow; true understanding comes only from practice.”
“Just knowing something and actually doing it... there’s a world of difference.”
“Even the shared memories from Same Heart Same Virtue can’t fully replace firsthand experience. I once witnessed the wiping out of countless Saintly apparitions from Shou Qiu’s perspective, but the feeling was nowhere near as exhilarating as this...”
For the first time since the beginning of his reincarnation, Li Fan Fully unleashed the power of Truth and Falsehood. While reveling in the display of his ultimate skill, he did not forget his objective.
The concealing web was gradually disintegrating, and behind it, the true form of Snare, this Saint from the beginning of the Mountain and Sea, was finally revealed.
It was not a “person” at all, but a massive, writhing, circular mass of shadow.
Countless tiny black tentacles writhed around its body, intermittently flashing with images of the Mountain and Sea landscapes it had devoured.
At a glance, it resembled a colossal spider woven from pure black shadow, looming over the Mountain and Sea!
The moment he saw it, Li Fan felt an instinctual revulsion.
It was as if the black shadow had invaded his body through his very gaze and was now attempting to corrupt him.
Li Fan snorted coldly, and with a shift of Truth and Falsehood, he instantly erased the influence Snare had on him.
At the same moment, Change From Heart activated.
On the Dao Return to Truth panel, the seven-colored luster enveloping Stealing Opportunity instantly faded. It became plain black and white, its profound charm gone.
And in the real Mountain and Sea, Li Fan, in that instant, transformed from the Zhouhui Saint into the Stealing Opportunity Saint!
He looked at the fading figure of Snare and declared coldly, “You stole my Dao and think you can just walk away?”
“Give me back what you took!”
Without any warning, one of the billions of flickering shadow tentacles around Snare’s body suddenly exploded.
It transformed from inky black to an equally cold gray.
Then, as if losing all control, it plunged into the other tentacles, devouring and plundering like a wolf among sheep!
Snare possessed the ability to devour mountains and seas, yet against the sudden onslaught of this gray anomaly, it found itself struggling to resist!
It could only watch helplessly as the other entity seized a portion of its accumulated essence.
Although both were forms of consumption on the surface, their fundamental principles were entirely different.
Snare’s devouring was like a predator hunting its prey—a forceful plunder.
But this cold, gray, aberrant aura...
To take without asking is to steal!
This gray aura, now running rampant within Snare, was the very portion of the Dao’s origin it had wrested from the Stealing Opportunity Saint.
It had already been swallowed whole, integrated into its own power.
However, as Snare attempted to flee under the pressure of the Dao of Truth and Falsehood, that sliver of origin, now controlled by Li Fan in his guise as the Stealing Opportunity Saint, instantly went rogue.
It returned to Li Fan’s fold and then turned back to madly steal Snare’s essence.
Within Snare’s body lay the accumulation of countless years of devouring mountains and seas.
It was an absolute treasure trove.
Under normal circumstances, even the real Stealing Opportunity would have found it difficult to pilfer the Dao within.
But now, the thief was already inside the vault! The most stringent external defenses were no longer a concern. All that remained was to plunder as much as possible before the vault was moved!
Though the vault contained countless treasures, Li Fan knew with profound certainty that the most valuable among them were not the Daos Snare had devoured over the years.
It was the vault itself!
It contained the most fundamental structure that constituted Snare’s ability to devour mountains and seas—the very reason for its enlightenment!
“An opportunity like this comes once in a lifetime!”
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, feeling a great torrent of power slowly transferring from Snare to himself.
It was not just Snare’s accumulated power, its cultivation, or its aptitude, but also its fortune, its destiny...
The entire sum of its tangible existence was being shaved off, inch by inch, and then deftly taken by Li Fan.
“You bastard!”
Snare, this creature from the beginning of the Mountain and Sea, finally let out a roar of absolute fury.
The sound was incredibly piercing, not human at all, but rather like the chittering scream of a million insects shrieking at once.
The black shadow trembled violently, as if driven into a frenzy by the theft of its own hoard.
“What’s wrong? You can dish it out, but you can’t take it?”
Li Fan, unfazed, continued his work with nimble hands.
He even threw in a taunt from time to time.
“You...” Snare’s fading figure seemed on the verge of regaining its inky blackness.
But for some reason, it ultimately chose not to continue the fight with Li Fan.
It decided to flee as quickly as possible to minimize its losses.
Before it left, it made sure to deliver a final threat.
A venomous voice echoed through the crumbling world.
“Stealing Opportunity... Very well! I will remember this!”
The inky blackness faded completely.
The treasure trove also grew increasingly ethereal, as if vanishing from this part of the Mountain and Sea. The things Li Fan could steal became fewer and fewer.
In the end, he could only watch as Snare’s trail disappeared.
Li Fan sighed, a little unsatisfied. “The Dao of Stealing Opportunity is truly extraordinary. Back then, it was even able to touch upon and sense the existence of Truth Realization within my true spirit.”
“Now, after this small test, I understand its miraculous nature even better. No wonder the Stealing Opportunity of that time, despite being so cautious, was willing to forsake everything for a desperate gamble. Besides his own nature, he must have had absolute confidence in the Dao he commanded.”
“A pity. If Truth Realization itself hadn't been unwilling, he might have actually succeeded.”
In the guise of the Stealing Opportunity Saint, Li Fan had essentially flayed Snare.
In the Dao Return to Truth Hall, a new line of characters appeared.
Though currently just a spectral image, its uniqueness was already apparent.
It was not shrouded in a vibrant luster, but coated in an ancient gray aura.
It exudes an indescribable air of vicissitudes of life.
Beyond its antiquity, there was also a peculiar quality entwined with it.
As Li Fan observed it closely, he began to get a sense of what it was.
The word was “taboo”!
It was as if it was rejected by the Mountain and Sea, and by this Dao Hall as well.
Unlike the other Mountain and Sea Daos that Li Fan had previously absorbed, which would settle down obediently once inside, this one was constantly restless, as if trying to break free and escape.
Though its struggles were destined to be futile under the suppression of Dao Return to Truth, this “rebelliousness” already highlighted the uniqueness of Snare’s Dao.
Li Fan mused thoughtfully, “The Three Saints once said that if Snare, who has always hidden in the shadows, were to be exposed, even the Dao it commands would be affected. This is the backlash from evolving one’s Dao to the extreme, beyond the Mountain and Sea.”
“Judging from this wisp I’ve stolen into the Dao Return to Truth, Snare’s Dao indeed shows signs of having broken the limits of the Mountain and Sea.”
There was no time to savor his gains. Without Snare’s support, the manifested Primordial Immortal Realm before him was on the verge of shattering. In a flash, Li Fan shed his Stealing Opportunity disguise and reverted to his original Zhouhui form.
“Great Teacher, save us!”
Suddenly, a chorus of pleas for help reached Li Fan’s ears.
They came from the beings he had brought to life.
After the calamity of the world’s destruction, not even one in a thousand had survived.
However, those who did survive had gained immensely.
Li Fan thought for a moment and casually gathered them up.
He wasn’t worried about them leaking secrets.
How could ordinary beings possibly comprehend the transformation of Truth and Falsehood?
Forget them. Even if the Saints of the Other Shore had witnessed this battle between him and Snare in person, they would have been left bewildered and utterly confused.
With Snare’s web shattered, Li Fan appeared in the true Mountain and Sea.
In an instant, he fell into the sights of the Saints of the preceding segment of the Mountain and Sea.
Li Fan’s expression remained unchanged as he allowed threads of power to wrap around him, guiding him into the Armillary Ring.
Looking around, he found this Mountain and Sea to be far less bustling than his own.
It even seemed somewhat desolate.
Not to mention the Saints who achieved enlightenment later on, of the original nine Saints of the Other Shore, only six remained.
It seemed the Void and Snare had indeed put them under immense pressure to survive.
“May I ask where you have come from, fellow Daoist?” the Returning to Sea Saint asked, his expression solemn.
Li Fan recounted the entire story, omitting only the part where he had transformed into the Stealing Opportunity Saint and feasted heartily.
“Is that so?”
Learning that reinforcements were coming from the future of the Mountain and Sea, and that they were so powerful, even the Three Saints couldn’t help but lose their composure, their faces beaming with joy.
“Fellow Daoist’s ability of True Spirit Infusion is truly a great fortune for the Mountain and Sea!”
Li Fan, however, said, “The most urgent task now is to quickly reconnect the divided segments of the Mountain and Sea and establish a common defense.”
“The Void’s siege may be formidable, but it will never withstand our combined strength!”
With that, Li Fan looked toward the location of his true self.
...
In fact, the moment Snare’s web collapsed and Li Fan’s avatar officially entered the forward Mountain and Sea, a blurry image had already begun to form within the Armillary Ring.
But just a moment before, the video feed from Li Fan had suddenly vanished, and the Saints were still in a state of bewilderment.
“I saw Fellow Daoist Fan was proceeding smoothly and about to break the deadlock. What happened?”
Li Fan frowned, and after a moment of sensing, he slowly said, “The network of Mountain and Sea living beings has been affected. I can no longer sense what is happening inside Snare’s web.”
“However, at the very last moment, I sensed that the world was about to collapse. That should be a good thing for us.”
The Saints remained silent.
They had originally said Li Fan was only going to buy time, yet they hadn’t expected him to actually break the web.
Although, in reality, eighty percent of the credit belonged to the Tai Wei Saint Emperor for exposing the truth earlier.
Still, this outcome was completely unexpected by the Saints.
The Three Saints looked toward the forward Mountain and Sea, and after a moment, they nodded slightly. “The power of Snare covering the Mountain and Sea is indeed disappearing. It is leaving.”
With the Three Saints’ confirmation, the other Saints within the Armillary Ring couldn’t help but breathe a collective sigh of relief.
“Without Snare’s covetous gaze, we only need to face the threat of the Void from now on.”
“Though its momentum is fierce, we have gradually grown accustomed to it.”
Compared to the Dao Annihilation from the Void, the Saints clearly found the existence from the beginning of the Mountain and Sea more difficult to deal with.
This was not to say that the beings from the beginning of the Mountain and Sea were even stronger than the Void.
Rather, while the calamity of the Void was terrifying, it lacked as many variables.
Everything was laid bare on the table.
In contrast, beings like Snare, the Saints from the beginning of the Mountain and Sea, were not only unfathomably powerful, but their thoughts and actions were also filled with the unknown.
For instance, its risky venture into the middle period of the Mountain and Sea had completely caught the Saints by surprise.
Regardless of the outcome, it added numerous variables to the situation.
If it were just a game between the two sides, that would be fine; they would simply counter each move as it came. But they also had to face the greatest threat of all—the Void—at the same time.
With both troubles present at once, even the Three Saints felt a bit troubled.
But with Snare’s retreat this time, the clouds had finally parted.
With Li Fan’s avatar as a link, the two segments of the Mountain and Sea quickly reached a consensus.
On the surface, both sides would remain stationary to avoid provoking a fierce reaction from the Void.
In secret, Li Fan’s avatar would use the True Spirit Infusion method to create as many new Saints as possible.
Then, the Saints from the latter segment of the Mountain and Sea would slowly smuggle their avatars to the front through the network of living beings.
Once all preparations were complete, both sides would strike simultaneously.
The forward segment would draw the attention of the Void’s forces, while the Saints from the latter segment would emerge together, aiming to reconnect the Mountain and Sea as quickly as possible.
Once the reconnection was successful, the Void’s siege would break on its own!
“It was almost a hopeless situation. I never thought things would turn around so favorably!”
“Fellow Daoist Fan’s True Spirit Infusion ability is truly invaluable!”
“Sigh, without the Tai Wei Saint Emperor, we would still be worrying about how to break that web.”
...
As the Saints conversed and laughed, the atmosphere in the Other Shore gradually relaxed.
Only Stealing Opportunity privately sent a message to Li Fan.
“May I ask Fellow Daoist Fan, did you encounter anything unusual when Snare fled?”
Li Fan asked, somewhat puzzled, “Why do you ask, Fellow Daoist Stealing Opportunity?”
“The Primordial Immortal Realm shattered into chaos. I could only try to protect myself; I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.”
“Or rather...”
Li Fan’s words suddenly paused. “When Snare left, it seemed extremely furious. It wasn’t just because it was fleeing.”
Upon hearing this, Stealing Opportunity fell into deep thought.
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