Chapter 1741: When the Three Saints Fell as One
"Reshaping the Mountain and Sea relies entirely on the True False Transformation. This isn't just a single Dao, but the principle that when the real is made false, the false also becomes real. 'True Becomes False' erases the influence of the Star. 'False Becomes True' recreates the Mountain and Sea from a desolate void."
"Life and death, creation and destruction. The tangible and the illusory, existence and oblivion. It should all depend on a single thought..."
As thoughts churned in Li Fan's mind, a phantom abruptly took shape before him, born from his will alone.
Yet it was only a shadow, its features indistinct.
"With my current understanding of the Dao of Truth and Falsehood, creating a living being from thin air might still be difficult. But if it's just a simple, inanimate object..."
Li Fan waved his hand. The half-formed phantom of a living creature dispersed, replaced by a perfectly ordinary tree branch.
It emanated no special energy fluctuations; it was purely a piece of mundane wood.
But the very fact that Li Fan had created it from nothing imbued it with a certain extraordinary significance.
Li Fan had been capable of "False Becomes True"—creating something from nothing—for a long time. For instance, he had once conjured the "Ancient Cangyuan Essence" to allow Emperor Sanmo to leap between possibilities. However, such creations were extremely unstable and could not exist for very long.
The branch Li Fan had just made, if left undisturbed by external forces, could now endure for a full century.
The short branch flickered in and out of existence.
Li Fan was endlessly immersed in the process, contemplating the transformation between truth and falsehood.
After a long while, he finally confirmed one thing: "This process truly does not involve the consumption of so-called True Spirit."
"So what, then, is the connection between reshaping the Mountain and Sea and the True Spirit?"
Li Fan raised his head and gazed into the distance, his sight seeming to pierce through layers of void realms, reaching straight to the End of Mountain and Sea. He recalled everything he had encountered on his journey, all the facets of the Mountain and Sea and the void realms.
"If the torrent of True Spirit were to pour out from my body, the Dao of Truth and Falsehood would certainly remain unaffected. The only thing that might change because of it is..."
"The Star."
Li Fan was suddenly struck by a flash of insight.
"Even the corpses left behind from the countless cycles of the Mountain and Sea can still be devoured by the Star, converted into its energy. My past selves have perished, but the Star could have grown stronger as a result. I wane as it waxes."
An image appeared in his mind's eye: a solitary star leaping from the darkness, its destructive light more blinding than he had ever seen before. Li Fan's heart skipped a beat.
He was beginning to truly understand the meaning behind the phrase, "One can stop the Star for a time, but not for an eternity."
"Not only do I have to save everyone, I have to clean up the mess afterward. This savior business really is a thankless job."
Truth be told, Li Fan had no interest whatsoever in becoming the savior of the Mountain and Sea.
But the idea of devouring the Mountain and Sea to achieve the supreme state? That held great appeal.
As for whether he would still be willing to save the Mountain and Sea after he succeeded, when there was no one left to restrain him—even if it was a simple, effortless act...
That would depend on his mood.
...
While searching for promising talents, Li Fan also joined several battles between the Saints of the Mountain and Sea and the armies of the void realm.
Even so, the Saints' side inevitably and gradually began to lose ground.
Just as they had analyzed before, the void realm could endlessly draw upon the power of other time periods. With the strength to besiege the entirety of the Mountain and Sea, it could naturally and easily suppress a single, isolated segment.
It wasn't just the ever-increasing number of void realm avatars, which eventually reached a staggering thirty-six. The constantly overlapping clouds of Dao Annihilation, after a long period of accumulation, seemed to have undergone a qualitative change.
Although the Mountain and Sea had not yet been devoured by the Dao Annihilation, it felt as though the entire world had been cast under a deep shadow. The myriad colors of the world slowly faded, and a vibrant, kaleidoscopic reality was gradually turning to black and white.
"What is happening? Why do I feel as if everything around me has become so ethereal and illusory?" The divine will avatar of the All Knowing Immortal flickered, its light growing dimmer and dimmer. It was like a book being stripped of its pages one by one, until only a single, thin sheet remained.
It wasn't just the All Knowing Immortal. All the other avatars of the Saints, including the Three Saints themselves, were powerless to escape this transformation.
"This feeling... it's as if we are within the void realm itself, not the Mountain and Sea. Our very existence is melting away like ice in the sun."
"The void realm has not yet completed its erosion of the Mountain and Sea, but the siege is so immense that the power of nothingness has already begun to seep through. If this continues, the Mountain and Sea won't last much longer!"
"In that last instant, the power of the void realms stacked outside the Mountain and Sea doubled once more. It is a darkness so profound and abyssal it threatens to swallow everything. I fear even the radiant glory of the Three Saints will not be enough to illuminate it."
The Saints felt the changes sweeping through the Mountain and Sea, their expressions all incomparably grave.
They looked toward the Three Saints, awaiting their decision.
"Strange, the void realm's reaction..."
"Something is wrong."
Both the Gui Hai Saint from the current era and the divine will avatars who had crossed over from the future frowned in unison. They looked to the sky, and their vision filled with countless phantoms of light and shadow.
Even with the void realm standing in the way, it was not enough to halt their divination.
The myriad flashing images became the sole source of color in the now black-and-white Mountain and Sea.
"A great change has occurred at the Beginning of Mountain and Sea."
"A Saint has fallen. Chaos. Turmoil."
"The Mountain and Sea's resistance has been critically weakened, allowing the void realm to divert even more of its power here."
Gui Hai's divination took far more time than usual, and perhaps due to the interference of the void realm, the toll it took was immense.
A single strand of white hair actually appeared on the Gui Hai Saint's head!
But he paid it no mind, attempting to push the divination further.
Lian Shan and Tai Yi joined him in perfect sync.
The Three Saints sat in meditation, and a seven-colored rainbow of light flickered erratically, projecting several clear images.
Though they vanished in a flash, the Saints were able to clearly see who had fallen at the Beginning of Mountain and Sea.
It was none other than [Snare], who had just retreated from this very segment of the Mountain and Sea!
"He's dead?" The Saints were all aghast.
And at that very moment, as if sensing the Three Saints' scrying across the expanse of time, dozens of malicious gazes shot back through the visions of light and shadow.
They felt like starving beasts laying eyes on a lamb that could sate their hunger!
The Three Saints reacted with incredible speed, cutting off the divination before the gazes could fully connect.
Even so, wisps of malice escaped through the metaphysical link, scattering throughout the Armillary Ring.
They took physical form.
"Roar!"
Some resembled ferocious beasts, others ethereal phantoms, and still others cackling skeletons.
Though their strength was laughably insignificant compared to the Saints present, they charged with unparalleled ferocity, roaring as they lunged.
The outcome was obvious; they were effortlessly annihilated by the Saints.
But the expressions on the Saints' faces did not relax in the slightest.
Instead, they grew even more somber.
Especially the Three Saints.
"We just felt dozens of gazes, yet not a single one was our own."
"We are no longer within the Primitive Immortal Realm," the Lian Shan Saint declared, his expression stern.
"Could it be that the Three Saints have all fallen as well?" Li Fan asked, surprised.
"Not exactly. It isn't just us; some old friends are also nowhere to be seen. It seems..."
"The time for our divergence has come."
As they finished speaking, the Three Saints exchanged a knowing glance.
Then, in perfect unison, their forms dissolved into fading streams of light.
In an instant, they fell on the spot, leaving everyone else utterly stunned!
(End of Chapter)
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