Chapter 1744: The Mountain and Sea Can No Longer Exist
"The petrification of the Mountain and Sea is like drinking poison to quench a thirst. While it temporarily severs the possibility of the Dao Annihilation's encroachment, it also signifies that this part of the Mountain and Sea..."
Li Fan gazed at the petrified slab of the Mountain and Sea before him, a feeling akin to standing before an ancient tomb rising in his heart.
Ancient and solemn, it was saturated with an aura of death.
It had blocked the assault from the Eternal Silent Void Realm, but in doing so, it had also severed its own future.
"This is the Mountain and Sea's delaying tactic. The Dao Annihilation invades through its veins, like a poison coursing through the bloodstream. By actively petrifying itself, the Mountain and Sea might stave off the toxin for a time, but for the whole, it does more harm than good. One could even argue that the damage is no less severe than being devoured by the Eternal Silent Void Realm. Otherwise, faced with the full-scale assault of the Dao Annihilation, the Mountain and Sea would have simply chosen to petrify itself entirely long ago..."
As Li Fan's divine sense swept across the petrified expanse, a multitude of thoughts surfaced. He perceived with sharp clarity that the stone slab of the Mountain and Sea was slowly, inexorably expanding its boundaries over time.
The growth was slow, yet utterly resolute.
And so, an understanding dawned in his mind. "This process is irreversible. Once initiated, the entire Mountain and Sea will eventually become a single, lifeless slab. It may repel the invasion from the Eternal Silent Void Realm, but it still cannot prevent the descent of the Star. The day this petrification is complete will be the day the solitary Star appears in the world."
"Ultimately, the divine schism of the Mountain and Sea was meant to inherit the power of a god. But this slab before me..."
Shou Qiu sensed Li Fan's thoughts and transmitted a message laced with emotion. "In the past, when I would Sit Mountain View Sea, I was deeply moved by my own insignificance before the sheer vastness of the Mountain and Sea, and countless insights would grace me. Yet now, facing this petrified world, no inspiration stirs. Its domain may be vast, its Daos profound, but ultimately, it offers nothing to living beings."
Moral agreed. "We can all sense this, so the Mountain and Sea itself must be aware of it. To sacrifice its entire future for a mere moment's delay... it seems a great upheaval truly occurred at the Beginning of the Mountain and Sea!"
"What the Three Saints said before," Li Fan remarked with a cold smile, "was that 'the time for the divine schism has arrived,' not that 'the Mountain and Sea would undergo a divine schism.' It undoubtedly means the Saints at the Beginning intend to compete with the Mountain and Sea for the ultimate prize of this schism. If it wasn't the Mountain and Sea that underwent that schism back then, our reality wouldn't even exist today. Everything that came after is at stake, making a life-or-death struggle inevitable. This move by the Mountain and Sea is likely an act of desperation. It must contend with the rapacious Saints while simultaneously defending itself from the onslaught of the Dao Annihilation..."
"The Saints vying with the Mountain and Sea for divinity," Moral mused. "The very thought is thrilling. It's a shame we won't be able to partake in such a grand affair. But, Fellow Daoist Fan, why have you never witnessed this upheaval in your previous lives?"
"The origin of this anomaly," Li Fan said, his eyes fixed on the ancient, now-placid character for Snare in the Hall of the Great Dao, "can likely be traced back to Snare."
"I used the Dao of Stealing Opportunity to devour a portion of its essence. Snare's power must have plummeted as a result. The Primitive Immortal Realm is filled with predators. An anomaly like a weakened Snare would have inevitably been discovered. I fear it became prey for others."
"Perhaps that was the fuse that lit the divine schism," Li Fan added, his brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to deduce more.
But his knowledge of the Primitive Immortal Realm was simply too scarce.
In the end, he gained nothing.
"However, one can deduce that the Saints at the Beginning were already on the verge of initiating the schism. They needed only a slight push to cross that unseen threshold."
The three continued their silent exchange.
Meanwhile, upon witnessing the petrification of the Mountain and Sea, the Eternal Silent Void Realm began to withdraw its besieging forces.
Though the void remained pitch-black, in the eyes of Li Fan and the others, it seemed to have brightened considerably.
This segment of the Mountain and Sea no longer held any value for consumption, and thus, the crisis resolved itself.
It was a turn of events they had never anticipated.
Their strategy of diverting the disaster had provoked an unexpected reaction from the Mountain and Sea, yet it had achieved the same ultimate effect.
"The petrified Mountain and Sea now lies like a great, unmovable boulder. Our quest to reconnect it has become meaningless."
Li Fan and the others returned to their own era, where the Mountain and Sea remained as it was, and settled within the Armillary Ring. The other Saints, however, were cast adrift, their long-held purpose suddenly gone.
"We are now like a small boat adrift on a vast river," the All Knowing Immortal sighed. "Whether we sink is entirely up to others. To have our fate out of our own hands... it is an infuriating feeling."
"If it's still the Mountain and Sea that undergoes the divine schism, then it might be fine. But I fear another Saint has usurped its original path. We were all born of the Mountain and Sea. If it ceases to have ever existed from the very beginning... wouldn't we simply vanish along with it?"
Sundial Fate's concerns were not unfounded.
Ever since the departure of the Three Saints, an unconcealable anxiety had been blooming in the hearts of all the Saints.
They had originally attributed it to the encroachment of the Eternal Silent Void Realm, but now, with the tide of Dao Annihilation receding, this unease had not only failed to dissipate but had intensified.
It felt as if a great catastrophe was imminent, that their doom was fast approaching.
And yet, aside from passively awaiting their fate, there seemed to be nothing the Saints could do.
"Even ants cling desperately to life," Stealing Opportunity declared, his eyes burning with defiance. "Are we to do nothing but wait for our end?"
"The Beginning of the Mountain and Sea... If only we had moved faster!"
Just as the Saints' minds were reeling in turmoil, Li Fan suddenly spoke. "I have a plan that might allow you all to escape this calamity. However, I can offer no guarantees of its success."
"Speak freely, Fellow Daoist Zhouhui!"
"The outcome of the divine schism will decide our fate," Li Fan began slowly. "To escape its influence, the only way is to step outside the Mountain and Sea entirely. We Saints may be said to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Mountain and Sea, but we are far from being independent of it."
"That is true," one of the Saints replied, puzzled. "But we have little time left. The outcome of the schism will soon be known. How could we possibly escape the Mountain and Sea before then?"
"If the Mountain and Sea will no longer have us," Li Fan declared, gesturing toward the darkness beyond, "then we shall turn to the Eternal Silent Void Realm."
"For years, I have been continuously infusing True Spirit, burying vast quantities of it deep within the Eternal Silent Void Realm. Through this constant, prolonged call, I seem to have forged a strange connection with the void. In the past, our goal was to reconnect the Mountain and Sea, so it was not convenient to reveal this. But times have changed, and there is no harm in telling you now."
Having fought against the Dao Annihilation of the Eternal Silent Void Realm for so long, opposition had become instinct. Upon first hearing Li Fan's proposal, all the Saints were startled.
However, considering their current predicament, their stern and wary expressions gradually softened.
"Turn to the Eternal Silent Void Realm? Fellow Daoist Zhouhui, have you truly attempted this before?"
"Within the Eternal Silent Void Realm, all existence vanishes. If we submit to it, where will we go?"
Though they did not object, the doubts in the Saints' hearts were difficult to dispel.
Li Fan replied coolly, without batting an eye, "While I have never truly tested it, I believe the chances of success are high. Did you not see the avatars from the Eternal Silent Void Realm that besieged us? Their forms were indistinguishable from true Saints."
"If it can accommodate their avatars, why could it not accommodate us?"
Li Fan's voice grew grave. "We need only try. With disaster looming, do any of you have a better solution?"
He had a point, but the most critical moment had not yet arrived.
The Saints remained hesitant, their hearts filled with doubt.
Until...
In an instant, the Mountain and Sea became ethereal and indistinct.
Comments