Chapter 1745: A New God Arrives in the World
Chapter 1745: A New God Arrives in the World
This descent into an ethereal nothingness was fundamentally different from being devoured by the Void Realm.
When the Dao Annihilation tide swept through, the Mountain Sea, as a whole, had still persisted. It was intermittent, like a great tree riddled with a thousand holes by gnawing insects. So long as the tree hadn't completely collapsed, the Saints, who could travel freely through the Mountain Sea, could employ their various powers to navigate around the fallen regions and ensure their own survival.
But the nothingness consuming the Mountain Sea now was like a great fire set to the very roots of that tree. A roaring inferno that would burn from beginning to end until the entire Mountain Sea was gone, leaving nothing behind.
Even if the Saints sought refuge within the Void Realm, it would merely be a change of location. Their myriad connections to the Mountain Sea would remain, and the formless fire would travel along those metaphysical threads to bury them all!
"The War for Divinity... the Mountain Sea actually lost?"
As shock rippled through the Saints, an immense, instinctual fear began to bloom in their hearts.
It was a premonition of their own impending demise.
With the Mountain Sea gone, a new god would be crowned. Everything gained from the gods by the Mountain Sea, and everything gained from the Mountain Sea by living beings, had to be returned.
The Saints gazed toward the far end of the Mountain Sea, where the myriad events of countless eons seemed to dissolve into motes of shimmering light, all flowing and converging toward the Beginning of the Mountain Sea.
At first, it was silent, but as the brilliance continued to gather, it gradually swelled into a roaring tide.
Even when it encountered the intervening Void Realms, the great wave simply lapped against them gently and passed over.
Before this unstoppable tide, the Saints felt an irresistible pull from the Beginning of the Mountain Sea, a pull that felt like destiny itself. Though they could still hold their forms for now, specks of their very being had already begun to uncontrollably drain away.
It wasn't just the beings of the Mountain Sea.
The Void Realm, too, was not immune to this change.
Within the darkness, shadows seemed to churn and writhe. Streaks of gloomy thread flew out from the Void Realm, racing toward the Beginning of the Mountain Sea.
As if being forcibly torn apart and extracted, a tremendous roar and a piercing, grating sound filled the void.
"Even what was once devoured by the Void Realm cannot be spared. This..."
"Who is the Saint that won the War for Divinity?"
Amidst this cataclysmic change, Li Fan’s attention was focused more on the Mountain Sea stone slab.
The petrified Mountain Sea, compared to its normal state, possessed a greater resistance to this reversion.
But not by much.
It held on for about twice as long before it, too, could not escape the fate of returning to the god.
Like gusts of a razor-sharp wind, the tide gradually wore away the undulating patterns on the slab's surface. The various Dao principles Li Fan had comprehended from the stone were swept up by the torrent, carried toward the new god at the Beginning of the Mountain Sea.
In the end, the supposedly indestructible stone slab slowly crumbled into countless grains of sand and vanished.
"Daoist... Zhouhui, what you said before... about returning to the Void Realm... I... wish to try," Broken Prophecy was the first to speak in this time of crisis.
The trend of returning to the god was intensifying.
In the brief time the Saints had hesitated, not only had nearly a tenth of their existence already flowed away, but their very forms could no longer remain stable. They were like pools of agitated ink, uncontrollably streaming toward the Beginning of the Mountain Sea.
Even the influence the Saints could exert on the outside world was rapidly dissipating. This manifested as their transmitted voices becoming intermittent and as faint as the buzz of a mosquito.
If Li Fan were not still in his peak state, he might have overlooked them entirely amidst the grand spectacle of the Mountain Sea's reversion.
While the Saints fell into ruin, Li Fan was able to maintain his peak strength.
The instant he sensed the anomaly, he had enveloped himself in the True False Transformation.
Existing between truth and falsehood, he could sit unmoving and perfectly at ease, even when faced with the roaring tide of reversion.
If the current Mountain Sea was a great river surging toward the eastern sea, then the alliance formed by Li Fan, Shou Qiu, and Moral was a lone skiff upon its waters.
Though they could not stop the river's powerful current, they could, for the time being, barely protect themselves.
For the moment, Li Fan paid no heed to the Saints' calls. Instead, he frowned and asked, "Shou Qiu, what is your assessment of this new god?"
"Although it has seized the fruit of the Mountain Sea's War for Divinity..."
"I'm afraid it cannot be called a true god. At best, it is merely a new cycle of the Mountain Sea," Shou Qiu stated, hitting the nail on the head.
Li Fan couldn't help but smile. "At the very least, within the Dao Return Hall, the Daos remain unmoved. At the very least, the True False Transformation we wield remains as steady as a mountain."
"If we are like this, there must be others like us within the Mountain Sea. Compared to the True God, this one is still far inferior."
"And then there is the Void Realm. Although it was forced to spit out what it had swallowed of the Mountain Sea, the Void Realm itself has not dissipated. Not to mention [Star]. This new god will inevitably have to confront the Void Realm. I see this as nothing more than the restart of another cycle, one that will ultimately still end with the descent of the lone Star," Moral added, nodding in agreement.
"However..." Shou Qiu's expression suddenly turned grave, as if he had foreseen something.
"Compared to the Mountain Sea, I fear this new god will not sit back and wait for its demise. Once it has finished cleaning up the old Mountain Sea, its next act will likely be to absorb remnants like us."
"No matter. When that time comes, we will let it have a taste of [Truth]'s power!" Li Fan chuckled.
Having awakened a portion of his past self's memories, Li Fan had not a shred of doubt that [Truth] could suppress this new god.
In countless past cycles, scenes like the one today had occurred before.
But in the end, [Truth] was always able to reset everything.
"If [Truth] can reduce all to a star with a single thought, it can surely dethrone a god with a single thought."
"Let us ride this current and get a closer look at the true face of this new god," Li Fan said, his eyes narrowing.
Shou Qiu and Moral naturally agreed.
"As for the other Saints..."
Within the torrent of reversion, the Saints could no longer maintain their forms.
Only twisted, distorted remnants remained, their features unrecognizable, still shouting something at Li Fan.
But their connection to reality was growing ever weaker, and even Li Fan could no longer make out their words.
"However, the foundations of their Daos still exist."
"Rather than letting the new god have them, I might as well claim them for myself."
"Come, enter the Dao Return Hall!"
The talk of returning to the Void Realm had been nothing more than a trick to delay them. Now that the Saints were powerless to resist, Li Fan no longer hid his intentions, revealing his sharp fangs.
With a wave of his great sleeve, he swept the struggling remnants of the Saints into his grasp.
Stealing Opportunity, Sundial Fate, Broken Prophecy, Karma Judge, Star Raft...
On the [Truth] panel, lines of characters quietly appeared. Some were already present, and after this absorption, they became clearer. Others were newly seated, adding more bricks and tiles to the Dao Return Hall.
As for the shock and feelings of the Saints, Li Fan naturally couldn't care less.
Savoring the essence of the Saints, he rode the torrent of reversion, speeding toward the Beginning of the Mountain Sea.
Without the obstruction of the Void Realms and by moving with the surging tide, their speed was incredible. Hundreds of billions of years of time were crossed in a flash, covering a fifth or sixth of the entire journey.
However, the closer they got to the new god, the stronger the pull of destiny Li Fan felt.
Even with the protection of the True False Transformation, his own existence and the foundation of his Dao gradually grew turbulent and unstable.
He had no choice but to band together with Shou Qiu and Moral, combining their strength to stay afloat.
"The new god is gestating. Even without seeing its face, one can tell from this momentum that it is extraordinary."
Moral and Shou Qiu both voiced their feelings.
United as one, they crossed another fifty billion years of time in an instant, drawing one step closer to the Beginning of the Mountain Sea, where the new god resided.
With Li Fan's current understanding of the True False Transformation, it was ultimately impossible to continue protecting the Zhouhui Dao from the new god's grasp. The winds of reversion blew, twisting and distorting the True False Transformation until it seemed it would snap at any moment.
"At this point, this cloak of the Zhouhui Dao is useless to me."
Li Fan no longer forced it, decisively casting the Dao aside.
Streaks of golden light scattered into the surrounding torrent. Having shed his outer layer, Li Fan immediately felt the pressure on him lessen significantly.
The True False Transformation no longer had to maintain another entity; it only needed to protect Li Fan's consciousness.
Moral followed suit.
Only Shou Qiu could still persevere.
As the helmsman of their small skiff, he continued to guide them toward the new god's location.
"Daoist Fan, you seem to have been searching for something along the way. Was it the two white dots you saw hidden within the Mountain Sea?" Shou Qiu asked while steering.
Li Fan nodded. "At the end of time, the Mountain Sea fell to the Void Realm. Everything was lost, save for two white dots that leaped out. Their resilience against the Void Realm's corrosion surpassed even that of the entire Mountain Sea. This shows how powerful those two white dots are."
"But they are hidden extremely well. Except for the final outcome of the lone Star's descent, I have never seen them under any other circumstances. Now, with the Mountain Sea returning to the god, even the obscuring Void Realm has been swept clean. This should be the best opportunity to observe them. And yet..."
Li Fan frowned slightly. "We have traveled through most of the Mountain Sea's lifespan, yet there is still no trace of them. Strange..."
"The Mountain Sea has not yet completely vanished. Perhaps they can still remain hidden. Let's keep watching."
The closer they got to the Beginning of the Mountain Sea, the faster the reversion became.
Only the final ten billion years of the journey remained.
Even Shou Qiu was forced to abandon his own Dao.
The three of them were now nothing more than a shared consciousness, united by the Same Heart Same Virtue, riding upon the skiff named True False Transformation.
"The true Lord of Longevity should have perished in the War for Divinity."
"For a time, I alone enjoyed the Great Dao of Longevity."
"Compared to before, I have indeed gained some different insights. I just don't know if I can contend for this position of Lord of Longevity."
Shou Qiu suddenly said.
"Hmm?" Hearing this, Li Fan found it a bit strange.
Because under the state of Same Heart Same Virtue, he hadn't actually sensed Shou Qiu's enlightenment.
A moment later, he understood.
It wasn't just the Daos of the three of them; even the effect of [Same Heart Same Virtue] was gradually disappearing as they drew closer to the Beginning of the Mountain Sea.
Even after knowing each other for so long and going through so much, a sense of caution instinctively arose in Li Fan's heart.
Since Same Heart Same Virtue was not completely gone, Shou Qiu and Moral naturally sensed Li Fan's thoughts.
They couldn't help but chuckle. "Daoist Fan, you truly are... cautious."
"It seems only Same Heart Same Virtue can truly put you at ease."
"But then, there's no harm in being careful."
Faced with their teasing, Li Fan felt no embarrassment.
"With Shou Qiu's abilities, the position of Lord of Longevity is certainly within your grasp."
"Besides, this War for Divinity, it's not as if we can't..."
Li Fan was speaking when he suddenly stopped.
In that fleeting moment, while speeding through the current, his eyes had caught a glimpse of a steadfast, standing figure.
The skiff carrying Li Fan and the others was racing toward the Beginning of the Mountain Sea along with the great tide of reversion.
And yet that figure seemed capable of standing motionless within the torrent.
They passed each other in an instant, and Li Fan could only make out a rough outline.
"Just now..."
"That was one of the two white dots," Li Fan said with certainty.
Appearances and body shapes could be faked, but that unique aura was unmistakable.
"But it's not the one I first met at the bottom of the Infinite Sea."
"Yet its power is just as unfathomable."
Li Fan, currently within the torrent of reversion, knew exactly how terrifying the devouring power of the new god was at this moment.
But the figure he had just seen still had an air of casual indifference.
He seemed a little surprised by Li Fan, this passerby who brushed past him, but he did not follow to investigate.
Instead, he chose to continue lurking and observing.
"Shou Qiu, did you see its true nature?" Li Fan asked proactively, as the effect of Same Heart Same Virtue had weakened further.
Shou Qiu pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly.
"With all Daos returning to the god, every Dao path within the Mountain Sea should be unavoidable. But that figure was able to remain unaffected? Truly strange. And..."
"Neither going nor staying, neither leaving nor approaching. It seems to be waiting for something."
"Waiting? Could it be..." Li Fan felt a sudden realization and shot his gaze forward.
The last ten billion years of time had passed in a blur.
Having reached this point, their speed suddenly slowed.
Like a confluence of a hundred rivers, the essence of life from every era of the Mountain Sea all met here, forming a brilliant and bizarre vortex.
Stillness, and rotation.
Devouring, and ejecting.
Converging, and erupting.
...
A multitude of contradictions filled the space, yet because of the existence at the vortex's center, all these mutually exclusive states were able to coexist.
A god.
It wasn't an active observation.
The moment he saw the great vortex, the image of the god leaped into his vision.
His mind was then thrown into turmoil, churned into a thousand pieces.
All other consciousness ceased to exist, only the image of the god echoing endlessly.
Li Fan had never imagined that even a new god that had merely replaced the Mountain Sea, even a new god still in its gestation, would possess such terrifying power.
Even with the protection of the True False Transformation, even supported by the will of three Saints, his consciousness was easily shattered by the mere reflection of the god's image.
He had almost no power to resist.
The lone skiff capsized, and he fell into the great vortex.
Along with all things in the Mountain Sea, he slowly converged toward the new god at the center.
An unknown amount of time after losing consciousness, Li Fan gradually regained his clarity.
He vaguely recalled what had just happened, and when he observed his current situation, he was overcome with horror.
Although it felt as if he had been unconscious for a long time, he had not actually moved much closer to the god.
The speed at which the new god was digesting the collective essence of the Mountain Sea did not seem particularly fast.
Li Fan had only moved a little closer within the vortex.
The reason he had woken up...
was because Moral had sacrificed himself, using his own remaining consciousness as nourishment. With Shou Qiu's continued support, they had managed to awaken Li Fan.
"Daoist Fan, look at the new god before us."
"Something... seems to be wrong with its state."
Shou Qiu's weak voice reached him. Li Fan's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but follow his gaze.
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