Chapter 1751: The New God's Battle in the Void Realm
Chapter 1751: The New God's Battle in the Void Realm
As if sensing the fate that awaited it—to be devoured by the new god—the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele remained fixed in the void, unmoved by the surging torrent of returning divinity.
"To think it can withstand the grand momentum of returning divinity..."
Li Fan's eyes flickered as his consciousness swept over the No-Boundary Stele, trying to uncover the reason for its immobility in the void.
The remnants of the Mountain and Sea flowed like a mighty river, surging towards the vortex of divine nourishment at the dawn of time. Yet the No-Boundary Stele stood like a stone mountain on the riverbank, steadfast and unshaken.
Standing upon that mountain, Li Fan watched the overturning of the Mountain and Sea, a peculiar feeling stirring in his heart.
"This stele..."
"It can gather the mountains and seas, yet exist independently of them. It can act as a mirror, reflecting and engraving all the Daos of the Mountain and Sea. What is its true origin?"
Li Fan was suddenly reminded of the vision he had experienced when he first encountered the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele.
The mountains had trembled, and great waves had swept across the land. Mountain and sea had merged, becoming boundless.
"Could it be, as the Three Saints said, a remnant of a god, or perhaps..."
"Something that stands equal to a god?"
As his thoughts turned, Li Fan made a decision.
He would spend the end of this life here, by the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele, and see what would become of it when the new god descended, and even when that god returned to the Star.
"Perhaps I can also take this opportunity to use the No-Boundary Stele to further improve my Dao One Mountain Sea Map."
At this thought, a Dao One Worm materialized in his hand.
Even an ordinary Saint would find it difficult to leave a clear, personal mark on the No-Boundary Stele, let alone a mere Dao One Worm.
As expected, unable to endure the stele's presence, the worm dissolved into wisps of black ink the moment it appeared, vanishing with the wind.
Next, Li Fan began to gradually increase the number of Dao One Worms.
One, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand...
None could last for even an instant before perishing on the stele.
It was only when their numbers swelled to ten billion, and the Mountain and Sea map engraved upon their backs began to take a rudimentary form, that they could endure for a fleeting moment.
"There's a chance..."
Li Fan keenly sensed a change on the No-Boundary Stele during that brief interval when the swarm of worms struggled for survival.
But as the worms vanished, the new inscription disappeared along with them.
"The Dao One Worms, engraving the Mountain and Sea, are a form of Dao path in themselves. Naturally, they can leave a trace on the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele, just like all the other Daos. In fact, the marks left on the No-Boundary Stele might represent the truest form of the Mountain Sea Map," Li Fan realized with a flash of insight.
He increased the number of worms again.
Countless trillions of worms wove together a complete panorama of the Mountain and Sea.
With the addition of the finishing touch from Li Fan's own enlightenment—the concept of a "boundless" Mountain and Sea—the map took form.
The instant the Dao One Mountain Sea Map was complete, the trillions of Dao One Worms erupted in an eerie black light, coalescing into a single entity.
It was like a splash-ink painting of the Mountain and Sea, with undulating peaks and raging waves, displaying all the myriad Great Daos within.
It truly possessed the attributes of the real Mountain and Sea. The moment it manifested, it nearly broke free from Li Fan's control, drawn toward the vortex of returning divinity at the beginning of the Mountain and Sea.
Faced with the suppression of the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele, this Dao One Map swirled with inky light. Its mountains trembled and its seas churned; mountain and sea as one, it actually managed to contend with the stele for a moment.
Amidst the roars of mountains and seas, the shadow of the Mountain and Sea was slowly etched onto the No-Boundary Stele.
The mission of the No-Boundary Stele was to make the Mountain and Sea boundless; it seemed to possess a special sensitivity to the existence of the Mountain and Sea.
As the landscape on the Dao One Map grew more vivid, approaching the reality of the true Mountain and Sea...
The No-Boundary Stele, which had been motionless in the torrent of returning divinity, suddenly moved, leaping into the Dao One Mountain Sea Map!
Without any hesitation, it fell towards the finishing touch Li Fan had painted from his own understanding.
Boom!
As if it was always meant to be, it took its place.
A single stroke transformed it, and the world within the Mountain Sea Map erupted in cataclysmic change.
It was as if a divine brush was now ceaselessly painting with ink, rewriting the very fabric of the Mountain and Sea.
Ink flowed like clouds, veiling the mountains and seas.
As the ink swirled, the mountains and seas gradually merged into one.
Before the No-Boundary Stele took its place, Li Fan had not considered his painted Mountain and Sea Map to be crude.
Only after the stele added its finishing touch, replacing his own...
Comparing the two...
He finally understood that his own attempt had been nothing more than a clumsy mimicry.
This new Mountain Sea Map, though merely a painting, gave Li Fan the feeling of the real Mountain and Sea.
"It is not just the Dao of the Mountain and Sea, but the Mountain and Sea itself!"
He had only intended to use the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele to correct his Dao One Map, but he never expected the stele itself to leap into the painting.
It was a truly unexpected delight!
With the stele's touch, the Dao One Mountain Sea Map had reached a state of perfection, with no room for further alteration.
"The Dao One carries the Mountain and Sea on its back."
"Though it has the appearance of the Mountain and Sea, in reality..."
"Its essence is still the Dao One."
Li Fan looked toward the Dao Annihilation of the Void Realm, beyond the torrent of returning divinity.
The inky Mountain and Sea parted the torrent, and Li Fan charged straight into the Void Realm.
The Dao One Map's aura, so similar to the Mountain and Sea, instantly attracted countless Dao Annihilation entities, which instinctively swarmed towards it. The black ink surged, clashing violently with the Dao Annihilation.
After a fierce struggle, the Dao Annihilation finally recognized the true nature of its opponent.
It was, unexpectedly, one of their own kin!
Though this kinsman looked a bit strange and was somewhat weaker...
The aura of a shared origin was unmistakable.
And so, the great battle abruptly ceased.
They did not remain separate but merged seamlessly, becoming one!
Witnessing this, Li Fan nodded to himself.
"After fusing with Ink Death, the Dao One Worm could already bear the power of Dao Annihilation. However, its initial form was too weak to survive in the Dao Annihilation, let alone be compatible with it."
"But after my modifications, integrating the Daos of the Mountain and Sea, and with the finishing touch from the No-Boundary Stele..."
"Today's Dao One Mountain Sea Map resembles the Mountain and Sea in form, but its spirit belongs to Dao Annihilation."
"It can advance to merge with Dao Annihilation, and retreat to reenact the world of Mountain and Sea. Its uses are truly marvelous!"
"With this map's protection, even without the ability of True Spirit Infusion, I can ignore the dangers of Dao Annihilation and traverse the ancient Void Realm!"
"Of course..."
"It only bears a resemblance; it is not true Dao Annihilation. It's enough to fool the Dao Annihilation armies that fill the Void Realm, but it certainly won't deceive the one behind the curtain. Even the Saints' avatars in the Void Realm could easily see through it. I must still be cautious while traversing this place."
Li Fan did not let this momentary success go to his head.
Nor did he forget the goal he had just set.
The return of the Mountain and Sea to divinity was nearing its end.
But what transpired was slightly different from what he expected.
The new god born this time had a style of conduct completely different from the one in the previous life.
The new god of the previous age had feigned its demise, luring the surviving Saints out from their hiding places.
The new god of this era, however, acted with open impunity, sweeping across all creation.
With every breath, the rotational speed of the Mountain and Sea's nourishment vortex accelerated, and everything was devoured by it.
Gradually, apart from the Void Realm, only the new god remained.
With the demise of the Mountain and Sea, there was no place left to hide. Four points of light—azure, purple, and two white—were forced to reveal themselves.
The new god's gaze fell upon the azure point of light, which offered no resistance as it was swallowed whole.
The remaining three points scattered in every direction.
But their speed of escape visibly slowed.
Ultimately, they all came to a halt and returned to the god.
"Perhaps it's because of the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele. Hiding within this Dao One Map, I can minimize the god's influence."
"As long as I don't look the new god in the eye and just observe from the shadows, it will be difficult to be detected."
After the new god finished devouring the Mountain and Sea, the next step was to battle the Void Realm.
Li Fan steered the Dao One Map, diving deeper and deeper into the Dao Annihilation.
The new god, having completed its feast, stood motionless in the void.
It seemed to sense something missing, still searching.
But Li Fan had already hidden himself within layers of Dao Annihilation, and even divine power could not locate him for the time being.
And the Void Realm, having gathered its strength for so long, finally sounded the clarion call for battle against the new god.
In the eyes of the Void Realm, there was little difference between the Mountain and Sea and the new god.
They were just different manifestations of the same power.
Its mission was to utterly annihilate it and then offer it to its greatest master.
The new god's devouring of the Mountain and Sea had reduced its strategic objectives to a single target, saving it a great deal of effort.
For the final battle, the countless Dao Annihilation entities surged with unprecedented fervor.
Dark currents, like dragons, intertwined and converged.
They surrounded and descended upon the new god to crush it!
As the number of his Dao Annihilation brethren providing cover diminished, Li Fan's hidden Dao One Map was gradually at risk of being exposed.
Li Fan even faintly sensed the presence behind the Void Realm's curtain.
But he dared not truly peer at it, striving only to remain hidden and await the outcome of the battle between the Void Realm and the new god.
The battle lasted only a moment before it surpassed the scope of what Li Fan could observe.
He could only see the new god's profound silhouette flash intermittently within the infinite darkness.
Ripples of turbulence spread out, each wave stronger than the last.
Even with the support of the No-Boundary Stele, the Dao One Map was nearly shaken into revealing itself several times.
Fortunately, at the critical juncture of the fierce battle, neither the new god nor the entity behind the Void Realm had the leisure to pay attention to anything else.
Thus, Li Fan was able to remain hidden.
Though he could not see, Li Fan focused with every fiber of his being, meticulously recording the battle between the new god and the Void Realm.
"Contemplating this repeatedly in the future will likely yield insights no less profound than observing the Mountain and Sea."
Under the constant washing of the ripples, the markings of the Mountain and Sea on the map also underwent a mysterious change.
Li Fan naturally noticed this.
However, after some thought, he sensed that it might be a good thing, so he did not try to stop it.
He allowed the tempest of the battle between the new god and the Void Realm to reshape the Dao One Map.
In the void, time lost all meaning.
The descended new god was clearly far more vigorous than the dying Mountain and Sea.
Their battle seemed endless, with no clear victor in sight.
Under the constant tempering of the ripples, the Dao One Map gradually adapted to the aftershocks of the great battle.
Li Fan sat within the map like an old monk in deep meditation.
He committed every detail of the fluctuations to memory.
His heart gradually became devoid of joy or sorrow, tranquil and thoughtless.
An unknown amount of time passed, so long that even for a Saint-level Li Fan, a silver strand appeared at his temples.
The ripples echoing through the void finally began to weaken.
At the same time, Li Fan's heart gave a sudden, powerful thump.
In the darkness, something seemed about to break free from its cage.
This feeling was not unfamiliar to Li Fan.
It was the [Star]!
However, the arrival of the Star he had witnessed before was the demise of the Mountain and Sea, followed by the appearance of the lone Star.
This time, as the new god gradually weakened, the cage imprisoning the lone Star grew more fragile. The Star seemed to be constantly pounding against it, announcing its impending return with ever-growing clamor!
"It seems my prediction was correct. Neither the Mountain and Sea nor the new god can escape the fate of the lone Star's arrival."
Li Fan became even more cautious, dismissing all thoughts from his mind and no longer contemplating anything related to the "Star."
The outcome was already set; the new god's struggle was entirely futile.
But the demise of a god was not a matter of a moment.
By the time Li Fan's hair had turned completely white, there was no longer any movement in the void.
Pure silence was gestating pure life.
The Void Realm roiled and trembled ceaselessly, the thumping heartbeat growing ever more intense.
The lone Star was about to descend upon the world at any moment.
But for some reason, it seemed to be missing something.
It was on the verge of appearing, yet could not?
Having not thought for so very long, Li Fan's mind remained a blank slate.
It was only when a peculiar ripple instantly swept through every corner of the void and finally locked onto his location that his thoughts began to turn again.
Just like the great vortex that had birthed the new god, another massive vortex was now faintly forming in the Void Realm, with Li Fan at its center.
Except, this one was not meant to nourish Li Fan.
It was meant to devour him!
The Dao One Worm, in the end, was not Dao Annihilation itself.
When its disguise was mercilessly torn away, what awaited it was an impact several times more ferocious than any Dao Annihilation it had encountered before.
It was as if in the battle to slay the god, the Dao Annihilation itself had undergone some form of sublimation.
Under the onslaught of the Dao Annihilation tide, everything on the Mountain Sea Map was wiped away as if erased.
The rich panorama quickly grew thin and frail.
"Now is the time!"
Li Fan remained calm and composed as the True False Transformation suddenly enveloped him.
Despite the long period of disuse, it was not unfamiliar; it was as natural and effortless as if he had been born with it.
The instant Fantasy Becomes Truth concealed his existence, Li Fan mercilessly tore the last remnants of the Mountain Sea Map to shreds.
Countless Dao One Worms scattered and fled under the cataclysm, but without their unity, they were isolated forces, quickly annihilated by the Dao Annihilation.
And at the center of the Dao One, the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele was once again exposed to the world.
The vortex of the Void Realm fell silent.
The pulsing of the Star also seemed to pause because of it.
Then, as if under command, the myriad Dao Annihilation entities ignored the fleeing Dao One Worms and swarmed towards the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele!
"This is..."
Li Fan could clearly feel the excitement emanating from the Dao Annihilation.
And the reason for the Dao Annihilation's surge was the will of the [Star].
"Why does it feel..."
"As if the Star has never devoured the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele before?"
Witnessing this scene, a strange feeling suddenly arose in Li Fan's heart.
And the astonishing scene that followed confirmed his suspicion.
As the Dao Annihilation rushed in, the numerous Dao marks carved on the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele became ever clearer.
Vague figures even began to appear.
They were the Saints who had once left their marks on the No-Boundary Stele.
There were primordial beings, and the Three Saints.
Li Fan even saw himself.
Figures flew out and circled around as the No-Boundary Stele gradually faded into the void.
As if its mission was complete, it suddenly collapsed inward, contracting into a single point.
It was about to vanish without a trace.
Just then, a glimmer of starlight pierced the darkness.
It locked onto that single point.
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