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Chapter 1752: The God Who Once Changed the Mountain and Sea

Chapter 1752: The God Who Once Changed the Mountain and Sea

Starlight descended, and all creation fell silent!

The Solitary Star itself had not truly arrived, but the mere glimmer of its radiance was enough to crush everything in its path.

The Dao Annihilation of the void realm, as if witnessing the arrival of its sovereign, froze in place, utterly still.

Swept up by the starlight, it vanished without a trace.

And the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele, which had been on the verge of collapsing back into nothingness, re-materialized under this pure radiance.

It was no longer a towering stone monument, but...

A severed finger!

This finger had existed for an unknowable length of time, weathered by the elements until it no longer resembled a "finger" at all. It stood more like a solitary mountain peak, gazing down upon the world in defiance.

This was the finger of a god.

Or, to be more precise, the Finger of the True God.

Boom!

The moment this thought arose, it was as if the fallen True God had truly crossed the river of time to press down with that single finger.

The Dao Annihilation's devouring vortex instantly exploded and disintegrated. Before the True God's finger, even an army a billion strong would have been instantly annihilated.

Even with the power of True False Transformation, Li Fan felt his cultivation drain away. The Dao of the Mysterious Female dissipated like a wisp of green smoke, returning to the vast, primordial beginning.

The ray of light cast down by the Solitary Star was twisted and broken.

With the constraint gone, the True God's Finger instantly began to collapse inward, vanishing from sight.

A moment later, the starlight erupted, a thousand times brighter than before.

It consumed everything in sight.

This was not the first time he had witnessed the descent of the Solitary Star. Li Fan remained calm and silently intoned a single thought.

"Truth!"

In that instant, time itself seemed to reverse.

The freely scattering starlight, as if buffeted by a gale, was forced to flow backward.

Despite its boundless reluctance, under the suppression of [Truth]'s formless hand, it had no choice but to return from whence it came.

The starlight receded, and darkness swallowed everything.

An eternity passed, or perhaps only an instant.

Like the first rays of dawn piercing the dark.

A glimmer of starlight reappeared, shining upon the world.

But for some unknown reason.

The starlight lasted only a moment before, as if sensing something, it abruptly dimmed and vanished.

...

Anchor Point: Year 1!

"The Finger of the True God!" As Li Fan regained consciousness, he seemed still immersed in that fleeting moment when the Solitary Star's light had revealed the true form of the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele.

He narrowed his eyes and, in imitation, pressed a finger down into the void.

"It shatters Saints, breaks the void realm, and crushes starlight."

"Worthy of a remnant of the True God."

Though Li Fan had only just awoken and was still in a mortal body, his gesture was infused with the conceptual weight of the True God's Finger. As he pressed his finger down, the entire Great Xuan small world trembled faintly.

A rumbling sound echoed from the sky as if it were shattering. Cracks spread like a spiderweb across the firmament.

The Immortal-Forbidden Array that sealed the Great Xuan small world instantly broke, allowing trickles of spiritual energy to flow in from the Xuanhuang Realm.

Not only that, but the finger's mysterious power penetrated even further, reaching beyond the Xuanhuang Realm itself.

Within the Immortal Ruins, the meditating Hunger Immortal felt a sudden, inexplicable tremor in his heart and was about to open his eyes.

But Li Fan pressed down again, forcing him back.

As if losing the memory of the last few seconds, the Hunger Immortal sank back into his state of enlightenment.

From beginning to end, the Hunger Immortal was utterly unaware that he had been influenced by an external force.

"Wherever the finger points, reality can be altered at will. Cultivation and realm are irrelevant."

"And this is merely the echo of my imitation."

Li Fan withdrew his hand, staring intently at his fingertip.

The essence of the True God's Finger had already dissipated, leaving behind the body of an ordinary mortal. No one would ever imagine that it could unleash a power that bordered on transcendence.

"The various cultivation realms in the Mountain and Sea are merely conventions agreed upon by us cultivators. In truth, they are almost all defined by the Mountain and Sea as a metric. Those who can traverse the Mountain and Sea are Transcendent. Those who can stand equal to the Mountain and Sea are Saints."

"But everything within the Mountain and Sea originates from the God. When the True God's Finger fell, it defined the fate of the Mountain and Sea. Borrowing its profound power to twist and rewrite the beings within the Mountain and Sea is naturally as easy as turning one's hand." Despite using the True God's Finger as a mortal, Li Fan felt no discomfort whatsoever.

Li Fan faintly sensed that this might be related to his long practice and comprehension of True False Transformation.

"If it were anyone else, forget a mortal body, even a Saint would never be able to use this divine ability so smoothly. But I..."

"Having been steeped in the principles of True False Transformation for so long, I have already become different."

Li Fan replayed the feeling of using the True God's Finger to twist and rewrite the Hunger Immortal.

He had only made him ignore the external disturbance and return to his meditative state, but it was, without a doubt, a direct modification of his consciousness.

One had to remember that although the Hunger Immortal was no longer a major concern for Li Fan, he was still a cultivator just one step away from the realm of a Nameless True Immortal.

Yet, like a toy, he had been manipulated at will by a mortal.

What if Li Fan regained his Sage cultivation?

What if Li Fan's comprehension of the True God's Finger deepened even further?

It was truly difficult to imagine.

"If [Truth] is the ability to reset the Mountain and Sea with a single thought, then the True God's Finger possesses the potential to *modify* the Mountain and Sea. From this perspective, they are powers of the same caliber. No wonder that after my True False Transformation reached a certain level of mastery, my comprehension of the True God's Finger has been so smooth."

"But such a divine object..." Li Fan frowned, trying to find any trace of the True God's Finger in the long, cyclical memories of his former self.

Perhaps it was because his past memories were so vast that he could only recall the tip of the iceberg, or perhaps his past self had been so focused on fighting the void realm in the final moments that he never noticed the No-Boundary Stele hidden within the Mountain and Sea.

In any case, Li Fan could not recall any images related to the True God's Finger.

This was his first real contact with it.

Li Fan didn't dwell on it for too long.

"To have such a divine ability is definitely a stroke of luck for me now. With the combination of True False Transformation and the True God's Finger..."

"The Saints from the dawn of the Mountain and Sea would be of little concern." A wave of heroic spirit surged in Li Fan's heart.

But then he recalled that in the previous life, the new god that descended seemed to be a different person. He instantly calmed down.

"The two new gods I've encountered had vastly different methods of operation. I can basically confirm that they weren't the same being. In other words, all the Saints from the dawn of the Mountain and Sea have the strength to replace the Mountain and Sea and become a new god. All they lack is a bit of luck."

"They are truly not to be trifled with. No wonder the Three Saints were always so cautious when speaking of the early Saints."

"I can't be reckless. I should stick to the original plan." Li Fan's excitement abated.

"With True False Transformation on my side, I have no need to compete with them. The so-called 'blessing of the divided god' is nothing but a death trap."

Li Fan compared the various scenarios after the descent of different new gods in these few lives, becoming even more certain of his judgment.

"The Mountain and Sea, the new god... neither can escape the Star's pursuit. This has long been determined."

"The Mountain and Sea without boundaries, merging into one. This was the beginning of the Dao Annihilation."

"From the day they merged, the ultimate demise of the Mountain and Sea was sealed..."

"But looking back in hindsight, at the very beginning of the boundaryless era, the Mountain and Sea itself seemed unable to perceive its tragic future. On the contrary, it remained optimistic."

"This point is rather suspicious. Setting aside a latecomer like myself, even the Saints from the dawn of the Mountain and Sea could foresee the terrible disaster of the future and chose the method of severing the future to escape the calamity. How could the Mountain and Sea itself not perceive it? This simply didn't add up, no matter how he looked at it!"

Suddenly recalling how he had just modified the Hunger Immortal's consciousness, a thought surged into Li Fan's mind.

"The No-Boundary Stele, the True God's Finger... not only did they merge the Mountain and Sea, but they also twisted and rewrote its perspective?"

Li Fan's heart trembled.

"Perhaps merging the Mountain and Sea was just the surface effect. Tampering with the consciousness of the Mountain and Sea, changing the future direction of the Mountain and Sea—that was the true purpose of the True God's Finger."

In an instant, Li Fan couldn't help but think of the three rumors about the God's contingencies.

"Legend has it that when the Mountain and Sea divided the God, the God left three contingencies in its final moments."

"Each one had the power to overturn the Mountain and Sea."

"Previously, I guessed that the Star and [Truth] were two of them."

"However, I now understand that [Truth] was something my former self created, a fusion of the Daos of all Saints through supreme talent. It was not some gift from the God."

"Now, it seems this Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele is more likely one of the contingencies left by the God."

"The key is, where did it go?"

With a thought, Li Fan chose to inherit the Dao One Mountain Sea Map he had forged in his previous life.

An ink-wash scroll painting appeared in Li Fan's hand.

Compared to when it was first created, it was vastly different.

Having been scoured by the ripples of the countless years of struggle between the new god and the void realm, the Mountain Sea Map had acquired a few more unique, profound rhythms.

However...

"The Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele is gone."

"All that's left is its shadow."

"A faint wisp..."

"Even with the True False Transformation of [Truth], it can't be fully replicated?"

This was the first time Li Fan had encountered something that [Truth] could not create.

After all, even the Mountain and Sea and all the Saints could be recreated with a single thought.

If there was truly something that could not be reproduced...

"Without a doubt, it must be something that transcends the Mountain and Sea, something belonging to the True God."

Li Fan carefully examined the remnant of the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele.

Even as a faint afterimage, it was a thousand times more profound than any copy Li Fan could make.

As he observed it for a long time, insights sprang forth in his mind like a mountain spring.

Li Fan faintly understood where the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele had gone after it collapsed.

"It didn't go anywhere. It simply ceased to exist."

"The Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele only came to merge the Mountain and Sea. If the Mountain and Sea no longer exist, and the Mountain Sea Map, its substitute, also disappears, then the No-Boundary Stele will naturally no longer manifest in the world."

"But if, in the void, a new Mountain and Sea were to reappear..."

"Then the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele would be like an inseparable plague, destined to descend once more!"

"So that's it. The No-Boundary Stele seen in every reincarnation wasn't reset by [Truth]. It manifested on its own each time."

"As for the many inscriptions upon it..."

Li Fan recalled the scene from his previous life where the afterimages of Saints rose from the No-Boundary Stele under the impact of the Dao Annihilation.

"Those were merely the etched traces of the Saints' Daos, not part of the No-Boundary Stele itself."

"When it re-manifests, it naturally wouldn't carry them."

"A remnant of the True God is truly extraordinary."

Li Fan looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the infinite possibilities of the Mountain and Sea, directly to where the No-Boundary Stele resided.

"With just this one finger, it completely sealed off all future possibilities for the Mountain and Sea."

"No matter how it struggled, no matter what variables evolved, as long as the Mountain and Sea itself existed, the No-Boundary Stele would descend and fix its fate."

"Add to that the Solitary Star that swallows everything in the end."

"The ending of the Mountain and Sea was, in fact, written the moment it devoured the God."

"No wonder it was unrelated to the final outcome."

Then, Li Fan couldn't help but wonder, with such means at the God's disposal, were three contingencies really needed to control the Mountain and Sea?

"I'm afraid they served other purposes."

"Either to check and balance each other, to prevent failure, or..."

"To pave the way for its return."

The more Li Fan contemplated the God's finger, the more he felt the immeasurable power of the former True God.

Then, the question that had always lingered resurfaced in his mind.

"How exactly did the God die?"

"It was always 'the Mountain and Sea divides the God', never 'the Mountain and Sea executes the God'. It's obvious that the Mountain and Sea's power was no match for that True God. How did the source of all power perish?"

The answer to this question could perhaps only be glimpsed at the dawn of the Mountain and Sea, at the moment the God was divided.

Li Fan didn't trouble himself with it further, but moved on to his plan.

"With this No-Boundary Stele as its anchor, my Dao One Map can definitely be called a supreme treasure of the Mountain and Sea."

"In its normal state, it can harmonize the Dao Annihilation and the Mountain and Sea. If I add the power of my own True God's Finger..."

"Trapping and suppressing all the Saints with a single thought would be as easy as turning my hand."

Having successfully forged such a treasure, Li Fan had not forgotten his original goal. It was all for the sake of...

Becoming the Incarnate Lord of the Void Realm!

The Dao One Mountain Sea Map transformed into a black and white robe, draping itself over him. Li Fan sat in meditation.

All the various Daos within the Mountain and Sea felt within his reach, for him to select as he pleased.

In fact, what Li Fan was touching were not the true Daos of the Mountain and Sea, but facsimiles within the map. Yet the facsimile was so close to the real thing that Li Fan could use it directly to comprehend the Dao and become a Saint!

"It can only greatly reduce the difficulty of enlightenment; it cannot serve as a foundation to increase my strength. To truly become a Saint of the Mountain and Sea, one must still rely on the Daos within the Mountain and Sea. But this wondrous use of the Mountain Sea Map is already astonishing enough!"

"True Spirit Infusion solves the problem of aptitude for becoming a Saint. The Dao One Mountain Sea Map can bypass the requirements for comprehending the Dao. With these two combined, as long as I am willing, I can cultivate enough Saint candidates!"

"Saints? Replaceable at any time!"

As his thoughts turned, Li Fan's aura simultaneously soared.

From a mortal re-cultivating to the realm of a Saint, this time, it only took Li Fan just over fifty years!

And this was achieved without the aid of starlight, relying solely on his own efforts!

With the Mountain Sea Map draped over him, it was as if the entire Mountain and Sea belonged to Li Fan alone.

Cultivating and comprehending the Dao was truly as easy as eating and drinking.

On the day he became a Saint, under the concealment of the Dao One Mountain Sea Map, the Saints on the Other Shore didn't even notice that another Saint had descended upon the Mountain and Sea.

Wrapped in roiling ink, Li Fan went straight into the Dao Annihilation.

Like ice melting into water, Li Fan didn't use True False Transformation. Relying solely on the protection of the Mountain Sea Map, he completely merged into the surrounding Dao Annihilation environment.

But this was not enough.

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, recalling his inheritance of the Star Radiance Rhythm Summary.

A strange, pulsating radiance, like a beating heart, once again emerged, illuminating Li Fan's body.

The surrounding Dao Annihilation, as if sensing something, instantly became turbulent and chaotic.

"Go!"

Li Fan threw the Mountain Sea Map in his hand into the surrounding, submissive Dao Annihilation.