Chapter 1754: A Dance with Three Saints
The ink-black face of Shou Qiu twisted and contorted in a desperate struggle.
To become a minion of the void was a stark contradiction to the beliefs he had always upheld, a devastating blow that struck at the very core of his being.
The intensity of his reaction even exceeded Li Fan's expectations.
"A mind at war with its own Dao... He cannot accept what he has become. He might just destroy himself!"
Li Fan hadn't anticipated that Shou Qiu's convictions were so unyieldingly righteous. Upon understanding his new reality, he would rather choose self-annihilation than become a lackey of the void.
But now that he was in Li Fan's grasp, life and death, will and desire, were no longer his to decide.
With a mere thought, the billowing tide of Dao Annihilation surged forward, stitching Shou Qiu's fragmenting body back together.
Then, Li Fan infused him with his own memories of countless cycles of reincarnation, each one a desperate attempt to save the world.
"To destroy the world is to save it. To take life is to protect it. My friend Shou Qiu, you have deeply misunderstood me!" Li Fan sighed with profound gravity.
But it was clear he still harbored deep reservations about his identity as an incarnation of the void. He merely stared at Li Fan, remaining silent.
"When the Lone Star descends, the Mountain and Sea's fate of annihilation will not change, regardless of your stance or identity."
"Whether it is destroyed by our hands or by the hands of the void, what fundamental difference is there?"
"Rather than being swallowed by the Dao Annihilation for nothing, it is better to become sustenance for us to face the void and the Lone Star."
"The phrase 'unrelated to the final outcome'... my friend, you still have not truly grasped its meaning!"
Faced with Li Fan's words, Shou Qiu still did not reply, but the disdain in his expression was plain to see.
Li Fan paid it no mind and let out a soft chuckle.
"Never mind. I know you will not wallow in the mire with me, my friend."
"But even if you do not approve of my methods, you should at least recognize my ambition to save the world."
"The future of the Mountain and Sea rests entirely on my shoulders. If I do not resort to extraordinary measures, how can I possibly find a flicker of hope in the impossible?" Li Fan said, his voice tinged with a desolate loneliness.
Shou Qiu's gaze flickered, and his expression grew more solemn.
"In this lifetime, I intend to become the lord of the void itself."
"Since you are unwilling to accompany me, what does it matter if I walk this path alone?"
"However..."
"I have something I would like you to help me comprehend."
As Li Fan spoke, he slowly unfurled the Dao One Mountain Sea Map.
An ink-black mountain and sea appeared, where winds churned and clouds billowed, seeming both real and illusory.
Upon first seeing it, a flicker of surprise crossed Shou Qiu's eyes. Soon, his attention was drawn to the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele that stood at the very center of the map.
"This is..."
"The True God Finger."
Li Fan's voice echoed faintly.
Hearing those three words, even with Shou Qiu's immense composure, his ink-black body could not help but tremble slightly.
"The Finger fell, and the Mountain and Sea changed. This is the very origin of the Mountain and Sea's fusion."
"Within this map is merely a shadow of it that I comprehended. Even so, it holds the power to reshape heaven and earth!"
As he spoke, Li Fan pointed a finger lightly through the air toward the ink-black Shou Qiu.
In that instant, it was as if Shou Qiu was facing the entire Mountain and Sea. It was also as if he was witnessing the True God from beyond the Mountain and Sea's distant past.
His Dao Annihilation body began to churn uncontrollably like a raging torrent. The ink-black Shou Qiu's expression shifted.
He had never before encountered the power of the True God Finger. To directly rewrite the very origin of all things in the Mountain and Sea was a power that could not be described with a simple word like "profound."
Just as the ripple from Li Fan's fingertip was about to land on Shou Qiu, it stopped.
"I believe you can see that with this True God Finger, I could easily rewrite your will, even if you are unwilling. However, we have, after all, fought side-by-side countless times..."
Perhaps it was a cultivator of the Mountain and Sea's innate yearning for the mysteries of the True God, or perhaps Li Fan's final words had moved him. After a long, silent deliberation, Shou Qiu finally nodded.
Although he would not aid a tyrant, he would help Li Fan comprehend the secrets of the True God Finger.
"I must ask you, my friend, to first perceive the shadow of the True God Finger I have left behind. The most crucial moment for comprehension will be when the real one manifests in this lifetime."
The ink-black Shou Qiu sat cross-legged and transformed into a minuscule particle, floating beside the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele.
"As the saying goes, one can never be too careful. Although you have agreed, and I trust in your character, this does involve the secrets of the True God..."
"To prevent any accidents, I need to take some precautions. Please don't take offense."
As he spoke, tendrils of black ink surged forth from the Dao One Mountain Sea Map. Like countless shackles, they sealed and bound Shou Qiu.
Shou Qiu gave a derisive snort but paid it no mind. His focus was entirely on the Mountain Sea No-Boundary Stele.
Li Fan cupped his hands in a respectful gesture as more and more ink roiled forth, completely isolating Shou Qiu from the outside world. Only the faint radiance of the No-Boundary Stele penetrated the darkness.
The faint smile on his face vanished abruptly. Li Fan thought to himself, "My decision was the right one. If the void incarnation's reaction was this intense, imagine the real one. If I were still of one mind with him, he'd probably drag me into suicide."
"Still, even though I managed to persuade him, he is just an incarnation, after all. His ability to comprehend will naturally be inferior to the real Shou Qiu."
As Li Fan's eyes flickered, a plan had already formed in his mind.
"If quality is lacking, then quantity will have to suffice."
Gazing at the distant Mountain and Sea, Li Fan's eyes were cold and serene.
Diverting a significant portion of his Dao Annihilation power to shape Shou Qiu's void incarnation did not hinder his pace of encroaching upon the Mountain and Sea.
As a former Saint of the Mountain and Sea, he was all too familiar with the targets he wished to conquer.
Even the actions of the Saints on the Other Shore were largely within his predictions.
He employed his old trick again.
While the true bodies of the Saints were in the Mountain and Sea, he lay dormant, strengthening himself.
But when the Saints journeyed to the void, intending to reconnect the realms...
Li Fan dispatched his Dao Annihilation forces to charge deep into the Mountain and Sea and devour everything in their path.
The Dao Annihilation tide, immeasurably high, was about to swallow countless possibilities.
At that very moment, a staff, a shovel, and a stick suddenly appeared.
They sealed the surging waves of Dao Annihilation.
The three artifacts formed an array, creating a white ring that acted like a dike. No matter how the Dao Annihilation churned, it could not break through the blockade.
The ethereal figures of the three Saints materialized within the white ring.
They looked upon the imprisoned tide of Dao Annihilation, their expressions grave.
"This surge of Dao Annihilation... it seems different from what we've seen before."
"Could a second will have been born within the void?"
The three Saints performed a deduction and arrived at a conclusion that seemed utterly inconceivable.
Just as the Saints were wrestling with this bewildering notion, the sealed Dao Annihilation seemed to come alive.
It boiled and converged, finally coalescing into a shadowy figure.
It gave the three Saints a chilling smile.
Then, it abruptly exploded.
A spectral light shot out, instantly penetrating the blockade of the Armillary Ring.
The trap personally laid by the three Saints using the Connecting Mountains Staff, the Returning to Sea Shovel, and the All Living Beings Stick was bypassed as if it were nothing.
The white light of their array remained, seemingly unaffected by any impact.
But the tide of Dao Annihilation imprisoned within it had vanished without a trace.
"This—!"
The ethereal figures of the three Saints rippled slightly, revealing the great turmoil within their hearts.
The Returning to Sea Saint pushed his deductive abilities to their limit but was completely unable to determine the origin of this newly born will of the void.
"An already precarious situation, and now a new variable has emerged..."
"Where did this variable come from?"
The three Saints instinctively turned their gazes toward the Beginning of the Mountain and Sea.
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