Chapter 1770: True Death Hidden
Chapter 1770: True Death Hidden
"Who are you?"
The hand on his shoulder was unnaturally cold. It was a chill that seeped into his very being, freezing the life force within him.
Even when Zhang Fan instantly shielded himself with the power of True-False Transformation, he couldn't completely halt the drain on his vitality.
Although he had reached the Saint realm, Zhang Fan had rarely engaged in combat throughout his long life of cultivation. Thus, in his first battle after attaining Sainthood, he found himself at a slight disadvantage.
Fortunately, though he hadn't achieved his Dao through Longevity, he had benefited greatly from its principles. A gentle, life-sustaining energy, like a trickling spring stream, resisted the encroaching ice.
Recovering from the surprise attack, Zhang Fan's expression turned frigid. His gaze sharpened like a blade, locking onto his opponent in an instant.
Even without knowing his foe's identity or origin, as long as he was within his perception, the Cutting Fate Knife could fall!
And it wouldn't be just one.
Then, like a piece of paper being folded and unfolded, the knife duplicated—from one to two, from two to eight. In the space of a breath, a chilling rain of blades descended!
"Who are you!?"
"Who are you!?"
"Who are you!?"
It was both a question and a challenge.
A question of the man's identity, and a challenge to his very existence.
Each word struck like a thunderclap, echoing and crashing down, intended to erase the man from reality itself.
The art of paper folding merged with the Cutting Fate Knife; the technique of the Forgetful Old Man fused with the True-False Transformation. The moment he'd seen that pale point of light, Zhang Fan had instinctively known his opponent was powerful. Therefore, he unleashed his full divine abilities now—a sign of respect!
The pale point of light let out a muffled grunt, and the hand on Zhang Fan's shoulder vanished.
Yet, the light emanating from it remained as bright and stable as ever, seemingly completely unaffected by Zhang Fan's myriad Daos!
All of his divine abilities had locked on and struck true, but for some unknown reason, they failed to produce their intended effect.
"This feeling... is he also protected by the True-False Transformation?" Zhang Fan wondered, a flicker of shock in his mind.
But a moment later, he realized the difference. "It's not that he's unaffected," he thought. "It's as if he has already endured these divine abilities countless times. He has grown so accustomed to them that receiving the blows is no different from not receiving them at all!"
Zhang Fan sensed that the power of this pale point of light might be even more unfathomable than he had imagined. After forcing him back, he didn't risk another rash attack.
The pale light faded, its brilliance dissipating to reveal the figure within: a thin, middle-aged man with an utterly unremarkable appearance.
"I am True Death Hidden," the man said with a faint smile, cupping his hands in a polite gesture.
"True Death Hidden?" The moment those three words appeared in his mind, Zhang Fan felt a faint tremor in his own comprehension of the True-False Dao. It was as if this slender man before him had some connection to [Truth].
True Death Hidden looked no different from a mortal, yet his mere presence exerted a subtle pressure on Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan subtly retreated a small distance, feigning ignorance. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Daoist True, when you speak of a 'mastermind.'"
True Death Hidden didn't call out Zhang Fan's pretense. Instead, he stated plainly, "The mastermind behind the chaos in this Star Sea is, of course, the master of the True-False Dao."
"As for you, and all of them..."
"You are merely clones he created."
"Cl... Clones," Zhang Fan stammered, stunned.
"Clones? So that's what this is."
He then awoke as if from a dream, and everything fell into place. He felt a sense of release, yet also a profound disorientation.
It was a classic case of not seeing the forest for the trees. Zhang Fan had long sensed the presence of a possible mastermind, and he had even managed to break free from his predetermined fate, comprehending numerous transcendent Daos of the Mountain and Sea to attain Sainthood. Yet, he had always instinctively assumed the true culprit was someone else, subconsciously ignoring the possibility that he himself was a clone.
Now, with belated realization, he finally understood.
Perhaps he had been subtly influenced by the likes of the Mountain Sea Angler and Xuanyuan Hong.
"It is precisely because I always firmly believed I was an independent individual, not someone else's clone, that I was able to inherit the Daos of so many others and successfully cultivate my way to Sainthood. Had the thought that I was a clone ever crossed my mind, even for a fleeting moment, the path to becoming a Saint would have been severed forever."
Understanding this, Zhang Fan couldn't help but feel a wave of relief.
"You may already be aware, my friend, that the Mountain and Sea is trapped in an endless cycle."
"Ceaseless destruction, unending rebirth."
"The affair of 'true' and 'false' is, in itself, an illusion."
"And yet, in all my countless experiences, a scene like this is a first." True Death Hidden pointed to the great tree standing tall in the void before them.
"Thanks to this, we are fortunate enough to observe the True-False Dao from such a close distance."
A clear fluctuation of emotion rippled through True Death Hidden's voice as he spoke.
Zhang Fan had only harbored a vague suspicion about the Mountain and Sea's cyclical nature.
Hearing it confirmed by True Death Hidden now didn't come as much of a shock.
His attention was focused more on the True-False Dao itself. He asked, "Have you gained any insights?"
True Death Hidden laughed again. "One cannot even truly see it. How could one possibly gain insight?"
"The True-False Dao favors only one. No matter what methods we exhaust, it cannot be touched, cannot be comprehended. I had a premonition of this long ago, but only now, this time, have I confirmed it and finally given up all hope."
"Then why, during the small-scale reset of the Mountain and Sea just now, were you and the others preserved?" This was the one thing Zhang Fan couldn't figure out.
"Our continued existence is not due to our own power," True Death Hidden admitted without concealment. "We rely on the efforts of the countless Sons of Destiny before us."
"While we cannot comprehend or control the True-False Transformation ourselves, we can influence and distort the thoughts of these Sons of Destiny, making them voluntarily apply the power of True and False to us."
"Of course, in their slumber, they may not have been truly aware of what they were doing."
Zhang Fan fell silent, his gaze returning to the great tree built from countless versions of 'himself.'
True Death Hidden seemed to discern Zhang Fan's thoughts and suddenly made a proposal. "It would not be impossible to set them free. In fact, you could be the one to do it, to put an end to all of this."
Zhang Fan's heart stirred at these words, but he didn't respond immediately.
"The True-False Dao is invisible and intangible. Although we can use it to some extent through the Sons of Destiny, it has no practical meaning for us. In contrast, if we could use this situation to gain an ally capable of turning the tide... well, that would be a most worthwhile bargain." True Death Hidden's expression was calm, but his tone was utterly sincere.
"So, what is your objective?" Zhang Fan asked, looking him in the eye.
"To seize the True-False Transformation and return to Godhood." True Death Hidden spoke only eight words.
Zhang Fan, however, fell into deep thought.
After a long while, Zhang Fan finally voiced the doubt in his heart. "Whether the True-False Transformation is with me or with a god, what's the difference? Isn't it all just the destruction and rebirth of the Mountain and Sea?"
True Death Hidden's gaze was profound. "In the past and the present, perhaps there is no difference. But the future..."
He fell silent for a long moment, as if contemplating something. Only after confirming the results of his deduction did he continue, "If the True-False Transformation belongs to a god, the destruction of the Mountain and Sea is not a true end. Death is the beginning of life, and life is the beginning of death. The cycle is endless, and the future is infinite."
"But if the True-False Transformation remains with *him*..." True Death Hidden didn't look at Zhang Fan.
Instead, he looked up, past the veil of the Mountain and Sea, toward the approximate location of the "God Punishing Variation" world where Li Fan's true self was in seclusion.
"The Mountain and Sea will be completely consumed, the cycle will cease, and all will belong to one."
"This is the ending we have foreseen."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan was shaken to his core.
"The cycle will cease, and all will belong to one?"
Those words seemed to hold an infinite, demonic power. Even though he was technically on the side that would be consumed, Zhang Fan couldn't help but feel a momentary trance.
But he quickly snapped out of it and asked in disbelief, "He can actually achieve such a thing?"
True Death Hidden nodded. "These countless, separate Sons of Destiny are the best proof. Though it is only the beginning, if he is not stopped..."
"All that awaits us is annihilation."
"Annihilation..." The word made Zhang Fan suddenly recall the Mountain Sea Angler, Xuanyuan Hong, and the others who had abruptly vanished because of him.
From this, he could perhaps glimpse the true methods of "him." He found himself believing a little more.
Zhang Fan then frowned again. "What kind of person is he, exactly? Since you know about the Mountain and Sea's cycle, you must be very familiar with him."
True Death Hidden refuted Zhang Fan's assumption. "When the True-False Dao appears, the cycle of the Mountain and Sea begins. Everything within the Mountain and Sea is inescapably bound to the fate of being reset."
"Even the True-False Dao itself is no exception!"
"Though we have some meager cultivation, how could we possibly escape such a fate? It is only because the cycle has repeated so many times that a very small few of us can vaguely sense something."
"For example, we develop an 'intuition' about past events, a feeling of having experienced them before. At the beginning of each reset, this premonition is at its weakest. Only as the Mountain and Sea evolves does this sense accumulate, allowing us to remember more. So, don't be fooled by my current knowledge of the cycle. Once the Mountain and Sea is reset, I will lose all awareness and repeat my past follies..." True Death Hidden said with self-deprecation.
"If it is so for me, what hope do they have?" He was referring to the crowd of Mountain and Sea Saints still gathered beneath the tree, lost in their observations.
Detecting a hidden meaning in his words, Zhang Fan's expression grew solemn. "May I ask, Daoist friend, what exactly is your realm?"
"We are all in the Saint realm. However, unlike most of them, I have once achieved a 'Divine Body.'"
"You may call us 'God-Becoming Guests.'"
God.
Such a majestic and weighty word, yet True Death Hidden spoke it lightly, as if it were of no consequence.
Zhang Fan knew that everything in the Mountain and Sea originated from a fallen True God, and he understood the weight of the word "God." The thought that the cultivator before him had once attained godhood made the intangible pressure he felt from the man seem to grow even stronger.
"Actually, strictly speaking, we cannot be considered true gods," True Death Hidden said with a smile, as if reading Zhang Fan's thoughts.
He sighed softly. "In the cycle of the Mountain and Sea, 'God-Becoming Guests' should not exist."
"The old god falls, the Mountain and Sea appears. The Mountain and Sea perishes, a new god emerges."
"It has always been the new god replacing the old."
"Once one becomes a god, one is forever a god. They either exist in the name of God, or they fall and are seen no more."
"But as for these so-called 'God-Becoming Guests'..."
"We are Saints of the Mountain and Sea who traveled back to the moment the Mountain and Sea was born from the old god, and forcibly seized its creation. But we were then reset by the True-False Dao, becoming mere remnants."
"Although we reverted to mortality, we did, after all, live for a time in the name of God. This has made us subtly different from the other beings in the Mountain and Sea."
"But only a little."
With this lengthy explanation, True Death Hidden gave Zhang Fan a detailed introduction to the God-Becoming Guests.
"Only God-Becoming Guests can know the truth within the cycle of the Mountain and Sea. In that case, could it be that Senior Angler and the others were all God-Becoming Guests?"
Understanding the full story, Zhang Fan thought about how he had spent so much time with these God-Becoming Guests, even taking their presence for granted. The pressure he felt from True Death Hidden instantly diminished.
While breathing a sigh of relief, he grew even more astonished at the power of the True-False Dao.
Even though he had once "possessed" it, and it still resided within him now, Zhang Fan felt that the power of the True-False Dao was beyond anything he could have imagined.
Suddenly, he recalled something True Death Hidden had said earlier, and a sense of unease settled in his heart.
"You just said that everything in the Mountain and Sea is fated to be reset, even the True-False Dao itself. If that's true..." Zhang Fan's brow furrowed.
"...then theoretically, shouldn't *he* also be reset along with everything else? How could he possibly..."
A single sentence from True Death Hidden cut Zhang Fan's words short and dispelled all his doubts. "That is because he is an outsider."
"I see... I see," Zhang Fan murmured.
True Death Hidden continued in a low, somber voice, "Once, at the end of the Mountain and Sea, a group of God-Becoming Guests who had recovered most of their awareness gathered to discuss the source of the reset."
"But we could never solve the puzzle."
"After all, we had all achieved Divine Bodies, yet we were reset time and time again."
"All things in the world come from God, yet God can be reset by the True-False Dao. It seemed utterly illogical."
"Then, as the Mountain and Sea was perishing once more, we had a sudden awakening."
"'True and False' is a power so great that not even a god can escape it."
"Though it originates from within the True God, the True God itself is also affected by it. We surmised that this might be an innate divine ability of the True God, and the fundamental reason for the Mountain and Sea's cycle."
"Even in death and dissolution, it can use the True-False Dao to reappear from nothingness and return to its primordial state. Undying, indestructible, immortal—this is what it means to be a god."
From True Death Hidden's descriptions, Zhang Fan felt as if he could vaguely glimpse the majesty of the True God who had given birth to all of the Mountain and Sea.
But then, the tone shifted abruptly.
"If the True-False Transformation remained with the god, then all would be well."
"But..."
"For some reason, 'True and False' fell into the hands of an outsider."
"The divine authority was usurped. And because he is an outsider, he is immune to the fate of the reset. With the True-False Transformation in his hands, his influence surpasses even that of a god."
Zhang Fan could faintly detect a subtle thread of fear hidden in True Death Hidden's words.
"With a single thought, he can overturn everything you and I know. When he returns to the beginning, he carries the memories of the past, while you know nothing."
"How can one possibly fight such an opponent?"
"For countless cycles, we have seen no hope of breaking free. Until..."
"Your appearance, my friend."
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