Chapter 1521: The Self Becomes One with the Mountains and Seas

Although that prickling sensation of being watched had already disappeared, from time to time, an inexplicable shudder of dread still arose in Li Fan's heart.

"Mastering a Great Dao at the Mountains and Seas level has little to do with one's actual combat strength. Take me, for example. Even though I possess the supreme treasure [Truth], before I have fully comprehended the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood, my strength is still inferior to that of a Transcendent True Immortal."

"Although Lord Hill Guardian commands Longevity, he has not reached the point where he can stand shoulder to shoulder with the Mountains and Seas. Judging from the attitude conveyed in Purple-Robed's previous words, their strength should be roughly equal..."

Li Fan pondered silently as he gazed at the Shuo Star Sea and the starry sky beyond the High Wall, which had become completely different from what they were a hundred years ago. In the end, he still decided against taking the risk.

"Once I have studied and experimented with the Great Dao of Longevity a little further, I can return to [Truth]."

"I have gained far too much in this life, and have already faintly touched upon a bottleneck. As for the specific path I should take from here, I still need to plan it out carefully."

Relying on the advantages of [Truth], Li Fan had already reached the end of the Great Dao of Longevity.

However, in his next life, Li Fan did not intend to inherit the cultivation he had accumulated in this life.

With the anchor fixed at Year 1, he still did not know where Lord Hill Guardian was, or whether he was currently within the mortal world of the Mountains and Seas. If Lord Hill Guardian were to notice Li Fan, this unexpected intruder on the Great Dao of Longevity, suddenly descending into existence...

Then Li Fan, whose [Truth] was still on cooldown, would be no different from a turtle trapped in a jar.

"The cultivation realm artificially created by [Truth] naturally cannot be detected by the Faceless Immortal, the Grand Mage, or the others. But Lord Hill Guardian also commands the Great Dao of the Mountains and Seas. It is difficult to say whether he could detect it."

"There is no need to take that risk."

"Besides, most of the fundamental improvements in my strength in this life have come from my comprehension of the Great Dao. Even if I return to the starting point of a Half-Immortal, I can quickly recover my combat strength."

Although he had already decided not to inherit his cultivation, Li Fan still intended to continue comprehending the Great Dao of Longevity during the time he had left. He would return to the starting point of his comprehension of [Longevity] and walk that path once more, carefully experiencing every step.

This was because Li Fan was laying the groundwork for his next life.

After activating [Truth] and returning to the anchored point in Year 1, if he chose not to inherit his cultivation, it would be equivalent to severing his connection with the Great Dao of Longevity.

However, Li Fan might still be able to rely on the imprints left behind in this life to forge a path of Longevity belonging to himself.

It would not be the path of the Mountains and Seas cultivated by Lord Hill Guardian, nor did Li Fan intend to demand the impossible by attempting to ascend to the heavens in a single step. As long as he could acquire even a trace of the properties of Longevity, that would already be sufficient.

"Lord Hill Guardian's path of Longevity allows him to disregard the Dao Annihilation Calamity. My own path of Longevity, however, merely seeks to cross the Mountains and Seas."

"Of course, this is only the first step I have taken. In the future, I may be able to incorporate the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood into it."

After learning of the mysterious connections between Mountain, Sea, Star, Mountains and Seas, Longevity, and [Truth], Li Fan had once indulged in imagining what might happen if he could possess all these divine abilities simultaneously.

"Ascend to the realm of a True Immortal and have the power of the Mountains and Seas bestowed upon me. Comprehend the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood and command the supreme might of [Truth]. And if, at the same time, I were to embark upon the path of Longevity..."

In a certain sense, Li Fan had already achieved a fusion of all three.

It was just that each of them was still severely lacking in substance.

In reality, he was still only a Half-Immortal. His connection to the Mountains and Seas relied entirely on his clone. His comprehension of the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood was merely superficial. As for the Great Dao of Longevity, he had only taken a cursory glance at it and barely understood anything.

Even so, Li Fan could clearly sense that certain indescribable changes were taking place within him.

The most tangible example was the Dao Epoch Projection Pearl.

Before comprehending the Great Dao of Longevity, even with the assistance of countless living beings across the star sea comprehending it together, analyzing the Dao Epoch Projection Pearl was not particularly difficult, but it certainly required some effort.

But now...

Simply looking at it allowed him to understand it. Once he understood it, he immediately knew how to use it.

It was as though he had already examined these countless divine abilities from innumerable possibilities countless times before and had already performed them countless times. Now, he was merely repeating something from the past.

There was no need to study them anew. He only needed to recall them.

Moreover, this process of his body naturally harmonizing with the Great Daos of the myriad heavens was becoming increasingly rapid.

Eventually, he no longer needed the assistance of the living beings across the star sea to comprehend them.

The Dao Epoch Projection Pearl, which resembled countless tangled threads intertwined with one another, could now be understood by Li Fan with nothing more than a casual glance. He could clearly see the direction and precise structure of every individual thread within it.

Even unraveling those threads one by one and reflecting them as clearly as a flawless mirror had become an ordinary matter.

What was talent?

This was talent.

It had even begun to frighten Li Fan himself.

He felt no joy at the changes taking place within his body. Instead, he felt as though he were gradually being devoured by the Mountains and Seas.

Taking advantage of a moment when Inherit Dao was not paying attention, Li Fan even gathered a small amount of the power of Dao Annihilation at the edge of the star sea to test it.

Although he had not truly stepped into it, merely standing near the surging tides of Dao Annihilation was enough to make the fatal sense of danger he had once experienced disappear completely.

If his previous sensation had been like standing at the edge of a ten-thousand-zhang abyss, where the slightest misstep would send him plummeting to his death, then his current sensation was more like standing beside an endless lake.

Even if he accidentally fell into the lake, he could still struggle to stay afloat and barely make his way back to shore. As long as he did not deliberately court death by venturing into the middle of the lake, his life would not be in danger.

"Furthermore, as time passes, my ability to swim seems to be improving."

"Even if I do absolutely nothing and simply continue living like this, one day, I will be able to use my own body as a vessel and cross the Mountains and Seas."

If an ordinary person had obtained such an extraordinary fortune, they would have long since been delirious with joy.

But Li Fan's heart was filled with nothing but endless unease.

The strangest thing was that [Truth] seemed completely unaware of the changes taking place within Li Fan's body. It even appeared to welcome them, which was why it had remained silent all this time.

Only once had it revealed the slightest hint of something unusual.

It had seemed as though it wanted to say something but stopped itself.

This made Li Fan feel even more uneasy.

After carefully pondering [Truth]'s intentions, Li Fan realized that even [Truth] itself might never have witnessed the various changes produced by the fusion of these three powers.

It was therefore observing them out of curiosity.

As time passed, the sensation of being devoured grew increasingly intense.

Various illusory images began appearing in Li Fan's mind without any apparent reason.

Li Fan was certain that none of these images came from his own memories.

Rather, they seemed to depict various events that had once taken place within the mortal world of the Mountains and Seas.

The most obvious manifestation of this phenomenon was that Li Fan's body had begun assimilating with the surrounding world.

The clearest example was Inherit Dao, who had begun forgetting Li Fan, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Not long ago, he had frequently sought Li Fan out to discuss their insights into the Great Dao of Longevity.

But gradually, he seemed to have forgotten that he even had such a junior fellow disciple.

Whenever he instinctively wanted to do something, he would suddenly become confused, unable to remember what he had intended to do next.

Only when Li Fan appeared before him and he managed to recognize him with some difficulty would his memories finally return.

Yet Inherit Dao himself did not find anything unusual about this.

If Inherit Dao was already like this, the other living beings were even worse.

As the creator of the Archaic Immortal Realm, Li Fan had once created this world. Yet now, its Heavenly Emperor and even the Heavenly Scars had all completely forgotten about him.

Even the connection between Li Fan and the entire world of the Archaic Immortal Realm had been severed.

It was as though the Archaic Immortal Realm had been born naturally from the beginning of time and had absolutely nothing to do with Li Fan.

As the various traces Li Fan had left behind in the mortal world gradually disappeared, he himself was becoming increasingly integrated into the mortal world of the Mountains and Seas.

And this was no longer limited to the Yuanchu Possibility.

Li Fan raised his head and looked at the firmament.

The sky, which had originally been solid and seamless, seemed to have been cleaved open by someone, leaving countless tiny cracks at some unknown point.

Through these fissures, he seemed to be able to glimpse the boundless and seemingly endless scenery of the Mountains and Seas.

And as long as Li Fan wished, he could step into the Mountains and Seas at any moment!

The opportunity to transcend was right before his eyes.

An instinctive yearning surged within Li Fan's heart.

Yet the repeated warnings from his spiritual intuition prevented him from taking that final step.

"I cannot stay here any longer."

During a moment of clarity, Li Fan came to this realization.

The illusory sensation brought about by being devoured by the Mountains and Seas had caused Li Fan to almost completely misjudge the passage of time.

According to his memories, only a few days had passed since he had received Inherit Dao's guidance and begun comprehending the Great Dao of Longevity.

However, before finally deciding to activate [Truth], Li Fan checked the situation in the Shuo Star Sea.

To his horror, he discovered that ten years had already passed in the outside world!

Li Fan shook his head, attempting to dispel the distorted perception brought about by the Mountains and Seas devouring him.

After calming down, Li Fan silently recited in his heart:

"[Truth]!"

The entire mortal world seemed to fall into stillness.

Li Fan waited for the darkness to swallow him.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

Yet the familiar darkness never descended.

As though someone had poured a basin of bone-chilling cold water over him in the middle of winter, Li Fan once again silently repeated, "[Truth]!"

"[Truth]!"

"[Truth]!"

...

However, [Truth] seemed to have stopped working.

Or perhaps it had left him.

There was not even the slightest response.

An overwhelming terror welled up in Li Fan's heart, surpassing even the fear of being devoured by the Mountains and Seas by a thousandfold.

His expression gradually twisted. Li Fan roared again and again.

He was no longer merely shouting in his mind. He actually began to roar furiously in the real world.

Yet it was as though the mortal world had forgotten his existence. Not a single thing, not a single object, responded to him in any way.

Amid his despair, a surge of murderous fury suddenly arose within him.

Li Fan unleashed his divine abilities, attempting to destroy the Star Sea to vent his anger. But not only did his techniques fail to interact with reality, even his divine sense and physical body could no longer make contact with it.

He was disappearing from the mortal world, merging into the Mountains and Seas.

Li Fan did not feel his body becoming transparent or gradually fading away.

Instead, he was slowly ceasing to exist in the world.

More and more rifts appeared in the sky.

It seemed that his next step would be to lose all control over himself and be sucked into them, entering the Mountains and Seas.

"Could this really be my final fate?"

When nothing he did could alter his inevitable destiny, Li Fan instead gradually became calm.

Something vaguely felt wrong to him.

Yet he could not quite identify what was so strange.

It was only when half his body had already entered a rift that he finally witnessed the magnificent Mountains and Seas beyond the mortal world and suddenly awakened to the truth.

Had [Truth] truly left him?

If he had lost [Truth], and possessed only the Great Dao of Longevity and the Great Dao of Mountains and Seas, how could he possibly maintain this state of being devoured by the Mountains and Seas?

He should have been separated from it long ago.

Only by unifying all three Daos could one merge into the Mountains and Seas so naturally. Others, even those who had transcended the mortal realm or reached the realm of the Three Sages, could not accomplish such a feat.

This simple chain of logical deduction suddenly brought Li Fan to his senses.

"I haven't lost [Truth]."

As though he had discovered his final lifeline, Li Fan's previously calm and indifferent eyes, devoid of the slightest ripple, suddenly burst forth with a glimmer of hope.

"Judging from [Truth]'s previous behavior at the bottom of the Infinite Ocean, as well as the fact that it voluntarily imparted the method of [Illusion Is Also Truth] to me, it absolutely does not wish for me to be discovered by the Mountains and Seas at this moment."

"If the previous state of unifying the three Daos and merging with the Mountains and Seas was merely a result of [Truth]'s curiosity, then there is no reason for it to remain indifferent now that I am on the verge of being completely devoured by the Mountains and Seas."

Li Fan's thoughts began racing faster and faster.

Even his previously blurred perception of the passage of time gradually returned to normal as he continued thinking.

"Therefore, it isn't that [Truth] is refusing to respond to me."

"Rather…"

'The connection between us has been severed."

"Or perhaps it simply cannot hear my [Truth] command."

Understanding dawned upon Li Fan.

'As long as [Truth] is still there, everything can still be saved."

"If calling out doesn't work, then I'll kick the door down!"

Li Fan had now completely entered the rift in the Mountains and Seas.

As the rift closed, the light originating from the Yuanchu Possibility began to disappear.

After entering the Mountains and Seas, Li Fan instead felt that the process of being devoured had slowed down.

At the same time, however, countless images and shifting scenes flooded his mind, like a storm gradually gathering strength and growing increasingly violent.

It seemed that in the very next moment, these illusory images would transform into reality and truly manifest within the Mountains and Seas.

The depths of the Infinite Ocean, the Mountain peaks above.

Even the opposite shore of the Mountains and Seas.

And the world beyond the mortal realm of the Mountains and Seas.

It seemed that all of them had sensed the disturbance originating from the place where Li Fan was.

The Mountains and Seas rumbled and roared.

Perhaps in the very next moment, Li Fan would be exposed before all the living beings of the Mountains and Seas.

Yet the more desperate his situation became, the steadier Li Fan's heart grew.

He soon found the only means of saving himself.

Self-destruction.

The energy accumulated through his cultivation, along with Li Fan's soul and will, were ignited in an instant.

Then, without holding anything back, they erupted in a tremendous explosion.

His Immortal foundation and the Great Dao of Longevity.

At this moment, everything became fuel for an endless radiance.

Li Fan had never realized before that his body contained such an enormous amount of energy.

Once ignited in an instant, it was even powerful enough to isolate Dao Annihilation and incinerate mountains and fill seas!

The first thing caught in the blast was the Yuanchu Possibility, whose rift had not yet completely closed.

An immeasurable radiance, as brilliant as a great sun, illuminated the previously dim starry sky.

The Shuo Star Sea, the Archaic Immortal Realm.

Even the High Wall and the Dao Net.

All of these were melted away like ice and snow beneath the blazing radiance.

Within the entire Yuanchu Possibility, only a handful of individuals were able to struggle to hold out.

Beginning from the Yuanchu Possibility, it was as though a raging mountain fire had suddenly erupted.

It spread rapidly, at the speed of a shifting gaze.

Wherever Li Fan looked, that place was immediately swallowed by the radiance.

Overwhelming flames and scorching brilliance obscured the gazes from beyond.

Surrounded by this boundless radiance, Li Fan finally gained a brief moment to catch his breath.

It was his final flicker of vitality, the last moment of brilliance before his light went out.

Based on Li Fan's observations, the Possibilities being incinerated around him had not truly disappeared.

Instead, they had transformed into illusions and returned to the Mountains and Seas.

Li Fan could even simultaneously sense those images reverberating within his mind.

"The Mountains and Seas and the mortal world. What exactly is their relationship?"

"And beyond the Mountains and Seas…"

After reaching the absolute pinnacle of power, he suddenly collapsed.

Li Fan's train of thought was abruptly severed, and he could no longer think about anything at all.

"In the end, I still failed to awaken [Truth]..."

This was Li Fan's final thought before losing consciousness.