Chapter 1529 A Simplified Version of Illusion Is Also Truth

Li Fan could not help but wonder whether it was precisely because it had helped him escape the influence of the fusion of the Three Daos that [Truth] had fallen into dormancy.

To him, [Truth] had accompanied him throughout his reincarnations and cultivation journey. Suddenly losing it as his ultimate trump card left Li Fan feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the several decades he had experienced during his previous period of memory loss could at least be considered a form of adjustment. It was almost as if those years had reminded him that even without [Truth], he could still rely entirely on himself to forge a path toward the supreme heights of cultivation.

'However, compared to [Truth], which can activate with a single thought and reverse everything, the Reverse Flowing Boat is simply far inferior. Without my ultimate life-saving trump card, I must become even more cautious. Otherwise, if I die this time, I am afraid I will truly be dead.'

A gloomy glint flashed through Li Fan's eyes.

Abandoning his attempts to communicate with the dormant [Truth], Li Fan shifted his attention to the Reverse Flowing Boat.

Although it was weak, as his only remaining means of preserving his life, it still deserved his close attention.

Having sailed upstream against the current for eight thousand years, the Reverse Flowing Boat had already been severely damaged and was on the verge of reaching the end of its lifespan. Its current condition could only be described as miserable.

After Li Fan had forcibly landed, all that remained was a bare deck and a few remnants of its pillars. If he had not still been able to sense faint traces of the Dao of Reverse emanating from the deck, he might have thought that the Reverse Flowing Boat had been completely destroyed.

'Although Emperor Taitian once said that anyone who comprehends the Dao of Reverse can construct a Reverse Flowing Boat, throughout the countless years of the entire Yuanchu Possibility, it seems that only two Reverse Flowing Boats have ever been created. Clearly, things are not as simple as Emperor Taitian made them sound. At the very least...'

Li Fan sensed the reverse-sailing planks and examined them for a long time, yet he ultimately remained completely clueless about how to repair them.

Creating a new one was even further beyond him.

[Truth], the Great Dao of Longevity, and the Reverse Flowing Boat were now almost all out of commission. Li Fan's current predicament could hardly be called favorable.

Thus, the objectives for this lifetime gradually became clear.

The most important task was to find a way to awaken [Truth] as soon as possible. Secondly, he needed to repair the Reverse Flowing Boat and accumulate the power of the Great Dao of Longevity.

Neither task was something the current Li Fan could accomplish with ease.

Several questions now lay before him.

First, with [Truth] having fallen into dormancy, were the [Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood] that he had comprehended himself and the divine ability [Illusion Is Also Truth] still effective?

Second, with Emperor Taitian's assistance, he had returned to eight thousand years in the past. At this point in time, was there another Emperor Taitian inside the sealed village beneath the Mountains and Seas Fishing Grounds? If one existed, could he sense what was happening to his future self eight thousand years later? And if no such person existed...

Third, once his strength had fully recovered and his condition had been completely restored, where should he go next? Should he return to the familiar and relatively safe temporal domain of Anchor Year 1, or continue drifting further into the past until he found a truly safe place?

...

Even Li Fan found these questions rather troublesome to deal with all at once.

He could only tackle them one by one.

Facing the encirclement of those surrounding cultivators who appeared to be disciples of the Ten Great Immortal Sects, Li Fan first decided to test the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood.

His current body possessed no cultivation whatsoever. However, with the support of the remaining power of the Great Dao of Longevity, it was still capable of withstanding strength equivalent to what he had once possessed during the Dao Integration realm.

'When the true becomes false, even the false becomes true.'

Li Fan silently recited the words in his heart.

Yet the clouds remained calm, and nothing changed.

However, Li Fan did not feel frightened by this. Instead, he let out a long sigh of relief.

In truth, the instant he activated the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood, he had indeed sensed the unique fluctuations belonging to this Dao.

This proved that even without [Truth], he could still accomplish the transformation between truth and falsehood through his own abilities.

After all, this was a Dao path he had comprehended himself. As long as the Dao of Truth and Falsehood continued to exist between the mountains, seas, and mortal world, he could still employ it with ease.

The reason no changes had occurred in his body was simply that the spacetime of eight thousand years ago and the environment of the Great Dao eight thousand years later were significantly different.

Over nearly ten thousand years, the birth and extinction of Daos, combined with the influence of the external Dao Annihilation Calamity, had completely reshaped the world.

It was entirely reasonable to regard them as two different worlds.

Consequently, although Li Fan had successfully activated the divine ability Illusion Is Also Truth, his attempt to manifest the cultivation realm he had visualized within his own body had failed.

As the saying went, a discrepancy of a hair's breadth could lead to a deviation of a thousand miles.

The differences in the details and the drastic changes in the surrounding environment had caused Li Fan's Illusion Is Also Truth to fail.

To put it simply, the effective use of the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood required an exhaustive understanding of the Great Dao governing the world.

The current problem was that the Great Dao had changed. Li Fan needed to comprehend it anew.

However, this was not a particularly serious problem.

Although eight thousand years had passed, this was still the same Possibility and the same world. As long as Li Fan was given some time to rebuild his understanding of the environment of the Great Dao, he would once again be able to employ the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood freely and smoothly.

'Unfortunately, with [Truth]'s dormancy, the divine ability Illusion Is Also Truth seems to have disappeared from me as well.'

After carefully sensing his condition for a long time and finally confirming this, Li Fan sighed inwardly.

Nevertheless, he was not particularly surprised.

Having experienced both the acquisition and loss of the Great Dao of Longevity, Li Fan understood that what belonged to him personally and what had been bestowed upon him by others were fundamentally different.

Even so, losing it did not mean he had completely abandoned [Illusion Is Also Truth], arguably the most powerful life-saving divine ability between the Mountains and Seas.

It could conceal and transform his identity even in the presence of the Infinite Ocean. Having experienced the benefits of such an ability, how could Li Fan willingly give it up?

'The so-called Illusion Is Also Truth is merely an extremely advanced application of the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood. With my comprehension of the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood...'

Li Fan carefully recalled the sensation he had experienced when he was once protected by Illusion Is Also Truth.

Fortunately, the period during which he had been constantly protected by it had left him with sufficiently profound insights. This made recalling its mysteries somewhat easier.

'Even if I cannot reproduce the genuine [Illusion Is Also Truth], creating a weakened version of it should not be difficult.'

Li Fan's gaze swept across the surrounding disciples, whose expressions were filled with hostility.

A moment later, a subtle change quietly took place.

"You brat, you've been standing there for so long without saying a single word. I think..."

One of the cultivators had already grown impatient. He slapped Li Fan across the head while continuing to curse under his breath, a fierce glint in his eyes.

However, as Li Fan activated his weakened version of Illusion Is Also Truth, the hostility on that cultivator's face gradually disappeared.

The same happened to the several people standing nearby.

It seemed that they had forgotten the identity of Li Fan, the so-called "disciple of the Medicine King Sect" who had suddenly descended from the sky.

Instead, they simply regarded him as one of their own.

The cultivator who had previously slapped Li Fan across the head suddenly came to his senses after a brief daze. He looked around in confusion.

Only after a long while did he finally recover his wits. His expression changed dramatically as he slapped his thigh.

"Something's wrong! Where did that brat go?!"

The others also awoke as if from a dream and cried out in alarm.

"How is this possible? With so many people watching, how did he still manage to escape?!"

"I didn't sense the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy from that man. Just how did he get away?"

Everyone was utterly incredulous. They spread their divine senses to search the surrounding area, but failed to discover even the slightest suspicious trace.

Just then, Li Fan spoke up.

"Everyone, take a sniff. There seems to be a faint medicinal fragrance lingering in the air. I've heard that the disciples of the Medicine King Sect are particularly skilled in using medicines. They can heal the living, but they can also take lives. I'm afraid we've fallen victim to one of their tricks!"

Li Fan's tone was filled with regret and indignation.

"Indeed!"

The other cultivators sniffed the air and quickly came to the same realization. They all regretted their carelessness.

Not a single one of them noticed anything unusual about Li Fan, a person who should never have existed here in the first place.

Having temporarily escaped his predicament, Li Fan finally relaxed slightly.

For now, this was the best he could manage.

Restoring his strength required first observing and understanding this stretch of time in the past. He could only proceed gradually, without rushing things.

'Although the passage of time had washed away the insights into the Dao that I had once possessed, as long as I witnessed that Dao again, I should be able to comprehend it anew rather quickly.'

'Others must carve out their Dao paths from nothing. I merely need to walk mine once more.'

Li Fan raised his head and gazed at the Xuanhuang sky. All sorts of feelings, both familiar and unfamiliar, surged into his heart.

However, he was still surrounded by enemies, and Li Fan's Illusion Is Also Truth had yet to reach the point where it could completely rewrite another person's perception. Therefore, he did not reveal anything unusual. He simply continued comprehending the Dao while accumulating strength.

Just as the group of cultivators were at a loss over having lost their target, a streak of light appeared on the distant horizon and rapidly approached them.

“This is bad. Elder Song is here!”

The expressions of the cultivators changed drastically.

“Brothers, we must keep our stories consistent. Insist that we never saw that other streak of light.”

The group quickly reached a consensus through divine sense communication.

Li Fan raised his head and stared at the approaching figure.

He could see clearly that this Elder Song, whom the cultivators feared so much, appeared to possess no more than Nascent Soul cultivation.

Nevertheless, his flying speed was quite impressive. Before long, he descended before the group.

He questioned them about the departure of the Medicine King Sect and the other streak of light that had flown in the opposite direction.

Everyone responded according to the story they had agreed upon earlier.

Elder Song's gaze swept across the group, lingering longest on Li Fan. A trace of suspicion flashed through his eyes, but he soon dismissed it and said nothing further.

"The Medicine King Sect's departure was already within the expectations of the Grandmasters of the Ten Great Sects. Hmph, a bunch of fools courting death. Let them go if they wish."

Elder Song spoke disdainfully, delivering his final judgment on the matter.

"Although they have left, their sect's foundations and resources remain. Our Evergreen Valley is the closest sect to them, but even we cannot hope to monopolize everything the Medicine King Sect has left behind. We can only select the most valuable regions. Follow me back to the sect immediately. We must prepare for the conflicts that are about to come."

"The world is about to fall into turmoil."

Elder Song let out a long sigh.

Everyone promptly acknowledged his orders. They exchanged glances, and each of them felt a sense of relief at having narrowly escaped disaster.

Li Fan blended in among them and followed them back to this so-called Evergreen Valley.

With the ability of Illusion Is Also Truth, wherever he went felt just like home. After making a few inquiries, he quickly understood the situation.

Evergreen Valley was an affiliated sect of the Taishang Sect, one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects.

However, being an affiliated sect was little more than a nominal title. They received hardly any benefits, yet the annual tributes they were required to pay could not be short by even the slightest amount. Whenever the Ten Great Sects issued a recruitment order, they were also required to respond without the slightest hesitation.

It would not be an exaggeration to call them slaves of the Ten Great Sects.

However, the Ten Great Immortal Sects wielded overwhelming power. Even though the disciples of Evergreen Valley were all dissatisfied, they could do nothing about it and could only silently endure.

Evergreen Valley bordered the Medicine King Sect. The Medicine King Sect had devoted itself to saving the world through medicine, treating countless people and saving countless lives. Evergreen Valley had also benefited greatly from the conveniences brought by its neighboring sect, gradually accumulating a considerable foundation.

For a small sect, having a Soul Transformation sect master and three Nascent Soul elders was quite impressive within a radius of ten thousand li.

Not long ago, the Ten Great Immortal Sects had apparently noticed that the Medicine King Sect intended to escape. Consequently, they issued an order to keep the sect under surveillance and immediately report any unusual developments.

That was how the disciples of Evergreen Valley had discovered Li Fan descending from the sky.

...

"Elder Song, this disciple has an important matter to report."

As an atmosphere of tension gradually enveloped Evergreen Valley over the struggle for the territory and resources left behind by the Medicine King Sect, Li Fan secretly sought out Elder Song.

"Oh? What is it?"

Elder Song recognized Li Fan, and a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

"You're the disciple who was guarding the mountain that day, aren't you? What was your name again?"

"Reporting to Elder, this humble disciple is called Li Ping. I only joined the sect recently."

Li Fan answered without hesitation. With the enhancement of Illusion Is Also Truth, an elder with only Nascent Soul cultivation naturally could not detect any flaws.

"What do you have to report?"

"On that day, the Medicine King Sect actually sent another streak of light back into the Xuanhuang Realm. It landed right among us. Although we managed to capture it, we carelessly allowed that rogue cultivator to escape..."

Li Fan put on an expression of fear and unease.

Elder Song's eyes immediately narrowed.

"Those people actually dared to join forces to deceive you, Elder, and even threatened me. Although I agreed to keep quiet at the time, after returning, I thought it over repeatedly and could never put my mind at ease."

"You have a conscience, at least."

Elder Song abruptly rose to his feet and walked outside.

It was not even half an hour before he returned.

However, a faint smell of blood now clung to his body.

"Although you initially participated in concealing the truth, you were able to recognize your mistake in time. Furthermore, you deserve credit for exposing them."

"You must be rewarded!"

"What would you like?"

Elder Song asked indifferently.

"This humble disciple would not dare make any requests. I will accept whatever reward Elder decides to bestow."

Li Fan replied.

A faint smile appeared on Elder Song's face. After considering the matter for a moment, he rewarded Li Fan with a defensive magical artifact.

With conflicts about to erupt, possessing this artifact would undoubtedly increase his chances of surviving.

"Elder Song is actually a decent fellow."

Li Fan played with the dragon-patterned fire shield in his hand and smiled.

Naturally, he did not care about this magical artifact at all. His reason for approaching Elder Song again was simply to test the effectiveness of his Illusion Is Also Truth.

When they had first met, Elder Song had instinctively felt suspicious of him. But now, he had been completely deceived and regarded Li Fan as an ordinary disciple of Evergreen Valley.

"To deceive someone at the Soul Transformation realm, I still need some more time."

"The more insights I gain into the Great Dao at this particular point in time, the faster that process will become."

The surrounding spiritual qi seemed to be drawn toward him, gathering around his body.

However, Li Fan deliberately refrained from absorbing it.

He merely continued gazing up at the sky.

His brows furrowed, and a trace of confusion flashed through his eyes.

Although it was clearly the same Great Dao, when he attempted to comprehend it as someone who had once been a True Immortal, he unexpectedly felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

It was not that his memories of his former comprehension had become ineffective.

Rather, the Dao Principles of the Xuanhuang Realm were instinctively rejecting his attempts to comprehend them.

"Hmph. Heavenly Dao of Xuanhuang."

A sharp glint flashed through Li Fan's eyes.