noffsinger Chapter 1770 True Departure
Chapter 1770 True Departure
Chapter 1770 True Departure
"Who are you?"
The hand resting on my shoulder was icy cold. It seemed to freeze even my own life force.
Even though Zhang Fan instantly used the illusion to protect himself, he still couldn't escape the loss of his life force.
Despite possessing the realm of a Saint, Zhang Fan had rarely engaged in combat throughout his life of cultivation. Therefore, in his first battle after becoming a Saint, he suffered a slight loss.
Fortunately, although he did not attain enlightenment through immortality, he still benefited greatly from it. The gentle power of immortality, like a babbling brook in spring, resisted the complete descent of ice.
As Zhang Fan gradually recovered from the sneak attack, his expression turned cold, and his gaze sharpened like a knife, instantly locking onto the target.
Even if you don't know the other party's background or name, as long as they are within your perception, the life-slaying blade can fall!
And it's not just one.
A slender, jade-like hand appeared out of thin air and gently grasped the life-slaying blade.
Then, as if a sheet of paper had been folded, the life-slaying blade multiplied, then divided into two, then into eight. In the blink of an eye, the blades rained down like a chilling storm!
Who are you?!
Who are you?!
Who are you?!
It is both an inquiry and a question.
The question is about the other party's identity, and the question is about their existence.
The sound was like thunder, echoing and crashing down.
The goal is to completely erase the other party.
Folded paper merges to sever life; forgotten schemes merge to merge truth and falsehood.
The moment Zhang Fan saw that pale dot, he instinctively knew its power. Therefore, he unleashed his full power as a sign of respect!
Pale Point let out a muffled groan, and the hand that had been on Zhang Fan's shoulder disappeared.
However, its overflowing light remained as bright and stable as ever, completely unaffected by Zhang Fan's various Great Daos!
He clearly possessed supernatural abilities that allowed him to accurately lock onto targets and hit them precisely, but for some reason, he couldn't utilize his abilities effectively.
"This feeling, is it a blessing from the shift between reality and illusion?"
Zhang Fan was instantly filled with surprise and doubt.
But a moment later, he realized the difference.
"It's not that he's unaffected, but rather that he seems to have experienced and endured all of this countless times before. He's already used to it all, so he accepts it as if it were nothing!"
Zhang Fan vaguely sensed that the pale dot before him might be far more unfathomable than he had imagined. Therefore, after forcing it back, he refrained from making another rash move.
The pale light faded, revealing its true nature.
An unremarkable, thin, middle-aged man.
"I am [True Vanishing]," the man said with a slight smile, cupping his hands in greeting.
"True Vanishing?" The moment these three words appeared in his mind, Zhang Fan felt a subtle stirring within his understanding of the true and false Dao. It was as if the thin man before him was somehow connected to "True Vanishing."
Zhen Shiyin looked no different from an ordinary person, but just by standing there, he brought Zhang Fan a subtle pressure.
Zhang Fan subtly stepped back a little, feigning ignorance, and asked, "I wonder what Fellow Daoist Zhen means by the person behind the scenes?"
Zhen Shiyin did not expose Zhang Fan's feigned ignorance, but instead stated directly: "The person behind this chaos in the Star Sea is naturally the master of the [True and False Great Dao]."
"As for you, and them..."
"It's just an avatar he created."
“Cut… clone.” Zhang Fan was stunned.
"A clone? So that's how it is."
Then he suddenly realized what had happened. He felt a sense of relief, yet also a sense of bewilderment.
The saying goes, "You can't see the true face of Mount Lu because you're in the mountain yourself." Zhang Fan had long ago vaguely sensed the possible behind-the-scenes existence, and was even able to gradually break free from his predetermined destiny, comprehend many extraordinary laws of mountains and seas, and attain the realm of a saint.
But he always instinctively believed that the real culprit was someone else.
However, they subconsciously ignored the possibility that they were a clone.
Zhang Fan belatedly realized what was happening.
Perhaps it was due to the subtle influence of Shan Hai Chui Diao Weng and Xuan Yuan Hong, among others.
"It is precisely because I have always firmly believed that I am an independent person, not an incarnation of someone else, that I can successfully inherit the principles of others, cultivate myself, and attain sainthood. If the thought of being an incarnation of someone else ever appears in my mind, even for a moment, the path to sainthood will be severed."
Zhang Fan, who was beginning to understand, couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
"Fellow Daoist may already know that the mountains and seas are in an endless cycle of reincarnation."
"Life and death are endless, and the cycle of reincarnation continues."
"True and falsehood are both illusions."
“However, in all my countless experiences, this is truly the first time I’ve encountered such a scene,” Zhen Shiyin said, pointing to the large tree standing in the void ahead.
"Fortunately, we are able to observe the true and false paths up close."
The emotional fluctuations in Zhen Shiyin's words were quite obvious.
Zhang Fan only had a vague guess about the matter of the cycle of mountains and seas.
It wasn't surprising that this was confirmed by Zhen Shiyin's words.
His focus remained primarily on the path between truth and falsehood. So he asked, "Have you gained anything?"
Zhen Shiyin laughed again: "If we can't even see each other, what's the point of talking about gaining anything?"
"The true and false paths belong to only one person. Even if you exhaust all methods, you cannot touch them or comprehend them. Although I had a premonition before, it was only this time that I was truly convinced and gave up."
"Then why were you able to be preserved along with us during the small-scale reset of the mountains and seas just now?" This was the only thing Zhang Fan couldn't understand.
"We still exist, not by our own strength, but by the merits of the countless chosen ones before us," Zhen Shiyin said without hiding anything.
"Although we ourselves cannot perceive or manipulate the change between truth and falsehood, we can influence and distort the thoughts of the chosen ones, so that they will willingly apply the power of truth and falsehood to us."
"Of course, they may not be fully aware of what they have done while they are asleep."
Zhang Fan remained silent, looking once again at the great tree built by countless "selves".
Zhen Shiyin seemed to have seen through Zhang Fan's thoughts and suddenly suggested, "It wouldn't be a problem to let them be free. In fact, you could even take matters into your own hands and end all of this."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan's heart stirred, but he did not respond immediately.
"The true and false Dao are invisible and intangible. Although one can use them to a certain extent with the help of the Chosen One, it has no practical significance. On the contrary, if one could gain an ally who could turn the tide, that would be the most worthwhile thing." Zhen Shiyin's face was calm, but his tone was very sincere.
"So, what is your purpose?" Zhang Fan asked, looking at the other party.
"Seize the transformation between truth and falsehood, and return to the divine." Zhen Shiyin uttered only eight words.
Zhang Fan, however, fell into deep thought.
After a long while, Zhang Fan finally spoke up, voicing his doubts: "What difference does it make whether the change between truth and falsehood is in my hands or in the hands of the gods? Aren't they all just the destruction of mountains and seas and the cycle of reincarnation?"
Zhen Shiyin's gaze was deep and unfathomable: "The past and the present may be no different. But the future..."
After a long silence, seemingly deep in thought, Zhen Shiyin continued, "The difference between truth and falsehood lies in the gods. The destruction of mountains and seas is not true destruction. Death is the beginning of life, and life is the beginning of death. Reincarnation is endless, and the future is endless."
“But if the truth or falsehood lies with him…” Zhen Shiyin did not look at Zhang Fan.
Instead, he looked up and gazed beyond the vast mountains and seas, at the approximate location of the [Gods' Transformation] world where Li Fan's true self was in seclusion.
"Mountains and seas are all submerged, reincarnation is endless, all return to one person."
"This is the outcome we have witnessed."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan was deeply shaken.
"Is the cycle of reincarnation endless, and all return to one person?"
These eight characters seemed to possess boundless magic. Even though he was actually on the receiving end of everything, Zhang Fan couldn't help but be slightly lost in thought.
But he quickly came to his senses and asked incredulously, "How could he have done that?"
Zhen Shiyin nodded: "These countless chosen ones are the best proof. Although it's only just beginning to show, if it's not stopped..."
"All that awaits us is destruction."
“Destruction…” Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan suddenly thought of the old fisherman, Xuan Yuan Hong, and others who had vanished because of him.
This might offer a glimpse into the true nature of "him." I couldn't help but believe it a little more.
Zhang Fan then frowned and asked, "What kind of person is he? Since you know about the cycle of mountains and seas, you should be very familiar with him as well."
Zhen Shiyin denied Zhang Fan's guess: "When the true and false Great Daos descend upon you, the cycle of mountains and seas begins to spin. All things within the mountains and seas will inevitably be reset."
"Even the true and false paths are the same!"
"Although we have some cultivation, how can we escape such a fate? It's just that we have reincarnated too many times, and only a very few of us can vaguely sense something."
"For example, I have an intuition about what has happened in the past, as if I have experienced it myself. At the beginning of the reappearance of the mountains and seas, this premonition is the weakest. Only as the evolution of the mountains and seas progresses and the senses accumulate, can I know and remember more. Therefore, even though I know about the cycle of the mountains and seas now, as the mountains and seas are reset, I will still lose all awareness and repeat my past foolish actions..." Zhen Shiyin said with self-mockery.
"If I am like this, what about them?" He was referring to the group of Mountain and Sea Saints who were still observing and comprehending under the tree.
Sensing the surprise in the other person's words, Zhang Fan's expression turned serious: "May I ask, fellow Daoist, what is your realm?"
“They are all at the Saint level. However, unlike most of them, I once achieved the Divine Body.”
"You could call him, [Cheng Shenke]."
God.
Such solemn and weighty words, yet Zhen Shiyin spoke of them lightly, as if he didn't care at all.
Zhang Fan naturally knew that everything in the mountains and seas originated from the fallen true god, and he understood the weight of the word "god".
The thought that the cultivator before him had once attained the divine status seemed to increase the invisible pressure he felt from him.
“Actually, strictly speaking, he can’t be considered a true god.” As if sensing the change in Zhang Fan’s thoughts, Zhen Shiyin smiled and explained.
He sighed softly, "Through the cycles of mountains and seas, there should not have been a [God-like Being] born."
"When the old gods fall, mountains and seas appear. When mountains and seas disappear, new gods emerge."
"It is always the new gods who replace the old gods."
"Once you become a god, you are a god forever. You either exist in the name of a god or you fall and never appear again."
"And the so-called 'God-like Guest'..."
"It was the Mountain and Sea Saint who went against the tide to the time when the Mountain and Sea were divided into gods and forcibly seized the creation of the old gods. But he was reset by the true and false Great Dao and left behind the remnants."
"Although he returned to the mortal realm, he survived for a time in the name of a god. He became subtly different from other creatures in the mountains and seas."
"But it's only a little bit."
Zhen Shiyin gave a long and detailed explanation of the various aspects of becoming a "God Guest" to Zhang Fan.
"Only those who have become 'god-like guests' can know the truth within the cycle of mountains and seas. So, it's possible that the old fisherman and the others were all 'god-like guests'?"
Having learned the whole story, Zhang Fan thought about how he had spent every day with the Shenkes and even taken it for granted. Suddenly, the pressure he felt from Zhen Shiyin lessened considerably.
While feeling relieved, they were even more astonished by the power of the true and false Dao.
Even though he once "possessed" it, and even though he still possesses it now, Zhang Fan felt that the power of the [True and False Dao] was somewhat beyond his imagination.
Suddenly, he recalled a sentence that Zhen Shiyin had said earlier, and he felt that something was wrong.
“Fellow Daoist just said that everything in the mountains and seas is destined to be reset. Even the true and false Great Daos are no exception. If that is true…” Zhang Fan frowned.
"Theoretically speaking, shouldn't he also be reset? How could he..."
Zhen Shiyin's words immediately silenced Zhang Fan and dispelled all his doubts: "That's because he is a 'person outside the law'."
“I see. I see.”
Zhang Fan repeated it to himself.
Zhen Shiyin continued in a somber tone, "Once upon a time, at the end of the mountains and seas, a group of gods who had regained most of their enlightenment gathered together to discuss the reset of the source."
"But I still can't figure it out."
"After all, we have all become gods, yet we are always reset and restored."
“All things in the world originate from God. Yet God can be reset by the true and false Dao. This seems completely illogical.”
"Then, when the mountains and seas were destroyed once again, we suddenly realized something."
"The interplay of truth and falsehood is a powerful force that even gods cannot escape."
"Although it originates from the body of the True God, the True God himself will also be affected by it. We speculate that this may be a divine power that the True God is born with, and also the fundamental origin of the cycle of mountains and seas."
"Even if one perishes and vanishes, one can reappear in the void and return to the original state through the Great Dao of Truth and Falsehood. Immortal, indestructible, and eternal, this is God."
From Zhen Shiyin's descriptions, Zhang Fan seemed to vaguely glimpse the power of the true god who had given birth to everything in the mountains and seas.
But soon, the tone changed abruptly.
“If the difference between truth and falsehood lies primarily with the divine body, then everything will naturally be easier to explain.”
"but……"
"For some reason, the truth and the falsehood have fallen into the hands of outsiders."
"The loss of divine authority, because it comes from beyond the reach of civilization, actually prevents the resetting of destiny. The difference between truth and falsehood is in their hands, and their influence even surpasses that of [God].
Zhang Fan vaguely sensed a faint hint of fear hidden in Zhen Shiyin's words.
"With a single thought, he can reverse everything we know. Returning to the beginning, he can carry the memories of the past. But you know nothing."
"How can one possibly be an enemy of such a worthy adversary?"
"Through countless cycles of reincarnation, we have seen no hope of breaking this deadlock. Until..."
"Fellow Daoist, you have appeared."