[Current simulation ended.]
[You may choose one of the following options to retain:
1. An item currently in your possession from this simulation.
2. Your cultivation realm from this simulation.
3. The simulation memories of one person closely related to yourself from this simulation. These memories may be inherited by that individual.
4. Forgo the above choices to accelerate the recharge progress.]
...
The prompts of True Reversion surfaced before Li Fan's eyes, yet at this moment, he had no mind to make a selection.
Instead, he was sensing the abnormal transformation occurring across his body.
Just as when he had previously come into contact with the immortal power of the Immortal Ruins, where he had still felt an overwhelming hunger even after undergoing True Reversion, this time, having fled back in disarray under the dazzling immortal light of the Faceless True Immortal, Li Fan was once again unable to completely rid himself of the True Immortal's erosion through a single reversion.
"The side effect of the Immortal of the Immortal Ruins was a ravenous hunger that compelled me to devour everything around me. But the Faceless True Immortal..."
Li Fan carefully felt along his face.
It was as if a layer of skin had been draped over it, covering every facial feature.
Only the sense of touch remained.
Although the aid of his divine sense allowed him to perceive his surroundings without impeding normal daily movement, it still sent a faint shiver through his heart.
"Not only has my face vanished, but..."
Li Fan used his divine sense to look toward his own body.
From time to time, it manifested a faint, shimmering translucence, drifting like a nether soul.
"My very existence is fading away as well."
He had just returned to Anchored Year 1, and True Reversion was still recharging. If he died now, he would be dead for good, with no second chance.
Faced with such a dire predicament, Li Fan did not lose his composure.
Instead, he engaged in rapid, profoundly calm deliberation.
His previous experience of thoroughly diluting the influence of the Immortal Ruins' power through multiple reversions made Li Fan understand that the imprint the Faceless True Immortal had placed upon him could likely also be dissolved through repeated use of True Reversion.
This did not mean that the power of True Reversion was gradually falling short before a True Immortal. Rather, it was because Li Fan himself was far too weak.
Yet several critical problems now lay before him.
"First, True Reversion requires time to recharge. Before that, if I do nothing, I fear I won't last long enough."
"Second, under the influence of the Faceless True Immortal's dazzling power, I have ended up in this state. Compared to my previous life as an envoy of the True Immortal, His hold over me is even deeper now. In other words..."
"From the very start of this life, I have already fallen into the Web of the True Immortal. Judging from what occurred at the end of my last life, even if I were to stir up the myriad burgeoning changes across Xuanhuang, it might not necessarily draw the Faceless True Immortal's attention. But the moment I activate True Reversion, I will inevitably lure Him in."
...
Li Fan stepped out of the wooden hut atop the mountain and came before the boundless sea of clouds.
Watching the crimson sun rise on the horizon, bathed in its radiant rays, Li Fan felt not the slightest warmth.
Instead, wisps of chill uncontrollably surfaced in his heart.
Li Fan sat quietly by the cliff's edge, deep in contemplation.
At the same time, he seemed to be waiting for something.
Right up until the sun climbed to its zenith and nearly half a day had elapsed, Mount Jieli in Great Xuan remained completely calm and tranquil.
Nothing unexpected occurred.
Only then did Li Fan breathe a long sigh of relief, the feeling of having narrowly escaped calamity welling up within his chest.
"The Faceless True Immortal did not come."
Rising to his feet, he dusted off his robes.
Feeling his body growing increasingly insubstantial, Li Fan looked at the prompt of True Reversion that continued to flicker on the light screen before his eyes.
Still without making any selection, he set it aside for the moment.
Returning to the wooden hut on the mountain summit, he lay down upon the bed and pondered.
"What is the essence of True Reversion?"
"When what is true is deemed false, the false becomes true."
"Toward a tiny bug like me who appeared out of nowhere on the Web of the True Immortal without any warning, the Faceless True Immortal chose to turn a blind eye. This either means that He cannot perceive the specific conditions within the pocket worlds of the Xuanhuang Realm, or..."
"Prior to this, the world did not exist. The instant I returned, time began to flow, and everything truly gained meaning. From my perspective, it was due to the karma of my past life that I abruptly appeared on the Web of the True Immortal. But to that Faceless True Immortal, I had always existed upon the Web of the True Immortal from the start. Thus, there was no abnormality to speak of. That is also why He never descended."
Countless thoughts churned in Li Fan's mind.
"If this were mere temporal reversal, then the Faceless True Immortal at this juncture in time would have keenly noticed the changes occurring to Himself. For a True Immortal, when something slips beyond His control, He would never overlook such an anomaly; He would follow the threads and trace it to my doorstep."
"Yet none of that happened."
In his heart, Li Fan once again repeated the seven characters that accompanied True Reversion every time.
'When what is true is deemed false, the false becomes true.'
"Turning void into reality, reorganizing all creation. With such a divine treasure at my side, to fall into such a pathetic state truly reflects poorly on me," Li Fan muttered, shaking his head with self-mockery.
In the final analysis, he had still underestimated the might of a True Immortal.
He had not expected that even after activating True Reversion, that dazzling immortal power could still trace back to its origin.
Furthermore, it seemed that the more powerful an entity was, the more sensitive they were to the power of True Reversion.
The Faceless True Immortal's sudden eruption, suppressing the power of the Immortal Ruins and rushing forth in urgent pursuit, clearly indicated that He knew something about True Reversion.
"The performance of True Reversion is closely tied to my own strength. Before ascending to the Longevity realm, I had better not provoke them,"
Li Fan thought to himself.
After reaching a phased hypothesis regarding the True Immortal and True Reversion, Li Fan finally began to consider how to resolve the crisis at hand.
"I am currently at the third anchor, using True Reversion as my Foundation Establishment wonder, with a late Foundation Establishment stage cultivation. If I choose to inherit the cultivation from my previous life, I will instantly undergo the transformation from the Foundation Establishment stage straight to the Soul Formation stage."
"Yet I am currently trapped within the Web of the True Immortal. I haven't drawn the Faceless True Immortal's attention right now because my strength is negligible. But if a Foundation Establishment ant abruptly turns into a Soul Formation ant, it might well catch His gaze..."
"Therefore, the method to resolve this crisis becomes quite clear. Hide inside the You Realm, and the instant I choose to inherit the cultivation of my past life, activate True Reversion once more. That will prevent further contamination by the Faceless True Immortal while using True Reversion to wash away the imprint He left upon me. Repeated again and again."
"But before that..."
Li Fan reached out, attempting to pick up a teacup sitting in the wooden hut.
At first, there was no problem, but as his body turned slightly translucent, the teacup actually slipped straight through his hand and crashed to the floor.
"So this is the power of the Faceless True Immortal. The deprivation of existence..."
What Li Fan needed to resolve first was finding a way to stabilize his own existence before True Reversion finished recharging.
Otherwise, all would come to naught.
And judging from his current physical condition, time was running out.
Chapter 1127