“Revert to the True!”
As Li Fan silently chanted the command in his heart, a layer of water mist instantly enveloped everything around him.
Yet Li Fan discovered to his astonishment that the "color" of the nearby Wordless Stele—the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar—could faintly penetrate even the mist of Revert to the True!
It remained as resplendent as ever.
Along with it, the figure of the True Immortal of the Immortal Ruins beside the Wordless Stele was also faintly visible.
The delaying attacks of Tianyang and Qiushui had seemingly failed to hold her back for long. That streak of color within the mist drew ever closer to Li Fan.
Yet just as when she had approached the Wordless Stele inside the Immortal Domain earlier, her speed as she closed in on Li Fan grew slower and slower.
Until she came to a complete halt.
The dense fog completely shrouded the True Immortal of the Immortal Ruins. Even the Wordless Stele became indistinct.
“That is...”
Li Fan could not help but turn his gaze toward the Wordless Stele.
He could vaguely make out that, beyond the two True Immortal seal characters formed earlier by the True Immortal of the Immortal Ruins and the white ring Descending into the Mortal Dust, a third character had actually begun to manifest on the stele.
Or rather, countless characters surged forth onto the Wordless Stele in dense clusters at the exact same time!
An unspeakable, horrifying shockwave abruptly erupted from the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar. Even though the scene in the Star Sea was barely visible anymore, the sheer might of this impact was evident from the way the white mist of Revert to the True rippled continuously like disturbed water.
Pfft! Even with the white mist of Revert to the True shielding him, the instant those countless characters flooded into Li Fan's eyes, his brain felt as though it had been struck hundreds of times in succession by a heavy sledgehammer.
His divine soul quaked and boiled, his consciousness nearly torn to shreds.
Fortunately, at that very moment, the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar itself could no longer bear such immense pressure.
With a thunderous crash, it detonated into countless fragments!
Whether by coincidence or some other factor at play, the largest of those fragments flew straight toward Li Fan.
It was thousands of times faster than the True Immortal of the Immortal Ruins' pursuit.
In a flash, it pierced through ordinary spacetime and arrived within the white mist of Revert to the True!
At the same time, the white mist of Revert to the True completely swallowed the world.
The moment the stone fragment entered the white mist, it lost all velocity and luster, merely floating silently at the edge of the mist.
Battered senseless and barely regaining his wits, Li Fan looked around at the still-enveloping mist and sank into thought over the present reality that he had not yet returned to his designated anchor.
After carefully sensing the fluctuations coming from Revert to the True, Li Fan cautiously beckoned, drawing the stone fragment to his hand.
A familiar screen of light burst open. The interrupted process of Revert to the True resumed once more.
Scene after scene from his previous life emerged in succession.
Before his consciousness sank into darkness, Li Fan noticed that, at some point, the Wordless Stele fragment in his hand had vanished.
...
Anchored Year 1, the peak of Mount Jieli!
The twenty-year-old Li Fan opened his eyes once more.
“Hoo!”
The end of this simulation and beginning of a new life did not bring Li Fan the feeling of waking after an eternity. The series of thrilling, bizarre events he had experienced at the end of the previous life remained vivid in his mind, as though they had happened in this life as well.
Li Fan instinctively glanced at the Revert to the True panel.
The charging progress sat at 31%.
One must remember that when Revert to the True had begun, the charge had been at the maximum of 400%. This alone showed just how perilous the end of his previous life had been.
Although he had successfully returned to his designated anchor, Li Fan remained somewhat uneasy.
He stepped out of the thatched cottage and walked to the cliff edge at the mountain summit, facing the vast sea of clouds.
He stared intently at the Revert to the True panel, at an item that had suddenly appeared among his retained possessions:
[... Thigh Bone]
Before the words "Thigh Bone" were distorted, blurred symbols whose meaning Li Fan could not discern.
Yet Li Fan naturally knew where this bone had come from.
“The Wordless Stele, the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar?”
“This Immortal Heavenly Pillar was actually forged from some entity's thigh bone?”
Li Fan was thoroughly shaken.
Those illegible, twisted, and blurry symbols instantly reminded Li Fan of the legendary Nameless True Immortals.
This bold guess sparked countless thoughts in his mind.
“But right now, the most important thing is...”
“To ensure my own safety.”
He casually picked up a stone by his feet, held it tightly in his hand, and silently chanted in his heart.
The prompt from Revert to the True followed immediately:
“Consume 1 available anchor to replace bound item: ... Thigh Bone?”
The moment the prompt appeared, Li Fan breathed an inexplicable sigh of relief.
Revert to the True had not slipped out of control. He still retained supreme authority over it.
The appearance of this thigh bone merely meant that during his last Revert to the True, he had brought along a stowaway.
“Even so, this Nameless True Immortal thigh bone is truly extraordinary.”
Li Fan was secretly astonished.
Since he could not yet know the true origin of the thigh bone, he could only tentatively refer to it as belonging to a Nameless True Immortal based on his conjecture.
He first chose “No,” keeping the Nameless True Immortal thigh bone retained.
Staring at the stone fragment in the Revert to the True panel, Li Fan's expression grew solemn.
He recalled the various events that had unfolded at the very end of his previous life.
“The Wordless Stele, also known as the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar, could resist the Dao Annihilation Tribulation to a certain degree.
“Since it bears the name 'Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar,' it indicates that in the Immortal Realm of old, there was definitely more than one such pillar.
“A thigh bone... Could it be that the other heavenly pillars were also forged from other bones of a Nameless True Immortal? Or perhaps from other Nameless True Immortals?” Li Fan felt a faint chill inside.
“Initially, when facing the Dao Annihilation Tribulation, the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar was largely indifferent. It was the Hunger Immortal who infused her comprehension of the 'Hunger' Formula into it, forming a sky-propping pillar of light, which allowed it to successfully withstand the Dao Annihilation Tribulation. The Wordless Stele seems to possess the supreme divine ability to re-manifest all things and events as their original Great Dao laws, expressing them upon the stele as True Immortal seal characters.
“It was precisely because I saw this that I had a flash of inspiration and launched the white ring Descending into the Mortal Dust. Naturally, it was not to save the Hunger Immortal's life—after all, I was already preparing to Revert to the True back then—but to see the true nature of Descending into the Mortal Dust.
“Sure enough, Descending into the Mortal Dust represents an extraordinarily powerful law of the mortal world...”
Li Fan carefully recalled the character that had appeared on the Wordless Stele in the previous life.
“'Innate.'
“An existence on virtually the same level as 'Creation.'
“In the past, the Dao-Inscribing Immortal could manifest the Great Dao of heaven and earth as True Immortal seal characters. Yet now, beyond the High Wall, they can actually solidify and forge the power of laws into physical objects?”
The shock in Li Fan's heart was even more intense than when he had learned of the Nameless True Immortal thigh bone.
“However, it still cannot be confirmed whether the white ring Descending into the Mortal Dust truly is a product from beyond the High Wall...” Li Fan pressed his throbbing temples and took a deep breath.
His train of thought returned to the main track.
“The Wordless Stele emerged and absorbed all things and matter in the Star Sea outside the Immortal Domain, seemingly intending to re-manifest the myriad Dao laws of heaven and earth upon itself and restore the true body of the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar.
“What I saw—all things and matter in the Star Sea turning into threads and becoming additional shadows on the Wordless Stele—corroborated this.
“And then...”
Thinking up to this point, a peculiar gleam suddenly erupted in Li Fan's eyes.
“When Revert to the True activated, the Wordless Stele sensed it, and tens of thousands of characters manifested upon it!”
In that instant, the characters appearing on the stele had been far too numerous and complex.
Even with the aid of the Dao Assimilation Stone, Li Fan had been completely unable to memorize them.
He had not even been able to retain a basic impression.
He merely remembered vaguely seeing dozens of True Immortal seal characters he was familiar with, though they were far more complete and pure.
Yet Li Fan felt no regret or remorse. He had a premonition that had he been blinded by greed and recklessly attempted to memorize all the True Immortal seal characters on that stele...
His fate would only have mirrored that of the Wordless Stele in his previous life:
Blown to smithereens in an instant!
“Even forged from the thigh bone of a Nameless True Immortal and known as the Southern Immortal Heavenly Pillar, it still could not withstand the myriad characters manifested by Revert to the True...
“It escaped the catastrophe of the Immortal Realm's destruction, only to be buried by its own nature.”
Shaking his head inwardly in caution, Li Fan also found himself with new reflections on Revert to the True.
“Since the Wordless Stele is called an Immortal Heavenly Pillar, it may have once borne numerous True Immortal seal characters engraved upon it, shielding the Immortal Realm against the Dao Annihilation Tribulation.
“That is also why countless insights kept surging into my mind the instant I laid eyes on it. Although the True Immortal seal characters on the stele disappeared for reasons unknown, some traceless imprints still remained...
“All things in the world are manifestations of the Dao. If one can master all paths of the Dao, one can manifest everything in the world with a single thought. That is precisely the Transformation of Real and Unreal!”
At this moment, Li Fan had not yet chosen the inheritance options of Revert to the True and was still an absolute mortal.
Yet standing with hands behind his back, his eyes slightly narrowed.
A formidable pressure instantly surged over him.
In this instant, Li Fan's cultivation returned to the peak Soul Formation realm rooted in the myriad Xuanhuang World-Extinction Transformations.
With a flick of his finger, a shooting star flew upward from the mountain summit,
ripping open the sky of the Great Xuan pocket world to reveal the eerie void outside.
Only after finishing all this did the mysterious aura about Li Fan slowly recede.
“My comprehension of the Transformation of Real and Unreal has reached a higher plane.
“Without relying on the aid of Revert to the True, I can briefly reproduce the cultivation I once possessed, and even unleash a full-power strike in that fleeting moment.
“Although this transformation cannot yet be sustained, it is of extraordinary significance to me.”
Opening the Revert to the True panel, Li Fan chose to inherit his cultivation.
In an instant, Li Fan transformed from a mere mortal back into a peak powerhouse of the Pitch-Black Star Sea,
as though having weathered the vicissitudes of hundreds of lifetimes.
“Transformation of Real and Unreal...”
Li Fan did not stop there; instead, he once again relished the entire process of Revert to the True activating, realizing, and simulating samsara.
All of a sudden, another surge of Li Fan's peak cultivation abruptly descended!
It was as if another Li Fan had suddenly merged into him.
At this moment, the spiritual energy within Li Fan roiled and boiled.
The phantom wooden sword unsheathed, and in a flash, he arrived in the void of the Pitch-Black Star Sea.
His entire strength erupted.
Thousands of horrifying transformations descended and unfolded within the dark starry sky,
unceasing for a long time.
The additional layer of cultivation on Li Fan quietly receded.
He returned to his normal state once more.
“I had already touched the limits of the Star Sea, yet through the Transformation of Real and Unreal, I can briefly unleash double my strength...
“And this burst carries zero side effects. I can even borrow all operational consumption out of thin air, achieving a form of perpetual motion in a certain sense.”
Li Fan looked at his hands, feeling utter disbelief.
Even as the creator of this divine ability, he was stunned by this practical performance that completely defied common sense.
“Revert to the True... Revert to the True...”
Repeating the name silently in his heart, Li Fan's gaze gradually became profoundly deep.
“What exactly is Revert to the True?
“Merely sensing it from the periphery caused the Wordless Stele to absorb and manifest tens of thousands of True Immortal seal characters that even it could not withstand. Its fundamental essence...”
Even in wild speculation, Li Fan could not fathom the origin of Revert to the True.
Li Fan only knew that possessing Revert to the True was unquestionably his greatest fortune.
“In truth, I have no need to cultivate any new method or new new method at all. So long as I continuously deepen my understanding of Revert to the True, I will be able to truly extinguish the Dao and give birth to the Dao with a wave of my hand.
“What True Immortals? What Nameless True Immortals? Their lives and deaths would all be subject to a single thought of mine.” Li Fan's heart surged with excitement, yearning for that realm.
Yet fantasy had to return to reality in the end.
After a long while, Li Fan, possessing sufficient self-awareness, shook his head slightly: “However, this is also a paradox. Without cultivating first and elevating my own strength and perception, how could I truly understand Revert to the True?
“When my strength was meager, even if I possessed Revert to the True and idled away thousands or tens of thousands of lifetimes, I could never have briefly realized the transformation between real and unreal as I do now—even if it is merely reproducing cultivation I previously held.
“And as my understanding of True Immortal seal characters and the Great Dao deepens, my deconstruction of Revert to the True also gradually expands.”
Revert to the True was far too profound, mysterious, and complex. Even the Great Dao laws of heaven and earth were at best merely tools to interpret it.
“The heights of Revert to the True lie even higher than the high heavens. To touch Revert to the True, one must first ascend the nine heavens.” The restless thoughts in Li Fan's mind settled down quietly the moment this realization emerged.
“I still need to cultivate step by step, grounded in reality.”
Li Fan pondered, recalling what had prompted him in his previous life to decide on prematurely unfolding the Immortal Domain.
“Looking back now, in the simulation where I perished, the reason I died so abruptly was likely the combined effect of Mo Sha and the Wordless Stele.
“It was probably a weakened version of the Dao Annihilation Tribulation; after Mo Sha elevated, it returned to the level of the Dao Annihilation Tribulation. When the Immortal Domain unfolded, the Wordless Stele also instantly emerged...”
As that scene surfaced in his mind, Li Fan's cheek twitched uncontrollably.
“I took things a bit too much for granted after all.
“To be entrusted by ancient True Immortals as a means to survive the Dao Annihilation Tribulation, I should have known that Immortal Domain could never be simple.”
Li Fan sighed softly.
Yet Li Fan did not abandon the thought of absorbing the Mo Sha Heavenly Immortal Soul because of this.
On the contrary, Mo Sha's trait of posing an enormous threat even to immortal-grade existences only strengthened Li Fan's resolve to use it as his Dao Integration material.
After all, across the entire Pitch-Black Star Sea right now, only the Mo Sha Heavenly Immortal Soul could still entice him.
“Anchoring and elevating the Xuanhuang Realm...
“The Wordless Stele is far too terrifying; for now, that cannot be considered.
“However... a single fragment of the Wordless Stele might just be enough.”
With the phantom wooden sword ready and ample defenses prepared, Li Fan retrieved the bone of the Nameless True Immortal that had followed him through Revert to the True.
Chapter 1384