To force the two immortals in the coffin to take their next step as quickly as possible, and also to scrutinize this so-called World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin more closely, Li Fan released the power of the Immortal Soul of Mo Sha, wrapping the mysterious coffin in layer upon layer.
The Immortal Soul of Mo Sha was exceedingly close to the Dao Annihilation Tribulation, capable of virtually achieving a complete blockade against the power of the Dao Net.
A faint black mist did not merely encircle the mysterious coffin; it also sought to seep inward through every conceivable crack and pore.
Though the World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin claimed to avert all tribulations under heaven, that was under the premise of escaping to other possibilities. In truth, it could not withstand the Dao Annihilation Tribulation.
It could not even achieve complete isolation between the inside and outside of the coffin.
After a brief silence, the two immortals within the coffin clearly sensed the destructive aura outside. Violent vibrations once again surged through the World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin.
Only this time, the commotion was far more intense than before.
Earlier, it had been caused by the aftershocks of their struggle against each other, but now...
It seemed the two immortals intended to join forces to shatter the coffin!
Yet having been chosen as the cage to imprison Immortal Wu, this mysterious coffin was not something easily shattered. Even with Qian Ruochang and Immortal Wu joining forces, it remained impervious. The two attempted it for a time, but soon realized doing so was utterly futile. Thus, they changed their approach.
And in this desperate life-or-death crisis, Li Fan truly witnessed the methods of a True Immortal.
From within the coffin, what sounded like sacred chanting arose once more.
Only this time, it was barely audible. It was only with the aid of the Immortal Soul of Mo Sha wrapping the coffin that Li Fan could just manage to detect it.
The chanter still seemed to be Qian Ruochang.
Li Fan intended to repeat his previous trick, utilizing dream power to weave demonic chanting tones and interfere.
Yet the two melodies seemed as though they did not exist in the same world at all—parallel and independent, unable to affect each other!
The chanting continued unabated, and the iridescent light within the coffin grew ever more dazzling.
*A force is isolating the mysterious coffin from the world. Though I can sense it through the power of the Immortal Soul of Mo Sha, I cannot affect it in any way.*
*This is Immortal Wu taking action.*
*Since breaking out of the coffin is impossible, they have simply chosen to join forces and cross over from this world.*
Li Fan sneered inwardly. Since he had dared to corner them with life and death, how could he not have anticipated the response of the two immortals in the coffin?
*Crossing possibilities...*
*Let me see what this is truly all about.*
The black mist transformed into thousands of tentacles, wrapping tightly around the World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin. Serving as extensions of Li Fan's senses, they made contact with and analyzed the essence of the mysterious coffin.
Without external interference, the World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin was fully activated.
Iridescent radiance surged out from within the coffin in an instant, unexpectedly repelling all the power of the Immortal Soul of Mo Sha for a moment.
Li Fan seemed to see countless phantom silhouettes simultaneously appearing and overlapping atop the mysterious coffin.
Every phantom of the coffin was identical to one another; what differed was the scenery surrounding each coffin.
The chanting grew increasingly high-pitched, and the coffin in reality seemed to be dragged into these layered shadows, on the verge of detaching from reality.
Yet the number of overlapping coffin shadows presenting themselves simultaneously plunged precipitously from infinity.
In those fleeting glimpses that flashed by from time to time, all Li Fan saw were "perfect worlds" where the Dao Annihilation Tribulation was not currently wreaking havoc.
Although he still had the mysterious coffin tightly locked down, Li Fan's tangible sense of touch grew fainter and fainter. The mysterious coffin was about to fade and slip past his fingers.
*This World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin doesn't shuttle to other possibilities unconditionally. Rather, it seems it can only travel to possibilities where a World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin likewise exists.*
*By relying on the coffin's "unification," it achieves an escape from the current possibility.*
*So that's how it is...*
A glimmer of realization dawned in Li Fan's mind.
Since identical individuals from different possibilities could cross possibilities to consume themselves, certain special objects naturally could do the same.
The so-called "world-crossing" of the mysterious coffin was an ingenious exploitation of this characteristic.
In fact, Li Fan utilizing Revert to the True to retain items from a previous simulation and bring them back into the reality of this lifetime could be regarded as a form of "unification." But not all objects could grow continuously stronger through unification. Only the "Heaven-and-Earth Strange Objects" of the Xuanhuang Realm seemed capable of spontaneously devouring one another upon appearing simultaneously. In contrast, the Dao Assimilation Stones from beyond the heavens could not; they required Li Fan to actively promote their fusion.
*The materials used to forge this World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin must share similar properties to strange objects.*
*Only by being completely identical to the mysterious coffins in other possibilities can it harness the power of unification to leap across possibilities...*
No matter how powerful the entangling force of the Immortal Soul of Mo Sha was, the World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin ultimately grew ever more ethereal.
As Li Fan observed and pondered, the mysterious coffin had nearly broken free of the current possibility.
A power that transcended everything—one that even True Immortals had no means of perceiving—quietly descended.
"When the true is made false, the false is also true."
Before Li Fan's eyes, those seven incomparably familiar characters seemed to appear once more.
Now at the half-immortal realm, he had long been able to barely achieve "false becoming true." He could even manifest something from nothing, conjuring energy like Ancient Essence Cangyuan, which could aid the demon race in leaping across possibilities.
Yet all along, he had been unable to even cross the threshold of the Dao of "true becoming false."
Theoretically, destruction ought to be easier than creation.
Li Fan had puzzled over this for a long time without understanding. Only just now, observing the entire process of the coffin crossing worlds clearly with the aid of the Immortal Soul of Mo Sha, did he realize he had driven himself into a dead end.
To turn a truly existing, complete entity into nothingness out of thin air—the difficulty of executing this ability did not depend on the target. Whether the target was a powerhouse like Sinister Su Bai or the Dark Heavenly Physician, or an ant upon the earth, the difficulty for Li Fan to accomplish it was the same. For as long as they remained beneath the Transformation of Real and Unreal, none could resist the occurrence of the concept of "true becoming false."
However, transforming a complete entity from true into false corresponded to transforming an unreal thing into reality, such that its existence would not dissipate once the power of the real and unreal faded. This realm of great attainment was naturally not something Li Fan, who had only just crossed the threshold, could achieve.
*Most likely because a thing's state of being real can persist for a certain time, but once it falls into a state of being false, there is no chance to turn back into the real.*
*Once gone, it is gone forever.*
The reason he had suddenly realized this crucial point was that, upon observation, Li Fan discovered that the process of the World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin "disappearing" from the current possibility was not accomplished in an instant.
Instead, the countless minute particles constituting the mysterious coffin had to verify their match with themselves in other possibilities, after which they entered a state of "unification" and fled the current possibility.
It did not shuttle across as the mysterious coffin's "whole body," but broke apart into countless "individual units."
Only after arriving at the other possibility would the fragments reassemble into the whole.
*Between possibilities lie their own shackle-like constraints. Compared to a complete entity, those infinitesimal particles—particles so tiny they even exceed my ability to observe—must be far easier to shuttle across.*
*Breaking the whole into parts.*
*By the same logic, what I must do is not to turn the entire mysterious coffin from true into false directly.*
*I only need to disrupt the coffin's verification process and make this mysterious coffin differ from its original state.*
Li Fan realized in an instant.
The Transformation of Real and Unreal enveloped the mysterious coffin in a flash.
In his mind, he visualized and recalled the sensation of his continual simulated rebirths, lifetime after lifetime.
"True... becoming... false!"
He enunciated each word deliberately in his heart.
The target of the technique was not the macroscopic entity of the mysterious coffin.
Rather, it was merely one of the particles constituting the mysterious coffin that Li Fan was in contact with.
It was like gently wiping away a speck of dust.
Externally, the mysterious coffin showed no change whatsoever.
However...
The resonant chanting had already reached its crescendo.
Yet the overlapping shadows of the mysterious coffin within the iridescent light abruptly extinguished.
Though it lacked only a single, insignificant particle, the mysterious coffin was no longer the World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin.
The real turned false; the world-crossing could not continue.
Qian Ruochang's chanting cut off abruptly.
Seemingly unable to accept this reality, the two immortals inside the coffin took a long time to react.
Within the mysterious coffin, it was terrifyingly quiet.
Qian Ruochang and Immortal Wu were devoid of the slightest sound, as if they had indeed crossed over and departed.
Or perhaps they had resigned themselves to fate and struggled no more.
Li Fan's attention was not on the two of them. Instead, he was overjoyed by his successful execution of the Transformation of Real and Unreal.
Theoretically speaking, the degree to which he could achieve "true becoming false" and "false becoming true" ought to be equivalent.
In other words, even if he could not yet completely erase an individual entity, he was by no means limited to merely sweeping away a few particles.
*I can already achieve a threefold power stacking for a short time.*
*Conversely, I should also be able to achieve a certain degree of weakening.*
In Li Fan's understanding, if a person or object, as an integrated whole, suddenly had a part sliced away, it would inevitably become correspondingly weaker. As for where this weakness would manifest...
Li Fan subconsciously thought to experiment on himself.
Yet no sooner had this thought arisen than his heart thumped wildly. Even Revert to the True faintly transmitted ripples, as if issuing a warning.
This was entirely unprecedented.
*It seems the weakening from true becoming false is even more terrifying than I imagined.*
Leaving the World-Crossing Mysterious Coffin aside for the moment, Li Fan gathered several experimental subjects to conduct tests.
There were ten in total, including pure mortals as well as cultivators.
Among the cultivators, they were further divided into those of mediocre aptitude, those of considerable talent, and one capable of becoming a supreme prodigy.
Their consciousnesses had previously all been immersed in the Wuyou Dreamscape. At this moment, for the sake of experimental rigor, Li Fan recalled all their consciousnesses.
He once again recalled the feeling from when he had executed the divine ability earlier.
As the saying went, awkward the first time, adept the second. This time, when Li Fan performed it, it was not nearly as stiff or difficult.
It was like an eraser lightly rubbing across a portrait.
After completing the divine ability, Li Fan carefully examined the ten individuals.
*Strange...*
*Their cultivation hasn't dropped. Their divine souls and consciousnesses seem no different from before, either.*
*Just where did the effect of my divine ability of true becoming false manifest?*
After a long time, having found nothing, Li Fan furrowed his brows deeply.
If no answer could be detected, it meant the degree of change was not yet sufficient.
Li Fan therefore proceeded with the experiment.
Compared to "false becoming true," with which he was already thoroughly familiar, executing this divine ability of "true becoming false" imposed an immense burden on Li Fan.
Even though he was far beyond what he once was, and had the blessing of dream power from the myriad living beings of Xuanhuang immersed within, after performing it three consecutive times, he felt drained and exhausted.
An unprecedented sense of weakness welled up in his heart.
Li Fan was secretly alarmed and very sensibly halted the experiment.
Fortunately, his efforts were not in vain.
Beneath the continuous "erasing," Li Fan ultimately discerned where his divine ability had taken effect.
In those few mortals, the change was still not very noticeable.
Even among the ordinary cultivators, Li Fan could not detect any obvious difference.
The key lay in that "supreme prodigy."
This man was named Yin Changshou. Originally, due to his background, resources, and other constraints in the Xuanhuang Realm, he had remained unknown to the world.
Yet after the entire populace entered the Carefree Paradise, he had risen like a dark horse.
His performance was even more outstanding than the likes of Wang Xuanba and Sun Erlang; he had already felt his way toward the dreamscape's boundary at the High Wall.
When Li Fan selected experimental subjects earlier, he had picked him out at first glance.
Yet now...
Under Li Fan's scrutiny, he discovered that the "spiritual sharpness" on Yin Changshou seemed to have vanished.
This spiritual sharpness was not the spiritual energy of cultivation.
Rather, it was an abstruse and ethereal sensation.
It had nothing to do with his current cultivation realm, but was a "premonition" of what achievements he would attain in the future.
Previously, with a single look at Yin Changshou, Li Fan had known that if left to develop freely without severe external interference, even setting aside the Longevity realm, achieving Dao Integration would have been practically certain.
Yet now...
It was as though his potential was entirely exhausted, with no path ahead!
This feeling—that the person would never amount to anything in the future—had appeared on the very prodigy Li Fan had picked out at a glance.
The stark contrast before and after secretly astonished Li Fan.
*What I call spiritual sharpness is the sum total of comprehension, karmic fortune, root bone, natural talent, and everything else. Although my divine ability of true becoming false cannot directly reduce cultivation right now, such an effect...*
*It is like a blade gouging out bones and shaving away the soul, far more vicious!*
*No wonder when the thought of experimenting on myself arose earlier, Revert to the True actually issued a warning.*
*If this blade struck down, I fear not even I could restore the changes.*
To a true genius, death was perhaps not terrifying. What was truly terrifying was that the talent one took pride in might suddenly depart one day—turning from a genius into a mediocrity, or even a fool.
Crushing the spirit in this manner far surpassed merely slaying the flesh!
*This divine ability completely severs one's future.*
*Moreover, I faintly sense that there might be even more to it than this.*
It felt as if inspiration lay just ahead, within arm's reach, yet separated by a veil of mist that he could never quite penetrate.
After resting briefly, Li Fan resumed the experiment once more.
The blade of the real and unreal fell inch by inch.
Gradually, in Li Fan's eyes, Yin Changshou became even inferior to an ordinary mortal.
A mortal could still be forcibly pushed along the path of cultivation using resources, but at this moment, Yin Changshou's path forward was completely and utterly severed.
No matter what method was used, he would never be able to take another step forward.
*An across-the-board regression in cultivation is already set in stone. Yet why do I still feel that the true harm has not yet manifested?*
Li Fan stared intently at Yin Changshou. After gazing for a long time, he brought down the final strike of the blade.
Like repeatedly erasing lightly with an eraser, ultimately rubbing the painted image entirely off the canvas.
Manifesting in reality, Yin Changshou did not directly vanish into thin air.
Rather, some possibility had been completely severed.
Li Fan had a sudden premonition. He abruptly raised his head and looked toward the heavens beyond.
Chapter 1458