The Gaze of Mountains and Seas

"...Hollow words, born endlessly. Will, spirit, body, and soul—born of chaos, returning to chaos." "One presence, eternal presence. Lost yet remaining." "Neither before nor after, neither ancient nor present. Mortal yet extraordinary, sacred yet unliving..." ... Through the painting before him, the Great Dao profound sound Li Fan heard was even more detailed and clear than what he had obtained from the memories of the Heavenly Physician and Chuanfa. The Great Dao profound sound imparted by King Xuantian possessed boundless marvels. It could influence the past from the present, altering reality through illusion. In the past, though Li Fan had mastered this profound sound divine ability, he had never truly understood how it achieved such a feat. Only after Li Fan traveled upstream along the river of time aboard the counter-current boat did he attain a measure of enlightenment. "This profound sound incorporates a trace of the dao of counter-current. Only, instead of one's physical body traversing the long river, it is streams of sound. It is just like a shout released downstream, echoing back to the upper reaches of the river." "Speaking of which, King Xuantian once possessed the counter-current boat as well. It is hardly surprising that he wielded such a method. If I wish..." Li Fan narrowed his eyes. In a flash, his thoughts returned to the moment he had first tumbled into this timeframe. Because he had arrived from the future, the highest point he could reach in this space-time was that very instant. "You brat, you're finally awake." "Speak quickly! What on earth happened at the Medicine King Sect? Confess honestly, and we might spare your life. Otherwise..." "Why waste words with him? Just search his soul!" It was the exact moment the Changqing Valley disciples had surrounded Li Fan. Standing in the present, Li Fan silently chanted the profound sound divine ability. The ethereal, wondrous sound crossed the surging waves of the river of time, traversing several years. Flowing upstream along the river for a short stretch, it reached the ears of those Changqing Valley disciples. The crowd's expressions immediately turned dazed. After studying Li Fan for a moment, they came to an abrupt realization: "So it's you, kid. Why did you run over here alone?" Through the profound sound, Li Fan had distorted and rewritten their cognition. Thus, a calamity that had once required Li Fan to use Illusion is Real to defuse was silently resolved. The "past" Li Fan looked at the inexplicable change in the people before him and seemed to realize something. His gaze crossed the river of time, meeting the eyes of the "future"—or rather, the "present"—Li Fan. *Buzz, buzz, buzz...* In the present Li Fan's ears, a faint, tremendous roar arose. Like a rushing river, like rolling heavenly thunder. It stemmed not from the Xuanhuang Realm, but from this space-time itself. Without that slap to Li Fan's head, those Changqing disciples would not die. Though it was merely the lives of a few insignificant Foundation Establishment cultivators, which would not cause a major diversion of the river of time, it still stirred a ripple. Of course, at Li Fan's current realm of deeply cultivated anchors, such slight tremors could no longer affect him. Let the long river roar; he remained immovable. Having executed this time-traversing profound sound divine ability, Li Fan felt deeply pleased, savoring the experience for a long time. In the past, he had also used the profound sound divine ability to alter the minds of He Zhenghao and others. But back then, he had merely grasped the technique itself, completely unaware of the principles that made it possible. Now, it was as if Li Fan had witnessed with his own eyes the entire process of the profound sound flowing upstream and traversing time. What was more, he had established a momentary contact with his past self. Though this contact lasted only an instant before being veiled once more by the river of time, Li Fan nonetheless sensed something different about himself. Looking far across the river of time, he could see slightly farther. Not only into the past. But also into the future. Unlike the fixed past, the future was in perpetual flux, brimming with countless possibilities. What Li Fan saw was not a single future, but an aggregate of infinite possibilities. After merely looking closely for a few moments, he felt dizzy and had to withdraw from that wondrous state. Yet that could not diminish the delight in his heart. "It seems that while one who grasps the dao of counter-current possesses the power to alter any time they inhabit, they must also face the river's backlash. A case of inflicting a thousand injuries on the enemy at the cost of eight hundred to oneself. Of course, if one is exceedingly stable within the long river, one can disregard such tremors and backlash." "As for why I suffered no backlash when I used the profound sound divine ability before: first, I was still under the protection of Revert to the True. Naturally, I could ignore such disturbances. Second..." "Back then, I had not yet leapt outside the river. I was still considered part of it. Even if the river changed course, the impact on myself was negligible." "Once one leaps outside the river, however, the meaning changes completely. No longer belonging to the river, one must face the wind and rain alone." Recalling the circumstances of that time, Li Fan gained a sudden flash of insight. "If before I was a water droplet that had leaped out of the river, now I can barely be considered to have transformed from a droplet into a stretch of the river itself." Li Fan felt a touch of pride. "Only, it is still too short." "However, as I flow onward alongside the river of time, it will naturally grow longer and longer. Correspondingly, the required self-control will become all the more rigorous..." Li Fan sensed that with the passage of time, the imprint he left in the river was slowly expanding as well. "As long as I use this profound sound divine ability from time to time to hone my ability to connect head and tail, I can maintain this current state." "The longer I live, the stronger I become." "A thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years." If Mound-Guarding Lord's Great Dao of Longevity was about being long-lived because one was strong, then this dao of counter-current had the flavor of becoming strong because one lived long. "Ordinary longevity certainly cannot achieve this state where the longer one lives, the more formidable one becomes. But refining one's body into a single line and swimming through the river of time is entirely different." Li Fan looked toward the skies beyond, as if glimpsing the river of time he inhabited. Insights welled in his heart like surging waves. The aura around him fluctuated unstably. By the time Li Fan returned to his senses, he felt that his adaptability to the long river had advanced another step. This time, it was not achieved through external aids like space-time anchors. Rather, Li Fan himself had become more suited to surviving within the river of time. Like a fish in water, like a bird in the sky. Having stepped into a forbidden zone that had once been untouchable, he took another step forward, merging himself into it. "Now, even if all anchors are lost and the counter-current boat is destroyed, I can barely manage to struggle on my own in the long river for a time, without being instantly annihilated by its turbulence." For Li Fan, this was undoubtedly a great weight off his mind. The present Li Fan held very little trust in any external objects. One could hardly blame him for being overly suspicious. After all, when even Revert to the True could fall dormant and fail, what could guarantee eternal efficacy? He could only rely on himself. His pure, unadorned self. Li Fan's thoughts returned to the profound sound divine ability. "The profound sound is buried deep within the bloodline of the Xuanyuan clan. It must be a message Xuanyuan Hong transmitted using the bloodline connection between himself and his descendants." "It can cross not only possibilities, but also ten thousand years of time." "Yet, where and when does the source of this profound sound originate?" Li Fan listened intently once more. The sound, drifting from beyond the heavens, grew clearer and clearer. It was as though Li Fan's body soared into the air, floating along the sound out of the Xuanhuang Realm. He departed the Pitch-Black Star Sea, crossed the Great Wall, and leaped out of the Primordial possibility. Arriving outside the mortal world, he faced Mountains and Seas directly. The surging river of time that could originally be observed in the mortal world vanished completely, disappearing without a trace. Viewed from this perspective, Mountains and Seas seemed inherently possessed of the attribute of frozen time. Whether ten thousand years before, or a hundred million years later. All existed within Mountains and Seas. It was an unspeakable, marvelous experience. Though somewhat inconceivable, even defying common sense, Li Fan knew that everything he knew, had experienced, or had ever heard of—past, present, and future— was entirely frozen within Mountains and Seas. "The Dao Annihilation Tribulation affects all timeframes." "All existences across every point in time are doomed. So that is how it is." As though in a state of absolute reason, Li Fan thought calmly, even forgetting why he had come here in the first place. Once that puzzle was resolved in his mind, another question naturally surfaced. "Then what does the space beyond Mountains and Seas represent?" "And what is that 'Star' recorded in the allegory, which abruptly appears at the end of time in Mountains and Seas?" As if sensing the concepts touched upon by Li Fan's thoughts, the originally tranquil and frozen Mountains and Seas suddenly sprang to life. Li Fan could even clearly sense hair-raising gazes bearing down upon him from all directions, omnipresent and terrifying. Deeply alarmed, he decisively severed his attempt to float along the sound toward some location in Mountains and Seas. In an instant, he returned to reality. Li Fan looked up at the sky, watching for a long time in shaken disbelief. Only after nearly half a day did that intense sense of crisis slowly recede. "Fortunately, I am accustomed to maintaining Illusion is Real upon myself. Even though it is a simplified version now, it served as a lifesaver." One had to remember that Revert to the True was currently dormant and inactive. For Li Fan, this was truly an escape from death. Even after enduring the crisis of the three daos merging, he had never imagined that the "senses" of Mountains and Seas would be so acute. "It shouldn't be to this extent, should it?" Li Fan knitted his brows tightly. This was not the first time he had faced Mountains and Seas. Yet Li Fan was almost certain that before, Mountains and Seas had never been so sensitive to an existence like him, who was less than an ant compared to it. "It seems my previous premonition was correct." "After undergoing the fusion of the three daos, even though it was reversed by Revert to the True, I have become distinct from ordinary existences within Mountains and Seas." "Remaining hidden in the mortal world is fine. But if I recklessly venture out into Mountains and Seas, I will likely face its scrutiny at any moment, just as I experienced just now." At this thought, Li Fan's heart grew heavy. Yet against the might of Mountains and Seas, he could think of no sound countermeasure for the time being. "Luckily, I did not rashly ascend to the Immortal realm, substituting an immortal puppet and immortal array instead. Otherwise, my life would truly have been forfeit." Li Fan's expression turned grim. Since regaining his memories, every step had been fraught with difficulty. He had to worry constantly about the backlash of the river of time, while remaining vigilant against the gaze of Mountains and Seas. This placed a severe constraint on Li Fan, who was used to acting with utter impunity when Revert to the True had been at his disposal. Yet circumstances were stronger than the man. Neither the river of time nor Mountains and Seas was something he could contend with. He could only keep his head down for now. "One step at a time," Li Fan sighed. "First, achieve complete stability within the river of time before considering anything else." His thoughts focused once more on the profound sound. Li Fan recalled what he had witnessed in Mountains and Seas. "The source of the sound seems to come from an even more distant past?" "However, it should still reside within our timeframe, rather than outside the Ever-Silent Void Realm." "Could it be that King Xuantian is also attempting to traverse the void realm to travel to the past and save the world? Does he already possess such power?" "Moreover, rather than trying to convey a specific message, this profound sound seems more like a marker left behind to guide successors there. Could it be..." A thought suddenly welled in Li Fan's mind: "Could he have already fallen? Otherwise, by all reason, he would not persistently and stably emit this profound sound across the river of time to maintain contact." After pondering for a long time, Li Fan ultimately gave a slight shake of his head, choosing to block out the profound sound. Even if this speculation were true, he would never venture there out of mere curiosity. If someone of King Xuantian's caliber had perished there, Li Fan would fare no better. Especially now, without the protection of Revert to the True, he would never put himself in harm's way. "Perhaps in the future, when my strength is sufficient to stroll at ease through Mountains and Seas, I will go investigate," Li Fan thought to himself. Slowly rolling up the painting, Li Fan did not stow it away casually. Instead, he suppressed it within the space of the Root of Xuanhuang Heaven and Earth. "The second matter is settled as well." "Next..." "The Black Heavenly Physician and Evil Su Bai." When the opponents he had to face shifted from a colossal entity like Mountains and Seas to transcendent powerhouses of this level, everything seemed so much lighter by comparison. At the very least, Mountains and Seas left the present Li Fan completely devoid of any thought of resisting or maneuvering; his only instinct was to flee in panic. With the Black Heavenly Physician and Evil Su Bai, however, he could at least formulate a strategy. These two transcendent powerhouses were no different from ticking time bombs for the entire Pitch-Black Star Sea. The moment Su Bai and the Heavenly Physician stepped outside the Great Wall, the bomb would instantly detonate. Viewing Xuanhuang as the foundation of his anchors, Li Fan had to nip this risk in the bud early on. By searching the memories of Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang earlier, Li Fan had roughly pinpointed the current point in time. The Tianfa Realm was not yet completely destroyed, residing in a period of recuperation following the great war. "I wonder if the Heavenly Physician has already enacted the Heavenly Soul Reincarnation Technique. As for Su Bai, he has not yet been born." "Still, both are approaching soon." After pondering for a long time, Li Fan decided to first meet the Chuanfa of this timeframe. The descendant of King Xuantian, Xuanyuan Tuo. Serving as a fresh force, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had participated in the great war of the Taiyuan Realm. The relationship between new cultivation method cultivators and the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao was far more cordial than in the original timeline. In particular, the formidable combat power demonstrated by the new method cultivators during desperate battles directly enticed many ancient method cultivators to switch their cultivation. Meanwhile, the Ten Sects currently had their attention largely focused on opening up the Taiyuan Realm and the surrounding starry expanse. They had no leisure to mind the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. Consequently, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals was growing ever more rampantly.