Chapter 1509: 遗念本道舟

And beyond the mortal realm, something seemed to lock eyes with Zi Yi.

After a brief silence, a sudden upheaval occurred!

It was just like the immense waves of mountains and seas that previously caused the collapse of the Shuo Star Sea, but the commotion was tens of times greater!

It seemed Zi Yi's utterly indifferent expression had enraged an unknown entity within the Dao Annihilation. It vowed to unleash monstrous waves to engulf the mortal realm where Zi Yi stood.

The Guangwu Star Sea was on the verge of collapse.

Even the purple qi celestial pillar, formed by the convergence of all immortals, found it difficult to withstand this catastrophe. Li Fan suspected that if Zi Yi were not standing there at this moment, the Guangwu Star Sea, and even the last remnants of the original possibility clinging to existence, would have directly collapsed under this might.

"What exactly is that… over there? Could it be the so-called remains of a powerful being that the Guangwu Star Sea fished out of the Dao Annihilation?" Li Fan and Cheng Dao exchanged glances, both seeing uncertainty and astonishment in the other's eyes.

Yet, Zi Yi regarded this earth-shattering scene as nothing out of the ordinary. He seemed to have discovered something, as a happy smile appeared on his lips.

"You two youngsters," he said, "pay close attention."

After saying this to Li Fan and Cheng Dao, Zi Yi's figure instantly vanished.

The next moment, the turmoil in the Star Sea abruptly ceased!

It wasn't that the culprit behind the turmoil had been subdued; rather, at the same moment, even greater waves surged forth. Like an absolute monarch, they drew away all the minor disturbances in the Star Sea.

Li Fan looked around; the Star Sea was utterly silent, and Zi Yi was nowhere to be found. The point where the waves converged was strikingly outside the original possibility!

A thin line, like a path to the heavens, suddenly appeared above their heads.

Through this rift, Li Fan vaguely seemed to glimpse a magnificent scene of boundless mountains and seas connected together.

This distant gaze was completely different from the experience of sneaking into the Infinite Sea via the Celestial Realm's Ascension Platform.

When he was in the Infinite Sea, every drop of water carried immense pressure from countless condensed eras of time, making it impossible for Li Fan to truly experience the scenery within the Infinite Sea in detail. Even later, with Huan Yizhen's protection, as Li Fan freely roamed, he only glimpsed endless fragments within the sea, not the mountains and seas themselves.

However, at this moment, through the thin line created by Zi Yi, Li Fan was finally able to see the landscape of mountains and seas as seen through the eyes of a transcendent powerhouse.

Though it was only a glimpse, it caused Li Fan to be utterly lost in thought.

Even after reincarnating over a hundred times, even possessing the True Return supreme treasure, even having personally visited the Infinite Sea, facing the continuous scenery of mountains and seas at this moment, Li Fan's heart still couldn't suppress a feeling of his own insignificance.

"Is this then," Li Fan murmured to himself, "the Infinite Sea and the Above Mountains that transcend the mortal realm?"

He couldn't even begin to comprehend anything. All of Li Fan's mind and spirit were profoundly shaken by this indescribably magnificent sight. There was no room left to think of anything else.

In contrast to Li Fan, Cheng Dao exhibited unusual phenomena. His entire body emitted a crystalline white light, and the faint silhouette of a sturdy rock vaguely appeared behind him. Cheng Dao looked up at the sky, as if he had returned to the time when he guarded the mound and gazed at the sea.

From this spirit stone by the mountains and seas, various exceedingly profound fluctuations emerged. They seemed to resonate from afar with the mountains and seas beyond the sky's veil.

Li Fan was thus awakened from his shock by these fluctuations.

After careful consideration, he felt a twinge of sourness in his heart: "We both saw a corner of the mountains and seas, yet I couldn't comprehend anything. But Cheng Dao could continuously gain insights into the Dao. The disparity between us..."

At this moment, Li Fan's mind was clear again, but after glimpsing the mountains and seas, his mind remained blank. The gap between him and the mountains and seas was simply too vast. As an ant, even if one sees mountains and seas, it's as if one doesn't see them at all.

If it were a lower-level mortal realm Dao, he certainly wouldn't be in this state.

"It seems, with my current cultivation level, traversing the mortal realm poses no major issue. But to cross the mountains and seas, there's still a very long way to go."

"Fortunately, my senior brother isn't stingy. He doesn't intend to hoard his insights." Li Fan mused to himself, observing the Dao-comprehension fluctuations emanating from Cheng Dao.

This spirit stone by the mountains and seas was now like a mirror. It reflected the scenery of the mountains and seas that Li Fan originally couldn't perceive, allowing Li Fan to gain insights into the Dao through it.

As the thin line tore open the sky's veil and the mountains and seas revealed their true form, the tremendous commotion from the Dao Annihilation, on the contrary, vanished.

While gaining insights into the Dao, Li Fan also tried to find the figures of the other party and Zi Yi within the mountains and seas.

But given the boundless expanse of the mountains and seas, even a powerful being like Zi Yi falling into it would be no different from an ant. It was hard to find any trace.

"He told us two youngsters to pay close attention..."

"What exactly were we supposed to see?"

"Just these mountains and seas?"

Li Fan had a premonition that it was definitely not just that.

But unfortunately, his power was insufficient, and he couldn't see what Zi Yi was pointing to.

On Cheng Dao's side, he seemed to have discovered something, and the Dao-comprehension fluctuations around him grew increasingly intense.

"Junior brother, focus your will here!"

Over this period, the deep emotional bond Li Fan had painstakingly cultivated with Cheng Dao played a crucial role at this critical moment.

After all, he couldn't bear for his junior brother to miss this opportunity; even while in the midst of comprehending the Dao, Cheng Dao still spoke up to remind him.

Li Fan was overjoyed, and looked in the direction Cheng Dao pointed.

In an instant, his gaze seemed to pass through the thin line in the sky's veil. It leaped out of the mortal realm and entered the mountains and seas.

He could vaguely see Zi Yi's blurry figure standing there.

Before Zi Yi, was a flattened spherical object from which countless thin lines diverged from its front and rear ends, then converged at its center.

A power identical to that of the Path to the Heavens enveloped both Zi Yi and the flattened sphere. The thin lines on the sphere tried to scatter and escape, but Zi Yi firmly sealed them.

One could vaguely discern the flattened sphere's former human shape, but it was now decaying and had decomposed into countless threads.

"The remains of a powerhouse who crossed the mountains and seas, then..."

What Li Fan cared about was not the struggle between these two.

Rather, it was what gradually appeared within the powerful being's remains after they were suppressed and decomposed.

Roughly where the head once was, numerous fleeting images slowly became visible.

To Li Fan's astonishment, the light and shadow hidden within the powerful being's brain were strikingly the images of mountains and seas!

Even though the body had decayed and the soul had dissipated, these images of mountains and seas still remained.

"Perhaps this is the most fundamental reason why the remains could drift in the mountains and seas." Li Fan had a sudden realization.

But immediately after, a scene he glimpsed within this miniature mountain and sea landscape once again profoundly shook Li Fan's mind.

The mountains and seas in the powerful being's brain seemed no different from the mountains and seas Li Fan was currently observing.

But upon closer inspection, one could see a lone sail suspended, traversing the mountains and seas!

Even the boundless, ancient, and vast essence of the mountains and seas only caused the lone sail to slightly fade, but did not completely engulf it.

Li Fan instantly understood: "It wasn't the images of mountains and seas that ensured the remains' immortality. It was this lone sail in the mountains and seas!"

"This is..."

"The path of transcendence of the powerful being during his life?!"

Li Fan stared intently at the lone sail in the mountains and seas, and for some reason, a sense of familiarity unexpectedly arose in his heart.

At the same time, the long-dormant True Return finally transmitted faint, almost imperceptible, mental fluctuations once more. This further confirmed Li Fan's judgment.

"An eternal remnant will?!"

Li Fan's heart suddenly pounded a few times.

More accurately, that lone sail traversing the mountains and seas, compared to the various eternal existences Li Fan had encountered, perhaps shared the same fundamental nature.

But there was no doubt that it was far more powerful than what Li Fan had previously absorbed. Even if it ultimately failed to successfully cross the mountains and seas, the fact that it could protect the remains and allow them to safely exist for tens of millions of years amidst the vast merging tides of the mountains and seas was enough to prove its extraordinary nature.

In comparison, the remnant wills of individuals like Tian Yang and Su Bai seemed somewhat insignificant.

"But in essence, they are all the same."

"It's not just a simple projection of the Great Dao; it's a resonance of one's own will. This is also the most fundamental reliance for being able to cross the mountains and seas..."

"The mountains and seas are boundless, I alone shall be the boat!"

Zi Yi's previous words perfectly reappeared in Li Fan's mind. Like a bolt of lightning piercing through the fog, they illuminated the answer.

"If Tian Yang were fortunate enough to reach the realm of transcendence, then his method of crossing would be to take what is no weaker than a human as his boat. If it were Su Bai, it would be a bitter crossing through the Dao of compassion and true love."

"In short, these cultivators who can condense into eternal remnant wills after death have effectively already taken half a step out onto their own path. They are already seeds of transcendent powerhouses! This path seems unrelated to cultivation realm, only to one's disposition and will."

"However, to achieve transcendence, one's own path and cultivation realm are both indispensable!"

"If one's cultivation is sufficient but one cannot create a 'boat', one can only sigh at the ocean. And even if the 'crossing boat' is formed, if one's own strength is insufficient, rashly entering the mountains and seas will only lead to death."

Li Fan's heart was shaken.

It was indeed a great opportunity.

Through the powerful being's remains, Zi Yi had almost clearly elucidated the path to transcendence for both Cheng Dao and Li Fan.

Perhaps if Li Fan had relied solely on himself, constantly experimenting through his True Return, he could have eventually deciphered this mystery. But Zi Yi's guidance undoubtedly directly saved him the time of several reincarnations!

"The path to crossing the mountains and seas. No wonder even True Return transmits a longing desire every time it encounters one."

"Does True Return absorb these to simulate and deduce methods of countering the mountains and seas?" A bold idea couldn't help but surface in Li Fan's mind.

As if sensing Zi Yi's presence nearby, True Return, after emitting faint fluctuations, quickly fell silent once more. It offered no response to Li Fan's conjecture.

Outside the mortal realm, Zi Yi had already extracted all the lines from around the lone sail of mountains and seas. However, he did not absorb them himself; instead, he threw them into the mountains and seas.

Without the support of the crossing remnant will, these lines were like ice entering water; they couldn't even cause a ripple before being swallowed by the mountains and seas.

And since his appearance, Zi Yi, who had consistently maintained the demeanor of a transcendent powerhouse, facing the lone sail of mountains and seas before him, wore an uncharacteristically solemn expression. Moreover, a trace of heartfelt admiration was mixed within it.

That already somewhat yellowed lone sail, as if sensing Zi Yi's will, emitted bursts of multicolored mystical light in response.

Within the mountains and seas, Zi Yi once again displayed the means of the Great Path to the Heavens. A thin line instantly formed, spanning the mountains and seas, heading towards an unknown far shore.

The lone sail of mountains and seas, enveloped in multicolored light, then sailed away along this path.

Zi Yi watched the lone sail depart, and only when it completely vanished from sight did he retract the Great Path to the Heavens.

Maintaining the existence of the path within the mountains and seas was clearly no small burden for Zi Yi. His luxurious robes fluttered, as if stirred by wind. It was only when the blood-red mole on his brow, like a bright pearl, emitted bursts of red light, that Zi Yi calmed down.

After sending off the lone sail, Zi Yi did not return from the mountains and seas.

Before the thin line to the heavens closed, he sent a distant message: "My task is done. I have extended the path of crossing for you for three days; you must manage yourselves well."

Then, as suddenly as he had appeared, he vanished without a trace.

As for the countless purple true immortal talismans still drifting in the Guangwu Star Sea, he paid no attention to their fate.

Only Li Fan and Cheng Dao, who had not yet recovered their senses, remained standing silently in the Star Sea.

A long time passed.

As the thin line beyond the sky's veil gradually faded and the mountain and sea scenery disappeared with it, Cheng Dao reluctantly withdrew his gaze.

With the disappearance of his Dao-comprehension fluctuations, Li Fan's clever reflection method also became ineffective.

"Senior brother, where do you think that lone sail in the mountains and seas ultimately went..."

"To the other shore?" Li Fan replayed the recent events in his mind and asked in a low voice.

Cheng Dao's expression was solemn, and he remained silent for a long time.

But finally, he nodded: "It should be."

"That lone sail seemed to be the true essence of crossing the mountains and seas, condensed by the remains during its life. I just don't know why that Senior Purple Qi, having gone to such great lengths to guide this lone sail to the other shore, did so."

Li Fan merely sighed: "I never imagined that my casual subjugation of the Dao Sword and Dao Saber would later lead to such a long series of events."

"Junior brother, you needn't blame yourself. This is destiny. If not for your casual act, how could you and I have received such a great fortune?"

The fortune Cheng Dao spoke of not only referred to the path of transcendence pointed out by Zi Yi,

but also the Guangwu Star Sea, which Zi Yi had completely swept clean.

Cheng Dao looked around the massive ruins: "That purple celestial pillar should not be rashly touched. As for the other true immortal purple talismans, it's fine to collect them."

"But we must act quickly. The 'three days' Senior Purple Qi mentioned might not be the same concept as the three days we understand."

It must be said that Cheng Dao's intuition was remarkably accurate.

Only one day passed, and the crossing path connecting the Shuo Star Sea and the Guangwu Star Sea had already faded and disappeared.

Fortunately, Li Fan and the others saw that they had collected almost everything, and without lingering further, they had already returned to the Shuo Star Sea a step ahead of time.

Watching the path disappear and the dark Star Sea where Dao Annihilation reappeared, the two of them felt as if they had just experienced a dream.

"Thanks to Master's protection, otherwise, our fate would probably be no better than that of these talisman true immortals," Cheng Dao said faintly.

Li Fan deeply agreed, nodding inwardly.

Next, the two of them laid out their gains from this expedition, arranging them one by one in the Star Sea.

The fused bodies of the thirteen alien Dao forms, and the talismans transformed from the true immortals of the Guangwu Star Sea, totaled three hundred and seventy-five pieces.

Supreme treasure: one Dao Era Projection.

As for various other scattered immortal treasures, they were not worth mentioning.

"With so many materials in hand, our Star Sea should be safe and sound for a while," Li Fan spoke first.

His gaze, however, remained fixed on the Dao Era Projection Pearl.

Since Zi Yi's departure, this supreme treasure, originally compressed into a single extreme point of light, now surprisingly showed a tendency to expand outwards once more.