Chapter 1540: Mountain and Sea's Gaze

"...Empty words, life begetting life. Mind, spirit, body, soul, born chaotic and returning to chaos. What exists, exists eternally. Both lost and yet present. No past, no future; no ancient, no modern. Ordinary yet extraordinary; sacred, yet not brought into being..."

Through the painting before his eyes, the Mystic Sound of the Great Dao that Li Fan heard was even more detailed and clear than what he had obtained from the memories of Tianyi and Chuanfa. The Mystic Sound of the Great Dao transmitted by Xuan Tianwang held infinite marvels. It could influence the past from the present, and alter reality through illusion. In the past, even though Li Fan had learned this Mystic Sound divine ability, he never fully understood how it achieved such feats. It wasn't until Li Fan used the Reverse-Flow Boat to travel backward through the River of Time that he finally understood.

"This Mystic Sound has truly integrated elements of the Reverse-Flow Dao. However, it's not the body itself traveling through the river, but streams of sound. It's as if a shout originating downstream in the River of Time echoes all the way upstream."

"Speaking of which, Xuan Tianwang once commanded the Reverse-Flow Boat. It's no wonder he possessed this ability. If I wished..." Li Fan narrowed his eyes.

His thoughts instantly returned to the moment he had just arrived at this temporal juncture. Because he had arrived from the future, his temporal upper limit in this spacetime was precisely this moment.

"You brat, you're finally awake."

"Quickly, tell us what happened at Yaowang Sect. Confess honestly, and we might spare your life. Otherwise..."

"Stop wasting words with him, just search his soul directly!"

This was precisely when the disciples of Changqing Valley had surrounded Li Fan. Li Fan, in his present state, silently invoked the Mystic Sound divine ability. This faint, ethereal mystic sound pierced through the churning waves of the River of Time, traversing several years. It traveled a short distance upstream, reaching the ears of the Changqing Valley disciples. The expressions of the crowd instantly became somewhat dazed. After carefully observing Li Fan for a moment, they suddenly realized, "So it's you, kid. How did you get here by yourself?"

It was Li Fan who, using the Mystic Sound, distorted and rewrote their perceptions. Thus, this calamity, which would have originally required Li Fan to use his Huan Yizhen method to dissipate, was invisibly averted. The 'past' Li Fan, observing the inexplicable changes in the people before him, seemed to realize something. His gaze traversed the River of Time, meeting the eyes of the 'future,' or rather, 'present' Li Fan.

Buzz, buzz, buzz...

In the ears of the present Li Fan, a faint, immense rumble echoed. It was like a surging river or continuous peals of thunder. It did not originate from the Xuanhuang Realm, but from this segment of spacetime itself. Without that slap to Li Fan's head, these Changqing disciples would not die. Although it was merely the lives of a few insignificant Foundation Establishment cultivators, it would not cause a major redirection of the River of Time. Yet, it still created some ripples. Of course, with Li Fan's current realm of deeply entrenched anchor points, this slight tremor could no longer affect him. Let the River of Time roar, he himself remained unmoving.

After completing this time-traversing Mystic Sound ability, Li Fan was filled with pleasant surprise, savoring the experience for a long time. In the past, he had also successfully influenced and altered the minds of He Zhenghao and others through the Mystic Sound ability. But back then, he had only mastered the ability itself and was completely unaware of the principles behind its efficacy. Now, however, Li Fan felt as if he had witnessed firsthand the entire process of the Mystic Sound flowing backward and traversing time. He even made instantaneous contact with his past self. Although this contact lasted only a brief moment, it was once again obscured by the River of Time. Yet, Li Fan still sensed a subtle shift within himself.

Gazing across the River of Time, his vision seemed to extend slightly further. Not just the past, but also the future. Relative to an established past, the future is constantly in flux, holding a multitude of possibilities. What Li Fan saw was not a singular future, rather, it was a collection of infinite possibilities. After just a few more moments of observation, he began to feel dizzy and disoriented. He had to withdraw from this profound state, yet it could not quell the pleasant surprise in his heart.

"It seems that those who grasp the Reverse-Flow Dao, while possessing the ability to reverse any point in time they inhabit, must also contend with the backlash from the River of Time. As the saying goes, 'kill a thousand enemies, lose eight hundred of your own.' Of course, if one is extremely stable within the River of Time, one can disregard this oscillating backlash."

"As for why I previously cast the Mystic Sound ability without suffering any backlash: firstly, I was still under the aegis of Huan Zhen at that time. Naturally, I could disregard such perturbations. Secondly..."

"At that time, I had not yet stepped out of the River of Time. I was still considered a part of it. Even if its course was altered, the impact on me would have been minimal. But once one steps beyond the River of Time, the significance immediately changes. No longer belonging to the river, one must face the storms alone." Li Fan recalled the situation at that time, feeling a sudden epiphany.

"If before, I was merely a drop of water that had escaped the River of Time, then now, I can barely consider myself to have transformed from a water droplet into a segment of the river." Li Fan wore a hint of satisfaction. "It's just too short. However, as I flow downstream alongside the River of Time, it will naturally grow longer and longer. But correspondingly, the required self-control will become increasingly stringent..."

Li Fan sensed that as time passed, the imprint he left within the River of Time was gradually expanding. "As long as I occasionally utilize this Mystic Sound ability to train my capacity to connect my past and future, I can sustain this current state."

"The longer I live, the stronger I become."

"A thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years."

If Shouqiu's path to immortality was about achieving longevity through strength, then this Reverse-Flow Dao feels a bit like gaining strength through longevity. "Ordinary immortality certainly cannot achieve this level of gaining increasing power the longer one lives. But refining one's body into a single thread and flowing within the River of Time is an entirely different matter."

Li Fan looked beyond the sky, as if he caught a glimpse of the River of Time he was immersed in. Various insights surged into his heart like waves. The surrounding aura fluctuated unpredictably. When Li Fan regained his clarity, he felt that his adaptability to the River of Time had advanced another step. This time, it was not through external means like spacetime anchor points. Instead, Li Fan himself had become more intrinsically adapted to existing within the River of Time. Just like a fish in water, or a bird in the sky. After venturing into previously inaccessible forbidden zones, he had gone a step further, integrating himself within them.

"Now, even if all anchor points were lost and the Reverse-Flow Boat destroyed, I could still barely manage to struggle alone in the River of Time for a period, without being instantly annihilated by its turbulence."

This was undoubtedly a huge source of reassurance for Li Fan. The current Li Fan had a very low trust in all 'external aids.' He couldn't be blamed for his suspicion. After all, if even Huan Zhen could fail, what could guarantee eternal utility? He could only rely on himself, his pure self.

Li Fan's thoughts reverted to this Mystic Sound ability. He recalled what he had just witnessed within the Mountain and Sea. "The sound's origin seems to be from an even more distant past? However, it should still be within our current spacetime, not beyond the Eternal Void Realm."

"Could it be that Xuan Tianwang is also attempting to traverse the Void Realm to return to the past and save the era? Does he already possess such strength? Furthermore, rather than merely a message he wished to convey, this Mystic Sound feels more like a marker left behind to guide later comers. Could it be..."

A thought instantly surged into Li Fan's mind: "Has he already perished? Otherwise, conventionally speaking, he wouldn't persistently and steadily cross the River of Time to send out the Mystic Sound for communication."

Li Fan pondered for a long time, eventually shaking his head slightly and choosing to block out the Mystic Sound. Even if this conjecture were true, he would absolutely not go out of curiosity. If Xuan Tianwang, with his immense power, was buried there, then surely Li Fan wouldn't fare much better. Especially now, without Huan Zhen's protection, he would certainly not risk himself.

"Perhaps in the future, when I am strong enough to stroll leisurely amidst the Mountain and Sea, I will go and investigate," Li Fan thought to himself. Slowly, he put away the scroll. Li Fan did not simply store it away. Instead, he suppressed it within the root space of the Xuanhuang Heaven and Earth.

"The second matter has also been concluded."

"Next..."

"Black Tianyi, Xie Subai."

When the entities he needed to confront shifted from colossal beings like the Mountain and Sea to mere transcendent powerhouses, everything seemed so much more manageable. At the very least, the Mountain and Sea prevented the current Li Fan from even conceiving of resistance or strategic maneuvering; he only thought of fleeing in panic. Black Tianyi and Xie Subai, however, at least allowed him to ponder countermeasures. These two transcendent powerhouses were nothing short of ticking time bombs for the entire Utmost Dark Star Sea. As long as Su Bai and Tianyi stepped beyond the High Wall, the bomb would instantly detonate. Li Fan, who regarded Xuanhuang as the foundation of his anchor points, certainly had to thoroughly eliminate this risk early on.

Through his previous search of Xuanhuang Celestial Venerate's memories, Li Fan roughly identified the current temporal node. The Tianfa Realm had not yet been completely destroyed; it was in a period of recuperation after a major war.

"It's unknown whether Tianyi has already initiated the Heavenly Soul Reincarnation art. As for Subai, he hasn't been born yet. But it won't be long."

Li Fan pondered for a long time and decided to first meet the Chuanfa of the current temporal node: Xuanyuan Tuo, a descendant of Xuan Tianwang.

The Myriad Immortal Alliance, as a fresh force, participated in the Taiyuan Realm War. The relationship between New Law cultivators and the Ten Immortal Dao Sects was much more amicable compared to the original timeline. The powerful combat prowess displayed by New Law cultivators during desperate battles had, in particular, directly enticed many Ancient Law cultivators to switch their cultivation methods. The Ten Sects, at this moment, were primarily focused on expanding into the Taiyuan Realm and the surrounding starfields. They had no leisure to concern themselves with the Myriad Immortal Alliance. Thus, the Myriad Immortal Alliance experienced increasingly wild growth.