Chapter 1595: Really Warned

Direct suicide was certainly not an option.

This simulation was unusual; all signs indicated that dying within it would mean the true annihilation of body and spirit.

Although he couldn't immediately find a way out, Li Fan was no longer desperate or anxious. "Since it's a simulation, it means things haven't reached an irreversible point. As long as I return to reality, Still True will reappear, and all difficulties will be resolved."

At this moment, having lost Still True, Li Fan yearned more than ever to regain this secret treasure capable of defying fate.

This upheaval also subtly transformed some of Li Fan's thoughts and perceptions.

"As the saying goes, 'You can't discuss ice with a summer insect.' People cannot imagine what lies beyond their own cognition. Even though I had made the most reasonable estimations of the Saints of the Other Shore's strength, when I truly stood before them, I had no power to resist whatsoever."

Recalling his previous encounter within the Nine Saints' Halo, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a chill of fear, even knowing he was in a simulation. "If there wasn't this trial of facing the Saints, perhaps I could still reach the Other Shore. But now, with the Saints present, all newcomers to the Other Shore must pass their scrutiny..."

"Without finding a way to deal with the Saints, going to the Other Shore would be a definite death sentence."

If anyone had warned Li Fan like this before he arrived at the Other Shore, he would have scoffed. Even with Still True's warning, Li Fan would have, at most, taken it very seriously. He would have believed that after "sufficient" preparation, he would still embark on the journey to the Other Shore, just like the Li Fan in this simulation. After all, before facing the Saints this time, Li Fan, who had scattered his true spirit seeds across the Mountains and Seas, had felt his preparations were extremely thorough.

"The gap between a Saint and a cultivator in the Transcendent Realm is incredibly vast. Especially on the Other Shore, where the Nine Saints are gathered."

"In the past, as a mortal, I could still struggle against a True Immortal and activate Still True at critical moments to turn the tide."

"But now, before the Nine Saints, there's no room for resistance."

Li Fan repeatedly replayed the moment his body and soul were fragmented into countless pieces while meeting the Saints. He went over it again and again, unable to find any way to break free.

"The Saints' power exceeds the scope of my current understanding."

"The figures of the Nine Saints hung high above the Mountains and Seas, like the mysterious star from the legends of the Mountains and Seas. If I'm not mistaken, the so-called Saints' power might have reached a level on par with the Mountains and Seas themselves. The Nine Saints, working together, could, to some extent, transcend the Mountains and Seas. And this is merely my inference from their performance that day. It's almost impossible to gauge the true extent of the Nine Saints' power."

"And I, I need to rely on the Mysterious Yellow Immortal Boat just to cross the Mountains and Seas..." Li Fan shook his head slightly.

He had completely clarified the immense disparity between himself and the Saints of the Other Shore.

"In the face of such a disparity, all conspiracies, threats, divine abilities, and spells... are merely jokes. Even Still True is useless."

Suddenly, Li Fan seemed to understand the reason for this simulation's abnormality.

"Could it be Still True's warning?"

"At the end of the last life, due to a moment of carelessness, I triggered the Tribulation of Three Dao Fusions. Although I narrowly survived, Still True was likely injured because of me."

"Still True clearly understands my temperament and can even deduce what I will experience when I eventually go to the Other Shore. Before the power level of the Saints of the Other Shore, once danger strikes, It can no longer save me. Even Itself might be subdued by the Saints. So, It used this method to make me fully understand..."

As he realized this, an unnamable feeling welled up within Li Fan.

Still True, the seemingly omnipotent exotic treasure that had accompanied his growth, could finally no longer protect him. From now on, he would have to find a way to overcome the trial of facing the Saints himself.

"Or... hide within the Mountains and Seas forever, never entering the Other Shore."

This thought was extinguished by Li Fan the moment it arose. To have Still True in hand, yet be a perpetual coward, was certainly not Li Fan's choice.

"I could rise step by step from the Immortal-Forbidden Land of Da Xuan to where I am now. So, I might not be unable to find a way to contend with the Saints!"

Slowly, the confidence crushed by the Nine Saints of the Other Shore began to rebuild within Li Fan.

"The Other Shore is a creation of the Saints. Since I currently can't find a way to exit this simulation, I might as well thoroughly investigate the Other Shore. Perhaps I can glean some clues from this creation of the Saints."

Li Fan composed himself and, after a century on the Other Shore, began to explore it for the first time.

The area he was currently in was called the Myriad Forms Heavens. It was where many Transcendent cultivators resided on the Other Shore. Within the Myriad Forms Heavens, a single thought could manifest a world from one's mind. And it required no personal expenditure; it relied entirely on the Myriad Forms Heavens' own power of evolution. The Myriad Forms Heavens seemed endless, with worlds created by Transcendent cultivators of the Other Shore scattered sparsely like stars within it.

However, Li Fan noticed that only a few of these star-worlds actually had Transcendent cultivators overseeing them.

"The Myriad Forms Heavens is largely empty. Most Transcendent beings are either in the Mountains and Seas, pursuing the path to sainthood, or in other areas of the Other Shore."

After observing for a while, Li Fan reached this conclusion.

Not choosing to expend energy manifesting his own residing world, Li Fan, with a thought, summoned the Guiding Rainbow Light, preparing to observe other areas of the Other Shore.

Within the Myriad Forms Heavens, a streak of purple energy appeared out of nowhere, transforming into a guiding bridge. It moved silently, coming and going without a sound. If Li Fan hadn't been constantly vigilant, he would have barely noticed its movements.

"Perhaps that day, when I saw the Guiding Rainbow Light, I should have realized the Saints' power."

Li Fan sighed inwardly. If they could use so-called Mountain-Sea Adepts to construct transportation routes, how could the true creators of the Other Shore be weak?

Next, he intended to investigate the Myriad Ages Heavenly Steps.

Before leaving, Li Fan suddenly had a thought and first sought out Xiao Wangsheng. Though a century had passed, Xiao Wangsheng was still exactly as he had been when they left the Nine Saints' Halo. It seemed the blow he suffered was even greater than Li Fan losing Still True, and he hadn't yet emerged from his despondency.

"Brother Xiao, there's no hurdle you can't overcome. Why let it get to you so much!" Li Fan patiently advised.

Li Fan was, after all, Xiao Wangsheng's savior, and the two had conversed at length for a very long time.

After a long silence, Xiao Wangsheng finally spoke with a bitter tone: "The Dynasty's Mountain-Sea Sacrificers once believed that by leveraging the Star's Gaze, we could transcend the Mountains and Seas. However, that day, when I truly looked into the Star's eyes through the Saints' power..."

"I realized it was a grave mistake!"

An uncontrollable trace of terror appeared on Xiao Wangsheng's face. He shared his experience within the Nine Saints' Halo that day with Li Fan.

In a daze, it seemed he was back in that deep, dark space. Outside the halo, nine figures stood. The pain of Still True being extracted seemed to strike again. Li Fan instinctively shivered. Fortunately, it was just his stress response. This time, he was an observer, watching the scene.

The Nine Saints of the Other Shore were already suspended high above the Mountains and Seas. But as the Nine Saints pointed in unison, Xiao Wangsheng in the halo seemed to be pulled, slowly lifting his head. Thus, he could see even higher. A lone star hung high, like the eye of a god, indifferent to all beings in the Mountains and Seas! As his gaze directly met the Star, Xiao Wangsheng felt as if he was once again witnessing the annihilation of his former dynasty, even the collapse of the Mountains and Seas!

Even under the Saints' protection, Xiao Wangsheng's recently reconstructed body began to slowly decay. Small holes appeared on his body without warning, as if corroded by Dao Annihilation. Xiao Wangsheng was terrified, struggling for help like a drowning man. He wanted to avert his gaze from the Star, but he found his eyes seemed glued, utterly unable to move. His body's exterior turned a strange purplish-black. More and more Dao Annihilation holes appeared on Xiao Wangsheng's body. He was about to completely vanish within the Mountains and Seas.

Just then, the Nine Saints' Halo burst forth with dazzling light, filling Xiao Wangsheng's vision and isolating the lone star hanging overhead. Only then could Xiao Wangsheng finally avert his gaze. Even though gazing at the Star was something he had yearned for intensely.

"The endless changes of the Mountains and Seas are but a fleeting moment in the Star's eye."

"For us, with our limited perception of time, attempting to probe the Star's mysteries is no different from suicide."

With the Saints' calm words, Xiao Wangsheng's injuries were fully healed. The Nine Saints' figures dimmed, but he could not emerge from the aftermath of gazing at the Star. He had been lost for a century, and visibly, he would continue to sink further.

"Wrong, my friend, our ideas, all of them, were wrong."

"A mayfly trying to shake a great tree, ridiculously overestimating itself!"

"Ridiculously overestimating oneself!"

Xiao Wangsheng rejected Li Fan's suggestion to explore the Other Shore together. He merely resumed his role as a Mountain-Sea Sacrificer in the dynasty world he had created with a thought in the Myriad Forms Heavens. Li Fan didn't insist, quietly leaving Xiao Wangsheng, who was immersed in his "role-playing."

"When the true acts as false, the false also becomes true."

"Truth and falsehood, who can distinguish them?"

With this thought, Li Fan stepped onto the Guiding Rainbow Bridge and headed towards the Myriad Ages Heavenly Steps.

This journey was slightly different from the previous one. As he traveled, fragments of light and shadow containing scenes of Mountains and Seas occasionally burst forth from the long purple bridge, like splashes of waves stirred up by something speeding across the water. Li Fan casually captured a few fragments, feeling as if he were rapidly traversing the Mountains and Seas.

"With these fragments, one can comprehend the Path of Transcendence. For cultivators who haven't yet transcended, these are undoubtedly priceless treasures. But for cultivators who have already transcended and consolidated their own Dao, their value is not great."

"Yet, they are perfectly suited for me."

Li Fan wasn't particularly surprised, merely comprehending as he went. After all, if he couldn't find a way to leave this simulation, he would likely be trapped on the Other Shore for the rest of his life. He would have ample time to slowly comprehend. And if he could leave successfully, he could always return if he wished to comprehend the Path of Transcendence again.

The Guiding Rainbow Light continuously sped onward, stirring up ripples of Mountains and Seas, oblivious to the passage of time. One day, as the solidified purple energy beneath his feet suddenly dissipated, Li Fan finally reached his destination.

An incredibly familiar long river descended from the Nine Heavens. It surged and roared, endlessly.

"This is..."

"The River of Time?"

Having once struggled against its currents, Li Fan recognized the true nature of the river before him almost instantly.

"It's not an illusion. Rather, the genuinely existing River of Time has been materialized and solidified here by an unfathomable power."

"Passing through this area of light and shadow will allow one to truly enter it."

Li Fan felt a faint sense of awe. What caught his eye even more were the ancient, simple bluestone slabs suspended above the river! Like steps, spanning ancient and modern times! Li Fan instantly understood the significance of the Myriad Ages Heavenly Steps.

"On the Other Shore, not all Transcendent cultivators comprehend the Path of Reversal. If they wish to travel to different time points in the Mountains and Seas, they need the aid of these Myriad Ages Heavenly Steps."

Li Fan scanned the vast River of Time, trying to find the entity that forged these Heavenly Steps.

"Immortal Hunger once said that two Transcendent cultivators who failed the Saints' trial were imprisoned here."

"My plan to burn mountains and boil seas was considered forgivable by the Saints. I wonder what heaven-and-earth-angering deeds these two committed."

Li Fan truly wanted to witness and learn from them. However, what appeared to be just a segment of the river stretching from sky to earth actually contained infinite detailed manifestations in every section when closely examined. Like the endless Mountains and Seas, it was impossible to survey completely in a short time.

Apart from escaping the simulation, Li Fan had no other goals now. So, he simply stood by the River of Time, patiently observing.

Back then, after Li Fan absorbed the power of the Heavenly Devil within the Dao Transmission body, he had felt that he had made further progress on the Great Dao of Reversal. However, he had never been able to re-enter the River of Time to verify it. Now, standing by the river, bathed in the fragments of time occasionally spewing forth from it, he confirmed his judgment.

"It seems the Heavenly Devils indeed have a profound connection with the River of Time. Perhaps they are all 'River Adepts'."

An "Adept" refers to an existence that can fully adapt to its environment. The Guiding Rainbow Light was constructed by Mountain-Sea Adepts; it could rapidly traverse the Mountains and Seas. And the ease Li Fan felt when facing the River of Time after absorbing the Heavenly Devil's power was proof that Heavenly Devils were River Adepts.

"Perhaps I haven't reached the point where I can freely traverse it at will, but it's much stronger than ordinary reversal paths."

"Even if I haven't fully comprehended the Path of Reversal, I can still travel freely within it without the aid of these Myriad Ages Heavenly Steps."

As he thought this, a sudden thunderous rumble came from the illusory form of the River of Time. Li Fan looked intently and saw that one of the bluestone slabs, which had been suspended outside the river, had inexplicably fallen into it. It splashed countless fragments of time. This also caused the myriad intricate currents beneath the river to change their course. Li Fan keenly noticed that accompanying the falling bluestone slab was a figure plunging into the river.

"So the Myriad Ages Heavenly Steps are actually consumables. They are depleted after Transcendent cultivators use them to cross," Li Fan mused.