Chapter 1667: Understanding the Tao Between Reality and Illusion

Angry Squid

At this point in time, the Immortal Path still existed. After achieving Hedao, one would become an immortal.

Even though it was only the Mountains and Seas in an intertwined state of reality and illusion, what ought to exist still did.

Li Fan, standing at the apex of the Divine Tree, faintly sensed the palpable aura of the Immortal Realm. It seemed as if he could ascend and depart with just a little more effort.

"The restrictions were indeed not as strong as they later became; it was truly possible to become an immortal."

"Unfortunately, as the Immortal Realm and its domains were successively destroyed, the terrified immortals, in search of a way to survive, placed increasingly high hopes on the lower realm's testing grounds."

"This led to all beings in the Lan Ke Dao Field—except those with a background, originally from the Immortal Realm, or who were chosen—having no possibility of successfully ascending after achieving Hedao. Even if their strength and realm were sufficient, all that awaited them was endless heavenly lightning."

"However, then again, the Lan Ke Dao Field, especially the Xuanhuang World, was a true treasure ground that many Nameless Ones vied to enter. One wonders what those who painstakingly sought to ascend and leave would think if they knew this truth."

Li Fan, his feet on the Divine Tree, pondered this, slowly taking a deep breath.

The lives and cultivation of hundreds of thousands of Divine Tree Sect cultivators were once again mobilized, slowly transforming into feedback cultivation within Li Fan's body.

Although he was already at the pinnacle of the mortal realm, his cultivation realm could not advance further.

But the accrued interest still needed to be collected relentlessly, bit by bit.

In the form of a tribulation body phantom, it was stored within Li Fan's Dantian for future contingencies.

"The so-called 'letting nature take its course' implies that only by using the power born within these phantom Mountains and Seas—the power of the Mountains and Seas themselves—to manipulate, will it not arouse suspicion."

"However... with just Hedao cultivation, trying to re-enact everything that Ming Shu had done is a bit strenuous."

"It's time for the next step."

Although the Divine Tree Sect also had Hedao cultivators, not all Hedao cultivators were equal. Li Fan stood with the Divine Tree underfoot for a long time, in broad daylight, yet no one was able to discover him.

Even the Divine Tree itself was completely oblivious.

Li Fan's figure flickered; in an instant, he took a hundred consecutive steps across the apex of the Divine Tree.

It was as if he was forming a profound array.

At the same time, the aura of hundreds of thousands of Divine Tree cultivators below was also drawn, surging towards Li Fan.

Via the Divine Tree's trunk, it spiraled and intertwined.

Like countless intertwined ropes, all converging into Li Fan's hands. "Go!"

With a soft command from Li Fan, these ropes connected individually with the faint phantom steps he had previously left.

"Cultivators residing upon the Divine Tree leverage its power as a foundation."

"The Divine Tree's strength surpasses that of cultivators by tens of millions of times. Thus, it can ignore the burden of cultivators and even uplift them as it grows. However..."

"The weight of these cultivators, channeled through my hand, you might not be able to bear."

Li Fan's gaze deepened slightly; using the hundreds of thousands of cultivators he controlled as a lever, he gently pressed downwards.

"Creak..."

An immense, invisible force instantly bore down on the Divine Tree's body.

From the outside, everything appeared normal; not even the Divine Tree's leaves stirred much.

In reality, however, the Divine Tree, which overshadowed an area of thirty thousand li, along with the mountains and rivers beneath it,

were gently pressed down by Li Fan by one inch.

To damage the benefit of the foundation was not Li Fan's intention. It was merely to test the limits of the power he could currently mobilize.

After achieving his goal this time, he quickly withdrew his hand.

"From what I've observed, one can actually independently enter the Mountains and Seas and instantly become an immortal, with no need for guidance from the upper realm."

"But in this era, no true immortals were born. If what evolved within the phantom deviated to a certain extent from the true Mountains and Seas of the past, the phantom Mountains and Seas would not reappear."

"Using mortal power to accomplish transcendent feats indeed involved many restrictions and was quite troublesome. Perhaps only the Sages could achieve it."

Li Fan's solution was also simple.

Since he couldn't resolve it by creating external forces out of thin air, he would simply utilize the existing immortal power within the Xuanhuang World.

"Regardless of the intermediate process. As long as the beginning remains the same, and the outcome remains the same. And no external forces intervene during this period,"

"then the phantom's revival can be achieved."

What Li Fan needed to do first was to intercept the wisp of immortal power entwined around the Divine Tree. The Divine Tree came from beyond this realm, a method planted by a true immortal from the upper realm into the Xuanhuang World. There was no doubt about this.

However, the methods of this unknown true immortal were extremely subtle.

This connection was almost imperceptible, extremely indistinct.

Even Li Fan, with his Hedao cultivation, could not sense the faint connection between the Divine Tree and the distant Immortal Realm.

But now, by leveraging the power of hundreds of thousands of cultivators, he achieved complete suppression of the Divine Tree.

Upon careful observation, he finally found a clue.

"This wisp of connection is not in the branches or leaves, nor in the trunk. It exists within the roots."

Li Fan's divine sense swept across; within the Divine Tree's roots, which spread across a million li of the earth's veins and were incredibly intricate, he found signs of its connection to the Immortal Realm.

"On the other side was also an unknown true immortal, extremely cautious, fearing that their coveting of the Xuanhuang World would be exposed. The immortal power they could mobilize was extremely limited..."

"As a starting point, however, it was enough."

A gleam flashed in Li Fan's eyes. He gently pressed his hands down. While once again suppressing the Divine Tree, he reordered its root system.

In an instant, billions of rootlets writhed like swimming dragons. They were disassembled and reassembled underground.

Slowly, amidst the surging earth veins, an array woven from the Divine Tree's roots suddenly took shape.

With a thought from Li Fan, a phantom of himself separated, leaping into and taking command of it.

At this point, the Divine Tree's power had been completely intercepted.

The Divine Tree's life and death were now at his command. He didn't even need to rely on the power of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators he controlled to easily suppress it.

The wisp of faint immortal power transmitted from the upper realm, when received by the Divine Tree, had merely caused it to grow into a towering entity.

But Li Fan, having obtained it, could turn decay into wonder,

unleashing thousands of times more power.

"Next were the immortal artifacts left behind by the various sects." Having intercepted the immortal power, "Li Bufan," though only possessing Hedao cultivation, was effectively no different from a true immortal.

Silently, suppressing and subduing all the immortal artifacts was an easy task.

Although the immortal artifacts were still stored within the various sects, in reality, they had secretly changed masters.

Following this, he turned his attention to the Xuanhuang World's great protective array.

At this point in time, the ancient immortal array was perfectly preserved. The power it could mobilize surpassed that of the immortal artifacts retained by the various sects.

After a series of modifications to the ancient immortal array, Li Fan also stole its immortal power and made it his own.

Afterwards, Li Fan meticulously searched the Xuanhuang land.

Everything that could be used was mercilessly taken into his possession.

The Xuanhuang World appeared calm and peaceful, with no apparent changes on the surface.

But internally, it had already been turned upside down, a complete transformation.

Time flowed by, and Li Fan finally reached the first critical node of the Mountains and Seas' memory.

This day was when Ming Shu suddenly appeared in the phantom memory.

Rolling black mist enveloped Li Fan.

He stepped out from the "Li Bufan" he was possessing and arrived at the location where Ming Shu was supposed to appear.

His movements and demeanor were identical to those in the Mountains and Seas' memory.

At first, he seemed somewhat disheveled, then overwhelmed with both shock and joy.

Subsequently, he sat cross-legged and began to lay out his net.

"This position still suits me better," Li Fan thought with delight, sitting above the Xuanhuang World and gazing down at the myriad living beings below.

Although his location was not precisely the center of Xuanhuang,

the power he controlled already densely occupied every corner of the Xuanhuang World. With him sitting there, that place had already become the absolute center of the Xuanhuang World!

With his every move, the Xuanhuang World changed accordingly.

The situation was exactly like Ming Shu's appearance as recorded in the Mountains and Seas' memory.

Suddenly, an invisible net had already been woven!

Outside the illusory realm, within the Other Shore. Under the observation of Li Fan's true self, he found that at this moment, the phantom of the Mountains and Seas seemed to have solidified further.

The scene evolved by the memory phantom perfectly inherited what had occurred in the actual Mountains and Seas.

As if reliving everything that had happened before, the transitions between illusion and reality began to flow.

After the light and shadows froze for a moment, although they flickered again, they were undoubtedly much more stable.

This change naturally did not escape the notice of the Sages on the Other Shore.

"Fellow Daoist Xuan Pin, your progress is quite fast," Fang Cun said in surprise. "I was originally planning to look after your side a bit more."

"Let me observe. Hmm... Fellow Daoist Xuan Pin seems quite adept at using these methods, doesn't he?" Bai Xiao also looked at Li Fan with considerable surprise.

Li Fan's expression remained unchanged: "Every time I traverse against the current from the end of the Mountains and Seas, I suffer heavy damage and have to start over. It's just practice makes perfect."

The Sages nodded slightly but offered no comment.

In any case, Li Fan's actions were indeed beneficial for the restoration of the Mountains and Seas.

"It seems I need to speed things up a bit," Jin Gui let out a hearty laugh and shifted his gaze from Li Fan.

Silence once again fell upon the Other Shore.

Inside the phantom Mountains and Seas, within the Xuanhuang World.

With the establishment of the first critical memory node, the entire world seemed to have become more real.

At the very least, the circulating immortal power controlled by Li Fan was almost indistinguishable from what he had seen in the true Mountains and Seas.

"Truth and falsehood, illusion and reality. How exactly are they defined?"

"When the Mountains and Seas were swallowed by the stars, and then re-manifested by a single thought of Huan Zhen, how exactly was this achieved?" Only by being in between illusion and reality could one better perceive the Dao of Illusion and Reality.

Although he remained seated motionless, Li Fan's comprehension of it grew day by day.

Soon after, another critical node arrived.

In the southeastern corner of the Xuanhuang World, a hidden light shone.

It was a true immortal from the upper realm who had secretly slipped in.

The true immortal believed their movements were secret, but little did they know that their every action and word was under Li Fan's control.

"Non-action and freedom... trapped in calamity, how can one truly achieve non-action and freedom?"

The light and shadows gradually dimmed, and the true immortal revealed their true appearance. He looked towards the Immortal Realm, shaking his head slightly and sighing.

Perhaps because a segment of memory had already solidified, the scene evolved by the Mountains and Seas at this moment was clearer than what Li Fan had previously observed from afar on the Other Shore.

The face that was originally unperceivable could now be seen clearly.

Li Fan had also seen this true immortal before.

It was precisely the Lord of the Hunger Immortal,

Wuwei!

At this moment, he unhurriedly headed towards the location of the Fishing Pond.

He clearly already knew the location of this Mountains and Seas Fishing Ground.

He seemed to quite enjoy the process of escape and was not in a hurry to travel, but instead walked while looking around.

"Long confined to a cage, I have returned to nature..."

He softly chanted, feeling completely at ease.

But slowly, the ease on his face gradually vanished.

Replaced by extreme solemnity.

"This place..."

"Something seems off." He stopped chanting, his expression slightly panicked, no longer caring to look around. He quickly hastened his steps and arrived at the edge of the Fishing Pond.

As if long prepared, he gently cast his fishing rod.

He didn't even sit down, but stood, waiting for himself to take the bait.

Soon, the water in the Fishing Pond trembled slightly. Ripples gradually spread, and an immense force came from beneath the water.

Wuwei was not surprised but rather delighted; without any resistance, he naturally fell into the pond,

and disappeared.

The Mountains and Seas Fishing Ground's surface gradually returned to calm.

On the other side, it was unknown what exactly had happened,

causing the passage on the Xuanhuang World side to gradually close.

Just then, exactly as Ming Shu had done in actual history, Li Fan made his move.

All over the Xuanhuang World, dots of starlight lit up.

This was Li Fan having already pushed the power he could mobilize to its limits.

Behind the Fishing Pond, there was faintly the presence of a Sage.

Although in the phantom Mountains and Seas, a true Sage could not be actualized, the Mountains and Seas would rely on instinctive memory to simulate the Sage's power as much as possible. Li Fan dared not be careless.

And indeed, it was just as he had expected.

When he tried to prevent the Mountains and Seas Fishing Ground passage from closing, an inconceivable pulling force suddenly came from beneath the water's surface.

Li Fan, sitting cross-legged in the void, nearly lost his balance.

Fortunately, he had prepared sufficiently.

The Divine Tree's roots were anchored in the Xuanhuang's earth veins; all the immortal artifacts were intertwined with the fates of the various sects; and the ancient immortal array had merged with Xuanhuang.

At this moment, they all transformed into Li Fan's tendrils,

twining tightly, helping Li Fan stabilize his form. But the pulling force from the Fishing Pond was somewhat beyond Li Fan's imagination.

After being obstructed, it did not decrease but instead increased.

It seemed as if it wouldn't give up until Li Fan, this "big fish," was reeled in!

Because the current Li Fan was already deeply bound to the Xuanhuang World, therefore, in reality, it was actually slowly pulling the entire Xuanhuang World, and even its primordial possibilities, into the Fishing Pond!

Even with extensive preparations, all of Li Fan's arrangements depended on everything within the Xuanhuang World.

This was determined by the limitations of the phantom memory itself.

Yet how could it possibly contend with such immense power?

Irresistibly, it fell inch by inch into the Fishing Pond.

What occurred in the phantom memory began to deviate from the true Mountains and Seas.

The entire world, at that instant, seemed to be covered in a different hue, becoming eerie and strange.

The beings within the world could not perceive it.

The Sages on the Other Shore, however, saw the change occur instantly.

If Li Fan failed here, the Sages' current work on the restoration would all be for naught.

In urgent circumstances, Sage Lianshan made a decisive choice and guided via telepathic message, saying: "Do not contend with it directly. If you yield to its weakness, there might be a turning point!"

Li Fan's heart was enlightened, and in an instant, he withdrew some of his power.

But he did not completely abandon resistance.

Because of this instantaneous reversal in the stalemated force, the Xuanhuang World seemed to have fallen a few inches into the pond.

The pond's surface area remained unchanged, but it appeared much deeper.

What was strange was that as Li Fan loosened his grip, the force from the Mountains and Seas Fishing Ground also diminished.

After a few more tugs and determining that this was not a "big fish," it lost interest.

It then completely gave up the pull.