Chapter 1678: Three Saints Compete in Magic

Angry Squid

Saint Qièjī, who had initially decided to stay away from Li Fan and avoid any further involvement, couldn't help but look again upon witnessing Li Fan extracting accumulated true spirits in the Void Realm.

"Now I see why the Three Saints entrusted such a heavy burden to you. So you possess such an extraordinary ability."

After observing carefully for a moment and confirming he hadn't mistaken what he saw, Qièjī suddenly understood.

At the same time, his expression as he looked at Li Fan became somewhat subtle.

"He's not entirely useless after all," Qièjī mused inwardly.

Attaining the Saint realm does not mean one cannot be injured or perish. In the past, Qièjī had been wounded several times during operations in the Mountains and Seas Reclamation. Once, his own true spirit was even harmed.

Ordinary methods were ineffective for healing such injuries. Recovery could only be achieved through the gradual accumulation of power over long years, or with the aid of the Great Medicine of Saintly Fortune, refined by Saint Emperor Tàiwēi.

"But if there were an external force capable of replenishing true spirits at any time..." Saint Qièjī's heart was stirred, as if he had discovered a living, inexhaustible panacea.

"However..." Qièjī did not let the apparent benefits cloud his judgment.

"This brat is deliberately luring me, so he must have something to rely on. Moreover, my observation shows that our interwoven destinies remain unchanged: his path leads to vitality, while mine leads to a dead end."

After a moment of thought, Qièjī subtly glanced at Suìjūn, who was hidden nearby, and a plan formed in his mind.

"If the Three Saints were here, they would never let you die in the Void Realm like this. What a pity..." Qièjī chuckled softly, then vanished instantly.

He seemed to have truly disappeared within the Void Realm.

Li Fan, meanwhile, paid no heed, focusing instead on absorbing true spirits and recovering from his injuries.

Only the Dao Annihilation Waves subtly surged, like a tiger eyeing its prey, seemingly ready to engulf Li Fan at any moment.

As he absorbed more and more true spirits, Li Fan's complexion gradually became rosy. His aura recovered its previous strength, nearing its peak condition.

Just then...

An immense force suddenly descended upon Li Fan.

It was not merely physical weight, but the tangible essence of vast eons, surging forth with a roar!

Saints are not immortal; they simply live long enough.

However, under such terrifying time acceleration, Li Fan, the Zhōuhuí Saint, instantly showed signs of aging.

Even though he desperately activated the Great Dao of Zhōuhuí, using endless reincarnation to dilute the vast stretch of time assailing him, the instantaneous flow rate of countless eons seemed capable of annihilating even reincarnation itself.

At a disadvantage in the fight, Li Fan's appearance inevitably grew older.

"Saint Suìjūn? He came too?"

Suìjūn's appearance was genuinely unexpected for Li Fan.

Although he appeared dishevelled on the surface, he was not yet at his wits' end. More importantly, Li Fan was certain that Qièjī hadn't gone far, but was hiding in the shadows, hoping to reap the benefits of their struggle.

"He can clearly discern the aura of destiny; this person is truly difficult to scheme against."

"Perhaps only by truly falling into a desperate situation and using myself as bait can I lure him in."

A flash of realization crossed Li Fan's mind.

He no longer diverted any attention to his 'Reversion' ability, as if he had forgotten his capacity to restart at any moment.

Instead, he resolutely engaged in combat with the suddenly attacking Suìjūn.

When Li Fan arrived in the Mountains and Seas, he hadn't seen Suìjūn.

However, Li Fan had occasionally heard the other Saints mention his deeds.

He gathered all time, returning it to himself, and then "lent" it to all beings in the Mountains and Seas, naming it "Jūn."

Although countless possibilities and endless beings in the Mountains and Seas seemed to gain an inexhaustible lifespan for no reason,

this was not their wish but was imposed upon them.

In a remaining life with no end in sight, beings had to toil diligently for an entire lifetime to repay their time debt.

Even if they offered no assistance to Suìjūn on the path of cultivation, their thoughts, words, and actions—indeed, they themselves—were inherently valuable.

Suìjūn, who achieved enlightenment through the beings of the Mountains and Seas, was undoubtedly formidable in strength.

The pressure Li Fan felt at that moment was a clear testament to this.

As if he had, in a trance, experienced the complete life cycles of the Mountains and Seas several times over, a wisp of paleness slowly crept onto Li Fan's hair.

Having not tasted the sensation of aging for a long time, Li Fan was now helplessly pressed by endless time, gradually exhibiting signs of extreme decrepitude!

His situation consequently worsened. The older he became, the weaker his strength, and the more negligible the protective effect of endless temporal reincarnation.

Li Fan's body became completely hunched, his posture curled.

His hair turned entirely snow-white, then withered and fell out.

His flesh and skin all withered, sagging over his fragile, aging bones.

In no time, Li Fan transformed from a youthful figure into an extremely aged, dying individual!

Suìjūn, meanwhile, seemed to have come solely to kill Li Fan, showing no intention of mercy even now.

The torrent of countless eons of time still roared and surged, determined to crush Li Fan.

Far away, Qièjī, hidden to the side and quietly observing the battle, hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose not to intervene.

He was convinced that Li Fan still had a trump card and would certainly not perish here.

"It appears to be a dead end, but in reality, there's always a clear path to vitality. Conversely, Suìjūn, though he has suppressed Li Fan from start to finish, yet..."

"It bodes ill."

What transpired next in the Void Realm confirmed Qièjī's conjecture.

It was like a sudden turn for the better after facing a dead end.

Li Fan, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, seemingly on the verge of dying from old age, suddenly opened his muddled eyes.

His mouth slightly agape, he said something inaudible.

The next moment...

Like a fleeting dream or a fragile bubble, everything shattered.

All signs of decrepitude and impending death vanished.

For no apparent reason, Li Fan, who had been on the verge of death, reverted to his original appearance, a look of calm indifference on his face, as if Suìjūn's assault of countless eons had been utterly useless!

"What?"

Suìjūn's astonishment was palpable.

The surging torrent of time also paused. But Saint Suìjūn was not one to give up easily; he only halted for a brief moment.

The next moment, endless time once again surged over Li Fan.

From middle age to old age, from old age to decrepitude.

Li Fan experienced this process again.

Only...

It was the same as before. Just as Li Fan was on the verge of decaying, a flash of light appeared, and his state returned to the starting point of the battle, as if nothing had happened.

This rendered all of Suìjūn's efforts utterly fruitless.

This time, the pause in the time suppression lasted longer.

But Suìjūn still did not give up.

Time whistled past, circulating over Li Fan's body at an even faster pace.

In just a few breaths, Li Fan became extremely old.

Yet, the story repeated itself.

A flash of light, and Li Fan was restored to his original state!

Suìjūn seemed utterly enraged, continuously intensifying the destructive power of time.

The flow rate of time reached a certain limit, even attracting the attention of the Void Realm's waves.

It was as if something in the depths of darkness was about to open its eyes.

With every breath, Li Fan repeatedly transformed between youthful and aged states dozens of times.

But ultimately, he always returned to his original appearance.

Throughout this intense struggle, Li Fan remained composed and calm.

In contrast, Suìjūn gradually began to panic.

He prided himself on his extensive experience, yet he had never witnessed anything so bizarre. Even when he fought against the Three Saints, who crushed him with their absolute superiority, they hadn't been able to ignore the flow of time as Li Fan did. They had genuinely experienced a portion of time's passage.

It was simply that the Three Saints were too powerful and quickly suppressed him. The time they lost was practically negligible to them.

"How exactly is this person able to disregard my divine abilities?"

Even a Saint couldn't help but feel both fear and curiosity towards the unknown.

And while his mind was agitated, the situation on the field quietly changed.

In a Saint's duel, one force inevitably overwhelms the other.

When the power of time's erosion gradually began to show signs of fatigue,

it was Li Fan's moment to counterattack.

Seizing a slight flaw revealed by Suìjūn, Li Fan broke free from the torrent of time that had been suppressing him.

His eyes flashing with fierce light, he imposed the cycles of decay he had endured repeatedly onto Suìjūn!

Previously, endless reincarnation couldn't withstand the impact of time, but now, cycles of reincarnation formed shackles.

They trapped the vast flow of time within them.

Even though Suìjūn possessed the power to control the flow of time, he could not escape the reincarnation cage Li Fan had meticulously woven for him.

And through one aging cycle after another, Suìjūn was far less calm than Li Fan had appeared.

Each near-fatal aging experience was a severe blow to him.

Because he couldn't predict when death would truly arrive.

Both physically and psychologically, he suffered endless torment.

After a prolonged struggle, Suìjūn finally lost his composure.

Fear gradually crept onto his face, and he no longer thought of fighting Li Fan.

Instead, he vainly attempted to escape from this endless reincarnation cage.

Even though Li Fan had gained the absolute advantage, it must be said that killing a Saint was by no means easy.

As Suìjūn furiously counterattacked, the reincarnation cage woven by Li Fan was subjected to continuous, violent impacts, appearing on the verge of collapsing.

Li Fan, however, wore a resolute expression, his eyes flashing fiercely: "I will kill you!"

Recklessly, he exhausted his own essence to reinforce the reincarnation cage.

His recently healed injuries now worsened again due to excessive exertion.

His body disintegrated, and his true spirit once again dispersed outwards.

Yet, Li Fan paid no heed, continuing to weave reincarnation while simultaneously absorbing true spirits from the surrounding Void Realm.

He was, in fact, determined to forcibly kill Saint Suìjūn right there!

The situation for both sides had now transformed from a mere duel into a fight to the death.

Suìjūn did not beg for mercy; even the fear on his face had vanished.

In the ceaseless aging cycles, he silently accumulated power, attempting to make a final desperate stand.

Li Fan sensed the impending storm, and his expression also grew increasingly serious.

"A struggle of the Great Dao should be just like this!" Saint Qièjī, observing from afar, was exceptionally excited.

The changing aura of destiny of the two Saints battling in the arena utterly captivated him.

Even at this moment, it was still uncertain which of the two, Li Fan or Suìjūn, would emerge as the Saint from this battle.

"Originally, Suìjūn was in a death trap. But as the saying goes, 'placed in a death trap, then find life.' Now, with no escape, Suìjūn has forgotten everything and is making a desperate, final stand, which paradoxically makes Zhōuhuí's chances of survival seem dim. Marvelous, truly marvelous!"

As Qièjī observed the battle, he didn't forget to activate his divine ability, stealing luck and fortune from the two Saints.

"May all possibilities of vitality converge upon me."

"You can both just die!"

Qièjī finally saw the wisp of vitality that had always lingered around Li Fan like a protective charm gradually dimming.

And the dead-end future that corresponded to himself had already disappeared.

Secretly delighted, Qièjī still chose not to intervene, opting instead to await the outcome of the death match. Li Fan, too, had not anticipated that Suìjūn's final counterattack would be so ferocious.

His own Great Dao foundation crumbling inch by inch, Suìjūn's form seemed to melt into the torrent of countless eons of time. He launched his final assault against the reincarnation cage.

Li Fan could no longer see any trace of Suìjūn.

But he knew that if even a single strand of this torrent of time were to escape, all his previous efforts would be in vain.

At that moment, Li Fan had forgotten all his calculations.

Only one thought remained in his mind.

He was determined to kill Suìjūn here!

It was unrelated to grudges or emotions.

It was simply a life-and-death struggle at a crucial point in the duel!

To ensure the reincarnation cage could withstand this final impact, Li Fan split countless thoughts, all pouring them into every cycle of reincarnation.

Thus, beside Suìjūn's aging form in every cycle, there was Li Fan's figure, silently gazing.

He was omnipresent and pushed himself to the utmost limit.

Despite Suìjūn's thundering torrents impacting the cage countless times, the prison Li Fan had constructed remained unbreakable.

It did not yield an inch.

The momentum of the counterattack peaked and then declined.

Once the greatest storm had passed, Suìjūn's dying blows became increasingly weaker.

The lingering ripples, in the end, could no longer cause any more trouble.

Within countless cycles of reincarnation, Li Fan's form appeared before Suìjūn, whom he had held captive.

Expressionless, he struck down with a palm.

In an instant, countless illusory figures of Suìjūn shattered simultaneously.

And in reality, it was the fall of a Saint! If a Saint's demise were to occur in the Mountains and Seas, it would surely cause an earth-shattering transformation of the landscape.

But this was the Void Realm!

Even if the more powerful Three Saints were to perish here, they wouldn't cause much commotion.

Suìjūn died silently, without a single ripple or sound.

Not even the dispersing fluctuations of his Great Dao appeared.

As for Li Fan, the victor, his situation was not much better.

Fighting with all his might had indeed overdrawn his body.

Blood ceaselessly flowed from the corner of his mouth, and the true spirits he had forcibly absorbed uncontrollably returned to the Void Realm.

His face showed no excitement from winning a great battle or slaying a Saint; instead, it was etched with worry, and he disregarded his own injuries.

He hurriedly sought to escape from the place.

Even as the Void Realm waves grew increasingly turbulent, he couldn't care less.

In the distance, Qièjī, who had been waiting for a long time, was still surveying the scene.

"His true spirit is shattered to this extent; even with his ability to absorb accumulated true spirits, this is a certain death situation."

"Now that I'm the fisherman, it's absolutely foolproof!"

Qièjī finally put his mind at ease.

He was already calculating how he would use Li Fan.

"I'll erase his consciousness and refine him into a magical artifact capable of absorbing true spirits at any time."

"With this artifact, this dangerous Void Realm will instead become an inexhaustible treasure trove for me! Even the Three Saints will no longer be able to trap me!"

"I might even have a chance to glimpse the very origin of the Mountains and Seas..."

Lost in reverie, Qièjī had already caught up with Li Fan.

After all, Li Fan was severely wounded, and even with his best efforts to escape, he couldn't match Qièjī's speed.

"I wonder what method he used to repeatedly revert to his normal state from Suìjūn's attacks. But it doesn't matter; once I refine him into an artifact, everything will be mine to command."

Without another word, Qièjī gently placed his hands on Li Fan's head.

At that very instant, Li Fan, who had been unable to move, suddenly opened his eyes again.

In that instant, in Qièjī's eyes, the interwoven destinies and auras of the two of them underwent a monumental upheaval!