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Chapter 1696: Bearing the Three Saints' Spirit

It seemed to offer an answer, but it appeared difficult for anyone else to achieve, apart from themselves.

Not to mention the other Sages of Mountains and Seas. Even among the Three Sages—Lianshan, Guihai, and Taiyi—and the Turtle Shell, Ancestral Bone, and Lifeline, there was a corresponding relationship where one item could subdue another.

In his previous life, Li Fan had personally witnessed the scene: under the sudden attack of the Void Realm, the Lifeline restrained Lianshan, the Turtle Shell suppressed Guihai, and the Ancestral Bone captured Taiyi.

But an answer had been given, after all.

Li Fan nodded slightly. "I will engrave the guidance of the Three Sages in my heart and never forget it."

"Since the Three Sages possess this Innate Ferocity, the Void Realm's avatars will surely possess it too. Though they lack the profound mystery of the true forms, still..."

"The Void Realm might evolve them multiple times over with unfathomable power. We must guard against this."

Li Fan slowly revealed why he had insisted on clarifying the true nature of the Innate Ferocity held by the Three Sages.

"Evolving multiple times..." Taiyi, hearing Li Fan's words, showed a pensive expression.

In his pupils, infinite light and shadows seemed to surge, rapidly deducing something.

"Normally, a Void Realm avatar is a complete replica corresponding to its true form. Cultivation, divine abilities, and magical artifacts are all exactly the same, not a jot more, not a jot less."

"Unless..."

"The Void Realm has deployed another chess piece," Guihai suddenly interjected.

After a moment of silence, Sage Lianshan finally said in a low voice, "In the standoff between the Void Realm and Mountains and Seas, every ounce of power is used with extreme precision. They strive not to waste a single jot. If they truly have spare capacity to act, perhaps the Void Realm, in its mysterious way, has also foreseen the possibility of us crossing Mountains and Seas to provide aid."

"Friend Zhou Hui, your considerations are truly comprehensive."

Li Fan smiled. "I control the Grand Dao of Universal Cycle, and within endless cycles, I foresee everything. No matter how slim the possibility, before endless cycles, it is destined to be something that must be considered and confronted."

"As the saying goes, 'Forewarned is forearmed.'"

The deducing images in Sage Taiyi's eyes gradually subsided. He said with a serious expression, "Even if the purpose of this aid mission is to stall the situation as much as possible, but if the Void Realm truly threatens with multiple Innate Ferocities..."

"Unless we ourselves go, it will certainly be difficult to resist." Taiyi looked at Li Fan, Shouqiu, and Daode.

Shouqiu had not revealed his True-False Creation, and even with the strength Li Fan had previously displayed, he indeed did not possess the qualifications to subdue the three Innate Ferocities.

Therefore, this statement was not wrong.

After a moment of contemplation, Lianshan offered the final solution: "I can entrust a wisp of my divine consciousness upon your bodies. I wonder if you are willing."

"Normally, the divine consciousness will remain dormant. Only when the Innate Ferocity appears will it emerge to assist in dealing with it. It will not significantly affect your actions. However..."

"After all, it is a wisp of divine consciousness that needs to contend with the Innate Ferocity; even a wisp will not be too weak. Residing in your bodies, it will inevitably cause your minds and spirits to tremble."

It was originally thought that Li Fan would hesitate somewhat.

Yet, unexpectedly, he showed not the slightest hesitation, agreeing on the spot.

"What great fortune to be able to bear the divine consciousness of the Three Sages!"

Li Fan had no objection, so Shouqiu and Daode naturally followed suit and agreed.

Before separating their divine consciousness to descend and be entrusted, Sage Guihai exhorted, "The instant the divine consciousness enters your bodies, you may perceive various experiences we have undergone. These extreme illusions will seem real and be hard to distinguish. You must maintain your true heart unchanged. Otherwise, your cultivation path will be distorted to varying degrees."

"However, you don't need to worry too much. We will also be watching from the side. If things become unmanageable, we will promptly halt the spirit-entrustment process."

It was merely a wisp of divine consciousness being entrusted, yet it seemed extraordinary. The Three Sages became unprecedentedly cautious.

Under the gaze of all the Sages, Li Fan and the other two were already prepared.

"I will bear Lianshan," he said in a deep voice.

Shouqiu then said, "I am willing to bear Guihai."

Daode finally spoke, "I am willing to bear the spirit of Taiyi."

The true forms of the Three Sages remained unmoving. They merely lightly tapped a finger on the foreheads of those who would bear their spirits.

On the surface, nothing seemed to happen.

In reality, within the hearts of Li Fan and the other two, a monstrous storm had already erupted.

Li Fan did not know what others perceived.

He himself, however, in an instant, glimpsed countless overlapping figures!

Just as he had surmised in his previous life.

It originally went towards the mountains, hence the name Lianshan.

The source of Sage Lianshan's power was the sum total of all beings who had attempted to 'connect with mountains' but had not yet succeeded. From the very first living being at the dawn of Mountains and Seas to the current time node, all past attempts to 'connect with mountains' that had ever existed were the cornerstones of Sage Lianshan's enlightenment.

Countless civilizations, individuals, and even some attempts by Mountains and Seas itself, were subtly recorded and encompassed within it.

Although what was now bestowed upon Li Fan's body was merely a wisp of Lianshan's spirit.

But just as in the Xuanji Ring, to gain one was to gain all.

Only the depth of reality was slightly inferior. In terms of the number of layers, however, there was almost no difference!

In a strict sense, the Three Sages were not ordinary beings.

What was commonplace for them, for a "person" with a single stream of thought, could become an unbearable and terrifying catastrophe!

At this instant, the countless Lianshan civilizations and individuals that Li Fan perceived from the past of Mountains and Seas, all desired to drill into his body simultaneously.

They were not merely simple illusions, but genuinely existing thought-data, like real entities.

It was as if his consciousness had instantly split into countless entities, traveling to different historical stages of Mountains and Seas, experiencing hundreds of thousands of things.

An ordinary soul would certainly find it impossible to accommodate such a mutation.

But Li Fan was, after all, no ordinary person. Theoretically, if divine consciousness were forcibly occupied and split by countless civilizations, it should fall into an extremely chaotic state, like dragons without a leader, creating a tumultuous uproar that filled the heavens.

What actually happened within Li Fan's body was that his original wisp of consciousness calmly occupied the center.

No matter how much chaos surged around, the unknown remained utterly unchanged.

Firmly seated on the throne, he watched with amusement as others bustled about.

Occasionally, civilizations or individuals would try to challenge Li Fan's dominant position.

Yet, the moment the thought arose, an inexplicable terror spontaneously appeared, forcing them to cease.

Whether civilizations or individuals, all possessed the instinct for survival.

Often it was their instinct for survival that profoundly influenced their destinies.

And at this moment, within Li Fan's body, even without knowing the reason or understanding the principle, countless phantom civilizations, under the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm, made their own choices.

Outside, countless images stood arrayed, fighting each other, creating an extraordinary spectacle.

Only where Li Fan was, at the center, was utterly silent.

The profound weight of Mountains and Seas civilization, added to Li Fan's body, was unexpectedly like a mere wisp, as light as nothing.

After gradually adapting to the splitting effects brought by the Mountains and Seas civilization, Li Fan, who was able to remain calm in one place, finally slowly recovered his independent consciousness.

Looking up, amidst the countless overlapping shadows ahead, he seemed to see Sage Lianshan, gazing back at him from afar.

Li Fan nodded slightly towards him as a gesture.

As Sage Lianshan had said, it was only a faint, separated wisp of divine consciousness. In response to Li Fan's proactive greeting, Sage Lianshan merely offered a slight response.

There was not much communication between them.

Lianshan's divine consciousness resided within Li Fan's body.

Li Fan could thus glimpse Lianshan's shadow. Similarly, Lianshan could clearly see Li Fan amidst the surrounding infinite phantom images.

However...

It was as if he saw, yet did not see.

On Li Fan, there seemed to be an invisible barrier, concealing the most crucial secret within.

That was the fundamental reason why even the Mountains and Seas civilization instinctively vied to avoid it.

Sage Lianshan naturally knew this.

But the Mountains and Seas civilization that constituted the origin of his power, without exception, all exhibited behavior of avoiding harm and seeking advantage. How could Sage Lianshan make a contradictory choice?

He also chose to yield slightly and turn a blind eye.

In fact, as early as when Li Fan stirred up a large number of accumulated true spirits in the Void Realm, making them seem like a real Mountains and Seas, Lianshan, or rather, the Three Sages, had already noticed the strangeness about Li Fan.

He was by no means simply Shouqiu's friend.

However, there were so many with secrets in Mountains and Seas. Moreover, they had already deduced that Li Fan's actions were indeed to save the Three Sages who were about to perish in the previous epoch of Mountains and Seas.

Since it benefited themselves and their goals were aligned, there was no need to delve deeper for now.

As for seemingly revealing their own details and the true nature of the Innate Ferocity...

It was something known to all since the dawn of Mountains and Seas; there was no question of a leak.

In Li Fan's mind and spirit, the storm created by the Mountains and Seas civilization finally gradually subsided.

Li Fan, having returned to normal, bowed to the true forms of the Three Sages within the Xuanji Ring: "Fortunately, I have not failed my mission."

Then, under the surprised gazes of the Sages, he looked at Shouqiu and Daode, who had also taken on the Sages' spirits. Shouqiu's strength was beyond doubt.

Especially after inheriting creation in his previous life, if it came to a real fight, even the current Three Sages might not be his match.

Naturally, there was no need to worry.

What somewhat surprised Li Fan was Daode.

Although his expression was slightly distorted, as if he were in an extremely terrifying nightmare, Daode's aura remained very stable, with no signs of collapse.

"If Lianshan is the collective incarnation of Mountains and Seas civilization, then Taiyi represents the changes and struggles of the Grand Dao of Mountains and Seas from beginning to end. Daode, being one of the Grand Daos of Mountains and Seas, should have been drawn in and unable to escape the vortex. But..."

Daode's enlightenment was guided by Li Fan himself.

In the return to true Grand Dao, Daode had already taken his proper place.

Even though he couldn't clearly see what was happening inside Daode, Li Fan could vaguely guess a thing or two based on the changes in his aura.

"Firstly, it must be that Taiyi showed mercy. After all, it was a spirit entrusted to the body, not a genuine act of devouring. Secondly..."

"Daode is complete and forms his own cycle. With the principles of Daode, one can fully comprehend the Grand Dao of endless changes in Mountains and Seas. Though with Daode's current knowledge and cultivation, it's still somewhat strenuous. But..."

"The future holds great promise!"

"Perhaps besides Shouqiu, Daode could also be considered as a candidate for inheritance."

Shouqiu recovered to normal after Li Fan.

Daode, however, took more time.

But ultimately, all three successfully took on the Sages' spirits.

Before departing, Li Fan, as usual, requested the method of "One Heart, One Virtue" from the Xuanji Ring.

Since they had already bestowed a wisp of their own divine consciousness, this method was even more permissible.

Handing over the three treasures of the Lianshan Staff, and after completing the mutual connection of their intentions, Li Fan, Shouqiu, and Daode bid farewell to the Sages and sped towards the Mountains and Seas ahead.

"We have made every possible preparation; if it still doesn't succeed..." Guihai said in a hushed tone.

"It should be an auspicious sign," Taiyi, however, suddenly said.

"We should also quickly proceed with reuniting Mountains and Seas. We cannot fully rely on Shouqiu and the others. The sooner Mountains and Seas are reunited, the sooner we can resolve this tribulation." After Sage Lianshan finished speaking, the remaining Saints of the Other Shore all began to act.

In the Void Realm, Li Fan and the other two, far from Mountains and Seas, suddenly stopped.

Originally, each faced the Sages' spirits individually; however, at this moment, under the effect of "One Heart, One Virtue," the three formed a triangular formation, like an inner circle, countering the surrounding divine consciousness of the Three Sages from outside.

"With Huanzhen's protection, it's truly easy," Daode said with a slightly sour tone. "To be able to directly ignore the strongest Sage's prying eyes truly makes us envious."

Although he had not inherited memories from a previous life like Shouqiu, he still understood the cause and effect from what Li Fan knew.

"I hope Friend Fan won't break his word and truly let me experience the inheritance in some future lifetime," Daode added.

Shouqiu shook his head slightly and chuckled, "As long as we enter the Xuanji Ring, it makes no real difference who among us inherits it. What if you get it in the next lifetime?"

After the jesting concluded, the expressions of all three simultaneously became solemn, as they looked towards the Sages' spirits surrounding them.

Lianshan: the phantom of Mountains and Seas civilization.

Guihai: the origin and destination of living beings.

Taiyi: the endless changes of the Grand Dao.

Any one of the three was already a top-tier creation.

Now appearing before them simultaneously, interwoven with each other, they exuded an even more profound and solemn aura.

With the True-False Grand Dao of Huanzhen providing protection, they had no worries about being seen through by the Sages' spirits.

Li Fan and the others were able to observe and comprehend carefully once more.

Under the mutual corroboration of their triple perceptions, they indeed discerned clues they had not previously noticed.

"It seems there's a certain power, like the Xuanji Ring, that also connects the Three Sages to one another."

"Indeed, it's not merely the power of One Heart, One Virtue, but something even more profound."

"Or rather, the One Heart, One Virtue of the Xuanji Ring was precisely created by the Three Sages in imitation of it."

Li Fan and the other two exchanged glances, all startled.

"The Mountains and Seas civilization, the origin and destination of life, the changes of the Grand Dao... These were originally ethereal concepts, yet they could transform into human forms."

"It seems inextricably linked to this connection," Shouqiu said in a deep voice.

"Though somewhat curious, now is not the time to investigate further," Li Fan said, withdrawing his gaze a moment later. "In this lifetime, we will still execute our previous plan: save the Three Sages, and observe the changes in Mountains and Seas."

Shouqiu and Daode nodded in agreement.

The three once again sped towards the Mountains and Seas ahead.

"Since we are to save the Three Sages, it's inconvenient to reveal the True-False Grand Dao."

"Fortunately, we only need to stall and quietly await the reunification of Mountains and Seas."

Shouqiu and Daode looked at Li Fan and said simultaneously, "If the True-False Grand Dao doesn't appear, the one behind the Void Realm won't appear either. What we need to deal with are just multiple Innate Ferocities. They are not as difficult to handle as imagined."

Li Fan's face showed a triumphant expression at this moment: "The divine consciousness of ordinary beings naturally struggles to resist the influence of Innate Ferocity."

"However, I have Huanzhen's power on me... Controlling it with divine power is child's play!"

This was not Li Fan speaking wildly, but a genuine realization after personally witnessing and even experiencing the might of the Innate Ferocity.

"Even the origin of Friend Fan's transmigration has a wonderful use in resisting it," Shouqiu nodded in agreement.

"With the assistance of the two fellow Daoists, we will surely be able to hold out longer. Perhaps we can even glimpse the true nature of the Innate Ferocity."

"After all, it is formed by the influence of divine remnants," Li Fan said, his gaze chilling. "If we can truly gain any insights from it, it will surely be of great benefit to us!"

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