Chapter 1710: 凡乃真完人

The Angry Squid

"It's highly probable that these are my own personal experiences. It's just that I've lost my past memories, so they only manifest as vague intuitions."

At that moment, a doubt arose in Li Fan's mind: was he still in the True Return simulation? But having already attained the Saint realm, Li Fan's mental state was no longer what it once was. After a brief moment of shock, he quickly calmed down.

"Such doubts are meaningless," he mused. "True is false, false is true. The so-called 'true' Mountains and Seas is merely the True Return re-evolving from the absolute void after being consumed by the Star. What's crucial is my past."

"If my conjecture is true, then what I thought was my first life might not be the real first life."

"My True Return. What exactly is True Return?"

At the end of the Mountains and Seas, Li Fan had witnessed the divine abilities of the Saints: False is true, the art of divining an uncertain future, flowing against the river of time, and inheriting through heavenly selection. Li Fan had always harbored a vague suspicion. Coupled with the sudden recovery of a memory—a phrase he himself had spoken: "If I had never seen it, from where would my True Return originate?"—the answer now seemed to be on the verge of revealing itself.

However, it was precisely for this reason that Li Fan found it even more incredible.

"Could it be that the so-called True Return is a fusion of 'true is false, false is true' and the Grand Daos mastered by the various Saints? Then... who exactly is that consciousness deeply hidden within True Return?"

True Return possessed its own independent consciousness. This was beyond doubt. Whether it was the hungry, devouring sensation whenever it encountered something useful to itself, or its occasional guidance to Li Fan at critical moments, all unequivocally confirmed this.

The question then arose: if True Return was truly just a collection of Grand Daos, a mere tool, then it should not possess its own consciousness. Could it be that the aggregated Grand Daos within True Return gave birth to and evolved an independent will? Or perhaps...

Recalling the sudden appearance of another version of himself at the very end of time, at the critical moment of the Mountains and Seas' annihilation, a groundbreaking idea suddenly surged in Li Fan's mind. Once it appeared, it poured forth like a bursting river, impossible to suppress. It filled Li Fan's mind, making him instinctively crave immediate verification of his conjecture.

"True Return... is it me?"

"I... am I True Return?"

With a single thought, the Mountains and Seas shifted, and all things vanished. Over the years, the three Saints, including Mo Yongge, who had always followed him, were nowhere to be seen. Guardian Qiu and Dao De, who shared the Xuanji Ring with him and were united in purpose, also suddenly vanished. Even the Saints of the Other Shore, and the entire Mountains and Seas, all seemed to vanish in an instant.

An ineffable, unfathomable power seemed to completely and utterly isolate Li Fan from the outside world. In the world, there seemed to be nothing else but Li Fan.

Then, a figure drifted out from the void. Its build and appearance were identical to Li Fan's, but its demeanor and aura were vastly different!

When Li Fan saw this other self opposite him, his heart skipped a beat. He felt both incredibly familiar with it and profoundly unfamiliar. With just one glance, he knew exactly why this unfamiliarity arose. The 'Li Fan' opposite him stood there silently. Even without speaking, it instinctively instilled a deep sense of peace. It was as if everything could be entrusted to this other self, and it would never disappoint. Utterly sincere, utterly pure, utterly noble. As benevolent as Su Bai, as virtuous as Guardian Qiu. Originally the savior of the Mountains and Seas, it was like a truly perfect being in the world.

"You... are me?" Li Fan was utterly stunned.

The 'Li Fan' opposite him offered no explanation. As Li Fan spoke, it was as if ice and snow melted. An unimaginable multitude of memories flashed from the darkness, pouring in like countless twinkling stars.

Not long ago, Li Fan had experienced one hundred billion years of time, from the beginning of the Mountains and Seas to their current mid-to-late stage, viewed from the perspective of the three Saints. Even that expanse of a thousand years of Mountains and Seas history, though long, was something Li Fan could barely endure with his current strength. But now, Li Fan was on the verge of being utterly annihilated and destroyed by his own past memories. Like an ant falling into a vast ocean, the moment he plunged in, it was impossible to see its full scope. He could only vaguely glimpse the past from the countless overlapping droplets around him.

One hundred billion years, more than half the lifespan of the Mountains and Seas, was certainly a considerably long period of time. But at this moment, in Li Fan's sea of memories, it was merely a single drop of water, condensed from one cycle of reincarnation. In this vast ocean, the number of water droplets was far beyond trillions. That was the path the 'Li Fan' of the past had once walked. Countless reincarnations, countless attempts. All for the sole purpose of saving the Mountains and Seas from the Star. However, just as the 'Li Fan' had said: "One can stop the Star for a time, but not for an entire age." The ultimate outcome of all the final reincarnation memories was the lone Star descending and devouring everything. The Mountains and Seas, ultimately, could not be saved.

Compared to the other self hidden within True Return, the current Li Fan was truly pitifully weak. He could observe and accept one, or even ten, reincarnation memories. But gradually, at a hundred or a thousand times, he was already starting to break under the strain. It was as if he had fallen into a deep abyss, the surrounding pressure unimaginably immense. It was almost enough to completely crush Li Fan's spirit.

"It's not time yet."

"Go back now."

Just as Li Fan was about to be completely swallowed by the surrounding darkness, a voice appeared, saving him just in time. The darkness receded, and the vast sea of past memories, like foam, vanished without a trace before Li Fan. The two of them exchanged a glance.

Coupled with the clues he had previously glimpsed from memories, Li Fan finally pieced together the truth. The Li Fan of the past had attempted countless times to save the Mountains and Seas from the grasp of the Star. But just like the countless struggling beings within the Mountains and Seas, everything was in vain. He had tried an unknown number of times, yet not once had he truly managed to prevent the Star's descent. Failure after failure, with no future of success in sight. Yet he never gave up.

In the very end, he decided to make a change. This change was the origin of the current Li Fan.

Li Fan finally understood why, from beginning to end, True Return had been so resistant to contact with him. Aside from the vast difference in their sheer scale, where a single casual thought from True Return could swallow Li Fan whole, more importantly, it was to maintain the current Li Fan's independence, to remain unaffected by the past and act according to his own instincts. After all, they originated from the same source; if they were to come into close contact, the result would be what Li Fan had just experienced: in an instant, falling into the abyss and being swallowed by his own past memories, his spirit utterly shattered.

"Saving the world..."

"First save yourself."

Only one last voice remained, echoing in Li Fan's heart.

The veil that isolated everything external suddenly receded. As if suddenly breaking the surface from underwater, Li Fan instinctively gasped for air. Even though he now knew the answer he had desperately sought, Li Fan did not feel suddenly enlightened. Instead, various irrepressible emotions surged within him.

"The only thing worth celebrating is..."

"The me of the past is likely truly dead."