Chapter 1715: Destiny Captures the Heart

Though at the edge of the vortex, merely a step away from the New God, its true form remained unseen.

Only a massive dark silhouette could be observed standing within the vortex, silently absorbing billions of rays of light.

It seemed to be sleeping, without any fluctuations of aura.

If one did not look at it, its presence would be entirely imperceptible.

This was starkly different from the domineering way the divine shadow had just appeared in Li Fan's mind, instantly knocking him unconscious.

"Fellow Daoist Shouqiu, what exactly happened?" Li Fan asked, his voice filled with doubt and surprise. "I feel like..."

"It seems it wasn't just my imagination. The New God is truly dead," Shouqiu gasped, seemingly extremely weak.

"The New God is dead." A faint feeling of validation stirred within him as Li Fan stared blankly ahead.

The sensation immediately shifted.

The divine shadow stood tall, still sacred, majestic, and unattainable.

Yet, within it, there was no sign of the expected spiritual consciousness.

It was merely an empty shell, mechanically carrying out the New God's mission to devour everything.

Li Fan focused his gaze for a moment, then was alarmed to find that the colossal figure before him seemed to be solidifying from illusion into reality within his mind. He immediately closed his eyes, no longer looking.

Only when the divine shadow completely vanished from his mind could he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Even if it's just the corpse of a god, it's not something we can covet in our severely injured state," Shouqiu advised, instantly grasping Li Fan's thoughts even without their synchronized blessing. "Even at our previous peak strength, we could probably at best protect ourselves."

Although somewhat unwilling, Li Fan tried again and had to admit that Shouqiu was right.

The return of the mountains and seas to the gods was a reshuffling of all power in the world.

All things lost; the only winner was this newly born god before them.

Under the mighty torrent, all saints could only drift away like ants in the wind.

Li Fan and Shouqiu had managed to hold on until now solely due to the protection of the True-False Transformation.

Looking around, everything in the mountains and seas had vanished and been erased.

Only pure luminous energy remained, continuing within the silent vortex.

It was falling towards the central divine shadow. When the vortex was fully absorbed by the god, that would mark the New God's true advent.

Yet, it was unknown what kind of unforeseen change had occurred.

The New God had fallen before fully establishing itself!

"The saints of the primordial mountains and seas, who risked their lives to contend for divinity, probably never imagined that becoming a god would be so fleeting, leading to such an end." As the vortex slowly drifted, Li Fan, still reluctant to look away, occasionally opened his eyes.

He observed the appearance of the divine corpse.

He had also tried to comprehend and absorb the surrounding light.

But it was not the Great Dao, nor the mountains and seas.

It was not anything Li Fan had ever encountered in his past reincarnations.

It seemed to be nourishment exclusively for the creation of the New God.

He tried various methods, even Dao Reversion, but couldn't utilize any of it.

He could only focus all his attention on the divine corpse.

Li Fan suddenly recalled the figure he had briefly glimpsed in the torrent of divine return.

A thought struck him: "Could it be that what it was waiting for was the fall of the New God? Did it foresee this long ago? If so..."

His will followed his thoughts.

The True-False Transformation once again enveloped him tightly.

He became completely hidden within the endless radiance of the vortex, not revealing the slightest trace.

"I hope that one arrives in time," Li Fan murmured, simultaneously calculating the remaining time until he would fall into the divine shadow, all while waiting.

He did not know how much time had passed.

By the time Li Fan had fallen halfway into the vortex, even without looking at the divine shadow, its influence could still penetrate the True-False Transformation and take shape within Li Fan's perception.

And then occupy it.

Unable to suppress the sense of crisis in his heart, Li Fan forcibly halted the thought of using 'Revert to True' and wanted to observe further developments.

"It should be coming soon."

At this point, no more specks of light flew in from outside the vortex.

The divine shadow seemed to have completed its absorption of all the mountains and seas.

The mountains and seas were no more. Within the outermost ring of light of the vortex, lay the only remaining existence in the world.

The god's nourishment.

"Why is the Void Realm still motionless? Or perhaps, being inside the vortex, I can't perceive anything beyond that ring of light?"

"Besides me, are there other presences hidden here?"

The god's figure had already consumed more than half of his thoughts.

Li Fan tried his best to ignore it, struggling to use thought to resist the divine shadow's infiltration.

Compared to these questions, Li Fan's memories of countless past reincarnations seemed more suitable for defense. As he began to try recalling the past, the divine figure subtly faded.

As if clutching at a lifeline, Li Fan plunged himself into the torrent of past memories.

Although still blurry, he perceived more than he would under normal circumstances.

"I did indeed encounter the advent of a New God in the past. And it truly reset."

"But a New God being born and then quickly falling, as I'm experiencing now... That has never happened before."

"Why did the New God fall?"

Under the dual protection of the memory torrent and the True-False Transformation, Li Fan drew closer and closer to the divine shadow.

So close he felt he could glimpse its secrets.

At this very moment, the figure Li Fan had been waiting for finally appeared.

A dazzling white light shattered the outermost ring of the vortex and surged into the divine corpse's nourishment.

Seemingly having anticipated the scene within the vortex, it showed no hesitation, charging directly towards the divine shadow standing in the center.

The previously serene luminous nourishment instantly stirred up a monstrous storm, threatening to engulf the audacious interloper who dared to profane the god.

The wrath of a god was indeed unbearable for mortals.

Even if that white light was one of the few survivors after the great tribulation of the mountains and seas returning to the gods, under the overwhelming absorption of the surrounding endless radiance, it dimmed by half in a very short time.

Yet its thunderous momentum remained unyielding.

In an instant, it tore open a corner of the vortex and rushed to the edge of the divine shadow.

As if in the next moment, it would enter the divine corpse to seize the god's creation!

Li Fan, observing in the shadows, felt his heart suddenly stop at that instant. He instinctively wanted to obstruct and contend with it. Fortunately, he was ultimately willing but powerless, and Shouqiu's calm dissuasion helped him abandon his suicidal impulse. However, other hidden presences chose not to merely watch any longer.

Within the turbulent vortex, just an instant before the white light was about to crash into the divine corpse, three other distinct rays of light suddenly erupted.

One white, one purple, one green.

This other white light was precisely the presence Li Fan had sensed deep within the infinite sea.

Now, the two sides finally met again, and the situation had changed.

Li Fan was hidden in the shadows, while the other party was exposed in the open.

The moment he saw the other party again, a series of images flashed rapidly through Li Fan's mind.

"Fellow Daoist Fan, have we met before?" a slender figure, clad in flowing white robes, politely asked.

Li Fan remained silent, offering no reply.

Around them, the sight of the Great Tide of Dao Annihilation could vaguely be seen roaring closer.

Without dwelling on the question, the two joined hands to resist the calamity together.

"This is the fourth time I've asked you this question, Fellow Daoist Fan. Do you still choose not to answer?" It was still the slender figure's voice.

However, the surrounding environment of the mountains and seas had drastically changed.

The backdrop, once full of light and vitality, was now dark and desolate.

And the two who had once walked hand-in-hand as companions now stood opposite each other, swords drawn and ready for battle.

Facing the slender figure's question, Li Fan still remained silent.

"Hmph."

"No answer..."

"Then die."

Billions of dazzling white lights simultaneously ascended, temporarily dispelling the darkness.

Each ray of light was like a sharp sword, filled with murderous intent that soared to the sky, pointing directly at Li Fan.

"Fellow Daoist Fan, did we previously... meet before?" It was another familiar scene.

This time, the slender figure asked again.

However, its expression seemed to have undergone a subtle change compared to that scene from countless reincarnations ago.

Li Fan still chose to respond with silence.

Yet the slender figure did not get angry because of this.

Instead, it showed a thoughtful expression.

"When the true becomes false..."

"...the false becomes true."

Even after billions of reincarnations, Li Fan could grasp every subtle change.

He keenly perceived the slender figure's unusual movement and, without the slightest hesitation, immediately activated the True-False Transformation, resetting the mountains and seas.

"The mountains and seas have countless heroes; how can they all be deceived..."

A long sigh resonated.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The tremendous waves stirred up by the fierce collision roused Li Fan from his past memories.

Without time to ponder its meaning, Li Fan only looked at the changes in the field.

The three rays of light—white, purple, and green—arrived later but reached first, actually blocking the initial ray that had come from outside the ring.

With the four points of light gathered, Li Fan finally saw the difference between the two white lights.

The slender figure hidden within the divine nourishment vortex, suspected to be Li Fan's old acquaintance, was a star-like silver-white.

As for the light from outside, the one that had previously brushed past Li Fan, it was a desolate, deathly pale.

Although seemingly similar, the paths they represented were vastly different.

As for the purple and green colors...

Before Li Fan could even think, another anomaly occurred in the field.

The pale light, which had initiated the disturbance, was stopped by the other three lights.

It paused only for an instant, then moved in the opposite direction.

Its figure rapidly retreated, a streak of white tearing open the vortex once more. It had come, and now it was going back!

"Did it retreat, knowing the difficulty, or..." What horrified Li Fan was that it wasn't just the pale light.

The other three lights, after pausing for a moment, also scattered in unison, wanting to escape this massive vortex.

"Thump! Thump!"

Li Fan's heart began to pound violently without reason.

The outermost ring of light of the vortex suddenly dimmed.

The turbulent nourishment vortex instantly fell into absolute stillness.

And then...

The divine corpse in the center, which Li Fan had believed to be dead, suddenly opened its eyes.

The four rays of light entered the god's line of sight.

The standing divine body vanished from Li Fan's field of observation.

Next to disappear was the green speck of light, which had been closest to the divine shadow.

It vanished silently, without even a ripple.

Seeing this, the remaining two white lights and one purple light increased their speed even further.

The pale light had already collided with the outermost edge of the vortex.

Only...

Coming was easy, but going was hard.

The dim white ring was no longer as easily punctured as before.

Under the violent collision, the pale speck of light instantly shrank slightly.

However, it still managed to create an opening.

After flickering a few times, the pale speck of light successfully escaped.

The silver-white speck, representing the slender figure, also followed the pale one's path, successfully escaping before the encirclement closed.

As for the purple light, it was not so lucky.

It was like a mosquito, easily crushed by an invisible hand.

The purple speck of light was instantly obliterated.

Having easily dealt with two hidden "bugs," the god did not appear. Nor did it choose to pursue the two white specks.

The nourishment vortex remained perfectly still.

The outermost ring of light of the vortex flickered between bright and dim.

It was as if the god's gaze was ceaselessly sweeping through the vortex, as if searching for something.

Li Fan dared not breathe, striving to maintain his 'Illusion is also True' state.

He now understood.

There was no fallen god!

It was all just a trap set by this newly ascended god.

Crude, yet highly effective.

After all, no one had ever witnessed the aftermath of successfully seizing a god's creation.

When faced with the corpse of a god that couldn't resist, and countless refined nutrients, even the surviving saints would find it hard to resist such temptation.

After all, they had come here precisely to contend for divinity.

Even if someone might have predicted it was a trap, when other saints made their move, the rest were bound to be unable to hold back.

In the act of seizing divinity, a single step of cowardice meant surrendering the grand opportunity to others!

Even knowing it was a trap, they would fight with all their might.

It was a trap, and also an open scheme.

"Having already attained New God status, crushing other saints is as easy as crushing ants. Yet it still resorted to such a devious trick."

"Who exactly is it?"

The New God's gaze swept more and more frequently.

It seemed certain that there were still "bugs" hidden within the vortex.

Relentless, it continued to repeat the search.

Li Fan's uneasy premonition grew stronger, feeling as though he would be discovered at any moment.

But he dared not rashly activate 'Revert to True'.

After all, under the New God's gaze, his thoughts would likely go blank instantly, leaving no time to even activate 'Revert to True'.

"Fellow Daoist Fan, act as the situation dictates," Shouqiu's voice slowly drifted over. "Let me, then, meet this so-called god."

Then, a majestic figure leaped into the divine vortex.

Where its steps landed, the light parted.

Shouqiu parted the sea, revealing his true form.

With hair and beard flowing, he confronted the New God.

"After attaining godhood, have you become unrecognizable?" Shouqiu's voice resonated, seemingly intentionally spoken for Li Fan to hear. "You have a familiar aura about you. But I can't recognize who you truly are."

The New God remained unmoved.

The turbulent vortex dimmed once more.

As if in the next instant, Shouqiu would be crushed.

But...

"When the true becomes false..."

"...the false becomes true."

Shouqiu slowly chanted, his long robe fluttering without wind.

His figure suddenly became ethereal, and a pair of large hands seemed to flash past outside his body, grabbing nothing.

"I once sat upon mountains and gazed upon seas..."

"Now the mountains and seas are no more."

"Then I shall stand and obliterate the god!"

As if buffeted by strong winds, Shouqiu's robes fluttered ceaselessly.

He exhausted his understanding of the True-False Transformation, pointing a finger at the New God beyond the void.

With a gentle flick of his finger, ripples gently spread through the nourishment vortex.

It seemed as if something had changed.

Yet, it also seemed as if nothing had changed.

"Revert to True!" Li Fan roared in his heart, seizing this opportune moment.