Chapter 1721: God Once Changed Mountains and Seas

Angry Squid:Starlight descends, and all creation bows!

Although the Solitary Star had not truly descended, the mere wisp of radiance it cast forth was enough to crush everything.

The Dao Annihilation in the Void Realm, as if witnessing their sovereign, stood utterly still, dumbfounded. Swept away by the starlight, they vanished without a trace.

And the Boundless Monument of Mountains and Seas, which was on the verge of collapsing back into nothingness, surprisingly reappeared under this pure radiance. It was no longer in the shape of an upright stone monument, but rather...

A severed finger!

This finger had existed for an unknown duration, seemingly eroded by wind and frost, utterly devoid of its original "finger-like" appearance. It more resembled an isolated mountain peak, standing proudly in defiance of the world.

Yet, everyone present who witnessed its existence instantly understood in their minds: This was the Finger of God. Or, to be more precise, the Finger of a True God.

As this thought manifested, it was as if the fallen True God had truly traversed time and space, pressing down gently with a single finger. The vortex of Dao Annihilation instantly exploded and scattered. Even billions of mighty lions would instantly crumble before a single finger of the True God.

Even with the empowerment of the Truth-Falsehood Transformation, Li Fan felt all his cultivation dissipate. His Grand Dao of Xuanpin scattered like a wisp of smoke, returning to the vast Primordial state. And the wisp of radiance cast by the Solitary Star was forcefully twisted and broken.

With the shackles gone, the True God's Finger instantly collapsed inward, vanishing without a trace.

Moments later, the starlight suddenly diffused a thousandfold, engulfing everything in sight.

It was not the first time Li Fan had witnessed the Solitary Star's descent. He showed no panic, silently chanting in his heart, "Return to Truth!"

At this moment, it was as if time had reversed. The profusely spraying starlight, as if meeting a strong wind, immediately began to flow backward. Even with a myriad of unwillingness, under the suppression of Return to Truth's invisible hand, it was forced to return to its origin.

The starlight receded, and darkness swallowed everything. An unknown amount of time passed, or perhaps it was just an instant. Like the newborn dawn, piercing through the darkness, a wisp of starlight reappeared, illuminating the world.

Yet, for some unknown reason, the starlight only lasted for a moment, as if sensing something. The radiance suddenly and inexplicably dimmed, its destination unknown.

Anchored for 1 year!

"True God's Finger!" The awakened Li Fan seemed to still be immersed in the moment when the Boundless Monument of Mountains and Seas revealed its true form under the Solitary Star's illumination. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he pressed down into the void, perfectly mimicking the previous action.

"Shattering Saints, breaking the Void Realm, crushing starlight."

"As expected of a remnant of a True God."

Infused with the concept of the True God's Finger, even though Li Fan had just awakened and still possessed a mortal body, as he gently pressed a finger into the void, the entire Great Xuan Minor World subtly trembled. Rumbling sounds echoed from the sky, as if it were shattering, and cracks emerged, spreading like a spiderweb. The Immortal Sealing Grand Formation, which had locked down the Great Xuan Minor World, instantly shattered, allowing wisps of spiritual energy to flow in from the Xuanhuang Realm. Not only that, the profound finger force even penetrated directly beyond the Xuanhuang Realm.

Within the Immortal Ruins, the Enlightened Hunger Immortal inexplicably felt a pang in his heart and was about to open his eyes. But Li Fan forcefully pressed him back. As if having lost his recent memory, the Hunger Immortal once again fell into a state of Dao comprehension. And from beginning to end, the Hunger Immortal showed no awareness of being influenced by an external force.

"Wherever the finger force reaches, it can be arbitrarily altered. Cultivation level or realm matters not."

"This is merely my imitation of its concept."

Li Fan withdrew his hand, his gaze fixed on his fingertip. The True God's concept had already dissipated from it. What remained was merely an ordinary mortal body. No one would have imagined that it could erupt with nearly transcendent power.

"The various cultivation realms within the Mountains and Seas are merely conventional divisions agreed upon by us cultivators. In reality, they are fundamentally defined with the Mountains and Seas as the benchmark. Those who can traverse the Mountains and Seas are considered Transcendent. Those who can stand shoulder to shoulder with the Mountains and Seas are considered Saints."

"However, everything within the Mountains and Seas originates from God. When the True God's Finger descends, it dictates the destiny of the Mountains and Seas. Using its profundity to twist and rewrite the beings within the Mountains and Seas is as easy as turning one's hand." Even though Li Fan used the True God's Finger with a mortal body, he felt no discomfort whatsoever.

Li Fan vaguely realized that this might be related to his long-term cultivation and comprehension of the Truth-Falsehood Transformation.

"If it were anyone else, let alone a mortal body, even at the Saint realm, they would never be able to use this divine ability so smoothly. But I..."

"Having been influenced by the Truth-Falsehood Transformation for years, I have already become different."

Li Fan repeatedly savored the sensation of having just used the True God's Finger to twist and rewrite the Hunger Immortal. It merely made him ignore the external anomaly and return to his meditative Dao comprehension state. Yet, it was an undeniable, direct modification of the other party's consciousness.

One must know, although the Hunger Immortal was now hardly worth Li Fan's attention, he was, after all, a cultivator just one step away from the True Immortal of No Name realm. Yet, he was toyed with by a mortal as if he were a plaything. What if Li Fan were to recover his Saint cultivation? What if Li Fan's comprehension of the True God's Finger concept advanced further? It was truly somewhat unimaginable.

"If Return to Truth could reset the Mountains and Seas in an instant, then the True God's Finger possessed the ability to modify the Mountains and Seas. From this perspective, both are powers of comparable magnitude. No wonder my comprehension of the True God's Finger was so smooth after achieving success in the Truth-Falsehood Transformation."

"But such a divine artifact..." Li Fan frowned, trying to find traces of the True God's Finger within the long reincarnation memories of his past self. Perhaps it was because Li Fan's past memories were simply too vast, and what he could recall so far was merely the tip of the iceberg. Or perhaps his past self was always fiercely contending with the Void Realm at the last moment, completely overlooking this hidden Boundless Monument within the Mountains and Seas. In any case, Li Fan did not recall any imagery related to the True God's Finger. This was his first true encounter with it.

Li Fan did not dwell on it further.

"To possess this divine ability is definitely a stroke of luck for me now. With the Truth-Falsehood Transformation and the True God's Single Finger empowering me..."

"Even the primordial Saints of the Mountains and Seas are no longer a concern." A surge of heroic spirit suddenly swelled in Li Fan's heart. However, recalling that in the previous life, the newly descended God seemed to have been a different person, his excited mood abruptly ceased, and he instantly calmed down again.

"The two new Gods I encountered in succession had vastly different styles of action. It can basically be concluded that the one who became God in both lives was not the same person. This means that all the primordial Saints of the Mountains and Seas actually possessed the strength to replace the Mountains and Seas and become new Gods. What they lacked was merely a bit of luck."

"They are indeed quite formidable. No wonder the Three Saints were always so cautious whenever they discussed the primordial Saints of the Mountains and Seas."

"I must not act rashly; I should still proceed according to the original plan."

"With the Truth-Falsehood Transformation within me, I inherently have no need to contend with them. The so-called gaining divine fortune is fundamentally a dead end."

Li Fan compared the various circumstances after different new Gods descended in these past lives, further confirming his judgment.

"The Mountains and Seas, the new Gods—none can escape the Star's pursuit. This was long ago fated."

"The Mountains and Seas are boundless, intermingling with each other. This is the beginning of Dao Annihilation. From the day they merged, the ultimate fate of the Mountains and Seas—their demise—was sealed..."

"However, looking back from a post-event perspective, at the very beginning of the Boundless Mountains and Seas, the Mountains and Seas themselves seemed unable to perceive their own tragic future. Instead, they remained optimistic."

"This point is quite suspicious. Not to mention me, a latecomer, even the primordial Saints of the Mountains and Seas could foresee the terrifying disasters of the future and chose to sever future connections to escape calamity. How could the Mountains and Seas themselves not perceive this? This simply doesn't make sense!"

Suddenly recalling how he had just modified the Hunger Immortal's consciousness, an idea surged into Li Fan's mind.

"The Boundless Monument and the True God's Finger not only caused the Mountains and Seas to merge but also twisted and rewrote the concepts of the Mountains and Seas."

Li Fan's heart subtly trembled.

"Perhaps the merging of the Mountains and Seas was merely a superficial effect. The true purpose of the True God's Finger was to tamper with the consciousness of the Mountains and Seas and alter their future trajectory."

Instantly, Li Fan couldn't help but recall three rumors concerning the God's contingency plans.

"Legend has it that when God's essence was divided, God, on the verge of death, left behind three such contingency measures."

"Each of them possessed the power to overturn the Mountains and Seas."

"Previously, I speculated that the Star and Return to Truth were both among them."

"However, I now understand that Return to Truth was my past self, achieved through peerless talent and the integration of all Saintly Paths, not a so-called gift from God."

"Now it seems, this Boundless Monument of Mountains and Seas is more likely one of the contingency measures left by God."

"The key is, where exactly did it go?"

Li Fan's heart stirred, and he chose to inherit the Dao One Mountain-Sea Map forged in his previous life. A splashed-ink-style scroll immediately appeared in Li Fan's hand. Compared to its initial creation, it had greatly changed. Having endured countless years of washing by the ripples of the new Gods' Void Realm battles, the Mountain-Sea Map now bore even more unique and profound rhythms.

However...

"The Boundless Monument of Mountains and Seas, however, was gone. Only a faint wisp of its shadow remained..."

"Even with Return to Truth's Truth-Falsehood Transformation, it couldn't be completely replicated?"

This was the first time Li Fan encountered something that Return to Truth could not create. After all, even the Mountains and Seas and all Saints could be recreated in a single thought. If there truly was something that could not be recreated...

"Undoubtedly, it belonged to the True God, transcending the Mountains and Seas."

Li Fan carefully examined the remnant of the Boundless Monument of Mountains and Seas. Even just a faint wisp of its lingering image was thousands of times more profound than anything Li Fan could imitate or engrave. After a long period of contemplation, insights continuously welled up in his mind like mountain springs.

Li Fan vaguely began to understand where the Boundless Monument of Mountains and Seas went after collapsing.

"It didn't go anywhere; it simply ceased to exist."

"The Boundless Monument of Mountains and Seas only came into being to merge mountains and seas. If the Mountains and Seas ceased to exist, and the Mountain-Sea Map, its lower-level substitute, also disappeared, then the Boundless Monument would naturally no longer manifest in the world."

"But what if, from the void, the Mountains and Seas were to reappear..."

"Then the Boundless Monument of Mountains and Seas would, like a parasitic affliction, certainly descend once more!"

"So, the Boundless Monument seen in each cycle of the Mountains and Seas was not recreated by Return to Truth. Rather, it manifested itself again."

"As for the numerous markings on it..."

Li Fan recalled the scene from his previous life, where the residual images of the Saints rose from the Boundless Monument under the impact of Dao Annihilation.

"They were merely the etched Dao principles of the Saints, not the Boundless Monument itself."

"When it manifested again, it naturally wouldn't carry those. The True God's legacy is indeed extraordinary."

Li Fan looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the infinite possibilities of the Mountains and Seas, directly reaching the location of the Boundless Monument.

"Just this one finger completely sealed off all subsequent possibilities for the Mountains and Seas."

"No matter how much it struggled, no matter what variables it evolved into, as long as the Mountains and Seas themselves existed, the Boundless Monument would descend to fix its destiny."

"Coupled with the Solitary Star that ultimately swallowed everything..."

"The ending of the Mountains and Seas was, in fact, already written the moment God was swallowed."

"No wonder, it's irrelevant to the ultimate outcome."

Immediately, Li Fan couldn't help but wonder again: with such means, for God to constrain the Mountains and Seas, did it truly require three contingency measures?

"Perhaps, they have another purpose."

"Either they mutually restrain each other, to prevent failure. Or..."

"They are meant for a return."

The more he observed the God's Finger, the more immeasurable Li Fan felt the True God of the past truly was. Subsequently, a long-standing question resurfaced in his mind.

"How exactly did God die?"

"It has always been that the Mountains and Seas merely divided God, not executed God. It's clear that by the means of the Mountains and Seas, it certainly couldn't have been a match for that True God. The deity, the source of all power, what caused its demise?"

The answer to this question, perhaps only at the very beginning of the Mountains and Seas, at the time of the God's division, could a glimpse of it be faintly perceived.

Li Fan did not trouble himself further but instead proceeded with his next plan.

"With this Boundless Monument safeguarding it, my Dao One Map can absolutely be called the supreme treasure of the Mountains and Seas."

"Under normal circumstances, it would allow the harmonious merging of Dao Annihilation and the Mountains and Seas. And if I add my own True God's Finger empowerment... Trapping and suppressing all Saints with a single thought would also be as easy as turning one's hand."

Having successfully forged such a treasure, Li Fan did not forget his original purpose. It was precisely to...

Transform into the Master of the Void Realm!

The Dao One Mountain-Sea Map transformed into a black and white long robe, draped around his body. Li Fan sat in meditation, comprehending the Dao. All the Dao principles within the Mountains and Seas seemed within reach, allowing him to choose freely. In fact, what Li Fan touched were not the true Grand Daos within the Mountains and Seas, but merely imitations within the Mountain-Sea Map. Yet, the false was so close to the true that Li Fan could directly use them to comprehend the Dao and become a Saint!

"It only greatly reduces the difficulty of comprehending the Dao; it cannot serve as a foundation for increasing strength. To truly become a Saint of the Mountains and Seas, one must still rely on the Grand Daos within the Mountains and Seas themselves. However, the Mountain-Sea Map's profound utility is already astonishing enough!"

"The infusion of True Spirit resolves the issue of Saintly aptitude. The Dao One Mountain-Sea Map can bypass the requirements for Dao comprehension to become a Saint. Combined, as long as I wish it, I can cultivate a sufficient number of Saint reserves!"

"Saints? They can be replaced at any time!"

As his thoughts turned, Li Fan's aura simultaneously surged upwards. From a mortal, returning to the Saint realm, Li Fan this time took only fifty-odd years! One must know, this was without any starlight empowerment, relying entirely on Li Fan himself!

With the Mountain-Sea Map draped over him, it was as if the entire Mountains and Seas belonged to Li Fan alone to enjoy. Cultivating and comprehending the Dao became as easy as eating and drinking. On the day he became a Saint, under the concealment of the Dao One Mountain-Sea Map, the Saints on the Other Shore didn't even detect the descent of another Saint within the Mountains and Seas.

Enveloped in swirling ink-like blackness, Li Fan directly entered the Dao Annihilation. Like ice melting into water, Li Fan did not use the Truth-Falsehood Transformation; solely relying on the Mountain-Sea Map's protection, he completely merged into the surrounding Dao Annihilation environment.

But this was not enough.

Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly, recalling the time he had inherited the Star Radiance Rhythm Abbreviation. A strange rhythmic light, like a beating heart, reappeared, illuminating Li Fan's body. The surrounding Dao Annihilation, as if sensing something, instantly became turbulent and chaotic.

"Go!"

Li Fan threw the Mountain-Sea Map in his hand into the surrounding, compliant Dao Annihilation.