To force the two Immortals in the coffin to act and to further study the World Crossing Profound Coffin, Li Fan released the power of the Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul, enveloping the coffin in layers of dark mist. The Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul, bordering on the Dao Obliteration Calamity, could almost completely block the power of the Dao Net.
The faint black mist not only surrounded the coffin but also seeped into it. While the World Crossing Profound Coffin claimed to protect against all calamities, this was only true when escaping to other possibilities. It couldn't withstand the Dao Obliteration Calamity, nor could it completely isolate its interior from the outside world.
After a moment of silence, the two Immortals inside clearly sensed the destructive aura, and the coffin trembled violently once more, even more intensely than before. Previously, the tremors were caused by their struggle against each other. Now… they were trying to break out together!
However, chosen as a prison for the Nothingness Immortal, the coffin wasn't easily broken, even with their combined strength. After a few attempts, they realized it was futile and changed tactics.
In this life-or-death situation, Li Fan witnessed true Immortal methods. A faint, almost imperceptible sacred chant arose from within the coffin. Li Fan could only barely sense it through the Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul surrounding the coffin.
The chanter seemed to be Qian Ruochang. Li Fan attempted his previous tactic, using the power of the Dreamland to weave disruptive demonic chanting. However, the two melodies seemed to exist in different worlds, parallel and independent, unable to affect each other!
The chanting continued, and the multicolored light within the coffin intensified.
"Some force is isolating the coffin from this world. Although I can sense it through the Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul, I can't affect it."
"That's the Nothingness Immortal at work."
"Since they can't break out, they've decided to escape to another possibility together."
Li Fan sneered inwardly. Having forced them into this situation, he had anticipated their reaction.
"Traversing possibilities…"
"Let me see how that works."
The black mist transformed into countless tendrils, tightly缠绕 around the coffin, acting as extensions of Li Fan's senses, analyzing its essence. Without external interference, the World Crossing Profound Coffin was fully activated. Multicolored light surged from within, momentarily repelling the Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul.
Li Fan saw countless phantom images of the coffin overlapping. Each image was identical, but the surrounding scenery differed. As the chanting intensified, the real coffin seemed to be pulled into these overlapping images, about to detach from reality.
Simultaneously, the number of coffin images plummeted. In the fleeting glimpses, Li Fan saw only "perfect worlds" untouched by the Dao Obliteration Calamity.
Although he still held the coffin firmly, his sense of touch weakened. The coffin was fading from his grasp.
"The World Crossing Profound Coffin doesn't simply travel to any possibility. It seems to only travel to possibilities where another World Crossing Profound Coffin exists."
"It utilizes the coffins' 'convergence' to escape the current possibility."
"I see…"
Li Fan understood. If identical individuals from different possibilities could cross over and devour each other, certain objects could naturally do the same. The coffin's "world crossing" cleverly utilized this characteristic.
In fact, Li Fan using True Return to bring items from past simulations into the current reality could be considered a form of "convergence." However, not all objects could be strengthened through convergence. Only the "Heavenly Treasures" of the Xuanhuang World seemed capable of spontaneously devouring each other upon appearing simultaneously. The Dao Transformation Stones from beyond the heavens, on the other hand, required Li Fan's active intervention to merge.
"The material used to create this World Crossing Profound Coffin must be similar to Heavenly Treasures."
"Only by being identical to the coffins in other possibilities can it utilize the power of convergence to jump between them…"
No matter how strong the Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul's grip, the World Crossing Profound Coffin continued to fade.
As Li Fan observed and pondered, the coffin was almost completely detached from the current possibility. A power beyond even a True Immortal's perception descended.
"When the true is made fake, the fake becomes real."
The seven familiar characters appeared before Li Fan. Now a Half-Immortal, he could manage "the fake becomes real," even conjuring Primordial Essence of Time, the energy that helped the demonic beasts traverse possibilities.
However, he still couldn't grasp "the real becomes fake." Theoretically, destruction should be easier than creation. Li Fan had been puzzled until now. Observing the coffin's world-crossing process through the Ink Slaughter Immortal Soul, he realized he had been overthinking.
Turning a real object into nothingness, this ability of "the real becomes fake," wasn't determined by the target's strength. Targeting powerful beings like the evil Su Bai or the Black Heaven Healer was no different from targeting an ant.
As long as they were below the level of "the transformation of true and false," they couldn't resist "the real becomes fake."
However, turning something real into fake corresponded to turning something fake into real, with an existence independent of the power of true and false. This ultimate realm was beyond Li Fan's current beginner level.
"Perhaps it's because a true state can be maintained for a certain duration, but once something becomes fake, there's no returning to true."
"Once something vanishes, it vanishes forever."
This realization came to him because he observed that the World Crossing Profound Coffin's disappearance wasn't instantaneous. The countless particles composing the coffin first synced with their counterparts in other possibilities before converging and escaping. It wasn't the coffin itself that traveled, but its countless constituent particles. Once in the other possibility, they would reassemble.
"There are constraints between possibilities. Compared to a whole object, minuscule particles, even beyond my perception, should be much easier to transport."
"Divide and conquer."
"Similarly, I don't need to turn the entire coffin into fake."
"I just need to disrupt the syncing process, making this coffin different from the others."
Li Fan instantly understood. The Transformation of True and False enveloped the coffin. He recalled the feeling of countless simulated rebirths.
"True becomes fake!" he declared inwardly, focusing not on the coffin as a whole, but on a single particle composing it, as if wiping away a speck of dust. The coffin appeared unchanged externally. But…
The chanting reached its crescendo. However, the overlapping coffin images in the multicolored light abruptly vanished. Despite the loss of a single insignificant particle, the coffin was no longer a World Crossing Profound Coffin. The real had become fake, and world crossing was disrupted.
Qian Ruochang's chanting ceased. As if unable to accept this reality, the two Immortals remained silent for a long time, the coffin eerily quiet, as if they had already departed or resigned themselves to their fate.
Li Fan's focus wasn't on them, but on his successful execution of the Transformation of True and False. Theoretically, his ability to turn true into fake and fake into true should be equal. This meant he could now, though unable to completely erase an object, affect more than just a few particles.
"I can currently triple my power for a short time."
"Conversely, I should be able to weaken things to a certain extent."
In Li Fan's understanding, if a part of a whole was removed, it would inevitably weaken. As for how it weakened…
He instinctively wanted to experiment on himself. However, the thought sent a shiver down his spine. Even True Return pulsed faintly, as if warning him. This was unprecedented.
"It seems the weakening effect of 'true becomes fake' is more terrifying than I thought."
Leaving the coffin aside, Li Fan gathered ten test subjects: ordinary mortals and cultivators of varying aptitudes, from mediocre to prodigious. Their consciousnesses had been immersed in the Blissful Ignorance Dreamland. For the sake of the experiment, Li Fan recalled their consciousnesses.
Recalling the feeling of executing the divine ability, he found it less difficult this time, like an eraser lightly rubbing a drawing. After completing the divine ability, Li Fan carefully examined the ten subjects.
"Strange…"
"Their cultivation hasn't decreased. Their souls and consciousnesses seem unchanged."
"Where did the effect of my 'true becomes fake' manifest?"
After a long while, Li Fan frowned, finding no answers. If he couldn't detect any changes, it meant the effect wasn't strong enough. He continued the experiment.
Compared to the now familiar "fake becomes real," executing "true becomes fake" was incredibly taxing. Even with his current power and the support of the Dreamland inhabited by countless Xuanhuang beings, after three consecutive attempts, he felt exhausted and weak, a feeling he had never experienced before.
Alarmed, he wisely stopped. Fortunately, his efforts weren't in vain. Through repeated "erasing," he finally saw where his divine ability had taken effect. The changes in the mortals were still insignificant. He couldn't even see a clear difference in the ordinary cultivators.
The key was the "prodigy." This person, named Yin Changshou, had been unremarkable in the Xuanhuang World due to his birth and lack of resources. However, after everyone entered the Blissful Ignorance Dreamland, he had risen dramatically, surpassing even Wang Xuanba and Sun Erlang, even reaching the boundary of the Dreamland at the wall.
Li Fan had chosen him specifically for this reason. But now…
Li Fan noticed that Yin Changshou's "aura" had vanished. This wasn't spiritual Qi, but an indescribable feeling, a "premonition" of future achievements, unrelated to current cultivation. Previously, Li Fan had sensed that if left undisturbed, Yin Changshou would almost certainly reach Dao Integration, if not the Longevity Realm.
But now… it was as if his potential had been exhausted, his path forward blocked! This feeling of a bleak future appeared in the prodigy Li Fan had specifically chosen. The drastic change startled him.
"This 'aura' is a combination of comprehension, luck, foundation, talent, and everything else. Although my 'true becomes fake' can't directly lower cultivation yet, its effect…"
"Is like a blade that scrapes away the soul, even more vicious!"
"No wonder True Return warned me when I considered experimenting on myself."
"If I used this blade on myself, even I might not be able to reverse the changes."
For true geniuses, death might not be frightening. What was truly terrifying was losing their cherished talent, becoming mediocre, or even worse. This was far more devastating than physical harm.
"This divine ability severs one's future."
"And I have a feeling this isn't all it does."
It felt like inspiration was within reach, yet veiled by a layer of mist he couldn't penetrate. After a short rest, Li Fan resumed the experiment. The blade of true and false fell repeatedly. In Li Fan's eyes, Yin Changshou became less than a mortal. Mortals could still force their way onto the path of cultivation using resources, but Yin Changshou's path was completely blocked. No method could help him advance further.
"A complete regression in cultivation is certain. But why do I still feel the true harm hasn't manifested yet?"
Li Fan stared intently at Yin Changshou. After a long while, he struck the final blow, like completely erasing a drawing from a canvas. Yin Changshou didn't vanish, but some possibility within him was severed.
Li Fan looked up at the sky, a sudden realization dawning upon him.
(End of chapter)