"Is the entire mortal world, including the Mountain and Sea, just a larger version of the [Samsara of No Return]?"
"Just as the True Celestial Venerable couldn't change the fate of the Xuanhuang World being consumed by the Immortal Ruins, the Mountain and Sea are also destined to merge."
"How can one truly change fate, achieve true Transcendence?"
…
As the Samsara of No Return reset, Li Fan's consciousness returned to his body. However, the questions raised by this experiment lingered, troubling him even as he discreetly tested the Heavenly Pillar breakwater in reality.
His experiment within the Samsara of No Return proved successful. He could replicate the structure perfectly in the real world.
Witnessing Li Fan's construction of the Immortal breakwater, Dao Bearer was impressed. "Junior Brother, you are truly a genius! To replicate this structure so quickly, based only on your memories, without even visiting the site…"
"Understanding the principles makes replication straightforward. The new Dao Net you've woven, Senior Brother, with its novel Dao Principles not found in our world, is truly remarkable," Li Fan said modestly, gesturing towards the Dao Net surrounding the Great Wall.
While Li Fan studied the Immortal breakwater, Dao Bearer had fully integrated the new Dao strings into the Dao Net. Li Fan could sense the increased stability of the star region around the Great Wall, thanks to these reinforcements.
The addition of these new Dao Principles seemed to have a synergistic effect.
Dao Bearer, noticing this, shared an anecdote.
He had once asked Keeper Qiu about methods to resist the Dao Obliteration Calamity. As his disciple, he wished to emulate his master's feat of single-handedly saving a world.
Keeper Qiu, instead of mocking his disciple's ambition, offered two suggestions:
First, continue cultivating the [Projection Dao Bearer] technique. With sufficient strength, although he couldn't ultimately escape being consumed, he might be able to endure until the final merging of the Mountain and Sea.
If the first method relied on external forces, the second focused on strengthening the possibility itself. A robust world wouldn't require pillars or projections for support.
However, the possibility Dao Bearer resided in was already riddled with flaws, like a terminally ill patient. Reversing its decline required drastic measures.
Absorbing the Great Dao from other possibilities to replenish its own deficiencies.
Taking from the surplus to supplement the lacking!
Keeper Qiu told Dao Bearer that there were indeed individuals who traversed possibilities, extracting and refining the Great Dao to sustain their dying worlds.
"This must be what Master was referring to. It seems one must always experiment personally. Mere contemplation is no substitute for action," Dao Bearer said, stroking his beard, clearly pleased with his creation.
Li Fan and Dao Bearer exchanged insights, their interactions genuinely resembling those of close senior and junior brothers.
Time passed swiftly in this amicable atmosphere. Fifty years passed in a blink.
Dao Bearer still hadn't received a reply from Keeper Qiu, but the thirteen Primordial Dao Incarnates Li Fan had been waiting for finally arrived.
One day, ripples of energy emanated from the edge of the Great Wall and the Shuo Star Sea.
Like waves crashing against a shore, caused by a massive ship sailing through a storm, these ripples battered the already fragile star region, held together by the Great Wall and the Dao Net. It felt like a small island on the verge of being capsized by a tsunami.
Li Fan and Dao Bearer appeared, their gazes fixed on the source of the disturbance.
The scene was similar to the approach of the Dao Obliteration Calamity, except for the additional sound of metallic pounding, like a heavy hammer striking repeatedly.
With each clang, a thread seemed to be woven from nothingness.
The continuous clanging strengthened the threads, which, like a divine force parting the sea, carved a path through the Dao Obliteration Calamity.
Li Fan, watching this, was reminded of Black Healer's arrival, when he shattered the Great Wall.
"Senior Brother, have you ever seen someone traverse possibilities like this?"
Dao Bearer paused, then recalled the foreign Unnamed Ones Li Fan had mentioned. His expression turned serious.
"It seems that Di Sanmo wasn't entirely truthful."
"This commotion isn't something thirteen ordinary Unnamed True Immortals could cause."
Li Fan nodded in agreement. "That pounding sound can momentarily repel the Dao Obliteration Calamity… Ordinary Unnamed True Immortals would be annihilated by it."
"But with Senior Brother here, we have nothing to fear."
Dao Bearer chuckled coldly. "Materials for mending the heavens are always welcome, no matter the source."
The phenomena at the edge of the Shuo Star Sea intensified until the thread in the void solidified. The pounding ceased, and a green pillar of light shot out from the thread.
The Dao Obliteration Calamity silently consumed the thread behind it. Unlike the commotion during its creation, its erasure was quiet and swift.
The pillar of light seemed to have locked onto the Great Wall's location. Without hesitation, it hurtled towards them.
However, as it approached, it seemed to notice the Shuo Star Sea's Dao Net clinging to the Great Wall like a protective layer.
It stopped abruptly.
The green light subsided, revealing its source: a grotesque, multi-limbed sphere of flesh.
A faint, eerie green light still clung to its surface, obscuring its details.
But Li Fan could still discern various beast-like features.
"Junior Brother, it seems something significant has happened to the Beastkin race."
"Indeed, Senior Brother. I've noticed it too. There's no sign of multiple consciousnesses within this fused entity…" Li Fan stared at the creature and, with a thought, activated the Beast Taming Wheel.
The wheel spun, and the countless tentacles on the flesh sphere twitched and swayed.
It seemed to be mocking Li Fan.
"Little one, enjoying the Beast Taming Wheel?"
Myriad voices, each with a different emotion – anger, mockery, greed, ecstasy, relief – echoed simultaneously.
Li Fan shook his head slightly, turning to Dao Bearer with a hint of regret. "It seems I underestimated them."
"After all, they represent an entire civilization, albeit a foreign one. They aren't easily manipulated. Even the same individual can differ drastically across possibilities, let alone an entire race," Dao Bearer consoled him.
"But they've still come. Just as Master said, irrelevant to the endgame."
Since his experience in the Samsara of No Return, Li Fan had grown fond of those words, not only for their cryptic nature but also for the sense of control they conveyed.
"Indeed, Junior Brother! Irrelevant to the endgame!"
"Arrogant foreigners, since you've come, stay!"
Before Li Fan could react, Dao Bearer vanished.
The Dao Net outside the Great Wall erupted in light and expanded rapidly, enveloping the entire remaining star region within the Obliterated Lands.
The giant, multi-limbed flesh sphere was caught in the net.
Although its ability to traverse possibilities relied on the Primordial Essence of Time provided by Li Fan, the commotion upon its arrival demonstrated its power.
It was likely a fusion of the entire Beastkin race, including the thirteen Primordial Dao Incarnates.
Despite being trapped, it wasn't afraid. It was delighted.
"Delicious!"
"Such hospitality! I must repay you handsomely!"
"Hee hee hee hee!"
Myriad maniacal laughs echoed from the flesh sphere.
Images of ferocious beasts, some eyeless, some headless, all bloodied, flashed across its surface. They all lunged at the Dao Net, as if trying to devour it.
An immense suction force emanated from the creature, unlike Jixian's Dao of Hunger.
This foreign entity devoured indiscriminately, consuming everything – the Heavenly Dao, all things in existence – as mere sustenance.
Besides devouring, it also exuded an eagerness to merge and assimilate, as if wanting to absorb Li Fan and everything in this star region.
A small section of the Shuo Star Sea's Dao Net vanished under this onslaught.
Even Li Fan was surprised by the speed at which it consumed and digested Dao Principles, rapidly converting them into its own power.
He saw the flesh sphere sprout hundreds of new tentacles.
"Beast!"
Dao Bearer roared, and the Dao Net's light intensified.
The foreign entity's consumption slowed.
Dao Bearer's hands pierced through the void, appearing above the flesh sphere. Ignoring its devouring power, he pressed down on it.
Despite the beastly images gnawing at his hands, he remained unmoved, his form more solid than the Great Dao itself.
The foreign entity could devour the Great Dao but was helpless against this unyielding stone from the Mountain and Sea.
Thousands of its tentacles disintegrated with shrieks of pain, their original forms briefly visible in the bloody mess that splattered on the ground.
Before they could even struggle, countless smaller tentacles emerged from the flesh sphere, dragging the remains back inside.
Soon, new tentacles regrew.
"Wind, rise!"
One of Dao Bearer's giant hands continued to pin down the foreign entity, while the other gestured towards the void from which it had emerged.
A humming sound, like an approaching hurricane, filled the air, similar to the earlier pounding.
However, this time, it wasn't parting the void.
It was drawing in ripples of the Dao Obliteration Calamity!
Li Fan's pupils constricted. This was a technique Dao Bearer had never used or even mentioned before. He was clearly enraged by the foreign entity's insatiable devouring.
"Those ripples… aren't an illusion. That's the true Dao Obliteration Calamity!"
"But not as a surging tide, but as a gentle breeze?!"
Li Fan's eyes widened as he quickly grasped the secret of this technique.
"The essence of the Dao Obliteration Calamity is the merging of the Mountain and Sea."
"Crashing waves represent their collision, but the wind between them is also a part of it…"
Li Fan watched as the foreign entity's tentacles evaporated in the ripples, not even leaving behind fragments.
He saw the wind from the Mountain and Sea cleansing the mortal world.
"Before the tide arrives, the wind comes first."
"Only those who observe the Mountain and Sea can foresee this."
As Li Fan gained this understanding, Dao Bearer's voice echoed in his ears.
The foreign entity was truly resilient. Even under this scouring wind from the Mountain and Sea, which could erode an entire star region, it persisted, its regenerative abilities astounding.
Countless tentacles regrew, each one a consumed member of its race, forming layers of defense.
Although it knew it was no match for this power, with its escape route cut off, it fought back with increasing ferocity.
Shrieks echoed as the tentacles transformed back into their original beast forms, fleeing in all directions.
A massive fissure opened in the center of the giant flesh sphere, revealing an orange-yellow eye.
Its gaze momentarily halted the ripples of the Mountain and Sea.
Although the wind quickly resumed, this brief pause bought the fleeing tentacles valuable time.
If not for Li Fan's intervention, these fleeing beasts would have vanished shortly after, as if some unknown predator lay in wait.
The foreign entity felt the connection to its severed parts being completely cut off, just like those swept away by the ripples.
"What in the world?!"
(End of chapter)