Though momentarily caught off guard, Li Fan didn't show weakness. "The Upstream Ark?" he asked, his gaze fixed on the seemingly pristine wooden boat resting on the ragged man's shoulder.
The man chuckled, releasing his grip. "As expected of a disciple of Shou Qiu Gong. Your insight is keen." He readily confirmed the treasure's identity.
"Shou Qiu Gong…" Li Fan repeated the name, a mix of familiarity and strangeness washing over him as images flashed through his mind. He also noticed something peculiar about his body. Within the painting, recalling his past didn't cause the usual headache. He could freely access his memories. But his instincts warned him that doing so would have dire consequences. This contradiction highlighted the strangeness of this place.
Seeing Li Fan's silence, the ragged man continued, unfazed. "As Shou Qiu Gong's disciple, you shouldn't covet a mere Upstream Ark. Why are you here? I thought I would never see another person again," he said wistfully.
Li Fan noticed that although he had channeled a significant amount of life force into the painting, it had been completely absorbed by the Upstream Ark. The ragged man, its owner, hadn't received any of it, his middle-aged appearance still radiating a deathly aura.
Li Fan, his body brimming with life force, was acutely sensitive to its presence. He realized the ragged man wasn't a living being, but a projection.
He didn't let his guard down. The projection's power was formidable. He couldn't imagine the ragged man's strength in his prime.
"The Dao of Longevity… a disciple of Shou Qiu Gong…" the ragged man mused. "Could this be the source of the boundless life force within you?" His fragmented memories were returning.
Since the man hadn't shown overt hostility, Li Fan decided to probe further.
"You're making assumptions," he said. "Why wouldn't a disciple of Shou Qiu Gong covet the Upstream Ark? The ability to reverse time is a profound opportunity, perhaps even surpassing the Dao of Longevity!"
The ragged man looked at him in surprise, then smiled, as if understanding something. He tossed the wooden boat towards Li Fan.
"Shou Qiu Gong must be trapped in the Eternal Silent Void, able to pass on his teachings but unable to guide his disciples. Take a look at this Upstream Ark. Is it as wondrous as you imagined?"
Li Fan caught the ark and examined it closely. Sensing his life force, the ark greedily tried to absorb it like a black hole. Li Fan didn't resist completely, allowing a thin stream of life force to flow into the ark, using it to probe its interior. He was curious why a treasure capable of reversing time required life force to sustain itself.
The small ark felt incredibly heavy. Li Fan strained to hold it as his consciousness followed the life force into the ark's interior.
He found it in even worse condition than the outside. Cracks like deep scars covered every inch of its surface, revealing glimpses of scenes from other times and places. He realized these weren't mere illusions. Falling into one of these cracks could mean being lost in the chaotic currents of time.
Carefully avoiding the cracks, he traced the flow of life force within the ark. The pervasive temporal distortions disrupted his senses, making it difficult to focus. Finally, he understood.
"Upstream… upstream…" He knelt, stroking the ark's deck. "It appears to be an object, but it's actually a living being. Going against the current consumes its lifespan, accelerated a thousandfold by the erosion of time. And it consumes not just life force, but something else…"
He narrowed his eyes. In his vision, the Upstream Ark resembled a dying old man, clinging to life by absorbing external life force, barely managing to hold on. If Li Fan hadn't arrived, this wondrous treasure might have vanished along with the painting.
"How could this be?" He was disappointed. He had expected a treasure capable of reversing time, not a broken relic on the verge of collapse.
After confirming his findings, he withdrew his consciousness from the ark.
"So? Even if I gave it to you, would you use it? You'd likely drown in the river of time before reaching your destination," the ragged man said, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
To his surprise, Li Fan didn't follow the expected script.
"Yes," he said firmly. "I would. Even a damaged Upstream Ark represents a chance for survival. No matter how slim the odds, it's the only hope in a desperate situation."
The ragged man's smile faded. After a long silence, he said softly, "You're right. If Xuanyuan Hong had felt the same, he wouldn't have left it here."
Hearing the familiar name, Li Fan asked, "Xuanyuan Hong… is that the Profound Heaven King? Did he achieve his greatness with the Upstream Ark?"
The ragged man's eyes filled with a wistful sadness. "In my opinion, Xuanyuan Hong's achievements were three parts luck, three parts his own efforts, and four parts other factors. The Upstream Ark contributed only half of that remaining four parts. As for the other half… The Mountain and Sea Fishery played a significant role." He glanced outside the painting.
"The Mountain and Sea Fishery?" Li Fan realized he was referring to the Fishing Pond.
"But why call it by that name?"
A vision of vast oceans and towering mountains flashed through his mind, accompanied by intense light and heat, countless possibilities melting within the blinding radiance. He was closer to recovering his memories.
Suddenly, the ragged man placed his hand on Li Fan's shoulder, pulling him back to reality.
Li Fan realized his perilous situation. Both his avatar in the Xuanhuang World and his original body in the Great Xuan Small World were on the verge of collapse, their heads exploding, their bodies dissolving from the top down, the effects of the Mountain and Sea vision overwhelming even the Dao of Longevity. If the ragged man hadn't intervened, Li Fan would have become a mere phantom.
"You… seem to be in a peculiar state," the ragged man observed, studying him with concern.
Li Fan bowed slightly. "You have a keen eye, Senior. I've encountered some… complications in my cultivation. Most of my memories are gone. Even attempting to recall them causes severe backlash. I've had to rebuild my cultivation from scratch, relying on instinct and the Dao of Longevity."
"As for Shou Qiu Gong… I have some vague recollections." He projected an image of the solitary figure watching the sea from his hill.
The ragged man's expression turned solemn. He studied Li Fan carefully. "The Dao of Longevity within you is indeed Shou Qiu Gong's. There's no mistaking it. But I only have a superficial understanding of the Mountain and Sea Great Dao, gleaned from Shou Qiu Gong's teachings. I can't offer much help. But don't worry. With the Dao of Longevity protecting you, you will survive even this world's destruction." His voice held a hint of envy.
Li Fan nodded. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. May I ask your name?"
The ragged man waved his hand dismissively. "The name of a dead man is like smoke in the wind. There's no need to mention it."
"If I ever recover my memories and return to Master's side," Li Fan insisted, "I will tell him of your kindness. Even if you are gone, a part of you remains. With Master's power, perhaps your revival isn't impossible."
The ragged man seemed unconvinced, but after a moment, he changed his mind.
"I was the Tai Heavenly Emperor of the Immortal Realm. I ruled for a thousand years, then abdicated to live in seclusion. As Dao Obliteration intensified, I searched for a solution. This Lankedao Domain was my creation."
The Hidden Emperor of the Immortal Realm, the Lankedao Domain, the Dao Obliteration Calamity… each keyword triggered a torrent of memories, leaving Li Fan reeling.
He looked at the ragged man with newfound understanding.
"As a former Immortal Emperor, you must have possessed profound power. How did you end up in this state?" Though blunt, his question was genuine. He raised the Upstream Ark. "Was it because of this?"
The Tai Heavenly Emperor nodded. "Partly. But mainly because my cultivation was insufficient. I failed." He sighed, lost in thought. "You probed the ark with your divine sense. Did you sense its… life force?"
"Yes. It appears to be an object, but it possesses a spirit."
"That's because it was crafted from my own body," the Tai Heavenly Emperor revealed, a faint smile on his face.
Li Fan stared at him, shocked. He wasn't joking.
"But legend says the Upstream Ark was created by the… Inverse Immortal…"
"The Inverse Immortal? I've never heard of such a being. But perhaps there's more than one Upstream Ark. Anyone who understands the Dao of Upstream can create one."
"The Dao of Upstream…?" A thought struck Li Fan. "The Profound Heaven King?"
The Tai Heavenly Emperor shrugged. "As a mere ghost, I can't claim to know everything. But if anyone in this world could recreate the Upstream Ark, it would be Xuanyuan Hong. He had a good grasp of the Dao of Upstream when we parted ways."
Li Fan remained silent.
"Some things you only understand through experience," the Tai Heavenly Emperor continued. "Most events can be altered by reversing time. But it's the unchangeable, infinitesimal fraction that ultimately determines the river of time's course. No matter how you divert its flow, it will eventually reach the vast, tranquil ocean. Without the power to change the ocean itself, reversing time is a futile struggle."
His words felt familiar, echoing Li Fan's own thoughts.
"Irrelevant to the End," appeared in his mind, aligning with the Tai Heavenly Emperor's description.
"I was once an Immortal Emperor, but how many Immortal Emperors have there been?" the Tai Heavenly Emperor asked. "How many have achieved Transcendence like Shou Qiu Gong? As his disciple, wielding the Dao of Longevity, you already have the foundation for Transcendence, far surpassing most Immortal Emperors."
Despite the praise, Li Fan felt uneasy, as if the Tai Heavenly Emperor didn't fully approve of his status as Shou Qiu Gong's disciple.
"Strange… could it be…?" He suppressed the thought and asked, "Does someone like Master possess the power to change the ocean, as you described?"
"Perhaps… a sliver of possibility. But even Shou Qiu Gong would struggle within the Eternal Silent Void."
(End of chapter)