My Simulated Road to Immortality Chapter 2259 - 1701: United to Slay the Four Saints

At this moment within the Xuanji Ring, Li Fan, Guardian Hill, and Bu Jue had reached a state of selfless unity, their very essences becoming indistinguishable from one another.

"In the past, it was by a stroke of luck that you grasped fragments of the Eternal Life Path. It appears fate was at work! However, you did underestimate me slightly. Even with the knowledge that you possess Hai Zhen, I would never stoop to plundering it. The Mountain and Sea Treasure does not simply belong to the virtuous, but to those who can truly claim it. It is the same as when I obtained the Eternal Life Path long ago; once it is in your grasp, it becomes your destiny. Others might attempt to snatch it away, but succeeding is no simple matter."

"As they say, there is a season for all things. When one holds Hai Zhen, excessive caution is impossible. Even if I truly understand Guardian Hill’s character today, I might not have the courage to disclose the secrets of Hai Zhen to you in our next life."

"Perhaps the method of utilizing Hai Zhen to pass down memories is viable. From my perspective, this so-called memory inheritance functions more like using True and False Changes to manifest departed souls once more, much like the reincarnation you have gone through."

...

As they conversed, they watched Gui Ming and the Four Sages rush forward in a desperate attempt to stop the Xuanji Ring from manifesting again. Li Fan laughed softly, "Like ants trying to topple a giant tree, how utterly pathetic. Today, we shall use these Four Sages as a sacrificial banner to honor our new alliance."

"Very well!" Guardian Hill replied with a nod.

The miraculous capabilities of the Xuanji Ring truly defied the imagination. Through the absolute merging of the memories, wisdom, and perceptions of Li Fan, Guardian Hill, and Bu Jue, it felt as though they were living through the countless eons of Guardian Hill’s existence while simultaneously mastering the True and False Changes Li Fan had endured.

Though this flash of insight was fleeting—lasting only the hundred moments Li Fan kept Hai Zhen active—the enlightenment gained by Guardian Hill far surpassed that of Li Fan.

As for Bu Jue, despite being less powerful than Li Fan, he contributed his own distinct realizations.

A threefold weaving, three minds as one.

During those brief seconds within the Xuanji Ring, Li Fan’s comprehension of the True and False Dao surged at an exponential rate.

A task that should have required the united labor of three people over several decades to finish the Xuanji Ring's construction was instead completed in a heartbeat under the influence of the True and False Dao!

As a roar of white light erupted, drenching the Mountain and Sea, Gui Ming and the Four Sages arrived just as the transformation finished.

Sensing that terrifyingly familiar glow, an instinctive dread surged within the hearts of the gathered Saints.

"How can this be? The Xuanji Ring was clearly destroyed!" Gui Ming cried out, his shock impossible to suppress.

Guardian Hill spoke with a resounding voice, "Unless one sees its true form, its ultimate mystery remains hidden. Cease your useless struggling and enter the Great Dao Returns to Truth!"

Following Guardian Hill’s command, loops of white light resembling spectral ropes bound the Four Sages, tightening from the outside in, shifting from large to small.

Utilizing their Saint Realm divine techniques, the Four Sages of Gui Ming managed to shatter a few of the rings.

However, the bindings of the Xuanji were infinite, mirroring their unavoidable destiny; within moments, they were completely restrained by the Xuanji Ring.

They had believed they were merely returning to the Other Shore to play the part of world-saviors once more.

And yet...

Compared to the era when the original Three Saints ruled, the current Xuanji Ring possessed an unsettling and alien aura.

"Guardian Hill, what is your intention?"

The Four Sages of Gui Ming felt a creeping anxiety at the mention of "Great Dao Returns to Truth."

"What am I doing? Simply what must be done."

Guardian Hill laughed once more, his gaze turning freezing as he looked upon the imprisoned saints: "You hold the power of the Saint Realm yet offer no help in saving the Mountain and Sea. It is better that you fulfill Mr. Fan’s needs, so that when the apocalypse is finally averted, his great deeds can be immortalized."

"Guardian Hill’s words resonate deeply with me," Li Fan added in agreement.

"Enough of your lies! We were right about you; now that the Three Saints are gone, your mask has finally slipped! All that talk of Sheng De was nothing but a sham!" Duan Chen shouted back with a cold sneer.

"Even if you have trapped us, you are only relying on the Xuanji Ring’s advantage. The Xuanji Ring is for suppression, not slaughter. Killing us won't be so simple!" Ye Pan added defiantly, remaining arrogant despite his captivity.

"Is that what you think..." Guardian Hill’s expression became unreadable.

"How could mortal eyes ever perceive such profound wonder? Today, you shall witness it. To catch a glimpse of the True and False Dao before the end means your deaths will not be in vain." With that quiet declaration, the fate of the Four Sages was sealed.

"Mr. Fan, observe closely."

Inside the Xuanji Ring, it suddenly seemed as if boundless visions of mountains and seas were rising up.

Unlike previous instances, these were far more than simple hallucinations.

The Saints could actually feel the genuine aura of real mountains and seas emanating from the vision.

The Upper Mountain went on forever, and the Infinite Sea was without end.

The sheer weight of these vistas instantly choked the breath from the Saints. Within this mountain and sea phantasm, a single figure stood out.

He sat upon a peak, staring out at the waters, his back turned to all living things.

"Have you heard the mountains roar and the seas sigh?"

"Have you seen the mountains crumble and the seas overflow?"

"Have you felt the disaster of falling peaks and swallowing tides?"

"Have you feared the silence of vanishing mountains and quieted seas?"

...

Lost within the mountain and sea visions, the Saints could no longer find Guardian Hill’s form.

Only the majesty of the terrain, its collapse, and its total ruin remained, pressing down on them like a gale of blades and a frost-coated sword.

These were the realizations Guardian Hill had once lived through, now fused with the True and False Changes to become nearly tangible.

Powerful as the Four Sages of Gui Ming were, they could not escape such a massive Great Calamity.

The visions appeared and then shattered into nothingness. Everything returned to a state of calm.

The Four Sages of Gui Ming looked as though they had truly suffered through the annihilation of a world.

They were erased in silence.

From that moment on, they ceased to exist!

All that remained were four dim glows floating within the Xuanji Ring.

These were the very Dao Paths of the Four Sages.

Though Li Fan was stunned by the sheer lethality Guardian Hill displayed through the True and False Dao, he did not remain dazed, quickly calling upon Hai Zhen.

Under his gaze, the Dao Paths of the Four Sages were instantly consumed.

Another string of text materialized within the Great Dao Returns to Truth section.

"To reach the Saint Dao is a magnificent feat. Yet looking at it now, it is merely a single, unremarkable brick in the infinite wall of the True and False." Seeing the Returning to Truth Hall through Li Fan’s eyes, Bu Jue spoke with deep emotion.

Guardian Hill remained quiet for a moment before nodding: "Even the Eternal Life Path is contained within."

"When this world meets its end, we might also find our place inside."

The meaning behind Guardian Hill’s words was clear: before Li Fan could depart with Hai Zhen, he intended to dismantle his own existence to become part of the Great Dao Returns to Truth!

"There is no need to rush that. I saw the divine technique you just used, Guardian Hill; its strength is truly frightening. Even without the Xuanji Ring to bind them, normal saints would struggle to survive it."

"The technique used to see potential futures is called Observing Mountain and Sea. This saint-slaying divine technique should be called..."

"Flattening Mountain and Sea."

Li Fan carefully replayed the entire sequence of the vision's rise and fall in his mind, feeling both awe and excitement.

While he could currently perform this divine technique thanks to the three-in-one state of the Xuanji Ring, he feared that without this support in his next life, he would lose the core essence of it.

Sensing Li Fan's worry, Guardian Hill began to provide a meticulous explanation.

"Every aspect of this is reconstructed using the True and False Dao from my own past experiences. It is then projected onto the target."

"Without the True and False Dao to anchor it, it would be nothing more than a convincing illusion. But under its power, it can transform into the very law of the saints!"