My Simulated Road to Immortality Chapter 2280 - 1711: The Void Realm’s Mastermind Revealed (Part 2)
Previously on My Simulated Road to Immortality...
"Of all the diverse geniuses within the Mountain Sea, why have you chosen to replicate me?"
Guardian Hill was certain that the entity lurking behind the Void Realm would not waste effort on meaningless actions.
He soon grasped the purpose behind it all as a faint resonance began to link his physical form with the apparition standing before him.
"Should they succeed in slaying me, they can usurp my identity."
"Even if that objective fails, they can use this enigmatic connection to gradually assimilate me as long as they keep me occupied."
"The link itself stems from the act of being consumed by Dao Yan, making it impossible to sever. Had it not been for the protection of my True and False Dao, and my presence within Xuan Ji alongside Mr. Fan where our Tao and moral spirit are intertwined, the rate of 'assimilation' would have been a hundred times swifter, if not more."
"The general of the Void Realm is indeed a master of strategy."
However, these were merely the minor ripples caused by the general before his actual strike.
When the phantom Guardian Hill finally made its move, it unleashed a cataclysmic storm!
Dao Yan devoured the limitless Mountain Sea, reaching the absolute zenith of annihilation.
With a graceful motion, the phantom Guardian Hill ensnared the very limits of the Void Realm.
In a heartbeat, a multitude of vortices erupted around him, trapping him in a viscous whirlpool that made movement nearly impossible.
Primeval forces of immense scale, capable of drowning the Mountain Sea, were now focused entirely upon Guardian Hill.
This represented the concentrated power of an ambush spanning every timeline, all converging on this single point in the present.
The longer the history of the Mountain Sea, the more overwhelming this lethal pressure became.
Faced with this tempest that blotted out Heaven and Earth, Guardian Hill felt the paths to both his past and future obstructed by the gale.
His memories began to dissolve into nothingness, and he could see nothing but darkness where the future should be.
Only his current self remained, fighting to survive.
He instinctively triggered his True and False Dao to shield his essence; though many recollections had vanished, his primary mission remained vivid in his mind.
Confronting the double before him, Guardian Hill attempted to use his thoughts to render the being false.
The outcome, however, was underwhelming.
If the phantoms of the Three Saints he had previously destroyed were as thin as a single sheet of paper,
Then the phantom Guardian Hill at this moment was constructed from thousands upon thousands of paper layers stacked together.
It possessed actual mass and depth.
While it could not stop the erasure of the True and False Dao, it could endure the process for a significant duration!
"It is because I have yet to reach the ultimate essence."
"If I had, no amount of accumulated mass could prevent it from being wiped away instantly."
Even amidst this deadlock, Guardian Hill had already devised a countermeasure.
"This maneuver can kill the general and perhaps force the puppet master behind the scenes to show a glimpse of their true face!"
Once the decision was made, Guardian Hill did not waver for a second.
"Mr. Fan, observe carefully!"
As he spoke, he shockingly dropped every defense, inviting the phantom Guardian Hill’s erosion and assimilation.
If Guardian Hill truly carried the weight of Hai Zhen, he would never have surrendered so easily.
But...
He was nothing more than a lure.
"When the truth is feigned, the false becomes the truth!"
As his physical form began to submerge into the Void Realm, Guardian Hill broke into a loud song, decisively striking himself with a "True as False" blade.
To slay all existence is a trial, but to slay oneself is effortless!
Through countless years of watching the mountains and seas, Guardian Hill had long ago mastered the understanding of his own being.
The act of erasing himself was as fluid and natural as a master butcher carving an ox.
With one strike, Guardian Hill’s form turned translucent.
Simultaneously, the phantom Guardian Hill began to fade away as well!
The enemy had not anticipated that the "Master of True and False Dao" would resort to such a suicidal tactic, leaving the phantom Guardian Hill in a state of shock.
But the consequences of the "True as False" strike were already cascading like a collapsing mountain range.
The "True as False" blade ignored the constraints of time and space, cutting through the river of history.
To slay the Guardian Hill of the present was to slay the Guardian Hill of the past and the future.
This included the version of Guardian Hill consumed by Dao Yan.
The vast layers of data stored within the phantom Guardian Hill—meant to counter him—were now repurposed as fuel for this self-immolation.
"Wisdom has become its own undoing!"
Gathering momentum, Guardian Hill showed no pity as he merged into the Void Realm, repeatedly striking himself with the "True as False" blade.
"If you wish to swallow me, then I shall let you be filled!"
"In all my life, I have nothing to regret in my past!"
In the middle of his destruction, Guardian Hill laughed with wild joy.
Past, present, and future were all turning to void.
Suddenly, Guardian Hill remembered his true name.
Chrode.
Chrode Guardian Hill.
...
The demise of Guardian Hill was only the beginning.
It was like a fire sweeping through a camp, or an unstoppable avalanche.
The massive strike prepared by the Void Realm hit nothing but air.
Instead, the flames of transformation were lit within it, spreading without end.
Like a beam of sunlight piercing the gloom.
The Void Realm, once like a thick blanket of clouds, began to be riddled with holes and crumble away.
Watching this, the Three Saints finally realized that the so-called Void Realm was not a state of absolute nothingness.
Its existence could still be deleted by the power of "True as False."
The fire of True as False raged across the expanse. The suffocating clouds over the Mountain Sea began to vanish.
The Mountain Sea regained its life, seemingly saved from the threat of assimilation.
Yet, for some reason, an even sharper sense of dread filled the hearts of the Three Saints.
Driven by a collective instinct, they all turned their gaze toward a specific spot in the void.
Where Guardian Hill had fallen, strands of black lines, resembling spider silk, began to manifest quietly.
In an instant, they wove themselves into a complex, incomprehensible net.
The origin of these lines was a mystery, but rooted in the void, they were forcibly stitching back together the collapsing pieces of the Void Realm.
They seemed to be using these scattered threads to halt the impending disintegration.
But it didn't end there.
Within that net of void, a single thread continued to extend.
It started at the site of Guardian Hill’s death.
And it led directly to...
The sanctuary of a hidden individual!
The Master of True and False Dao could never be snuffed out so simply.
Since Guardian Hill had perished here, it proved that the real Master of True and False Dao was someone else entirely!
Guardian Hill was merely a sacrificial pawn sent out by that person.
Despite the setback within the Void Realm,
The entities behind it realized this truth instantly.
By seizing the remnants left by Guardian Hill’s passing, they attempted to track down the mastermind!
Even though he had been completely severed by the True as False blade in every dimension,
The lingering echoes of his presence remained before his total disappearance.
The power behind the Void Realm was using these very echoes to hunt Li Fan!
Though countless eras of progress had been lost in a moment, they would not retreat yet.
If they could find the source of the True and False Dao, any sacrifice was worth it.
The net of void shifted in tandem with the growing thread; wherever it passed, time and space seemed to lock in place.
The net expanded rapidly, and sensing the renewed danger, the recovering Mountain Sea stopped its growth.
The Three Saints looked on with grim expressions, banding together to protect themselves.
What began as a net the size of a palm
Transformed in a flash into a cosmic web, casting its shadow over the entire universe!