My Simulated Road to Immortality Chapter 2307 - 1727: Returning the Favor
Previously on My Simulated Road to Immortality...
In truth, given Suo's real power, a desperate fight to the death wouldn't have crumbled so swiftly.
To begin with, Li Fan's strike powered by the True and False Dao proved truly alarming.
Suo had meticulously set up the Devouring Net, yet it broke apart the instant it met Li Fan, offering zero opposition. The gap separating them stretched like the divide between sky and ground. Trapped in the unknown and gripped by dread, Suo lost all urge to battle.
Next, Suo wasn't a native creature of the present Mountain Sea. His purpose here centered on pursuing the Great Dao from Mountain Sea beings. Should the hunt fail, it brought him no real harm. However, tangling deeply with this enigmatic powerhouse Li Fan...
Stealing Mechanism, Bai Xiao, Fang Cun, Taiwei, Li Fan...
Those caught in the net arrived fully ready, pushing forward step by step. Victory over Li Fan might still summon even mightier challengers later.
On top of that, his presence stood revealed, turning this spot into a place unfit for staying.
All these piling factors pushed Suo to prioritize fleeing, stripping away any wish to clash.
He let Li Fan rampage freely inside the Suo Net, facing no real hindrance.
The Taichu Immortal Realm, woven with such effort by Suo, largely became a source of insights for Li Fan and his invention.
As the True Yet False wiped out signs of the Suo Net, Li Fan delved into grasping its core.
Normally, the Mountain Sea brimmed with safeguards from numerous saints. Even if Li Fan yearned to freely deploy the True Yet False Divine Power and test his grasp, chances rarely arose. Yet here, Li Fan could release it unbound and without bounds.
Though the Taichu Immortal Realm stood as just a projection after Suo's consumption from the Mountain Sea, its reality matched that of the existing Mountain Sea.
The True Yet False kept dissolving nearby vistas, flooding Li Fan's thoughts with all sorts of profound realizations.
It felt like devouring a feast after prolonged starvation, a wave of supreme fulfillment crashing over Li Fan.
"Indeed, knowledge from texts stays superficial; only through action comes true depth."
"Just understanding it falls far short of putting it into practice; the gap is quite wide."
"Even memories shared via a united heart fail to fully mimic my own encounters. I once felt, through the Guardian Hill's view, brushing aside hordes of saint illusions with one motion, but that thrill pales against this moment..."
For the first time since Reincarnation, Li Fan let loose the full might of True Yet False. While showcasing his supreme abilities, he kept his immediate objective in mind.
The concealing net slowly disintegrated, exposing [Suo], the budding saint of this Mountain Sea, in his genuine shape.
Truthfully, it didn't take a "human" shape, but rather a massive cluster of twisting round black shadows.
Innumerable small dark tendrils encircled its form, occasionally flashing glimpses of the mountain sea scenes it had consumed.
Its look evoked a colossal spider forged entirely from shadowy darkness, lurking over the Mountain Sea!
Catching sight of it stirred an innate unease in Li Fan.
As though that shadowy blackness, via his stare, seeped into him and started a process of corrosion.
With a cold huff, Li Fan invoked the True and False Changes, immediately nullifying the effect from Suo.
[Heart Transformation] kicked in abruptly as well.
Upon the Great Dao Returns to Truth interface, the vibrant glow over [Stealing Mechanism] swiftly dimmed. It shifted to monochrome, dull and devoid of any arcane allure.
In the actual Mountain Sea, Li Fan at that instant switched from the [Cosmic Cycle] saint to the [Stealing Mechanism] saint!
He gazed icily at the waning form of Suo and declared firmly, "Steal my Dao and expect to slip away?"
"Take what's mine... now return it to me!"
One among the billions of undulating shadow tendrils encircling Suo burst open without any prior sign right then.
From pitch darkness, it morphed into the identical icy gray.
Next, as if beyond restraint, it surged toward the remaining tendrils, gulping them down ferociously like a pack of savage beasts!
Suo possessed the power to engulf mountains and seas, but against this abrupt assault by the gray anomaly, resistance proved tough!
Powerless, he witnessed the foe claiming a chunk of his hard-earned essence.
Though it seemed like mere consumption on the surface, the underlying rule differed entirely.
Suo's engulfing of mountains and seas resembled a hunter seizing quarry, a brutal seizure.
Yet this gray, chilling odd energy...
To seize without notice is theft!
This abruptly rebellious gray essence inside Suo was exactly the sliver of original Dao core he'd earlier taken from the Stealing Mechanism saint.
It had long been absorbed by him, merging into his strength.
But under the pressure of the True and False Dao, as Suo sought to flee.
Guided by the shifted [Stealing Mechanism] saint Li Fan, this trace of origin broke free from control.
It flowed back to Li Fan's hold, then reversed to ravage Suo's essence wildly.
Inside Suo dwelled the hoard from devouring mountains and seas across endless ages.
It formed an ultimate vault of riches.
In usual times, even the authentic Stealing Mechanism would struggle to pilfer the Dao from within.
But presently, the intruder already lurked inside the vault! No need to breach the toughest barriers outside; the task boiled down to grabbing whatever could be taken before the vault shifted away!
Despite the vault's endless valuables, Li Fan realized full well that the prime prize wasn't the Dao Suo had gathered over years.
It was the vault in itself!
Held within lay the core framework of Suo's devouring ability for mountains and seas, the very basis of his Dao attainment!
"What a rare chance, one that won't come again!"
Li Fan narrowed his gaze, sensing the steady stream moving from Suo toward him.
Beyond Suo's gathered power, cultivation level, and talents, it included his Qi Destiny, destiny...
The entirety of his tangible being eroded bit by bit under Li Fan's grasp, then seamlessly taken.
"Damn it!"
Suo, this fresh Mountain Sea entity, finally unleashed a roar of utter rage.
The cry pierced sharply, far from any human tone, more akin to a chorus of myriad insects shrilling together.
The dark shadow trembled fiercely, as if driven to frenzy by the plundering of its vault.
"What, you get to steal, but no one else can?"
Li Fan stayed unmoved, his skilled maneuvers pausing not once.
He tossed in occasional barbs.
"You..." The shadowy outline of Suo hinted at reclaiming its deep black hue.
But no matter what crossed his mind, he ultimately refused to prolong the fight with Li Fan.
Instead, he chose swift retreat to curb the damage.
Prior to vanishing, he made sure to hurl venomous threats.
The spiteful tone echoed across this world on the verge of collapse.
"Stealing Mechanism... fine! I'll keep it in mind!"
The black hue fully receded.
The vault too slowly dissolved, as if evaporating into nothingness amid these mountains and seas, leaving scant remnants for Li Fan to claim.
Finally, he watched Suo's form disappear entirely.
Li Fan exhaled a drawn-out breath tinged with mild regret: "The Stealing Mechanism Dao truly stands out. It even brushed against and detected the [Return to Reality] in my core spirit."
"From this brief test, I grasp its wonders more clearly now. No surprise that even in those days, someone as careful and steady as the Stealing Mechanism would stake his all in a last-stand battle. Beyond his nature, he held total faith in the Dao under his command."