My Simulated Road to Immortality Chapter 2310 - 1728: The Years of Mountain Sea (Part 2)
Previously on My Simulated Road to Immortality...
"The past wasn't brought up earlier for fear it would dampen our drive to gather once more. Yet, following several triumphs in the Mountain and Sea reunions, I feel we're ready to face it now."
Saint Lianshan took in these words from one of his own incarnations and at last gave a nod.
"Learning it sooner carries its benefits. In that case..."
All three Saints raised their hands at once, unveiling the overlapping visions of the Mountain and Sea before the gathered crowd.
This wasn't the initial glimpse of the miniature Mountain and Sea landscape, yet the All Saints still lacked a clear grasp of their actual position within it.
"The Mountain and Sea Meld creates paths to trace."
"Similar to growth rings on a tree, every layer inward marks a 'year.'"
"One such year in the Mountain and Sea, when aligned with our more common timeline..."
"Translates to a hundred million years."
Upon hearing this, the All Saints' faces stayed mostly composed.
The figure of 'million' might sound overwhelming, but after all, certain All Saints had truly endured that span.
So, for the time being, they managed to take it in stride.
Noting the reactions around him, Mountain Lian went on in a measured tone: "From the moment of the Mountain and Sea Meld, from our very origins, and from when memories first formed. The Mountain and Sea has persisted for close to a thousand years already."
As though touched by the essence of those distant eras, in that moment, Mountain Lian appeared a touch more aged in the All Saints' gazes.
Inside the Xuanji Ring, a profound silence descended.
One year matching a hundred million years.
The Mountain and Sea's thousand years add up to a hundred billion years.
At a quick look, it doesn't strike as an endless stretch.
But every saint there had personally traversed and mended the Mountain and Sea through repeated efforts.
The toil across those cycles had only restored a mere million years of time.
And stretching before them was a path of a hundred billion years yet to go...
Even bearing the resolve of a Saint, this realization brought a wave of vertigo.
Despite the vast millions of years ahead as described by Saint Lianshan, they had covered just a fraction—a ten-thousandth—of the full distance!
Could they truly see it through?
This doubt flickered suddenly in the minds of the All Saints.
In the Xuanji Ring, the six core saints held steady.
Bound by the shared will and resolve of the Three Saints, even knowing the harsh reality, they clung to a sliver of assurance to keep going.
Meanwhile, the mental projections of the saints who had first navigated the Mountain and Sea Veins plunged into inner tempests of differing intensities.
If a hundred-mile trek claims you've gone halfway at ninety miles, then their current labors hadn't even begun the real voyage.
Grasping the sheer difficulty of their task without crumbling right then was proof enough of a saint's fortitude.
Li Fan, just like the rest, wore a look of profound astonishment hard to put into words.
He had suspected as much.
Others could only vaguely gauge the Mountain and Sea's expanse from the sporadic projections shown by the Three Saints. But Li Fan once possessed the Mountain and Sea Change Outline penned by Hai Zhen.
The records inside didn't focus on any isolated era of the Mountain and Sea.
Instead, they captured the complete form of the Mountain and Sea.
With Li Fan's strong mind, even upon first encountering that immense scope, he almost got lost in it. No surprise Hai Zhen kept this secret tucked away, sharing it only once Li Fan reached a suitable strength.
After etching the full Mountain and Sea via Infinite Spirit and ascending as a Mountain Sea Saint.
Li Fan harbored serious questions about the Three Saints' assurances on reunification.
The Mountain and Sea's history stretched far too vast.
The All Saints' reunification efforts felt like the slow creep of insects.
Not even counting the countless barriers from the Void Realm...
Thanks to Li Fan's involvement and the boost from True Spirit Infusion, multiple Mountain and Sea reunions had pulled off successfully.
But without Li Fan bridging the Mountain and Sea?
Would true reunification ever happen?
The push for Mountain and Sea Reunification started at the Mountain and Sea's close and got handed down by the Mountain and Sea Travellers.
Even the cunning strategies of the Three Saints led them to embrace the belief.
And act on it without hesitation.
To be fair, in principle, succeeding once means you could do it a hundred times. Building up to thousands or tens of thousands, it's just a matter of steady persistence.
The Mountain and Sea reunification holds real potential.
But that assumes calm waters throughout the Void Realm.
Yet in just unwinding a brief million-year slice, Li Fan ran into plenty of unexpected hurdles like Void Realm Incarnates and Ancient Saints' woven traps.
It was tough to picture the deeper challenges lurking further on.
Li Fan already viewed his existence as plenty extended.
But stacked against a hundred billion years, he felt like a newborn still wrapped in cloths.
The immense gap stirred hesitation in Li Fan.
This notion had simmered in his thoughts for ages, though he'd never found the proper chance to express it.
At last, with it voiced openly, Li Fan sensed a weight lifting from him.
Posing this wasn't about stirring trouble or casting doubt.
It carried a sincere note of seeking answers.
Not even the Longevity Guardian Hill could ease the uncertainties in Li Fan's mind.
Only the Three Saints offered any hope for clarity.
Seeing the evident disarray among many there, Saint Lianshan gave a gentle smile and a slight head shake: "Exactly because I anticipated this reaction, I held back from disclosing the Mountain and Sea's actual age so bluntly."
"From a mortal's viewpoint, facing the Mountain and Sea's true length can spark real disorientation."
"But..."
"Since we've committed to the Mountain and Sea Reunification scheme, it proves the scheme is workable!"
"A hundred billion years might look endless, but it's only the trail we've already covered, the path behind us."
"If you're game, you can dive into my memories and truly walk through a hundred billion years of the Mountain and Sea's history."
"I'm sure that one personal trek will clear up the doubts clouding your minds."
Saint Lianshan's words resonated across the Xuanji Ring, igniting a soft white glow.
The All Saints' spirits stirred involuntarily, rekindling bits of their fighting resolve.
Li Fan grasped it a little better now.
By the yardstick of a normal lifespan, sure, a hundred billion would terrify anyone.
But the Three Saints embodied the Mountain and Sea itself.
As they put it, a hundred billion was just the ground they'd already crossed.
To cross it once more, even with extra obstacles thrown in.
Why hold back?
"It's because I've gone through it that I trust," Li Fan reflected openly.
He spoke up first: "I'd like to draw on the Three Saints' recollections to traverse a thousand miles of the Mountain and Sea."
"Like fulfilling the reunification foretold."
"Or else, I fear I might not hold out."
Li Fan's mood dipped a bit.
The other saints stayed quiet, though most shared that sentiment deep down.
That made sense in theory, yes.
But living it firsthand versus leaning on vague belief were worlds apart.
The Three Saints shared glances, as if weighing it fully.
Then they nodded their assent.
"A hundred billion years is indeed a stretch."
"I'll guide you along it, though you might not last the whole way."
"Don't force it—give what you can."
"Your projected minds won't handle it; bring your actual forms."
The voice came from Mountain Lian's incarnate thought.
The focus returned to Li Fan's real body, now inside the Mountain Sea Xuanji Ring.
A misty radiance began to emanate from the Three Saints' forms.
As if holding boundless illumination and endless vistas inside.
The Three Saints posed one final query, and once the All Saints nodded confirmation.
The glow steadily intensified, fully enveloping the All Saints' silhouettes!