My Simulated Road to Immortality Chapter 2343: 1750: The Day When Shanhai Defeated the Void Realm
Previously on My Simulated Road to Immortality...
“Could it be that an old friend has willingly fallen from grace?” Saint Taiyi furrowed his brows.
From the very beginning of Mountain Sea up to the present, billions of years have elapsed, and dozens of saints have emerged. Yet in the Void Realm, only a single will has ever existed. Defecting to the Void Realm isn't a simple choice. If it were, traitors would have appeared in Mountain Sea long ago,” Sea Return Saint shook his head lightly.
“The origin of this shift might stem from inside the Void Realm itself.”
The Three Saints exchanged glances, as though they were weighing some crucial matter.
Suddenly, lights and shadows twisted, and a Ruyi Heart stretched out sideways.
Crystal clear like autumn waters, it radiated a chilling glow. Not even the splendor from the Three Saints could overshadow it. Clouds churned around it, now and then exposing a profound Dark Light, as if an eye lurked inside, observing all that transpired.
The handle's arc appeared to form naturally.
As for its end, it hovered faintly between the real and the unreal.
Similar to how countless rivers flow and merge into the ocean. They cross and fuse seamlessly.
Had Li Fan remained present, seeing this Ruyi Magic Treasure at that instant, he would have immediately identified it as the [Ruyi Heart] crafted by Bai Xiao in the past.
Yet for unknown reasons, despite being forged before Bai Xiao's transcendence, the Three Saints regarded it with exceptional wariness.
Even as the Dao Yan forces approached, ready to consume much of Mountain Sea, the Three Saints hadn't shown such vigilance as they did now.
Confronting the eerie shine on [Ruyi Heart]'s surface, all Three Saints, without any prior discussion, opted to shut their eyes.
“We'll employ this item to uncover the reality.”
“We need to gauge it with utmost care.”
Though no visible action came from the Three Saints, [Ruyi Heart] started accelerating its merger with the environment from the tail end, speeding up by thousands of folds.
A magnificent Ruyi gradually dissolved into nothingness.
The tip of [Ruyi Heart], where the hidden eye resided, abruptly revealed itself.
It peered directly at the Void Realm.
…
“The Three Saints prove themselves formidable indeed; a mere clash allowed them to sense irregularities and set up defenses.”
“Thankfully, my abilities outmatch theirs!”
This harvest wasn't as vast as the initial ambush, yet it sufficed to form another Guardian Hill Incarnate.
“The crucial element is the reward granted by the Void Realm's will.”
“With more Dao Yan at disposal, the Dao Yi Mountain and Sea Map converts at a quicker pace. Master of the Void Realm…”
Li Fan mulled over this, when abruptly a sharp sense of surveillance flooded his spiritual awareness.
He activated Illusion as Reality without delay, enveloping himself.
Simultaneously, it shielded the Dao Yi Mountain and Sea Map.
Thump… Thump… Thump…
Lacking Li Fan's directive, the Void Realm sank back into its usual quietude.
Amid the obscurity, Li Fan faintly caught the rhythm of his own pulse.
It stemmed from the body's innate quiver.
“This grandeur rivals confronting a New God.”
“How could that be…”
Li Fan refrained from any rash moves, suppressing all stray notions, and concealed himself beneath the True and False Dao's veil to observe what followed.
Within the Dao Yan, disturbances began to stir.
Their source remained unclear, but they rippled outward like waves, swiftly covering every part of the Void Realm.
As if a scrutiny swept over all.
Following a short calm, the countless Dao Yan in the Void Realm erupted in frenzy.
Reacting fervently!
Not even during Lone Star's arrival, when starlight devoured everything, had the Void Realm shown such fervor.
It resembled stumbling upon something vital to its core, whether the Dao Yan or the enigmatic entity governing the Void Realm, which deployed every tactic to trace the scrutiny's origin.
Li Fan sensed the wild frenzy from the Dao Yan under his sway.
“The typically composed Master of the Void Realm has lost its poise.”
“It can set aside the goal of consuming Mountain Sea for now.”
“Devouring Mountain Sea serves Lone Star's arrival, but hunting the source of this scrutiny is for…”
“Its own sake?”
Li Fan started grasping the fixation driving the Void Realm's current covert assault.
Much like a Xuanhuang Cultivator beholding Crimson Flame; a Transcendent Strongman meeting the Mountain Sea Path; or Li Fan encountering True God Finger.
Despite differences in levels and power gaps, the drive for “progress” and the chance to advance remains identical.
“Might the Void Realm forge a unique evolution from this scrutiny, or rather, from its origin?” Li Fan's spiritual awareness quivered briefly.
The shadowy presence controlling the Void Realm appears dedicated entirely to enabling Lone Star's descent.
It labored tirelessly to swallow Mountain Sea, though once Lone Star escapes its bonds, survival would become doubtful.
The shadowy presence behind the Void Realm surely knows this.
Yet akin to Mountain Sea's fate of reverting to the Star, this stands as its unavoidable end.
No defiance can alter it.
But suppose…
Suppose it could advance beyond?
Should Mountain Sea spawn a New God post its demise, it couldn't rival the Void Realm's Dao Yan. Advancing further would grant the power of a True God, wouldn't it?
Impossible!
“Does this scrutiny truly come from a True God?”
“Similar to the True God Finger.”
“God's third hidden measure?”
“Why haven't I faced it across numerous reincarnations?”
A torrent of ideas raced through Li Fan's thoughts.
He swiftly pondered its potential roots.
“I barely evaded the Three Saints' trap, and this scrutiny followed right after.”
“Exactly…”
Such perfect timing forced Li Fan to entertain this likelihood.
“Mountain Lian, Gui Hai, Taiyi!”
A icy spark glinted in Li Fan's gaze.
Still, at that juncture, as the Void Realm's undulations clashed with the enigmatic scrutiny, Li Fan avoided exposing himself hastily.
He persisted in hiding under True and False Dao's safeguard.
The Void Realm stretched endlessly, but the scrutiny appeared to pierce through it all.
After an exhaustive yet futile hunt, it gradually faded away.
The shadowy figure commanding the Void Realm strained to hold it back, yet those ripples slipped away like grains of sand, impossible to seize.
With the scrutiny gone, the frenzied Void Realm quieted once more.
Soon after, Li Fan received an order from the Void Realm's shadowy overseer.
The Dao Yan surged with unstoppable force, hurtling toward Mountain Sea.
Unstoppable drive, akin to a last desperate push.
Mountain Sea faced utter catastrophe.
Nevertheless, Li Fan creased his forehead faintly.
“Though the Void Realm holds the upper hand overall, the moment for a decisive clash isn't ripe yet.”
“Prolonging the conflict, steadily consuming Mountain Sea and eroding its strength, leads to a conclusive blow.”
“But now, triggered by that enigmatic scrutiny, the Void Realm has thrown its strategy into chaos.”
“Plus, I retain certain secret assets…”
“Might this existence see Mountain Sea overcome the Void Realm?” An almost inconceivable idea flickered in Li Fan's spiritual awareness.
At first, Li Fan viewed it as mere whimsy, ready to dismiss it with a shake of his head.
However, it activated some trigger word, suddenly inflicting a sharp ache in Li Fan's spiritual awareness, with a barrage of visions flashing in succession.
“Through endless reincarnations, success at last.”
“Using Mountain Sea to steady Dao Yan. The Void Realm's will lies shattered, and Mountain Sea's doom is averted!”
Joy overflowed beyond description.
Li Fan joined the nearby Saints in celebrating this triumph.
But without warning, a ominous feeling welled up inside him.
The rest of the Saints remained completely unaware.
Li Fan lifted his gaze first.
A strand of starlight, from an unknown source, floated down like falling snow onto Mountain Sea.
In the midst of their jubilant festivities, Mountain Sea fell eerily still.
All eyes turned toward Li Fan with an unsettling intensity.
A chill gripped his heart, and soon Li Fan endured a united attack from everyone nearby.
Even the Mountain Sea he had labored to rescue betrayed him.