My Simulated Road to Immortality Chapter 2369 - 1764: Abandoning Hai Zhen
Previously on My Simulated Road to Immortality...
"[Real]..."
Zhang Fan's unease deepened as he delved further into his comprehension.
He was amazed by the boundless secrets of the True and False Dao, but a faint bitterness lingered since it wasn't really his own.
It was like staring at a stunning beauty right before him, able only to gaze helplessly.
In that sense of void and regret, a sudden spark ignited in Zhang Fan's mind: "Still, it's unclear who really possesses the True and False Dao. Even if the hidden manipulator views us as mere pieces, they've at least offered the chance to touch [Real]."
"No wall in the world stays unbreached forever..."
Shaking off his doubts swiftly, Zhang Fan threw himself fully into grasping the shifts between True and False.
Breaking free from constraints midway, he discovered that beyond seizing through brutal clashes, one's own insights could likewise boost the grasp of True and False transformations.
Maybe even more "dependable" than looting from fellow Heavenly Destiny Children.
Fueled by this conviction, Zhang Fan entered a long period of isolation.
Regardless of the fierce storms and bloodshed raging outside, he stayed firmly immersed in his enlightenment.
Days raced past, and the pieces Li Fan had scattered throughout the Mountain Sea started falling in droves.
From the early vast spread across the Mountain Sea to just a handful clinging on now, the rapid shift was utterly astonishing.
In the end, the fleeting "[Real]" was never truly [Real].
Lacking the force to swiftly overturn the whole Mountain Sea, plenty of powerhouses there wielded ways to resist [Real].
It looked like mere numbers at first glance, but the core difference was profound.
The moment Zhang Fan emerged from his trance, this truth hit him right away.
He felt shame over his earlier overconfidence and naivety: "Like a young calf ignoring the tiger's might. Believing [Real]'s edge would let him wander freely in the Mountain Sea. Truth is, anyone hitting Saint Realm could likely shatter [Real]'s shield and crush outright."
"And think of all the Mountain Sea Saints! United..."
With a mere flicker of thought, Zhang Fan whispered the seven words, "Turning the True to False and False to True."
As though peering through [Real]'s lens, he scanned the vast Mountain Sea, catching a vague outline of the drifting True and False Dao amid the realms.
"I was in seclusion for just a while, and the count has dropped so sharply."
"Wait, there's a bunch clustered in one spot still!" Zhang Fan's face shifted; he held back from probing directly, sensing quietly instead.
Though stunned and horrified inside, a touch of pity stirred too.
Those crowds of Heavenly Destiny Children once buzzing with energy—how vibrant the gatherings! He'd even pondered uniting them to drag out the mastermind.
But looking back now...
"Having the True and False Dao as a guardian is priceless indeed. Yet it draws blame and perils that chill the soul. With all Saints watching closely, regular Heavenly Destiny Children lack solid ways to flee."
Mulling this over, the ideas born in Zhang Fan's seclusion intensified.
Namely...
He needed to cast aside the True and False Dao and pursue other paths that were genuinely his!
This choice struck even Zhang Fan as completely baffling.
The heavenly road lay so near. Why ditch the core of cultivation to chase lesser branches?
The height of folly.
Yet Zhang Fan understood it was essential.
"After all, [Real] isn't mine to claim!" Zhang Fan let out another sigh.
Through endless closed-door practice, each attempt to clutch it tighter only highlighted how the True and False Dao stayed just out of reach.
It neither drew nearer.
Nor pulled away.
Rather, it hovered teasingly, as if fate had sealed it so.
After endless setbacks, Zhang Fan resolved to let go.
"True wisdom lies in self-knowledge, true smarts in self-understanding."
"Letting go of one peak doesn't doom you to barren lands. Maybe I'll uncover the path that's truly mine..." Zhang Fan urged himself firmly.
Though he'd formally chosen to drop pursuing the True and False Dao, nothing stopped him from treating [Real] as a useful gadget still.
"Sure, a short-lived [Real] won't flip the tide fully, but unleashing it in dire survival scraps could stir some chaos."
"Plus, every Saint assumes [Real] is the Heavenly Destiny Children's top ace. That might be my opening..."
Zhang Fan's gaze gleamed; in a breath, a wooden rod for fishing materialized in his grip.
Simultaneously, a silvery swirl bloomed at his forehead's center, and faint whispers of sharpening blades echoed near his ears.
In seclusion, he'd skipped delving into these paths on purpose.
But they clung to him eagerly, forging tighter bonds unseen.
He felt pulled back to that sanctuary, idling blissfully with the elder angler and Xuan Yuanhong.
Chasing hard yielded nothing.
Letting nature take its course sprouted shade from willows.
This insight fueled Zhang Fan's shift in mindset too.
Zhang Fan wasn't slow; he dimly sensed why these paths acted so.
"Likely tied to my role in their demise."
His heart held little sorrow, only a quiet yearning.
But Zhang Fan soon shoved feelings aside and turned to probing the paths woven around him.
"The Eternal Life Path aside, it doesn't dwell in me."
"These others instinctively flock to me..."
"Life Cutting, Fishing, Breaking Formation, Wangji, Miracle Luck, Paper Folding."
These arcane paths felt to Zhang Fan neither strange nor tough, but warmly known.
"They might pale far against the full True and False Dao."
"But against the flawed [Real]..."
"They're superior!"
"Better one sure bird than ten in the bushes!"
Zhang Fan clenched his jaw and sealed his choice.
In that flash, like severing a deep fixation, Zhang Fan sensed a weight lift from his entire frame.
The tangled feelings toward "[Real]" faded completely.
Just calm poise over fortunes come and gone lingered.
"While it's in my grasp, I'll treat it like a handy artifact. If it slips..."
"Then it's no worse than a shattered tool."
Zhang Fan gave a light laugh.
Years spent unraveling True and False shifts didn't turn to dust just because he pivoted now.
Zhang Fan faintly grasped that True and False Changes shared deep ties with Life Cutting, Fishing, and the paths now laced through him.
"Or maybe, True and False Changes link to every Mountain Sea path this way. It forms the bedrock of the Mountain Sea. Mastering True and False Changes eases other paths greatly. And if versed in Mountain Sea paths, True and False Changes flow smoother too."
Zhang Fan mulled deeply, then dove back into seclusion.
At first, the paths upon him stood apart, self-contained.
Yet as moments ticked on, Fishing, Life Cutting, Miracle Luck, Paper Folding, and more began blending subtly.
True and False Changes acted as the glue.
Drawing these paths, once the Mountain Sea God creation Guest's, all to gather on Zhang Fan.