My Simulated Road to Immortality Chapter 2372: 1765: Zhen Shi Yin (Part 2)
Previously on My Simulated Road to Immortality...
“Naturally, they might never fully comprehend their actions, not even in their wildest dreams.”
Zhang Fan stayed quiet, his eyes fixed once more on the vast tree formed from innumerable “versions of himself.”
As if sensing Zhang Fan’s inner musings, Zhen Shi Yin abruptly suggested, “Freeing them isn’t out of reach. Actually, you could bring this entire ordeal to a close yourself.”
Zhang Fan felt a stir at these words, yet he held back from replying right away.
“The True and False Dao remains unseen and formless. While it can be wielded somewhat via the Heavenly Destiny Child, it lacks any true value. However, securing an ally who can shift the battle’s course would prove immensely beneficial,” Zhen Shi Yin stated evenly, his voice carrying a sincere edge.
“Then, what do you seek?” Zhang Fan turned to him, posing the question.
“To claim the True and False Changes and reclaim my divine essence,” Zhen Shi Yin replied with just those eight words.
Zhang Fan sank into thought.
After a prolonged pause, he finally expressed his puzzlement, “How does the True and False Changes affect me or the Gods? Doesn’t it all boil down to the Mountain Sea’s ruin and its endless cycle?”
Zhen Shi Yin’s eyes held profound depth, “In the past and present, perhaps there’s little distinction. Yet for the future…”
Following a moment of silence, as though weighing his thoughts carefully and confirming the outcome, Zhen Shi Yin went on, “Should the True and False Changes remain with the Gods, the Mountain Sea’s end won’t signify utter annihilation. Demise sparks new life, and life ignites demise once more. The cycle persists eternally, with the future stretching infinitely.”
“Yet if the True and False Changes fall to him…” Zhen Shi Yin avoided glancing at Zhang Fan.
His gaze lifted instead, directed toward the approximate spot of Li Fan’s initial retreat in the [All Gods Transformation] realm beyond the Mountain Sea.
“The Mountain Sea shall vanish completely, the cycle will halt, and everything shall yield to a single individual.”
“This is the verdict we’ve witnessed.”
These revelations struck Zhang Fan to his core, body and soul alike.
“The cycle will halt, and everything shall yield to a single individual?”
Those eight words carried an enchanting allure. Despite being among those destined to be absorbed, Zhang Fan found himself momentarily captivated.
Regaining composure swiftly, he questioned in partial doubt, “Is it truly possible for him to reach such heights?”
Zhen Shi Yin affirmed with a nod, “The myriad splintered Heavenly Destiny Children serve as irrefutable proof. Though it’s only starting to emerge now, without intervention…”
“Our sole fate lies in oblivion.”
“Oblivion…” The word prompted Zhang Fan to suddenly remember the old fisherman, Xuan Yuanhong, and their companions who had vanished so abruptly on his account.
This offered a fleeting insight into “his” methods. Against his will, Zhang Fan’s belief deepened slightly.
He promptly creased his forehead and probed further, “Precisely what manner of being is he? Given your knowledge of the Mountain Sea Reincarnation, you must be well-acquainted with him, correct?”
Zhen Shi Yin refuted Zhang Fan’s presumption, “The descent of the True and False Dao triggers the Mountain Sea Reincarnation. All within the Mountain Sea inevitably endures a fate of renewal.”
“The True and False Dao itself shares this destiny!”
“Despite our modest cultivation, how could we evade such an inexorable force? Merely, through repeated cycles of reincarnation, a scant handful might dimly perceive fragments.”
“Such as a [premonition] echoing past occurrences. At the Mountain Sea’s fresh dawn, this sense is faintest. It strengthens progressively as the Mountain Sea unfolds, building recollections layer by layer. Thus, while I grasp the Mountain Sea Reincarnation now, the impending reset will strip my knowledge, forcing me to relive my prior blunders…” Zhen Shi Yin offered a self-deprecating smile.
“If that holds for me, what about them?” His gesture pointed to the Mountain Sea Saints still contemplating silently under the tree.
Catching the surprising implication in his counterpart’s statement, Zhang Fan inquired gravely, “If I may ask, fellow Daoist, what is your true realm?”
“All dwell in the Saint’s domain. But distinct from most, I once attained a [Divine Body].”
“You might call it a [God creation Guest].”
God.
The term, so grave and momentous, rolled off Zhen Shi Yin’s tongue with casual indifference.
Zhang Fan was well aware that the Mountain Sea sprang from a fallen True God and recognized the immense gravity of [God].
Contemplating this cultivator who had once touched divine fruition, the subtle aura of dominance from his foe seemed to press heavier upon him.
“Truthfully, it scarcely qualifies as a True God in the strictest sense.” Noticing the shift in Zhang Fan’s mindset, Zhen Shi Yin chuckled lightly and clarified.
With a soft sigh, he added, “The Mountain Sea Reincarnation ought not to birth a [God creation Guest].”
“Ancient gods crumble, birthing the Mountain Sea. When the Mountain Sea fades, nascent gods emerge.”
“The new perpetually supplants the old.”
“A god remains a god forever. Either enduring as divine or perishing into obscurity, never to resurface.”
“As for these so-called [God creation Guests]…”
“They are Mountain Sea Saints who defy the current, journeying back to the era of the Mountain Sea’s Divine Split to wrest the essence of the ancient god. But the echoes of the True and False Dao compel their renewal.”
“Though reverted to mortality, they linger briefly under divine guise, setting them subtly apart from fellow Mountain Sea denizens.”
“Yet merely a touch apart.”
Zhen Shi Yin provided an extensive account, illuminating every facet of the [God creation Guest] for Zhang Fan.
“Only a God creation Guest can glimpse the reality amid the Mountain Sea Reincarnation. From your words, it seems the old fisherman and his ilk were all [God creation Guests]?”
Grasping the context, Zhang Fan reflected on his intimate times with these God creation Guests—treating them as commonplace—and the weight from Zhen Shi Yin lightened considerably.
Breathing easier, he grew ever more awed by the True and False Dao’s might.
Even after being “influenced” by it and with its presence lingering nearby, Zhang Fan sensed the [True and False Dao]’s prowess surpassed his wildest expectations.
Abruptly, a prior remark from Zhen Shi Yin resurfaced in his mind, stirring unease.
“You mentioned everything in the Mountain Sea evades not the renewal of fate, including the True and False Dao. If that holds…” Zhang Fan’s brows knit firmly.
“In theory, wouldn’t he face renewal too? How then could he…”
Zhen Shi Yin interrupted with a single phrase, quelling Zhang Fan’s uncertainties, “Because he stands as an [Outsider].”
“Ah, so it is, so it is.”
Zhang Fan whispered the words over and again.
In a resonant voice, Zhen Shi Yin pressed on, “Long ago, as the Mountain Sea neared its close, numerous God creation Guests, reclaiming much of their insight, convened to probe the root of this renewal.”
“But they never pierced its veil.”
“After all, despite our divine forms, we endure reset and restoration with each turn.”
“The world’s essence stems from the gods. Yet gods themselves bow to the True and False Dao’s reset. This defies all reason.”
“Then, on the brink of yet another Mountain Sea’s demise, enlightenment struck us.”
“[True and False] is a force that ensnares even divinities.”
“Born from the True God’s form, it binds the True God too. We surmise it as an innate divine art of the True God, the very core spawning the Mountain Sea Reincarnation.”
“Even in death and dissolution, it draws on the [True and False] Dao to manifest anew from nothingness, reverting to primacy. Unyielding and eternal—this defines [God].”
Through Zhen Shi Yin’s recounting, Zhang Fan caught a hazy vision of the True God’s awe-inspiring presence that spawned the entire Mountain Sea.
But the narrative pivoted sharply.
“If the True and False Changes abides within the God, all aligns seamlessly.”
“However…”
“For unknown causes, the [True and False] came into an Outsider’s grasp.”
“Divine power was surrendered, and issuing from an Outsider, it eluded the renewal’s grasp. The True and False Changes wielded by him wielded influence eclipsing even [God].”
Zhang Fan detected a trace of veiled dread woven into Zhen Shi Yin’s utterance.
“With but a whim, he inverts all we comprehend. Resetting to the origin, he retains ancient recollections while you remain oblivious.”
“How does one confront such a foe?”
“Eons of cycles have unfolded, revealing no path to shatter this curse. Until…”
“Your arrival, fellow Daoist.”