Chapter 1738: Body Vision

Angry Cuttlefish:

"I..." Zhang Fan was noncommittal. He didn't lose himself just because of True Fading Shadow's few words of flattery. But in a sense, his stance was largely consistent with True Fading Shadow's, and indeed with all beings in the Mountains and Seas.

The Mountains and Seas would be submerged, reincarnation would cease, and everything would converge into one being. What the Lord of True and False Grand Dao had done to attain enlightenment was truly appalling. Whether for their own survival or driven by moral conscience, cultivators in the Mountains and Seas should unite to stop him.

Of course, the premise was... that everything True Fading Shadow said was true.

At Zhang Fan's current realm, even if he didn't originally know the truth, he could instinctively judge the veracity of a conversation upon hearing it.

"True Fading Shadow wasn't lying."

"However, that doesn't mean what he said is the whole truth."

Zhang Fan had his own judgment. It was simple: if everything were truly as True Fading Shadow claimed, then the Old Fisherman and Xuanyuan Hong should definitely stand with True Fading Shadow on the same front. But they hadn't; instead, they had created a sanctuary world and quietly hidden away.

Zhang Fan's decision had remained unchanged from beginning to end. He intended to personally confront the mastermind and demand answers!

However, Zhang Fan did not reveal his true intentions to True Fading Shadow. Instead, he shook his head and said, "I am but a mere clone, one of countless scattered chess pieces. If the Lord of True and False Grand Dao is truly as terrifying as you say, what role could I possibly play?"

"Even if we take ten thousand steps back and assume we successfully kill him together, wouldn't you worry about me becoming the new Lord of True and False, making all our efforts futile?"

"Our current objective is already the limit of our capabilities. Why would we attempt to scheme for infinite possibilities thereafter, only inviting trouble? Moreover... I believe you, fellow Daoist, would not do such a thing."

"Among all the Sons of Destiny, you are the only one willing to abandon the True and False Grand Dao. If I hadn't seen this point, this conversation wouldn't be happening," True Fading Shadow said, his gaze fixed on Zhang Fan.

Zhang Fan scoffed, "Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, fellow Daoist. The reason I gave it up was because I couldn't obtain it. To be frank, if the True and False Grand Dao were to truly appear before me, allowing me to seize it, I would certainly choose it again without hesitation..." Zhang Fan was interrupted before he could finish, "But you've already given it up."

"A good horse doesn't eat old grass, let alone the True and False Grand Dao? Since you forfeited the possibility of possessing the True and False Grand Dao, then should it ever become masterless, it certainly wouldn't choose someone who willingly abandoned it..."

"At least not in this lifetime," True Fading Shadow said with extreme confidence.

Zhang Fan opened his mouth, momentarily speechless and unable to refute. In the end, he only managed to say, "This is probably just your speculation, isn't it, fellow Daoist?"

In truth, Zhang Fan already had a clear idea. The reason True Fading Shadow chose to cooperate with him was entirely due to two points: his identity as a clone of the Lord of True and False Grand Dao, and the fact that he hadn't truly inherited it yet.

As for the odds of success? They simply had no other choice.

Since that was the case, Zhang Fan no longer stood on ceremony: "Given what's been said, if I continue to be modest, I'd be insulting you, fellow Daoist."

"Give me this tree. From now on, we shall form an alliance and conspire together to reclaim the True and False Grand Dao."

As soon as he spoke, the Saints of the Mountains and Seas, engrossed in their enlightenment, all looked towards Zhang Fan. Beneath their calm gazes, a hint of malice lurked. Zhang Fan remained unafraid, waiting for True Fading Shadow to make his decision.

There wasn't much of a stir. It was evident that True Fading Shadow held significant sway among the Saints. Even with a thousand unspoken regrets, the enlightened Saints still parted to create a path, allowing Zhang Fan to finally reach the great tree from which countless Sons of Destiny hung upside down.

"Aren't you afraid I'll go back on my word? You agreed so easily." To be honest, Zhang Fan was somewhat surprised by True Fading Shadow's decisiveness.

"We have no choice, and neither do you," True Fading Shadow replied.

Zhang Fan immediately fell silent. Unable to retort, he sighed softly and slowly opened his mouth. Using the Transformation of True and False, he lightly brushed the fruits hanging on the great tree. A gentle breeze seemed to sweep through the remaining Mountains and Seas; countless Sons of Destiny swayed and trembled with the wind, then fell one by one and vanished. Simultaneously, Zhang Fan's aura became increasingly ethereal.

Indeed, when Zhang Fan attained sainthood, he had decided to abandon his pursuit of understanding the True and False Grand Dao. However, he hadn't given up the idea of using the True and False Grand Dao as a convenient tool. Just like True Fading Shadow and the surviving Saints of the Mountains and Seas had done in this lifetime, except that as a "Son of Destiny" and a clone of the Lord of True and False Grand Dao, Zhang Fan could personally wield the power of the Transformation of True and False.

As fruits fell one by one, the entire great tree withered. Leaves turned yellow and drifted away. Branches snapped, fell into the void, and turned to dust. Correspondingly, the lives of the watching Saints withered like flowers, one by one. Facing death, the Saints showed little fear. They merely gazed at the Principle of True and False in the void, calmly awaiting their fate.

"This..."

Zhang Fan had not expected this tree to be sustained by the lives of the Saints. This finally explained why the Saints had remained unchanged during the reset of the Mountains and Seas. Though he didn't kill the Saints, they died because of his single thought. After all, he had spent most of his life in secluded cultivation, and the only time he had interacted with others was in an atmosphere of benevolent influence. Zhang Fan's heart inevitably trembled at this moment.

"It's fine, it's just dying one more time."

"Favored by the Principle of True and False, though they cannot see through reincarnation like I can now, they have come to understand their own destiny, which is why they can face death so calmly."

"Whether our objective succeeds or fails, they are destined to reappear with the reset of the Mountains and Seas," True Fading Shadow said slowly, standing beside Zhang Fan.

In fact, he needed no comfort from others. The tremor in his heart lasted only for a few moments before Zhang Fan's attention focused on the True and False Grand Dao pouring in from all directions. It had originally been linked to billions of Sons of Destiny. Now, it flowed like a trickle, entirely into Zhang Fan's mouth.

His vision gradually brightened. The apocalyptic Mountains and Seas were no longer shrouded in darkness; everything seemed to have a discernible pattern. Before Zhang Fan's eyes, a scroll seemed to unfold. Everything that once existed in the Mountains and Seas was contained within this scroll. However, with the erosion of the Dao Annihilation, the landscapes of the Mountains and Seas within the scroll slowly became transparent. To ordinary people, the Mountains and Seas naturally seemed to have vanished. But in the eyes of the holder of the True and False Grand Dao, a mere re-infusion of power would make the Mountains and Seas reappear!

Deeply captivated by this mystical scene, Zhang Fan murmured as if in realization, "This is the outline of the Mountains and Seas' transformations."

And it didn't stop there. Beyond the Mountains and Seas scroll, a scroll-bearer seemed to faintly stand. All birth, death, and changes within the scroll, and even the scroll itself, were under this person's control. After memorizing all the details within the Mountains and Seas scroll, Zhang Fan's gaze strained to pierce through the scroll's barrier and look at the scroll-bearer.

Because of this transgression, the Mountains and Seas scroll instantly began to tremble violently. The Mountains and Seas within his view surged forth, attempting to obscure Zhang Fan's prying gaze. Zhang Fan used the True and False Grand Dao he could command to suppress all the anomalies. His goal remained unchanged: he vowed to look at the scroll-bearer beyond the painting.

The confrontation of the two powers caused the Mountains and Seas scroll to be torn apart and disintegrate inch by inch. Correspondingly, countless tiny cracks seemed to appear in Zhang Fan's spirit, putting him on the verge of collapse. It wasn't just a simple injury; it was a backlash from the Transformation of True and False, causing the very foundation of his existence to constantly disappear. Immortality and Oblivion, two great Dao powers of the Mountains and Seas, were desperately trying to repair the cracks in Zhang Fan's spirit. Though it was like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water, it bought Zhang Fan more time to observe.

Zhang Fan's gaze finally pierced through the obstruction of the Mountains and Seas' imagery, allowing him to see the scroll-bearer.

Boom, boom, boom!

As if his spirit had suffered a violent collision, everything of the Mountains and Seas, and even the Dao Annihilation in the surrounding void, receded into the background, becoming unimportant and fading from his vision. Even countless Daos, and even the True and False Grand Dao, seemed like fleeting clouds. In Zhang Fan's eyes, only one person remained.

At that instant, he saw himself.

And... another layered phantom floating above him.

The World of God Slaying Transformation.

As Zhang Fan broke through multiple barriers and looked at Li Fan through the channel of True and False Transformation, Li Fan also used the other's gaze to examine himself from an external perspective for the first time. He thus also discovered the layered phantom floating above him.

Although he had already stripped away all experiences and memories since reincarnation, leaving only the purest state from when he first transmigrated. Yet, for some unknown reason, there was still another anomaly above his head!

For some reason, Li Fan, who suddenly witnessed this scene, felt little surprise. Everything had been anticipated. In fact, to him, it would have been unbelievable if he had no hidden trump cards.

"I just don't know if this phantom comes from my past self. Or..."

"...that fallen true god." Li Fan and Zhang Fan's gaze lasted only for a brief moment. When the external view disappeared, Li Fan could no longer observe the ever-present phantom above his head. It was as if it never existed; even with the aid of the True and False Transformation, he couldn't recall it in his mind in the slightest. Even the memory of this phantom's existence in his mind was slowly fading. After attempting and realizing he couldn't stop it, Li Fan decided to seize the last few moments to deduce the phantom's origin as much as possible.

First, he ruled out his past self's mischievous influence.

"My current understanding of the True and False Grand Dao has almost reached the extreme of the Mountains and Seas. Even compared to my former self, I wouldn't be much weaker."

"I don't believe he had the power to do something to this extent."

"Residing within yet unknown and unfelt, invisible, unrecordable, unrecallable."

"Transcending the Mountains and Seas, beyond comprehension."

"True god phantom..."

In an instant, Li Fan made his judgment.

"Still based on what I previously knew."

"This world is in an endless cycle of reincarnation."

"Even true gods struggle to endure indefinitely. As eons pass, new consciousnesses will differentiate within them. Whether this consciousness originates from a previously absorbed deity or is purely a new evolution,"

"In short, the old god falls, and a new god descends; this is a certainty."

"Though called 'fallen,' it can also be described as 'returning.' Because..."

"Gods seem to possess uniqueness. Once one becomes a god, a god is simply *the* god."

"As reincarnation flowed, it reached the current era of the Mountains and Seas' divine split."

"Things began to change."

"The Mountains and Seas were merely two divided intentions before the evolution of the new god. Their only purpose was to be a transition during the true god's fall and rebirth."

"But they foresaw their destined demise. Unwilling to accept this, they attempted to alter fate. They orchestrated a grand scheme, deceiving the heavens and transforming into stars. If the performance concluded perfectly, they would replace the god who was supposed to appear and attain the position of the new god..."

At this point in his deduction, Li Fan's thoughts slightly paused. The true god phantom was disappearing faster; he had to quickly accelerate his progress.

"God is unique. But who becomes that god doesn't seem to be unique."

"On the original list of those destined to become gods, the Mountains and Seas were not named. Yet they sought to forcibly change this..."

"A true god possesses infinite power, knowing the past, present, and future. Thus, on the verge of its fall, it foresaw future changes."

"So it conjured me from beyond creation to be an outsider who would break the play."

"But..."

"Is that all?"

A cold glint instantly flashed in Li Fan's eyes.

"With a god's foresight, it should have seen everything that would happen after I successfully tore apart the Mountains and Seas' grand play."

"Just as True Fading Shadow and the others said."

"The Mountains and Seas destroyed, reincarnation ceased, everything returned to me."

"This wasn't the outcome that true god wanted."

"Sacrifice itself just to break this world's endless reincarnation and elevate me, an outsider?"

"Is a god truly that benevolent?"

Li Fan let out a cold snort. He immediately rejected that possibility.

"But that true god still did so without hesitation."

"Only because..."

"It was utterly convinced that I could break the Mountains and Seas' grand play and extinguish the nascent star, but ultimately could not slay a god. A god can foresee all futures. Exhausting all possibilities, it never foresaw the scene where I successfully slew a god. That's why it acted as it did."

"It pulled me in as a laborer, yet also wanted me to be a scapegoat..."

"That's truly a bit much."

Li Fan's state of mind was no longer filled with the anger he felt when he first discovered the truth. He only let out a helpless laugh. But behind that laughter, Li Fan's gaze was colder than ever before.

"Is the sole reason for this ultimate conclusion the true god phantom above my head?"

In the remaining time, Li Fan deduced countermeasures as much as possible. The ink faded completely, and the phantom was no more. Li Fan's expression showed a moment of confusion.

"It seems..."

"...I've forgotten something extremely important."

Feeling an inexplicable stir in his heart, Li Fan said thoughtfully.

"Do you have any ideas?"

He looked at the True Essence phantom standing beside him. The True Essence phantom had no subjective consciousness, only mechanical reactions. To answer Li Fan, light and shadow flickered, attempting to retrace. But ultimately, it found nothing.

Li Fan's expression, however, showed little change.

"Sometimes, the absence of an answer is an answer in itself."

"I am already at the peak of this world, and for such strange changes to occur to me..."

"...only a god could be responsible."

"Whether I remember it or not makes no difference."