Chapter 1277: Chapter 1277: One Realm, Landao Feng!

Reality and illusion are concepts that are diametrically opposed. However, this opposition actually exists along a blurred and ambiguous boundary.

It’s like the world in the mirror and the world outside the mirror are always separated by the thickness of the mirror.

If the inside of the mirror is false, then the outside is true; if the inside of the mirror is true, then the outside is false. Yet, what about the mirror itself?

The line between true and false is just a thought away!

Those who can comprehend this matter are qualified to become True Immortals, but understanding does not mean the end. To truly transcend this mirror, to truly control that blurred boundary, one must transcend into sainthood.

Saint!

Those who become Saints transcend reincarnation and achieve complete success in Taoism. Even if a cultivator in the Second Step traverses time or alters cause and effect, they cannot cause the slightest damage to the completeness of a Saint!

This is because the world that the Saint believes in is neither real nor false, neither inside the mirror nor outside it, but rather... one has become the mirror!

I myself am the mirror!

I am life and death! I am cause and effect! I am truth and illusion!

I am the incarnation of great freedom!

I am the endpoint of the Immeasurable Catastrophe!

But "I", who am I?

Someone once said:

When you know who you are, you are not yourself.

When you do not know who you are, then you are truly yourself.

Because at that time, you have already seen through everything and found your own existence.

I am existence itself.

I will exist forever, until destruction.

When a Saint finds their own existence, they will find that world that belongs only to them.

That world is not in any space-time of reincarnation, nor is it related to all the truths and illusions of the world.

That world exists only in a single thought of the heart, known by those aware of its existence as... [One Realm]!

At a certain moment.

Within a certain One Realm.

A giant enveloped in a blue Mist Sea is slumbering between heaven and earth.

In this world, there are eight Dao mountains and six Dao seas.

The mountains are also blue, the seas are also blue, and there are four Holy Beasts shrouded in blue mist, each guarding one direction of this world.

Guarding a One Realm with Holy Beasts is the supreme Divine Skills of the Four Saints Sect, created uniquely by the Sect Hierarch of the Four Saints Sect—the slumbering blue mist giant.

Suddenly, the blue mist giant seemed to have experienced a nightmare and awoke with a start.

Just a moment later, he was full of confusion, as if he couldn’t remember what happened in the dream.

"It seems I had a nightmare, but it doesn’t matter. It does me no harm..."

"But for some reason, this dream caused a fleeting and ephemeral sensation in the void of my heart, which has been tormented for hundreds of reincarnations... My heart is lost, my thoughts are broken, yet where does this sensation come from..."

"It seems like the soul contract left by the young one of Dao Barbarian Mountain creates some resonance, but oddly enough, it isn’t the holder of the Soul Manipulation Token summoning me, but other unknown factors at play..."

"An unnamed fire arises in my heart, seeming as though I suffered some loss in the dream, but this unnamed fire should not burn my true self. I must remove it, to minimize potential erosion..."

The blue mist giant, expressionless, bent his finger slightly, and circles of blue mist immediately wrapped around his body, then forced the unnamed anger out one by one.

Soon after, the anger turned into blue snowflakes, which eventually melted away, disappearing into unknown places.

If Ning Fan were here, he would surely recognize that the blue mist giant’s appearance clearly bore an eight-tenths resemblance to the Landao Feng he had seen; the reason it wasn’t a perfect match was that the true self of Landao Feng in the One Realm wasn’t a fat man. Due to some reason, he was in an extremely weakened state, emaciated, and dejected, with declining vitality.

"The young Dao Barbarian Mountain once promised to help me find my heart, but he has died and disappeared, all promises becoming deception. Indeed, no one in this world can be trusted, people are faithless, people can be detested, people can be humiliated, they can be killed!"

Once more, several unnamed fires shot out of Landao Feng’s body, forcing him to restrain his anger, calm his Taoist thought, and then force out the unnamed fire one by one again.

And so, he returned to tranquility once more.

At this time, he noticed that the nightmare brought about some kind of anomaly in his body.

With his eyes tightly closed, he seemed to sense the endless cycle of cause and effect; suddenly, he opened his eyes, and with fingers like knives, he fiercely stabbed into his own chest.

Yet no blood was shed.

Then, with his hand, he retrieved a rib; the rib was like jade, interwoven with infinite Taoist methods. But at this moment, apart from the infinite Taoist methods, there were also, inexplicably, two shocking words engraved on the rib.

Nifan!

Upon witnessing this scene, Landao Feng frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled.

Confused as to why just from having a nightmare, he engraved words onto his bones in the dream, as if there was some deep grudge.

Isn’t this just an unnecessary wear and tear?

Nifan? Is that someone’s name? These two characters are carved with overwhelming anger; it seems I was severely bullied by someone named Nifan in my dream.

"Did I imagine myself too weak during my enlightenment in the dream, leading to such a great loss..."

"Or perhaps, it is the heart-seeking opportunity I’ve long yearned for, finally turning around..."

Landao Feng calculated with his fingers, trying to discern the root cause, but to no avail.

This is normal; being disadvantaged in a dream means the opponent is certainly formidable, and it’s not surprising that I cannot discern it.

But when Landao Feng only calculates the fortune of the matter, without specifics, he is surprised to find that it alternates between a great omen of misfortune and infinite good fortune.

The great misfortune isn’t worth mentioning; even without knowing the specifics of the event, Landao Feng has countless ways to avoid it, unless the opponent’s cultivation far surpasses his own, such a threat is simply not worth mentioning.

However, the great fortune is worthy of discussion.

"Given my current situation, the only thing that I can judge as a great fortune would be... my heart. Could it be that the encounter in my dream is indeed some sort of heart-seeking opportunity?"

"Should I avoid this matter, or confront it..."

For a moment, Landao Feng was in a dilemma, for he could not withstand too much attrition now and naturally did not wish to take any risks; but the long-impossible wish suddenly had a glimmer of hope, which made him unable to relinquish, unable to decide.

"Zhenwu, Galaxy, Zhuquan, Jushou, what do you four think of this matter?" Landao Feng suddenly spoke, asking his four Holy Beasts.

So-called Four Holy Beasts, were actually the four evil thoughts he severed when he achieved the Dao.

After severing four corpses, all were evil thoughts; it was only then that Landao Feng realized what a thoroughly wicked person he was, and instantly comprehended his own path of supreme evil, thoughts unimpeded.

"Avoid!" Zhenwu answered, with the echo faintly carrying the sound of a turtle’s cry.

"Hide!" Galaxy answered, with the echo faintly carrying the sound of a pig’s squeal.

"Flee!" Zhuquan answered, with the echo faintly carrying the sound of a dog’s bark.

"Escape!" Jushou answered, with the echo faintly carrying the sound of a demon’s roar.

"Good!" Landao Feng nodded.

Thus he activated the Great Reincarnation Circle, like fishing for the moon in water, fishing out some newly formed nightmare karma from it.

"So, I am carefree now, but it’s a pity for the once-in-a-lifetime heart-seeking opportunity, alas..."

...

Landao Feng disappeared!

Just as Ning Fan subdued Landao Feng using the Soul Manipulation Token, the latter was suddenly enveloped in billowing blue mist.

But as the blue mist blew out, Landao Feng’s flesh and blood decayed into dust, woven into infinite Divine Skills, the Saint’s bones also decayed instantly.

Then all the ashes escaped into the Mountain and Sea, vanishing without a trace, leaving Ning Fan standing there solemnly, unable to understand what happened.

"Did the Soul Manipulation Token fail..." Ning Fan said with an unpleasant look.

"It didn’t fail, it’s just that this place isn’t the Real Realms, so the Soul Manipulation Token’s binding is limited; coupled with the fact that person’s cultivation is very high, he already extracted his illusory body and erased the karma here... you were too arrogant, daring to attempt to capture a Saint, what did you think a Saint was?" The Ant Lord said disdainfully.

In truth, waves of shock had arisen in her heart.

She was merely a Decemcentennial Saint, her cultivation far less profound than Landao Feng’s, and if it were her, she definitely wouldn’t be able to resolve the problem with such a method.

That Landao Feng is indeed formidable, yet why he isn’t renowned in the Real Realms is truly a mystery.

"Not only that! Your reckless act of capturing a Saint has exceeded the computation limits of this Trial World’s system, causing the trial to malfunction! Such actions shouldn’t be taken lightly! How dare you act against a Saint! Alas!" Duowen Wushuang also said with a grim expression, his tone filled with endless complaints.

"How was I supposed to know that I couldn’t use the Soul Manipulation Token to capture a Saint here, and I did ask you guys beforehand, didn’t you also say it was worth a try?" Ning Fan said helplessly.

Before capturing Landao Feng, he had consulted with the Ant Lord and Duowen about the feasibility of this matter.

What did these two say at the time?

[Ant Lord: It’s worth a try! If you can really capture this Saint, even if it’s only his trial phantom, it would bring endless benefits to both of us!]

[Duowen: Capturing a Saint? Such a great opportunity? If it can really succeed, perhaps one could gain tens or even hundreds of thousands of trial points! I think it doable!]

Goodness, after the fact, they both tried to shirk responsibility.

This matter also served as a reminder to Ning Fan.

Although he had the all-knowing Ant Lord and Duowen to consult, these two beings weren’t infallible, also making post-judgment errors, like their error in judging Landao Feng’s strength.

It’s alright to trust them, but not blindly so.

Ning Fan quickly calmed his emotions and began to observe the changes around him.

This world was a Trial World constructed by Ziwei Xian Huang, containing its own algorithmic rules, deducing the Heavenly Dao, simulating all beings; however, the computations also have limits, clearly unable to foresee that a trial Saint Heir could capture a Saint in this realm.

As such, because of Ning Fan’s reckless act of capturing Landao Feng, the Saint Heir trial malfunctioned and ceased operation.

Time in the world stopped!

The surrounding tenants were frozen as if their frames were stopped, like dolls that had lost their springs.

The entire Northern Barbarian Country’s beings were frozen in place.

The wind no longer blew.

The water no longer flowed.

Snowflakes halt in mid-air.

The stars cease their twinkling.

Only the prompt sound of the Saint Child Thunder Scripture still rings.

[Warning!]

[Warning!]

[Due to technical reasons, the Saint Child Trial will be closing early. All Saint Heirs, please withdraw your Heart Spirit and leave this realm; I repeat, all Saint Heirs, please withdraw your Heart Spirit and leave this realm.]

"Is the trial... over?" Ning Fan sighed helplessly.

One wrong step in the chess game, and he caused the entire Saint Child Trial to collapse. In the history of the Ziwei Immortal Domain, this possibly stands alone.

What a huge loss!

Unexpectedly, not only did he fail to capture a Saint’s servant, but he also triggered the collapse of the trial. In this way, any hope of acquiring the Ziwei Dao Law from this place and repairing Duowen Wushuang must be abandoned.

Unlike Ant Lord and Duowen, Ning Fan swiftly acknowledged his own failure and did not intend to blame the two.

He wouldn’t fault them for the oversight in their advice, as the final decision was his own.

Ant Lord: In that case, we must give up on this matter.

Duowen: What a pity, what a great pity! It seems my wishes won’t come true in this realm.

Ant Lord: There’s no way, let’s go. If we wait until the trial completely collapses, and we can’t withdraw even a thread of Heart Spirit, the loss would be even greater.

Duowen: You all go, I won’t leave. I want to stay here and collapse alongside the Saint Child Trial.

Duowen was once again seized by a resolute will to die, or perhaps he was simply reluctant to leave this place.

"No, there’s another way to prevent the trial’s collapse! And one person who should be able to achieve it!" Ning Fan suddenly interrupted the pessimistic views of Ant Lord and Duowen.

Upon hearing this, the two were bewildered, clearly unable to fathom anyone capable of stopping the Saint Child Trial’s collapse.

This was a trial world constructed by a dignified Fourth Step Immortal Emperor; who could repair it? Naturally, the two remained unconvinced.

After all, they did not possess Ning Fan’s memory of the Roasted Chestnut Elder, but Ning Fan knew that if the Roasted Chestnut Elder was willing to take action, there might still be a chance for recovery.

Ning Fan: I need to see someone!

Ant Lord: Who are you going to see? Is it perhaps that junior sister of yours frozen immobile? Haha, worthy of you.

Duowen: What! That lady is currently frozen in time, are you planning to take advantage of her in such a manner? Animal!

Ant Lord: Hmph, he can use even a brick from the ground in such a manner, let alone an immobile, delicate beauty.

Duowen: A brick? Senior, please explain in detail!

Seeing the two getting increasingly absurd, Ning Fan directly blocked out their voices, ignoring them.

He intended to find the Roasted Chestnut Elder to see how to resolve this matter.

Unexpectedly, the other party was also looking for Ning Fan at this moment.

"You brat, look at what you’ve done! In my goodwill, I let you, a descendant of Zi Dou, into this Ziwei trial, and this is how you repay me! You’ve destroyed my Daoist venue, truly courageous!"

With a disgruntled voice echoing between heaven and earth, the collapse of the Saint Child Trial momentarily halted.

Afterwards, Ning Fan only felt his vision blur, the scenery rapidly shifting, and in an instant, he was no longer within the Snow God Temple.

The next moment, his surroundings transformed, as if time and space were rewinding!

At this moment, he returned to the past, to a stall owned by the Roasted Chestnut Elder, in the Ferry Market he’d wandered upon first arriving in the Northern Barbarians Kingdom.

At this time, Ning Fan still wore those oilpaper bags as before, filled with trinkets bought while shopping with Bai Ling; a kite shaped like a phoenix bird slung over his back, holding two terribly ugly sugar figurines, indeed, these were events that had transpired before.

Turning around, Ning Fan saw Bai Ling’s frozen action: nibbling a snow cake with one side and a candied hawthorn with the other, a mask styled after a snow demon hanging from her head, exactly the way she was when they were shopping together before.

He suddenly had a bizarre illusion, as if living a lifetime within a single dream.

Did I really visit the North Pole Mountain and meet the Stone Ghost True Person?

Did I really encounter the senior from Dao Barbarian Mountain in his youth?

Did I really stand up for the senior and capture Landao Feng?

Did I really trigger the collapse of the Saint Child Trial?

Did I return from the future of the North Pole Mountain to the past of the Roasted Chestnut stall, or in the steaming smoke of the stall, did I see my own future, heading to North Pole Mountain and causing a collapse...

Ning Fan closed his eyes, dispelling distracting thoughts from his mind.

Upon reopening them, they shone with an azure glow, his gaze piercing through, clearly understanding his current circumstance.

"We meet again, Senior," Ning Fan said calmly. The word "again" affirmed the events had indeed occurred, and were not mere illusions.

"Barely half a breath, and you’ve stabilized your spirit sense. Interesting!" The approving look in Roasted Chestnut Elder’s eyes was undisguised.

He promptly remembered that seeking Ning Fan wasn’t for praise but to hold him accountable, thus immediately putting on a stern face.

"Look at the mess you’ve made! Tell me, how do you plan to compensate me for my losses?" The Roasted Chestnut Elder snapped irritably.

All around, time remained frozen, Bai Ling as if caught in a still frame, pedestrians on the street similarly paused, Ant Lord and Duowen also remained frozen, only Ning Fan and the Roasted Chestnut Elder were out of sync with the world.

"Compensation? How does this come about?" Ning Fan asked with a feigned expression of confusion.

"Humph! You, boy, ignored your proper task and went off to capture a Saint. Capturing is one thing, but you succeeded! Because of this, the Trial World, which I treat as my dojo, collapsed due to your actions. To repair it, I had to spend ten ancient eras of time to restore it. Don’t you think you should offer some compensation!" Roasted Chestnut Elder snorted coldly.

"Ten ancient eras?" Ning Fan was slightly taken aback. From triggering the trial’s collapse to meeting Roasted Chestnut Elder and seeing him restore the Trial World, it was clearly just a matter of a few breaths. Yet, the Elder claimed to have spent ten ancient eras to fix it? How could that be possible, even if one were fabricating the truth to such an extent?

"Why? Do you think I’m trying to swindle your money? Do you think I’m coveting the mere few millions of Heavenly Dao Gold you have? Humph! To you, my actions may have been instantaneous, but I elongated time during that moment. Thus, for me, it indeed took ten ancient eras to repair this realm. After all, this realm is not just any place but contains the profound secrets and great terrors I derived, as well as the past plots and schemes of numerous Saints and even Reverse Saints that I reviewed. The karmic implications are enormous! It’s not an easy task to fix it! Asking you to compensate is not unreasonable!" Roasted Chestnut Elder explained.

Ning Fan nodded, seeming to acknowledge part of the Elder’s explanation.

But then he shook his head, seemingly disagreeing with the Elder’s final conclusion.

"Ten ancient eras, I believe; compensation, not reasonable." Ning Fan replied.

"Why? Could it be that you, as a dignified descendant of Purple Dou, don’t even dare to take responsibility for your mistakes?" Roasted Chestnut Elder taunted.

"Where there is fault, one should take responsibility; where there is no fault, no compensation should be required." Ning Fan argued.

"Sophistry! But, I’m curious to hear your reasoning." Roasted Chestnut Elder.

"May I ask, Senior, was there a rule in the Saint Heir Trial that prohibited capturing a wild Saint during the mission?" Ning Fan asked confidently.

"No such rule!" Roasted Chestnut Elder’s mouth twitched.

Wild Saint?

What nonsense is this! What do you take Saints for!

"In that case, what rule did I violate by capturing a Saint, Senior? Why did you cause the Trial World to collapse, canceling my trial qualification?" Ning Fan.

"Because your actions exceeded the computational limits of the Trial World, leading to its collapse, what has that to do with me!" Roasted Chestnut Elder.

"I see. The Trial World’s quality itself was inferior, which is why it collapsed. In this scenario, not only am I not an offender but rather an innocent victim." Ning Fan.

"So, what now? You want me to compensate you instead!" Roasted Chestnut Elder laughed angrily.

"I wouldn’t dare! However, should Senior insist on giving compensation, I won’t refuse." Ning Fan.

"..." Roasted Chestnut Elder.

"..." Ning Fan.

The air fell silent momentarily.

"The person who set you on the path of cultivation was definitely not Purple Dou!" Only after a while did Roasted Chestnut Elder speak again, asserting.

"How does Senior know this?" Ning Fan.

"Purple Dou is not so shameless." Roasted Chestnut Elder.

Achoo.

In Seven Apricot City, within the Rain Immortal World, an obscene-looking Old Han inexplicably sneezed.

"Oh? From the way Senior talks, it seems you hold my Master Purple Dou in high regard?" Ning Fan was surprised.

He could understand the Ziwei Xian Huang having Reverse Saint dignity, refraining from acting against Purple Dou’s descendant; but he didn’t understand why Ziwei Xian Huang held Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign in such high regard.

It’s not that Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign isn’t worthy of esteem.

Mainly, it’s strange that someone like him would admire Purple Dou.

According to Ning Fan’s speculation, the Roasted Chestnut Elder before him should be some form of Ziwei Xian Huang’s existence, a fellow Reverse Saint who was defeated by Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign. Could such a person truly disregard past grudges and admire an enemy?

The more he thought, the more peculiar it seemed.

Could it be... my guess about this person’s identity is incorrect?

"You’re indeed wrong; I’m not Ziwei, the one killed by Purple Dou wasn’t me." Roasted Chestnut Elder seemed to discern Ning Fan’s thoughts and answered.

"Then who exactly is Senior..." Ning Fan was taken aback.

This Roasted Chestnut Elder’s aura was distinctly identical to that left by Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign, so why does he claim he isn’t Ziwei Xian Huang...

"If you truly want to know who I am, you can find out during the trial. If you are capable enough, you will learn the answer." Roasted Chestnut Elder clearly did not wish to explain further.

"Then what about me next..."

"Return and continue the trial! Do not perform actions beyond the calculation of the rules again! The timeline will reset to the moment you just entered the Snow God Temple, and as for that Landao Feng... humph! From this moment on, in the Saint Heir Trial, there is no longer any such person as Landao Feng; all cause and effect will be automatically corrected by the Heavenly Dao Laws I have set!"

Without giving Ning Fan more chance to speak, time and space began to move forward.

Several breaths later, Ning Fan returned to the moment he first entered the Snow God Temple.

At this moment, within the Snow God Temple, there were still some tenants negotiating with the Snow God Temple manager about prices, but the manager was no longer Landao Feng; instead, the person was replaced by someone else due to the Heavenly Dao Laws.

"It’s a pity that I couldn’t get compensation from Senior Roasted Chestnut..." Ning Fan sighed with regret.

At the same time, in the endless world of wind and snow, Roasted Chestnut Elder, clad in purple, looked beyond time and space at Ning Fan, his expression strange.

"This child, shameless as he is, is indeed talented. It’s a pity, he is not my disciple, but fortunately, he isn’t exactly a true descendant of Purple Dou but was led astray from the start. Thus, on the point of disciples, I haven’t lost too much to Purple Dou."

"I am not Ziwei, yet I am also Ziwei; unfortunately, I am the part that was schemed against. Having lost existence, I am not truly Ziwei, but I wonder if this kid can see through this matter."

"Ah, I really wish I could have lived in the era when Purple Dou achieved his Dao, to compete with him for fortune. Alas, alas..."

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