yī niàn jiān ， rú jìng zi bān yìng zhào chū lìng wài yí gè xuán huáng jiè 。
一念间，如镜子般映照出另外一个玄黄界。
In a moment, everything seemed to come into focus. The village was frozen in time, almost as if the passage of time had been halted here. However, when Li Fan followed his memory to the painting where Emperor Tai Tian hid, he found himself hesitating.
chū dài shèn zhì dōu zài qí zhōng kàn dào le zì jǐ de yǐng zi 。
初代甚至都在其中看到了自己的影子。
The painting remained unchanged, depicting young Xuan Tian Wang and his childhood friend, along with many other children from the village. But there was one person missing - an elderly man lying down for a rest!
suī rán nà yǐng zi quē shǎo le xiān zhī zhēn dì ， què yī jiù zhēn zhēn qiè qiè ， shì “ fán ” shí de zì jǐ 。
虽然那影子缺少了仙之真谛，却依旧真真切切，是“凡”时的自己。
"Disappeared," Li Fan felt a mix of sadness and relief wash over him as he realized that the old man who used to lie in this spot had vanished.
rú cǐ qiáng dà ， ràng jí biàn shēn wèi zhēn xiān de chū dài ， yě bù yóu shēn gǎn zhèn hàn 。
如此强大，让即便身为真仙的初代，也不由深感震撼。
The vitality absorbed by Xuan Tian Wang's secret technique continued to nourish the painting, but without Emperor Tai Tian, all the vitality was now being absorbed by the painting alone. This caused some strange changes. Li Fan seemed to hear the playful voices of his childhood friend and young Xuan Tian Wang from long ago.
……
……
Even the two children in the painting appeared to sense Li Fan's presence, turning their gaze towards him.
chū dài xiān qū cán liú jì yì de zuì hòu yí mù ， zé shì tā shī zhǎn xiān fán èr fēn fǎ de zuì hòu yí kè 。
初代仙躯残留记忆的最后一幕，则是他施展仙凡二分法的最后一刻。
Recalling the fate of the descendants of Huangxu Hong, Li Fan decided to temporarily put away this painting. After ensuring that no one could spy on it, he began to ponder why Emperor Tai Tian had disappeared.
tā kàn zhe qián fāng zì jǐ de dào yǐng ， xīn zhōng wǔ wèi zá chén 。
他看着前方自己的倒影，心中五味杂陈。
"Seems like mastering the逆行之道and reversing time means that regardless of where in the river I fall, my existence at other points in time will also disappear," Li Fan thought, finding it hard to understand but gradually grasping the concept.
zuì hòu jiē huà wèi shì rán 。
最后皆化为释然。
He realized that before, he was just a drop in the vast river, following its flow. But with his ability to reverse time, he had formed a line within the river. This line was now his complete self. In some sense, he had become like the river itself.
“ zhū duō xiān yǒu quán dōu dùn qù bú shì méi yǒu lǐ yóu de 。 tiān luó dì de jì huà ， yǐ jīng dào le zuì fēng kuáng de shí kè 。 wǒ kě yǐ gǎn shòu dào ， jù lí dào yān zhī jié dà guī mó bào fā de nà yī tiān ， huò xǔ yuè lái yuè jìn le 。 ruò shì xiān qū réng cún ， jí biàn shēn chù xià jiè ， kǒng pà yě huì zhāo lái dào yān 。 wéi yǒu tùn qù xiān qū ， fāng néng yǒu yī xiàn shēng jī ……”
“诸多仙友全都遁去不是没有理由的。天罗帝的计划，已经到了最疯狂的时刻。我可以感受到，距离道湮之劫大规模爆发的那一天，或许越来越近了。若是仙躯仍存，即便身处下界，恐怕也会招来道湮。唯有褪去仙躯，方能有一线生机……”
However, his main consciousness was trapped in this segment of the timeline and couldn't see what happened elsewhere, much like having all five senses sealed off.
chū dài mò mò sī suǒ zhe 。 gēn guò qù de zì jǐ gào bié hòu ， jiù cǐ tóu rù le fán rén zhī qū zhōng 。
初代默默思索着。跟过去的自己告别后，就此投入了凡人之躯中。
This was because mastering the逆行之道was still a beginner's level for him. If he mastered it fully, he would be able to leap over the river and understand every experience within it clearly.
“ zhēn xī wàng yǒu yī tiān ， wǒ hái néng huí lái 。”
“真希望有一天，我还能回来。”
As Li Fan stood where Emperor Tai Tian had disappeared, his understanding of time began to shift. The broken Downstream Boat in his body started to slowly repair itself, even though at a very slow pace compared to before.
zhè shì chū dài huà xiān wèi fán hòu de zuì hòu yī lǚ xiǎng fǎ 。
这是初代化仙为凡后的最后一缕想法。
"Generally speaking, once one masters the逆行之道, they can't be killed by ordinary means," Li Fan thought. "Only if the river is completely drained or consumed by the Dao Annihilation Disaster will their existence end."
……
……
Emperor Tai Tian had sacrificed himself due to excessive time reversal, his body and soul already decayed into a mere shadow.
lǐ fán cóng chū dài de jì yì zhōng tuō lí chū lái 。
李凡从初代的记忆中脱离出来。
But this didn't mean he couldn't be revived. He only needed for the flow of time in that segment to resume. With the help of the Downstream Boat, he could easily be saved by crossing over to the previous timeline.
hěn xiǎn rán ， chū dài bìng méi yǒu dá chéng tā de sù yuàn 。
很显然，初代并没有达成他的夙愿。
Even if no one helped, Emperor Tai Tian just had to wait until the river flowed again.
yí dàn tiān qīng ， xiǎng yào wǎn huí ， yòu nǎ lǐ yǒu zhè me róng yì 。
一旦天倾，想要挽回，又哪里有这么容易。
Looking at it from a broader perspective, the fate of the entire world was simple: either merge with the mountains and seas and be swallowed by the Dao Annihilation Disaster, or the life force would save itself through the stars.
“ zuì guān jiàn de ， hái shì sān shèng de fàng qì 。”
“最关键的，还是三圣的放弃。”
If the former happened, all beings would die regardless. But if the latter occurred, Emperor Tai Tian could resurrect himself.
“ yīn wèi wú guān zhōng jú ， suǒ yǐ sān shèng jí biàn yǒu néng lì zhěng jiù ， yě bú huì jiāng lì liàng ‘ làng fèi ’ zài zhè zhǒng xiǎo shì zhī shàng 。 méi yǒu tiào chū yuán chū kě néng xìng de qiáng zhě me ， zhǐ néng xuǎn zé zì jiù 。 yào me zé shì suǒ xìng zhí jiē lí qù 。”
“因为无关终局，所以三圣即便有能力拯救，也不会将力量‘浪费’在这种小事之上。没有跳出原初可能性的强者么，只能选择自救。要么则是索性直接离去。”
"Emperor Tai Tian must have understood this but chose to give up," Li Fan thought, recalling his last words before vanishing. "Living here has no meaning now. So today, I will teach you about the逆行之道!"
lǐ fán wēi wēi yáo tóu ：“ shuō qǐ lái ， yě bù zhī dào nà wèi tiān luó dì de jì huà jiū jìng shì shén me 。 chè dǐ jiě jué dào yān zhī jié ， zhěng gè xiān jiè zài chāo tuō ……”
李凡微微摇头：“说起来，也不知道那位天罗帝的计划究竟是什么。彻底解决道湮之劫，整个仙界再超脱……”
"If one day you can help me in the Eternal Void, my sacrifice was not in vain."
zhī qián lǐ fán jí biàn shì xiǎng xiǎng ， dōu xiǎng bú dào kě néng de fāng fǎ 。
之前李凡即便是想想，都想不到可能的方法。
Emperor Tai Tian's resolute expression seemed vividly clear to Li Fan.
bù guò zài yuè dú le wán zhěng de shān hǎi yù yán hòu ， lǐ fán què shì zhǎo dào le yī zhǒng kě néng 。
不过在阅读了完整的山海寓言后，李凡却是找到了一种可能。
"But it's hard to understand," Li Fan shook his head. "To give up the only and most stable source of vitality..."
dàn shēng yú hǎi 、 yì lì yú shān ， zé néng chāo tuō shān hǎi 。
诞生于海、屹立于山，则能超脱山海。
"Perhaps another Emperor Tai Tian will appear in a different timeline one day, but this one who has been constantly rescuing the world is gone forever."
ruò cǐ lǐ lùn zhèng què de huà ， nà me zhǐ yào xún zhǎo dào rú cháng shēng 、 hái zhēn bān de 【 shān hǎi dà dào 】， jiāng qí yǔ xiān jiè xiāng róng 。
若此理论正确的话，那么只要寻找到如长生、还真般的【山海大道】，将其与仙界相融。
"This one saved my life and taught me, while others are just not him," Li Fan thought. "Maybe the only way to revive him is through [Zhen Ren]."
nà me jiù yǒu kě néng shǐ qí zhěng tǐ chāo tuō yú shān hǎi zhī wài 。
那么就有可能使其整体超脱于山海之外。
But his understanding of true/false transformation was still incomplete, let alone creating a fully vanished emperor.
zì rán jiù bù bì zài shòu dào yān zhī jié de kùn rǎo le 。
自然就不必再受道湮之劫的困扰了。
Li Fan decided to leave this idea for now and instead sealed off the underground village with a divine array before leaving.
dàn zhè yě zhǐ shì lǐ lùn 。
但这也只是理论。
He looked towards the nearby fishing pond, where no Taoist temple had been built yet. The ordinary water seemed unremarkable but contained something beyond the nameless realm.
shān hǎi zhī wài ， sì hū lìng yǒu dà kǒng bù 。 yù yán zhōng nà dì yī wèi yóu hǎi lián shān de shēng líng ， zài shān hǎi zhī dào xiāng róng 、 kàn xiàng shān hǎi zhī wài hòu de jié jú ， jiù zhèng míng liǎo zhè qí zhōng cún zài mò dà de wēi xiǎn 。
山海之外，似乎另有大恐怖。寓言中那第一位由海连山的生灵，在山海之道相融、看向山海之外后的结局，就证明了这其中存在莫大的危险。
"Even surpassing the nameless realm," Li Fan thought. "After all, Emperor Tai Tian was known as the 'Mountain and Sea Fisherman.'"
“ jí biàn néng chéng ， kǒng pà xià chǎng yě bú huì bǐ bèi dào yān zhī jié tūn mò hǎo dào duō shǎo 。”
“即便能成，恐怕下场也不会比被道湮之劫吞没好到多少。”
Even though he controlled a divine body now, Li Fan didn't approach, only observing from afar.
duì yú tiān luó dì yǐ jí xiān jiè zuì zhōng de jié jú ， lǐ fán xīn zhōng hái shì yǒu diǎn hào qí de 。 zhǐ kě xī zài zhè ge shí jiān jié diǎn shàng ， yī qiè zǎo yǐ jīng zhù dìng 、 chá wú kě chá 。
对于天罗帝以及仙界最终的结局，李凡心中还是有点好奇的。只可惜在这个时间节点上，一切早已经注定、查无可查。
"The fishing pond connects to multiple possibilities rather than just one path," Li Fan reasoned. "What skillful hand! The fisherman behind this must be at least an transcendental realm powerhouse."
“ huò xǔ yán zhe shí guāng cháng hé ， zài nì liú ér shàng ， jiù néng fā xiàn gèng duō de xiàn suǒ 。 dàn què yì yì bù dà 。”
“或许沿着时光长河，再逆流而上，就能发现更多的线索。但却意义不大。”
Li Fan was wary of the fishing pond and its inhabitants, especially with nothing but a piece of Downstream Wood for protection.
lǐ fán shōu liǎn shén sī ， níng shén wàng zhe qián fāng chū dài xiān qū ， jiāng qí líng zhì jī fā 。
李凡收敛神思，凝神望着前方初代仙躯，将其灵智激发。
"Patience, I will face him eventually."
chū dài zhēng kāi shuāng yǎn ， zài jīng lì le piàn kè de mí máng zhī hòu ， hěn kuài jiù nòng qīng chǔ le xiàn zhuàng 。 duì zhe lǐ fán xíng le yī lǐ 。
初代睁开双眼，在经历了片刻的迷茫之后，很快就弄清楚了现状。对着李凡行了一礼。
Returning to the root of the universe, Li Fan handed the painting over to his true self. As he unfolded it, he found himself looking into the eyes of young Xuan Tian Wang from the painting.
ér lǐ fán zé shì jiè zhù chū dài de shēn qū ， guān chá zhe xuán huáng jiè wài de dào yān zhī jié zhuàng kuàng 。
而李凡则是借助初代的身躯，观察着玄黄界外的道湮之劫状况。
He realized that the painter had anticipated someone would come and was not surprised by this. Ignoring the gaze of young Huangxu Hong, Li Fan listened carefully to the sounds around him.
“ ń ， bǐ qǐ wàn nián zhī hòu ， hái shì yào wěn gù le bù shǎo 。”
“嗯，比起万年之后，还是要稳固了不少。”
"The sound is indeed similar to the curse-like voice I heard in the Yellow Emperor lineage," he thought. "But clearer."
“ chū dài huà fán qián suǒ dān xīn de dà shà zhōng qīng de jú miàn ， bìng méi yǒu fā shēng 。 yīng gāi shì xiān xū zhī xià ， mái zàng de shàng yī rèn jī xiān zhī gǔ zài mò mò zhī chēng de yuán yīn 。”
“初代化凡前所担心的大厦终倾的局面，并没有发生。应该是仙墟之下，埋葬的上一任饥仙之骨在默默支撑的原因。”
"Is Xuan Tian Wang trying to convey something through this method?"
chá kàn le piàn kè hòu ， lǐ fán shōu huí le mù guāng 。
查看了片刻后，李凡收回了目光。
If true immortals inscribed with characters represented the Dao through writing, then these sounds depicted the path of the Dao through music.
xiàn zài tā hái zàn shí méi yǒu zhāo rě jī xiān de dǎ suàn 。
现在他还暂时没有招惹饥仙的打算。
Li Fan had only seen such a practice with Great Mage before, while most true immortals followed the path of inscribing the Dao in their writings.
guò qù ， tā xíng shì kě sì wú jì dàn 、 yī yán bù hé jiù jǔ shǒu miè shì 。 fǎn zhèng yǒu hái zhēn gěi tā tuō dǐ 。 dàn xiàn zài bù xíng 。
过去，他行事可肆无忌惮、一言不合就举手灭世。反正有还真给他托底。但现在不行。
"Seems like this sound might not come from the original timeline but another one where Emperor Tai Tian disappeared," Li Fan thought. "Great Mage learned from the Three Sages, who exist across multiple timelines."
yǒu le zhè jù xiān qū ， zài fǔ yǐ xiān zhèn de huà ， xiǎng yào zhuō ná jī xiān ， yīng gāi wèn tí bù dà 。
有了这具仙躯，再辅以仙阵的话，想要捉拿饥仙，应该问题不大。
Li Fan tried to decipher the sounds passed down by Emperor Tai Tian.
dàn lǐ fán wú fǎ bǎo zhèng ， zài shuāng fāng jiāo shǒu de tóng shí ， hái néng ān wěn hù zhù xuán huáng jiè de ān quán 。
但李凡无法保证，在双方交手的同时，还能安稳护住玄黄界的安全。
With his past experience of merging with the mountains and seas, he found it much easier to understand the path between them.
ruò shì xuán huáng zāo chuàng ， tā zài zhè duàn shí kōng xīn xīn kǔ kǔ dǎ xià de máo diǎn quán dōu huǐ huài 。 dào shí hòu bié shuō qín ná jī xiān le ， kǒng pà zì shēn dōu nán bǎo 。
若是玄黄遭创，他在这段时空辛辛苦苦打下的锚点全都毁坏。到时候别说擒拿饥仙了，恐怕自身都难保。
After some time, he had a rough understanding.
In a moment, everything seemed to come into focus. The village was frozen in time, almost as if the passage of time had been halted here. However, when Li Fan followed his memory to the painting where Emperor Tai Tian hid, he found himself hesitating.
The painting remained unchanged, depicting young Xuan Tian Wang and his childhood friend, along with many other children from the village. But there was one person missing - an elderly man lying down for a rest!
"Disappeared," Li Fan felt a mix of sadness and relief wash over him as he realized that the old man who used to lie in this spot had vanished.
The vitality absorbed by Xuan Tian Wang's secret technique continued to nourish the painting, but without Emperor Tai Tian, all the vitality was now being absorbed by the painting alone. This caused some strange changes. Li Fan seemed to hear the playful voices of his childhood friend and young Xuan Tian Wang from long ago.
Even the two children in the painting appeared to sense Li Fan's presence, turning their gaze towards him.
Recalling the fate of the descendants of Huangxu Hong, Li Fan decided to temporarily put away this painting. After ensuring that no one could spy on it, he began to ponder why Emperor Tai Tian had disappeared.
"Seems like mastering the逆行之道and reversing time means that regardless of where in the river I fall, my existence at other points in time will also disappear," Li Fan thought, finding it hard to understand but gradually grasping the concept.
He realized that before, he was just a drop in the vast river, following its flow. But with his ability to reverse time, he had formed a line within the river. This line was now his complete self. In some sense, he had become like the river itself.
However, his main consciousness was trapped in this segment of the timeline and couldn't see what happened elsewhere, much like having all five senses sealed off.
This was because mastering the逆行之道was still a beginner's level for him. If he mastered it fully, he would be able to leap over the river and understand every experience within it clearly.
As Li Fan stood where Emperor Tai Tian had disappeared, his understanding of time began to shift. The broken Downstream Boat in his body started to slowly repair itself, even though at a very slow pace compared to before.
"Generally speaking, once one masters the逆行之道, they can't be killed by ordinary means," Li Fan thought. "Only if the river is completely drained or consumed by the Dao Annihilation Disaster will their existence end."
Emperor Tai Tian had sacrificed himself due to excessive time reversal, his body and soul already decayed into a mere shadow.
But this didn't mean he couldn't be revived. He only needed for the flow of time in that segment to resume. With the help of the Downstream Boat, he could easily be saved by crossing over to the previous timeline.
Even if no one helped, Emperor Tai Tian just had to wait until the river flowed again.
Looking at it from a broader perspective, the fate of the entire world was simple: either merge with the mountains and seas and be swallowed by the Dao Annihilation Disaster, or the life force would save itself through the stars.
If the former happened, all beings would die regardless. But if the latter occurred, Emperor Tai Tian could resurrect himself.
"Emperor Tai Tian must have understood this but chose to give up," Li Fan thought, recalling his last words before vanishing. "Living here has no meaning now. So today, I will teach you about the逆行之道!"
"If one day you can help me in the Eternal Void, my sacrifice was not in vain."
Emperor Tai Tian's resolute expression seemed vividly clear to Li Fan.
"But it's hard to understand," Li Fan shook his head. "To give up the only and most stable source of vitality..."
"Perhaps another Emperor Tai Tian will appear in a different timeline one day, but this one who has been constantly rescuing the world is gone forever."
"This one saved my life and taught me, while others are just not him," Li Fan thought. "Maybe the only way to revive him is through [Zhen Ren]."
But his understanding of true/false transformation was still incomplete, let alone creating a fully vanished emperor.
Li Fan decided to leave this idea for now and instead sealed off the underground village with a divine array before leaving.
He looked towards the nearby fishing pond, where no Taoist temple had been built yet. The ordinary water seemed unremarkable but contained something beyond the nameless realm.
"Even surpassing the nameless realm," Li Fan thought. "After all, Emperor Tai Tian was known as the 'Mountain and Sea Fisherman.'"
Even though he controlled a divine body now, Li Fan didn't approach, only observing from afar.
"The fishing pond connects to multiple possibilities rather than just one path," Li Fan reasoned. "What skillful hand! The fisherman behind this must be at least an transcendental realm powerhouse."
Li Fan was wary of the fishing pond and its inhabitants, especially with nothing but a piece of Downstream Wood for protection.
"Patience, I will face him eventually."
Returning to the root of the universe, Li Fan handed the painting over to his true self. As he unfolded it, he found himself looking into the eyes of young Xuan Tian Wang from the painting.
He realized that the painter had anticipated someone would come and was not surprised by this. Ignoring the gaze of young Huangxu Hong, Li Fan listened carefully to the sounds around him.
"The sound is indeed similar to the curse-like voice I heard in the Yellow Emperor lineage," he thought. "But clearer."
"Is Xuan Tian Wang trying to convey something through this method?"
If true immortals inscribed with characters represented the Dao through writing, then these sounds depicted the path of the Dao through music.
Li Fan had only seen such a practice with Great Mage before, while most true immortals followed the path of inscribing the Dao in their writings.
"Seems like this sound might not come from the original timeline but another one where Emperor Tai Tian disappeared," Li Fan thought. "Great Mage learned from the Three Sages, who exist across multiple timelines."
Li Fan tried to decipher the sounds passed down by Emperor Tai Tian.
With his past experience of merging with the mountains and seas, he found it much easier to understand the path between them.
After some time, he had a rough understanding.