Chapter 1253: Purging the World-Observing Divine Eyes
Chapter 1253: Purging the World-Observing Divine Eyes
"When the nest falls, no egg is left whole. If the Xuanhuang Realm ceases to be what it is, then beings like yourself, fellow Daoist, whose existence is tied to it, will inevitably face a reckoning."
"The Longevity cultivators of this realm will not escape either," the Faceless Saint Emperor concluded.
As Li Ping finished speaking, a sense of crisis naturally welled up in the Stone Slab's heart, as if its own spiritual intuition was echoing the Saint Emperor's conclusion.
"That is something I have never considered before. I wonder what the other Longevity cultivators think. We have not had any contact for many years."
After a long moment of contemplation, the Stone Slab finally spoke.
Li Ping sneered. "Those few are still content to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight."
"But it matters not. It's fine if they remain neutral. They were never part of my plans to begin with."
The Stone Slab changed the subject. "So, you said the key is to establish the Xuanhuang Realm's legitimacy."
Li Ping remained silent for a long moment, offering no response.
Instead, he suddenly said, "First, let me help you with the trouble caused by the slab on your back."
The Stone Slab knew in his heart that in the Saint Emperor's eyes, he was not yet someone to whom he could reveal his entire plan. So, he did not press the matter, simply cupping his hands. "In that case, I thank you in advance, fellow Daoist. It's no matter if you don't succeed."
"When I decide to act, failure is not an option."
The Saint Emperor's single sentence left the Stone Slab speechless.
Smack!
Li Ping tossed the Calamity Crossing Book onto the great hall's floor.
Its pages began to flip rapidly, stirred by an unseen force.
Gilded paper figures poured from the book, lining up in neat rows like soldiers assembling for battle.
At their head was, of course, the small, thick-browed golden figure from before.
It was unclear what methods the Saint Emperor had employed, but despite being suppressed for less than half a day, the figure seemed to have undergone an earth-shattering transformation compared to when it first emerged from the Salvation Sect.
The Stone Slab's gaze focused on the paper figures of the Salvation Sect.
Li Ping, however, sensed an unusual stirring from the Cat Treasure within the Sacred Dynasty's treasury.
As if it had discovered something of immense interest, it flashed to Li Ping's side.
It perched on Li Ping's shoulder, affectionately rubbing against his head, its eyes fixed intently on the paper figures below.
An inexplicable atmosphere instantly descended upon the great hall.
The paper figures, which had been bobbing their heads and making small, restless movements, suddenly froze in place like ice sculptures.
They dared not even twitch.
The small golden figure at the front went a step further, immediately activating the Eternal Calamity World technique.
However, the golden light emanating from its body flickered like a candle in the wind, threatening to extinguish at any moment.
To be clear, even when facing the Saint Emperor's threat to refine the entire Salvation Sect, they had not shown such fear.
But now, it was as if they had encountered their true natural enemy.
The Stone Slab, who had been watching the paper figures, naturally noticed the abnormality in the hall. He looked up at the Faceless Saint Emperor, seated high on his throne, with a mixture of shock and uncertainty.
From the Stone Slab's expression, Li Ping deduced that he had not noticed the Cat Treasure on his shoulder.
Glancing imperceptibly at the restless Cat Treasure, a flurry of thoughts flashed through the Saint Emperor's mind.
*It's not looking at them as food, not a desire to hunt, but pure curiosity.*
*The members of the Salvation Sect can't see the Cat Treasure either, yet because of their cultivation technique, they instinctively sense a fatal calamity. To be this terrified... interesting.*
*The Cat Treasure... from beyond the High Wall...*
Li Ping channeled a wisp of golden Source Power to soothe the restless Cat Treasure.
The Cat Treasure surveyed the paper figures below for another moment, then seemed to lose interest entirely. After licking up some of the Source Power from Li Ping, it flashed back down to the Sacred Dynasty's treasury to rest.
The strange atmosphere in the hall gradually returned to normal.
No one mentioned the strange event that had just occurred. But the members of the Salvation Sect had transformed from a rowdy mob into a disciplined, battle-hardened army, moving in perfect accord with the Saint Emperor's will.
Receiving a nod from Li Ping, the thick-browed golden figure glanced at the Stone Slab and began to explain, "The Creation Stone Slab is connected to the fundamental laws of the Xuanhuang Realm. Like the rings of a tree, it automatically records every event that occurs in the realm, moment by moment."
"Given the sheer scale of a world, recording tens of thousands of years is nothing—even hundreds of thousands or millions of years of events would be trivial. But when all of this is borne by a single being..."
"...the pain is naturally immense."
The small golden figure cupped its hands towards Li Ping. "Actually, Venerable One, solving this problem is quite simple. One way is to increase this one's carrying capacity. The other is to create a buffer."
The leader of the Salvation Sect, feigning complete ignorance of the Stone Slab, beckoned to the Calamity Crossing Book nearby.
As the pages flipped, countless scenes recorded by the World-Observing Divine Eyes flashed across them.
"We of the Salvation Sect, much like the Creation Stone Slab, have also monitored the Xuanhuang Realm to a certain extent over the years. The difference is, none of us directly processes this vast amount of information. We first record and store it, then divide the task of reviewing it. One person's strength is insufficient for such a task, but the strength of an entire sect is more than enough."
The small golden figure turned back to the Stone Slab. "If you are alone, and you wish to alleviate or even escape the burden of the slab, you will need to rely on an external object. In the past, being rejected by the Heavenly Dao would have made this difficult. But with the Venerable One's assistance now, it shouldn't be a problem."
From the small golden figure's wording and demeanor, the Stone Slab became even more certain that this was indeed Yi Jue, the former acting master of the Salvation Sect. However, since the other party refused to acknowledge it, he had no choice but to feign ignorance as well.
Li Ping waited for Yi Jue to finish before speaking to the Stone Slab. "Fellow Daoist, wait for me a moment."
With that, the Saint Emperor's figure vanished from his throne.
His presence could no longer be sensed anywhere in the entire Great Qi small world.
Only the group of paper figures from the Salvation Sect and the motionless Stone Slab remained in the great hall.
The Stone Slab looked at Yi Jue, appearing as if he wanted to say something but held back.
"Since we have pledged our allegiance to the Venerable One, all things past are like smoke and clouds, not to be mentioned again," Yi Jue said, his gaze fixed forward.
"Of course, if you were to do the same... as colleagues, perhaps it wouldn't be out of place for us to grow closer."
This way of handling matters was exactly like the Yi Jue of old.
The Stone Slab nodded slightly, indicating that he understood the meaning behind his words.
"In the Dharma Propagator's sealed space, even when facing refinement by golden flames, we of the Salvation Sect felt little fear. Because we did not sense a true, unavoidable calamity."
"But just now, within this very hall..."
"...we felt a terrifying calamity, the likes of which we have never experienced. Be careful. That one is not simple..."
Yi Jue's voice reached his ears, almost imperceptible, and the Stone Slab's heart tightened.
He wanted to speak more with him, but the small golden figure would no longer respond.
After a short while, the Faceless Saint Emperor, Li Ping, returned to the great hall.
"This Dao Transformation Stone should be of sufficient quality."
He tossed a blue crystal towards the Stone Slab.
"The Venerable One's judgment is flawless. A high-grade Dao Transformation Stone is more than enough to serve as a buffer for the records," Yi Jue of the Salvation Sect chimed in before the Stone Slab could respond.
"In fact, a mid-grade one would have been sufficient. A high-grade stone is a bit of a waste." The small golden figure's tone was almost fawning.
Seeing this, the Stone Slab shook his head slightly and reached out to grasp the Dao Transformation Stone.
He made an attempt. The rejection from the laws of the Heavenly Dao was weaker than it had been years ago.
But it still did not permit the entry of an external object.
The Stone Slab looked at Li Ping.
"It is merely a high-grade Dao Transformation Stone. I hope you will not find it lacking," the Saint Emperor said gracefully.
"Follow me."
At Li Ping's instruction, the Stone Slab and all the paper figures from the Salvation Sect followed him into the sky above the Great Qi small world.
At the convergence point of the unknown formation's power that enveloped the entire small world, fine golden threads could be seen swirling and coiling, forming a hollow opening.
Above this opening, the color of the sky was not azure but pitch-black.
It was as if it connected to some unknown existence.
Upon arriving here, the inexplicable sense of crisis reappeared in the Stone Slab's heart.
"What formation is this?"
The Stone Slab had grown somewhat numb to surprises, but out of instinct, he still studied the traces of the formation.
The paper figures of the Salvation Sect, however, all wore their usual expressions, as if oblivious to the danger here.
Li Ping strode to the center of the opening and sat cross-legged in the void.
An inscrutable aura emanated from the Saint Emperor. A moment later, a straight beam of golden light shot from the crown of his head into the unknown blackness.
As if it had opened some kind of passage, the blackness began to swirl, its color gradually blending with the normal sky around it.
The Stone Slab looked up and, from the far end of the opening, felt an incredibly familiar aura—the aura of the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao.
"Fellow Daoist, come here," Li Ping said.
The Stone Slab's form drifted gracefully until he was seated in the air, opposite the Saint Emperor.
The aura of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao cascaded down upon the crown of his head like a waterfall. The Stone Slab felt a comfort he had not experienced in a long time.
The torment of countless images was also soothed at this moment.
Simultaneously, as he was infused with the aura of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao, the Stone Slab keenly sensed subtle changes occurring within himself.
"This is..."
"...the Millennial Transformation of the Xuanhuang Realm?"
The Stone Slab pondered for a moment after comprehending the changes.
The slab he carried only recorded events that occurred within the original Xuanhuang Realm over the years. He had been unable to perceive the various changes caused by the fusion with fragments of other cultivation realms.
But now, infused with the aura of the Heavenly Dao, he could personally experience the world's dramatic transformation.
The Stone Slab had a faint feeling that not only was the rejection of external forces by the Xuanhuang laws within him weakening, but the slab itself was also undergoing some inexplicable change.
Some blurry images from the implanted prefectures also began to appear on the slab's records.
However, as the fusion was not yet complete, the characters appearing on the slab were extremely faint.
It seemed as if a light wipe would erase them completely.
*If the Xuanhuang Realm were given tens of millions of years to slowly absorb the other worlds on its own, perhaps it could still maintain its so-called legitimacy. The slab on my back would also record everything that happened in those absorbed prefectures. But unfortunately, reality will not grant it that much time...*
While the Stone Slab was lost in thought, the voice of the Faceless Saint Emperor suddenly reached his ears.
"Dao Transformation, Spirit Unity."
The Stone Slab immediately snapped back to reality and pressed the high-grade Dao Transformation Stone to the point between his brows.
He began the attempt to merge it into his body.
Just as expected, the result was completely different from before.
The repulsive force of the Heavenly Dao within him had weakened significantly. And as more of the Heavenly Dao's aura was infused from above, the rejection grew ever fainter.
"Touch with spirit, merge with calculation."
"Object and self unite, Dao Transformation, Spirit Unity..."
The Stone Slab silently recited a secret art of the Tai Yan Sect. The blue crystal, like ice melting into water, was gradually absorbed into his sea of consciousness.
The entire process went smoothly.
Just as only the very tip of the Dao Transformation Stone remained outside, a strange phenomenon in the opening above caught the Stone Slab's attention.
"What is that..."
Streaks of withered-yellow light shot out from the end of the pitch-black passage.
At first, there were only a few dozen flying in unison, but gradually, more and more yellow lights emerged from the passage.
Thousands upon thousands of them, dense as a swarming hive of bees.
The yellow lights also carried an aura that, while not threatening, made the Stone Slab feel deeply uncomfortable.
The yellow lights filled the sky, flying continuously towards the Saint Emperor.
Li Ping reached out and caught them one by one.
Only then did the Stone Slab realize that these lights were, in fact, paper figures with bizarre expressions.
Unlike the lifelike figures of the Salvation Sect, these were nothing more than simple paper cutouts.
They radiated an aura of decay, and even without looking at them directly, the paper figures seemed to be staring intently at the Stone Slab, causing a sense of irritation.
"The World-Observing Divine Eyes?" the Stone Slab asked, stunned for a moment before realization dawned.
"These things bring more harm than good to the world. Naturally, they must be recalled," Li Ping said flatly.
"Didn't the Salvation Sect say they couldn't be retrieved once implanted? Back then, we..."
The Stone Slab seemed to remember something. Astonished, he could not help but look towards Yi Jue.
Yi Jue acted as if he hadn't seen the Stone Slab's glare at all, speaking respectfully only to the Saint Emperor. "Although the World-Observing Divine Eyes are somewhat worn, they can be reused after some re-refining."
"The raw materials for these items came from beyond the heavens, and our Salvation Sect has few left. For such a rare and precious wonder, we had always planned to recall them after surviving the calamity. This is merely happening a bit ahead of schedule."
...
Looking at Yi Jue's perfectly composed expression, the Stone Slab forcefully suppressed the urge to teach him a lesson.
"They are useful for occasionally scouting an enemy's position, but there's no need to have them scattered all over the world."
Li Ping commented lightly, feeling the affinity of the Xuanhuang Realm increase significantly as the World-Observing Divine Eyes were removed.
"Your lesson is well-received, Venerable One," Yi Jue replied with a cheerful smile.
The Stone Slab decided to ignore the pair and focus on merging with the Dao Transformation Stone.
When the Dao Transformation Stone had completely disappeared from view, a brilliant crystal manifested within his sea of consciousness.
The countless backlogged scenes seemed to freeze for an instant.
Then, they began to flood madly into the Dao Transformation Stone.
At the same time, Yi Jue's voice echoed continuously.
He was imparting the Salvation Sect's exclusive method for storing and recording the information of heaven and earth.
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