Chapter 1254: A Hidden Power in the Rift
Chapter 1254: A Hidden Power in the Rift
As the One Absolute Daoist chanted, the Stone Slab instantly grasped his meaning.
Within the Dao Transformation Stone in its sea of consciousness, miniaturized versions of the Stone Slab instantly began to split off.
The torrent of recorded images from the Creation Stone Slab, descending like a blizzard of snowflakes, was diverted into these separate sub-bodies.
The effect was so immediate that the Stone Slab felt a sense of relief it hadn't experienced in ages.
"This is merely a buffer," the Stone Slab realized. "To completely resolve my underlying problem, I need to store this data."
A realization dawned on the Stone Slab.
As its will shifted, the thousands of miniature sub-bodies expanded, merging directly into the Dao Transformation Stone.
Under the refinement of the Stone Slab's technique, the once-azure crystal transformed into a miniature version of the slab itself.
"I've pushed this Dao Transformation Stone's processing power to its absolute limit. It truly is an extraordinary artifact from beyond the heavens; a single high-grade stone can effortlessly bear the full weight of the Creation Stone Slab's information..." the Stone Slab marveled inwardly.
"And I still have full control over all the recorded data. In fact, after being sorted and analyzed by the Dao Transformation Stone's countless sub-bodies, I can find information even faster than before."
With the hidden threat eliminated, it did not rise immediately.
Instead, it savored a tranquility it hadn't known for tens of thousands of years.
Its sea of consciousness was no longer constantly crammed with countless images and discordant noise. The sheer, empty serenity of it almost moved the Stone Slab to tears.
After a long while, the Stone Slab finally rose.
It turned to the Saint Emperor and bowed solemnly. "Thank you, my friend, for this grace of rebirth!"
"It was a simple matter," the Saint Emperor replied, though he accepted the gratitude graciously.
Stepping away from the center of the formation, the Saint Emperor waved his hand, and the opening overhead was veiled by a mysterious aura.
Returning to his throne, Li Ping spoke candidly, "Although I've helped you resolve the burden of your chaotic information, I will not use it as a bargaining chip to ask anything of you."
"Whether you are willing to help or not is entirely your decision."
The Stone Slab could tell that the Saint Emperor before it was speaking with utmost sincerity, and it was deeply moved.
It replied frankly, "My fate has always been tied to the Xuanhuang Realm. In the past, I was tormented by endless pain and had little interest in worldly affairs. But now that I am free, I will certainly not stand idly by."
Li Ping merely gave a slight nod in response to the Stone Slab's assurance.
He did not, however, bring up the "Orthodox Xuanhuang" plan he had mentioned before.
Instead, he inquired about another matter.
"What are your thoughts on the Tiandu Grandmaster?"
"If I were to contend with the Dharma Spreaders, would he intervene?"
At this question, both the Stone Slab and the One Absolute Daoist's expressions grew a little strange.
Seeing that the One Absolute Daoist had no intention of speaking, the Stone Slab took the initiative to answer. "As far as I know, the Grandmaster has spent all these years recuperating above Source Dao Province. As for the affairs of the outside world..."
"...I fear it would be very difficult to attract his attention."
The Stone Slab glanced at the One Absolute Daoist. "Back when the Ten Great Immortal Sects were pushed to the brink by the great calamity, they tried more than once to seek the Grandmaster's help. But they couldn't even get past his door."
"After leaving the Heavenly Capital back then, they never had the chance to return."
The Stone Slab's tone was tinged with a faint sigh.
"The Xuantian King was a man of impeccable character. For your own selfish desires, you Ten Sects colluded with an outsider like the Grandmaster to destroy the Xuan Tian Cult. You were truly acting as a jackal to a tiger," the Saint Emperor commented coolly.
The Stone Slab gave a wry smile and offered no defense.
The One Absolute Daoist, however, remained impassive. "Your insight is sharp, Saint Emperor. The actions of the Ten Sects back then were indeed improper. But all that is like smoke in the wind, long dispersed. The original perpetrators are long gone. As for the Xuantian King..."
"He and the Grandmaster were destined for a conflict. It would have happened even without us Ten Sects. Besides, according to the accounts of those who were there, the Xuantian King's disappearance was rather strange. It wasn't entirely the Grandmaster's doing."
"With the Xuantian King gone, the Xuan Tian Cult was nothing but scattered sand. It was only natural for the Ten Sects to take power. During the era of the Xuan Tian Cult, the cultivators of the world were too heavily oppressed. After the Ten Sects took control, they adopted a policy of recuperation, and sects large and small enjoyed a rare period of peace."
The One Absolute Daoist spoke slowly, not to excuse the Ten Sects, but simply to state the facts.
The Stone Slab cooperated by projecting images from that era into the Saint Emperor's hall.
Watching the scenes flash by, Li Ping nodded slightly.
After a moment of silence, Li Ping spoke. "The Grandmaster seems to have partially transcended this realm. Though the possibility of his intervention is low, we must still be on guard."
Both the Stone Slab and the One Absolute Daoist were slightly taken aback, surprised that Li Ping hadn't changed his plans.
"But I have my own methods. You need not worry."
"How much do the two of you know about the current Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance?" Li Ping changed the subject.
The Stone Slab pondered for a moment before shaking its head. "The Alliance headquarters is located within the space of the Xuantian Treasure Mirror. It's a world unto itself, shielded from the senses of the Creation Stone Slab. Although I have records of the yearly scenes in some of the Alliance's provinces, I actually know very little about its core secrets."
"However, the highest echelons of the Alliance, the Dharma Spreaders, are all surviving cultivators from the old Xuanhuang Realm. I have information on all of them, but only up to the point before they hid within the Xuantian Treasure Mirror."
"Since the re-establishment of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, they have gathered the resources of the Xuanhuang Realm to enrich their own private world. Empowered by their secret treasures, their strength is certainly worlds apart from what it once was. The information I can provide should only be taken as a reference," the Stone Slab said gravely.
A blue speck of light, condensing a vast amount of visual information, slowly floated before the Saint Emperor.
As he absorbed it, countless images instantly flooded Li Ping's mind.
"This is enough," he said in a low voice.
Just then, the One Absolute Daoist cleared his throat. "Regarding the sights within the Alliance headquarters..."
"Our Salvation Sect actually has some idea."
"Oh?" This time, even the Stone Slab was surprised.
"That can't be right, Yi Jue. When your entire sect was suppressed by the Dharma Spreaders, the current Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance didn't even exist, did it?"
Sensing the Stone Slab's doubtful gaze, the golden figure of the One Absolute Daoist smiled faintly.
"It was a matter of coincidence. When the Alliance headquarters was being constructed, they happened to excavate the space where one of our World Observing Divine Eyes was located and implant it into their headquarters."
"Although it's not in a critical location, over the years, it has managed to observe a few things. We are not entirely in the dark."
As the One Absolute Daoist spoke, he presented the Calamity Crossing Book like a prized treasure. Its pages flipped continuously, and the shifting light and shadow slowly condensed into a single page.
It drifted slowly toward Li Ping.
Li Ping absorbed the page, quickly scanning the images recorded within.
A long while later.
"Are there any other such World Observing Divine Eyes in the Xuanhuang Realm that I cannot sense?"
The Saint Emperor spoke again, not with praise, but with this question.
The One Absolute Daoist quickly clarified, "Aside from the one isolated by the Xuantian Treasure Mirror, all other Divine Eyes have already been recovered by you, Saint Emperor."
"However..." the One Absolute Daoist hesitated.
"Speak freely."
"In the places where the World Observing Divine Eyes were originally located, even though the eyes themselves have been retrieved, their presence was so prolonged that the space itself has been imbued with some of their characteristics."
Hearing this, the Stone Slab's expression immediately grew solemn.
The One Absolute Daoist continued, "In other words, our Salvation Sect can still perceive events occurring near those 'points.' The effect just isn't as clear as observing with the Divine Eyes themselves."
As if to prove his point, the One Absolute Daoist flipped through the Calamity Crossing Book, projecting the countless images recorded from those different points all at once.
The range was smaller than what the World Observing Divine Eyes could control, and the images were quite blurry.
But just as the One Absolute Daoist had said, while the performance was diminished, the most crucial function of "monitoring" was indeed still intact.
"Yi Jue, what is the origin of these World Observing Divine Eyes?"
The Stone Slab pondered for a moment, somewhat shocked. It had voiced the very question on Li Ping's mind.
After all, the fact that the Divine Eyes could alter the very nature of the space they occupied was not as simple as it seemed.
If one were to truly analyze it, this could be considered, in a sense, a way to "reverse the logic of heaven and earth."
The One Absolute Daoist didn't hide anything. "Years ago, after the Heavenly Sword Sect forged the World Splitting Divine Weapon, used it to tear open the realm, and left, shaking the whole of Xuanhuang, I went to their ruins to have a look."
"That rift was a place of shattered space, leading to who knows where. Any ordinary cultivator who entered rashly would meet certain death. However, our Salvation Sect's 'Eternal Calamity World' technique allowed me to survive within it temporarily."
A brilliant light flickered in the Stone Slab's eyes.
"Nevertheless, I risked life and limb to enter that rift. Following the aura of the World Splitting Divine Weapon, I ventured deeper, wanting to confirm whether the Heavenly Sword Sect had truly succeeded..."
"Unfortunately, the rift was healing faster than I had imagined. A power I had never seen before, one that did not belong to the Xuanhuang Realm, was actively repairing the wound. Having lost the trail of the divine weapon, I had also reached my limit and was forced to retreat..."
"These World Observing Divine Eyes... were refined from the power I collected within that rift."
The One Absolute Daoist's words came to an abrupt halt.
But the scene his words described left the other two in the hall with much to ponder.
The Stone Slab suddenly understood. "So, you didn't deliberately refine the World Observing Divine Eyes into this form. It's a manifestation of the power's true essence?"
The One Absolute Daoist nodded.
"Otherwise, how could our Salvation Sect have suddenly come up with a method that even the Dharma Spreaders are helpless against?"
Silence suddenly fell upon the Saint Emperor's throne.
In Li Ping's perception, the little golden figure of the Salvation Sect was not lying.
The implications of his words, then, were deeply unsettling.
Did this mean that there was still a higher power, much like the World Observing Divine Eyes, that was monitoring the Xuanhuang Realm?
And what kind of existence was behind it?
Was it from beyond the High Wall, or...?
The Stone Slab, however, suddenly recalled something, and its expression changed.
But the words died on its lips.
Li Ping naturally noticed the Stone Slab's strange behavior, but he merely focused his divine sense on it slightly without speaking.
The Stone Slab understood Li Ping's caution and waved its hand. "You misunderstand, my friend."
"I was just suddenly reminded of a rumor concerning the origin of the Xuanhuang Realm."
"It was a piece of information I stumbled upon in the deepest layers of the Creation Stone Slab. It dates back at least several hundred thousand years."
These words immediately captured the attention of both Li Ping and all the paper figures of the Salvation Sect.
The Stone Slab frowned, recalling as it spoke, "In the age before the calamity, when the path of immortality flourished, our Xuanhuang Realm was always somewhat different from the other worlds in the endless starry sky."
"Besides having more frequent contact with the Immortal World and possessing numerous immortal artifacts, our Xuanhuang Realm also had beings known as Great Heavenly Venerates."
"You must understand, after a cultivator ascends, they are almost completely cut off from the lower realms. But these Great Heavenly Venerates could not only contact the Immortal World, but they could also bring items from there down to Xuanhuang."
"Furthermore, within the Xuanhuang Realm, the Great Heavenly Venerates held an authority that was beyond the reach of most cultivators..."
At this point, the Stone Slab looked at Li Ping.
Li Ping shook his head slightly. "I have no memory of this."
The Stone Slab didn't seem to mind and continued, "But the Great Heavenly Venerates of that time were different from the ones we know of today. Their cultivation and strength were not necessarily high. It was more like..."
"...an official position."
The Stone Slab pondered for a moment before uttering the word.
"Like an official position bestowed by the Immortal World. As long as one had the Immortal World's recognition, even a mortal without the strength to truss a chicken could hold the title of Great Heavenly Venerate."
"Now, however, it is completely different. Without absolute power, one cannot gain the recognition of the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao and certainly cannot become a Great Heavenly Venerate."
"When the difference between the two began, I do not know. But what I want to say is..."
"...the power within the rift that formed the World Observing Divine Eyes might not have come from beyond the Star Sea. Perhaps it is an inherent characteristic of the Xuanhuang Realm itself." The Stone Slab glanced at Li Ping again.
This perspective made even the One Absolute Daoist bow his head in thought.
"The earliest Great Heavenly Venerates could control the world with mortal bodies. They must have relied on a power similar to that of the World Observing Divine Eyes, hidden deep within Xuanhuang. But at some unknown point in time, the connection between this power and the Xuanhuang Realm was inexplicably severed."
The Stone Slab's words echoed from the Saint Emperor's throne.
Even Li Ping had been unaware of the ancient secrets these words touched upon.
"Before the Immortal Road was severed, changes imperceptible to ordinary cultivators must have also occurred within the Xuanhuang Realm," Li Ping said gravely.
"That is only my speculation. My point is that there's no need to be overly concerned about powers from beyond the Star Sea. Even if there is external interference, since the Xuanhuang Realm has existed for so many years without them revealing themselves..."
"...I imagine this place is beyond their reach."
The Stone Slab said softly.
"I think so as well," the One Absolute Daoist agreed, his expression returning to its usual placid state.
"The threat we must face first is still the Dharma Spreaders. As for these other matters..." Li Ping concluded.
"While we need not be overly concerned, we must still remain vigilant."
The Saint Emperor's words were the same as when he had spoken of the Tiandu Grandmaster, leaving the One Absolute Daoist and the Stone Slab astonished.
"I have my own methods. You need not worry."
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