Chapter 975: The Marvel of Heaven and Earth's Recreation
As Li Fan listened to Lin Ling's account, the wariness in his heart mostly subsided.
Such a preposterous story...
It didn't seem like something she could have fabricated.
The image of the Stone Slab Elder being "fished" away flickered in his mind, and despite his unshakeable composure, a chilling dread washed over him.
When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.
When you cast your line into the water, how can you be sure you are not the one being caught?
"To connect the worlds inside and outside the High Wall... the waters of this mystical Fishing Pond run far too deep," he mused.
After a moment of contemplation, Li Fan decided he couldn't rely solely on Lin Ling's testimony. He had to see the site with his own eyes.
With that thought, Li Fan concealed his presence and shot toward Yongyun Province at incredible speed.
Their faces were pale with panic, and they fidgeted, unable to find a moment's peace.
"Master, you've come." Upon seeing Li Fan, Lin Ling seemed to find her pillar of strength and hurried forward to greet him.
Zhong Shentong, too, seemed to regain some composure and offered a respectful bow.
Li Fan gave them a slight nod before striding over to where the Fishing Pond had once been.
Where a tranquil pool once lay, there was now nothing but absolute void.
It was a patch of utter blackness, just like the Cong Yun Sea after its annihilation by Ink Death.
Even space itself had ceased to exist there.
The dangerous aura emanating from it made Li Fan's brow furrow, and he instinctively took a step back.
"The Fishing Pond is truly imperious, a domain unto itself. Once it occupied a piece of the Xuanhuang Realm, it either expelled all other laws or simply crushed them into nothingness."
"And now that the pond has vanished, the void it occupied has been exposed. It might take the world decades to mend this wound and restore it to normalcy."
As he pondered, Li Fan carefully scanned the area for any lingering traces of energy.
He hadn't expected to find anything, but to his astonishment, his senses picked up on something unusual.
"This is..."
A flicker of understanding crossed Li Fan's eyes, but his expression remained one of disappointment, as if he had found nothing.
Citing the area's lingering danger as a pretext, he then led Lin Ling and the others back to the Spirit Wood Realm.
Once they were settled, Li Fan slipped away and returned to the temple, alone.
He closed his eyes and focused, recalling the sensation of merging with the Canghai Pearl. He slipped back into that same state: the world's perspective, unhindered by physical form.
Pinpricks of light began to materialize within the darkness.
A vibrant, kaleidoscopic scene unfolded before his mind's eye.
Around the edges of the void left by the Fishing Pond, countless threads, fine and nearly imperceptible, crisscrossed in a complex web.
The number of these threads was constantly growing, the increase slow but noticeable.
It was as if an invisible loom was weaving something in the void.
The scene was strikingly similar to what Li Fan had witnessed within the Root of Heaven and Earth: the very moment the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven was being born.
This was the world itself, weaving creation from nothing.
And the object now taking shape...
"The Creation Stone Slab," Li Fan whispered, his eyes flying open, a look of profound understanding in them.
The object, already possessing a nascent form, was identical to the legendary Creation Stone Slab—the very one the Stone Slab Elder had carried on his back, said to contain the entire history of the Xuanhuang Realm since the dawn of time!
A tremor of shock passed through him, but his mind raced, quickly piecing together the reason for the slab's reappearance.
The Creation Stone Slab was a manifestation of the Xuanhuang Realm's fundamental laws; in a sense, it *was* the Xuanhuang Realm.
The world itself could not be reeled in by some unknown entity from the depths of the Fishing Pond.
So, while the Stone Slab Elder had vanished, the slab he carried had been left behind, preserved by the world's own inertia.
"It seems the elder has finally gotten his wish," Li Fan mused. "He's free at last."
"I only wonder what lies on the other side of that pond."
His thoughts drifted to the possibilities beyond the High Wall, and for a moment, he was lost in thought.
Finally, he shook his head, pulling his focus back to the Creation Stone Slab, which was growing more distinct by the second.
This slab was undoubtedly a supreme treasure of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Whoever refined it would gain access to the countless secrets the Xuanhuang Realm had hidden away over the eons.
It might even be a shortcut to the heavens, a direct path to the Longevity stage.
But it would be a form of immortality irrevocably bound to the Xuanhuang Realm.
Besides, Li Fan had witnessed the elder's agony firsthand. For him, even death would have been a release...
Even more critically, Li Fan worried this artifact, much like the Ruo Tree or Mr. Bai, would exert a corrupting influence on his mind.
He couldn't risk another situation where he possessed the power to return, yet lacked the will to use it.
...and end up shouldering that slab for all eternity.
"Based on my experience with Mr. Bai, I know that such mental influence can't even be avoided by a clone."
"It seems I'll have to find a suitable candidate to inherit this burden."
"Someone mentally resilient enough not to be driven mad instantly. And, at the very least, someone I can control..."
The faces of countless cultivators flashed through his mind.
He knew he didn't have much time.
The world re-weaving the Creation Stone Slab was like a fruit ripening on a branch.
The moment the Creation Stone Slab was completely formed would be the moment the fruit fell from the tree.
It would likely fall back into the world, lost to him forever.
"He's the one."
Li Fan settled on his candidate. Shrouded in seven-colored divine light, he transformed into a streak of rainbow light and shot toward the Cong Yun Sea.
In no time at all, he found his target.
It was none other than Sima Changkong, the man who recorded the history of the Xuanhuang Realm within his very bloodline!
In this lifetime, Sima Changkong had no connection to Li Fan and was thus taken aback by his sudden appearance.
Li Fan, however, hadn't come to ask for permission.
Without a word, he instantly subdued the stunned historian and, with Sima Changkong in tow, sped back to the small temple in Yongyun Province.
Along the way, Li Fan explained the whole story.
"Now, an opportunity to see the entire past of the Xuanhuang Realm is before you. Are you willing to accept it?" Li Fan asked, his voice low and serious.
For Sima Changkong, whose family had dedicated generations to recording the history of the Xuanhuang Realm, there was simply no reason to refuse.
To have everything happening in the Xuanhuang Realm appear ceaselessly in one's mind...
This was no torment for Sima Changkong!
It was a sublime power, a thrilling prospect—the very ability his family had dreamed of for centuries!
Or so he thought, having not yet truly borne the weight of the slab.
"To chronicle the history of the Xuanhuang Realm... who else could it be but me!"
"I implore you, fellow Daoist, grant me this opportunity!"
Sima Changkong took a deep breath and gave a respectful bow to Li Fan.
He didn't know how this stranger knew of him, but if what he said was true...
Sima Changkong was willing to pay any price for this!
"Very well!"
Li Fan agreed in a low voice.
"Wait for the right moment!"
Seven days later, just moments before the Creation Stone Slab fully materialized, Li Fan let out a sharp cry and unleashed his [Drawing Silk] divine ability upon Sima Changkong.
Before his eyes, Sima Changkong's body began to unravel, dissolving inch by inch into countless fine threads that drifted in the air.
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