Chapter 976: The Stone Slab Becomes a History Book
The divine ability known as Drawing Silk was something Li Fan had comprehended back when he was transformed into a miniature figure of threads within the Root of Heaven and Earth. Its essence was to trace all things back to their source, to return to the primordial beginning before heaven and earth took form.
In Li Fan's vision, the horizontal and vertical threads weaving together the Creation Stone Slab grew increasingly dense.
This signaled that the supreme treasure of heaven and earth was on the verge of its final formation.
Li Fan, meanwhile, was carefully guiding the threads he had drawn from Sima Changkong, attempting to connect them to the Creation Stone Slab.
In truth, he had little confidence in this endeavor; after all, it was the first time he had ever laid eyes on the true Creation Stone Slab.
However, it would be a terrible shame to simply stand by and watch it vanish before his very eyes.
He had to at least try.
To his pleasant surprise, as the threads that were once Sima Changkong drew near, a powerful suction emanated from the slab, pulling them in without any conscious effort on his part.
The threads pulled taut and were swiftly drawn into the very weave of the slab itself.
The slab, which had been flickering unstably, now seemed tinged with a faint, worldly dust.
On high alert, Li Fan retreated a few steps to a safer distance, his eyes fixed on the slab, observing it intently.
Like a leaf returning to its roots or ripe fruit falling to the ground, the process reached its natural conclusion. Once the slab was fully formed by the world, no grand phenomena manifested. The simple, slate-gray slab showed no outward signs of being an extraordinary treasure as it floated silently in the air.
Perhaps it was the pull of the threads that had been Sima Changkong, for the Creation Stone Slab did not depart for some other location.
It remained right here in the small mountain temple. It seemed Li Fan's gamble had paid off.
What struck Li Fan as odd, however, was that Sima Changkong's form did not reappear.
He had simply vanished, or perhaps...
"He's fused with the Creation Stone Slab?" Li Fan speculated.
Just as Li Fan continued his covert observation, a new transformation began to unfold upon the Creation Stone Slab.
Dense, blood-red characters suddenly swarmed across its surface. The characters then began to flow like fresh blood, coalescing into a delicate, trickling stream.
More and more characters appeared, and the gentle stream swelled into a surging river of blood.
It soon covered the entire slab.
A blinding crimson light erupted. When Li Fan looked again, he saw that the entire face of the slab had been lifted and turned over, like the page of a book, hovering ethereally beside the original!
"This is..." Li Fan's pupils contracted sharply.
The slab's transformation continued.
Page after page, each covered in blood-red characters, peeled away from the slab and flipped over like sheets of paper, the motion accelerating steadily. The slab itself grew progressively thinner until, at last, the transformation was complete.
A stone book, emitting a faint, blood-gold luminescence, now hovered before Li Fan.
Compared to the original Creation Stone Slab, this stone book radiated a much more sacred and ancient aura, heavy with the weight of ages.
The phenomenon gradually subsided, and the light radiating from the stone book slowly drew inward.
It hung serenely in the air.
However, Li Fan's keen senses told him that the book was slowly fading. It wasn't vanishing, nor was it moving elsewhere—it was concealing itself from view.
"I fear," he thought, "that from this day on, the Sima family's Bloodline History Book is no more."
"In its place is this, the Creation History Book."
After observing it for a long while, a realization dawned on Li Fan.
"It seems Sima Changkong's power was insufficient for him to become a proper vessel, unlike the previous one. Yet, by a strange twist of fate, the Bloodline History Book within him exerted a most peculiar influence on the Creation Stone Slab."
"Hmm, perhaps the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm itself intentionally guided this transformation."
Standing before the Creation History Book, Li Fan pondered this for a long time.
With the birth of the Creation History Book, the void-filled space was filled. The once pitch-black zone of annihilation returned to its normal state.
However, just like the Fishing Pool, under ordinary circumstances, cultivators would be unable to see the book at all.
Only those like Li Fan, who had witnessed its birth firsthand, or those blessed by a specific, fortuitous encounter would ever have the chance to behold it.
As Li Fan slowly approached the Creation History Book, the scene before his eyes abruptly changed.
A great, crimson river, like a waterfall, cascaded down from the heavens, filling his entire field of vision.
Within its torrent, Li Fan could faintly discern countless rapidly shifting scenes.
Just a brief glimpse made him feel dizzy and disoriented, forcing him to avert his gaze.
"The book's own power acts as a shield," he realized, "preventing living beings from prying into its secrets."
After resting for a moment, Li Fan turned his gaze back to the crimson river.
This time, he took in the sight as a whole, avoiding focus on any particular detail within the current.
Sure enough, the resulting vertigo was greatly diminished. And with this new attempt, Li Fan made another discovery.
The crimson river was constantly being generated, growing endlessly longer.
It was a chronicle of everything happening in the Xuanhuang Realm at that very moment.
Visually, it felt as though he was being swept away by the river's current, carried ever farther from its source.
He could still manage to make out his immediate surroundings, but only with great effort.
But to gaze further, to try and perceive the river's end, would mean fighting against the immense, accumulating pressure of the current.
He hadn't been immersed in the crimson river for long before a wave of mental exhaustion washed over him.
It felt as if he had lived through an entire cycle of reincarnation in a matter of moments, and an inexplicable urge to rest, just for a little while, arose within him.
Fortunately, the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra began to circulate on its own, dispelling the encroaching weariness.
Instantly alert, Li Fan immediately withdrew from the river of blood.
"Hmm?"
Only then did he notice that, at some point, a single strand of white hair had appeared on his head.
Li Fan subconsciously glanced at his [Truth] panel.
Name: Li Fan
Realm: Mid-stage Nascent Soul
Physiological Age: 63/599
Mental Age: 1379/9999
...
"It's only been thirteen years since I set the anchor point; my physiological age should be thirty-two. How is it already sixty-three...?"
"My mental age, however, is unchanged. The protection from the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra must have worked."
"It seems the Creation History Book is truly not meant for mortal eyes."
Li Fan frowned slightly. "And it isn't just a matter of accelerated aging."
"All the information of the Xuanhuang Realm, from its very creation, is stored within that book. That river of blood is simply too vast, its current too turbulent. Even if one wanted to find a specific piece of information, pinpointing the exact moment in time would be an immense challenge."
"Otherwise, one's lifespan would likely run out long before they found what they were looking for."
"Unless..."
"...one was at the Longevity stage, with a lifespan equal to that of the world itself. Or... unless a large enough group of individuals, unafraid of death, could explore different points along the river's flow. Each time, they could bring back fragments of useful information, slowly completing the puzzle of history."
Li Fan sighed softly. "I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself. How could a treasure capable of granting Longevity ever be so easily mastered?"
"Still," he mused, "having the Creation History Book fixed in this place is, for me, a tremendous stroke of fortune."
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