Chapter 253: The Missing Ten Years |
Every time Li Fan woke up from seclusion, he would glance at the [Truth] panel and calculate the time based on his physiological age. The first year after the anchor point was equivalent to 20 years of age, and so on.
In the twelfth life, he had also checked the [Truth] panel multiple times. However, when the time suddenly jumped from 29 years to 39 years, Li Fan didn't notice any abnormalities.
Even when he repeatedly looked back at the experiences of his twelfth life, he failed to notice the "missing ten years."
Part of the reason for this was a fixed mindset.
After all, in the cognition of the vast majority of people, time is continuous and indivisible. How could one second be the 29th year, and the next second be the 39th year?
Another more important reason was that there was something that distorted his perception, causing him to inadvertently overlook this fact.
What exactly was going on? Who stole my time?
Li Fan couldn't help but fall into deep fear.
Fear of the unknown.
In this life, Li Fan was not his opponent, but after ten or a hundred cycles, Li Fan would eventually grow to a height similar to his.
Eventually, he would be defeated.
But this unknown entity made Li Fan feel powerless for the first time.
He didn't even know what it was or how it stole the time that originally belonged to him.
What made Li Fan even more fearful was that the influences it exerted persisted even after regressing, meaning that it was very likely to be something in the same realm as [Truth].
At the very least, the power of the other opponent was already very close to [Return to Truth].
This was the true source of Li Fan's fear. [Truth] had always been Li Fan's hope for longevity.
Regardless of how powerful the enemy he faced, he could face it with calm confidence.
No matter how great the crisis, he could silently recite [Truth].
Through the transformation of reality into illusion, everything returned to the anchor point.
The crisis would naturally disappear. But now, the absolute dominance of [Truth] was being threatened...
He Zhenghao and his daughter He Xinxin noticed that Li Fan's expression was off. Just as He Xinxin was about to ask, she was held back by He Zhenghao, who shook his head.
Fear lingered in Li Fan's heart for a long time. Fortunately, Li Fan's willpower was strong.
Having experienced too many near-death situations, he gradually calmed the fear in his heart. Upon careful analysis, he soon noticed an anomaly in this event.
Adjusting his expression, Li Fan asked He Zhenghao, "Fellow Daoist He, I'm curious about the origin of Xinxin's divination technique. Could you give me a hint?"
Although he said it was an inquiry, his eyes carried an unyielding meaning that could not be refused.
After hesitating for a while, He Zhenghao had to explain, "My daughter's divination technique is called the Dao Web Heaven Net."
"It is a customized divination technique based on her companion treasure, the Dao Character Compass."
"In terms of quality, it can barely be considered half of a Celestial Treasure."
Having said this, He Zhenghao's face couldn't help but show a bit of pride.
"Companion treasure?" Li Fan's mind stirred.
In the "Treatise on Heavenly Treasures," there were relevant records. Some cultivators were born with Heavenly Treasures accompanying them in their bodies.
These items had their own extraordinary features and were perfectly compatible with the cultivator.
However, such cases were extremely rare, and the book only briefly mentioned them without delving into much detail.
Those with a companion treasure would be nurtured by the laws of Heavenly Treasures from birth and tended to cultivate at an astonishing speed.
Those who could safely survive and grow up were, without exception, outstanding talents.
Unexpectedly, He Xinxin belonged to this category.
No wonder she had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage at such a young age.
Li Fan looked at the young girl and thought to himself.
Being stared at by Li Fan, He Xinxin inexplicably felt a surge of nervousness.
"Xinxin, explain to Uncle Li the derivation principle of the Dao Web Heaven Net," He Zhenghao spoke up.
He Xinxin nodded and, trusting her father, did not have much guard up.
She began to explain to Li Fan in a soft voice.
"All life that exists between heaven and earth lives in a giant web."
"Every action has an impact on the surrounding people, animals, and objects."
"Those who do not transcend are inevitably influenced by others in the same way."
"Everything is intertwined and interacts, forming various phenomena in the world."
"Every event, once it happens, leaves a trace."
"Observing these traces on the giant web allows one to understand everything in the world."
"This web is called the Dao Web Heaven Net. The traces are referred to as Dao Seal Eclipse Characters."
...
As the young girl spoke, Li Fan's doubts were gradually dispelled.
The incident of losing ten years of time happened in the twelfth life.
He Xinxin was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, and no matter how talented she was, she couldn't possibly penetrate [Truth] and deduce events that occurred nearly a hundred lifetimes ago.
Furthermore, the unknown entity that stole ten years of his time had an extremely high status, and logically, it was not something He Xinxin could deduce.
However, she saw through it.
This was because...
An apple that had been bitten...
Was different from a whole apple.
Similarly, a creature that had its time stolen by this inexplicable existence undoubtedly differed from other normal beings, tainted with a unique aura.
Even though Li Fan returned to the time before the theft through [Truth], he couldn't completely shake off its influence.
The fact that Li Fan had been unaware of this before served as evidence.
He Xinxin's Dao Web Heaven Net did not directly calculate [Truth] and the unknown entity that stole time.
Still, by deducing Li Fan, she sensed its influence and could reconstruct what happened to Li Fan.
Li Fan even speculated that if He Xinxin were to deduce any cultivator in Yuandao Province, she wouldn't be able to predict the same results as with him.
It wasn't something a Foundation Establishment cultivator could perceive.
Even with the Celestial Treasure, the Dao Character Compass, as a foundation, it was not enough.
If one had to make a comparison...
The unknown entity that stole time was like a black hole.
It silently spanned the sky above Yuandao Province.
Every so often, it devoured ten years of time from the entire province.
Under normal circumstances, its existence could not be directly discovered through ordinary observation or deduction methods.
However, because of [Truth], Li Fan escaped from this black hole.
However, the influence of the black hole did not disappear.
So, Li Fan was like the distorted light around a black hole.
With his help, it was possible to deduce that the unknown existence was stealing time in Yuandao Province.
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