Chapter 434 - Chapter 434: Chapter 408: A Blessing in Disguise

Chapter 434: Chapter 408: A Blessing in Disguise

“The actions of the ancient cultivators were comparable to catching stars and grabbing the moon.”

When thinking about the countless cave heavens and small worlds in the Xuanhuang World, Li Fan couldn’t help but exclaim.

It was precisely because of the accumulation of that time that the Xuanhuang World built its incredibly solid foundation.

Which allowed it to endure thousands of years of plundering by cultivators.

“After Cultivators of this world die, they return to the heavens. This is an instinctive responsive strategy developed by the world when it senses threat.”

“This kind of recycling method greatly slows down the speed of weight loss.”

“but…”

Li Fan pondered for a moment.

The so-called “weight” is merely a reference Li Fan made for the Xuanhuang World’s ability to resist the pull of the Immortal Ruins under limited available information.

It currently appears that after a cultivator dies and returns to the heavens, “weight” is significantly lesser than before death.

“Perhaps it’s because when a cave heaven perishes, the energy that returns to heaven and earth is intangible. Heaven and earth need a long time to re-condense the energy back into tangible forms that bear weight.”

“When the rate of cave heaven creation is slower than the rate of disappearance, there would be more going out than coming in, this would affect the safety of the Xuanhuang World.”

“Hence, the number of cultivators must be under control to maintain a balance.”

“That’s one possibility.”

“Another possibility is…”

Li Fan knit his brows.

“After a cultivator dies, not all return to the heavens. Instead, some part of them disappears…”

“Some thoughts are terrifying to bear, but such occurrences in the Xuanhuang World are taken as a matter of course.”

Li Fan recalled the images recorded when the Medicine King Cauldron broke through the boundary.

Having left the protection of the world, the Medicine King Cauldron that was attempting to cross the void was like a moth to a flame, inevitably falling towards the Immortal Ruins.

“The Immortal Ruins…”

The most intense fear is the fear of the unknown.

Why did the Immortal Realm Passage of yesteryear become the devourer of all things that is now?

Does the Immortal Realm of the past still exist now?

If the Immortal Realm no longer exists, then what led to its destruction?

The more he thought, the more instinctive fear welled up in Li Fan’s heart.

After a moment, Li Fan took a deep breath, suppressing his numerous stray thoughts.

These matters were still too far beyond him for now.

At least, he should wait until he achieves the state of Immortal Sovereign before he starts considering these issues.

Putting these matters aside for the moment, Li Fan began to contemplate his own situation again.

“Although the world I traveled to is on the brink of extinction.”

“But on second thought, this situation might actually be better for me.”

“After all, even the most exalted Immortal Cultivators are the same as ordinary living beings in the Xuanhuang World; they are simply grasshoppers on the same sinking boat.”

“On this sinking ship that is the Xuanhuang World, even the Immortal Sovereigns have to be somewhat cautious in their actions, they can’t be too reckless.”

“In a world fully controlled by great powers, the prevention of total annihilation, is a simple matter of thought to refine or eliminate all living beings. That’s the real irreversible catastrophe. Even with the ‘Real’ as aid, there would only be helplessness.”

“In misfortune, there is fortune!”

As Li Fan thought this, his heart gradually calmed down.

“The Tianxuan Soul Locking Array is akin to the nuclear deterrences existed in my previous world.”

“Before the Five Elders Organization finds a solution, large-scale wars will not likely occur. Only occasional small-scale frictions will happen.”

“Yet, it also confirmed the disappearance of the Celestial Dharma Bearer. It’s hard to say what will happen in the future.”

Li Fan called up the Real panel.

“Biological Age: 884/899.”

“They say you have to be high to see far. In the past, I could not live beyond 50 years before being forced to use ‘Real’. A 50-year head start is plenty for mortals, but in this unpredictable Xuanhuang World, it’s a little insufficient.”

“Maybe in a certain life I can try doing nothing and quietly observe the changes in the Xuanhuang World. With the passage of time, I might be able to find more valuable information.”

Once his train of thought was sorted out, in order to avoid suspicion, Li Fan took out the jade badge given by the guide, Bing Yin, and resumed his visit to the Museum of Divine Artifacts.

Actually, Li Fan could directly leave this world given its current state. However, the Museum of Divine Artifacts, as a stronghold of the Immortal Alliance, isn’t easily accessible, so Li Fan decided to take the opportunity to broaden his horizons. Li Fan had been interested in the skull of the first cultivator infected by the Immortal-Ordinary Miasma in the center of the pavilion for a long time.

According to guide Bing Yin, the Divine Collection Pavilion was divided into several main regions depending on the nature of the collection.

The location where Li Fan was, was also a mandatory spot for cultivators visiting the Divine Collection Pavilion.

“The Beautiful Era.”

“What is this?” Li Fan looked at the giant orb of light floating before him and asked with interest.

The orb was made up of several areas, each displaying different scenes. The images flashed by at a fast pace, making it difficult to discern the fleeting shadows within.

It contained not only a wide variety of architectural styles but also fleeting glimpses of many human shadows.

However, it was clear that there were stark contrasts in landscape styles between the different areas.

“This is the [Era],” Bing Yin helpfully explained to Li Fan.

“It’s created using a Huadao Stone as its core, simulating scenes from various periods in the history of the Xuanhuang World.”

“This deserted, ruin-filled world is the Wasted Land Era of the past.”

“This one, filled with blood and murderous aura, is the Great Darkness Era.”

“This one here, where many human shadows are flashing by, is the Great Plague Era. Yes, it looks like it’s simulating the time during the Great Migration when the cultivators forcibly displaced the mortals.”

As Bing Yin spoke, the era mentioned would be magnified, allowing Li Fan to barely make out the rapidly changing details.

“Huadao Stone…” Li Fan stared at the orb for a while and finally asked, “What does The Beautiful Era suggest?”

Bing Yin smiled, “Huadao Stone was a wonder of the ancient Taiyan Sect, with the capability to evolve mechanisms and predict the future.”

“The results it evolves are indistinguishable between truth and illusion, and very realistic.”

“Perhaps, to us outside observers, the multiple worlds at different times shown in the [Era] are just illusions.”

“But to the countless living beings within, everything they witnessed is definitely real.”

“And if we cast a strand of our divine sense or divine soul into it, we can experience these events that truly happened in history personally.”

Bing Yin first introduced the creation background of the [Era], and then continued, “We once conducted an experiment with a million blank souls with wiped memories.”

“We cast them into different periods, simulated five hundred years, and ranked the statistical results.”

“Our era, the era controlled by the Immortal Alliance, undoubtedly ranked first.”

“Whether it’s the survival rate of the cultivators or the overall cultivation realm of the cultivators, it dominated all other periods.”

“The name ‘The Beautiful Era’ is undoubtedly well-deserved!”

Bing Yin said proudly.