Chapter 436: Chapter 410: Hidden Memories in the Pavilion
“How do you feel?”
Li Fan slightly nodded in response to the commentator Bing Yin’s inquiry.
“A beautiful era, indeed.”
These words were half to avoid being exposed, and half sincere.
Indeed, if it’s just about “being alive”, the cultivators under the reign of the Immortal Alliance and the Five Elders Organization have it much easier than most periods in history.
Even when it comes to acquiring suitable techniques, it’s not necessarily much harder than it was for solo cultivators in ancient times.
It’s true that once you join the Immortal Alliance, you’re forever a servant.
But at least, if a domesticated cattle or horse doesn’t court death, living longer is not a problem.
In other periods of Xuanhuang World history, cultivators who died young might not even have the qualifications to become cattle or horses.
As for whether life is precious, or so-called freedom is more important.
That is another eternal and serious topic.
Li Fan has no intention of dwelling on this.
What he cares about is that the hundred fragments of divine consciousness that had just undergone the baptism of the [Era] were about to disperse in the consciousness sea when they were absorbed by the Transformation Crystal Body that he cultivated using the Secret Technique of [Transmutation God One].
The details that had become fuzzy after the experience in the [Era] slowly became clear again.
In the blue huadao stone, vague and independent scenes could be seen gradually taking shape.
It looked somewhat similar to [Era].
“What’s this?”
Li Fan was slightly startled.
“The shadowy figure I saw when [Era] ended shouldn’t have been an illusion.”
“Like a method to implant brainwashing thoughts in all observing cultivators.”
“But I have Huadao Stone myself, not only immune to this brainwash, but also….”
While continuing to visit God Hidden Museum under Bing Yin’s guidance, Li Fan split his attention to observe the changes in his own Huadao Stone.
Maybe because all Huadao Stones in the world came from that original [Transmutation Stone Mother], which shares the same origin.
The Transformation Crystal Body in Li Fan’s consciousness sea spontaneously absorbed all dispersed divine consciousness.
And based on the [Era] imprint contained in the divine consciousness memory, it is reversing, trying to reconstruct the worlds derived from Li Fan’s memory.
Unfortunately, it seems that due to insufficient quality of Li Fan’s Huadao Stone, the computational power is limited.
When Li Fan wanted to carefully browse these worlds, he found that these worlds were simply empty shells for now.
The images are not continuous, but are developing in a stuttering manner.
The scope is also limited to the corners involved in memory.
Beyond that, it showed a distorted, broken mirror image.
Li Fan observed for a while.
He found that these worlds were slowly expanding in both time and space dimensions.
Due to limited extrapolation ability, the progress was almost imperceptible.
If Huadao Stone were just like this, I’m afraid that even after hundreds of reincarnations, Li Fan may not make substantial progress.
But Li Fan hasn’t forgotten that in Yi Yin’s tomb, there is a fixed Huadao Stone.
He can absorb it every time he reincarnates.
The Transformation Crystal Body in his consciousness sea will also be strengthened a bit.
“Can I reproduce [Era] myself by then?”
“What’s the use of that?”
Li Fan seemed to think of something, his eyes flashing.
“Senior Bing Yin, I suddenly thought of a question. You just mentioned that about a million blank divine souls were put into [Era] for experiments.”
“So are there any real divine souls in the currently operating [Era]?”
He asked the commentator.
“Hehe, of course there are.”
Bing Yin seemed unwilling to say more about this matter, but simply replied.
Li Fan mused, then suddenly asked, “Do you think with so many divine souls constantly undergoing the baptism of [Era], have any ever realized that the world they are in is illusory, not real?”
“After all, no matter how ‘extremely illusory and seemingly real’, there’s bound to be some difference from the real world, right?”
Bing Yin suddenly looked at Li Fan.
He looked around and lowered his voice: “When I took over from the last Bing Yin, he once told me an anecdote.”
“About thirty-nine years ago, [Era] stopped running for a while.”
“The entire Museum of Divine Artifacts was also sealed off at that time, and no one was allowed in or out.”
“Everyone was confused at the time, but later there were rumors that one of the millions of divine souls in [Era] inexplicably disappeared.”
“Even after searching the entire Divine Collection Pavilion, it was not found.”
“The matter was dropped eventually.”
“As for whether it really escaped, or disappeared because of a malfunction….”
Bing Yin’s words ended here, he didn’t say any more.
Li Fan slowly nodded.
As long as an event can occur, it can be considered inevitable as long as there is a sufficiently large sample.
A million divine souls, constantly reincarnating and repeating.
There will always be one lucky individual who discovers the truth of the world he or she is in.
Li Fan didn’t find it strange at all.
He just got confirmation from Bing Yin about one thing.
[Era] is not primarily used for brainwashing.
But to select and cultivate true geniuses.
A person’s ultimate achievement cannot only rely on talent.
Luck, state of mind, willpower etc., all have an impact overall.
Often, so-called geniuses fall by the wayside before they grow up.
On the contrary, those who are unnoticed may go further.
In the real world, training cultivators requires a large amount of resources.
One also has to take the risk of cultivators dying unexpectedly, risking all preliminary investments being lost.
But within the [Era], there’s no need to worry about this.
Even, the selection through the [Era], might be even more effective.
Indeed, the Great Darkness Era, the Wasted Land Era, these darkest periods in the history of the Xuanhuang World, are incredibly dangerous, with a very high mortality rate.
But on the other hand, if a Divine Soul can achieve something during this period, it would be a remarkable achievement, a change in history.
It is enough to prove its extraordinariness.
Li Fan believes that in the long years of the [Era], such beings should not be few.
Select them, give them flesh anew, apply brainwashing, and impose unconditionally loyal restrictive magical skills.
Train them to become absolutely loyal to the Immortal Alliance and their enforcers.
The strength of these cultivators is fearsome to contemplate.
At the headquarters of the Immortal Alliance, as well as during the construction of the Tianxuan Soul Locking Array.
Li Fan often sees some black-clothed cultivators, who are affiliated with some organization of the Immortal Alliance.
They are often expressionless.
But the dangerous aura inadvertently emanating from them, as well as the undeniable smell of blood, always made Li Fan feel a slight chill.
Li Fan assumes that these people are the ones cultivated through the [Era].
“This method is ingenious.”
“And for me, perhaps I can refine myself against the history of times past through my own efforts, once the quality of my Huadao Stone is sufficient.”
As the saying goes, heroes make their times.
But the times also create heroes.
Li Fan doesn’t consider himself exceptional.
He is just an ordinary person surviving in the perilous Xuanhuang World thanks to his [Real] ability.
With his experiences as a mentor in Da Xuan, and the experience he has gained.
When dealing with cultivators of the Nascent Soul stage or below, he may be able to cope.
But when facing those old monsters who have survived from the tribulations of ancient times until today.
He might struggle a bit, appearing somewhat immature.
What’s more important is that in front of these genuine powerhouses, he may not even have a chance to use [Real].
In tussling with them, aside from cultivation, mental and experiential strengths also play a vital role.
By repeatedly experiencing the historical fragments in his Spirit Consciousness that emulate the [Era], perhaps he can make up some of his shortcomings in these areas.
The Museum of Divine Artifacts, the treasures stored therein are innumerable.
Under the guidance of Bing Yin, Li Fan takes a quick look at one cherished object after another in the Xuanhuang World.
Aside from the [Beautiful Era] area.
There are several other areas established within the Divine Collection Pavilion.
[Heroes Galore], mainly stores items related to cultivators who have left their mark on the history of the Xuanhuang World.
Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood: Originally just an ordinary iron blade. After a great change occurred, its owner carried this weapon and slaughtered countless cultivators. The fresh blood dyed the blade dark red, and even after thousands of years, the air of killing remains. After endless slaughter, its owner successfully survived. However, this brutal weapon was found in the belly of an underground beast. Its owner was digested to only a skeleton, clutching the [Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood] with an unwillingness.
Ten Thousand Heads Banner: The magic tool emitting a foul smell. Made from over ten thousand heads. These heads all came from the same sect: Soul Sealing Sect. Yet the maker of the Ten Thousand Heads Banner is also from Soul Sealing Sect. When the Great Calamity arrived, he slaughtered his fellow disciples and refined a magic tool. He was incredibly ruthless. Unfortunately, this person also didn’t survive the Great Darkness Era. This magic tool became the spoils of war for others. After being passed down for a thousand years, it finally went to the Immortal Alliance.
[Seas Become Mulberry Fields] area: Displays the various landform changes in the Xuanhuang World over a thousand years, making Li Fan’s jaw drop. The transformations of the Misthaven Ocean are indeed commonplace. The Heavenly River falls to the ground; high mountains split into deep valleys. Even two provinces might merge into one place overnight. This made Li Fan sigh for his lack of experience.
[All Techniques Strive] area: Exhibits numerous cultivation techniques that have appeared in the history of the Xuanhuang World. Of course, only the related descriptions are available, and the specific content of the technique is not visible. Still, this made Li Fan so infatuated that he couldn’t move on.
Li Fan was immersed in this, unable to extricate himself. He had forgotten the passage of time.
When these astronomical objects spanning thousands of years appeared in front of Li Fan through time, the image of the Xuanhuang World finally began to take shape vividly in his mind.
It was no longer an empty concept, but was imbued with the thickness of history.
Slowly, he finally came to the central area of the Museum of Divine Artifacts.
The most conspicuous thing was that a large area in the center was vacant.
Apart from a human skull, there was nothing else.
Bing Yin pointed to the skull and said, “This is the skull of the rumored first cultivator who was infected with Immortal-Ordinary Miasma. I don’t know why it’s so precious that the head of the museum specifically ordered it to be placed here…”
“Hmm? What’s wrong with you?”
Bing Yin looked at Li Fan beside him with some surprise.
He saw his eyes suddenly closed, as if suffering from great pain, his body trembling violently.
His body was also covered in sweat that couldn’t stop dripping.
“Are you okay?”
Seeing that Li Fan’s condition was getting worse and worse, Bing Yin couldn’t help but worry.
Li Fan managed to show a smile, shaking his head slightly, signaling that he was okay.
However, he dared not open his already reddened eyes.
“Detected absorbable item: [Legacy of the Eternal Will].”
“Confirm absorption!”
“Detected absorbable item: [Legacy of the Eternal Will].”
“Confirm absorption!”
“Confirm absorption!”
“Confirm absorption!”
The alert from [Real] rang in Li Fan’s spirit consciousness like a broken record, growing louder with each echo, almost taking over his entire consciousness.
He was also engulfed by an indescribable hunger, undermining his rationality.
When he first saw the Eternal Memento of Tianyang, this hunger had appeared.
But now, the intensity of this desire is a hundred, a thousand times what it was when facing the Memento of Tianyang!