Though the pond appeared to hold nothing profound on the surface, instinct told Stone Slab that some secret had to be hidden here.
Stone Slab walked slowly to the edge of the pond. The clear water reflected the appearance of a scholar, giving him a slight pause.
He then shook his head, and in a mere breath, his form shifted.
"I am somewhat curious as to what you originally looked like," the Faceless Sacred Emperor, Li Ping, spoke from behind him.
"Heh-heh. Even I can hardly remember anymore," Stone Slab gave a self-deprecating chuckle.
He then turned his attention to examining the pond in earnest.
The water was not deep; a single sweep of the eyes laid everything bare.
"Hmm?"
After observing it for a long while without finding the mystery behind the pond, Stone Slab could not help but second-guess his own judgment.
He turned his head to look at Li Ping.
Li Ping did not explain it to him, however. Instead, he asked with sudden, veiled significance, "Before the great catastrophe of the Xuanhuang Realm, many immortal treasures existed in the world. Now that over ten thousand years have passed, those treasures have long vanished without a trace. The existence of immortal artifacts has become legend, rarely even mentioned in casual conversation among cultivators.
"Do you know the whereabouts of these immortal treasures, Fellow Daoist?"
Stone Slab's expression did not change. "Immortal artifacts? I have never cared about—"
Halfway through, he seemed to realize something and abruptly looked back toward the fishing pond.
Pondering for a moment, his appearance shifted once again.
An elderly fisherman clad in a coir raincoat and holding a fish basket instantly appeared before Li Ping.
A flash of green light gleamed in his hand, and Stone Slab, now in the guise of an old fisherman, cast out a fishing rod.
The next instant, his body went completely rigid.
Without reeling in the rod, Stone Slab stood motionless in place, as if frozen in ice.
Only after a long while did he take a step back, breaking free from the illusory vision before his eyes.
"What was that?" Stone Slab stared straight at Li Ping.
"What is what?" the Sacred Emperor asked, feigning ignorance.
"The fish pond? The starry sky?" Stone Slab pressed further.
Li Ping shook his head slightly. "That is 'bait.'"
"Bait?" Stone Slab froze in bafflement.
"The fisher is also the one being fished," Li Ping said in a chilly tone.
"Even if you saw the treasures of the entire starry sky, Fellow Daoist, you remained unmoved. But if it concerned your path to release? Would you still be able to remain so calm?" Li Ping's tone was faint and eerie.
Stone Slab had survived in the Xuanhuang Realm for far too long and seen far too much.
Thus, after hearing Li Ping's words and pondering for a moment, he quickly grasped his meaning.
"The Immortal Path is severed, and the sea of stars beyond Xuanhuang should have long been reduced to ruins. Unless..." Understanding flashed in Stone Slab's eyes.
"Why? Do you wish to go out and see as well?" Li Ping asked.
Stone Slab denied it. "All things under heaven are largely the same. Even if it were another world, what of it? I only wish to lay down the heavy stone upon my back and have a good sleep."
He steered the topic back to the fishing pond: "I do not know when this thing came to the Xuanhuang Realm. But I can be certain it was after the great catastrophe.
"More precisely, it was after Chuanfa reappeared and founded the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals."
The Sacred Emperor put it even more plainly: "In other words, it is very likely this fishing pond was implanted into the Xuanhuang Realm along with fragments of other cultivation realms."
"It should be so... However, treasures of the Immortal Dao have already surpassed our comprehension. There are no guarantees," Stone Slab said, leaving room for doubt.
"The path to release you spoke of—could it be that you want me to bite this bait?" Stone Slab looked at the Sacred Emperor with a strange expression.
Li Ping answered frankly, "Precisely so. Do you not feel excruciating torment, Fellow Daoist? You have fused into one with the Genesis Stone Slab. In all the world, I imagine only an immortal treasure surpassing the power limit of the cultivation realm could separate you from the slab.
"As for what fate awaits you once you are reeled in by the power behind the fishing pond, that is not something I can guarantee."
Stone Slab sorely wanted to say: *I bear no grudge or enmity against you, Fellow Daoist; why must you seek my harm?*
Yet the words stopped at the tip of his tongue.
Evidently, this Faceless Venerable harbored no malice. Otherwise, he would not have laid out his entire plan so candidly.
On the contrary, Stone Slab felt the figure before him was remarkably forthright.
Moreover, a certain familiar aura emanating from Li Ping brought him an inexplicable sense of peace.
"I am merely too weary of living and wish to cast off this encumbrance. It is not that I wish to die," Stone Slab declined the Sacred Emperor's kind offer.
"If you are merely troubled by the information ceaselessly surfacing upon the Genesis Stone Slab at every moment, Fellow Daoist, then the matter is much simpler," Li Ping said, finally laying his cards on the table.
"Oh?" Doubt was plain in Stone Slab's eyes.
"Do you recognize this item, Fellow Daoist?" Li Ping extended his hand, and a dazzling blue crystal floated quietly in his palm.
"A Dao Transformation Stone—naturally I know of it. Are you trying to..." Stone Slab shook his head. "Truth be told, to alleviate my agony, I have tried all sorts of methods. I even attempted the Taiyan Sect's secret art, Spirit Unity with Dao Transformation. But the Genesis Stone Slab is the embodiment of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao's authority. The Heavenly Dao stands high above, looking down upon all creation. Once fused with me, it can accommodate nothing else..."
"That was before. Today is not the past," Li Ping directly interrupted him.
Stone Slab froze slightly.
"Furthermore, I can help you."
As those words fell, the aura upon the Faceless Sacred Emperor abruptly shifted.
Above the Daoist temple, clouds surged and gathered. A peculiar cadence emerged out of thin air, echoing the Sacred Emperor from afar.
The sense of familiarity and closeness in Stone Slab's heart grew all the more pronounced.
"You are...?!"
Even though he had lived for tens of thousands of years, at this moment he could not help but cry out in shock.
"The Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang?!"
Yet soon he refuted himself: "No, that is impossible. And..."
Stone Slab raised his head and gazed at the sky, his expression shifting from shock to solemn gravity.
The authority wielded by the Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang was independent of the Genesis Stone Slab, yet sat above it.
Though the slab still recorded his deeds, they were mere brief strokes, containing only the vaguest outline.
Yet sensing the aura upon the Faceless Sacred Emperor now, Stone Slab could tell it was distinctly different from the Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang in the records.
*The Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang wielded the Juntian Dao. Although he possessed countless threads of connection to the Heavenly Dao, he was more like an independent individual who, with a certain empowerment, could manipulate the laws of the Heavenly Dao as effortlessly as moving his own limbs. But the one before me...*
A thought spontaneously arose in Stone Slab's heart.
*An Avatar of the Heavenly Dao?*
Though somewhat incredible, this was the most reasonable explanation.
And as though sensing Stone Slab's thoughts, Li Ping ceased displaying his connection to the Heavenly Dao.
Nor did he offer an explicit explanation.
Instead, he returned to the previous topic: "With the Dao Transformation Stone to help you share the load and sort through the occurrences taking place across the Xuanhuang Realm, it should bring you some relief.
"However, relying solely on the Dao Transformation Stone is not enough."
Stone Slab's gaze narrowed slightly as he waited for what was to follow.
"The Crossing Adversity Sect—I trust you are no stranger to them, Fellow Daoist?" Li Ping asked.
Hearing those three words, Stone Slab's expression turned slightly sour.
"The Crossing Adversity Sect's World-Observing Divine Eyes share the same subtle brilliance as the Genesis Stone Slab. Coupled with boundless paper figurines, that Book of Crossing Adversity can likewise record everything under observation.
"The Book of Crossing Adversity, combined with the Dao Transformation Stone, should barely be enough to offset the side effects of the Genesis Stone Slab. As for what remains, given the unyielding willpower you have tempered over tens of thousands of years, coping with it ought not to be much of a problem," the Faceless Sacred Emperor said slowly.
Stone Slab fell silent, inwardly weighing the feasibility of the proposal.
"First, the quality of the Dao Transformation Stone in your hand is somewhat lacking..." Stone Slab spoke after a moment.
"No matter. I can find a better one," the Sacred Emperor stated plainly.
Stone Slab paused, then continued, "Second, the Crossing Adversity Sect provoked Chuanfa back then, and their entire sect was sealed away into seclusion, vanishing without a trace. Because of their cultivation method, 'Eternal Calamitous World,' they can even disrupt the perception of Heaven and Earth. Coupled with Chuanfa's personal intervention, therefore..."
"I know where they are hiding," the Sacred Emperor said calmly.
Stone Slab was stunned.
*It seems this figure is even stronger than I imagined.*
With matters laid out to this extent, Stone Slab naturally refrained from further hesitation.
"Then I ask that Fellow Daoist lend me a helping hand," he said with heartfelt sincerity.
This was the exact phrase Li Ping had been waiting for.
"Follow me."
His figure blurred, and in an instant, he had already appeared at the horizon.
Stone Slab took a single step and kept pace.
Leaving behind only an utterly baffled Ou Shangtian.
He had not heard the conversation between the Sacred Emperor and Stone Slab.
Ever since Li Ping pointed to the fishing pond, Ou Shangtian had lost all perception of the two mighty experts.
Until now, as they departed one after the other.
*Was Master not supposed to deal with that Stone Slab? Why did they not fight?*
*Could it be that, like the Earth Vein Ancient Tree, he will join our Sacred Court as well?*
An ominous premonition instantly crept into Ou Shangtian's heart.
Meanwhile, Li Ping and Stone Slab had already arrived outside the Crossing Adversity Sect, at the site of Chuanfa's seal.
Watching Li Ping unravel Chuanfa's seal with consummate skill, the doubts in Stone Slab's mind only multiplied.
*This is a seal left behind by Chuanfa. Even for an Avatar of the Heavenly Dao, breaking it should not be this easy, should it?*
*Or could it be that after all these years, the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao has recovered to the point where it can arm-wrestle with Chuanfa?*
Li Ping paid no heed to Stone Slab's thoughts and led him straight into the Crossing Adversity Sect.
Ascending the mountain, descending the mountain, endless repeating courtyards...
All shifted past at lightning speed before him, until finally the grand hall of the Crossing Adversity Sect emerged before the two of them.
"Enter."
Stone Slab followed him inside, confirming only then that this was indeed where the Crossing Adversity Sect had once stood.
He could sense that within this gloomy hall were hidden countless paper figurines, neither truly living nor truly dead.
"As one of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao in the Xuanhuang Realm, they enjoyed the cultivation resources produced by the Xuanhuang Realm, yet when disaster struck, they chose to flee the world to escape calamity. Truly, just like those so-called World-Observing Divine Eyes, they deserve to be called parasites of the Xuanhuang Realm," Li Ping said in an icy tone, denouncing them without mercy.
Stone Slab narrowed his eyes, neither agreeing nor objecting.
"'Eternal Tribulation, Constant World'—using the world's tribulations to cultivate. This was inherently an art that brought disaster to Heaven and Earth. If Heaven and Earth flourished without tribulations, these people would surely stir up trouble from within to manufacture calamities. Such a sect should have been wiped out long ago," Li Ping continued.
As if hearing the Sacred Emperor's words, a chill wind whipped up without warning inside the eerie hall.
"Thinking that turning yourselves into paper figurines would allow you to escape everything..."
A golden chain emerged from the Sacred Emperor's body.
Without a sound, it shot violently into the dark depths of the hall.
Like mist being churned, the darkness within the hall of the Crossing Adversity Sect rippled like water.
Stone Slab examined that golden chain, a flash of astonishment in his eyes.
Then, within Li Ping's body, the phantom of a golden vortex seemed to slowly take form.
Thousands of chains whistled forth along the swirling direction of the vortex.
*Bang! Bang!*...
Flying into the dark, they collided with unseen entities, emitting continuous dull thuds.
The momentum radiating from the Sacred Emperor was so overwhelming that even Stone Slab was forced to take a step back.
Stone Slab could not help being secretly alarmed: *This person's strength is considerably greater than the ordinary Longevity realm.*
*Furthermore...*
*It seems to be more than just the power of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao.*
Creaking and scraping sounds rose and fell throughout the hall.
As the golden vortex nebula within the Sacred Emperor reversed its rotation, the golden chains contracted.
Something in the darkness seemed bound by the chains, being dragged out by sheer force.
Had ordinary cultivators witnessed this scene, it would surely have made their hair stand on end.
Yet inside Stone Slab's heart, a rare excitement welled up.
When a paper figurine with a terror-stricken face emerged from the darkness, Stone Slab's eyebrows could not help arching upward.
*It really is these scoundrels!*
The paper figurine bared its fangs and brandished its claws, still trying to struggle.
The end of the chain binding it erupted in dazzling light, and the paper figurine instantly wilted like one struck by lightning.
Terror, mingled with listlessness—that a hollow paper face could manifest several distinct expressions was truly curious.
Li Ping reached out and gripped the paper figurine fiercely in his palm.
Around the Sacred Emperor, thousands of golden chains danced unceasingly as more and more paper figurines were forcibly dragged out of the darkness.
The hall began to shudder unstably, and even the entire Mount Crossing Adversity seemed on the verge of collapse.
"Hmph!"
Li Ping stomped his foot heavily, and golden rings of light rippled outward from beneath his feet.
The space that had been on the brink of shattering froze still, as if sealed in ice.
Li Ping lowered his head, his featureless face locked onto the paper figurine in his hand.
Exerting a fraction of strength, a wail abruptly burst from the paper figurine in his grasp.
"Gently, Fellow Daoist, gently!...
"We bear no grudge or enmity, why resort to such vicious hands?!"
The paper figurine no longer played dead, hurriedly crying out instead.
"Fellow Daoist? As if you are worthy!" Contempt dripped from Li Ping's tone as he squeezed slightly harder once again.
Concurrently, the thousands of golden chains around him shone with radiant brilliance in unison.
Throughout the hall, the agonizing shrieks of paper figurines rose and fell in waves.
"Venerable, spare our lives! Venerable, spare our lives!"
Outmatched by circumstance, the paper figurines finally dropped their defiance and begged for mercy repeatedly.
Li Ping did not stop immediately, however.
The vortex nebula swirled continuously, reeling in the chains.
Only after gathering all the paper figurines of the Crossing Adversity Sect into one place did he cease the torment.
"This is the illustrious Crossing Adversity Sect of antiquity?"
Li Ping looked at the mound of paper figurines piled before him and spoke in a deep voice.
"We dare not claim to be illustrious, we dare not...
"We were merely striving to survive."
Amidst the wailing of the paper figurines, one voice sounded quite distinctive.
Chapter 1251