Stone Slab Yufu's words turned Liuli and Lin Ling pale with fright.
Li Fan's expression grew solemn as well.
Forced to absorb endless streams of information every single moment, seeking death yet unable to die...
It truly was an agonizing torment.
"If a method to sever the connection between the stone slab and Senior is truly found in this fishing pond, will Senior die?" After a brief silence inside the small temple, Li Fan plucked up his courage and asked.
Stone Slab Yufu chuckled softly. Still facing the pond water, he murmured in a faint, wistful tone, "I'm just tired of living so heavily and want an easier life. It's not that I want to die."
Li Fan understood.
After saying that, Stone Slab Yufu closed his eyes, looking as though he did not wish to be disturbed. Li Fan then led Zhong Shentong and Liuli inside the small temple.
"Senior, who is that...?" Zhong Shentong asked uneasily.
"Knowing too much will do you no good. Just serve him with utmost care. A few offhand pointers from him would be a tremendous fortune for you," Li Fan said coldly.
Zhong Shentong nodded repeatedly in haste.
Li Fan then looked toward Lin Ling. "From now on, you will collect whatever Senior fishes up. I will come by periodically to collect them."
Lin Ling naturally agreed.
Finally, Li Fan turned his gaze upon Little Liuli.
This Little Liuli had a mysterious origin, having taken form from a transparent fruit Zhong Shentong had fished out of the pond. A golden-light-grade creation was at least above the Dao Integration level and absolutely could not be underestimated.
For now, her true nature remained an enigma. However, against a guileless little Dao child, Li Fan had plenty of ways to handle her.
Putting on a warm and kindly expression, Li Fan gently reassured Liuli that Senior Stone Slab Yufu was a wonderful person and she had no reason to fear him.
She could accompany him and fish with him whenever she was free.
Little Liuli did not dare speak, merely nodding in innocent confusion.
*With Senior Stone Slab holding down the fort here, the fishing pond is guaranteed to remain safe. In a way, it's a blessing in disguise,* Li Fan thought to himself.
On the surface, Li Fan seemed thoroughly helpless regarding the secret of the fishing pond being exposed.
In truth, deep down, he did not care in the slightest.
To him, the only secret that could never be coveted by outsiders...
...was True Reversion alone.
If the existence of True Reversion were ever exposed, then no matter how peaceful the situation before him seemed...
...he would instantly trigger True Reversion.
This was Li Fan's absolute bottom line.
...
Stone Slab Yufu sat upright beside the small pond, angling throughout the entire night.
Motionless, like a stone sculpture.
The next day, when he raised his rod once more, he reeled in only a white orb of light.
This surprised Li Fan somewhat.
"Whatever bites is a good fish. In my eyes, there is no difference."
"Besides, whatever can help sever my bond with the Genesis Stone Slab won't necessarily be of high grade."
Stone Slab Yufu offered a few lazy words of explanation.
Yet it was better left unsaid.
Since it concerned the other's deepest secret, Li Fan did not pry further.
Instead, he turned to asking for advice on how to conceal the Seven-Colored Divine Light.
After all, the Seven-Colored Jade Void Flowing Light was far too miraculous. Integrating offense, defense, and escape into one, it would be a terrible waste if he could not use it as he pleased.
Stone Slab Yufu fell silent for a moment, seemingly pondering the question.
"It's not entirely without a solution."
A moment later, he gave his answer. "The reason I saw through the Seven-Colored Divine Light at a single glance was precisely that its unique fluctuation was too conspicuous—like the lone beam of light in the dark."
"However, if the wielder of the Seven-Colored Divine Light—meaning you—can emit fluctuations no weaker than the light itself, you can suppress its traces. Just as a beam of light during the day naturally blends into the surroundings."
Hearing this, Li Fan was momentarily struck speechless.
To be on the same level as the Seven-Colored Divine Light, which had been refined using the primordial celestial light source of an entire cultivation world, one would have to be at least beyond Dao Integration, wouldn't they?
If he had that kind of strength, would he even need to hide it?
Seemingly seeing through Li Fan's thoughts, Stone Slab Yufu turned his head and cast a glance at him.
"For anyone else, perhaps not. But you are different."
Li Fan's heart tightened once again.
"Didn't you devour the Five Elements Yuanshi Grotto-Heaven to break through to the Nascent Soul realm?"
"That thing can actually pass as half a cultivation world, barely."
Stone Slab Yufu's words left Li Fan slightly startled.
"Heh, don't assume that every cultivation world is like the Xuanhuang Realm. In ancient times, among the myriad lower realms, Xuanhuang was definitely counted among the larger ones."
"Not to mention the present day."
"If you can unleash all the power of the Five Elements Yuanshi Grotto-Heaven, then beneath the Longevity realm, you may not be invincible, but you can remain undefeated," Stone Slab Yufu said nonchalantly.
Though Li Fan had long anticipated this in his heart, he still put on a display of ecstatic delight.
"The secret methods of the Yishi Sect back then... who would have thought that millennia later, the fruit would be reaped by a mere Golden Core junior?" As if recalling something, Stone Slab Yufu let out low chuckles.
Li Fan looked on with intense curiosity, and Stone Slab Yufu did not mind explaining.
"Back when the great calamity first arrived, every sect had its own contingency measures. This Yishi Sect located the Root of Heaven and Earth of Xuanhuang and used secret arts to forcefully spawn the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens."
"According to their reasoning, the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm had already been corroded and inverted beyond redemption. It was better to abandon it outright, extract its essence, and use the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens as an embryonic mold to evolve a brand-new world within it!"
"Just like a mother giving birth to an infant."
"The idea was sound. Unfortunately, even mortals cling desperately to life, let alone the Heavenly Dao," Stone Slab Yufu sneered.
"Their plan had barely begun when someone came knocking on their door, forcing it to a halt."
Though deeply curious about who on earth had stopped the Yishi Sect's grand scheme, Li Fan suppressed his curiosity seeing that the other party had no intention of elaborating.
Having spoken so much, Stone Slab Yufu seemed somewhat fatigued.
He closed his eyes once again.
Attuned to his mood, Li Fan decisively took his leave.
On the third day.
Stone Slab Yufu fished up a purple orb of light.
"Oh?"
Instead of tossing it straight to Lin Ling, he examined it closely with keen interest.
"What is it, Senior?" Li Fan stepped forward hastily to ask.
Stone Slab Yufu did not answer. He merely stared entranced at the pond ahead, as if having discovered something extraordinarily fascinating.
Completely motionless.
As though petrified into stone, he remained that way for seven full days.
Throughout these seven days, Li Fan did not leave either.
Following the direction of Stone Slab Yufu's gaze, he too looked on, attempting to fathom what had suddenly captivated the other's mind.
The outcome was obvious.
Yet even though he failed to discern anything, Li Fan still wore a deeply contemplative expression.
"You saw it too?"
No one knew how much time had passed when, on this particular evening, Stone Slab Yufu suddenly broke his silence.
"Junior is dull-witted and could not discern any profound secrets," Li Fan answered honestly. "I only sense that this fishing pond holds boundless mysteries, which might prove of great benefit to me."
These vacuous words actually drew a nod of agreement from Stone Slab Yufu.
Chapter 866