"Indeed, my eyes deceived me earlier as well."
"Originally, I thought the things inside this fishing pond were placed here a thousand years ago when its forging was completed."
"Yet what I fished up last time was not a creation from that era at all."
"It has only existed within the last five hundred years."
Stone Slab Yufu opened his palm, revealing a curved piece of black jade shaped like a horn.
"This is..." Li Fan failed to recognize it.
"The Heaven-Conquering Horn. An invention of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. Once blown, it can briefly mobilize the power of an entire province's Heavenly Dao," Stone Slab Yufu explained concisely.
"The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals?" Li Fan was startled at first, then his expression shifted slightly.
He turned his head toward the fishing pond, thoughts churning in his mind like a tempest.
"Do you understand now? The items inside this fishing pond are not static. It captures and replenishes itself with new objects from the outside world—not only from Xuanhuang, but even from other cultivation worlds."
"While we fish beneath the starry sky, it is fishing the myriad heavens..."
Stone Slab Yufu's words confirmed Li Fan's inner suspicion.
It was like a colossal wave crashing over him, leaving his mind restless for a long time.
Even though he had personally experienced the wonders of the fishing pond, he had not anticipated that he still had not grasped its full scope.
*Is this the might of an immortal artifact?*
*Not only does it contain myriad treasures, but there is no need to worry about exhausting them.*
That was Li Fan's thought.
Yet what Stone Slab Yufu cared about was something else entirely.
His habitually calm tone could not help rippling with a hint of excitement. "This is the true Dao of Fishing."
"This immortal artifact is truly extraordinary."
"If I can master it, perhaps I could fish the myriad heavens and find what I seek on my own, without even relying on it." Stone Slab Yufu's voice carried a trace of fervor.
Li Fan fell silent.
Only then did it hit him.
How could someone chosen by a miraculous object like the Genesis Stone Slab ever truly be mediocre?
Having made this new discovery, Stone Slab Yufu stopped fishing.
At the same time, his appearance shifted.
He was no longer in the guise of Yufu, but had become what looked like a newborn infant.
Beside the pond, he closed his eyes and drifted into a sound slumber.
Li Fan waited several more days, but seeing no sign of the senior waking, he shook his head and took his leave.
"Even with Senior Stone Slab's comprehension, gaining an epiphany of the Dao of Fishing is not something that can be achieved in a brief moment."
"Worse still, he is occupying the fishing pond, and no one dares to disturb him."
Li Fan felt helpless inside.
He had no choice but to instruct Lin Ling to wait here and contact him the moment there was any movement.
Li Fan then returned to the Spirit Wood Realm alone.
Just then, he received an inquiry sent by the Five Elders Association.
*Even the meeting with the Five Elders Association was fake.*
*This Senior Stone Slab truly threw himself into the act.* Recalling the man's earlier tone and expressions, Li Fan shook his head wryly.
*I suppose this is another one of his twisted amusements. Fortunately, his temper isn't bad, and he didn't try to strike me down over a disagreement.*
Staying by Senior Stone Slab's side over the past few days had not only allowed him to learn several ancient secrets.
More importantly, he had clarified the underlying nature of the conflict between Xuanhuang Realm's Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and Five Elders Association.
Li Fan recalled the senior's lamentation:
"The Xuanhuang Realm is a sinking ship."
"The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and the Five Elders Association are fighting for ultimate control over the vessel."
"Both have absolute confidence that they can deliver the Xuanhuang Realm from its doomed fate. But the prerequisite is that a single, ultimate ruler must be decided."
"Heh, just like the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao all those years ago."
"It isn't that they are blinded by power, but rather that escaping requires coordinating and concentrating the entire realm's strength. If someone inside acts two-faced..."
"So, all this fighting and killing doesn't matter. The moment the existence of the Xuanhuang Realm is genuinely threatened, the two sides will still join forces. Just like when that bunch of traitors returned five hundred years ago."
When Stone Slab Yufu had mentioned those traitors, his tone had grown unusually fierce.
*Five hundred years ago probably refers to the counterattack of the pocket worlds. However, those pocket worlds seemed to be mere puppets. The true masterminds must have been the cultivators who once betrayed the Xuanhuang Realm.* In the Spirit Wood Realm, Li Fan pondered deeply as he cross-referenced Stone Slab Yufu's words with the secrets he had previously investigated.
*As expected of the bearer of the Genesis Stone Slab, he knows countless secrets. What a pity my strength is insufficient.*
*How much I learn depends entirely on his whim and charity.*
*Otherwise, I would interrogate him day and night.*
Li Fan's thoughts churned slowly.
From Senior Stone Slab's perspective, many things that had seemed murky to Li Fan, veiled in mist, became crystal clear.
Back then, after hearing the senior's exposition regarding the struggle between the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and the Five Elders Association, Li Fan could not help asking, "Then what about the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable? What is his attitude toward all this?"
Stone Slab Yufu had reacted as though he had heard the most hilarious joke.
First, he laughed raucously without caring for anyone around.
Only then did he answer, "Chuanfa?"
"Xuanhuang may be sinking..."
"But Chuanfa can fly, can't he?"
"He couldn't care less."
"However..."
Stone Slab Yufu's smile suddenly vanished.
"That is merely my speculation."
"In truth, for the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable, who regards the Xuanhuang Realm as his private property, his attitude is somewhat elusive."
"Otherwise, over all these years, he could have left long ago."
Stone Slab Yufu's voice had gradually trailed off, turning inaudible in the end.
...
*Chuanfa can fly.*
*As expected, He can already ignore the influence of the Immortal Ruins and depart on His own.*
Li Fan pondered in silence.
*Just what level of strength does one need to escape Xuanhuang?*
*Perhaps...*
*I could give it a try.*
This thought suddenly surged in Li Fan's mind.
Although there was no precedent in the Xuanhuang Realm of any Longevity realm cultivator escaping besides the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable, the Longevity cultivators of Xuanhuang were bound to the world.
It was possible that their inability to leave was not due to a lack of strength, but rather the counter-effect of those shackles—just like Senior Stone Slab.
*Furthermore, one doesn't have to rely entirely on personal strength. External forces can be harnessed as well.*
Li Fan recalled the countless obelisks towering over the land of Xuanhuang during his 114th lifetime.
*I achieved the Nascent Soul realm through the Five Elements Yuanshi Grotto-Heaven. If I fuse the five elements into one and smelt them into a new world...*
*And then construct obelisks upon the earth to harness their thrust...*
*It might not be impossible to break free from the Xuanhuang Realm.*
In truth, Li Fan, who possessed True Reversion, had no intention of clinging stubbornly to the Xuanhuang Realm until death.
If possible, finding another cultivation world would be far better than remaining in this wretched place.
After all, with the Xuanhuang Realm on the verge of sinking, nothing that happened here would be surprising.
Along the path he had walked, Li Fan had already encountered far too many monsters and freaks.
*One attempt, a two-pronged approach.*
Li Fan began calculating quietly in his heart.
Chapter 867