A blessing in disguise

"The actions of the Cultivators of old were truly comparable to plucking stars and grasping the moon."

Thinking of the countless grotto-heavens and Small Worlds in the Xuanhuang World, Li Fan couldn't help but sigh.

It was precisely due to the accumulations of the past that the Xuanhuang World possessed such a deep foundation.

This allowed it to persist for thousands of years amidst the plundering by Cultivators.

"After Cultivators in this world die, they 'Return the Dao to the Heavens'. This is a countermeasure that the world spontaneously derived after sensing threats to itself."

"This recycling method has also greatly slowed down the rate at which 'Weight' is lost."

"But…"

Li Fan pondered slightly.

The so-called 'Weight' was merely a term Li Fan used to describe the Xuanhuang World's ability to resist the gravitational pull of the Immortal Ruins, given his limited information.

Currently, it appeared that after a Cultivator fell and returned the Dao to the Heavens, their 'Weight' was far less than when they were alive.

"Perhaps it is because when a grotto-heaven collapses, the energy returning to the world is intangible. And for the world to condense that energy back into tangible objects with 'Weight', it requires a long, drawn-out process over many years."

"When the rate at which grotto-heavens are born is less than the rate at which they disappear, the expenses exceed the income. This will affect the safety of the Xuanhuang World."

"Therefore, the number of Cultivators must be controlled to maintain a balance."

"That is one possibility."

"Another possibility is…"

Li Fan frowned.

"After a Cultivator falls, not all of them return the Dao to the Heavens. Instead, a portion disappears…"

"It is somewhat terrifying to think about, but given that it's happening in this Xuanhuang World, it's actually become commonplace."

Li Fan recalled the images recorded by the Medicine King Cauldron after it broke through the boundary of the world.

Having left the protection of the world, the Medicine King Cauldron, attempting to cross the Void Realm, was like a moth to a flame, inevitably falling toward the Immortal Ruins.

"Immortal Ruins…"

The most intense fear is the fear of the unknown.

Why did the passage to the Immortal Realm from back then turn into this entity that consumes everything today?

Does the Immortal Realm of the past still exist now?

If the Immortal Realm no longer exists, what caused its destruction?

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

After a moment, Li Fan took a deep breath and suppressed his distracting thoughts.

These things were still too far away for him.

At the very least, he would need to wait until he achieved the status of Eternal Celestial Venerable before he needed to consider these issues.

Burying these thoughts deep in his heart for now, Li Fan began to reflect on his own situation.

"Although the world I arrived in through Transmigration is constantly on the verge of destruction."

"But thinking about it carefully, for me, this situation is actually better."

"After all, even the high and mighty Cultivators of the Eternal Life Realm are, in reality, no different from the ordinary living beings of the Xuanhuang World; they are just grasshoppers on the same boat."

"On this sinking ship that is the Xuanhuang World, the Eternal Celestial Venerables must also have some reservations when acting. They cannot be too unscrupulous."

"If it were a world completely controlled by such mighty figures, where they could refine or wipe out all living beings in the world with a single thought without any burden, that would truly be the point of no return. Even with the help of 'Huan Zhen', I would be helpless."

"A blessing in disguise!"

Thinking this, Li Fan's heart gradually calmed down.

"The Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array is equivalent to the 'nuclear deterrence' that existed in the world before my Transmigration."

"Before the Five Old Men Association finds a way to break it, large-scale wars will likely not occur. There will only be occasional small-scale frictions."

"But this also confirms the disappearance of the Celestial Venerable of Dharma Transmission. It's hard to say what the specific future direction will be."

Li Fan summoned the Huan Zhen panel.

"Physiological age: 884 / 899."

"It is said that one must stand high to see far. In the past, I could live at most 50 years after anchoring before being forced to use Huan Zhen. 50 years of foresight is enough for a Mortal. But in this unpredictable Xuanhuang World, it is a bit insufficient."

"Perhaps in one lifetime, I can try doing nothing and just watch the changes of the Xuanhuang World. With the passage of time, I might unexpectedly find more valuable information."

…

After organizing his thoughts, in order not to arouse suspicion, Li Fan took out the jade tablet given to him by the guide Bingyin and resumed his tour of the Museum of Divine Treasures.

Actually, at this point in this lifetime, Li Fan could have directly used Huan Zhen. However, as the Museum of Divine Treasures was an important location of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, it was not easy to visit.

Since he was already here, he might as well broaden his horizons. Li Fan had been interested for a long time in the head of the first Cultivator infected by the immortal-mortal miasma, located in the center of the Museum of Divine Treasures.

According to the guide Bingyin, the Museum of Divine Treasures was divided into several major areas based on the nature of the exhibits.

The location where Li Fan was currently standing was also the area that all Cultivators visiting the Museum of Divine Treasures must visit first.

"The Beautiful Era."

"What is this?" Li Fan asked with interest, looking at the huge sphere of light floating before his eyes.

The sphere of light was composed of several areas displaying different scenes. The images flashed by at an extremely fast speed, and one could only vaguely see the fleeting glimpses within.

Not only were there buildings of various styles, but one could also see many figures flashing within.

However, it was clearly distinguishable that the scenery and styles between each area were vastly different.

"This is 'Era'." Bingyin explained to Li Fan very competently.

"It is a scene from various periods in the history of the Xuanhuang World, derived and concretized with a hua dao stone as the core."

"This area, desolate and covered in ruins, is the former Wasteland Era."

"This area, filled with blood and Killing Intent, is the Great Dark Era."

"Here, where many figures flash by, is the Great Plague Era. Hmm, it looks like it is simulating the Great Migration period when Cultivators forcibly relocated Mortals."

As Bingyin spoke, the Era area being mentioned would enlarge, allowing Li Fan to barely make out the rapidly changing details within.

"hua dao stone…" Li Fan stared at the light sphere for a while and couldn't help but ask: "What is the meaning of the so-called 'Beautiful Era'?"

Bingyin smiled: "The hua dao stone is a wondrous object of the ancient Taiyan Sect, possessing the ability to derive heavenly secrets and predict the future."

"The results it derives are indistinguishable from true or false, extremely illusory yet close to reality."

"Perhaps for us outside observers, the many different spacetime worlds simulated in the 'Era' are just illusory existences."

"But for the millions of living beings within, everything they experienced was undoubtedly real."

"And when we cast a wisp of Divine Thought, or separate a thread of Divine Soul into it, we can personally experience these events that actually happened in history."

Bingyin first introduced the background of the creation of the 'Era', and then continued: "We once conducted an experiment using one million blank Divine Souls whose memories had been wiped."

"We cast them into different periods, derived them for five hundred years, tallied the final results, and ranked them."

"And our Era, the Era under the control of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, undoubtedly ranked first."

"Whether it is the survival rate of Cultivators or the overall cultivation Realm of Cultivators, it crushes all other periods."

"The name 'Beautiful Era' is well-deserved!"

Bingyin said proudly.