Memorials in the museum

"How does it feel?"

The query from the guide, Bingyin, reached his ears, and Li Fan nodded slightly.

"The 'Beautiful Era', it lives up to its name."

This remark was half to respond without revealing any flaws.

And half was sincere.

Indeed, if one were to speak purely of "living," the Cultivators currently under the rule of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Old Men Association had it much easier than in the vast majority of historical periods.

Even in terms of the difficulty of obtaining a suitable Cultivation Technique, it was not much harder than it had been for the Loose Cultivators of the ancient Era.

Although, once one joined the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, they were essentially beasts of burden for life.

But at the very least, as long as these captive beasts of burden did not court death themselves, living a little longer was not a problem.

In other periods of Xuanhuang World history, short-lived Cultivators might not even have had the qualifications to become beasts of burden.

As for whether life was precious or so-called freedom was higher.

That was another eternal and serious topic.

Li Fan had no intention of dwelling on this.

What he cared about was that just now, as the one hundred fragments of Divine Sense that had undergone the baptism of the 【Era】 were about to dissipate in his Sea of Consciousness.

They were absorbed by the hua dao stone crystal he had condensed through practicing the secret technique of 【Divine Unification of Transformation Dao】.

Those events he had experienced in the 【Era】, but whose details had quickly become blurred after the experience ended, slowly became clear again.

Inside the blue hua dao stone, individual scenes could be vaguely seen slowly taking shape.

It looked surprisingly similar to the 【Era】.

"What is this?"

Li Fan's heart trembled slightly.

"The figure I vaguely saw after the 【Era】 experience ended should not have been an illusion."

"It seems like a means to implant brainwashing thoughts into the minds of all watching Cultivators."

"However, I possess a hua dao stone myself, so not only am I immune to this brainwashing, but also…"

While continuing to tour the Museum of Divine Treasures under Bingyin's guidance, Li Fan divided his focus to examine the changes in his own hua dao stone.

Perhaps because all hua dao stones in the world originated from the initial 【transformation stone mother】, they were of the same lineage and source.

The hua dao stone crystal in Li Fan's Sea of Consciousness had spontaneously absorbed all the scattered Divine Sense.

And it was using the 【Era】 imprints contained within the memories of the Divine Sense to reverse-engineer and attempt to reconstruct the worlds derived from Li Fan's memories.

Unfortunately, it seemed that because Li Fan's hua dao stone was of insufficient quality, its processing power was limited.

When Li Fan tried to browse these worlds carefully, he realized that they were currently just empty shells.

The images were not continuous; they developed in stops and starts, jumping forward.

The scope involved was limited to the small corner mentioned in his memories.

Beyond that, it was a distorted and broken mirror-like appearance.

Li Fan observed for a while.

He discovered that these worlds were expanding incrementally in both time and space dimensions at a slow speed.

Limited by the deduction ability, the progress was almost imperceptible.

If the hua dao stone was only capable of this, Li Fan might not achieve substantial progress even after a hundred lifetimes of Reincarnation.

But Li Fan had not forgotten that there was a fixed hua dao stone in Yi Yin's tomb.

Every time he Reincarnated, he could absorb it.

The hua dao stone crystal in his mind would also become several degrees stronger as a result.

"By then, perhaps I can reproduce the 【Era】 myself?"

"But what would be the use of that?"

Li Fan suddenly thought of something, his gaze flashing.

"Senior Bingyin, I suddenly thought of a question. You mentioned earlier that a million blank Divine Souls were once put into the 【Era】 for experiments."

"Then, in the 【Era】 that is currently running, are there still real Divine Souls present?"

He asked the guide.

"Heh heh, naturally there are."

Regarding this matter, Bingyin seemed unwilling to say much more, only replying simply.

Li Fan looked thoughtful, then suddenly pressed, "You say that such a large number of Divine Souls are constantly undergoing the baptism of the 【Era】. Has there ever been anyone capable of realizing that the world they are in is illusory and not actually real?"

"After all, no matter how 'extremely illusory yet close to reality' it is, it will ultimately differ from the real world, right?"

Bingyin suddenly glanced at Li Fan.

He looked around and lowered his voice: "When I took over from the previous Bingyin, he once told me an anecdote."

"About thirty-nine years ago, the 【Era】 stopped running for a period of time."

"The entire Museum of Divine Treasures was closed 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 million Divine Souls in the 【Era】 had inexplicably disappeared."

"They searched the entire Museum of Divine Treasures but found nothing in the end."

"The matter was eventually dropped."

"As for whether it truly escaped or disappeared due to a malfunction…"

Bingyin stopped there and said no more.

Li Fan nodded slowly.

As long as an event is possible, then as long as the sample size is large enough, it can be seen as inevitable.

A million Divine Souls, constantly Reincarnating and repeating.

There will always be one lucky person who discovers the truth of the world they are in.

Li Fan did not find it strange.

He had simply confirmed one thing from Bingyin.

The 【Era】's true purpose might not be for brainwashing.

But for selecting and cultivating true Geniuses.

A person's ultimate achievement cannot be judged solely by talent.

Luck, Heart-Nature, determination, and so on, all have a comprehensive influence.

Often, some so-called Geniuses die prematurely before they have grown up.

Conversely, those who are inconspicuous might go further.

In the real world, cultivating Cultivators requires a huge cost.

It also requires risking the accidental death of the Cultivator, causing all initial investments to go down the drain.

In the 【Era】, one does not need to worry about this at all.

In fact, through the 【Era】 selection, the results might even be better.

Indeed, the Great Dark Era and the Wasteland Era—the darkest periods in the history of the Xuanhuang World—were extremely dangerous and had high mortality rates.

But conversely, if a Divine Soul can achieve something during this period, such as accomplishing great feats or changing history.

It is enough to prove their extraordinary nature.

Li Fan believed that in the long years the 【Era】 had been running, such existences should not be few.

Selecting them, giving them a new Physical Body, and applying brainwashing and absolute loyalty Restriction Spells.

Cultivating them into absolute loyal dogs and thugs loyal to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.

The strength of these Cultivators is frightening to think about.

During the construction of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance Headquarters and the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Array.

Li Fan often saw some black-clothed Cultivators, not knowing which organization of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance they belonged to.

They were often expressionless.

But the dangerous aura unintentionally revealed on their bodies, and the hidden bloodthirst, always made Li Fan feel a chill in his heart.

Li Fan guessed that these people were very likely cultivated through the 【Era】.

"This method is brilliant."

"And for me, perhaps after my hua dao stone is of sufficient quality, I can use past history to hone myself."

As the saying goes, heroes create the times.

But the times also create heroes.

Li Fan did not think he was particularly outstanding.

He was just an ordinary person who relied on the 【Huan Zhen】 ability to struggle for survival in this crisis-ridden Xuanhuang World.

With his experiences from several lifetimes as a Grand Tutor in Great Xuan, and the experience he had summarized.

He might be able to handle dealings with Nascent Soul Cultivators and those below with ease.

But when facing those old monsters who have survived from the catastrophes of the ancient Era to this day.

He might find himself a bit stretched and still too immature.

More importantly, in front of these true powerhouses, he might not even have the chance to use 【Huan Zhen】.

Competing with them, apart from cultivation level, intellect and experience are also extremely important.

By constantly experiencing the historical fragments in his own mind that mimicked the 【Era】, he might be able to make up for some of his shortcomings in this area.

…

The Museum of Divine Treasures had countless treasures.

Under Bingyin's guidance, Li Fan browsed through the collections of the Xuanhuang World in a cursory manner.

Besides the 【Beautiful Era】 area.

The Museum of Divine Treasures also had several other areas.

【Heroes and Pride】, which mainly collected items related to Cultivators who had left their mark on the history of the Xuanhuang World.

[Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood]: Originally just a plain iron blade. After the great change descended, its owner carried this weapon and slaughtered countless Cultivators. The blood stained the blade dark red, and the Evil Qi remained undissipated even after thousands of years. After endless slaughter, its owner successfully survived. But what makes one sigh is that this vicious weapon was found in the stomach of a subterranean exotic beast. Its owner had also been digested until only hand bones remained, clutching the 【Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood】 tightly, full of unwillingness.

[Banner of Ten Thousand Heads]: A foul-smelling Magical Artifact. It was refined from ten thousand heads. These heads all came from the same School: the Soul Sealing Sect. The refiner of the Banner of Ten Thousand Heads was also from the Soul Sealing Sect. When the great catastrophe descended, he slaughtered all his fellow disciples and refined them into a Magical Artifact. It was extremely cruel. Unfortunately, such a person did not survive the Great Dark Era. This Magical Artifact became someone else's trophy. Passed down for thousands of years, it eventually belonged to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.

…

【Vicissitudes of Life】 area: Displayed the various topographical changes of the Xuanhuang World over thousands of years, leaving Li Fan dumbfounded. The changes in the mountains and seas of the Congyun Sea were truly commonplace. Heavenly rivers falling to the earth, high mountains splitting into deep valleys. Even two provinces merging into one overnight. It made Li Fan sigh at his own lack of experience.

…

【Clash of Ten Thousand Techniques】 area: Displayed various Cultivation Techniques that had appeared in the history of the Xuanhuang World. Of course, there were only relevant introductions, and the specific content of the techniques could not be seen. Even so, it made Li Fan fascinated and unable to walk away.

…

Li Fan was immersed in it, unable to extricate himself. He forgot the passage of time.

When these astronomical, thousands-of-years-old objects appeared before Li Fan across time and space, the image of the Xuanhuang World finally became vivid in his heart.

It was no longer just a hollow concept, but stained with the thickness of history.

Slowly, he finally arrived at the central area of the Museum of Divine Treasures.

The most eye-catching thing was a large empty space in the center. Except for a human skull, there was nothing else.

Bingyin pointed at the skull and said: "This is the skull of the legendary first Cultivator to be infected with the immortal-mortal miasma. I just don't know what is so precious about it that the curator designated it to be placed in…"

"Hmm? What's wrong with you?"

Bingyin looked at Li Fan beside him with some surprise.

He saw that his eyes were suddenly closed, as if he was suffering some great pain, and his whole body was trembling violently.

Sweat was dripping uncontrollably from all over his body.

"Are you alright?"

Watching Li Fan's condition worsening, Bingyin couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Li Fan struggled to force a smile and shook his head slightly, indicating he was fine.

But he dared not open his bloodshot eyes.

"Discoverable item: 【eternal legacy】."

"Absorb?"

"Discoverable item: 【eternal legacy】."

"Absorb?"

"Absorb?"

"Absorb?"

…

The prompt sound of 【Huan Zhen】 echoed in Li Fan's mind as if it had lost control.

And the sound grew louder and louder, almost occupying all of his mind.

And he felt an indescribable hunger that was destroying his sanity.

This hunger had appeared when he first saw the eternal legacy of Immortal Master Celestial Sun.

But now, the intensity of this desire was a hundred times, a thousand times, that of when he faced the Celestial Sun legacy!