Book of Three Lives

"Oh? He's passed through the Void Corridor?"

In the City of Metal, the voice of the mysterious green-robed existence watching Shi Yan carried a hint of surprise, and a trace of vitality stirred within him.

"Since arriving in this Universe Ocean, he's the first little one to get through the Void Corridor, isn't he? Let me have a look..."

The originally somewhat numb green-robed being grew interested. Two beams of purple light lit up in his eyes, shining onto the Bronze Octahedron before him. Within the octahedron, Shi Yan's form instantly froze.

Then, everything began to rewind. Shi Yan's past experiences played out on the octahedron like a film in reverse.

Pursued by the Five Great True Lords and the Blood Orchid Ancestor... cultivation in the Black-Veined Stone Pillar Space... battle with the Monster Beast Progenitor... bitter training in the Primal Universe.

All the way back to the moment Shi Yan was born from the universe's origin.

The mysterious green-robed existence wanted to trace further, but suddenly, a vast and mighty power descended for an instant. The images on the octahedron blurred abruptly, and then Shi Yan's flying figure reappeared.

"The Primal Universe Origin?"

The green-robed being frowned. He had used a treasure to execute a secret technique, yet the Primal Universe Origin had rejected him.

Then he quickly calmed down: "Oh well. I didn't expect this little one to be born a Natural Beast God, conceived from the universe's origin. No wonder I couldn't spy on him at the time of his birth."

The green-robed existence was only slightly intrigued: "Being able to pass through the Void Corridor is indeed impressive by the standards of a Universe Ocean lifeform. A pity, though—you still have to face the trial of the Book of Three Lives, which is far harder than the Void Corridor. This little one probably has no hope... Perhaps, given the conditions of a Universe Ocean life, not even the end of the world would see one succeed."

The green-robed being sighed, then fell back into solitude, just as in the endless ages past.

On the other side, Shi Yan was unaware of this mysterious powerhouse's lament.

After crossing that "ghost wall," Shi Yan encountered no further strange obstacles. Before long, he arrived at the feet of three statues.

"Hm? What's this?"

Approaching the statues, Shi Yan noticed that before the central Headless Statue stood a stone platform about half a man's height, upon which rested a massive stone book.

Golden sand swirled around the stone book. Under its influence, aside from his naked eyes, none of Shi Yan's domain techniques could perceive it at all.

The moment he looked at it, the space-time on the stone book's pages twisted. Then, an invisible wave surged toward Shi Yan—a will attack far beyond his endurance limit.

Shi Yan sensed danger, but before he could react, the will attack struck him.

"Not good!"

Under the overwhelming will attack, Shi Yan lost consciousness without resistance, collapsing to the ground and reverting to his platinum-white Beast God true form.

Strangely, this will technique, far exceeding his limits, only knocked him out without destroying his soul.

Then, the massive stone book glowed with golden light. Its pages flipped rapidly, and golden radiance enveloped the fallen Shi Yan. A great amount of sand extended around him, spinning in a whirl.

"Swoosh!"

Shi Yan was sucked directly into the stone book. As he vanished, the open book gradually closed, and the golden sand settled back into stillness.

The empty Divine Temple returned to the silence of countless ages past.

"It's begun. The trial of the Book of Three Lives. Even back on the continent, with the Three Saints Palace's strict disciple selection, only one qualified candidate would occasionally emerge from the vast pool of core elite disciples after endless ages." The mysterious green-robed existence watched the entire process of Shi Yan being drawn into the stone book and sighed softly.

"If you can pass, it will truly be your great fortune. But a hundred-year trial—the hope is slim... And given the current situation, if you fail in the Book of Three Lives, no one can save you. A pity." With that, the green-robed being slowly closed his eyes, waiting quietly for the result.

At the same time Shi Yan entered the Book of Three Lives, in the Origin Land of Shi Yan's Miniature Universe.

The Origin of One, which had operated unchanged for eons, gradually began to slow.

At first, it wasn't obvious. But as time passed, Qing Huan, who was cultivating in the Miniature Universe and had been granted authority over its origin by Shi Yan, gradually noticed the anomaly.

"Hm? What's going on?"

An expression of disbelief crossed Qing Huan's face. His form shifted, and he directly arrived at the Origin Land of the Miniature Universe.

"It really has slowed down?" Staring at the Origin of One before him, Qing Huan was greatly alarmed. He hurriedly called out, "Teacher? Teacher? Are you there?"

Over the past eighty thousand epochs, Qing Huan had occasionally exchanged words with Shi Yan a few times. Having grown accustomed to this over such a long period, he subconsciously assumed Shi Yan was still safe in the core zone of the Universe Boat.

But today, Shi Yan never answered him.

Qing Huan realized that his teacher had likely fallen into some crisis. And judging from the abnormal reaction of the Miniature Universe, it was no small problem.

After all, the Miniature Universe's origin directly connected to the True God Heart, which housed the True God's soul.

Now that the Miniature Universe's origin was showing abnormalities, it meant Shi Yan's soul was likely in trouble.

For instance, if he were completely suppressed like the Original Ancestor, the Miniature Universe's origin would nearly grind to a halt, causing the Original Ancestor's Initial Universe to remain in its early stages of evolution after countless ages.

Though Shi Yan's Miniature Universe origin hadn't stopped, its sluggish pace compared to before was like a person once vibrant and spirited suddenly becoming drowsy and lethargic—clearly abnormal no matter how you looked at it.

"...No, I must break through to the True God realm as soon as possible and go to the Universe Boat to save Teacher!" Qing Huan's expression grew darker as he thought this.

He was deeply worried about Shi Yan, but he was still far from the True God realm. Currently, he was only a fourth-stage Universe Master; with the help of a supreme treasure, he could barely match a fifth-stage combatant.

Moreover, under Shi Yan's guidance, he had already decided to walk the path of divine power. To achieve great success on this path, he was destined to remain at the Universe Master stage for a long time.

"I can't afford to be so leisurely anymore... Right, I'll venture into the Universe Ocean, forge my True God path through adventure, and then go rescue Teacher."

Qing Huan quickly made up his mind and directly left Shi Yan's Miniature Universe.

"..."

Outside the Miniature Universe, Qing Huan looked back at the colossal celestial body. Its vast and mighty aura proclaimed that its master was still alive.

This also calmed Qing Huan's agitated heart somewhat—regardless, there was still hope after all.

"Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan, wake up quickly."

A voice from what seemed like an infinitely distant place echoed faintly in his ears.

Shi Yan slowly forced open his heavy eyelids. Light streamed into his eyes, and his vision was momentarily blurry.

This was an extremely novel experience. As a being born a Universe Master, blurry vision—a physiological reaction unique to mortals—had never existed in Shi Yan's awareness.

Hmm? Wait, what is a Universe Master? And... who am I?

Some unfamiliar new words flashed through his mind, yet they only stirred up more confusion.

"Xiao Yan, you're finally awake!"

Before he could think further, a girl with a ponytail and bright eyes and white teeth blocked his view. Her appearance seemed to trigger some reaction in him. Fragments of memory—familiar yet tinged with strangeness—kept surging up from the depths of his brain.

If another True God were present, they might have noticed that the True God Heart within Shi Yan seemed shrouded in a grayish radiance, utterly silent, no longer shining as before.

The gray light trembled faintly, and along with it, images kept appearing in Yan's mind. Under this influence, his appearance shifted into that of a gray-haired child.

"You are..."

Shi Yan, or rather Yan, opened his mouth and barely managed to utter a sentence, but his voice was hoarse and strange, like an old, rusty bellows—wheezing and grating, enough to make anyone listening feel anxious.

The girl looked flustered. She hurriedly poured a cup of water and handed it to Yan, saying, "Don't talk for now, Xiao Yan. Drink some water first."

Yan felt as if a knife were scraping his throat. Without thinking further, he took the cup and gulped it down in one go.

After downing the cup of water, Yan felt much better, but his mind still kept churning out fragments of memory, causing him unbearable pain.

Forcing himself to endure the discomfort, Yan looked around. This was a somewhat crude wooden cabin. Just one glance, and the feeling of familiarity mixed with strangeness grew even stronger.

Seeing Yan frowning, the girl with the bun hairstyle arched her delicate brows and said huffily, "See? I told you that Mountain Ghost isn't someone you can afford to provoke. Our Bauhinia Village has lived in these mountains for generations, and hasn't it been fine? That Mountain Ghost only needs some livestock as offerings each year. Why did you have to go and make trouble for yourself?"

Mountain Ghost? Bauhinia Village?

These two words seemed to trigger even more memories. Scenes played out in his mind like a movie, gradually forming a coherent sequence.

Yan remembered.

"How can that be?" Yan stiffened his neck and retorted stubbornly, "Whether our village wants to go outside or stay in Bauhinia Village should be our own decision. How can the Mountain Ghost have the final say? And Sister Yun, aren't you curious about what's beyond the mountains?"

"Not curious at all." Xi Yun refused bluntly. "I think the village is just fine. Besides, the outside world might not be some prosperous paradise. Otherwise, how do you explain the ten thousand Rhino Emperor Games? I think you're just bored and can't stand the quiet."

"Uh..."

Yan was momentarily at a loss for words.

The Rhino Emperor Game was a book of endgame puzzles passed down through generations in Bauhinia Village.

According to ancient legend, the Rhino Emperor Game was left behind by the creator of this world. It contained 10,081 puzzles, each with countless solutions, and no two people had ever obtained the same answer.

As a relic of the creator, the Rhino Emperor Game possessed mysterious and unfathomable power. For every puzzle solved, one could gain a higher level of "authority" in this world, thereby harnessing the power of heaven and earth and unleashing extraordinary strength.