As soon as he finished speaking, his figure vanished completely.
Transforming into countless gray-gold dust particles, like billions of fireflies simultaneously taking flight, they surged towards the gray Immortal Stele, merging one by one into the crisscrossing cracks.
The sound faded away completely.
Click... Buzz...
The Dao Comprehension Stele emitted a deep hum, and the ancient runes on its surface lit up one by one, like an ancient river that had been reconnected and was finally beginning to flow again.
Lin Fan stood frozen in place.
His outstretched hand was still suspended in mid-air, the warm glow of the light still lingering on his fingertips. His lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out.
He had been thinking that the guide might try to steal the Dao Comprehension Stele.
After all, this thing has a very important origin; it's an item used by Immortal Emperor to prove his Dao. Any remnant soul would be tempted by it.
He had already secretly activated the Hunyuan Bell, and even the Chaos Immortal Qi was gathering momentum at his fingertips.
Be ready to turn on them at any time.
result...
This old man sacrificed himself.
He simply and decisively burned himself, thus extending the life of the Dao Comprehension Stele.
Lin Fan stood there, silent for a long time.
As the gray-gold dust completely merged into the Immortal Stele, the cracks on the stele began to heal at a visible speed. The dim law patterns seemed to be re-infused with a soul, and an ancient and vast Daoist aura rose from the depths of the stele.
"Buzz!"
A beam of gray-gold light shot into the sky from the Dao Comprehension Stele, dyeing the entire sky of the ancient land into a vast sea of golden-gray light.
The entire ancient land was trembling violently.
Strange phenomena were occurring frequently.
A phantom image of Immortal King appeared in the sea of light, standing with his hands behind his back, his gaze as deep as the starry sky.
Ancient sword marks unfolded in the void, each containing Sword Intent powerful enough to cleave stars.
Stars rose and fell in the sea of light, like a microcosm of the universe compressed over billions of years, completing an entire era in just a few breaths.
"Senior, don't worry."
Lin Fan raised his head, looking at the gray-gold sea of light, at the solidifying illusory image of the Immortal King, and then looked down at the Immortal Stele.
He said softly, "I will restore this Dao Comprehension Stele completely. At that time, your Dao with the Immortal Ancient will shine once more in this life."
His voice was neither loud nor soft, but it carried a seriousness rarely seen in him.
No one answered.
The divine light emanating from the Dao Comprehension Stele gradually receded, like moonlight sinking into a deep pool, enveloping the entire ancient land in a warm and tranquil golden hue.
Lin Fan took a deep breath and stopped being coy.
He sat cross-legged, placed his palms on the surface of the monument, closed his eyes, and felt the Chaos Qi surging around him.
The ancient runes on the Dao Comprehension Stele lit up one by one in his consciousness, like an ancient scroll that had been sealed for countless years finally being slowly unfurled.
He saw scenes from ancient times.
A celestial palace, a figure with his back to him.
As he preached before the monument, the sounds of the Dao transcended eternity and entered his sea of consciousness. Laws began to sprout, and the aura of Immortal Dao nourished his limbs and bones like sweet rain.
He saw the Immortal Road.
I saw one insurmountable barrier after another stretching across the world, but under the illumination of the laws of the Dao Comprehension Stele, those barriers seemed like curtains being lifted one by one.
"Boom!"
The wisp of Chaos Immortal Qi within his body suddenly expanded, as if it had absorbed enough nutrients and was transforming from a tiny seed into a complete Dao seed.
It's not just his Immortal Qi; it's also his Law of the Sword Dao, Law of the Fist Dao, and the Law of Chaos...
They all rapidly ascended within the Daoist aura of the Dao Comprehension Stele, like iron being repeatedly tempered, becoming more and more solid and perfect.
His aura began to rise at a steady pace.
Time has lost its meaning in this ancient land.
Outside, Three Thousand Provinces.
This is Lin Fan's first year of seclusion at the Dao Comprehension Stele.
The entrance to the Immortal Ancient Ruins remains open, but the once fiercely competitive geniuses no longer flock in.
The true fortune has been taken away; all that remains are scraps.
But something else began to quietly brew.
Emperor Pass.
That ancient city gate, stretching beyond the Three Thousand Provinces and the unknown realm, saw an increasing number of young figures arriving from the Emperor Pass this year.
We crossed that gray, No Man's Land and entered the territory of the Three Thousand Provinces.
Most of them are very young.
Each one exuded the aura of Great Saint or Sage King Realm, their entire being embodying perfect laws, and their brows held a natural arrogance and curiosity.
"This is the Three Thousand Provinces? The laws governing them are indeed pitifully thin."
"This world doesn't even have complete laws; what kind of decent powerhouses can it produce? No wonder becoming an emperor is so difficult!"
"Don't be too certain. Didn't the Unfettered Sword Emperor and his ilk also come from here back then?"
"That's an exception."
Under the guise of gaining experience, they wandered through the Three Thousand Provinces.
The young prodigies who challenged various Great Emperor clans and Daoist lineages mostly won, with fewer defeats than they lost. Occasionally, someone would slip up, but this would attract stronger companions to step in and get revenge.
The following year, they began to inquire about something.
Many cultivators discussed, "Have you heard? The people of Emperor Pass are looking for something, supposedly an ancient artifact left behind by a powerful figure."
"But no one can say for sure what it is."
All we know is that it's related to a certain celestial artifact from the Immortal Ancient Era, and it's rumored to grant immortality!
"An item for achieving immortality?"
"I don't know. But recently, young powerhouses from various Emperor Pass sects have come to our gates, ostensibly for sparring, but actually to see if anyone has seen that thing."
"Are they really that arrogant?"
"Arrogant? You can talk if you can beat them. The perfection of the Sage King Realm laws is greater than that of many Quasi-Emperor here. Among their generation, there are very few who can withstand three of their moves."
In the third year, some secret news began to circulate about the Wang Clan...
Wang Teng's death at Lin Fan's hands remains a thorn in the side of the Wang Clan.
They dared not directly attack Lin Fan, after all, the Lin Clan's ancestors were still alive, and the legendary Immortal Annihilation Formation was still in place.
But spreading a rumor comes at no cost.
Soon, news that the Lin Clan son had obtained a chance to become an immortal spread throughout the Three Thousand Provinces...
The various sects discussed among themselves. "Have you heard? What those people from the Emperor Pass are looking for is on the Lin Clan son!"
"What?"
" The Lin Clan son obtained immense fortune on the Legendary Ancient Road and the Ultimate Ancient Land; that ancient artifact is on him. Those people from the Emperor Pass chased him all the way from the Immortal Ancient Ruins here, specifically for him."
"Really?"
It's probably true!
The news spread like wildfire among the Three Thousand Provinces.
In just two months, the news spread from the Eastern Desolation to the Southern Ridge, and from the Southern Ridge to the Northern Nether. In almost every inhabited place, people were talking about it.
The Wang Clan is very skilled at spreading rumors.
It wasn't stated directly that Lin Fan took something from the Emperor Pass.
Instead, they use vague phrases like "I heard," "someone said," or "it seems" to let the news ferment naturally and let rumors grow legs and run wild.
" Lin Clan prince... if you won't let our Wang Clan have a good time, then none of us will have a good time."
The Wang Clan family patriarch gazed into the distance, a cold smile playing on his lips, "When those people from Emperor Pass come looking for you, heh heh..."