Chapter 1030: The Secret of the Calamity Crossing Book

Above the eerie hall, several crisscrossing thin lines held countless paper figures suspended neatly. Each figure appeared identical, yet subtle differences in facial expression were discernible upon closer inspection. The passage of time had faded these paper figures, giving them a pallid, withered yellow hue.

As Li Fan abruptly entered, countless paper figures began to sway eerily, as if moved by an unseen wind. Li Fan instantly felt the gazes of all the paper figures converge on him. It was as if bound by countless chains; his soul immediately lost its ability to move independently.

Fortunately, the swaying paper figures gradually stilled. The pressure exerted on Li Fan consequently diminished. Once he had recovered, Li Fan chose not to act rashly. He subtly sensed that another gaze within the hall remained fixed on him.

Following the sensation, Li Fan looked ahead and saw something seemingly hidden in the shadows. It was like a venomous snake, intently eyeing its prey, ready to strike at any moment. The shadow slowly drew closer.

Li Fan still chose not to act impulsively, instead quietly waiting for the shadow to approach further. He chose to remain still, ready to adapt to any development. As the shadow approached, the pressure on Li Fan intensified with every passing moment. Faint whispers reached his ears, seemingly urging him to act quickly.

But Li Fan, who perceived every subtle change around him, scoffed inwardly. During this period of quiet observation, he had already discerned the secret within. The approaching shadow and the life-or-death pressure it seemed to exert were entirely illusory. Their purpose was to compel anyone entering the hall to attack the shadow. The true nature of that shadow was...

Li Fan's vision suddenly shifted; the shadow dispersed, revealing its true form: a riddled rope. The aura emanating from it was intimately familiar to Li Fan. It was a restriction of the Heavenly Venerate of Dharma Transmission!

"The Du'e Sect is indeed not simple; even the restrictions left by the Heavenly Venerate of Dharma Transmission have been corroded to this extent. No wonder I encountered the Du'e Sect's trials on the mountain path and in the small courtyard."

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, scanning the countless paper figures in the hall. On their faces, eerie smiles now seemed to appear, which then transformed into expressions of innocence.

"From the fleeting glimpse of images just now, it seems these paper figures are all transformed cultivators of the Du'e Sect? But the number of paper figures is a bit too much."

Thinking this, Li Fan released a wisp of spiritual energy, attempting to remove a paper figure hanging from the thin lines. As expected, the spiritual energy met nothing. The paper figures in the hall seemed to be entirely illusory, without any physical form. Li Fan then sent out a thread of divine consciousness, wanting to make contact with them. Still, he couldn't touch them.

"It seems one needs the secret arts of the Du'e Sect to manipulate these paper figures. Should I destroy this restriction here…?" Li Fan's eyes flickered, and in an instant, he changed his mind. "No, I won't destroy it. Instead, I will repair this restriction!"

The Du'e Sect's way of doing things genuinely disgusted Li Fan. Like a turtle retracting its head, they chose to merge with the Xuanhuang World to evade disaster, relying entirely on potential saviors. While effective, it truly did not match the demeanor expected of one of the Ten Immortal Dao Sects. More crucially, within the Du'e Sect, Li Fan constantly felt uneasy. It was as if there was an inherent clash, making him restless and uncomfortable.

His clone stood still in the hall, while his main body, outside the Du'e Sect, began to use the Disintegration Disc to reverse-engineer and decipher the array. With previous experience, it took only seven days to successfully deduce the array formation needed to repair the restriction of the Heavenly Venerate of Dharma Transmission.

Li Fan in the eerie hall immediately made a move. "Creation and destruction lead to the same destination. If I can successfully repair the Dharma Transmission restriction, it means my deduction of the restriction is correct. I can then also destroy it." It was as if a multi-colored brush appeared in his hand, sketching in the air. Correspondingly, the slightly decayed rope in the center of the hall slowly regained its vitality. Light once again enveloped the eerie hall.

However, Li Fan's action seemed to enrage the countless hanging paper figures. They began to sway violently again, their facial expressions transforming into anger. They stared intently at Li Fan. In an instant, wailing and howling sounds, like those of ghosts and deities, echoed in Li Fan's ears.

"Silence!" Li Fan roared, completely unmoved. Instead, he accelerated the repair process. The paper figures' roars could not stop Li Fan at all. The rope representing the restriction reappeared from the center of the hall, extending all the way to the entrance.

"Boom!" After a violent tremor, Li Fan found himself outside the hall once more. He was still in the empty small courtyard, but the hall had shrunk to the size of a toy. It was fixed in the center of the open ground by the restrictive rope. Only then did Li Fan notice the hidden, damaged traces of restrictions in the shadows. The hall continuously vibrated, attempting to struggle free. Li Fan's gaze was icy as he continued his repair work.

Once the restrictions in the small courtyard were fully repaired, the scene shifted, and Li Fan was back before the stone steps leading up the mountain. The restrictions here were the most complex. Fortunately, most of them were still relatively intact; the only missing part was this single mountain path, caused by the erosion of the Du'e Sect's power. After Li Fan completed the missing parts of the restriction, the mountain path naturally vanished without a trace.

The scene before him shrunk once more. The so-called Du'e Sect finally revealed its true form: a book lying open within layers of restrictive seals. The book contained no text, only relief-like depictions of mountains and cultivators. As the book naturally turned its pages, the scenes within also changed. However, they were all in silhouette forms, appearing both comical and eerie.

Gazing at the book before him, Li Fan observed it carefully for a long time, lost in thought. "The Du'e Sect was indeed annihilated by the Heavenly Venerate of Dharma Transmission back then. However, this was precisely what they sought. Seeking life in death, the entire sect transformed into another mode of existence. This book… It has a taste of the Creation Slate. However, the Creation Slate records everything in the Xuanhuang Realm, while this Du'e Book before me only concerns matters within the Du'e Sect. That was originally the case. But the members of the Du'e Sect have already transformed into paper figures, spreading throughout the Xuanhuang Realm. Therefore, from this Du'e Book, they can also observe everything in the Xuanhuang Realm through the eyes of the paper figures."

Among the fleeting images from the constantly turning pages, Li Fan occasionally saw some familiar Xuanhuang scenes, and he mused inwardly. At this point, Li Fan's objective for this journey had actually been achieved. He had verified that the array formation targeting the Dharma Transmission restriction was sound. But looking at the Du'e Book, once again suppressed by the power of the Dharma Transmission restriction, Li Fan's thoughts couldn't help but become active again.