Chapter 006: Room or Pool?

Du Fan couldn’t help but take a deep breath!
The greatest figure through the ages!
Lord Anthony’s words were truly persuasive!
Du Fan originally wanted to say no, but in an instant, he felt a strange sense that he was creating history—unimaginable that he would ever experience such an absurd moment!
Ultimately, unable to resist this peculiar feeling, he stretched out his hand and, under Anthony’s gaze, slowly and firmly placed it on the stone door.
Then, without even realizing how much force he was using, he saw the two stone doors silently slide open to either side!
“This place…” Even though Du Fan was prepared, he still couldn’t help but gasp!
“This is the truth of history!” Anthony said slowly. His aged voice carried a hint of sanctity, as if this answer were beyond doubt.
Du Fan nodded slightly but said nothing more, instead slowly looking inside the stone door.
Seeing Du Fan’s action, Anthony did not stop him but remained silent.
Beyond the massive stone door was a space that appeared to be just over a hundred square meters. The walls were inlaid with magic stones of various colors—some the size of a thumb, others the size of a fist.
Yet, under the effect of magic, these stones emitted a sacred glow—no matter what their properties, it seemed that in this space, their light was inevitably sacred.
Moreover, the walls were adorned with a series of colorful oil paintings. Du Fan could tell they were painted in a realistic style. Though their value paled in comparison to masters of Impressionism or Expressionism, this realistic technique seemed to tell some kind of story.
Du Fan felt a slight stir in his heart—he understood now. This was likely similar to the narrative method used in ancient tombs from his past life; the contents of the paintings, when connected, formed a complete record.

The ceiling of the entire space was arched, resembling half of an eggshell lying upside down on the ground. What puzzled Du Fan, however, was the existence of a gigantic magic array right above them. Yet this magic array emitted no sense of holiness, which somewhat contradicted the Holy Church’s long-standing attitude toward the Mage Guild—although the Holy Church and the Mage Guild were at odds, the presence of such a pure magic array in a place meant to hold “the truth of history” was a profound irony!

Du Fan couldn’t help but glance at Anthony, only to see the archbishop’s face devoid of emotion. Upon meeting Du Fan’s gaze, he merely nodded slightly.

Frowning, Du Fan slowly projected his mental energy. After a moment, he began to understand—that it seemed the magic array above was what supported this space that contained “the truth of history”!

What surprised Du Fan even more was that the space behind this stone door couldn’t even be called a room; it should rather be called a pool—because from the moment he stepped through the door, he saw no such thing as a floor. Instead, there was water everywhere—the purest holy water, even purer than what Anthony had made Du Fan drink that day.

Above this holy water floated stone slabs, which, through some unknown secret technique, remained suspended in mid-air above the water’s surface. At first, Du Fan walked on them with concern due to their movement, but soon he realized there was absolutely no problem with them. Although Anthony’s expression was serious, he wandered around casually after entering, seemingly quite familiar with this space.

Standing on this “floating bridge” of stone slabs, one couldn’t touch the surrounding walls, but the murals on them were crystal clear under the light of the holy rays.

Yet Du Fan’s attention wasn’t on these murals. He glanced at Anthony and said solemnly, “Lord Anthony… where exactly is the so-called truth of history recorded? You said there are various ancient scrolls here, but I haven’t seen a single one.”

Anthony smiled slightly and said, “Young man, don’t be impatient… Those ancient scrolls certainly exist, but their form of existence is rather unique…”

As he spoke, Anthony extended the silver-white wand in his hand beyond the floating bridge, touching the surface of the holy water slightly. Immediately afterward, with a loud splash, a stone pillar surged up from the bottom of the water. On top of the pillar was a stone cage, inside which lay stacks of parchment scrolls.

Anthony pointed at the scrolls and said calmly, “These are those ancient records… Many people, aside from us, desire to obtain them. When the Holy Church was first established, this place was created precisely to keep these secrets hidden from outsiders… Although this place is concealed, some extremely powerful individuals still manage to get in. Yet even if they do, they can’t retrieve the scrolls because… aside from the most devout saints, no one can withstand the holy water… Not even those powerful necromantic wizards can do it… Of course, keeping these scrolls underwater is also the best method of protection, as these stone pillars have water-repelling properties. Once the scrolls sink with them, they are completely isolated, allowing them to last much longer than usual. After all, these are the most precious things—what a pity if they were damaged!”

Du Fan sighed. Isn’t this method of preservation similar to vacuum storage? As long as fungi in the air are isolated, these items naturally won’t corrode…

He shook his head again and then said after a moment, “So, Lord Anthony, is this what you want me to see?”

“No,” Anthony replied, shaking his head. He retracted his wand, and soon the stone pillar submerged back into the water. “What I want you to see… are these…”

As he spoke, Anthony casually pointed at the murals on the wall and sneered, “Over the past thousand years, there have been powerful individuals who have entered this place. But when they saw the scrolls at the bottom of the water, they couldn’t obtain them and could only leave in frustration. Yet those fools don’t realize… Although the scrolls at the bottom are important, they’re only relatively important… The Holy Church’s most crucial secrets are all hidden in these murals around us…”

Du Fan was momentarily stunned before understanding and couldn’t help but say, “The most dangerous place is the safest?”

Anthony nodded and said, “Yes, those powerful ones don’t know this. If they knew now that all the secrets they’ve been searching for are in these murals, yet they’ve missed them… Hmph… I think even if those powerful ones are already dead, they would jump out of their graves!”
Du Fan smiled bitterly and shook his head. If it were him who entered this place, he would probably think that everything on the walls was unnecessary…
Seeing Du Fan’s expression, Anthony smiled slightly and said, “Alright, Du Fan, let’s stop talking nonsense. You’d better take a good look at these murals… You have less than an hour. This place can only be opened once a year. If you enter too often, the magic array that maintains this space might be damaged.”
Du Fan nodded slightly. Following Anthony’s gaze, his eyes fell on the first painting at the entrance…
It was a very simple painting. The background showed a desolate plain, but in the middle of it stood a tall white building. At the top of the building was a rune in the shape of a crossed holy cross. Du Fan immediately realized this represented the symbol of the Holy Church from ancient times—meaning the building in the painting was something like a sacred temple back then.
In front of this temple were people dressed in various colors with different skin tones. Each of them had an expression of extreme devotion as they gazed up at the temple.
In front of the temple stood another person in a white robe. His face wasn’t clear, but there was a faint white aura around him, likely representing purity and radiance. This person stood at the top of the temple with his arms outstretched, as if embracing the entire world.
At the same time, his hair and beard were fluttering in the wind, giving him an extremely imposing appearance.
Even after seeing just this one painting, Du Fan felt an urge to kneel in worship.
Surprised, he couldn’t help but take a few more glances. The more he looked, the stronger this feeling became. Eventually, Du Fan had to look away. Only after this feeling completely disappeared did he frown and whisper, “Lord Anthony, what does this mean? I can’t tell if these are believers worshipping a deity… But could it be that the person in the painting… is the supreme God of Light?”

“No…” To Du Fan’s surprise, Anthony let out a slight sigh, speaking in a heavy voice, “The one being worshipped is not the God of Light!”