Inside the cave, Eldred accepted the reality of this world's restrictions regarding cultivating one's mana and got ready to leave.
"Bz bz bz..... bz bz bz.... "
Suddenly, a buzzing sound came from the sealing attached to the cave entrance.
Astonished, Eldred took a few steps back and took a closer look in front of him.
In the middle of the seal, emerging from the black-tattered book, Eldred could see waves of clear water slowly spreading to cover up the magic threads that made up the seal.
Only a bright, clear pool placed horizontally could be seen in a few moments, while all the magic threads seemed to be devoured by it.
If one looked from the outside, however, they would not notice a single difference in the seal; all they could see was Eldred sitting cross-legged at the cave entrance.
Eldred didn't dare be careless and took even more steps back. To his surprise, each step didn't shorten the distance in the least but instead pushed him forward even more toward the water pool.
'Was some kind of magic placed on me?' Is it what I have feared since I got hold of this body?' Eldred couldn't help but think that an assassination was currently taking place.
However, right before he made any reckless move, the water pool rippled, and a shiny black, tattered book devoid of dirt emerged from the middle.
Eldred stared at the book with a rigid face. The book slowly evoked a desire to take hold of it inside him and made him want nothing but to place his hands on it.
'Must be the water pool, without a doubt; this is getting even more terrifying by the second!' Eldred felt that his whole being was crumbling, and his will and pride were getting crushed under a tsunami-like wave, unable to resist its pressure in the slightest.
"Aghhh...Aghhh...!"
Eldred's heart stirred with a strange, overwhelming desire, and his head throbbed with an unbearable headache. The pain was so intense that he struggled to focus on anything else, instinctively grabbing the book in front of him. The pain was so intense that he didn't care about his actions.
His countless near-death experiences and a lifetime of battles against demon beasts in the dark forest played no part in this mental fight.
To Eldred, his once-formidable mental strength and hard-earned resilience felt utterly useless—like a child's feeble punches against a grown man, incapable of leaving so much as a scratch.
If not that the pain subsided the moment he took hold of the book and no pressure was descending on his whole being, Eldred didn't doubt that his very soul would have been crushed to smithereens by now.
'Such strong mental pressure, is this even in the realm of possibilities?' Eldred's heart beat faster with each passing second the book was in his hands.
Although he felt afraid, a feeling told him that an opportunity he should never miss what was lying on his palms.
Eldred was full of curiosity, but he still warily looked at the book for minutes before finally deciding to open it.
'No matter what kind of feeling that was, I'll only know the ins and outs of this situation after I take a look inside it,' He was sure of this; hence, he slowly opened its first page,' No matter the mysteries and dangers, it doesn't seem like I can just put this book aside and walk away, that might even be the danger itself if I think about it.'
Eldred tried to stay calm, but he couldn't. His heart started to beat faster and faster. A suffocating and terrifying pressure overwhelmed him. He felt a familiar touch and knew that he had never been this close to death before.
He knew that the next step likely meant death!
As a current mortal with no qi to defend himself, Eldred had no way to protect himself against anything that came at him now.
However, those dreary adventures over the years hadn't terrified him but instead had given him the utmost pleasure! Being face to face with death and surviving all perils was the true definition of martial arts!
A smirk appeared on Eldred's face as he moved his fingers across the book.
Deep inside, a feeling that he had almost lost due to his old age and years of inactivity only protecting a city from the dark forest made him quite sluggish and almost numbed his fighting spirit and love for death-life situations.
Step by step, slowly and carefully!
Under the call of the black-tattered book, Eldred took hold of the untitled cover and opened the first page.
"Woosh...woosh...woosh..."
Waves of extreme vitality and power washed over Eldred's face. In a few seconds, Eldred felt that he had seen all living beings, creation, life, and death.
Eldred could confidently say that he had just witnessed creation: men and women, life and death, the purpose of existence, the passage of ages, and the vastness of time and space. At the culmination of these visions, he saw seven radiant books, each glowing with a unique color, hovering in a circle amidst impenetrable darkness so deep that even sunlight would fail to pierce it.
Eldred's pupils shrank within minutes, and a surge of excitement, curiosity, and a deep-seated hunger for power welled up from the depths of his soul.
'No wonder my friend's bodies and the others lying beside them are still fresh and haven't yet rotten out; this is truly beyond my expectations,' Eldred thought with amusement.
At the top of the first page, an introduction explained the situation in detail:
"If you are reading this, it means you are worthy of this opportunity, and your strength plus the thrill of power and longevity isn't like ordinary creation, which made you become my master. To make things brief, if you truly desire power like I detected, Immortality, and to stand above everything else, awaken me."
Midway through the page, the introduction ended, and a line of instruction appeared: The Book of Immortality has detected a seal placed on Master's brain. In my current powerless state, I am unable to undo it. Please follow my instructions to break the seal and identify the one who placed it.