lǐ fán měi cì cóng bì guān zhōng xǐng lái ， dōu shì piē yì yǎn 【 hái zhēn 】 miàn bǎn ， gēn jù zì jǐ de shēng lǐ nián líng duō shǎo ér jì suàn shí jiān de 。
李凡每次从闭关中醒来，都是瞥一眼【还真】面板，根据自己的生理年龄多少而计算时间的。
Li Fan would always wake up from his seclusion by glancing at the [Truly Real] panel, calculating time based on his physiological age.
máo dìng 1 nián shì 20 suì ， yǐ cǐ lèi tuī 。
锚定1年是20岁，以此类推。
He set one year as twenty years old and so forth.
zài dì shí èr shì ， tā yě céng jīng duō cì chá kàn guò hái zhēn miàn bǎn 。
在第十二世，他也曾经多次查看过还真面板。
In the twelfth incarnation, he had also checked the Truly Real panel multiple times.
dàn shì dāng shí jiān cóng máo dìng 29 nián ， hū de fēi yuè zhì máo dìng 39 nián de shí hòu 。
但是当时间从锚定29年，忽的飞跃至锚定39年的时候。
But when time suddenly leaped from the anchor point of 29 years to 39 years, Li Fan failed to notice any anomaly.
lǐ fán què méi néng chá jué chū rèn hé yī sī yī háo de yì cháng 。
李凡却没能察觉出任何一丝一毫的异常。
Even when he repeatedly looked back at his experiences in the twelfth incarnation, he couldn't spot the missing decade on himself.
shèn zhì dāng tā yī cì yòu yī cì de huí shǒu dì shí èr shì jīng lì de shí hòu ， dōu méi néng zhù yì dào ， zhè zài zì jǐ shēn shàng 【 xiāo shī de shí nián 】。
甚至当他一次又一次的回首第十二世经历的时候，都没能注意到，这在自己身上【消失的十年】。
Part of it was due to mental set patterns. After all, most people believed that time was continuous and indivisible. How could one be anchored at 29 years one moment and 39 years the next?
zhè qí zhōng ， yǒu yī bù fèn sī wéi dìng shì de yuán yīn 。
这其中，有一部分思维定势的原因。
Another more critical reason was as if something had distorted his perception, making him overlook this fact without realizing.
bì jìng ， zài jué dà duō shù rén de rèn zhī zhōng ， shí jiān shì lián xù de ， bù kě fēn gē de 。
毕竟，在绝大多数人的认知中，时间是连续的，不可分割的。
This is what they call "seeing the strange but not finding it strange."
zěn me kě néng shàng yī miǎo hái shì máo dìng 29 nián ， xià yī miǎo jiù shì máo dìng 39 nián le ne ？
怎么可能上一秒还是锚定29年，下一秒就是锚定39年了呢？
What exactly happened? Who stole my time?
hái lìng yí gè gèng jiā zhòng yào de yuán yīn ， jiù shì fǎng fú yǒu shén me cún zài ， niǔ qū le tā de gǎn zhī 。
还另一个更加重要的原因，就是仿佛有什么存在，扭曲了他的感知。
Li Fan fell into deep fear. Fear arises from the unknown.
shǐ tā bù jīng yì jiān ， jiù hū lüè le zhè yì diǎn 。
使他不经意间，就忽略了这一点。
Even though Tianyi was powerful, he still had a concrete form. Li Fan wasn't his adversary in this life. But after ten or a hundred cycles...
cǐ suǒ wèi “ jiàn guài bù guài ”。
此所谓“见怪不怪”。
In infinite cycles, there would eventually come a day when he grew to match his height and strength, ultimately defeating him.
jiū jìng shì zěn me huí shì ？
究竟是怎么回事？
But this unknown existence left Li Fan with an unprecedented sense of helplessness. He didn't know what the entity was or how it had stolen time from him.
shuí tōu zǒu le wǒ de shí jiān ？
谁偷走了我的时间？
What frightened Li Fan even more was that its influence persisted even after the Truly Real state.
lǐ fán bù miǎn xiàn rù le shēn shēn de jīng jù zhī zhōng 。
李凡不免陷入了深深的惊惧之中。
This meant that the entity might be on par with the Truly Real, at least in terms of power.
yīn wèi wèi zhī ， suǒ yǐ kǒng jù 。
因为未知，所以恐惧。
This was the true source of his fear. The Truly Real had always been a cornerstone for his long-term survival. No matter how powerful an enemy he faced, he could remain calm and composed because he knew to recite the Truly Real whenever danger loomed. Reality and illusion would transform, and everything would start anew, making crises vanish.
tiān yī qiáng zé qiáng yǐ 。
天医强则强矣。
But now, the absolute dominance of the Truly Real was threatened...
dàn hǎo dǎi yǒu gè jù tǐ de xíng xiàng zài nà lǐ 。
但好歹有个具体的形象在那里。
His father-in-law, He Zhenghao, and his daughter, He Xinxin, also noticed that Li Fan's expression was off. Before He Xinxin could ask, He Zhenghao pulled her back with a shake of his head.
lǐ fán cǐ shì bú shì tā de dí shǒu 。
李凡此世不是他的敌手。
Fear lingered in his heart, but Li Fan’s will was resilient. After experiencing countless near-death experiences, this wasn't a fatal threat; he slowly calmed down and began to analyze the situation.
dàn lún huí shí cì 、 yì bǎi cì ……
但轮回十次、一百次……
Soon, he noticed an anomaly that defied logic. He asked He Zhenghao, "Friend Daoist He, could you tell me about the origin of Xinxin's derivation technique? Can you share some details?"
wú xiàn de lún huí xià ， zǒng yǒu yī tiān huì chéng zhǎng dào gēn tā yī yàng de gāo dù 。
无限的轮回下，总有一天会成长到跟他一样的高度。
His tone was insistent, leaving no room for refusal.
zuì zhōng jiāng qí jī bài 。
最终将其击败。
He Zhenghao hesitated before explaining, "My daughter’s derivation technique is called [Dao Net Celestial Web]."
dàn zhè wèi zhī de cún zài ， zé shì ràng lǐ fán tóu yī cì shēng chū liǎo wú lì gǎn 。
但这未知的存在，则是让李凡头一次生出了无力感。
"It is tailored to her companion artifact, the Dao Wen罗盘."
lián duì fāng shì shén me 、 tōng guò shén me fāng shì qiè qǔ le yuán běn shǔ yú tā de shí jiān dōu bù zhī dào 。
连对方是什么、通过什么方式窃取了原本属于他的时间都不知道。
"The quality of this artifact can be roughly considered half a celestial rarity."
gèng ràng lǐ fán gǎn dào kǒng jù de shì ， tā shī jiā de zhǒng zhǒng yǐng xiǎng ， shèn zhì zài 【 hái zhēn 】 zhī hòu ， yī jiù wú fǎ bǎi tuō 。
更让李凡感到恐惧的是，它施加的种种影响，甚至在【还真】之后，依旧无法摆脱。
At this point, He Zhenghao couldn't help but show some pride.
zhè yì wèi zhe ， duì fāng hěn yǒu kě néng shì gēn 【 hái zhēn 】 tóng yī gè wèi gé de dōng xī 。
这意味着，对方很有可能是跟【还真】同一个位格的东西。
"Companion artifact?" Li Fan's mind raced. In the Treatise on Oddities, there were records about certain cultivators born with heavenly oddities in their bodies from birth.
zuì qǐ mǎ ， duì fāng de wēi néng ， yǐ jīng shí fēn jiē jìn 【 hái zhēn 】 le 。
最起码，对方的威能，已经十分接近【还真】了。
These oddities had unique qualities that matched them perfectly. However, such cases were extremely rare; the book only mentioned it briefly without much detail.
zhè cái shì lǐ fán kǒng jù de zhēn zhèng de gēn yuán 。
这才是李凡恐惧的真正的根源。
Those who possessed companion artifacts were nourished by the artifact’s laws since birth and grew at an extraordinary rate. Those who survived to adulthood were all prodigies.
yì zhí yǐ lái ，【 hái zhēn 】 shì lǐ fán cháng shēng yǒu wàng de yī zhàng 。
一直以来，【还真】是李凡长生有望的依仗。
He Xinxin was one of these prodigies. No wonder she had achieved Foundation Establishment so young.
rú lǐ fán wú lùn yù dào duō me qiáng dà de dí rén ， dōu néng chù biàn bù jīng de xìn xīn lái yuán 。
如李凡无论遇到多么强大的敌人，都能处变不惊的信心来源。
Li Fan sized up this little girl, thinking to himself.
wú lùn yù dào duō me dà de wēi jī ， xīn zhōng mò niàn 【 hái zhēn 】。
无论遇到多么大的危机，心中默念【还真】。
Feeling Li Fan's gaze, He Xinxin felt a sudden sense of nervousness.
shí xū zhuǎn huà ， yī qiè huí dào qǐ diǎn 。
实虚转化，一切回到起点。
"Xinxin, explain the derivation principle of [Dao Net Celestial Web] to Uncle Li."
wēi jī zì huì dàng rán wú cún 。
危机自会荡然无存。
He Zhenghao said. He Xinxin nodded and, trusting her father, began to explain softly to Li Fan.
dàn xiàn zài ，【 hái zhēn 】 de jué duì tǒng zhì dì wèi ， què shòu dào le wēi xié ……
但现在，【还真】的绝对统治地位，却受到了威胁……
"In this vast universe, humans live like threads in an immense web."
yī páng de hé zhèng hào yǔ hé xīn xīn fù nǚ liǎ ， yě kàn chū le lǐ fán de miàn sè bú duì 。
一旁的何正浩与何忻忻父女俩，也看出了李凡的面色不对。
"Every action affects those around them, whether people, events, or objects."
hé xīn xīn zhèng yù fā wèn ， què bèi hé zhèng hào lā zhù ， yáo le yáo tóu 。
何忻忻正欲发问，却被何正浩拉住，摇了摇头。
"Those who cannot transcend are inevitably influenced by others."
kǒng jù huí dàng xīn zhōng ， jiǔ jiǔ bù sàn 。
恐惧回荡心中，久久不散。
"Interwoven, they interact, forming the myriad affairs of the world."
hǎo zài ， lǐ fán bì jìng xīn zhì jiān rèn 。
好在，李凡毕竟心志坚韧。
"Whatever happens in the world leaves traces."
jīng lì guò tài duō xiǎn sǐ hái shēng de chǎng miàn ， rú jīn zhǐ shì guò qù shí jiān diǎn de yí gè hái suàn bù shàng zhì mìng de wēi xié ， lǐ fán màn màn jiāng xīn zhōng de kǒng jù píng fù 。
经历过太多险死还生的场面，如今只是过去时间点的一个还算不上致命的威胁，李凡慢慢将心中的恐惧平复。
"By observing these traces on the giant web, one can know all that has happened."
xì xì tuī qiāo fēn xī qǐ lái 。
细细推敲分析起来。
"This web is called [Dao Net Celestial Web], and the traces are known as [Dao Inscribed Erosions]."
hěn kuài ， tā jiù chá jué dào le cǐ cì shì jiàn zhōng bù hé cháng lǐ de xiàn xiàng 。
很快，他就察觉到了此次事件中不合常理的现象。
...
zhèng le zhèng liǎn sè ， lǐ fán xún wèn qǐ le hé zhèng hào ：“ hé dào yǒu ， bù zhī xīn xīn zhè tuī yǎn zhī shù shì hé lái lì ？ kě fǒu tòu lù yī èr ？”
正了正脸色，李凡询问起了何正浩：“何道友，不知忻忻这推衍之术是何来历？可否透露一二？”
As He Xinxin spoke, Li Fan's doubts were dispelled. The stolen decade of time from Dao Source Province occurred in his twelfth incarnation.
shuō shì xún wèn ， yǎn shén zhōng què shì bù róng jù jué de yì wèi 。
说是询问，眼神中却是不容拒绝的意味。
He Xinxin was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, no matter how talented she might be, could never penetrate the Truly Real to deduce events that happened nearly a hundred incarnations ago.
hé zhèng hào yóu yù le yī fān ， bù dé bù jiě shì dào ：“ xiǎo nǚ de tuī yǎn zhī shù ， míng yuē 【 dào wǎng tiān luó 】。”
何正浩犹豫了一番，不得不解释道：“小女的推衍之术，名曰【道网天罗】。”
Even the entity that stole his time should have been too powerful for her to figure out. Yet, she did notice something.
“ nǎi shì gēn jù tā de bàn shēng qí wù 【 dào wén luó pán 】， liàng shēn dìng zhì de tuī yǎn fǎ shù 。”
“乃是根据她的伴生奇物【道文罗盘】，量身定制的推衍法术。”
Because...
“ jù tǐ pǐn zhì ， miǎn qiǎng suàn dé shàng bàn gè tiān zhī qí ba 。”
“具体品质，勉强算得上半个天之奇吧。”
An apple with a bite taken from it is different from an intact one.
shuō dào cǐ chù ， hé zhèng hào liǎn shàng bù yóu de xiǎn shì chū xiē xǔ dé yì zhī sè 。
说到此处，何正浩脸上不由得显示出些许得意之色。
Similarly, beings whose time was stolen by this mysterious existence would be distinct from normal ones, carrying a unique aura.
“ bàn shēng qí wù ？” lǐ fán xīn zhōng yī dòng 。
“伴生奇物？”李凡心中一动。
Although Li Fan returned to the time before his theft through the Truly Real, he couldn't fully escape its influence. His lack of awareness earlier served as proof.
zài 《 qí wù lùn 》 zhōng ， yǒu xiāng guān jì zǎi 。
在《奇物论》中，有相关记载。
He Xinxin's [Dao Net Celestial Web] didn't directly calculate the Truly Real or the unknown entity that stole time. But by deriving from him, she could infer the impact and thus reconstruct what happened to Li Fan.
mǒu xiē xiū shì ， zì chū shēng qǐ tǐ nèi jiù bàn yǒu tiān dì qí wù 。
某些修士，自出生起体内就伴有天地奇物。
Li Fan even speculated that if He Xinxin were to derive any cultivator in Dao Source Province, she wouldn't get the same result as he did. That was something beyond a Foundation Establishment cultivator's perception, not even with half a celestial rarity [Dao Wen罗盘] as support.
zhè xiē qí wù dōu yǒu qí bù fán zhī chù ， yǔ xiū shì zì shēn qì hé wú bǐ 。
这些奇物都有其不凡之处，与修士自身契合无比。
In comparison, it was like an invisible black hole hovering over Dao Source Province, consuming ten years of time every so often.
bù guò zhè zhǒng qíng kuàng jí qí hǎn jiàn ， shū zhōng yě zhǐ shì tí le yī jù ， bìng méi yǒu huā fèi guò duō bǐ mò miáo xiě 。
不过这种情况极其罕见，书中也只是提了一句，并没有花费过多笔墨描写。
Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to detect its existence through ordinary observation or derivation. But thanks to the Truly Real, Li Fan escaped from this black hole.
fán tǐ nèi yǒu bàn shēng qí wù zhě ， cóng niáng tāi lǐ qǐ ， jiù bèi qí wù fǎ zé zī yǎng 。
凡体内有伴生奇物者，从娘胎里起，就被奇物法则滋养。
The influence of the black hole persisted, making him akin to distorted light around a black hole.
xiū xíng sù dù qí kuài wú bǐ ， dàn fán néng ān quán cún huó zhǎng dà de ， wú yī bú shì yī fāng tiān jiāo 。
修行速度奇快无比，但凡能安全存活长大的，无一不是一方天骄。
Through him, one could deduce that the entity had stolen time in Dao Source Province.
Li Fan would always wake up from his seclusion by glancing at the [Truly Real] panel, calculating time based on his physiological age.
He set one year as twenty years old and so forth.
In the twelfth incarnation, he had also checked the Truly Real panel multiple times.
But when time suddenly leaped from the anchor point of 29 years to 39 years, Li Fan failed to notice any anomaly.
Even when he repeatedly looked back at his experiences in the twelfth incarnation, he couldn't spot the missing decade on himself.
Part of it was due to mental set patterns. After all, most people believed that time was continuous and indivisible. How could one be anchored at 29 years one moment and 39 years the next?
Another more critical reason was as if something had distorted his perception, making him overlook this fact without realizing.
This is what they call "seeing the strange but not finding it strange."
What exactly happened? Who stole my time?
Li Fan fell into deep fear. Fear arises from the unknown.
Even though Tianyi was powerful, he still had a concrete form. Li Fan wasn't his adversary in this life. But after ten or a hundred cycles...
In infinite cycles, there would eventually come a day when he grew to match his height and strength, ultimately defeating him.
But this unknown existence left Li Fan with an unprecedented sense of helplessness. He didn't know what the entity was or how it had stolen time from him.
What frightened Li Fan even more was that its influence persisted even after the Truly Real state.
This meant that the entity might be on par with the Truly Real, at least in terms of power.
This was the true source of his fear. The Truly Real had always been a cornerstone for his long-term survival. No matter how powerful an enemy he faced, he could remain calm and composed because he knew to recite the Truly Real whenever danger loomed. Reality and illusion would transform, and everything would start anew, making crises vanish.
But now, the absolute dominance of the Truly Real was threatened...
His father-in-law, He Zhenghao, and his daughter, He Xinxin, also noticed that Li Fan's expression was off. Before He Xinxin could ask, He Zhenghao pulled her back with a shake of his head.
Fear lingered in his heart, but Li Fan’s will was resilient. After experiencing countless near-death experiences, this wasn't a fatal threat; he slowly calmed down and began to analyze the situation.
Soon, he noticed an anomaly that defied logic. He asked He Zhenghao, "Friend Daoist He, could you tell me about the origin of Xinxin's derivation technique? Can you share some details?"
His tone was insistent, leaving no room for refusal.
He Zhenghao hesitated before explaining, "My daughter’s derivation technique is called [Dao Net Celestial Web]."
"It is tailored to her companion artifact, the Dao Wen罗盘."
"The quality of this artifact can be roughly considered half a celestial rarity."
At this point, He Zhenghao couldn't help but show some pride.
"Companion artifact?" Li Fan's mind raced. In the Treatise on Oddities, there were records about certain cultivators born with heavenly oddities in their bodies from birth.
These oddities had unique qualities that matched them perfectly. However, such cases were extremely rare; the book only mentioned it briefly without much detail.
Those who possessed companion artifacts were nourished by the artifact’s laws since birth and grew at an extraordinary rate. Those who survived to adulthood were all prodigies.
He Xinxin was one of these prodigies. No wonder she had achieved Foundation Establishment so young.
Li Fan sized up this little girl, thinking to himself.
Feeling Li Fan's gaze, He Xinxin felt a sudden sense of nervousness.
"Xinxin, explain the derivation principle of [Dao Net Celestial Web] to Uncle Li."
He Zhenghao said. He Xinxin nodded and, trusting her father, began to explain softly to Li Fan.
"In this vast universe, humans live like threads in an immense web."
"Every action affects those around them, whether people, events, or objects."
"Those who cannot transcend are inevitably influenced by others."
"Interwoven, they interact, forming the myriad affairs of the world."
"Whatever happens in the world leaves traces."
"By observing these traces on the giant web, one can know all that has happened."
"This web is called [Dao Net Celestial Web], and the traces are known as [Dao Inscribed Erosions]."
...
As He Xinxin spoke, Li Fan's doubts were dispelled. The stolen decade of time from Dao Source Province occurred in his twelfth incarnation.
He Xinxin was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, no matter how talented she might be, could never penetrate the Truly Real to deduce events that happened nearly a hundred incarnations ago.
Even the entity that stole his time should have been too powerful for her to figure out. Yet, she did notice something.
Because...
An apple with a bite taken from it is different from an intact one.
Similarly, beings whose time was stolen by this mysterious existence would be distinct from normal ones, carrying a unique aura.
Although Li Fan returned to the time before his theft through the Truly Real, he couldn't fully escape its influence. His lack of awareness earlier served as proof.
He Xinxin's [Dao Net Celestial Web] didn't directly calculate the Truly Real or the unknown entity that stole time. But by deriving from him, she could infer the impact and thus reconstruct what happened to Li Fan.
Li Fan even speculated that if He Xinxin were to derive any cultivator in Dao Source Province, she wouldn't get the same result as he did. That was something beyond a Foundation Establishment cultivator's perception, not even with half a celestial rarity [Dao Wen罗盘] as support.
In comparison, it was like an invisible black hole hovering over Dao Source Province, consuming ten years of time every so often.
Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to detect its existence through ordinary observation or derivation. But thanks to the Truly Real, Li Fan escaped from this black hole.
The influence of the black hole persisted, making him akin to distorted light around a black hole.
Through him, one could deduce that the entity had stolen time in Dao Source Province.