Fantasy Writers 1860

The General Catalogue of the Yongle Encyclopedia

Dorian never expected to see a book like this here.

It's actually the Yongle Encyclopedia?

Is this also a phantom book?

Oh right, right. Since in this world, books deemed immortal by the laws of nature become phantom books, it doesn't seem so strange that the Yongle Encyclopedia would be sublimated into a phantom book...

Oh wait, wait, wasn't Nurhaci in this world kicked away by the time-traveling predecessor? There was no Qing Dynasty, and he didn't experience those humiliating events, so how could something like the Yongle Encyclopedia have ended up overseas? Why is it in Disifei's hands?

"It seems you know this book isn't from Britannia, or even Europe, and you're quite puzzled by it."

Dorian nodded.

"Indeed, before I came to Britannia, I traveled in the East for a period of time, where it was then ruled by a dynasty called the Ming Dynasty..."

The Ming Dynasty? It's 1860 now. Even in this world, the Ming Dynasty has been gone for over two hundred years...

Does this mean that Disliffe has lived for at least two hundred years?

She looks like a little girl, but she's actually an old woman?

Dorian wasn't too surprised. After all, magic and magic books already existed in this world, so the appearance of a legally living loli who had lived for many years wasn't something that was hard to accept.

Having read and watched a lot of online novels and animations in his previous life, Dorian felt that his ability to learn was surprisingly strong.

Even if someone were to tell him that Lily is actually a werewolf, and that there are gender-swapped Alexandre Dumas and a blonde, arrogant Dickens waiting for him to conquer, and the style of the world suddenly changes from a Victorian-style worldview to a sci-fi cultivation worldview, Dorian wouldn't be surprised.

"You don't seem surprised at all?" Looking at Dorian's calm demeanor, Disliffe became somewhat uneasy. "Or perhaps, you actually don't know...?"

"What's so strange about that? Even a power like a phantom book exists, so what's so strange about a dean who has lived for hundreds of years? Maybe he is also a phantom book in power?" Dorian replied.

"Very well, looks like I won't need to give you any psychological counseling this time. Do you know how horrified Lily was when she first found out about this? That usually indifferent face showed a look of horror, so delicious... uh, hard to imagine, right?" Dislife didn't continue on the topic of Lily's dark past, but instead returned to the main point:

"...At that time, I was working at the Imperial Academy's Library. The librarians there believed that the illusory books were manifestations of fragments of the 'Heavenly Way' in the human world, and were part of the destiny of civilization. Their primary task was to compile and proofread them."

"They incorporated as many illusory books as possible into the vast system they had constructed, maintaining the balance and stability of civilization. Those 'heretical' illusory books that could not be incorporated into the system were either sealed or 'reformed.' They also bore the responsibility of observing the flow of 'literary energy,' celestial phenomena, and changes in the earth's veins, in order to protect the dynasty's dragon veins..."

"One day, they witnessed the demise of the Ming Dynasty, the sinking of the land, the blasting of the nation's gates by ironclad warships from the west of the sea, and the bleak future of a thousand years of cultural heritage being wiped out..."

"So they entrusted me with the illusory book, the Yongle Encyclopedia. They thought it better to have it kept by me than to let it be lost in war and turmoil in the future."

"Why?" Dorian asked.

"Because they have seen me in the history books of all dynasties, they have seen me, this [Bookshelf of God]. They know that I have been walking in the world, collecting and sealing phantom books."

Disrifi emitted a series of clear syllables, as if singing some ancient melody, her ethereal voice seemingly coming from an infinite distance:

"Divinum Scrinium Librorum Phantasticorum Innumerabilium Lectrix Obscura—the divine bookshelf that houses millions of phantom books, the Dark Reading Princess (Divinum Scrinium Librorum Phantasticorum Innumerabilium Lectrix Obscura), this is my true name."

"Are you also a being within a pot?" Dorian asked, almost as if possessed.

"What?"

"Uh, I mean, it seems you've lived longer than I thought."

"...In short, they handed me the 'General Catalogue of the Yongle Encyclopedia.' To be honest, this magical book isn't of a high grade, but its power is very interesting: it records the names and effects of all magical books from the past, present, and future. However, it cannot access magical books from the future that haven't yet been created; you can only find them after they've been created."

So it's the complete Pokédex?

Although it's impossible to see the phantom books that haven't been created yet, the fact that there's information about phantom books from ancient times to the present is already quite impressive.

"Why are you telling me this? Is this something everyone at the Taiwan Creative Content Agency already knows?"

"Because it's interesting?" Dislifei blinked her lake-blue eyes, her deep gaze making it impossible for Dorian to read her thoughts. "You should feel honored for that. After all, I've lived a long time, and it's not easy for someone to find me interesting."

Seeing that Dorian did not respond, she turned slightly, averting her gaze, and added the last part of the story with a touch of sadness:

"However, the future observed by the Ming Dynasty's librarians back then seems to have some problems. Looking at it now, almost none of the things they observed have come to pass. Although even predictions made with the power of the Illusion Book can have some deviations, it is truly rare to find such a large deviation, with almost none of them being correct..."

It's probably because of that time traveler who possessed Li Zicheng's body; this senior was truly a chosen one... However, Disifei would never know this.

So, to be honest, it should be Disiffi who was more shocked by the transmigrators from outside her world.

"Isn't it a good thing that this bleak future didn't come true for that ancient country in the East?" Dorian said with a smile.

However, if it weren't for those humiliating defeats and the arduous struggles, would that country still be the way I remember it?

"That's true." Disiffi handed the bright yellow "Yongle Encyclopedia" to Dorian. "Keep this original copy of the 'Million Pounds' book. After all, it's a book you created. We'll make some copies for use in special missions."

"You should also learn about its abilities first. When you open it, think of the name of the magic book in your mind, and you can find out the corresponding magic book's abilities."

Dorian took the "General Catalogue of the Yongle Encyclopedia" and opened it to find densely packed vertical Chinese characters.

He could read Chinese characters and recognize that what was written on it was all ordinary content, such as what the contents of each volume of the Yongle Encyclopedia were. As its name "General Catalogue" suggests, it was simply a catalogue.

As Deslie had instructed, he silently recalled the title "The Million Pound Note" in his mind. Sure enough, the words on the paper began to sway slowly. At first, the swaying was very small, but soon each word began to move freely on the paper like a small fish in a pond.

Finally, when all the text had stabilized, the content above was completely different: