I Cultivated Too Long and Got Isekai'd Into a Game-Chapter 207: Traces of History

Xu Tao, of course, didn’t leave the little blue planet.

In fact, his current location wasn’t that far from the party venue either—still within the confines of the city center. He was roughly a hundred kilometers away, near the outskirts of the city, standing before a large building.

An old but grand library.

The library was vast, a sprawling monument of glass and steel that tried too hard to look modern. From outside, it resembled a massive palace of knowledge, more gothic in style, its walls lined with transparent panels that reflected the city lights like a mirror.

Although constructing a library with glass walls seems counterintuitive because direct sunlight could damage the covers and pages of the books, it was designed this way.

Xu Tao stood at the entrance, hands clasped behind his back, gazing at it with mild interest.

Of course, he hadn’t asked for directions to reach this place—why would he? All it took was a sweep of his divine sense, and the largest repository of mortal knowledge in the city revealed itself to him like a lantern in the night.

’So this is where they keep their records now. A pity they abandoned bamboo slips, scrolls, and jade tablets. These... bricks of paper look so inelegant.’

He casually walked on, moving toward the gates guarded by two security personnel in dark blue.

Without delay, he fished out a sleek black card from his sleeve. Xu Tao spun it between his fingers like a magician playing with cards.

"You, stop... wait, that’s...!"

"W-Welcome, sir! Please feel free to enter!"

The guards, just seeing the black card’s luster, quickly saluted and let him pass. Of course, Xu Tao was confused as to why they did that, knowing they should be protecting this place. Shouldn’t they at least body-check him? Or maybe get his identity?

Although curious about the card, all he remembered was Alexis drunkenly pressing it into his hand days ago with the words, "This is a VIP access card for most parts of the world. Don’t lose it; you’ll need it when you get serious, my friend."

He had no idea what the man meant, but it was more convenient than he thought, so he still decided to use it.

After entering, he marched fearlessly toward the counter and slammed the card on top, saying, "I’m here to look at all the books."

The woman adjusted her glasses, stared at the card, turned pale, and scrambled to her feet before bowing her head.

"P-Please! Feel free to see the books, good sir!" she said with a slight stammer. "Do you need a guide? I know the locations of all books in here!" she added, advertising her services.

"No need."

But Xu Tao was prompt. He didn’t need anyone to guide him, as his target was "all" the books in the first place.

As he paced onward, heading for the open area with shelves that spanned from walls to ceiling, a path cleared for him as though he were royalty. "Mortals truly are efficient when threatened by authority." He smiled, feeling wonderful.

Inside, despite the few dozen presences scattered around—mostly near the reading area filled with tables—the library was quiet.

Too quiet, indeed.

He gazed at the shelves that stretched endlessly, each crammed with volumes, tons of bound paper. The scent of dust, old paper, and ink hung in the air.

Xu Tao lifted a hand, brushing his fingers across the spines of a hundred books in a single sweep. To an outsider, he looked like someone playing around—a kid using his fingers to "run" across each spine.

But in truth, it wasn’t that simple.

At his touch, the entire knowledge sealed within the books poured into his mind.

Whole lifetimes of research, meager as they were, flickered past his consciousness in an instant. The writer’s thoughts remained as faint remnants. And... the sound of the machine press echoing loudly.

"Ugh! What the fuck was that...?" Xu Tao pulled his hand back, shocked by the memory he saw.

Still, he shook his head and continued what he was doing. He didn’t even need to open the books’ covers—a mere touch was enough. Pages trembled and fluttered open of their own accord as if bowing to a greater master.

And then, all at once, the shelves began to tremble.

Books rattled loose from the shelves, tumbling and swirling through the air as if caught by an invisible wind.

"GYAAAAH!" Screams echoed as they watched this unbelievable scene.

Someone even dropped their A-phone, the plastic gently clattering against the polished floor—and greatly cracking the tempered glass screen. Some wailed and pointed at the flying tomes.

"Ghosts!" shrieked a student.

"No, no—poltergeist activity!" another cried.

"Shit! This is how horror movies start! Run, idiots! And someone call a priest...!"

Of course, Xu Tao ignored them all.

His focus remained on the river of knowledge streaming into his mind. Compared to reading information stored in jade tablets, reading memories and contents from the books manually took quite a lot of time.

After a good while, he partially opened his eyes. When compared to the great scrolls he once studied under moonlight, these mortals’ records were shallow puddles, yet still overflowed with information new to him.

Minutes passed, perhaps longer.

When the last book thumped shut and drifted back into place, the library had emptied. Only a few brave souls peeked from behind overturned chairs, whispering frantic prayers. Xu Tao lowered his hand, his expression calm.

But his brow furrowed.

"Nothing..." he muttered. "Not a trace of the Heavenly Dao, nor a single mention of Qi or cultivation, only weak martial arts... This world’s history is crippled."

He was disappointed with his find—or the lack thereof... Yet, one detail nagged at him. A name that he came across in a few books.

"The first and only Empress to rule over Shenzhou... Wu Zetian."

It was written in an old chronicle, preserved under the category of "legends." She was a queen and a ruler, both ruthless and brilliant, who shook the empire to its very foundations.

The likeness to the Zetian he knew was near perfect. The name, the aura—Xu Tao recognized it immediately.

Just as he pondered this fact, a voice coiled around his ear.

"My Emperor, you work so hard even in places like this."

He didn’t need to look, as the voice—no, the presence she exuded alone—gave her identity away.

Zetian was already at his side, her every step unhurried yet deliberate.

As she was still wearing her gothic-styled dress, her presence was gathering everyone’s attention. Her eyes sparkled with amusement, not toward the masses, but toward Xu Tao.

She leaned against him without hesitation, fingers brushing his sleeve. To the few who hadn’t fled, the sight must have been strange—like some overly affectionate cosplayer clinging to a stern, suit-wearing professor.

"You came at the right time," Xu Tao said, his tone flat.

His eyes flicked to the side, eyeing the beauty clinging to him.

Zetian smiled sweetly, though there was something sly in her eyes. "Of course. I always know when you need me, my Emperor."

Xu Tao regarded her in silence for a moment before speaking.

"Anyway, your name appears in some of the mortal records. Although I can’t be sure yet, this world might be the one you were in during your past life."

Hearing his words, her smile wavered just slightly. "My... name?"

"Yes." Xu Tao gestured toward the shelves, pulling a couple of books toward him once more.

"A queen, a legend of mortals. They recorded you here, though their timeline is laughable in scale. I cultivated longer than their civilization has existed."

The books flew before Zetian, which she carefully opened, reading the contents at a speed that normal speed readers couldn’t contend against.

Xu Tao clasped his hands behind his back, waiting for her to finish before speaking once more, voice heavy. "Zetian... If your shadow lingers in this world’s past, then the boundary between my life, your life, and this mortal realm could be thinner than I imagined."

Of course, Xu Tao still had his qualms about his past being the Emperor that Zetian adored. However, he still had to consider the possibility that this could be true.

For once, Zetian had no ready answer.

She only tightened her grip on the book she was reading, eyes unreadable.

The mortals around them continued whispering in the background.

"Did you see that? The books flew by themselves!"

"No, look—those two must be the cause. Some... magicians?"

"I bet this is a prank! Where’s the fucking camera?!"

"Should we call the police...?"

Xu Tao’s gaze flicked briefly toward them.

Their fear washed over him like the buzzing of flies. He had bigger concerns.

If Zetian’s past had been carved into mortal memory... What of his own?

And more importantly—why was he here at all?

’...I’m getting curious about it,’ he thought. ’If I’m truly the Emperor that Zetian married in the past, then...’

His eyes zoned out, as if staring somewhere far away, beyond the library’s walls.

"Right now... Somewhere in this world, my tomb should exist..."