“Almost there.”
“Just a little longer.”
As the Heavenly Doctor muttered softly, all the strange phenomena in Cloud-Water Heavenly Palace, including the vast sea, instantly returned to their original state. It was as if they had remained undisturbed for millions of years, unchanged and untouched.
In that fleeting moment, every cultivator adventuring within Cloud-Water Heavenly Palace, including Li Fan’s clone, was reduced to dust under the light press of the Heavenly Doctor’s hands, leaving no trace behind.
There was no room for resistance.
In fact, Li Fan’s clone, Zhou Qingang, never even realized how he had died.
Li Fan, in his true body, only felt the connection to his clone sever instantly as the Heavenly Doctor’s massive hands pressed down.
“True destruction—unconcerned with you or your cause.”
“Hah.” Losing his clone, Li Fan took a deep breath, feeling a peculiar sense of relief.
However, Li Fan’s expression remained solemn.
The Heavenly Doctor’s strength, displayed during this confrontation, was beyond comprehension.
In Li Fan’s original plan, even though the Fisherman was half-mad and forgetful and the Sage was weakened after transforming into an anomaly, their combined effort should have caused some trouble for the Heavenly Doctor.
But the reality was starkly different.
The gap between the two and the Heavenly Doctor was as vast as the gap between Li Fan and them—a difference spanning several major realms.
They were no match for him.
Li Fan’s calculated attempt to trouble the Heavenly Doctor turned into a self-humiliating joke.
Even though the Fisherman and the Sage were top-tier powers beneath the Longevity Immortal Realm, they were effortlessly manipulated like insects in the hands of the Heavenly Doctor.
Such overwhelming power…
“Could it be that Heavenly Doctor has already ascended to the Longevity Immortal Realm?”
Li Fan couldn’t help but entertain this thought.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain the Heavenly Doctor’s unparalleled strength.
“What laws is he defying?”
“Silently, unnoticed by others. Could it be that he’s the one controlling the laws of life and death—the very one who caused Lan Yu’s failure in achieving the Dao?”
“And what exactly is the relationship between the Heavenly Doctor and the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance?”
“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen the Heavenly Doctor act on behalf of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance—not even during the fiercest battles between Mysterious Net and the resistance cultivators in my previous life…”
Questions upon questions flooded Li Fan’s mind in an instant.
Originally, Li Fan thought he could at least uncover some of the Heavenly Doctor’s secrets this time.
But the more he learned, the more he realized how unfathomable this person was.
“Unless I reach the Dao Integration Realm, I’d best avoid provoking him.”
Li Fan sighed and reluctantly made his decision.
Even with the rare treasure [Truth] in his possession, the overwhelming disparity in strength left him no choice but to retreat for now.
Otherwise, walking this perilous path repeatedly would eventually expose him to danger—and luck wouldn’t always be on his side.
Suppressing his frustration and doubts, Li Fan calmed himself after half a day.
He began reflecting on the observations his clone had made in Cloud-Water Heavenly Palace.
“Tianyi, Tian Jue, Tianyu…”
“All of them start with ‘Tian’ and seem to be old acquaintances. The people in Cloud-Water Heavenly Palace even call them all ‘Venerable Ones.'”
“It’s evident they share a common origin.”
“The Xuantian Sect?”
Based on the clues he had, Li Fan instinctively drew this conclusion.
Yet, something about it didn’t feel right.
In the illusion created by Senior Sister Zhao, Li Fan had discussed the ancient Xuantian Sect—a massive force that once ruled the Xuanhuang Realm.
The Xuantian Sect usurped the Heavenly Mandate, claimed the power of the heavens, and suppressed all living beings.
The leaders of the sect often bore titles like “Heavenly King” or “Dharma King.”
But the Heavenly Doctor and his companions seemed to revere the heavens themselves.
Those who were following the Sage and reading were repeating words such as “The laws of the heavens are strict; rules must be obeyed,” and “The laws of the heavens cannot be defied.”
This didn’t align with what Li Fan knew of the Xuantian Sect.
“With their level of cultivation, they couldn’t have appeared out of thin air without leaving traces.”
“Just who are they?”
Li Fan fell into deep contemplation.
—
The events within Cloud-Water Heavenly Palace were earth-shattering, yet the surrounding Congyun Sea remained eerily unaware.
Other than the mysterious disappearance of the recently revealed Cloud-Water Heavenly Palace ruins, nothing else seemed to have impacted the Congyun Sea.
However, the Xuanhuang Realm’s top-tier powers extended beyond just the Heavenly Doctor.
Ordinary cultivators might not notice anything, but the Five Elders Association’s Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereigns must have sensed something.
As Li Fan gathered scattered pieces of overlooked information, he began to uncover hints.
For instance, after the war in Tianling Prefecture, the Five Elders Association recalled all their cultivators stationed in border regions.
Within days, every cultivator had been withdrawn, suggesting they had no intention of engaging in war anytime soon.
Then, surprisingly, the Five Elders Association sent envoys to propose a “friendly exchange” with the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.
They claimed the prolonged estrangement had led to mutual unfamiliarity and suggested this rare post-war opportunity to foster understanding.
While the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance had yet to respond officially, the Five Elders Association’s unusual gesture sparked curiosity.
After all, the Five Elders Association, boasting five Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereigns, had always been domineering. Reason and diplomacy were not their style.
For them to suddenly suggest easing tensions and promoting cooperation?
Some uninformed cultivators thought the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance’s victory in the Tianling Prefecture had forced the Five Elders Association into submission.
But Li Fan believed otherwise.
This shift undoubtedly stemmed from the Heavenly Doctor’s actions, which the Five Heavenly Sovereigns must have noticed.
“Perhaps the previous war was also a probe to see if the Immortal Ancestor was still present.”
“While they failed to draw out the Immortal Ancestor, they exposed the Heavenly Doctor instead.”
“Could it be that the Five Elders Association is wary of the Heavenly Doctor because he’s truly in the Longevity Immortal Realm?”
Li Fan remained uncertain.
From his limited understanding of the Longevity Immortal Realm, such beings defy the natural order and become part of the heavens themselves.
Their connection to the “Heavenly Dao” should be unmistakably distinct—vastly different from ordinary cultivators.
But every encounter with the Heavenly Doctor lacked any trace of the “Heavenly Dao.”
Instead, his human aura remained unmistakably vivid.
“Simply put, the Heavenly Doctor doesn’t yet seem like a Longevity Immortal Realm cultivator.”