“I had only heard of your esteemed mother by chance before. A person of profound strength, highly skilled in artifact refinement, and widely revered. Yet, I never realized that your Xuan family held such influence within the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.”
“For an unknown rogue cultivator like me, I understand that earning merit within the Immortal Alliance is no easy feat. Many cultivators toil tirelessly, risking their lives, only to barely attain the 20th Rank. Yet, with just your approval, Brother Shuo, one could immediately gain 13th Rank authority…”
“Meeting you that day was truly the greatest fortune of my life!” Li Fan sighed slightly as he drank another cup of spiritual tea.
“Hahaha! I never expected that a momentary loss of control over my sword would lead me to meet such a remarkable individual as Brother Li. In the entire Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, there are only a handful of Nascent Soul cultivators who can defeat me with their divine abilities!” Shuo Feng held Li Fan in high regard, showing no condescension despite his lack of background.
“You and I must truly be fated…” Shuo Feng, in high spirits, ordered Zhi Jin to bring in some rare delicacies.
Halfway through their meal, accompanied by the fragrant aroma of spirit wine, they suddenly heard a voice from outside.
“Brother Shuo! Brother Shuo!”
A trace of displeasure flashed across Shuo Feng’s face, and his smile vanished instantly.
Before he could even respond, a white figure swiftly flew into the central hall.
“Brother Shuo, why didn’t you tell me you had returned?” She puffed her cheeks in annoyance, seemingly a little angry. However, her eyes were filled with admiration as she gazed at Shuo Feng.
“I just got back not too long ago,” Shuo Feng replied impatiently.
“Fine…” she muttered, clearly displeased.
Her gaze then shifted to Li Fan, her large eyes blinking curiously. “Brother Shuo, who is this? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before.”
Shuo Feng answered indifferently, “This is my new friend, Li Fan.”
“That name… It sounds familiar…” The young woman tilted her head slightly, scrutinizing Li Fan.
Li Fan merely glanced at her briefly before averting his eyes. His heart stirred slightly.
Although she did not recognize him, he was quite familiar with her.
She was none other than Lu Xuejing, the daughter of Lu Xichan, the chief formation master of the Strategy Formation Hall—a person with whom Li Fan had once shared a master-servant relationship in his past life.
“As fellow second-generation members of the Immortal Alliance, it’s only natural that they know each other. However, I didn’t expect that the usually arrogant and privileged Lu Xuejing—who is always surrounded by young admirers—would act so meek in front of Shuo Feng,” Li Fan thought to himself.
He quickly shifted his gaze away from Lu Xuejing and turned to Shuo Feng, pretending not to know her. “Brother Shuo, this is…?”
“Her surname is Lu. She is Lu Xuejing.” Shuo Feng merely stated her name without mentioning her mother’s identity.
The meaning was clear—Li Fan didn’t ask further.
“Since you have a guest, I won’t intrude any longer.” Li Fan cupped his hands in farewell, preparing to leave.
“About the Heavenly Spirit Flower, I’d appreciate it if you could continue looking into it for me, Brother Shuo,” he casually reminded before departing.
Unexpectedly, this one sentence provoked Lu Xuejing’s anger.
“What? The Heavenly Spirit Flower was for you?” She glared at Li Fan furiously. “Brother Shuo told me he wanted it for himself! I even went through so much trouble to get my people to search for it!”
Li Fan turned to look at Shuo Feng.
“How did I deceive you? Brother Li’s business is my business,” Shuo Feng said awkwardly. However, seeing Lu Xuejing’s aggrieved expression, he seemed a little troubled as he quickly tried to explain.
Lu Xuejing, however, covered her ears like a child, refusing to listen.
Instead of venting her anger on Shuo Feng, she began to dislike Li Fan even more.
“Whose family do you belong to? You look very unfamiliar! You’re not a spy from the Five Elders Association trying to get close to Brother Shuo just to find out the location of the Tianxuan Mirror, are you? You don’t look like a good person at all! Brother Shuo has never lied to me before…”
“Lu Xuejing, what nonsense are you spouting!” Seeing her speak so recklessly, Shuo Feng’s expression changed slightly, and he immediately reprimanded her.
However, Li Fan, who was inexplicably implicated by Lu Xuejing’s wild imagination, was not particularly angry.
Instead, after hearing her words, his gaze sharpened slightly.
“So, the Xuan family does have some connection to the Tianxuan Mirror.”
“Brother Li, I sincerely apologize. Let’s end things here for today. I’ll invite you over another day.” Shuo Feng said apologetically.
While instructing Zhi Jin to see Li Fan out, he also had to console Lu Xuejing, who was on the verge of tears.
Taking a deep look at the two, Li Fan left the cave dwelling.
“Brother Shuo, you must believe me. That Li Fan just now is definitely not a good person. His gaze was so unsettling. You should keep your distance from him in the future.”
After Shuo Feng’s patient persuasion, Lu Xuejing finally calmed down.
She then declared firmly,
“I’m absolutely sure of it!”
Compared to someone else’s one-sided claims, Shuo Feng clearly trusted his own judgment more.
“Mm, alright, I got it.” He responded perfunctorily, not taking Lu Xuejing’s words to heart at all.
“Immortal Sage Fei Xue, highly skilled in artifact refining. Has a son, but his father is unknown.”
“Lu Xichan, chief of the Strategy Formation Hall. In her past life, she was the leading figure behind the Tianxuan Spirit Locking Formation. Has a daughter, but her father is also unknown.”
“The two are acquainted, possibly close friends.”
“Both have connections to the Tianxuan Mirror…”
On his way back to the Longevity Valley, Li Fan analyzed the limited information he had and vaguely pieced together some clues.
“Interesting. I wonder if there will be a chance in this lifetime to have the Fisherman take action again. However, the Stealing Heaven and Replacing the Sun Order was lost in the Cloud-Water Heavenly Palace in this era. Even if Lu Xuejing gets captured, I have no idea what could be used to exchange for her release.” Li Fan pondered in his heart.
Upon returning to the Longevity Valley, he found that Fang Zaiji had already disappeared. He had likely gone off somewhere to craft the protective treasure needed for Xu Bai’s clone.
Meanwhile, Liu San was busy overseeing the process of integrating the disciples of the Medicine King Sect into the Great Dream Spring and Autumn Formation.
“In half a year, once everything is ready, the clone can leave the valley.”
“Until then, my true self should continue to stay hidden.”
Entering his secluded cultivation chamber, he found that the restriction on entering the Fallen Immortal Realm had been lifted.
“Blessings to the Celestial Venerable Of Xuanhuang!”
Performing the ritual, Li Fan once again stepped into the distorted, transparent space.
Before him, three different scenes flickered.
A newly unlocked scenario—‘Heavenly Sword Sect: Sword Refining’—was now accessible.
Without hesitation, Li Fan focused his mind. In the next moment, after a brief dizziness, he entered the Fallen Immortal Realm.
Before he could even make sense of the identity he had assumed this time, he heard voices filled with both excitement and anger in his ears.
“Hurry, there’s a good show to watch! A newly admitted outer disciple is making an outrageous claim—he wants to challenge the Senior Brother!”
“Are you joking? Senior Brother’s cultivation is on an entirely different level. How could an outer disciple even withstand a single move from him?”