“Brother Dongfang, don’t be too heartbroken. Although Brother Huangfu has met a tragic fate, fortunately, the Rebirth Mansion exists. He still has a chance to be revived.” Li Fan let out a long sigh, trying to console him.
He then summoned a new Samantabhadra True Boat and pulled the grief-stricken Dongfang Yao inside.
After that, he brought out the Heaven-Measuring Mirror.
Once the synchronization of the Divine Consciousness Maze’s exploration records was complete, he glanced at his just over 100,000 Qingxuan Points and the still-unclaimed Endstone Plate. Without hesitation, Li Fan chose to redeem it.
His long-accumulated Qingxuan Points were instantly depleted.
A faint white glow flickered, and a heavy gray stone disc materialized in Li Fan’s hands.
“So, this is the Endstone Plate?”
It was only about the size of a palm. He weighed it in his hand and examined it for a moment.
As its name suggested, it looked no different from an ordinary stone. Neither Spiritual Sense nor Spiritual Power could interact with it in any way.
However, Li Fan knew there was no need to rush. He had plenty of time in this life to uncover its secrets.
For now, he put the stone disc away and retrieved Huangfu Song’s relics, arranging them before him.
Apart from the Heavenly-Measuring Mirror and the Dissociation Disc, there were also two storage rings.
“Brother Dongfang, do you know if Huangfu has any close relatives still alive?” Li Fan asked.
Dongfang Yao, having slightly regained his composure, shook his head and said, “Like me, he was alone in this world, with no attachments.”
Li Fan frowned at this and muttered, “Then these items…”
Dongfang Yao only took a glance before deciding, “Brother Li, you risked your life to retrieve Huangfu’s belongings. You should hold onto them for now. When we find Huangfu’s reincarnation, we can return them to him.”
Li Fan sighed. “That’s the only option, then. But the Xuanhuang Realm is vast. Who knows where Huangfu will reincarnate in eighteen years? If he is still within the Immortal Alliance’s territory, then it won’t be too difficult—we’ll just need to search for him. But if he ends up in the hands of the Five Elders Association…”
“The Rebirth Mansion has plenty of mystical methods. There must be a way to roughly track a true spirit’s reincarnation. Since Brother Huangfu has passed, I have no interest in exploring the White Mist any further. Once we return, I will inquire about this matter immediately. I must find Brother Huangfu as soon as possible,” Dongfang Yao said solemnly.
“I’ll ask around as well. Brother Shuo Feng might know something,” Li Fan suggested.
With that, the two began their journey back from the depths of the White Mist.
Their first stop was the Huanyu Courtyard in Tianyu Prefecture, where they informed the others of Huangfu Song’s unfortunate demise.
The cultivator who received them was someone Li Fan had met before—Shangguan Shi, a lean man.
Having been colleagues for many years, Shangguan Shi’s expression darkened upon hearing the news. He sighed and said, “I will inform Dean Ji of this matter. Thank you both for your efforts.”
Dongfang Yao, feeling guilty, had no face to linger. After a brief salute, he quickly took his leave.
Once outside Huanyu Courtyard, he also bid farewell to Li Fan, leaving behind a communication talisman before setting off to investigate the Rebirth Mansion.
“This Dongfang Yao is indeed a person of character,” Li Fan thought to himself as he watched the other person’s gradually disappearing figure..
Instead of returning to Longevity Valley, he headed straight for Tianquan Prefecture.
During his time exploring the White Mist, Shuo Feng had repeatedly sent messages challenging him to a duel.
However, Li Fan had used his entanglement in the White Mist as an excuse to decline each time.
After all, he was still nominally a Guest Elder of the Xuan family.
Although Shuo Feng had not openly expressed any dissatisfaction, it was inevitable that his tone had subtly changed after being repeatedly rejected multiple times.
Thus, as soon as Li Fan had some free time, he immediately reached out. After all, at the moment, the status of a Guest Elder in the Xuan family still had some value. A mere few sparring matches were enough to maintain this position, so it wasn’t too much of a hassle.
Shuo Feng was currently residing in a separate courtyard within Tianquan City.
This residence was also a gift from his mother, Immortal Sage Fei Xue. Compared to Shuo Feng Mountain in the outskirts, this place was much smaller in terms of land area, but its price was more than ten times higher.
Moreover, even having enough contribution points wasn’t enough; without the right connections, purchasing such a place was impossible.
Arriving at the central Cave Dwelling District of Tianquan City, one could see the towering Administrative Hall at the city’s core. Standing outside, already waiting, was a female cultivator in a red dress.
However, she was not the yellow-dressed cultivator Zhi Jin from before, but rather a different person.
Li Fan remained calm and composed as he followed the red-dressed female cultivator into the courtyard.
“This is so frustrating! Even though Rebirth Mansion exists now, allowing cultivators to be resurrected, my mother still places so many restrictions on me.”
From a distance, Li Fan could already hear Shuo Feng’s exasperated voice.
The red-dressed female cultivator showed no reaction on her face, as if she hadn’t heard Shuo Feng’s complaints at all. After leading Li Fan inside, she simply bowed before quietly leaving.
“Haha, Brother Li! It’s been a long time!”
Sensing Li Fan’s presence, Shuo Feng was overjoyed.
However, instead of a warm embrace, what greeted Li Fan was a flash of white sword light!
Li Fan’s eyes flickered, and in the blink of an eye, a blue water sword formed before him, blocking the attack.
Boom!
Amidst the explosion, Li Fan laughed and said, “Congratulations, Brother Shuo, on solving the problem of not being able to strike first.”
“It seems that my [Thread-Extraction] divine ability is no longer a match for you.”
Soaring through the air, Li Fan landed in front of Shuo Feng. Upon seeing the scene before him, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Shuo Feng was still dressed in his usual simple robes, but floating above his head was a green willow-leaf flying dagger.
Yet, the dagger’s tip was not pointed at an opponent—it was aimed directly at Shuo Feng’s own head!
“Haha! Brother Li, what do you think of my method? Since the ‘sword’ refuses to strike first, I simply force it to act. With a flying blade suspended above my head, my life hangs by a thread. Since it is part of me, when my life is in danger, it will instinctively counterattack. I then control the sword light it releases and use it against my enemies.”
Shuo Feng glanced at the flying dagger above him with a look of satisfaction.
“To come up with such a brilliant technique, Brother Shuo is truly a prodigy.”
Li Fan followed along with the praise while shifting his gaze toward a cultivator seated beside Shuo Feng.
This man had sharp brows and bright eyes, exuding an air of heroic spirit. Although his appearance did not quite match Xu Bai’s peerless beauty, he was still an outstanding figure among men.
Though this was Li Fan’s first encounter with him in this lifetime, he was not unfamiliar with the man.
He was none other than Tantai Tao, a peerless genius in array formations who, in Li Fan’s past life, had tragically perished during a formation training exercise.
But in this life, that incident had not occurred—thus, Tantai Tao was still alive.
“And this is…?” Li Fan turned to Shuo Feng, feigning ignorance.
“Brother Tantai is a rare genius in the Dao of Formations. You should get to know him.”
Shuo Feng gave a brief introduction.
“A pleasure to meet you.”
Tantai Tao regarded Li Fan warmly and greeted him with a nod.
After exchanging pleasantries, the three of them began to chat about Rebirth Mansion.