“I had originally planned to stay in the white mist for a few more days, but unfortunately, my companion, Huangfu Song, perished. Watching someone I had traveled with for so long die so tragically right before my eyes left me deeply shaken.”
Li Fan sighed, his face full of sorrow. “You have to understand, Huangfu Song’s cultivation was a whole major realm higher than mine, yet he still died so suddenly and inexplicably. Life and death are truly unpredictable. At that moment, all my greed vanished, and I decided to return immediately.”
“Fortunately, with the divine power of the Rebirth Heavenly Sovereign, Huangfu now has a chance at revival.”
Hearing that Li Fan had fought his way back from the white mist, a barely perceptible trace of disdain flashed in Tantai Tao’s eyes.
Shuo Feng, on the other hand, chuckled. “I warned you not to go, but you refused to listen. All for a measly reward—hardly worth it.”
Li Fan shook his head slightly. “Unlike you, Brother Shuo, I don’t have a powerful family backing me. If I want something, I have to fight for it myself. Fortunately, luck was on my side…”
As he spoke, Li Fan took out the [Endstone Plate].
This immediately caught the attention of both Shuo Feng and Tantai Tao.
Casually handing over the plate, Shuo Feng took it in his hands, examining it carefully for a moment before clicking his tongue in amazement. “You really do have incredible luck. From what I know, quite a few people had their eyes on this thing, yet you were the first to exchange for it.”
Finding nothing unusual, Shuo Feng tossed the plate to Tantai Tao for him to inspect.
Tantai Tao narrowed his eyes, observing it for a moment before shaking his head slightly and handing it back to Li Fan.
“Did either of you notice anything?” Li Fan asked casually.
“The Immortal Alliance has already researched it thoroughly and found nothing. How could we possibly discover anything in such a short time?” Shuo Feng smirked.
Tantai Tao went further, saying, “I think this might just be an ordinary stone, nothing more.”
Li Fan shook his head in disagreement. “I don’t think this object is that simple. I’ll study it further when I get back. If I make any discoveries, I’ll be sure to inform you both immediately!”
A flicker of displeasure flashed in Tantai Tao’s eyes.
Shuo Feng, however, clapped his hands and praised, “Then I’ll be looking forward to it!”
Tantai Tao could only follow along and nod in agreement.
“By the way, when I arrived just now, I overheard you, Brother Shuo, mentioning that the honored Immortal had…?” After a brief moment of silence, Li Fan changed the subject.
Shuo Feng waved his hand in frustration. “Don’t even bring it up. Recently, I’ve been sensing an opportunity to form my Nascent Soul, but she refuses to let me leave, saying I need to wait a little longer.”
“Being stuck in this tiny courtyard all day is driving me insane,” Shuo Feng complained.
“The Immortal Sage must have her reasons for this. If she’s making you wait, could it mean that something major is about to happen within the Immortal Alliance?” Li Fan didn’t speak ill of Immortal Sage Fei Xue but instead frowned in thought.
“I did hear something,” Tantai Tao suddenly spoke up.
“Oh?” Shuo Feng turned to him with interest.
“I heard that the exploration of the white mist barrier is nearly complete. They’ve gathered enough data, and perhaps the Tianxuan Mirror is about to…”
Halfway through his sentence, Tantai Tao abruptly stopped.
“No worries—Brother Li is a guest elder of my Xuan family. You can speak freely!” Shuo Feng instantly saw what Tantai Tao was hesitating about and waved his hand dismissively.
Only then did Tantai Tao continue explaining.
“The Tianxuan Mirror was left behind by the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor and is the most mystical treasure of the Immortal Alliance. Within the Xuanhuang Realm, everything in the heavens and on earth is reflected in its light.”
“Except for the White Mist Barrier.”
“The regions within the White Mist are completely new and unfamiliar to the Tianxuan Mirror.”
“If the Tianxuan Mirror were likened to a cultivator, its method of cultivation would be the measurement of the heavens and the earth. However, over thousands of years, it has reached a bottleneck and has been unable to advance further.”
“The Five Elders Association naturally would not allow the Tianxuan Mirror to pry into their affairs. Therefore, the only way for it to progress further is to measure the regions within the White Mist.”
“If enough data is gathered, there is a chance that the Tianxuan Mirror can break through and undergo a transformation.”
“This is also why the Immortal Alliance is pushing for large-scale exploration of the White Mist Barrier this time.”
Tantai Tao explained at length.
Shuo Feng couldn’t help but ask, “So the reason why you formation masters were summoned to the Immortal Alliance headquarters was related to this matter? I wasn’t entirely clear on these secrets.”
Tantai Tao merely smiled and remained silent, tacitly confirming it.
“The current Tianxuan Mirror can already be considered the foundational artifact of the Immortal Alliance. If it can complete its transformation…” A hint of longing flashed in Tantai Tao’s eyes.
Li Fan, deep in thought, said, “If the Tianxuan Mirror evolves, it will certainly have a profound impact on the Immortal Alliance. Immortal Sage Fei Xue must have her reasons for not allowing you to leave, Brother Shuo. Just be patient and wait—it seems, according to Brother Tantai, that day is not far off.”
Shuo Feng snorted lightly and did not continue the discussion.
The three chatted idly for a while longer.
In the end, at Shuo Feng’s insistence, Li Fan dueled him once again.
Deliberately slowing down his spellcasting, Li Fan was in the middle of executing the Thread-Extraction divine ability when Shuo Feng’s sword light shattered it.
A sword wound was left on Li Fan’s body, fresh blood flowing, and he admitted defeat immediately.
Shuo Feng, on the other hand, laughed heartily and waved his hand, restoring the bloodstains left by the countless fine threads on his own body.
Having finally broken the Thread-Extraction divine ability, Shuo Feng was satisfied and did not urge Li Fan to stay.
After lingering for a moment longer, Li Fan bid farewell and left.
Leaving Tianquan Prefecture, he returned to the Longevity Valley.
Liu San, Fang Zaiji, and Jiang Yushan all came to pay their respects.
After reporting the number of Longevity Pills that had been refined, Liu San brought up another matter.
“By the way, we’ve found some information about the cultivator you asked us to investigate—Zhong Shentong.”
“Oh? What did you find?” Li Fan’s eyebrows rose.
Liu San’s expression turned somewhat strange. “Young Master, are you sure this is the person you’re looking for?”
As he spoke, Liu San displayed an image of an elderly man with white hair.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes—it was indeed Zhong Shentong, whom he had met in his past life.
After confirming it, Liu San said in an odd tone, “We found him, but apparently, he was nearing the end of his lifespan. He failed to break through his cultivation bottleneck… and has already died.”
“Died?” Li Fan was momentarily stunned.
“Are you sure there’s no mistake?” He repeated his question.
Zhong Shentong’s Life and Death Profound Arts and Seven-Colored Divine Light were both exceedingly rare and extraordinary techniques.
Someone who had mastered both could not have been an ordinary cultivator.
Could he have perished so quietly in this life?
Liu San smiled bitterly. “Young Master, you personally assigned this task, so I naturally understood its importance. We’ve confirmed it from multiple sources—Zhong Shentong is indeed dead.”
Hearing this, Li Fan furrowed his brows deeply.
After pondering for a moment, his brows relaxed again.
He had likely figured out the reason why Zhong Shentong had fallen in this life.
It was probably because of the existence of the Rebirth Heavenly Sovereign.