Zhong Shentong cultivated the Life and Death Profound Art, a unique technique that harnesses the immense terror between life and death as a means of cultivation.
According to Zhong Shentong himself, he suffered from an extreme case of “procrastination.”
Even at the Foundation Establishment stage, he could only break through when he was on the verge of death, using the immense pressure of impending demise to force advancement.
That was before.
In this lifetime, due to the Heavenly Sovereign of Rebirth reversing the laws of life and death and establishing the Rebirth Mansion, everyone could now be resurrected. The fear of death no longer existed.
After all, “Eighteen years later, I’ll be a hero again”—so why fear death?
At worst, he could just start over in the next life. Why work so hard?
With such a “slacker mindset,” it was only natural that Zhong Shentong failed to break through.
Thinking of this, Li Fan’s face twitched.
Shaking his head, he waved his hand and said to Liu San, “Forget it. Dead is dead. Let’s pretend I never brought it up.”
Liu San’s expression turned slightly strange, but he didn’t ask further.
Instead, Fang Zaiji praised, “Sect Master, you truly have an open mind and see through the cycle of life and death.”
Li Fan ignored him and continued giving orders:
“Elder Liu, we can slow down the refining of the Longevity Pill for now. Let’s sell off all our current stock first.”
Liu San was briefly stunned before quickly realizing, “The era of cultivators exploring the White Mist is coming to an end?”
Li Fan nodded. “It has been about three years since the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance officially issued the decree. With the existence of the Rebirth Mansion, cultivators have become fearless of death. I estimate that the complete exploration of the White Mist is not far off. We should start preparing in advance.”
Then, he turned to Jiang Yushan, who remained expressionless.
“Elder Jiang, haven’t you always wanted to see the outside world? I have found a way to conceal your true cultivation level and forge a Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance identity for you.”
With that, Li Fan took out the Endstone Plate.
“This item can interfere with and block the Tianxuan Mirror, the supreme treasure of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.” He spoke with absolute confidence.
Fang Zaiji’s eyes lit up instantly.
He quickly flew closer and stared intently at the small stone disk in Li Fan’s hand.
After a moment, he scratched the back of his head and asked, “Sect Master… how do you use this?”
Li Fan shrugged. “I have no idea. You’ll have to figure it out yourselves.”
Fang Zaiji gave him a skeptical look. “Sect Master, you’re not just making up an excuse to stop Little Jiang from leaving, are you?”
Jiang Yushan shot Fang Zaiji a sharp glare, a trace of killing intent in her eyes.
Li Fan simply chuckled. “Heh, I didn’t expect Mr. Fang to be wrong for once. This stone plate may look unremarkable, but it is actually a secondary body of the Tianxuan Mirror.”
“However, I can’t blame you. Even though you claim to be well-traveled, the Xuanhuang Realm has changed over so many years. It’s only natural that you’ve fallen behind the times…”
Fang Zaiji’s eyes widened in shock. “A secondary body of the Tianxuan Mirror?”
He immediately grabbed the Endstone Plate, clutching it like a priceless treasure, and began studying it with great excitement.
At the same time, he muttered under his breath, “This is a real treasure…”
Li Fan let Fang Zaiji take the stone plate without stopping him. Remembering the Calamity Destruction Stone Disk that the Heaven-Suppressing Society used in his past life, Li Fan gave a reminder:
“Perhaps this object itself does not possess any special traits, but if a small portion of it is cut off, it may undergo some unexpected changes.”
Fang Zaiji nodded, though it was unclear if he truly took it to heart. He was completely entranced, his entire being fixated on the Endstone Plate.
“Once Mr. Fang makes progress in his research, Elder Liu and you will be able to walk around freely without issue,” Li Fan said to Jiang Yushan with a smile.
“Good, good! I’ll be sure to keep a close eye on Old Fang!” Liu San grinned excitedly.
However, Jiang Yushan hesitated as she looked at the Endstone Plate and asked, “Is this so-called Tianxuan Mirror related to the Xuantian Sect’s Xuantian Treasure Mirror?”
Seeing Li Fan’s puzzled expression, Jiang Yushan explained, “The Xuantian Treasure Mirror was the supreme treasure of the ancient Xuantian Sect. After the Ten Great Immortal Sects destroyed the Xuantian Sect, this artifact vanished without a trace. The Ten Sects captured and tortured many Xuantian Sect remnants, but they never found any answers. I only learned about this when I was a prison warden in the Indeterminate Prison, from my colleagues’ discussions.”
Upon hearing this, Liu San was shocked. “Xuantian… Tianxuan… The names are so similar! Could it be that the one who founded the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance and destroyed the ancient cultivation world—the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor—was actually a member of the Xuantian Sect?”
Li Fan shook his head. “That, I do not know. However, since Elder Jiang brought it up, we can look into it in the future.”
Liu San quickly advised, “If this speculation is true, the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance would have surely sealed all information regarding the Xuantian Sect. If you inquire about it too openly, it might arouse suspicion.”
“Besides, even if the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance originated from the Xuantian Sect, what does it matter? Back then, the Ten Great Immortal Sects stood by and watched as we charged out of the Xuanhuang Realm to meet our doom…”
“If anything, we should be thanking the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance for avenging us.” Liu San snorted coldly.
Jiang Yushan furrowed her brows. After a moment of silence, she looked at Li Fan. “I do know of a method that can test whether this Tianxuan Mirror is truly a relic of the Xuantian Sect.”
“Back then, the Ten Great Immortal Sects developed a secret technique called [Exterminate Xuantian] in order to hunt down Xuantian Sect remnants. When activated, the technique would create a sensory reaction if there were any objects related to the Xuantian Sect within a small radius.”
“However, the range of this sensing ability is extremely limited. You must be very close to the object—almost brushing past it—to detect anything. That made it impractical. But I’ve heard that the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance has placed Tianxuan Mirrors everywhere. We could try using this technique.”
Li Fan’s eyes flickered with thought, and he nodded. “Very well. Elder Jiang, please teach me!”
The secret technique was not particularly complex. Within moments, Li Fan had already mastered it.
He immediately activated the technique and approached the Endstone Plate.
Nothing happened.
“Could it really just be a coincidence in naming?” Liu San was surprised.
Li Fan suddenly thought of something and focused his consciousness on his clone, Xu Bai.
At that moment, Xu Bai was at the Bureau of Governance, casually chatting with his newly arrived colleagues from the Hall of Rebirth.
The Hall of Rebirth was an organization established by the Rebirth Mansion in every prefecture, responsible for all affairs related to “reincarnation and resurrection,” much like the Formation Hall and the Martial Hall.
Without drawing attention, Xu Bai excused himself and headed toward the Tianxuan Mirror in the city, quietly activating the [Exterminate Xuantian] secret technique.
“Ding! Ding! Ding!”
A sharp, piercing sound suddenly rang in Xu Bai’s ears.
In his vision, the once unremarkable and ancient-looking mirror now radiated a glaring, blood-red glow.
“As expected! The Tianxuan Mirror is none other than the supreme treasure of the Xuantian Sect—the Xuantian Treasure Mirror!”
Xu Bai’s heart tensed, and in an instant, he withdrew the secret technique.
All abnormal signs disappeared without a trace. Keeping his expression calm, Xu Bai stepped into the Tianxuan Mirror.