Within the Tianxuan Mirror Space, Xu Bai listened to the slightly metallic, mechanical voice coming from the mirror. His mind, however, was racing with thoughts.
“Even if the Tianxuan Mirror is not the original Xuantian Treasure Mirror, there must be an extremely close connection between the two.”
“Since the Tianxuan Mirror originates from the Xuantian Sect, does that mean the Immortal Ancestor is also related?”
“Was it all for revenge against the Ten Great Immortal Sects for their destruction of the sect?”
Xu Bai suddenly recalled the fact that, for thousands of years, the Tianxuan Mirror had continuously given birth to secondary clones.
“Even though the Xuantian Sect was annihilated long ago, the Execution of Xuantian secret technique can still be used to sense the connection between the Tianxuan Mirror and the sect. Does this mean that the mirror has never completely escaped the control of the Xuantian Sect?”
“That’s why the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance went to such great lengths to search for the Xuantian Sect’s Dharma King buried within the Purple Heaven Sect—to seize the final control over the Tianxuan Mirror.”
“And it all started with the prophecy I made while pretending to be a cultivator from the Heavenly Mechanism Sect: ‘The Tianxuan Lock Spirit, Xuan-Huang Return to Unity.’”
At that moment, all the scattered events of this world suddenly connected.
“And now, the Immortal Alliance is actively ushering in the Era of Great Exploration, seemingly to facilitate the further evolution of the Tianxuan Mirror. Does this mean that the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance has already succeeded in obtaining this supreme treasure left behind by the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor?”
Xu Bai’s eyes flickered.
Once, he had speculated that the true ruler behind the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance was not a cultivator but rather the Tianxuan Mirror itself.
However, due to a series of coincidences, he later learned of the existence of the Dharma Transmitting Practitioners. This led him to deduce that the Transmitting Dharma Practitioners and the Tianxuan Mirror restrained each other, jointly leading and governing the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.
But now, was it the cultivators who had ultimately won this power struggle?
In his mind, the images of Shuo Feng and Lu Xichan suddenly flashed.
“The Xuan Family…”
A past conversation replayed in his mind.
When Lu Xuejing saw his true form, she had said:
“Which family are you from? You look completely unfamiliar! You’re not some spy from the Five Elders Association, trying to get close to Brother Shuo just to find the Tianxuan Mirror’s location, are you? You don’t look like a good person at all! Brother Shuo has never lied to me before…”
Like a bolt of lightning, the truth cut through the fog.
“So that’s how it is.” Xu Bai’s eyes filled with understanding.
“The so-called ‘outside the party, there is no party, only imperial thinking; within the party, there are no factions, yet a thousand oddities and wonders abound.'”
Not all cultivators stand on the side of the Dharma-Transmitting Practitioners.
At least, based on the current information, the Chief of the Formation Hall, Immortal Sage Fei Xue, and the Xuan-surnamed cultivators were on the side of the Tianxuan Mirror.
The Dharma Transmitting Practitioners sought to fully control the Tianxuan Mirror through Xuantian Sect techniques.
Meanwhile, those who followed the Tianxuan Mirror naturally sought ways to counteract this. Perhaps they lacked the strength to stop the Dharma Transmitting Practitioners directly, so they took an alternative approach—pushing the Tianxuan Mirror to complete its transformation and evolution, resisting the control of the Xuantian Sect’s secret techniques.
However, such a large-scale operation, mobilizing almost the entire Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance to encourage cultivators to explore the White Mist, couldn’t possibly have happened without the approval of the highest governing authority—the Dharma Transmitting Practitioners themselves.
Xu Bai found it hard to believe otherwise.
“Unless, the decree to explore the mist comes from a higher will, one that even the Dharma Transmitting Practitioners cannot defy. And the Tianxuan Mirror is merely taking advantage of this force to evolve.”
“And in the Xuanhuang Realm, the only existence capable of making the Dharma Transmitting Practitioners bow their heads is…”
After analyzing everything, a realization sent a shiver through Xu Bai’s heart.
“The Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor!”
“He never left? He’s still in the Xuanhuang Realm?”
A crushing sense of oppression descended upon Xu Bai.
Suddenly, he recalled that before the Era of Great Exploration officially began, Liu San had already seen many cultivators from the Immortal Alliance venturing deep into the mist.
Back then, Xu Bai had guessed that the Immortal Alliance was searching for clues about the Chaos Character.
Now, everything was finally coming together…
Xu Bai suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, a lingering sense of fear.
“That immense divine sense that descended upon me the day I used the Chaos Character Technique—was that the Immortal Ancestor?”
But soon, Xu Bai frowned slightly and dismissed the thought.
Although his performance that day had been remarkable, he didn’t believe he could deceive the eyes of the Immortal Ancestor.
Moreover, the time between casting the Chaos Character Technique and the divine sense’s arrival was too long. If it had truly been the Immortal Ancestor, with his level of cultivation, their reaction time wouldn’t have been so slow.
“It was probably the Chaos Character Technique triggering again during the battle against Ink Death that ultimately drew their attention.”
Xu Bai’s thoughts suddenly halted.
“Or perhaps… the Immortal Ancestor wasn’t within the Xuanhuang Realm at the time, and it was only my use of the Chaos Character Technique that brought m him back?”
The moment this idea surfaced, a wave of unease swept over Xu Bai.
He pondered over it repeatedly but couldn’t rule out the possibility.
“It seems that while the Chaos Character Technique is powerful, it’s not something that can be used carelessly.”
“Once was a stroke of luck… but if it happens again…”
Even the Heavenly Doctor would be affected.
If the Immortal Ancestor—who had dominated the Xuanhuang Realm for millennia—were to descend personally, Xu Bai had no confidence that he could use True Return in their presence.
“Unless absolutely necessary, it’s best not to use it.” Xu Bai cursed inwardly.
Another thought crept into his mind: if his guess was correct, and the Immortal Ancestor—who had already achieved Longevity and transcended worldly concerns—still cared so much about the Chaos Character Technique…
“Could ‘Chaos’ also be an immortal lineage technique?”
Xu Bai was startled by the possibility.
In his mind, memories of what he had witnessed in the Reversal Maze Domain replayed rapidly—
The eerie, horrifying corpses strewn across the ground, and the stone stele in the center of the maze, inscribed with the character Chaos (亂).
A chilling hypothesis surfaced in his mind.
“That cultivation world in the Reversal Maze Zone… was it annihilated because of the influence of the Chaos Character?”
“And that Chaos character… came from—”
“The Immortal Realm!”
As for why the Reversal Beasts mistook him for the old fisherman Tian Jue and accused the Heavenly Doctor of being the true culprit—
Xu Bai suddenly recalled something Emperor Sanmo had once told Lu Ya:
“Sometimes, even what you see with your own eyes may not be the truth.”
“Under the influence of the Chaos Glyph, misidentifications cannot be ruled out.”
“Back at Cloud-Water Heavenly Palace, when Tian Jue, Tian Yi, and Tian Yu confronted one another, Tian Jue himself admitted to slaughtering everyone in the palace.”
“Perhaps the same is true for the Reversal Maze Zone.”
“The Devouring Essence White Mist is filled with strange, inexplicable phenomena. It’s hard to say whether the Chaos Character’s influence is absent from it.”
“The Chaos Character Technique may not be limited to the Xuanhuang Realm. It may have appeared in other cultivation realms as well.”
“And it may have even brought about boundless calamities.”
“That’s likely why the Immortal Ancestor, as well as the current Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance and Five Elders Association, all pay such close attention to it.”
Xu Bai remained deep in thought.
Meanwhile, in the Longevity Valley, Li Fan—who had been in a daze—was suddenly called back to reality by Liu San.
“Young Master, does the Tianxuan Mirror have anything to do with the Xuantian Sect?”
Liu San asked.