The aura emanating faintly from that embodiment of Heaven and Earth was not unfamiliar to Li Fan.
It was none other than the Spirit of Heaven and Earth—Ink Death!
The pupils of the Holy Embryo, Xu Bai, instantly turned darker and more profound, as if they could pierce through the barriers of ten thousand miles and lock onto Li Fan directly!
Boom!
Li Fan, who had just flown back to Longevity Valley, felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow, his body wavering unsteadily.
This anomaly immediately caught the attention of Liu San.
Meanwhile, the three cultivators of the Medicine King Sect—Fang Zaiji was engrossed in refining Qi, Jiang Yushan was fully focused on cultivation—but Liu San was the one most concerned about the sect’s development, his spiritual sense covering the entire valley, constantly monitoring the movements of the sect’s disciples.
Thus, he was the first to notice Li Fan’s abnormal state.
“Young Master, are you injured?” Liu San teleported instantly in front of Li Fan, his expression somewhat tense, not appearing to be feigned.
Seeing that Li Fan’s aura was stabilizing, Liu San slowly nodded, though his eyes still carried a trace of doubt.
Li Fan did not offer further explanations. After dismissing Liu San, he went alone into the sect’s secluded chamber.
First, he checked on the situation of the Memorial Portraits.
As expected, Dongfang Yao was efficient and swift in his work.
All 108 Memorial Portraits had been completely set up.
“This is merely a contingency plan. Hopefully, I will never have to activate it.”
Li Fan only took a cursory glance before shifting his focus elsewhere.
Instead, he continued to observe the situation of the Holy Embryo Xu Bai in Tianling Prefecture through their increasingly vague shared resonance.
It was as though a thick white mist obscured everything, allowing only occasional glimpses through fleeting gaps.
He could no longer sense the exact movements of the Spirit of Heaven and Earth, but he could clearly tell that more and more of its power was concentrating on Xu Bai.
And as Xu Bai’s form grew closer to that of the Spirit of Heaven and Earth, the oppressive might radiating from him became impossible to conceal.
From all corners of the Xuanhuang Realm, countless gazes turned toward him.
However…
Even with his near-perfect state of Harmony Between Heaven and Man, even a Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereign would take some time to discern the origins of this never-before-seen Holy Embryo Xu Bai in the Xuanhuang Realm.
At that very moment, in the skies above Tianling Prefecture, dark clouds suddenly rolled in from nowhere.
The sun was obscured, and in an instant, all of Tianling Prefecture was plunged into darkness, as if night had fallen.
Not only was vision engulfed by darkness, but even all forms of divine perception were abruptly severed by this sudden pitch-black phenomenon.
Within Tianling Prefecture, countless cultivators were filled with fear at this inexplicable event, believing that some great calamity was about to descend.
Only a few Dao Integration-stage powerhouses abruptly stood up, gazing at the sky with shock on their faces.
“Daoist Jiao, is everything ready?”
In Longevity Valley, Li Fan used a Communication Talisman to contact Jiao Xiuyuan.
“I must remind you—I will only take action at the most critical moment. Whether it succeeds or fails, whatever happens afterward has nothing to do with me.”
“Oh, and I made sure to modify the puppet clone I’m sending out to resemble you. It has nothing to do with me whatsoever. So, don’t even think about using my name to intimidate others.”
Jiao Xiuyuan’s reply came swiftly, clearly showing his apprehension about this deal. However, the price Li Fan had offered was simply irresistible, compelling him to take the risk.
After confirming with Jiao Xiuyuan, Li Fan said nothing more and disconnected the communication.
His gaze fell upon the eighty-one Chaos Puppets standing rigidly in the secluded chamber.
Each puppet bore an incomplete inscription of the Chaos Character, and together, they formed a rough depiction of the full Chaos symbol.
However, their core components were still gathered at the center.
The final assembly had yet to be completed.
“If I’m not mistaken, once the Holy Embryo Xu Bai achieves Dao Integration and Mr. Bai fully awakens, the first thing he will do is come for me—to seize [Truth].”
“There is no escape, no way to avoid it. I must wait for him here—only by facing death can I seek survival!”
Seated in meditation at the center of a group of chaos character puppets, Li Fan refocused his attention, attempting to sense the situation on Xu Bai’s side.
That heaven-shrouding cloud seemed capable of disrupting even the mutual connection between their true bodies.
The connection was already intermittent.
Most of the time, he could not sense anything.
Only during brief gaps could he vaguely glimpse fragmented images of Tianling Prefecture.
There was no longer any distortion of the Heavenly Dao, as if the complete power of all the world’s essences in the Xuanhuang Realm had been gathered.
The appearance of the Holy Embryo Xu Bai was now vastly different from that of his clone.
He was likely still adjusting to his new body, standing motionless in midair.
The immense aura he had exuded during the process of distorting the Heavenly Dao was slowly dissipating.
Returning to simplicity, he now appeared as ordinary as a mere mortal.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, he slowly raised his head and gazed at the sky.
His sight pierced through the dark clouds, beyond the firmament, reaching beyond the Xuanhuang Realm.
Li Fan’s pupils suddenly contracted.
Through his shared connection, he clearly saw a colossal hand descending from above!
At the final moment of his vision, he seemed to witness the massive hand colliding with the clouds over Tianling Prefecture.
The hand was unstoppable.
The black cloud barrier formed by the will of the Heavenly Dao was as fragile as porcelain, shattering upon impact.
And yet, the Holy Embryo Xu Bai simply stood there, watching as the massive hand descended upon him.
There was no trace of fear on his face.
As the vision faded, Li Fan silently counted in his heart.
Three breaths later—
He felt the ground beneath him violently tremble.
As if experiencing a great earthquake, the shaking persisted for a long while before gradually subsiding.
Li Fan knew that what he had just seen was not an illusion.
This earthquake was the aftermath of the clash between the colossal hand and the black cloud barrier.
Longevity Valley was located in Luoyan Prefecture, nearly half the territory of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance away from Tianling Prefecture.
Yet, even at such a distance, the impact was still so intense.
This collision might have even affected the entire Xuanhuang Realm!
“Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor?”
The name flashed through Li Fan’s mind.
The dark clouds of Tianling were a manifestation of the Xuanhuang Realm’s Heavenly Dao, meant to buy enough time for Mr. Bai’s descent.
And without a doubt, the only one capable of so effortlessly destroying it was—
The Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor!
Although the Immortal Ancestor’s attack had shattered the Heavenly Dao’s cover with ease—
The Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao had already achieved its goal.
Because—
The Holy Embryo Xu Bai, or rather, Mr. Bai, had vanished!
All traces of his aura as an immortal cultivator had disappeared.
He had completely merged into the Xuanhuang world.
Like a drop of water falling into the sea.
Even if the Immortal Ancestor’s divine sense could instantly sweep across the entire Xuanhuang Realm—
It would still take some time to locate Mr. Bai.
Before completely losing the ability to sense the Holy Embryo Xu Bai, Li Fan saw that Mr. Bai was rapidly making his way toward Longevity Valley!