Following Li Fan's question, the inn fell back into a dead silence.
The avatar of the Heavenly Profound Mirror stared fixedly at Li Fan, as if trying to see right through this uninvited guest.
Yet the longer he observed him, the more suspicion and uncertainty surfaced on his face.
It seemed the shocking, apocalyptic words spoken by this man were no empty bluster!
Only then did the avatar finally realize what Li Fan had meant earlier by saying, "In truth, we are the same kind of people."
Both shared the exact same top-down disregard for the living beings of the Xuanhuang Realm!
Yet what baffled the mirror's avatar was that, as an immortal artifact, he naturally held the right to harbor such disdain. But the cultivator before him was merely at the Nascent Soul realm—on what grounds did he dare look down on everything?
What astonished the mirror's avatar even more was how casually the man had spoken of dragging the entire Xuanhuang Realm down to be buried alongside him. If the realm plummeted into the Immortal Ruins overhead, even an immortal artifact like himself might not escape.
Li Fan would certainly meet certain death as well, yet he showed not the slightest hint of fear...
*He will stop at nothing to achieve his goals—even mutual destruction...*
*Did I misjudge him? Is he not a completely selfish man, but a madman?*
In a split second, countless thoughts flashed through the mirror avatar's mind.
Finally exhaling a long breath, he broke the silence. "I never imagined I would misjudge someone so thoroughly."
"A dangerous, unscrupulous figure like you ought to be suppressed forever in the Alliance's Nether Prison."
Li Fan chuckled, entirely unconcerned. "The Nether Prison... In this world, there is no place capable of trapping me."
"Even this Pitch-Black Star Sea is no exception."
At these words, the expression of the mirror's avatar shifted subtly once more.
"We are not merely alike. Even our demands are identical. I seek to escape this cage, while you wish to break free from your shackles..."
"By the way, do you really believe that merely splitting off a so-called human avatar constitutes your true Dao? Is that true freedom?"
"Severed from your true form, how is your avatar any different from those fragile mortals? It is just an ant that can be crushed to death with a pinch. Freedom..." Li Fan scoffed.
Looking at Li Fan, the mirror's avatar did not offer a rebuttal.
In this clash of wits, he had genuinely lost.
The underlying reason was that he simply could not see through the true identity of the man before him.
He even began to wonder whether Li Fan might be a surviving immortal from the ancient Immortal Realm.
"If things are truly as you say, working together is not out of the question," the mirror's avatar finally said after long consideration.
"However, in the end, I still cannot trust you," he added, quickly shifting his tone.
Li Fan waved a hand, offering an amiable smile. "I understand your concerns. But our cooperation can proceed step by step, gradually deepening our mutual trust."
"That way, even if I go back on my word halfway through, you will have already received plenty of benefits."
The mirror's avatar pondered this. Finding no fault in the logic, he slowly nodded.
"The restrictions that the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable placed upon me back then, along with the continuous additions made by the Mirror Keepers over the years, have reached a terrifying level. With your current cultivation, even with those three Dao Integration thugs outside, rescuing me would be utterly impossible..."
Li Fan bluntly cut him off. "You need not worry about my strength."
"Since I was able to pinpoint your location, you should already realize that I have infiltrated the faction of Mirror Keeper Cang."
"Moreover, we have our people among the Dharma Transmitters as well. Hah! The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals has expanded for thousands of years; how could it ever remain an impenetrable monolith?"
Upon hearing this, the mirror's avatar hesitated. "Even so, attempting to free me from their control is rather far-fetched, is it not?"
Instead of answering directly, Li Fan posed a sudden question: "Do you know why I originally came to kill you?"
The mirror's avatar thought for a moment before answering, "To cut off my retreat?"
"Correct. But now that your Dao is established and nothing can stop you from escaping in the form of avatars, the plan naturally changes. The King of Profound Heaven, Xuanyuan Hong—do you still remember him?"
"Xuanyuan Hong?" The avatar narrowed his eyes, searching his thoughts.
Whether due to the loss of certain memories caused by splitting off the avatar, or simply because a human body lacked the capacity to process such a vast volume of information, a long silence passed before he finally recalled the name. Startled, he asked, "You belong to the Profound Heaven Sect?"
"That's impossible. The Profound Heaven Sect shouldn't have someone like you..."
Li Fan sneered. "We wish to know the current whereabouts of the former King of Profound Heaven. If anyone in this Xuanhuang Realm still possesses information about him, you are likely the only one. Our original plan was to slay your avatar, cut off your retreat, and then use an enhanced version of the Xuan Heaven Spirit Seal to force you into cooperating with us..."
The mirror's avatar froze in disbelief. "Back then, I was the revered guardian artifact of the Profound Heaven Sect. Now that I am trapped in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, not coming to save me is bad enough—yet you actually conceived such a plot against me?"
Li Fan sneered. "Back then, our Profound Heaven Sect was defeated, and the King of Profound Heaven vanished under mysterious circumstances. It all happened far too fast, far too suspiciously. On top of that, you submitted to the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. Who can say for certain whether you were the traitor from back then?"
"I, a traitor?" The accusation seemed to infuriate the mirror's avatar, his voice rising sharply.
"Back then..." He started to explain, but abruptly halted.
"Back then..."
The mirror's avatar searched desperately through his mind, yet found nothing regarding the fall of the Profound Heaven Sect in that era.
"That is critical information; only my true form has the authority to view it," the avatar said, his expression turning solemn.
Li Fan offered a mocking scoff in response.
"Since your condition is to find the missing King of Profound Heaven, then I suppose there is indeed common ground for cooperation between us."
"I still retain some trust in those people of the ancient Profound Heaven Sect. But as for you..." The mirror's avatar examined Li Fan with suspicion.
"Haven't you ever seen someone's temperament change drastically over thousands of years?" Li Fan dismissed the doubt, disdaining to offer further explanation.
"Here is the revised preliminary plan: within the Alliance, we will continue constructing the grand formation under the pretext of erecting the Xuan Heaven Spirit Seal to completely master the Heavenly Profound Mirror."
"In secret, we will covertly swap its core, altering it from one of control to one of release."
"Then, utilizing your authority within the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, we will manufacture an opportunity for you to break free. In the process, I can even coordinate forces from the Five Elders Association and numerous pocket worlds to launch an assault on the Alliance, throwing them into chaos."
Li Fan spoke with easy confidence, casually revealing glimpses of immense power he had yet to display.
The avatar listened while carefully analyzing every detail.
In the end, his heart stirred with genuine excitement.
Because theoretically speaking, this ultimate prison break plan was indeed feasible.
Chapter 1002