The Heavenly Profound Mirror's Origin

Upon hearing this, the avatar of the Heavenly Profound Mirror pondered for a moment, then reached his right hand into his own body. He drew forth an orb of light that flickered as though breathing, and held it out. "Keep this on your person, and you will speak with my authority," the avatar said solemnly. "What is this?" Li Fan reached out to take the light orb, only for his fingers to pass right through it. "This is the Mirror Origin, born alongside my true body. It neither increases nor diminishes, neither arises nor perishes. Outsiders cannot touch or absorb it; only I can invoke and manipulate it." As he spoke, the avatar flicked a finger through the air, sending the orb of Mirror Origin into Li Fan's body. "Brother, you wouldn't happen to be using this Mirror Origin to spy on me, would you?" Li Fan raised an eyebrow and immediately asked. A flash of indignant irritation crossed the avatar's face at being mistrusted. "This is merely an origin insignia born alongside my true body. Without the backing of other powers, how could I possibly monitor you with it? "Besides, if you truly doubt me, you are entirely welcome to seal this origin away within your body. As long as it remains inside you, it will represent me—" Before the avatar could finish speaking, he sensed that Li Fan had indeed sealed the origin away in the blink of an eye. Only the faintest, elusive thread of connection remained to attest to its existence. The avatar's face froze instantly. Seeing Li Fan's completely nonchalant demeanor, however, he took a deep breath to calm himself. After a moment, he cautioned further, "With this origin, you can place full trust in Mirror Keeper Cang. "Hmph, not because the man is fiercely loyal, mind you, but because during the long ages he spent surveilling me, he harbored treacherous designs. He sought to use a secret technique to seize further control over me, aiming to elevate himself above all other Mirror Keepers... "A pity for him, though—how could his petty schemes ever fool me? I feigned falling into his trap step by step, only to turn the tables at the crucial juncture and turn him into my mirror slave... "Otherwise, this human body of mine wouldn't have been so easy to acquire," the avatar said smugly. "Oh? Such a thing happened? That couldn't be better! The chances of my plan succeeding just increased by fifty percent!" Li Fan replied, his face filled with apparent admiration. "Time is of the essence. I shall set out at once." Cupping his hands, Li Fan vanished from the avatar's sight. The mortal city, which had been frozen in stillness, burst back into clamorous bustle an instant later. "Let's hope he succeeds," the avatar muttered to himself. In truth, he placed very little trust in Li Fan; he was merely giving it a shot. Just as Li Fan had said, their cooperation would deepen as things progressed. If the man could genuinely stir up some momentum, the avatar wouldn't mind lending another helping hand. And if the plan died halfway... He stood to lose nothing anyway. The Mirror Origin could not be stolen by anyone. As for the Grand Array of Myriad Spirits Numerical Reduction or Mirror Keeper Cang... To him, they were not even worth mentioning. With these thoughts in mind, the avatar hummed a little tune and resumed playing the part of a bustling tavern waiter. *** High above Weidu. Tianyang and the other two looked on in confusion as Li Fan returned. They had only seen Li Fan speaking face-to-face with the suspected target, though they couldn't tell what was said. Then, without delivering a killing blow, he had simply left. "Envoy, this is..." Daoist Baihua asked cautiously. "Plans have changed; there is no longer any need to strike. Return directly to the Spirit Wood Realm. I have other matters to attend to." Li Fan offered no further explanation. Though the mission seemed to have ended anti-climactically, Tianyang and the others dared not press him. After parting ways, Li Fan first went to the concealed cave in Tianchen Province to contact Mo Rubin. He recounted how, despite locating the avatar of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, he had been unable to slay it and had instead turned toward seeking cooperation. He even gave a full and truthful account of having obtained the Grand Array of Myriad Spirits Numerical Reduction and the Mirror Origin. Within the concealed grotto-heaven, Mo Rubin's floating visage fell silent. Before long, he praised, "Brother Xingwang possesses swift wit; you handled this almost flawlessly. No wonder the King of Profound Heaven would always seek your counsel, Brother Xingwang, before making major decisions back then..." Li Fan tilted his head, cutting him off directly: "Is that so? Perhaps. I don't recall." Mo Rubin chuckled and dwelt on it no longer, swiftly shifting the topic to analyze the situation. "According to your strategy, Brother, cooperating with the Heavenly Profound Mirror is indeed the optimal plan at present. "From your description, the Profound Heaven Treasure Mirror seems to have changed drastically compared to back then. "Even so, it should still be trustworthy," Mo Rubin concluded. "Nearly ten thousand years have passed. Unless one has been in deep slumber the entire time, who could guarantee their temperament wouldn't change drastically?" Li Fan gave a strange chuckle, his words carrying pointed implication. "As for the Profound Heaven Treasure Mirror, it isn't a matter of whether we trust it or not. If we want to find the King of Profound Heaven, it's the only lead we have." Mo Rubin was left speechless by Li Fan's remarks. "By the way," Li Fan added casually, "to deduce and break the array restrictions left behind by the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable, the Lifeless Array Coronet is somewhat insufficient. Didn't you mention earlier that there was another array deduction treasure split into nine parts? Secure it as soon as possible; I'll see if I can find a way to hasten its fusion." This was merely a minor matter, so Mo Rubin agreed immediately. After discussing a few more details of the plan's execution, Li Fan finally departed. He headed straight for Xuan Sushang's Bamboo Sea cave estate. Slipping inside without a sound, he arrived outside the bamboo pavilion where the two women stayed. Through the surrounding arrays and restrictions, Li Fan could faintly hear groans drifting from within. His expression unchanging, Li Fan flashed directly inside the pavilion. Xuan Sushang was raising a golden whip high, fiercely disciplining Lu Xichan. Lu Xichan's face was flushed red, her gaze dazed and unfocused, her expression showing a mixture of pain and pleasure. Just as the two women were thoroughly engrossed, Li Fan let out an abrupt, cold cough. The bodies of both Xuan Sushang and Lu Xichan froze instantly. They whipped their heads around toward Li Fan, who had appeared out of nowhere. Their flushed faces turned deathly pale in an instant. Scrambling to their feet, they dropped to their knees and kowtowed in greeting. Stammering in a panic, Xuan Sushang offered a rushed explanation: "Lu Xichan slacked off again, so following your orders, I was thoroughly punishing her..." Lu Xichan kept her head pressed to the floor, not daring to utter a single word. Li Fan gave a cold snort, but did not berate them further. Then he said to Xuan Sushang, "Arrange for your father to meet me here as soon as possible." Xuan Sushang froze, a trace of dread flitting through her eyes. "This..." Soon, however, something occurred to her. "Could it be that you..." Li Fan explained impassively, "The situation is somewhat complicated. In short, the crisis has been resolved. In this world, there now exists only one avatar of the Heavenly Profound Mirror—me. "Have Cang come meet me here; he will understand."