A Game of Cons

High above Weidu, Li Fan remained silent. According to the memories of the city's mortals, the clone of the Heavenly Profound Mirror had vanished on the second day after the unrest in the four provinces began. After sweeping the area, he found no traces left behind. Narrowing his eyes, Li Fan refused to give up and paid another visit to the concealed grotto-heaven where he had previously met Mo Rubin. There was not the slightest sign that any cultivator had visited. "Could it be..." "Did Mo Rubin and the Heavenly Profound Mirror just run off together?" The thought suddenly surfaced in Li Fan's mind. Blue light rippled across the Dao Transformation Stone as Li Fan swiftly reviewed the entire plan from beginning to end. This time, he did not look through his own perspective, observing purely from an outsider's point of view. From the very beginning: rescuing Mo Rubin. Then playing dumb, feigning madness, disguising himself as Sun Xingwang to earn Mo Rubin's trust. The two of them devising a plan to coax information regarding the King of Profound Heaven from the Heavenly Profound Mirror. The early steps of the plan had seemed entirely successful. Right up until the final step, when an unforeseen turn had occurred. ... Scene after scene flashed rapidly before Li Fan's eyes. Watching what had appeared to be his own flawless performance—and Mo Rubin playing along with it—Li Fan's face twitched. Though his heart had already grown faintly certain that he might—just might—have been played by Mo Rubin, Li Fan still held onto a shred of wishful thinking. Returning to the Spirit Wood Realm, he forcefully interrupted Layman Qiaogong's research and handed over the quaint bronze mirror that Mo Rubin had given him. "A... a realm vessel?" Layman Qiaogong's expression instantly turned bizarre. He stole a glance at Li Fan, carefully choosing his words. "Forgive my poor eyesight, but this seems..." "What do you mean 'seems'? Isn't it just an ordinary bronze mirror? Look at that verdigris! Good grief, who knows where it was dug up from." In this lifetime, Fang Zaiji had yet to witness Li Fan's terrifying might, so he spoke boldly and bluntly. "I understand. Thank you for your trouble, Fellow Daoist Qiaogong." Showing neither anger nor joy, Li Fan vanished from their sight in a flash. "What was that about? Wasting our time..." Fang Zaiji grumbled in annoyance at Li Fan's interruption. He wanted to complain further, but Layman Qiaogong cut him off immediately. "Just keep your mouth shut. The Envoy's mood doesn't seem very pleasant," Layman Qiaogong whispered. ... Inside a subterranean secret chamber in the Spirit Wood Realm. Holding the small mirror coated in verdigris, Li Fan's expression was completely frozen. "A realm vessel..." "Fascinating." With a soft snap, Li Fan exerted a sliver of force, crushing the bronze mirror into powder. "After all these years of samsara, this is the first time I've been played for a fool." Now, even if Li Fan was unwilling to admit it, he could no longer deny the truth. Perhaps from the very start, Mo Rubin had never truly believed his identity as a Dharma King of the Profound Heaven Sect. But in the course of their interactions, he had realized that Li Fan's strength was worth exploiting. Thus, he had played along, using Li Fan's power to help free the Heavenly Profound Mirror. Pitifully, Li Fan had believed all along that his performance had been convincing. Looking back now, however, there were indeed glaring holes that could not be explained away by madness induced by cultivation technique. For instance, aside from recalling a few past memories, Li Fan's manner of speaking and conduct were vastly different from the real Sun Xingwang. For instance, the astonishing formation mastery Li Fan had displayed at multiple critical junctures. Or... "Perhaps contacting the Heavenly Profound Mirror clone was what ultimately gave me away." After all, the Profound Heaven Treasure Mirror was the supreme treasure guarding the Profound Heaven Sect back in the day. As one of the sect's paramount figures, how could one of the Twelve Dharma Kings not be familiar with it? "Two figures from the Profound Heaven Sect teamed up to swindle an outsider like me." "Very good. As expected of the chosen paragons selected by the King of Profound Heaven to share the burden of saving the world..." "Very good indeed!" Li Fan did not fly into a rage out of humiliation at being duped. Instead, he suddenly burst into hearty laughter. Because for the first time, he found things genuinely fascinating. His continuous cycles of samsara had made him increasingly indifferent toward the living beings of the Xuanhuang Realm. He had treated them like NPCs in a game, endlessly reset and respawned. Once he possessed enough information, he could even predict their exact reaction upon hearing a particular sentence. Even figures like the Heavenly Physician, Chuanfa, the immortal of the Immortal Ruins, and the Faceless True Immortal... Li Fan had merely viewed them as somewhat stronger bosses. Yet reality, after all, was no game. Just like the Heavenly Physician who had abruptly read his mind in the past, Mo Rubin, the Dharma King of the Profound Heaven Sect, had taught Li Fan a thorough lesson. The cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm were not so easily fooled! Because they were truly, genuinely living beings! "No matter. You managed to deceive me in one lifetime, but can you deceive me across lifetimes without end?" Free of any despondency over his failure, what ignited in Li Fan's eyes was an eager, restless excitement. "Besides, we aren't done yet in this lifetime!" With a cold snort, Li Fan closed his eyes and began pondering his counterstrategy. First, he needed to ascertain what had actually transpired inside the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters that day. Even after all this time, it remained a tightly sealed mystery. And without a Dharma Transmitter as an inside contact, Li Fan was once again as blind as before. He knew virtually nothing about the movements and intelligence of the Alliance's upper echelons. "It seems certain channels must be held in my own hands. Relying on others won't do." "I still need a Dharma Transmitter of my own..." "Fortunately, I have gathered enough information in this lifetime. I can begin testing the waters step by step in the future." Having deeply experienced the benefits of an inside contact among the Dharma Transmitters, Li Fan naturally had no intention of abandoning that path. Yet that was a matter for after this lifetime. At present, there was simply no way to gather further information. Thus, Li Fan opted for his most familiar tactic. In a single word: wait! Many secrets cease to be secrets with the passage of time. While it might be an impenetrable secret right now, that would not necessarily hold true after a while. As the classification level gradually degraded, coupled with the divine power of Heavenly Venerable Wuyou... Li Fan was confident that as long as he paid a high enough price when the time came, he would surely be able to pry the truth from those who had experienced the incident firsthand. All he needed to do was wait patiently. Yet during this period of waiting, Li Fan did not sit idle. While the various affairs of the Spirit Wood Realm proceeded according to schedule, the spread of the Myriad Realms Association and the teachings of the Faceless True Immortal was halted. Before locating Mo Rubin and the Heavenly Profound Mirror, it was better to remain vigilant. Although he could not yet determine what had happened at Alliance headquarters that day, judging from the fact that Lu Xichan and Shuo Feng's entire household had vanished, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had clearly carried out a purge of suspected traitors within its ranks. Many people had simply vanished without explanation. Li Fan quietly compiled a list of these missing individuals. At the same time, he kept an ear out for anyone who might have experienced the events of that day. Five years later.