"Not bad. You've finally made some progress."
"Not only is the acting getting more convincing, but your scheme is finally showing some semblance of competence," the white-haired elder remarked.
The leading black-robed cultivator grew frantic. "Senior, you've truly misunderstood!"
He quickly ordered his companions to release the formation's restraints on the white-haired elder. "Senior, you are free now. Surely this can't still be an act, can it?"
The white-haired elder narrowed his eyes. "Back in the day, the Nether Prison was forged by my own hands. If I truly wished to leave, how could that place ever have held me?"
"To not even understand that much..."
The doubt in the elder's eyes only deepened.
"I told you they were frauds. Senior, you had better come with me instead. I am all on my own. Even if I harbored ill intent, I would be no match for you," Li Fan said with a faint smile, taking in the scene.
Yet despite his words, he showed not the slightest intention of stepping forward to receive the elder.
"You brat..." The white-haired elder found himself unable to read this young man.
The mission, which had proceeded exceptionally smoothly until now, had ground to a standstill in a manner no one could have anticipated.
With every second they lingered, the risk of discovery by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals grew.
Left with no other choice, the lead cultivator grew increasingly frantic.
Gritting his teeth, he was already entertaining the thought of subduing the white-haired elder first and taking him back by force.
Right at that moment, a crisp sigh suddenly drifted down from above everyone's heads.
"Old Man Wei, you are as conceited as ever."
The instant the voice rang out, joy flashed across the faces of the black-robed cultivators. "Senior Zhou!"
As for the white-haired elder—Dharma Transmitter Wei—the aura about him shifted abruptly.
His formerly turbid eyes flared with a sharp, brilliant gleam as he looked straight upward.
A woman dressed in plain white robes with a delicate, graceful face had quietly appeared at some unknown moment.
Dharma Transmitter Wei scrutinized her closely and paused, slightly stunned. "It really is you..."
He turned to the group of black-robed cultivators before him, an odd expression creeping onto his face. "So what these little fellows said was the truth?"
Dharma Transmitter Zhou gave another sigh.
"Spend too much time brooding over conspiracies and schemes, and everything starts looking fake."
"A great deal has happened in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals recently. I suspect the Council of Dharma Transmitters has become corrupted, which is why I thought to bring you out."
"Though if I had come in person, I would inevitably have had to look at that smug, foul face of yours. So I sent these little ones instead."
"Who would have thought..."
Dharma Transmitter Zhou's tone was somewhat peculiar—listless and devoid of energy.
Hearing this, the white-haired elder's expression froze for a moment.
Soon, however, he burst into hearty laughter, smoothing over the awkwardness.
To divert attention, he immediately locked his gaze onto Li Fan.
"If you are the real deal, then what is this kid's deal?"
Li Fan showed no fear, cupping his hands. "Greetings, Seniors."
"This little farce was merely staged to secure an audience with the two of you."
Wei and Zhou exchanged a glance, both wearing expressions of amusement.
"The Alliance's people will be here soon. Let's move elsewhere."
Dharma Transmitter Zhou stroked her slender hand through the air, cleaving open a spatial passage, and led the black-robed cultivators inside.
The white-haired elder glanced back at Li Fan. "Brat, have the guts to follow us in?"
Li Fan pondered for a moment, then followed them into the pocket world.
"Eh? This place..."
When he clearly took in his surroundings, Li Fan almost thought he had fallen into some sort of hallucination once again.
For the architectural style of this pocket world was strikingly similar to the world Li Fan had lived in before his transmigration.
Skyscrapers stood in dense clusters.
Beneath the pitch-black veil of night, a misty drizzle fell from the sky.
Numerous neon lights along the building exteriors illuminated the nocturnal cityscape in surreal, kaleidoscopic hues.
This distant yet intimately familiar sight caused Li Fan to space out for a fleeting instant.
Not just him.
Even Dharma Transmitter Wei seemed somewhat unaccustomed to it.
"Well? Quite nice to look at, isn't it? I went on vacation to Carefree Paradise a while back and found this scenery rather pleasant, so I copied it over wholesale."
Dharma Transmitter Zhou's voice drifted over lazily.
Li Fan looked in the direction of the voice, only to find she had already changed her clothes.
A crisp white dress shirt, form-fitting trousers.
She was even wearing a pair of black-framed glasses.
Rather than a Dharma Transmitter, she looked more like a modern urban woman.
"Your taste..."
"...is as baffling as ever." Dharma Transmitter Wei shook his head slightly, unable to agree.
"And you are as hidebound and irritating as ever," Dharma Transmitter Zhou retorted mockingly.
"I think it looks quite nice, actually. Especially this outfit—it suits Senior very well," Li Fan chimed in at that moment.
The gazes of both Dharma Transmitters fell on Li Fan at the same time.
"Hehehe, young people's aesthetic sense truly is far better than that of certain old relics. That's precisely why I enjoy collecting young people," Dharma Transmitter Zhou chuckled, appraising Li Fan.
"Brat, whatever your aim is, you had best speak plainly. This old man's patience is quite limited." Dharma Transmitter Wei's expression had turned sour.
Li Fan, however, could tell that Wei's anger was nothing more than an act.
By now, the three of them were on the top floor of the city's tallest skyscraper. Through the massive glass curtain wall, the bustling city bathed in night was laid out entirely before their eyes.
Aside from an office desk and sofa in the center, and a red carpet blanketing the entire floor, there were no other furnishings on the whole level.
Li Fan leaned back on the sofa as casually as if he were in his own home.
He then laid out his reason for seeking Dharma Transmitter Zhou: "I wish to know what exactly happened at the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters five years ago."
"As well as where the real Heavenly Profound Mirror is now."
Dharma Transmitter Wei had been locked away for many years and could not make head or tail of the situation for the moment.
As for Dharma Transmitter Zhou, the nonchalant expression on her face slowly receded. She studied Li Fan intently, as though trying to guess his origins.
"Appearing out of nowhere before me and demanding such classified matters right off the bat."
"Little fellow, just where does your confidence come from?"
Zhou's tone shifted from indolent to icy. "A mere Nascent Soul cultivation. Even if the grotto-heaven you devoured was somewhat vast, you are still only in the Nascent Soul realm."
"You dare speak to me like this?"
Li Fan remained unfazed. "When speaking with you Dharma Transmitters, this has always been my tone. You didn't strike directly, but instead probed me with words—doesn't that already demonstrate where my confidence lies?"
The atmosphere instantly turned tense once more.
Yet with a radiant smile from Dharma Transmitter Zhou, the ice broke in a heartbeat.
"You're quite right."
"It's been a long time since I've met such an exceptional young man. Why not become one of my collectibles?"
"If you are willing, I can tell you whatever secret you wish to know."
Dharma Transmitter Zhou's tone turned back to its former indolence.
Chapter 1053