"A collectible, is it...?"
Li Fan thought of the cultivators saved by Dharma Transmitter Zhou.
In their eyes, Dharma Transmitter Zhou was a true savior. Something had gone amiss in the Alliance's upper echelons, requiring someone to right the wrongs and set the world in order once more. A Dharma Transmitter was undoubtedly the leader for such an undertaking.
Yet these passionate, hot-blooded cultivators likely never imagined...
In Dharma Transmitter Zhou's eyes, rather than companions working toward a shared cause, they were more like personal collectibles.
Li Fan, however, was hardly surprised.
After learning of the Dharma Transmitters' past deeds from Mo Rubin, Li Fan had ceased harboring any expectations for this group.
The "degeneration of the Council of Dharma Transmitters" Zhou spoke of was probably nothing more than a clash of ideologies.
Li Fan reined in his thoughts and declared proudly, "If you want to treat me as a collectible... forget about you—even Chuanfa might not qualify!"
At those words, the expressions of Dharma Transmitters Zhou and Wei shifted abruptly.
Although they had broken away from the Council of Dharma Transmitters, in their hearts, the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable's stature remained unshakable.
Faint traces of killing intent locked onto Li Fan in an instant.
Yet soon, as the shimmering phantom of a faceless stone statue materialized above Li Fan's head, the murderous intent in the two Dharma Transmitters' eyes gave way to shock.
"The Profound Heaven Sect?!"
Naturally, they recognized the origin of this stone statue. Staring at Li Fan, Dharma Transmitter Zhou blurted out the words.
While Dharma Transmitter Wei did not lose his composure entirely, his expression grew stern. His aura deepened like an abyss and vast sea, subtly revealing the true might of a Dharma Transmitter.
"Not so, not so." Seeing them treat him like a formidable foe, Li Fan immediately shook his head.
"I am no Profound Heaven Sect heretic. We merely revere the same Master," Li Fan said flatly.
The two Dharma Transmitters were momentarily taken aback.
Li Fan smoothly delivered his pre-fabricated narrative: "Back when the immortal path collapsed, it was only thanks to Master's intervention that the Profound Heaven Sect had the opportunity to rise later on. How detestable that those Profound Heaven heretics were fickle and treacherous, even daring to betray Master!
"Without Master's backing, the Profound Heaven Sect was destroyed shortly thereafter, as expected. Yet some remnants still managed to survive...
"When dealing with traitors, it must be an unending fight to the death. Over ten thousand years, we have never given up our pursuit of the Profound Heaven Sect's remnants. Now, only the final few targets remain..." A look of weary age surfaced in Li Fan's eyes as he let out a faint sigh.
This tale left the two Dharma Transmitters uncertain what to make of him.
They could vaguely discern that the young man before them was thirty-four years of age at most.
Yet the collapse of the immortal path and the Profound Heaven Sect he spoke of belonged to an era even more ancient than the reign of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao.
It was definitely not something an ordinary young cultivator could possibly know.
In fact, the implications were so profound that even two Dharma Transmitters dared not take them lightly.
After conferring in secret for a moment, Dharma Transmitter Zhou spoke up: "Since your mission is to hunt down the remnants of the Profound Heaven Sect, why are you interested in what transpired at our Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters?
"Could it be..."
Li Fan's heart stirred, and he immediately adopted a look of surprise. "What, you don't know yet? The culprit behind that upheaval was none other than a surviving Dharma King of the Profound Heaven Sect!"
"Oh? That differs somewhat from what I know..." Dharma Transmitter Zhou looked slightly surprised.
"By the way, that Dharma King's ability allows him to completely possess and transform into another person..." Li Fan added, as if suddenly remembering.
The look on Dharma Transmitter Zhou's face instantly became quite fascinating.
After a moment of silence, she murmured, "If that is truly the case, then it makes sense. The few of them clearly had no reason to do such a thing. As it stands now, they were likely taken over and possessed.
"To actually bypass the protective wards the Heavenly Venerable left for us... Those Profound Heaven heretics are truly astonishing."
Dharma Transmitter Wei's eyes turned deep as he chimed in, "Bodies possessed by Profound Heaven heretics? For us, this might be an opportunity."
"Alright, I have laid all my cards on the table. Are you still planning to keep secrets? When it comes to capturing the Profound Heaven Sect's remnants, I believe our positions are aligned. There should be room for cooperation between us," Li Fan said, frowning slightly with a hint of impatience in his tone.
Such impatience suited his youthful appearance well.
Dharma Transmitter Zhou did not mind and recounted to Li Fan what had happened at the Alliance headquarters that day.
"At the time, it was the scheduled moment for the foundation laying of the Profound Heaven Spirit-Sealing Formation.
"That formation could be used to take complete control of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, making it of paramount importance to the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. Therefore, more than half of the Dharma Transmitters attended that day. The lineage of Mirror Keepers also sent several representatives to participate."
After briefly explaining the difference in origins between the Dharma Transmitters and the Mirror Keepers to Li Fan, Dharma Transmitter Zhou continued, "The foundation-laying ceremony took place inside Alliance headquarters. The matter was classified to the utmost degree, so on that day, aside from that group, only the formation masters responsible for operating the formation were present.
"All other garrison forces were stationed outside the secret realm.
"Everyone was part of the Alliance's core of cores; originally, nothing could possibly have gone wrong.
"However..."
Dharma Transmitter Zhou's expression grew solemn. "Just as the Profound Heaven Spirit-Sealing Formation was on the verge of completion, someone within the Council of Dharma Transmitters suddenly launched a violent assault on the other Dharma Transmitters.
"The few Mirror Keepers in attendance also struck without warning.
"You must realize that among us Dharma Transmitters, aside from Jiang, our strengths are all roughly equal. Caught off guard by a premeditated ambush, several Dharma Transmitters were subdued on the spot.
"The chaotic fighting quickly alerted the guards outside the secret realm, but faced with an internal conflict among Dharma Transmitters, they were utterly bewildered for a time, not knowing whose orders to follow.
"Taking neither side, the vast majority simply remained where they were, watching quietly for an outcome to emerge.
"The Dharma Transmitters clashed with all their might, and the battle grew increasingly perilous. Even the spatial realm of the Heavenly Profound Mirror's true body, where Alliance headquarters was situated, could barely endure that magnitude of power.
"The chaos lasted for nearly half a day. In the end, five individuals led by Dharma Transmitter Chen emerged victorious."
Dharma Transmitter Zhou listed the names of those five individuals one by one.
What shook Li Fan to his core was that among those five was Dharma Transmitter Feng!
'What is going on?'
Dharma Transmitter Feng was none other than the young Dharma Transmitter possessed by Mo Rubin.
'Could it be...'
Li Fan's thoughts raced, and a terrifying notion flashed into his mind.
'No wonder I couldn't find a single trace of Mo Rubin or the others, despite searching almost the entire Xuanhuang Realm.
'He never fled in panic at all...
'Instead, the cuckoo took over the magpie's nest—he seized direct control of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals!'
Chapter 1054