As the saying went, even an arrow shot from the strongest bow, once spent, could not pierce thin silk.
Under the crushing pressure of the Longevity realm, Li Fan's strike likely could not have harmed even an ordinary mortal, let alone inflict any injury upon Mr. Bai.
And yet, though it failed to leave even a faint white mark, the sword had nevertheless struck Mr. Bai's body.
Because Li Fan had disregarded his own life.
Because Mr. Bai cherished talent and showed compassion.
As the old adage said: a gentleman could be taken advantage of through his own virtue!
This strike was the answer Li Fan had arrived at after years of contemplation during the second act of the Fallen Immortal Realm.
The first act tested benevolence.
The second act tested wisdom.
And this third act was meant to test martial prowess!
Mr. Bai had wielded his sword to suppress the Heavenly Sword Sect; if one could defeat him—or gain his acknowledgment in the duel—one would most likely pass the trial of the third act.
And Li Fan had now accomplished it.
"Thank you for the match."
Although the process of burning his life had been reversed by Mr. Bai, executing that Sword of Life had still severely drained Li Fan's vitality.
His face was deathly pale now, as if his breath might cut off at any moment.
Coughing incessantly, he cupped his hands to Mr. Bai.
Mr. Bai looked at Li Fan with a conflicted expression. "Why?" he asked.
Li Fan said calmly, "I am not like you. You always consider too much. But as for me, to achieve my goal, I will use any means necessary—even if it means casting aside my own life!"
The surrounding scene of the Heavenly Sword Sect had already begun to fade. Only Mr. Bai's figure remained distinct.
Li Fan continued, "So what you can do, I may not be able to. But what you cannot bring yourself to do, I just might accomplish."
Though phrased like a tongue twister, Mr. Bai already understood Li Fan's meaning.
"Sometimes, if you want to survive, you have to be a little ruthless."
After saying this, Li Fan's body slowly turned translucent as well, until it completely vanished.
Only Mr. Bai remained in this time and space.
His brows were tightly knit, as if facing an agonizing dilemma.
After an unknown span of time, his brow suddenly smoothed into a smile.
"Indeed. I have always had too many reservations.
"Perhaps only someone like him can ultimately fight for a slim chance of survival..."
Mr. Bai's figure, along with his voice, gradually faded into silence.
...
In the darkness, Li Fan did not know how long he waited.
A familiar sensation of vertigo washed over him, and the scene before his eyes abruptly brightened again.
Looking around, he had not returned to the real world. Instead, he had arrived in a new environment.
"My guess was indeed correct.
"Though it was somewhat dishonorable, I ultimately defeated Mr. Bai and passed the trial of martial prowess.
"Regardless of the means, only the result matters."
Li Fan felt a surge of joy.
"Now let me see what the trial of this fourth act will be."
With that thought, an overwhelming flood of information suddenly surged into Li Fan's mind.
His expression instantly froze.
"How could this be?"
Even with Li Fan's usual composure, he was momentarily dazed.
He quickly cast the Water Mirror Technique and looked at his reflection in the mirror.
A flawless, peerless countenance that made one feel like basking in a spring breeze, inspiring spontaneous reverence and fondness.
This face was all too familiar to Li Fan.
He had just competed against him not long ago.
It was none other than Mr. Bai!
"In this fourth act, I actually possessed Mr. Bai's body directly?"
Li Fan's heart jolted with shock.
There was both pleasant surprise and wary vigilance.
The pleasant surprise was that, through Mr. Bai's body, he could experience being Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang in advance. From this point forward, in every aspect of cultivation, he was certain to benefit immensely.
The vigilance was that Mr. Bai's previous feat of reincarnating through another's body might play out once more.
After a moment, Li Fan calmed his mind and began sorting through the information in his head.
Unfortunately, because this was merely a trial, Mr. Bai's memories were incomplete.
There were only disjointed fragments, along with the "main objective" involved in this trial.
"At this point, he has already received the recognition of the Heavenly Dao and officially become the Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang.
"The mission objective is...
"To find the immortal artifacts left scattered across the Xuanhuang Realm and escape the Xuanhuang Realm?"
Li Fan's expression instantly turned extraordinarily bizarre.
This completely contradicted everything he knew about Mr. Bai's past behavior, prompting Li Fan to double-check repeatedly.
"Wait, no.
"This isn't the Fallen Immortal Realm's trial. Rather...
"It is the mission Mr. Bai was shouldering at this point in time!"
After a moment, Li Fan finally understood.
Upon becoming the Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang, the urge from the consciousness of the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao had begun faintly surfacing in Mr. Bai's heart.
The catastrophe had arrived, unavoidable.
Rather than lingering, it was better to discard the world's physical vessel and depart early.
"The Xuanhuang Realm is no longer a safe haven; within, evil demons run amok, while without, the Immortal Ruins eye us like predators.
"Better to cross the immortal wall and establish a new heaven and earth beyond."
...
Frowning, Li Fan slowly pieced together the fragmented information.
"The immortal wall is difficult to cross. Even the Great Heavenly Venerable Xuanhuang falls short in strength.
"However, before the immortal path was severed, the upper realm occasionally bestowed immortal artifacts. Some of these immortal artifacts are still sealed in sect treasuries at this moment, while others lie buried deep underground, unbeknownst to anyone.
"Yet none of them can escape the grasp of the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao consciousness.
"One need only assemble these immortal artifacts and offer them as sacrifices. Without even needing to destroy them completely, they will unleash enough power to cross the immortal wall."
A look completely incongruous with the disposition of this body instantly surfaced on Li Fan's face.
"Immortal artifacts? At least ten or more immortal artifacts?"
According to the information from the Heavenly Dao's consciousness, every single one of these immortal artifacts possessed power no weaker than that of the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
If he could collect all of them and make them his own...
A flurry of thoughts instantly arose in Li Fan's mind.
One had to know that across so many lifetimes of reincarnation, aside from the Heavenly Profound Mirror and the fishing pond, he had never seen the trace of any other immortal artifact.
Now, as if struck by a massive windfall, he had suddenly learned about more than ten immortal artifacts at once. How could his heart not surge with excitement!
"Wait. In actual history, did all these immortal artifacts disappear?"
Soon, however, Li Fan caught on.
He immediately remembered an ancient anecdote he had gathered previously.
When the great catastrophe descended, the sects were already in utter disarray because dharmas could not be cultivated concurrently.
And the unexplained disappearance of the immortal artifacts stored within sect vaults had only hastened the downfall of the cultivation sects.
"Could it be that back then, all those mysteriously missing immortal artifacts were secretly collected by Mr. Bai?"
Li Fan's expression turned quite peculiar.
He began once again to investigate the information regarding these immortal artifacts in his mind.
These immortal artifacts were all passed down from the upper realm before the immortal path was severed.
At that time, the great sects of the Xuanhuang Realm were not the later Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao, but those that had long vanished into the river of history—such as the Reincarnation Sect, the Desolate God Sect, and so forth.
And the immortal artifacts they possessed had subsequently been carved up by the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao.
However, immortal artifacts had spirits and could only be used by direct lineage disciples of their sects. Therefore, even after seizing them, the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao were fundamentally unable to wield the vast majority of these immortal artifacts.
Chapter 1085