Having survived the ordeal, Li Fan began to reflect on that terrifying power within the Boundless Mirror just now.
"Is this the reason the Boundless Mirror was damaged in the first place?"
"To me, it felt even more terrifying than those True Immortal seal characters."
"Granted, all I've seen to date are imitations of True Immortal seal characters. Yet what remained in the Boundless Mirror was also merely lingering aftershocks."
"Could the Immortal Realm's catastrophe have had something to do with this?"
Though a myriad of questions arose in his heart, Li Fan decided against delving deeper for now.
Whatever entity could destroy the Immortal Realm was far beyond what his present self could contend with.
"There are only small remnants left in the Boundless Mirror anyway. Even if coaxed into releasing it, at most it would engulf a single city."
"It might only be of some use at a critical juncture," Li Fan pondered.
"No wonder an exalted immortal artifact could fall to the point of being possessed by the lingering soul of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. That obliteration storm was simply too horrifying."
"An immortal artifact that originally belonged to the Boundless Sect and resided in the Xuanhuang Realm suffered such a fate..."
"Doesn't that imply this catastrophe took place right here in the Xuanhuang Realm?"
"If its mere aftershocks could damage an immortal artifact, had it occurred here, it couldn't possibly have left no trace behind."
Li Fan paused mid-thought. He suddenly recalled two major events that had altered the course of history in the Xuanhuang Realm, which might be connected to this.
First was the mysterious disappearance of the King of Profound Heaven, Xuanyuan Hong.
Second was the disappearance of the six peak Longevity realm experts who had besieged Chuanfa back when he was only at the Dao Integration realm.
"The cultivation of those figures stood at the very pinnacle of their eras."
"Ordinary forces within the Xuanhuang Realm couldn't possibly have harmed them. Unless..."
Li Fan's heart stirred.
"A power surpassing the mortal realm."
Li Fan also thought of Archmage Tiandu, who had arrived in the Xuanhuang Realm after the Great Tribulation and had remained entrenched in Daoyuan Province ever since being injured.
"Was his arrival back then truly a coincidence?"
At this thought, profound suspicion welled up in Li Fan's heart.
This incident also served as a wake-up call for Li Fan.
Even though his vision could now reach beyond the Xuanhuang Realm to the far side of the sea of stars, there were still existences within the Xuanhuang Realm that he could neither fathom nor match.
No matter what he did, he had to tread with utmost caution.
Amid his churning thoughts, Sun Luyuan hurried back.
Refining a large mass of essence blood together with several materials, he added them into the essence blood pool.
The pool's water, which had grown somewhat dim, once again shimmered with radiant light.
Li Fan also turned his attention to the condition of the Boundless Mirror.
It had almost regressed to its state before absorbing the fragment.
Still, it was more complete than before after all. Li Fan believed that once Sun Luyao awakened, the situation would improve to some degree.
Moreover, Li Fan had briefly glimpsed the more complete Boundless Primordial Square Formation. Even if he couldn't restore it perfectly, patching it up would pose no problem.
Three days later, Sun Luyao, the spirit of the Boundless Mirror, finally woke briefly from his slumber.
"Brother, I need some materials."
After listing the materials needed to repair the formation, he lost consciousness once more.
Looking over the list of supplies his brother had relayed, Sun Luyuan rushed off to gather them.
During this time, fearing retaliation from a desperate Sun Luyuan, the Chen Clan of the Medicine Hall kept a close eye on his movements.
Yet Sun Luyuan seemed to have forgotten the incident entirely, bustling in and out, seemingly preoccupied with urgent business.
This left the Chen Clan somewhat perplexed.
Furthermore, they remained unable to contact their patron at Alliance Headquarters, Dharma Transmitter Chang.
Therefore, the Chen Clan chose to bide their time and watch how events unfolded.
With Sun Luyuan gathering supplies regardless of cost, the required materials were quickly assembled.
On the surface, Sun Luyao was absorbing them, but in truth, it was Li Fan's divided sense at work.
As the shattered core of the formation was restored, the Boundless Mirror's condition gradually stabilized.
Upon hearing what his brother had experienced, Sun Luyuan's brows knit tight.
"Brother, do you still remember that ancient ruin where we first found this mirror?"
Sun Luyao was taken aback.
"Back then, I assumed those ruins were merely an ancient site that had deteriorated over the passage of time. But hearing you say this..."
Sun Luyuan looked grim. "That place seems to have been destroyed by the mirror's obliteration storm..."
"Perhaps it was precisely because of that prior discharge that we two brothers were given an opening. Otherwise, with our cultivation back then, how could we have ever subdued this mirror?"
Recalling the scene from those days, Sun Luyao gradually came around to the idea as well.
"That is indeed possible. I remember we could hardly find anything of value in those ruins. The only things the Heavenly Profound Mirror recognized yielded very few contribution points upon submission..."
"Rest and recuperate for now. In a while, I'll return to those ruins to investigate. The entrance is extremely concealed, and since it was reduced to rubble, not much should have changed after all these years. Perhaps I'll discover something," Sun Luyuan said in a deep voice.
"Brother, be careful," Sun Luyao urged rather than dissuading him.
"And then there's the Chen Clan..." Sun Luyuan suddenly let out a cold snort.
He remembered the vision previously deduced by the Boundless Mirror.
"The force locked in a stalemate against the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals seemed to be the Great Qi Sacred Dynasty that my brother scouted out earlier."
"In that case, the Heavenly Profound Mirror's predictions do have some basis."
"Both wondrous artifacts have made the same prediction..."
"It seems it's time to try making contact with them."
Sun Luyuan naturally wouldn't personally approach them right away.
After all, the Great Qi Sacred Dynasty had not yet openly opposed the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. He would have his confidants scout ahead first before making further decisions.
In comparison, what worried Sun Luyuan far more was that the Boundless Mirror—which he had once considered a supreme treasure—had now turned into an erratic catastrophe waiting to erupt at any moment.
His brother had already become the mirror spirit of the Boundless Mirror, so abandoning it was out of the question.
After making preparations, Sun Luyuan intended to head back to the ancient ruins first to take a look.
His encounter in Baishi Grotto-Heaven made Sun Luyuan realize that the Chen Clan was undoubtedly still watching him from the shadows.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Sun Luyuan contacted an old friend directly.
Ji Hongdao!
"Old Ji, there's something I need your help with..." Sun Luyuan contacted him via communication talisman.
Before long, Ji Hongdao arrived at the Sun Clan's gates.
"Hahaha! Old Sun, I can finally repay that favor I owed you back then!" Ji Hongdao laughed boisterously.
"I heard you recently had a clash with the Medicine Hall's Chen Clan?" Once inside the room, Ji Hongdao abruptly lowered his voice.
"Yes. Somehow, the Chen Clan found out about the treasure Luyao is dwelling in," Sun Luyuan told him truthfully.
Ji Hongdao understood immediately.
"Don't worry. Even though they have a Dharma Transmitter backing them, you have a Mirror Keeper behind you, Old Sun."
"Now that their plot has been exposed, they definitely won't dare make a move again anytime soon."
Sun Luyuan said solemnly, "Desperate villains might do anything, so one can never be too cautious. For this trip outside, I will have to trouble you, my friend."
Chapter 1208