Li Fan wore an expression of utmost sincerity. "Over these years, in search of the past heroes of the Profound Heaven Sect, I searched from the highest heavens down to the Yellow Springs, turning almost the entire Xuanhuang Realm upside down. I was indeed fortunate enough to find traces of several Dharma Kings, but I never uncovered any clue regarding King Xuantian. Yet I refuse to believe that, with King Xuantian's peerless cultivation back then, he could truly have fallen..."
Mo Rubin listened quietly, the expression on his face not shifting in the slightest.
"Tens of thousands of years have passed, and the Xuanhuang Realm's situation has grown increasingly precarious, just a hair's breadth away from plunging into the Immortal Ruins. Were it not for the many arrangements King Xuantian left behind back then, I fear it wouldn't have lasted until now!"
"Arrangements from back then?" Mo Rubin narrowed his eyes.
"None other than the Grand Star-Crossing Array!" Li Fan exclaimed with deep feeling. "Built atop an ancient immortal array, using mortal methods to manifest power approaching that of immortals! Unfortunately, the array has long fallen into ruin and incompleteness..."
Li Fan said solemnly, "Restarting the Grand Star-Crossing Array may be the only way to save this world. The array is supremely profound; even though it was built ten thousand years ago, it is far beyond my ability to comprehend."
Mo Rubin snorted. "Naturally. How could mortal cultivators fathom a heritage of the Immortal Realm!"
Li Fan nodded in agreement. "First came the collective flight of the Ten Great Immortal Sects, followed by ten thousand years of slaughter and calamity, severing countless heritages. Today, the Xuanhuang Realm's standards in formations, artifacts, alchemy, and talismans have not only failed to advance compared to ten thousand years ago, but have fallen far behind!"
"If we wish to rebuild and restore the Grand Star-Crossing Array, finding King Xuantian is our sole hope! But as I mentioned, there isn't the slightest clue! My lifespan is nearing its end, and I truly cannot wait any longer. In utter desperation, I had no choice but to awaken you, Fellow Daoist."
Watching Mo Rubin's contemplative expression, Li Fan continued in a low, serious voice, "From the memories of Dharma King Ji Yuzhen's remnant soul, I also learned of the traitors within the Profound Heaven Sect back then. Taking this step required immense resolve on my part. I feared placing my trust in the wrong person and inadvertently bringing misfortune upon King Xuantian. That is why I chose to awaken you in the void far outside the Xuanhuang Realm..."
"When the Ten Sects besieged the Profound Heaven Sect back then, where were you, Fellow Daoist? In Dharma King Ji's memories, you never left King Xuantian's side!" Li Fan's tone grew increasingly solemn.
Seeing this cultivator of later generations actually press him for answers, Mo Rubin did not get angry. Frowning slightly, he recalled the past, as if returning to that fateful day that altered the destiny of the Xuanhuang Realm.
"At that time, I was guiding core cultivators of the Ten Sects deep into the sect."
Mo Rubin's words were astonishing.
Li Fan raised an eyebrow, but did not immediately react with agitation, instead quietly waiting for what followed.
Surprised by Li Fan's calm, Mo Rubin nodded slightly and continued, "Back then, Big Brother Xuanyuan had long sensed that certain individuals within the sect harbored impure motives, plotting treachery in collusion with the Ten Sects."
"At that juncture, Big Brother Xuanyuan happened to make a breakthrough, so he decided to play along and lure the snakes from their holes..."
Mo Rubin paused and took a deep breath. "The plan initially went very smoothly. I successfully gained the trust of the Ten Sects, leading them all the way as we quietly dismantled the defensive restrictions of the Profound Heaven Sect headquarters..."
A flicker of regret flashed through Mo Rubin's eyes.
"However, those restrictions were originally only meant to buy time. The true killing stroke lay in Big Brother Xuanyuan's strength after his breakthrough, along with the killing array he laid personally. Disarming them willingly only served to lower their guard. What we didn't foresee..."
"Flee!"
As if King Xuantian's final transmission from that day were echoing in his ears once more, Mo Rubin subconsciously clenched his fists.
"Hearing Big Brother Xuanyuan's transmission telling me to flee, I knew some unforeseen disaster had struck. So I sped toward the place where Big Brother's aura had vanished..."
"It was neither the agreed ambush location nor the place where Big Brother Xuanyuan usually secluded himself for cultivation. It was merely the hall where the statue of the Faceless Immortal was enshrined—a place Big Brother had already ordered sealed away. For some reason, he had appeared there again."
"By the time I arrived—the first to do so—Big Brother had completely vanished. And that statue..." Mo Rubin suddenly fell silent.
Hearing Mo Rubin's account, Li Fan felt a profound shock in his heart. Still, he pretended ignorance: "What is this statue of the Faceless Immortal? Why was it sealed away by the Profound Heaven Sect? After the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao unified the Xuanhuang Realm, they erased everything connected to the former Profound Heaven Sect. Dharma King Ji's surviving memories don't seem to contain any mention of this Faceless Immortal statue either."
Mo Rubin looked up, studying Li Fan. After pondering for a moment, he ultimately explained, "The Faceless Immortal is a True Immortal who once saved Big Brother Xuanyuan's life. When Big Brother first arrived in the Immortal Realm, before he could even condense a True Immortal body, a great calamity struck. If this Faceless True Immortal hadn't casually lent a helping hand, Big Brother would likely have perished in the Immortal Realm back then."
Li Fan nodded slowly, then asked, full of doubt, "From that, it sounds like this Faceless True Immortal was a benevolent figure. Why did the Profound Heaven Sect later order his statue sealed away, acting as if they were wary of him?"
Mo Rubin gave a cold snort. "A benevolent figure... He is no mere mortal, but a thorough True Immortal. Regarding the same matter, from the perspective of a mortal cultivator versus a True Immortal, attitudes differ entirely! At first, Big Brother Xuanyuan erected the statue of the Faceless Immortal firstly to express gratitude for saving his life, and secondly, to try to establish contact with this True Immortal whom he had met only briefly."
"If we could obtain the aid of this senior True Immortal, saving the Xuanhuang Realm would undoubtedly be far easier..."
As he spoke, Mo Rubin's expression darkened. "Yet Big Brother Xuanyuan soon realized his mistake. The attitude of a True Immortal toward mortal beings can only be described as utterly indifferent."
"The Faceless Immortal could casually save Big Brother Xuanyuan because Big Brother had already stepped onto the immortal path. Even though he had not yet condensed a True Immortal body, he was still a true 'half-immortal'—one of his own kind."
"Yet toward mortal living beings... even if it were an entire world of lives, and even if it required only lifting a finger, the Faceless Immortal was completely unwilling and disdained to do so!" Mo Rubin said coldly and bitterly.
"He even went so far as to urge and warn Big Brother Xuanyuan..."
Mo Rubin was filled with indignation, and Li Fan narrowed his eyes and quickened his breathing, feigning righteous anger.
"The difference between immortal and mortal is vast as heaven and an abyss. But even so, do immortals not ascend from mortals in the first place? To stand by and watch others die, to be so callous!"
Mo Rubin continued, "As the saying goes, those walking different paths cannot make plans together. Following this discord, Big Brother Xuanyuan ceased all contact with this True Immortal, sealed away the statue, and planned to resculpt the Xuantian statues across the realm."
"Only before he could do so, the great catastrophe struck."
"From what you say, could King Xuantian have met with disaster at the hands of the Faceless Immortal?" Li Fan asked in apparent shock.
"If a True Immortal intervened personally, even with King Xuantian's peerless talents, he could hardly have survived, right? No wonder I haven't found a single trace of him in all these years..." Li Fan feigned sudden realization, followed by a crestfallen, despondent look.
Mo Rubin frowned, cutting off Li Fan's muttering. "Though the Faceless Immortal had ideological differences with Big Brother Xuanyuan, he had no reason to strike him down."
"Besides, powerful as a True Immortal may be, it would be impossible to kill Big Brother Xuanyuan in an instant," Mo Rubin stated with certainty.
"Big Brother Xuanyuan was already a half-immortal who had reached the Immortal Realm. Before executing the plan to lure the snakes out, he told us that following his battle with the Archmage, he had broken through once again. Even if he wasn't an immortal in the true ancient sense, he possessed enough power to cross the High Wall on his own."
Li Fan's heart shook violently once more. "Then what could have caused King Xuantian, who had advanced even further, to vanish without a trace?"
Though he said this aloud, Li Fan couldn't help recalling the end of his previous life, when Cat Treasure inexplicably leapt out, swallowed the projection of the True Immortal in a single gulp, and immediately whisked away the True Immortal of the Immortal Ruins.
How remarkably similar the two occurrences were!
*Could there actually be some connection between them?*
*Yet the disaster of the Profound Heaven Sect occurred ten thousand years ago. Furthermore, as I previously surmised, time might flow differently inside and outside the High Wall. If it truly was the work of forces outside the High Wall, to them it might have happened a hundred thousand or even a million years ago...* Li Fan felt something didn't quite add up.
*Still, looking at it this way, the methods that forces beyond the wall use to hunt True Immortals have indeed advanced tremendously. King Xuantian was not an orthodox True Immortal, yet when disaster struck, he still had time to transmit a warning. Meanwhile, that being in the Immortal Ruins was originally a True Immortal of the Immortal Realm, having comprehended the Dao in the ruins for ten thousand years, perhaps already approaching the realm of a Nameless True Immortal. Yet his outcome was even more pathetic.* A chill of dread welled up in Li Fan's heart.
Facing Li Fan's question, Mo Rubin could only remain silent.
Had he known the answer, he wouldn't have been so panic-stricken when hunted by the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao, feeling as though he had lost his pillar of support.
"Although I do not know what kind of terrifying entity caused Big Brother Xuanyuan's disappearance, I am certain he still lives in this world," Mo Rubin said with conviction after a long silence.
"Oh?" Li Fan raised his eyebrows, conveying his incomprehension of Mo Rubin's certainty.
Deliberating over his words, Mo Rubin continued, "When Big Brother Xuanyuan vanished back then, by the time I rushed to the scene, the hall housing the Faceless Immortal statue was already destroyed."
"And that stone statue of the Faceless Immortal..."
"It had actually sprouted facial features!"
"The stone statue had fallen to the ground, its head cleaved clean off and rolled to the side. And that solitary stone head bore a face identical to Big Brother Xuanyuan's!"
Mo Rubin spoke words that left Li Fan completely astonished.
The scene from that day naturally formed in Li Fan's mind.
"This..."
"What could have happened?" Enshrouded in layers of mist, Li Fan asked in utter perplexity.
Mo Rubin said gravely, "At first, we all assumed the Faceless Immortal had harmed King Xuantian. But later, during my days on the run, I felt something was off. The reason is just as I said before."
"Later, I risked everything to find an intact Xuantian statue, attempting to use the method Big Brother Xuanyuan once taught us to contact this Faceless Immortal again..."
Li Fan inhaled sharply. "In doing so, Fellow Daoist, you truly cast all thoughts of life and death aside!"
Ignoring Li Fan's flattery, Mo Rubin continued, "A True Immortal generally pays no heed to mortal ants like us. As expected, my first attempt at communication received no reply."
"Yet I did not give up. Instead, I persisted relentlessly for three whole years, attempting contact at every single moment..."
Hearing this, Li Fan instantly understood what Mo Rubin meant.
"Even if one disdains to bother with an ant, if that ant buzzes incessantly in one's ear, a True Immortal would surely be infuriated and inflict punishment. From what I knew of the Faceless Immortal, he certainly had the power to do so."
"Yet he never did."
"It was as if it were merely the most ordinary stone statue; across three whole years, there was no response whatsoever."
"Therefore, I surmised that after that day, not only King Xuantian, but even that Faceless Immortal had suffered severe wounds!"
"The reason the Faceless Immortal statue bizarrely manifested Big Brother Xuanyuan's likeness, and even had its head severed..."
Li Fan picked up the thread in disbelief: "Could it be that the Faceless Immortal stepped in to help King Xuantian escape calamity?"
Mo Rubin nodded. "That is precisely why I have always been certain Big Brother Xuanyuan is still alive. Although their paths differed, from what Big Brother hinted between the lines, he and this Faceless Immortal actually got along rather well."
"Furthermore, they were of the same kind after all. Having already helped him once in the past, saving him a second time was by no means impossible."
Li Fan was silent for a long time.
After a long pause, he shook his head in disagreement. "This is merely your conjecture, Fellow Daoist."
"I originally thought the opponent King Xuantian faced back then was at most a fellow half-immortal. If a True Immortal—or an even more powerful existence—struck, the probability of King Xuantian surviving is simply too slim!" Li Fan said with apparent dismay.
"Your mere conjecture is hardly convincing."
Seeing this, Mo Rubin hesitated for a long while before finally adding in a low voice, "It is not merely baseless speculation. That faint, mysterious connection I share with Big Brother Xuanyuan tells me he still lives in this world."
Mo Rubin spoke evasively, being exceedingly vague.
Li Fan wanted to press for more details, but Mo Rubin refused to say another word.
*The Azure Underworld Pearl?* Li Fan couldn't help guessing.
"Very well. Since you are so certain, I will trust you this once, Fellow Daoist!" Seeing that he could pry no more information out of him, Li Fan feigned prolonged contemplation before showing relief.
"In any case, I do not have many days left to live; this is simply my final gamble."
"Judging by your words and deeds, Fellow Daoist, you certainly were not a traitor to the Profound Heaven Sect back then. Perhaps we can cooperate to search for King Xuantian's whereabouts."
Li Fan's eyes shone brightly as he fixed his gaze on Mo Rubin.
"You know a great deal about King Xuantian, Fellow Daoist, but you are a stranger to the Xuanhuang Realm of today. Ten thousand years have passed, seas have turned into mulberry fields, and the arrangements left behind by the Profound Heaven Sect may well have vanished alongside the cataclysms that reshaped the mountains and rivers."
"Meanwhile, over these years I have searched all across the Xuanhuang Realm. I can lead you directly to the regions worthy of investigation, drastically increasing the efficiency of our search."
"Furthermore, the remnants of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao still hold sway today under the guise of the Five Elders Association, governing half of the Xuanhuang Realm. Without my cooperation, even with your formidable strength, you would inevitably run into countless troubles."
Chapter 1333