The news that an Original Strain of the Tianling Flower had surfaced in Tianling Province swept across the entire Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals like a whirlwind.
In an instant, all the cultivators who just a moment earlier had been fondling and admiring the Tianling Flowers in their hands suddenly found them dull and tasteless.
"So the Original Strain truly exists in this world..."
Driven by this thought, they cast aside their so-called supreme and First-Grade Tianling Flowers like worn shoes and began a frenzied search for the Original Strain.
Yet...
What caught them completely off guard was that several dozen days passed, and though nearly half the resources of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had been mobilized, they failed to turn up the slightest trace of the legendary Original Strain.
Consequently, doubts began to surface regarding the authenticity of the rumors.
However, after rigorous questioning of the cultivators who had witnessed it that day, they finally confirmed that the event was genuine!
The Tianling Flower that had appeared on that day was beyond doubt an authentic Original Strain.
Now matters became truly intriguing.
It was an established fact that heaven and earth in Tianling Province had changed, and that no Tianling Flower untainted by blood qi could ever be born again in this world.
Furthermore, what that breathtakingly beautiful cultivator had displayed was not a Tianling Flower in an ordinary state.
Rather, it had appeared to be sealed within a thin sheet of paper.
The answer practically shouted itself out.
Before the great battle in Tianling Province, that white-robed cultivator had somehow managed to preserve a seventeen-petaled Tianling Flower!
In all likelihood, this was the sole Original Strain Tianling Flower in the entire world!
And it was not a fleeting bloom that lasted only a few breaths before withering away—it was an Original Strain capable of enduring indefinitely, one that could be brought out at any moment to be admired alongside others!
The implications of this were immense...
The value of an object lies entirely in its rarity.
And a singular existence without equal in the world...
...was simply beyond measure.
Cultivators across the realm began frantically searching for the white-robed cultivator who had appeared that day holding the Original Strain.
Yet to everyone's bewilderment, following that day, the man seemed to have vanished into thin air, never showing himself again. His past was equally enigmatic. As if he had dropped straight from the heavens, no one knew his origins or identity.
Even when Dao Integration cultivators employed arts of deduction, they could not catch the slightest glimpse of him.
Thus, wild speculations arose.
Some claimed he was a spy from the Five Elders Association and that the Original Strain was a fabrication meant to disrupt and destroy the flourishing Tianling Flower market.
Others said he might be a rogue cultivator of the wilds who usually secluded himself inside a grotto-heaven, and that his sudden emergence followed by his disappearance was merely a ploy to hold out for the highest bidder.
Just as the outside world grew increasingly curious about the enigmatic Xu Bai...
...Xu Bai had already returned to the Beast Seed Realm.
His own fortune had merged with the heavenly fortune of the pocket world. With his body acting as the world itself, he warded off the deduction arts that constantly surged toward him.
"Rest assured, Young Master. Being inside a pocket world naturally weakens the outside world's perception of you by a degree. On top of that, Old Fang and I have joined forces to conceal the heavenly secrets around you..."
Stroking his beard, Liu San declared with absolute confidence, "As long as the Longevity Heavenly Venerable doesn't personally intervene, it is utterly impossible for them to trace their way here."
Xu Bai was not worried about this in the least.
Beyond the protective measures Liu San mentioned, there was also the secret technique he had cast: Covering the Sky with One Hand. Since it could deceive even the Profound Net, he doubted anyone currently in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals possessed the means to deduce his whereabouts.
Of course, if the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable were to personally step forward and pay a visit over such a trivial matter,
then he would accept his fate. He would simply activate True Reversion on the spot!
Besides, his true body was hundreds of millions of li away at the Great Maelstrom, completely safe.
"Sect Master, this trick of yours—playing hard to get—was executed brilliantly! According to reports from the disciples outside, those fellows are all frantic with impatience, scratching their heads in despair. Just to lay eyes on the legendary Original Strain Tianling Flower, they are clamoring to offer exorbitant prices," Fang Zaiji said excitedly, looking at Xu Bai with admiration.
"Some cultivators have even let it be known that they are willing to trade a genuine Dao Integration technique in exchange for the Original Strain with you, Sect Master. Tsk, tsk..."
Xu Bai's expression remained unchanged as he said placidly, "No rush. Let them stew a bit longer."
"The Sect Master is right," Fang Zaiji smiled knowingly.
"Still, the commotion you stirred up this time is a bit too immense, Sect Master. I'm afraid that when you venture out again, the Dharma treasures I forged for you might not hold up," he said, suddenly furrowing his brow with concern.
"If three to five Dao Integration experts band together to rob you by force, this clone of yours will truly be in quite a bit of danger."
Xu Bai's face twitched.
"Rest assured, I have my own plans. Master Fang, you should go focus on studying the Medicine King Cauldron."
Fang Zaiji chuckled, his figure flickering before vanishing.
"Elder Liu, I have a task for you," Xu Bai said to Liu San once Fang Zaiji was gone.
"Please give your orders, Young Master," Liu San replied solemnly.
"Find this person for me." Xu Bai projected a portrait of Jiao Xiuyuan into the air.
"He has myriad incarnations, with clones spread throughout the Xuanhuang Realm. In every provincial Heavenly City's Thousand Li Hall, he has a clone presiding. Ordinarily, one could simply approach him directly at his shop, but right now neither my true body nor my clone can afford to leave.
"Furthermore, you do not yet possess an identity with the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, so you cannot enter the Heavenly Cities. Thus, I must trouble you to search the wilderness outside.
"You can focus your search on the ruins of ancient sects. It shouldn't be too difficult.
"Once you find him, give him this item and tell him I have a business deal to discuss with him..."
Xu Bai instructed him carefully.
"Rest easy, Young Master."
Having received his orders, Liu San immediately departed the Valley of Longevity to track down Jiao Xiuyuan.
Meanwhile, Xu Bai's attention shifted primarily to his true body.
Ningxu Province, the Great Maelstrom.
"Fellow Daoist, look quickly! Is that the Time Mirage you spoke of?!"
Dongfang Yao pointed at the colossal pillar of light soaring skyward from within the vortex, shouting in wild excitement.
Even though he was practically shouting at the top of his lungs, his voice was scarcely audible amidst the howling storm and violent rain.
Even divine sense transmissions were distorted by the warped spiritual qi surrounding them.
Over the few months he had spent comprehending the Dao alongside Dongfang Yao, Li Fan had noticed that something extraordinary seemed to be brewing within the Great Maelstrom.
Dongfang Yao had felt nothing unusual, but Li Fan had sensed it vaguely.
Sure enough, on this day, as Dongfang Yao charged toward the center of the vortex to temper his body with the black boundary-splitting fissures, he suddenly froze in a daze.
He remained completely motionless, letting the boundary-splitting power tear several gruesome gashes into his flesh as blood flowed freely.
Within the vortex, a towering mountain peak inexplicably materialized.
Coiled around the mountain was a scarlet serpent.
Then, from the mountain peak, an incandescent burst of white light erupted.
Like the sharpest of sword blades, it tore through space.
It surged forth with boundless vigor, piercing straight into the highest heavens.
Heaven and earth shook as the mountain peak steadily disintegrated.
Amidst desperate hisses, the scarlet serpent was forced to flee into the distance.
"Boundary-splitting... This is true boundary-splitting..."
Dongfang Yao stared at the magnificent sight, murmuring absentmindedly.
Li Fan, however, wore a solemn expression.
"A Time Mirage, a wonder not seen once in a hundred years... yet I have encountered it so easily."
Chapter 689