"The Crossing Adversity Sect..."
"They haunt like lingering ghosts!" A cold glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes.
If it had occurred only once, it could be dismissed as coincidence. But happening repeatedly could no longer be explained away by mere luck.
It was almost certainly tied to what Jiao Xiuyuan had said—that Li Fan was the so-called "calamity-bearer."
Yet Li Fan remained completely in the dark as to how this Crossing Adversity Sect, lurking in the shadows and impossible to shake off like persistent flies, managed to detect and track him down.
After all, even in the ancient cultivation world, the Crossing Adversity Sect had been an intensely mysterious existence, let alone now, thousands of years later.
"With every cycle reset, the Crossing Adversity Sect must inevitably be affected as well. From their perspective, then, I should be nothing more than a cultivator of enigmatic origin guarding a few secrets. Why are they always so certain that I am their so-called calamity-bearer, capable of helping them weather the disaster?
"Could it be that, aside from True Reversion, there is something else special about me? Or is it purely that the Crossing Adversity Sect's techniques are so profound that they can foresee the future?"
Thoughts churned through Li Fan's mind.
Regarding whether he could break free from the desperate plight of the Xuanhuang Realm to attain longevity and boundless freedom, Li Fan, bearing the extraordinary treasure True Reversion, possessed absolute confidence.
Thinking in reverse, if a savior truly existed in a Xuanhuang Realm destined for destruction, then Li Fan, as the sole anomaly, was undoubtedly the most likely candidate.
"Yet back then, Ruomu let me off most likely because it foresaw that I would commit boundless slaughter, bringing unimaginable catastrophe upon the cultivators of the world.
"Salvation and annihilation... do both reside within my future?"
...
Li Fan's contemplation was shattered by an intensely blinding white light before his eyes.
Perhaps because the spectacle recorded by the Time Mirage was so astounding, even the space and time of reality were affected to a degree.
Li Fan sensed that the surrounding spiritual energy, already raging violently, resonated and trembled in unison the instant the boundary-splitting radiance erupted from Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain.
"Not good! Fellow Daoist Li, retreat quickly!"
Dongfang Yao, who had been ecstatic just a moment before, suddenly changed color. His figure flickered repeatedly as he retreated violently beyond the maelstrom.
Good-natured enough at heart, he did not forget to warn Li Fan, who was still standing there dazed.
"This is..."
Li Fan drifted backward, yet his eyes were glued to the Great Maelstrom and the vast expanse of sea surrounding it, where space seemed cleaved and partitioned into myriad tiny fragments.
Every black fissure appeared to harbor the ferocious silhouette of a demon beast.
Roaring, bellowing.
Baring fangs and brandishing claws, they tore through space.
Tens of millions of demon beasts united as one, cleaving the realm of Xuanhuang.
In an instant, Li Fan recalled the scene in the Fallen Immortal Realm when the Heavenly Sword Sect forged the boundary-splitting divine weapon.
Sword Cores infused with the varied sword dao insights of countless cultivators had been cast into the divine weapon's forge.
Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain's process of cleaving the realm seemed to achieve the same result through different means.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Who knows what really happened back then? Even thousands of years later, one can still feel the magnificent spectacle of that era through mere illusions," Dongfang Yao sighed with deep emotion.
The anomaly of the soaring white pillar of light lasted for a full half-cup of tea's time.
In the end, it abruptly vanished without a sound.
The stark contrast in illumination made heaven and earth seem suddenly dim before Li Fan's eyes.
With the disappearance of the Time Mirage, the storm over the Great Maelstrom also gradually settled, as if entering a lull following a fierce battle, gathering strength once more.
"What a pity. Who knows how long we will have to wait before another rift appears," Dongfang Yao remarked with a tinge of regret.
"From what I see, it hardly looks like you came away empty-handed from this comprehension, Fellow Daoist," Li Fan said with a smile.
Dongfang Yao waved his hand. "When comprehending the dao through marvelous phenomena, the more the better. After all, my insights still fall far short of the true boundary-splitting might we just saw. Unfortunately, unlike the Mortal Transcending to Soul Formation Wall, it doesn't appear at a fixed time and place. It's entirely something one can only encounter by chance, not seek out.
"Back then, before the Soul Formation Wall, I pondered repeatedly and ultimately achieved a Golden Core of four dharmas. Alas, my comprehension was limited, and afterward I could never glean anything more from it." A flicker of reminiscence crossed Dongfang Yao's eyes.
"The Mortal Transcending to Soul Formation Wall." Li Fan's interest was piqued.
Also a Time Mirage, it recorded the scene of Mr. Bai ascending to the heavens in a single bound from a mortal to reach the Soul Formation realm.
Li Fan had long heard of it.
Yet because doubts lingered in his heart, he had never gone to observe it.
The core question was whether Mr. Bai's persona as the "kindest man in the world" was real or fake, and whether he was still alive somewhere in the world.
Judging from Li Fan's repeated encounters in the Fallen Immortal Realm, Mr. Bai possessed godlike mastery, his cultivation bordering on that of an immortal.
If such a figure truly still existed in some corner of the Xuanhuang Realm, then catching a glimpse of him—even through the imagery recorded on the Mortal Transcending to Soul Formation Wall—might be no different from meeting him face-to-face in reality.
What would happen then was anyone's guess.
Before uncovering the truth about Mr. Bai, Li Fan dared only interact with Mr. Bai's "past"—or rather, make contact with the "Mr. Bai of the past"—via the Fallen Immortal Realm.
After all, over an extraordinary treasure like True Reversion, even a True Immortal descended to the mortal realm would fight tooth and nail with bloodshot eyes.
His thoughts flitted by in an instant, and Li Fan smoothly followed along, "The Mortal Transcending to Soul Formation Wall is indeed extraordinary, one of the great marvels of Tianyun Province!"
Dongfang Yao took out a cyan robe and draped it over himself.
Suddenly recalling something, he adopted a rather strange expression. "The Soul Formation Wall is formidable, but if you ask me, the most wondrous thing in Tianyun Province is actually a black dog!"
"A black dog?" Li Fan was startled at first, then the Dao Transformation Stone in his mind glowed faintly as an anecdote he had once heard from Shenyuzi instantly surfaced. "Does Fellow Daoist Dongfang mean Chen Shimei, the callous, ungrateful man who refined his own dao companion into a Dao Foundation?"
Dongfang Yao nodded repeatedly. "Precisely, precisely! That's him. His abominable conduct enraged Fairy Kongyou, who turned him into a black dog. To curry favor with Fairy Kongyou, countless cultivators lined up with all sorts of wild beasts to torment and humiliate him.
"That scene..."
Dongfang Yao shuddered, struck by a wave of revulsion.
"However, the true marvel of the matter doesn't end there," Dongfang Yao said, suddenly shifting the topic and lowering his voice.
"Oh? Could there be more to the story?" Li Fan was somewhat surprised.
"You know that I possess the bloodline of an ancient demon beast. Perhaps because of that, as my physique grew increasingly powerful, I discovered another wondrous use of this beast bloodline.
"Namely, the ability to communicate with all manner of beasts," Dongfang Yao said with an air of mystery.
"A while ago, I passed through Tianyun Province and ran into Chen Shimei being brutally ravaged. To others' ears, it was just heart-wrenching barking. But to my ears, it was Chen Shimei crying out incessantly, protesting his innocence.
"He said that he never refined his dao companion at all. Rather, so they would never be parted for all eternity, his dao companion took the initiative to turn herself into part of his Dao Foundation."
"What?" Li Fan did not catch on for a moment.
Dongfang Yao shrugged. "I didn't believe it at first either. But once Chen Shimei realized I could understand him, he grabbed onto me like a dying man clutching at a straw, frantically pouring out this secret to me.
"He swore up and down that it had all been his twisted companion's idea. He merely went to sleep and woke up to find her gone, while a whole new Dao Foundation had appeared inside his body.
"What's even more terrifying is that he claimed she isn't even dead. By some unknown means, she can still communicate and speak with him every single day.
"Suffering under such unredressed injustice and enduring daily torment of both body and mind, Chen Shimei has gone completely out of his mind.
"He pleaded desperately for me to end his suffering. But, well..."
Dongfang Yao wore a helpless look. "Fairy Kongyou has countless suitors; I wouldn't dare cross her. Even if she was wrong, it's not like I could say so outright.
"So Chen Shimei can only continue to suffer."
Dongfang Yao sighed.
"Ever since then, I realized just what terrifying creatures women are. I avoid them like the plague.
"True-hearted men like you, Brother Li, are much more to my liking."
He glanced at Li Fan, nodding with satisfaction.
"Heh heh..." Li Fan imperceptibly shifted a little farther away from Dongfang Yao.
"This is the first time I've heard of this. It truly is fascinating. Fairy Kongyou..."
Li Fan had also heard of Fairy Kongyou's name before. In his previous life, he had even seen her once.
That was during the commendation assembly rewarding merits after the completion of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation.
She was indeed devastatingly beautiful, fully living up to her title of fairy.
More importantly, she possessed a special physique. Her companion wonder, the Yin-Yang Jade, was equivalent to half a wonder of Heaven.
Through the method of yin-yang dual cultivation, the yang half of the Yin-Yang Jade could be fused with her dao companion, elevating the companion's Foundation Establishment wonder, Golden Core, Nascent Soul grotto-heaven, and even nascent transformations across the board.
It was enough to turn a mediocre cultivator into a peerless prodigy in a single leap.
Describing it as defying the heavens to change one's fate was no exaggeration.
It was precisely because of this that Fairy Kongyou was ardently pursued by countless young, talented cultivators.
And she herself seemed to possess a formidable backing; fools who had lost their minds and attempted to take her by force had all vanished from the face of the earth, leaving neither corpse nor trace behind.
Seeing Li Fan's rather subtle expression, Dongfang Yao could not help but urge, "Fellow Daoist Li, trust me on this. Beauties are nothing but trouble, while real men are true brothers..."
"Haha, Brother Dongfang speaks the truth. Such a woman is not someone I can afford to provoke!" Li Fan laughed heartily, cutting him off.
"Now that the storm over the Great Maelstrom has subsided, where do you plan to go next, Fellow Daoist?" Li Fan asked.
Hearing Li Fan agree so readily with his words, Dongfang Yao beamed. "I have a friend named Huangfu Song. He and I see eye to eye, like brothers. Since Brother Li and I get along so well, I'm sure you two will hit it off just fine.
"Not long ago, I heard he was heading to some Chizha Abyss, claiming it's a rare opportunity to render great meritorious service, and invited me along. I have nothing else going on, and having recently comprehended a new divine ability, my hands are itching for action, so I figured I'd join the fun.
"How about it, Brother Li? Are you interested?" Dongfang Yao looked at Li Fan with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
"The Chizha Abyss? White mist, Lost Realms, great merit?" Li Fan's eyes narrowed as countless clues connected into a single thread.
"It is my earnest desire, though I dared not ask," Li Fan replied after brief thought, agreeing without hesitation.
"Splendid!" Dongfang Yao rejoiced.
"Let me ask where he is right now so we can meet up!"
With that, he produced a communication talisman and sent an inquiry.
Before long, Dongfang Yao stowed the talisman away.
"Tianyu Province, let's go!"
Hearing this familiar name, Li Fan smiled faintly, then followed Dongfang Yao, flying toward the nearest teleportation array.
-----
Inside the Beast Seed Realm.
Xu Bai, who had been deepening his comprehension of the world's heavenly fortune, suddenly opened his eyes.
Standing aloft in the sky, his lips parted slightly, seeming to utter a single phrase.
Heaven and earth abruptly fell into dead silence.
A split second later, tens of millions of roars from different demon beasts erupted in waves, reverberating throughout the world.
Compared to the formidable exotic beasts that had previously reigned supreme in the Beast Seed Realm, these were the roars of the most terrifying ancient beings of the demon beast race.
Carrying the ferocity and savagery of primordial antiquity, they washed over the entire Beast Seed Realm, where exotic beasts were diligently toiling.
At this moment, every one of them looked up toward the source of the roar, trembling uncontrollably and dropping to their knees on the spot.
And before Xu Bai, just like the Time Mirage of the Great Maelstrom earlier, black fissures tore open one after another, cleaving the surrounding ring of space.
The scenery distorted, and even the world itself became somewhat unstable.
A figure abruptly appeared.
It was Fang Zaiji.
"Sect Master, what happened?"
He looked at Xu Bai in some panic, asking repeatedly.
Assuming an enemy had breached space to create a passage and abduct Xu Bai, Fang Zaiji had been prepared to rush to the rescue.
Yet he saw Xu Bai firmly close his lips.
The heavens-filling roars of demon beasts vanished in an instant, and the world regained its silence.
The minute spatial fissures were no more. Xu Bai cast a glance at Fang Zaiji and said calmly, "It is nothing, merely the comprehension of a divine ability."
"Uh..." Fang Zaiji sized Xu Bai up in astonishment. "That anomaly just now was caused by a divine ability you comprehended? Truly? Even Liu San's and my techniques could hardly produce such an effect!"
Fang Zaiji's face showed some skepticism.
Xu Bai did not even bother replying, merely savoring the process of executing that divine ability just now.
"Strange. This avatar's talent is absurdly high.
"Observing the same boundary-splitting Time Mirage, my true self only gained a vague inspiration. Yet this avatar...
"While beholding the silhouettes of myriad beasts, it felt as if I were there in person, hearing their roars with my own ears.
"Even for those demon beasts that were exceedingly blurry and whose origins could not be distinguished at all, crystal-clear images of them sprang up in my mind.
"Furthermore..."
Xu Bai looked down at his hands.
"Seeing through the surface to perceive the essence... instantly comprehending and replicating the boundary-splitting might...
"Could Xu Ke's essence blood combined with the Feather of the Profound Bird truly achieve so much?
"Or is it... because of Mr. Bai?"
When this thought crossed Li Fan's mind, his immediate reaction was that it was somewhat absurd.
He had merely modeled the avatar after Mr. Bai's temperament, giving them a superficial resemblance.
But...
What if it were truly so?
Chapter 690