"We're finally out!"
Huangfu Song and Dongfang Yao's cries of relief rang in Li Fan's ears.
Li Fan looked back at the two and noticed they were in far worse shape than him.
Though they had parted only briefly, they had aged considerably. Flecks of gray streaked their hair, and numerous wrinkles had crept across their faces.
"If Brother Li hadn't charged ahead and drawn away most of the death aura, Huangfu and I would probably have perished right there!" Dongfang Yao said, lingering fear in his voice.
Huangfu Song nodded in agreement as well.
"You two should take some more Longevity Pills first. I still have a few left." Li Fan took out a jade vial with an expression of pained reluctance, yet without the slightest hesitation. Tipping the vial, he poured out the remaining three pills inside.
"If I'd known, I would have bought more from that man back then," Li Fan sighed, setting aside two pills and handing them to Huangfu and Dongfang.
Seeing this, the two could not help showing a touch of emotion on their faces.
"I truly didn't misjudge you! Brother Li, you're a true friend!" Dongfang Yao said with deep feeling as he solemnly swallowed the Longevity Pill. "Never abandoning your comrades in moments of life and death—someone like you, Brother, is rare in the Xuanhuang Realm!"
"Having Brother Li accompany us on this journey is truly our great fortune," Huangfu Song chimed in only after refining the medicinal efficacy of his Longevity Pill and purging the baleful effects of the death aura.
"By the way, Brother Li, where did you obtain these Longevity Pills? The efficacy is truly extraordinary. I've taken six in a row now, yet I can still feel the surging power of vitality within them. I'd never even heard of such a divine elixir before." A moment later, shifting the topic, he inquired about the origin of the Longevity Pills.
"It's rather embarrassing, but I merely purchased them from a cultivator I ran into by chance in Tianyu City. At the time, listening to him boast about how wonderful the pills were, I was skeptical and didn't stock up on many. In our haste, I didn't even remember to ask for a way to contact him." Li Fan shook his head with regret.
Huangfu Song immediately looked disappointed upon hearing this. "What a pity. Once the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals officially issues its decree in the future, such a divine elixir is bound to trigger a mad scramble among the cultivators of the alliance. If only we could have stocked up on some in advance..."
"Let's focus on how to get out of here first. We've only escaped from that dead sea; we haven't actually made it out of this Lost Domain," Dongfang Yao interrupted Huangfu Song's daydreaming rather bluntly.
At these words, the three finally took a careful look at the azure ocean around them, which was starkly different from the black sea of death they had just fled.
It was not merely different; they were polar opposites.
One had been dense with death aura that even Soul Formation cultivators could not easily withstand or resolve. This place, while its vitality was not as overwhelmingly concentrated by comparison, was like the morning sun, like youth, like all living things in spring.
All life vied to flourish, brimming with vibrant energy.
It was like a world newly born, overflowing with vigor.
Its influence extended to Li Fan and his companions who had strayed into it, making them feel as though they had grown "younger" in both mind and body.
"What do you think, Brother Li?" Dongfang Yao asked.
Li Fan pondered in silence, offering no immediate answer.
Huangfu Song offered his own hypothesis: "This sea of vitality might be part of the same Lost Domain as the sea of death earlier. Two sides of the same coin.
"Correspondingly, there must be an array eye somewhere here as well. Life and death are opposites, so the positions of the two array eyes in their respective worlds shouldn't be the same. As long as we find the array eye of the sea of vitality and pass through it, we might be able to escape this Lost Domain."
Dongfang Yao scratched his head upon hearing this. "Why wouldn't it just send us back into the sea of death?"
Li Fan smiled and answered on Huangfu Song's behalf: "Because the formation governing this Lost Domain is the Grand Formation of Inverting Life and Death. Furthermore, judging by how dense the death aura was in the sea of death, if a place with such concentrated vitality were truly connected directly to it, it would stand out like a drop of ink in clear water. Yet we traversed the entire sea of death without encountering even a trace of vitality. That indicates the exit of this azure sea of life does not lead there."
"Brother Li's thoughts align perfectly with mine!" Huangfu Song praised.
"Well, since both of you say so, let's hurry up and search for that array eye or whatever." With both of his companions in agreement, Dongfang Yao could only concur and urged them to set off at once.
This sea of vitality seemed just like an ordinary ocean. Aside from a greater variety of marine life, there was nothing unusual about it.
Along the way, the three encountered no danger whatsoever, making smooth progress.
To Huangfu Song's pleasant surprise, exploring this place still counted toward charting uncharted territory in the white mist.
The wildly climbing Qingxuan points made him ecstatic. He repeatedly proclaimed that they had come to the right place, having seemingly forgotten the life-and-death crisis of just a moment ago.
Li Fan wore a faint smile of delight as well, though it was merely a deliberate facade he put on to fit in.
In reality, his mind was pondering a question:
Was this sea of vitality the experimental objective of that Longevity Heavenly Venerable who inverted life and death?
"Creating an entirely new world of vitality out of a world of total extinction?
"Elevating the life and death of all living things to the life and death of worlds. It is indeed a step further.
"Who on earth could this mighty figure be?"
Li Fan felt that other unknown secrets might still be hidden here, but they were beyond his ability to fathom for now.
"If my conjecture is true, then the principle of inverting life and death in heaven and earth has already been claimed. At this point in time, Immortal Venerable Blue Feather, who also intends to validate his dao through it, has not yet faked his death or staked everything on a single throw.
"Perhaps I can profit from this.
"Still, to scheme with a tiger requires utmost caution. For Blue Feather to have survived from the ancient cultivation world to this day, he is by no means an ordinary figure."
Amid Li Fan's silent musings, the three finished exploring the entirety of the sea of vitality.
In the end, they truly managed to locate the array eye.
"Last time, we had Brother Li take the lead. This time, it's my turn to go first," Dongfang Yao offered, patting his chest as he sensed the faintly discernible miniature vortex ahead.
Hearing this, Li Fan had no objection.
Huangfu Song nodded as well. He did not dispute it with Dongfang Yao and simply fell in behind him.
With Li Fan bringing up the rear, the three plunged into the vortex one after another.
The familiar white mist surged in from all directions. This terrifying existence, normally capable of devouring lifespan, brought a wave of joy to the three of them at this moment.
"We're finally out alive!"
"We've earned over thirty thousand Qingxuan points this time! I doubt anyone in the entire Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals has more than us!"
Huangfu Song impatiently raised the Heaven-Measuring Mirror, intending to synchronize the recorded data with the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Yet in the very next instant, his expression changed drastically, and he let out a miserable cry.
"What's going on?! Why have our Qingxuan points dropped to zero?!"
Chapter 699