"With these in hand, we can consider our losses somewhat recouped." Huangfu Song let out a slight breath of relief as he stowed away one of the Exemption Talismans. The other two he distributed to Li Fan and Dongfang Yao.
"Just this useless scrap?" Dongfang Yao held the seven-colored talisman before his eyes, studying it skeptically.
"I have heard of this item before," Li Fan said, narrowing his eyes in recollection. "It seems that whenever the Alliance issues a mandatory assignment, a cultivator can use an Exemption Talisman to disregard the requirement entirely."
"Exactly!" Huangfu Song nodded with relish, his earlier gloom swept clean away.
"What good is that?" Dongfang Yao muttered under his breath, still somewhat unconvinced.
Huangfu Song shot him a sidelong glare. "It might not see much use on ordinary days, but at a critical juncture, it can save your life! For instance, if an all-out war breaks out with the Five Elders Association and cultivators are conscripted into service, others will have to beg on their hands and knees or pull every connection they have—or else march dutifully off to the front line. With this, however, we can casually steer clear of disaster."
"In a manner of speaking, isn't this essentially an imperial pardon?" Dongfang Yao understood immediately. Realizing the immense value of the talisman, he carefully stowed it away.
"Indeed. What's even better is that these Exemption Talismans are completely unbonded. Any cultivator holding one is recognized as its rightful owner. If someone makes an attractive offer, we can even sell it off." Huangfu Song added, "To prevent untrustworthy people from coveting them, neither of you should carry them on your person day to day. Storing them inside the Heavenly Profound Mirror's space will suffice."
Dongfang Yao nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Li Fan, meanwhile, was examining the charts recorded within the Heaven-Measuring Mirror. "Though we received the Exemption Talismans by way of compensation, our Qingxuan points have been wiped to zero, meaning all our efforts came to nothing. What do you two plan to do next? Venture back into the white mist, or pack it in and call it a day?"
"The curtain has only just risen! How could we possibly drop it here? We now have an explored map in our hands, allowing us to strike directly into uncharted territory. Our exploration efficiency will multiply several times over!" Huangfu Song's decision was obvious, an endless gleam of greed glittering in his eyes.
Dongfang Yao naturally stood in agreement with Huangfu Song.
Li Fan clapped his hands in praise. "Only those who grow bolder in adversity are true heroes! In that case, as soon as I restock our supplies, we shall set off at once."
"However..." Li Fan showed a troubled expression. "I fear that high-quality longevity items as reasonably priced as the Longevity Pills will be exceedingly difficult to come by again."
Huangfu Song and Dongfang Yao nodded at once in understanding.
"We can't keep letting you bear the burden alone, brother. I'll see what I can do as well," Dongfang Yao offered proactively, volunteering to share Li Fan's load.
The three agreed to rendezvous in two days, after which they went their separate ways.
***
Inside the Beast Seed Realm.
Xu Bai lay supine, drifting in midair with his eyes closed as though fast asleep.
The seventeen-petaled Tianling Flower hovered quietly above his forehead, casting a faint, milky-white glow.
A mysterious power seemed to be gestating around him, warping the surrounding air. Concentric rings of seven-colored radiance radiated outward, centered on his body.
Seen from the ground of the Beast Seed Realm, it looked as though an additional multicolored sun had appeared in the sky.
Faced with this bizarre phenomenon, countless exotic beasts were gripped by awe and knelt to the ground in reverence.
The disciples of the Medicine King Sect wore peculiar expressions, whispering and buzzing with speculation.
Naturally, with Liu San standing guard beside Xu Bai, none of them dared speak out of turn.
Over a dozen days ago, Liu San had already tracked down Jiao Xiuyuan.
Jiao Xiuyuan had shown great interest in the deal Li Fan proposed.
However, he demanded to see with his own eyes whether the Tianling Flower in Li Fan's possession was truly as miraculous as the rumors claimed.
Li Fan's true body was absent, and Liu San had been unable to contact him. Thus, after hastily returning with Jiao Xiuyuan's communication talisman, Liu San intended to report the matter directly to the avatar.
Upon arriving in the Beast Seed Realm, however, Liu San found Xu Bai immersed in a profound state of epiphany.
Not daring to disturb him, Liu San took up a post as his protector instead.
"Old Liu, whatever the Sect Master is comprehending this time looks rather formidable," Fang Zaiji's voice echoed beside Liu San's ear.
Fang Zaiji himself was nowhere to be seen; the voice issued from a golden eyeball.
This was a trial creation Fang Zaiji had fashioned after making breakthroughs in his study of the Medicine King Cauldron. Inspired by the cauldron's Grand Formation of the Spring and Autumn Dream, which connected the consciousnesses of multiple people, he had forged a set of eighty-one Eyes of Shared Sight. Not only could holders of these items communicate with one another, but they could also synchronize and share everything they saw and heard. They could even share sensations and perceptions of shifts in worldly spiritual energy, feeling entirely present at the scene.
"You could easily converse straight into my sea of consciousness, yet you insist on speaking beside my ear," Liu San said, his expression somewhat sour.
"What do you know? It's called ceremony," Fang Zaiji scoffed, retorting immediately.
Liu San turned his head and shot a glare at the golden eyeball.
The golden eyeball instantly darted to one side. "Come now, Old Liu, let's talk this out reasonably. This thing wasn't easy to craft..."
Liu San was not one to indulge him, but just as he moved to take action, a sudden premonition gripped his heart, and he looked up toward the sky.
Still asleep, Xu Bai abruptly raised his right hand. Using his finger as a brush, he executed a sweeping stroke across the air.
Countless flecks of light gathered in the heavens, and moments later, a vivid, lifelike painting of a roaring, surging river materialized in the sky.
"Go!"
Xu Bai pointed downward.
The painting dissolved into a streak of light and plummeted toward the Beast Seed Realm below.
And then...
*Rumble!*
A torrential river descended from the sky, surging out of thin air to crash violently against the earth.
Xu Bai's hand never ceased its movements.
Towering mountain peaks, ancient verdant pines, earth-rending canyons...
One exquisite painting after another emerged in sequence, then fell across every corner of the Beast Seed Realm like plummeting meteors.
Continuous roars echoed across the land.
Ancient trees burst from the soil, mountains thrust up from the earth, and wide plains split open with low, groaning tears.
Like a primordial creator deity, Xu Bai fashioned creation out of nothingness high above the world, reshaping the Beast Seed Realm according to his own will.
Watching this scene unfold, Liu San and Fang Zaiji were stunned into dazed silence.
"This..." Fang Zaiji muttered, uncertain.
"This transformation isn't wrought by harmonizing with this pocket world's Heavenly Dao; rather, an extraordinary external force is forcibly twisting and rewriting reality," Liu San said, having perceived the truth.
"His doing it with such effortless ease is partly because the Young Master's avatar enjoys home advantage here. Even so, that merely boosts the magnitude of the power he can draw upon."
"It does not alter the fundamental essence of this divine ability."
A sharp glint flashed in Fang Zaiji's eyes. "Does that mean that if one used this technique out in the wider world—in the Xuanhuang Realm—with sufficient cultivation, one could alter mountains and rivers at whim, just like painting on a canvas?"
Liu San's face grew solemn as he nodded slowly.
"Place a gag order on the sect disciples. This matter must be kept strictly confidential," Liu San instructed in a low voice.
Given their vast experience, they knew that even during the ancient cultivation era, this was an exceptionally extraordinary divine ability.
Chapter 701