Ji Hongdao's explanation of the Dissociation Disc from his past life could not help but surface in Li Fan's mind.
"The more array data the Dissociation Disc absorbs, the stronger its deciphering capabilities become. In the same vein, its power of deduction and iteration grows proportionally more formidable. It is truly unimaginable what heights they might reach in the future."
"Who knows whether, in your hands, a Dissociation Disc might evolve into a second Heavenly Profound Mirror?"
...
For the Dissociation Disc to complete its metamorphosis, it required fuel—which is to say, all manner of distinct formations. Li Fan had immersed himself in array formations across several lifetimes. If judged purely on his practical ability to lay down formations, he might not yet rank very high in the present Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Yet if it came strictly to breadth of knowledge and exposure, Li Fan was confident he would not lose to anyone.
Zhang Zhiliang's Infinite Method, He Zhenghao's Mountains and Rivers Hundred Meridians Array Chart, the Medicine King Sect's Spring and Autumn Great Dream Formation...
Even world-shaking creations that had yet to appear in this lifetime, such as the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation and the Grand Formation of Inverting Life and Death within the Lost Domain of Life and Death.
Li Fan understood them all intimately.
Were Li Fan tasked with setting up these formations with his own hands, he might indeed fall somewhat short. But if it were merely a matter of virtual deduction and calculation, there was virtually no obstacle at all.
While pitting the nine discs against each other to obtain a complete Dissociation Disc, this was also a test on Li Fan's part.
He wanted to test whether the Dissociation Disc, as a secondary body of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, retained any connection to its progenitor mirror.
His instrument for this was the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation.
As the foundation that had given rise to the Profound Net in his previous life, if the Dissociation Disc shared any link with the Heavenly Profound Mirror, the mirror would be able to perceive what was happening on the secondary body's end. Thus, the moment Li Fan fed the data of the Spirit-Locking Formation into the Dissociation Disc, it was bound to draw the attention of the factions within the Alliance that leaned toward the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
They would surely trace the Dissociation Disc's location and come knocking at his door.
Conversely, if all remained calm and quiet right until the Dissociation Disc completed its metamorphosis, it would prove that, just as advertised, once a secondary body detached, all connection to the Heavenly Profound Mirror was severed. It could be treated as an independent entity—at least as far as the Dissociation Disc was concerned.
"There might be some risk, but it's worth a try."
Li Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, countless rapidly shifting formations mirrored within his pupils.
Following his movements, the Dissociation Disc in his hands continually radiated a faint luster.
...
While Li Fan was scheming to secure a complete Heavenly Profound secondary body, Xu Bai in Tianliang Province was dealing with a troublesome affair.
Ever since he assumed the role of Liaison Emissary, quite a few offspring of dignitaries from other provinces had been arranged into non-critical posts across Tianliang Province. He had managed things well originally, keeping all parties relatively satisfied.
Not long ago, however, one of those cultivators—a man named Guan Changge from Tianyu Province—vanished.
In this era, no one feared your death so much as your disappearance.
If you died, at least the Manor of Rebirth was there, and eighteen years later you would be a stalwart hero once more. But if you vanished...
There were endless grim possibilities.
Xu Bai also knew Guan Changge's elder. It was none other than Guan Xingxiu, Commander of the Tianyu Province Garrison Court. Given his status, he ought not to have looked into such a matter in person; at most, he would have sent a subordinate to make inquiries.
Yet he had come to Tianliang Province in person, looking thoroughly poised to hold people to account.
This clearly signaled that the situation was out of the ordinary.
The newly appointed City Lord of Tianliang City, Nangong Shirong, vowed solemnly to give him a full explanation.
After temporarily pacifying Guan Xingxiu, he immediately dumped the task onto Xu Bai.
Inside a secret chamber, Nangong Shirong looked grave. "There is something fishy about this matter. We had barely received the report when Guan Xingxiu arrived, as if he knew well in advance..."
"He is likely coming for us. Go and investigate the situation thoroughly first. I will make a trip to the Alliance headquarters. If you truly discover anything, do not act rashly. Wait until I return."
After giving these instructions, Nangong Shirong hurried away.
Having accepted the mission, Xu Bai brushed aside all his current duties for the moment and arrived at the location where Guan Changge was last seen.
Tianliang Province, Mount Wuliang.
"Guan Changge vanished right before your eyes, right here?" Xu Bai asked, his divine sense sweeping across the mountain range below.
The three cultivators following behind him nodded repeatedly, their expressions exceedingly tense.
One of them said, "We heard that, much like the Mortal Transcending to Soul Formation Wall, anomalous visions occasionally manifest on the Wuliang Wall of Mount Wuliang. So we agreed to come observe it together. Who would have thought that right after we flew here, while still trying to locate the Wuliang Wall, Brother Guan suddenly disappeared?"
Another took up the thread. "At first, we thought he had urgent business and headed back early, so we didn't pay it much mind. But after admiring the wondrous spectacle of the Wuliang Wall and returning to Tianliang City, we still couldn't contact Brother Guan. That was when we realized something was wrong."
"Not only was he unreachable via communication talisman, but I also performed deductions using items Brother Guan left in my care, yet yielded no results whatsoever," added the third cultivator, named Fu Xingchi.
Xu Bai soared around the skies of Mount Wuliang in a wide circle, not detecting any abnormal disturbance.
Given the Heavenly Dao's affinity toward Xu Bai, if something were wrong with Mount Wuliang, he would certainly sense it.
It seemed he could rule out the mountain itself being the issue...
Wait.
Something suddenly occurred to Xu Bai, and he pressed, "Where is this Wuliang Wall you mentioned?"
Fu Xingchi froze for a moment, then pointed down toward a gorge. "Right at the foot of the mountain."
"Take me there," Xu Bai said in a deep voice.
The three did not understand why, but knowing the gravity of the situation, they dared not object.
They led Xu Bai before the Wuliang Wall.
The mountain slope, initially littered with loose gravel and vegetation, suddenly turned as smooth as a mirror as it approached the base.
It even reflected the mountain stream.
Xu Bai stared at this mirrored rock face—roughly three hundred zhang long and over fifty zhang high—and saw his own reflection within it.
Reaching out to touch it, it felt cool as jade.
"Did you see the so-called anomaly back then?" Xu Bai asked.
Fu Xingchi nodded. "The visions on the Wuliang Wall appear without fixed timing. Sometimes they manifest multiple times in a single day, and sometimes they don't appear for several consecutive years. It all depends on personal fortune."
"Our luck was fairly good last time. We saw a cultivator dancing with a sword within the wall. Though the swordplay was very slow, it seemed to harbor supreme sword arts. Our minds and spirits were utterly captivated, unable to pull away."
"Can you depict what you saw back then?"
"I can."
Saying so, Fu Xingchi drew a brush and began sketching in midair.
Moments later, as if recorded directly by a Water Mirror Technique, a lifelike scene of a cultivator wielding a sword appeared before everyone.
"Brother Fu's brushwork is truly extraordinary. It is virtually identical to my memory," the other two cultivators could not help but praise.
Xu Bai stared at the sword-dancing image for a long while before suddenly asking, "Did Guan Changge know swordplay?"
Fu Xingchi froze on the spot.
Yet he soon caught on. "Are you suspecting that the figure in the Wuliang Wall back then was Brother Guan?"
"Impossible. Brother Guan cultivated the Dao of Music; he knew nothing of sword arts," Fu Xingchi replied, shaking his head in denial.
"I heard that Brother Changge deeply admired Senior Guan Xingxiu, and often lamented that he could not master world-shaking, god-weeping swordplay like him," the other cultivator suddenly recalled.
The moment those words were spoken, everyone present fell silent.
In unison, they looked toward the Wuliang Wall ahead, waves of chill rising in their hearts.
Xu Bai was the first to break the dead silence. "For now, this is only a conjecture without substantive evidence. Help me cordon off Mount Wuliang first and keep others away. Let me return and check whether similar incidents have occurred in the past."
With heavy expressions, Fu Xingchi and the others nodded in agreement.
Xu Bai hurried back to Tianliang City and requisitioned the historical records.
Sure enough, he discovered something amiss.
Over the past century, reports of cultivators vanishing without explanation had surfaced from time to time.
However, they were all rogue cultivators without backing.
After they disappeared, it was merely close acquaintances among their peers who helped report it to the Alliance.
The path of cultivation was fraught with hardships, and life and death were unpredictable.
Once investigations confirmed that spies from the Five Elders Association were not at work, and without any useful clues ever emerging, the matters usually fizzled out into nothing.
And so, after the Wuliang Wall silently swallowed an unknown number of nameless cultivators without anyone ever noticing, it had finally led to the disappearance case before them today.
Chapter 737