His thoughts spinning rapidly, Li Fan frowned slightly, still unable to determine the origin of this faint, looming sense of crisis.
Yet his intuition had always been sharp; he could not afford to ignore it.
"It must have something to do with the Heavenly Profound Mirror..."
Pondering, Li Fan looked toward the End Disc that Liu San and the others had just created before him.
"Can this thing have its effects amplified through a formation and cover the entrance to the Valley of Longevity?" Li Fan asked abruptly.
"It should be possible. But Sect Master, for you to suddenly suggest this..." Fang Zaiji replied with certainty, only to realize the implication a moment later and startle in fright.
"Could it be..." Liu San's face was also filled with shock.
Li Fan did not explain, merely instructing them to finish the task as quickly as possible.
At the same time, he shifted his attention over to Xu Bai.
Over the span of two years, Xu Bai had gradually regained Nangong Shirong's trust through his actions.
Inside Tianliang City at this moment, things had fallen into complete disarray due to the Heavenly Profound Mirror's temporary outage.
Tens of thousands of cultivators secluded in cultivation inside the Heavenly Profound Mirror were ejected, filling the streets that had once been somewhat empty.
The Administration Hall, the Martial Practice Hall, and even the Protector Hall were experiencing varying degrees of chaos.
The operation of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals truly could not function without the Heavenly Profound Mirror. Now that it had abruptly ceased working, the fallout was exceptionally pronounced.
Unaware of what was happening, dread sprang up in the cultivators' hearts.
"Could we have gone to war with the Five Elders Association again?"
"Looks like the situation is grim this time. Even the Heavenly Profound Mirror has been affected. Say, is any of you familiar with the Five Elders Association's side?"
...
Just as matters were slipping out of hand, Nangong Shirong finally arrived in time to explain the situation to the crowd.
Just as Li Fan had guessed, the sudden unavailability of the Heavenly Profound Mirror was indeed connected to its transformation and sublimation.
However, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals officially used a more precise term: "Ascension."
"Following the establishment of the Rebirth Mansion, another epoch-making event is upon us. You all need only wait patiently; there is no need to panic!"
With Nangong Shirong's explanation, the cultivators' worries swiftly dissolved.
Instead, they began excitedly discussing the Heavenly Profound Mirror's ascension with one another.
In the daily lives of ordinary Alliance cultivators, the Heavenly Profound Mirror was an indispensable presence, one they interacted with from dawn to dusk.
Now that it was undergoing an "Ascension" to advance a step further, everyone was thrilled.
"The current Heavenly Profound Mirror can already be called omnipotent. If it truly completes its ascension, just how powerful will it become?"
"Trading, communication, Spirit Enlightenment, Dao discussions, deduction. Besides these existing functions, what new capabilities will the updated Heavenly Profound Mirror gain? It really fills one with anticipation."
"Hmph, what does that have to do with ordinary cultivators like us? Don't tell me it'll give us cultivation techniques for free? In the end, we'll still have to work hard to earn contribution points."
...
The cultivators chattered incessantly.
And the Heavenly Profound Mirror did not keep them waiting for long.
Seven days later, the Heavenly Profound Mirror returned to normal. All of its functions appeared no different from before.
Soon, however, cultivators discovered that upon preparing to leave the Heavenly Profound Mirror, they received a prompt from it:
"Generate personal version of [Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror]?"
"Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror, what kind of thing is that?" cultivators asked in confusion.
And the Heavenly Profound Mirror's explanation set their hearts racing in disbelief:
"The Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror may be regarded as an avatar of the Heavenly Profound Mirror. It is generated free of charge for cultivators to carry with them."
"In addition to the Heavenly Profound Mirror's standard functions such as trading and communication, it also serves as a cultivator's eyes, recording everything seen and heard in complete, meticulous detail for review at any time."
"Furthermore, the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror can provide tailored cultivation guidance and advice based on a cultivator's individual circumstances, as well as deduce cultivation techniques and divine abilities. It can also facilitate virtualized combat via divine sense to enhance a cultivator's actual combat proficiency."
"There are numerous other functions; cultivators are invited to explore them on their own."
...
This stirred up a thousand waves in an instant.
The cultivators stared blankly at the Heavenly Profound Mirror's explanation, hardly daring to believe their eyes.
The various functions of the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror were simply too formidable, practically rivaling the immortal artifacts of legend.
Even if it were priced at ten million contribution points, countless cultivators would surely scramble to buy it. Yet what were they seeing now?
Such an extraordinary treasure was being generated for free?
When had the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals become the world's greatest charity?
Given past experiences, some cultivators opted to wait and see for the time being.
Meanwhile, those who had nothing to lose eagerly chose to confirm.
Before long, their feedback spread across the entire Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
"There's no physical form. It seems to form directly within the sea of consciousness, summonable with a single thought."
"Convenient, it's truly too convenient! The experience blows the Lesser Heavenly Profound Mirror I spent over a hundred thousand contribution points on right out of the water. My heart hurts..."
"From now on, we won't even need communication talismans! We can contact anyone about anything through the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror. What's more, it can transfer items directly! Tsk tsk, those unscrupulous merchants profiteering across provinces are in for a rough time!"
"Providing personalized cultivation guidance... it's actually real? The Heavenly Profound Mirror told me to stabilize my foundation for now and not rush to break through, or the Heavenly Calamity's impact will be extraordinarily severe..."
"Dammit! Why does deducing techniques and divine abilities still cost contribution points? The divine sense battles are pretty fun, though—it feels no different from fighting in person! Even if you die in battle, at most you only burn through a bit of divine sense."
...
Testimonials from various cultivators came pouring in.
Prompted by this, those who had previously hesitated changed their minds one after another, rushing into the Heavenly Profound Mirror to request the generation of their own Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirrors.
After reading through their impressions in detail, Xu Bai could not help drawing a sharp breath.
"Isn't this an enhanced version of the Profound Net from the previous life? These various functions are practically extensions of the Profound Net's power. Only this time, it isn't relying on the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formations spread across the Xuanhuang Realm, but using cultivators themselves as vessels..."
Yet perhaps all paths lead to the same destination.
Hardly any cultivator could refuse a divine object like the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror. It was foreseeable that once every cultivator integrated a treasure mirror into their body, the power of this life's Profound Net would certainly be no weaker than the last.
"If it can even provide cultivation advice to cultivators, the internal condition of every cultivator will surely be laid bare to the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror. True Reversion's stature is definitely higher than that of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, so even if scanned, it might not reveal anything abnormal.
"Still, I will not gamble on it.
"My clone, on the other hand, can give it a try. Or perhaps..."
Xu Bai suddenly thought of the End Stone Platter.
"I just wonder whether this object can affect the Heavenly Profound Treasure Mirror."
While Xu Bai was lost in thought, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals issued yet another announcement.
Chapter 742