"To initiate a rollback, True Reversion requires an established anchor. Right now, all three anchors were set before Mr. Bai's revival.
"Even if he truly manages to wrest True Reversion away from me, he won't be able to return to an era in which he never existed.
"Any new anchor he could use would inevitably be set after obtaining True Reversion.
"So all I need to do before dying is spread the truth of True Reversion's existence across the entire world. That alone would be a successful vengeance."
As Xu Bai prepared his "last testament," he pictured the scene following his death.
He had not felt like this in a very long time.
Ever since awakening True Reversion at the brink of death in his first lifetime, he had hardly ever considered that the day of his demise would soon arrive.
Perhaps because it had not truly come to pass yet, there was not much terror in his heart.
Instead, it was a medley of mixed emotions, perhaps even carrying a sliver of wishful thinking that he might somehow escape the calamity through sheer luck.
It was simply that the unknown future left his heart unsettled.
In the past, no matter what crisis he faced, he had never wavered.
Even if things went hopelessly awry, at worst he could simply revert!
The study where he had lived as a mortal, the summit of Mount Jieli—those were the safest havens in his heart.
Now, however, a stretch of sea riddled with reefs and undercurrents had suddenly interposed itself outside the harbor.
The slightest misstep would dash him to pieces.
***
While his thoughts drifted, the first "testament" was finished.
This so-called testament was actually modeled after the phenomena that accompanied a cultivator's fall, creating an instantaneous, wide-ranging projection across the sky.
At the same time, it bore a wisp of his consciousness to serve as the trigger to either detonate or destroy it.
"It needs to be buried deep in various corners of the Xuanhuang Realm beforehand, in places even I don't know.
"That way, even if the revived Mr. Bai wants to stop it, he won't be able to.
"Right. I'll need to find someone trustworthy to do this."
Faces flashed quickly through his mind.
Before long, an idea came to him.
After finishing all one hundred and eight Legacy Phantoms, Xu Bai left the Valley of Longevity and returned to Tianliang Province.
There, he sought out his former superior, Nangong Shirong.
Nangong Shirong had initially assumed that Xu Bai had changed his mind and intended to return to his post.
Yet Xu Bai's request caught him completely off guard.
"A Soul Tracing Token? What do you want that for?" Nangong Shirong eyed Xu Bai carefully.
The Soul Tracing Token was an artifact from the Manor of Rebirth, capable of tracing the whereabouts of a cultivator's reincarnation using an item imbued with their aura from life.
It was not available for general exchange among ordinary cultivators.
Its sole purpose was to prevent certain people from "maliciously taking their own lives" in an attempt to escape their rightful punishment through reincarnation.
"The Manor of Rebirth is relatively independent. Even though I govern a province, it's hard for me to have any say with them," Nangong Shirong said, looking hesitant.
Without a word, Xu Bai handed over a storage ring.
Suspicious, Nangong Shirong took it to inspect, only to be nearly blinded by the mountainous hoard of supreme-grade standard spirit stones packed inside.
A sweep of his divine sense revealed that, converted into contribution points, the spirit stones within amounted to no less than three million!
Nangong Shirong sucked in a sharp breath.
Although massive sums of contribution points had been issued during the Era of White Mist Pioneering and the Era of Conquering the Realms, causing prices across the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals to inflate considerably, three million contribution points remained an enormous fortune. Even for a provincial leader like him, it was staggering.
After all, if he wanted to rise further, he needed to maintain various relationships. Usually, his own pockets were far from flush.
Quietly and swiftly stowing the storage ring away, Nangong Shirong said with a solemn expression, "Rest assured, leave this to me! Within three days, I'll definitely have an answer for you!"
With that, he hurried off.
Three days later, Xu Bai quietly departed, carrying the Soul Tracing Token.
From beginning to end, Nangong Shirong never asked what he intended to use the token for. Some matters, after all, were best left unquestioned.
After leaving Tianliang Province, he met up midway with Li Fan's true body.
Handing over the Soul Tracing Token, they exchanged a glance and parted ways once more.
Xu Bai returned to the Valley of Longevity to meet all changes with stillness.
Li Fan, meanwhile, began his final preparations.
First, he contacted Dongfang Yao.
The man truly lived up to his reputation for loyalty and righteousness. While Li Fan had all but cast Huangfu Song to the back of his mind, Dongfang Yao had never given up searching for a way to find Huangfu Song's reincarnation throughout this entire period.
Yet without connections, meddling in the affairs of the Manor of Rebirth was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Thus, after all this time, he had still achieved nothing.
The two had been separated for a long time, but upon meeting, Dongfang Yao greeted him warmly nonetheless.
Yet when he took the Soul Tracing Token Li Fan handed him, he looked puzzled.
"What is this?"
Once Li Fan explained the specific function of the Soul Tracing Token, Dongfang Yao trembled. "This..."
"I know you've always brooded over Brother Huangfu's passing. As have I; I never gave up over these years.
"This item was not easy to obtain. Keep it safe. Once Brother Huangfu has reincarnated, go find him yourself."
Dongfang Yao had never expected Li Fan to fulfill his long-held wish.
He was both shocked and overjoyed.
Deeply moved, he looked at Li Fan again and suddenly caught something amiss. "Wait? Go find him myself?
"What about you, Brother Li? Why aren't you coming along?"
In an instant, understanding dawned on him. No wonder Li Fan felt strange, almost as if he were entrusting his final affairs.
His expression shifted slightly, and he pressed for answers at once.
A bitter look crossed Li Fan's face as he spoke the truth: "I've crossed a formidable enemy. My life hangs by a thread.
"I'm afraid I might not even have the chance to reincarnate."
Hearing this, Dongfang Yao was startled and appalled.
To be able to affect even the power of a Heavenly Venerable—one could easily imagine just how terrifying an existence Li Fan's enemy must be.
Yet after only a moment's hesitation, Dongfang Yao spoke up resolutely. Without prying into why Li Fan was being hunted, he volunteered to help him.
Li Fan shook his head and refused.
"It would only be throwing your life away for nothing. How could I bear to drag you into this?"
Dongfang Yao started to speak, then stopped.
"However..."
"If you truly wish to help me, then perhaps..."
With that, Li Fan handed Dongfang Yao the storage ring containing the one hundred and eight Legacy Phantoms.
"Help me bury these deep underground, near each province's Heavenly City.
"You must be careful. Don't let anyone discover you.
"If you do this, I might still have a slim chance of survival," Li Fan urged via divine sense transmission.
Seeing that this matter concerned his friend's life and death, Dongfang Yao treated it with utter gravity.
After a reluctant parting, he set off immediately toward the nearest Heavenly City.
*Even if Mr. Bai possesses my memories, tracking down Dongfang Yao, extracting the burial locations of the Legacy Phantoms from his mind, and destroying them will still take time.*
*That will be enough for me to launch my plan.*
Chapter 787