The Descent of Mr. Bai

Li Fan was no stranger to the aura faintly emanating from that anima of Heaven and Earth. It was precisely the anima of Heaven and Earth: Mo Sha! In an instant, Sacred Embryo Xu Bai's eyes turned even darker and deeper. His gaze seemed able to pierce the barrier of tens of millions of li, landing directly upon Li Fan! *Boom!* Having just flown back to the Valley of Longevity, Li Fan felt as though struck by a heavy blow, his body teetering. This anomaly immediately drew Liu San's attention. Of the three from the Medicine King Sect, Fang Zaiji was obsessed with artifact refinement, Jiang Yushan was single-mindedly devoted to cultivation, and only Liu San was deeply invested in the sect's development, keeping his divine sense cast over the entire valley to monitor the disciples' movements at all times. Thus, he noticed Li Fan's abnormality right away. "Young Master, are you injured?" Liu San teleported before Li Fan, his tense expression appearing completely genuine. "I'm fine. A slight mishap during cultivation. A short rest is all I need," Li Fan said, waving his hand as he caught his breath. Seeing Li Fan's breathing gradually steady, Liu San gave a slow nod, though a look of doubt still lingered in his eyes. Li Fan offered no explanation. After sending Liu San away, he went alone into the sect's private cultivation chamber. First, he checked on the state of the Legacy Shadows. Dongfang Yao had indeed acted efficiently and swiftly: all one hundred and eight Legacy Shadows were already properly in place. "It is merely a desperate fallback. If possible, I hope they never have to be triggered." Li Fan glanced over them casually and paid them no further heed. Instead, he continued to monitor the situation with Sacred Embryo Xu Bai in Tianling Province through their increasingly blurred shared sensory link. It was as if veiled by thick white mist; he could only faintly make out fleeting glimpses through occasional rifts. Nor could he sense any further specific information regarding the falsified transfer of the animas of Heaven and Earth. He could only clearly tell that more and more authorities of the animas of Heaven and Earth were gathering upon Sacred Embryo Xu Bai. And as his form drew closer and closer to that of an anima of Heaven and Earth, the pressure radiating from him could no longer be concealed. From every corner of the Xuanhuang Realm, gazes turned toward him. However... in this near-perfect state of Unity of Heaven and Man, even a Longevity Heavenly Venerable would need time to discern the origin of this Sacred Embryo Xu Bai, who had never before appeared in the Xuanhuang Realm. Just then, rolling dark clouds suddenly gathered over Tianling Province out of nowhere. The sun was blotted out, plunging the entirety of Tianling Province into nighttime darkness in an instant. It was not just darkness of sight. Every manner of prying gaze was cut off by this abruptly emergent gloom. Within Tianling Province, countless cultivators felt fear welling up at this inexplicable phenomenon, thinking some great calamity was descending upon them. Only the few powerhouses at the Dao Integration realm sprang to their feet, looking up at the sky in shock. "Fellow Daoist Jiao, is everything ready?" In the Valley of Longevity, Li Fan used a communication talisman to contact Jiao Xiuyuan. "Let me make this clear beforehand: I will strike only once, at the most crucial juncture. Succeed or fail, whatever happens afterward has nothing to do with me." "By the way, I took the trouble of making this puppet avatar look like you, cutting all ties to me. So don't even think about using my name to scare people." Jiao Xiuyuan replied swiftly, clearly harboring considerable misgivings about this "deal." Yet Li Fan had offered a price he simply could not refuse, making him willing to take the gamble. Having received Jiao Xiuyuan's confirmation, Li Fan said nothing more and cut off the communication. He turned his gaze toward the chamber, where eighty-one Luan puppets stood rigidly in neat rows. Not only was each puppet carved with incomplete strokes of the character "Luan," but the eighty-one puppets also formed the rough shape of the character "Luan" as an integrated whole. However, their core components were still gathered in the very center, yet to undergo final assembly. "If my guess is correct, once Sacred Embryo Xu Bai integrates with the Dao and Mr. Bai fully awakens, the first thing he will do is come find me to seize True Reversion." "There is nowhere to hide and nowhere to run. I will wait for him here—only from death can life be sought!" Sitting cross-legged in the center of the Luan puppets, Li Fan refocused his attention, attempting to sense the situation with Sacred Embryo Xu Bai. The sky-cloaking clouds seemed able to disrupt even this mutual connection between aspects of the same entity. It had become intermittent; most of the time, nothing could be felt. Only in brief intervals could he vaguely discern glimpses of the scene in Tianling Province. No further falsified transfer of heavenly principles was taking place; it seemed the powers of all the animas of Heaven and Earth across the Xuanhuang Realm had been assembled. Sacred Embryo Xu Bai's appearance now differed vastly from that of Avatar Xu Bai. Presumably still familiarizing himself with this new vessel, he stood motionless in midair. The formidable auras that had radiated from him during the falsified transfer of heavenly principles were also gradually subsiding. Returning to simplicity and truth, he resembled nothing more than an ordinary mortal. Suddenly, as if sensing something, he slowly raised his head toward the sky. His gaze pierced through the dark clouds, through the heavens, reaching beyond the Xuanhuang Realm. Li Fan's pupils constricted abruptly. For through their shared sensory link, he clearly saw a colossal palm pressing down from overhead! In the final moment before the vision vanished, he seemed to witness the colossal palm colliding with the cloud layer over Tianling Province. The palm was unstoppable. The barrier of dark clouds formed by the will of Heaven and Earth shattered upon contact like fragile porcelain. Yet Sacred Embryo Xu Bai merely looked up calmly at the descending palm, without a trace of fear on his face. The connection vanished. Li Fan counted silently in his heart. Three breaths later. He felt the ground shudder violently. It was as though a massive earthquake had struck, taking a long while to gradually subside. Li Fan knew the scene he had witnessed was no illusion. This tremor was the shockwave resulting from the collision between the colossal palm and the dark cloud barrier. The Valley of Longevity lay in Luoyan Province, separated from Tianling Province by nearly half the territory of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. Even across such a distance, the impact had been this violent. Clearly, the collision may have rippled through the entire Xuanhuang Realm! *The Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable?* That name flashed through Li Fan's mind at once. The dark clouds over Tianling were the doing of the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao, an intervention meant to buy enough time for Mr. Bai's descent. And beyond doubt, the only one who could destroy it so effortlessly was that figure who hung over every cultivator of the new method... the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable! Though the Dharma-Transmitter had struck and easily shattered Heaven's shroud, the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang Realm had achieved its purpose. Because... Sacred Embryo Xu Bai—or rather, Mr. Bai—had vanished! Not the slightest trace of a cultivator's aura remained upon him. He had merged completely into the Xuanhuang world, like a drop of water falling into the vast sea. Even though the Dharma-Transmitter's divine sense could sweep across the entire Xuanhuang Realm in a single instant, finding Mr. Bai would still require some time. Just before losing all connection to Sacred Embryo Xu Bai, Li Fan saw Mr. Bai striding briskly toward the Valley of Longevity!