Li Fan was certain that before Mo Rubin departed, this spiderweb did not exist in this concealed grotto-heaven.
“A sudden appearance... is this a hint for me?”
There was no spider weaving on the web; it seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
Under Li Fan's gaze, a butterfly fluttered its wings and landed upon the web.
The butterfly sensed not the slightest danger; it even felt quite comfortable, crawling back and forth across the silk with its legs.
This spiderweb was different from ordinary ones; it did not stick to the butterfly. Moreover, it was remarkably sturdy, without even a tremor.
The butterfly played quite joyfully upon the web.
Yet it could not spend its entire life on the web after all; it still needed to search for food and sustain its survival.
And so, the butterfly fluttered its wings again, preparing to take flight and depart.
Yet right at the instant it was about to break free from the web...
Something occurred that caused Li Fan's pupils to constrict violently.
As if sensing the butterfly's departure, that originally harmless-looking spiderweb snapped taut in a split second.
Out of nowhere, an attractive force surged forth, instantly pulling the butterfly back.
Caught completely off guard, the butterfly's frail body stood no chance against the tearing pull of this immense force, instantly shredded into countless motes of powder. Drawn onto the silk, the dust scattered evenly across the pure white web.
In the blink of an eye, the web absorbed it, the bodily remains fusing into the silk until no distinction could be made.
And the web remained quietly in the corner, as though the strange occurrence moments before had never taken place at all.
...
Having witnessed the entire process, Li Fan took a deep breath.
Faced with such a blunt hint, how could he fail to see what he had been overlooking all along—the true source of that faint unease lurking in his heart?
His previous deduction had not actually been wrong.
Just like the butterfly blundering into the spiderweb, the Faceless True Immortal ought to have no interest in someone as weak as Li Fan.
Whether borrowing the stone statue's authority to throw his weight around, or wandering back and forth right under the statue's nose,
neither would attract the True Immortal's attention.
If he maintained this state from beginning to end, indeed nothing would go wrong.
However, if he wished to break free from the grasp of the True Immortal's power, or suddenly displayed strength sufficient to pique the True Immortal's interest...
The outcome would likely be just like that butterfly—instantly suffering a backlash and being ripped into countless fragments!
Drawing a parallel to Li Fan's circumstances, in this lifetime with a Nascent Soul realm cultivation and Dao Integration combat strength, continuing to hop about by borrowing the Faceless True Immortal stone statue was no big deal.
Yet once he chose True Reversion, just like the butterfly suddenly flapping its wings on the web, it would instantly trigger the alarm of that Faceless True Immortal.
How fast would a True Immortal react? Could the immortal affect, or even obstruct, the process of True Reversion?
Li Fan had no way of guessing.
Yet back in the 115th lifetime when the Immortal of the Immortal Ruins destroyed Xuanhuang with a single glance, affected by his power, the surrounding scenery had not blurred immediately after Li Fan used True Reversion.
Instead, a dark domain manifested, and beyond that dark domain, time continued to flow.
Perhaps to some degree this demonstrated that once a being's strength reached or approached the level of a Nameless True Immortal, they could exert a certain degree of influence over the workings of True Reversion.
Most crucially, Li Fan had already been selected by the faceless stone statue for a role akin to an “agent.”
Even golden vow power had manifested within his own body...
It could truly be said that he was deep within the web, bound by countless entanglements!
Standing there was barely any different from standing directly before the True Immortal.
Perhaps the True Immortal would not spare a glance for an ant beneath his feet, but when a brilliant light erupted from that ant, it was bound to draw the True Immortal's gaze!
“...”
Contemplating this for a long time, Li Fan broke out in a cold sweat.
“Fortunately, that mysterious intuition kept me from using True Reversion immediately before.”
“Otherwise, completely mentally unprepared and confronting a True Immortal head-on...”
Even with Li Fan's resolve, he could not help but think the odds of survival would be bleak.
After the brief shock, Li Fan steadied his mind.
The unease that had lingered in his heart slowly dispersed, and little fear remained within him.
Fear stems from the unknown.
Once the source of the threat was known, Li Fan actually calmed down.
“In truth, the situation is not as desperate as imagined. After all, it is not about clashing head-on with a True Immortal, but finding a way to successfully carry out True Reversion before a True Immortal.”
“This lifetime has only just begun; there is still a very long time ahead, plenty for me to ponder.”
“Back when I was only at Foundation Establishment, I could safely perform True Reversion before the Heavenly Physician; now that my strength rivals Dao Integration, why should I not be able to do so in the presence of a True Immortal?”
Li Fan's thoughts gradually settled. The panic vanished from his eyes, leaving them as fathomless as a dark abyss.
Right at that moment, another change quietly occurred on the spiderweb in this concealed grotto-heaven.
Yet another butterfly fluttered gracefully through the air and settled upon the web.
Just like what had happened before, it was trapped in the peril of the giant web without realizing it.
Yet this time, when the butterfly was about to flap its wings and depart, something different happened!
Suddenly, a great wind swept through, and the web shook violently.
Consequently, that strange suction failed to manifest.
Seizing the opportunity, the butterfly quickly fluttered its wings and flew away,
disappearing into the air.
Like a theatrical play, once these two scenes concluded, the web, the butterfly, and the wind all vanished without a trace in an instant.
Looking all around, Li Fan could find no evidence of their existence in this concealed grotto-heaven.
“This trick of illusion indeed has some finesse.”
Yet what Li Fan cared about was not how Mo Rubin staged this scene, but the deeper meaning behind it.
“Whether it was the stone statue or the Myriad Spirits Nectar, Mo Rubin went out of his way to avoid them.”
“Coupled with this hint of his, he clearly already knows the consequences of falling into the True Immortal's web.”
“Yet judging from the current situation, he has already escaped from the True Immortal's web.”
The image of the great wind blowing past and the butterfly flapping its wings to leave surfaced in Li Fan's mind once more.
And he also faintly perceived something he had overlooked before.
As the totem of the Profound Heaven Sect, faceless stone statues should by no means have been rare within the sect in the past.
Yet in the memories of Ji Yuzhen, Dharma King of the Profound Heaven Sect, Li Fan had not seen the slightest trace of a Faceless True Immortal stone statue.
“Either no such statues existed in the Profound Heaven Sect back then,”
“or...”
“some power cleanly severed the existence and influence of the stone statues.”
At this thought, Li Fan could not help narrowing his eyes.
“For it to occur to two Dharma Kings simultaneously, this severance is by no means coincidental.”
“It seems the destruction of the Profound Heaven Sect in the past conceals even more hidden secrets. And Mo Rubin, who deeply understands how terrifying the power of a True Immortal is, does not even dare speak of it openly.”
“He could only resort to such an abstract method to give a hint...”
Li Fan's heart grew somewhat heavier.
“It seems that to break through the predicament in this lifetime, I will still need to obtain help from Mo Rubin.”
“First, let me cooperate with him to coerce the Heavenly Profound Mirror.”
With this in mind, Li Fan drifted away.
Chapter 991