Back in the Spirit Wood Realm, Li Fan began analyzing the dossier Mo Rubin had provided on the lineage of Mirror Keeper Cang.
There was not actually much concerning Cang himself.
All that was known was that Cang was also a survivor of the Great Cataclysm. When the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable re-established the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, not only did the Dharma Transmitters answer the call in droves, but this Cang, who knew that a wise man submits to circumstance, shot straight to the pinnacle because he pledged allegiance at the very first opportunity.
Naturally, internal analyses among the Dharma Transmitters indicated that other factors had to have been involved for him to become a Mirror Keeper. There had to be an extraordinary reason for him to be chosen by the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable.
Regarding Cang's daughter, Immortal Venerable Feixue, Xuan Suchang, there was noticeably far more information.
Xuan Suchang had already been born before Cang joined the Alliance. Her mother had perished in a clash between cultivators when Suchang was very young, dying to protect Cang.
Father and daughter had depended on each other to survive, which led Cang to dote on Xuan Suchang excessively.
Especially after Cang gradually consolidated vast authority, he was entirely unrestrained in showering rewards upon her.
According to incomplete statistics, in the Alliance's Central Four Provinces alone, Xuan Suchang possessed more than two hundred cave abodes and estates, large and small.
And that was without even counting the tributes offered by the various clans that pledged allegiance to her.
It was said that Xuan Suchang's talent for cultivation was actually rather mediocre. However, at her level, no matter how poor one's innate talent was, it could be fully compensated for with a bottomless supply of resources.
Particularly under the framework of the new method.
Xuan Suchang had progressed smoothly all the way to the Dao Integration realm.
It was said that on the day she refined an anima of Heaven and Earth, Feixue, Cang dispatched fully five Dao Integration experts to escort and safeguard her, ensuring that nothing whatsoever could go awry.
Only after ascending to Dao Integration did Xuan Suchang finally gain a tiny measure of freedom.
Prior to that, Cang had never permitted her to step outside the jurisdiction of the Alliance's Central Four Provinces. Moreover, wherever she went, he would assign guards to follow and shadow her.
Thus, once liberated, Xuan Suchang spent nearly a century traveling across the vast majority of the Alliance's territories.
During this time, her exact movements could only be reconstructed in broad strokes.
Having had her fill of wanderlust, Xuan Suchang finally settled down. Perhaps driven by personal interest, she began to immerse herself in studying the Dao of artifact crafting. The Alliance's Artifact Crafting Hall opened all its doors to her, allowing her to learn the Alliance's most cutting-edge crafting knowledge. Her craft advanced by leaps and bounds, and she shot to worldwide renown after successfully forging a peerless set of battle armor capable of withstanding the combined assault of five Dao Integration cultivators.
After that...
Seemingly having grown bored once more, she gradually adopted a lower profile.
Apart from occasionally visiting a handful of close friends, such as Lu Xichan, Head of the Formation Planning Hall, she rarely appeared in the public eye.
Until she suddenly announced a martial contest to choose a husband, once again rocking the world.
What followed was that no one answered the challenge, and in the end, it concluded as an absurd farce when Xuan Suchang inexplicably became pregnant.
Xuan Suchang's son was Shuo Feng.
He had seemingly appeared out of thin air, without a ten-month pregnancy and without a single shred of information regarding his father.
Just like Cang's twisted, smothering affection for Xuan Suchang, Xuan Suchang's discipline over Shuo Feng was nearly tyrannical.
According to the records, right up until he reached the Nascent Soul realm, Shuo Feng had never set foot outside that cave abode in Tianquan Province.
He had relied solely on the Heavenly Profound Mirror to catch glimpses of the world outside.
This state of affairs only eased after Shuo Feng successfully attained Soul Formation and pushed back with all his might.
Even so, whenever Shuo Feng went outside, he was still required to wear the Golden Light Battle Armor specially forged for him by Xuan Suchang.
According to secret investigations by the Dharma Transmitters, not only was the defensive power of this Golden Light Battle Armor monstrously absurd—sufficient to withstand a combined strike from more than a dozen Dao Integration cultivators—but it even guarded the soul like an iron fortress.
Moreover, should the Golden Light Battle Armor shatter from damage, it could instantly teleport Shuo Feng to a safe location.
***
"At regular intervals, Shuo Feng must report to Immortal Venerable Feixue and pay his respects."
"Although their meeting locations are never fixed and only announced shortly beforehand, the most likely candidates can still be deduced..."
"The next one should be twenty-three days from now."
Looking at the names and details of the five circled cave abodes, Li Fan could not help but sigh softly. "Even at the rate I earn contribution points, it would probably take me well over a decade to buy a single one of these cave abodes.
"Yet this kid was born owning who knows how many."
The image of Shuo Feng's face surfaced before Li Fan's eyes once more.
"At this point in time, he probably hasn't fully resolved to abandon his cultivation and start over; he is still in the Soul Formation realm.
"Who knows what kind of provocation drove him to make such an impulsive decision.
"In truth, the safest approach would be to wait by the Heavenly Sword Sect's Sword Tomb and capture him without anyone noticing.
"Unfortunately, there isn't enough time. What's more, Xuan Suchang has to be captured alongside him..."
Inside his mind, the Dao Transformation Stone pulsed with blue light. Synthesizing all the various forces at his disposal, Li Fan began his deductions.
"If it's just trapping and taking them alive, there shouldn't be much of an issue.
"Even I alone would be just barely sufficient, let alone with Tianyang, Baihua, and the others assisting.
"Hmm... but I still ought to drag Mo Rubin into this as well."
The various techniques and divine abilities Xuan Suchang and Shuo Feng had displayed during their cultivation and martial trials within the Heavenly Profound Mirror, along with general information regarding the cultivation methods they practiced, all unfolded before Li Fan's eyes.
Comparing his side's strength against the enemy's, possible future scenarios flashed continuously in Li Fan's mind.
"As the direct descendants of a Mirror Keeper, they must be well aware that information inside the Heavenly Profound Mirror is hardly a secret. Their true combat prowess is undoubtedly far greater than what appears on the surface.
"Fortunately, I have plenty of trump cards of my own."
***
After a day and night of deductions, Li Fan had virtually formulated a thorough plan for the ambush.
Next was simply waiting for the optimal moment to strike.
While waiting, Li Fan brought out the Lifeless Array Coronet and the Ink-Stained Vile Book given by Mo Rubin to study them.
The Lifeless Array Coronet was like a living creature; under a cursory scan of his spiritual consciousness, the component formations inside were devouring and evolving one another just like countless fierce beasts locked in mutual slaughter.
Its efficiency naturally could not compare to the Dissociation Disc with nine discs united as one, but it still sparked a fresh idea in Li Fan's mind.
If Mo Rubin failed in his plot to secure the Dissociation Discs, perhaps the Terminal Dissociation Disc could be split in two once more, pitting them against each other.
Perhaps deducing new cultivation methods would actually be even more efficient that way.
Li Fan tried feeding the Lifeless Array Coronet to the Dissociation Disc, but unfortunately, the Dissociation Disc showed not the slightest interest in it, not even bothering to spare it a glance.
Instead, sensing the aura of the Terminal Dissociation Disc, the countless formations composing the Lifeless Array Coronet instantly grew restless and agitated.
Li Fan shook his head slightly, directly suppressing and sealing the treasure away.
"It barely passes as a decent item, but unfortunately, it is of no use to me. The upgraded version of the Profound Heaven Spirit-Sealing Formation was deduced long ago; asking for a formation-deducing treasure was merely an excuse after all."
Chapter 992