After a brief mont of doubt, what arose next was a profound sense of crisis.
"The only thing in this world that could make those people from the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance react so swiftly and uniformly is... The Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor!"
Li Fan's thoughts raced.
"The fall of a Dharma-Transmitter would alert the Immortal Ancestor; that much is understandable. But why would He choose to collaborate with the Rebirth Heavenly Sovereign?"
Li Fan's brows furrowed deeply.
With the Immortal Ancestor's strength, upon encountering the Rebirth Heavenly Sovereign, He would undoubtedly discern his origins at a glance.
The Rebirth Heavenly Sovereign sought to borrow a corpse to return its soul and revive the devoured world; and from prior intelligence, the Immortal Ancestor was exceedingly concerned with the Xuanhuang Realm... Their positions were almost entirely opposed.
Yet according to the current situation, they seed to have reached so kind of agreent in such a short ti.
"Is it because He was toyed with and grew angry? Or is there so deeper reason?"
The joint entry of two Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereigns was sothing Li Fan had not anticipated.
He acted decisively, severing his connection to those puppets currently executing tasks in the Xuanhuang Realm. The final command he issued was for the puppets to self-destruct.
At the sa ti, he used a formation to seal the entrance from the Spiritwood Realm to the Xuanhuang Realm. As for the passage to the Dark Realm, that was also temporarily closed.
He planned to lie low for the ti being.
Although Li Fan could forcibly activate the world-destroying arrangent at this mont, first and foremost, under the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor's gaze, those bait puppets flying toward the Immortal Ruins and drawing the immortals' attention within might not even successfully exit the Xuanhuang Realm.
Though the bait puppets had the cover of darkness power and formations, the Immortal Ancestor was not to be underestimated. Li Fan had no confidence in completing the task right under His eyes.
Faced with this unexpected turn, Li Fan remained calm despite his surprise.
"I still have plenty of ti. I refuse to believe these two can keep watching forever. There has never been a reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days."
"Moreover, in Their eyes, I am at most just a petty scher trying to incite internal strife and profit from the chaos. It is unlikely They could guess my true sche for world destruction."
"As long as I seize the opportunity..."
With these thoughts, Li Fan gradually cald down.
He suddenly recalled the final scene he had glimpsed through the True Immortal's remnant body just monts ago.
"The Rebirth Heavenly Sovereign, with a body of white mist. To think it could directly contend with the great tide ford by darkness power... He possesses strength that truly threatens the Xuanhuang Realm. Perhaps this is one reason the Immortal Ancestor chose to cooperate with him."
A new thought struck Li Fan.
"The white mist barriers began appearing in the Xuanhuang Realm after the great calamity descended. On the surface, they span heaven and earth, dividing the prefectures. In truth, they serve as the adhesive fusing the Xuanhuang Realm with the devoured world."
"And the white mist is faintly linked to that Rebirth Heavenly Sovereign. In this light, it seems the Immortal Ancestor and the Rebirth Heavenly Sovereign likely knew each other before. That would explain how they reached an agreent so quickly."
Regarding the true identity of the Rebirth Heavenly Sovereign, Li Fan also had several suspects. The Heavenly Doctor was one of them.
Coming from another cultivation realm, viewing worlds as human bodies, reversing life and death. No matter how one looked at it, he fit the conditions perfectly.
Moreover, in this lifeti, the Rebirth Heavenly Sovereign's attainnt of the Dao was slightly faster than in previous lives, likely because Li Fan had inherited the [nding Heaven Record] and resolved the hidden worries of the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace's mbers on his behalf.
Connecting this to the Heavenly Doctor's previous performances with Tia Jue, Tian Yu, and others, it was almost certain that the Rebirth Heavenly Sovereign had so connection to the Heavenly Doctor. Even if not the Heavenly Doctor himself, the relationship was undoubtedly profound.
The Heavenly Doctor appeared and vanished like a dragon. Like the Immortal Ancestor, he traversed the void alone, wandering the Darkest Star Sea to find surviving fragnts of cultivation realms to bolster Xuanhuang.
Since their last parting, he had not contacted Li Fan again. Li Fan, naturally, would not take the initiative to reach out to the Heavenly Doctor. Furthermore, he had used the Faceless True Immortal's power to obscure the other's perception.
“With my current level of strength, no matter what I wish to accomplish, it is almost inevitable that I will encounter figures on the level of the Immortal Ancestor and the Heavenly Doctor. This is due to Xuanhuang Realm being reduced to but a corner of its forr self.”
“Although I still know very little about them, fortunately... They know even less about .”
Li Fan's gaze was profound: “There is indeed a gap in strength, but since I dare to sche against even True Immortals, how could I fear them. It is rely a matter of enduring for now.”
...
Although the Spiritwood Realm was completely sealed, Li Fan remained fully aware of events in the Xuanhuang Realm.
First, through the origin of the Tianxuan Mirror, he spied on the cultivators' various idle chats. Second, naturally, through gathering intelligence from the Dharma-Transmitter Zhou.
“Fellow Daoist Zhou, has sothing major happened in the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance? That highest-level warning bell, and before that, I couldn't even reach you...”
The tone of the Dharma-Transmitter Zhou carried a sense of helplessness: “A fellow Dharma-Transmitter has fallen.”
Li Fan feigned extre shock, then hurriedly pressed for details. The Dharma-Transmitter Zhou gave a simple account of the matter's cause.
“I had long known that this so-called True Immortal remnant body was a trap. But I never imagined that the power behind it could harm a Dharma-Transmitter?” Li Fan's face was full of incredulity.
“Have you caught the true culprit behind the scenes? Any leads?” Li Fan casually followed up.
The Dharma-Transmitter Zhou shook her head, offering no detailed reply.
Li Fan did not press further, instead saying solemnly: “I will also report this matter to the Federation of All Worlds. If there is any discovery, I will inform you imdiately.”
“Then I thank you in advance,” the Dharma-Transmitter Zhou replied perfunctorily, seemingly harboring no hope from Li Fan's side.
After cutting off communication, Li Fan began pondering potential scapegoats.
Yet after racking his brains, in the vast Xuanhuang Realm, those with the strength to accomplish what Li Fan had done were few and far between.
“The remaining few that fit the conditions, such as the Five Elders Association or the Taiyan Sect, framing them would not be easy. If I overplay my hand, it would only expose myself.”
Li Fan sighed inwardly, drawing a lesson: “I still do not have enough alternate identities. If I had another role to play at this ti, I could fra myself and clear my own suspicion. I must pay more attention in the future.”
Even Li Fan, who prided himself on his cunning, facing the current situation, could think of no better thod than patiently waiting for the storm to pass.
The main reason was that in this lifeti, he had imprudently fallen into the True Immortal's web and could not imdiately return to [Truth]. Thus, whatever he did felt constrained and hesitant.
But fleeing to the depths of the Dark Realm for a hasty activation of [Truth] was also not Li Fan's wish.
...
“The situation is stronger than the people. No matter how one sches and maneuvers, there are tis when room to maneuver is lost.”
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