Chapter 1002: The Heavenly Profound Mirror's Escape Plan
Chapter 1002: The Heavenly Profound Mirror's Escape Plan
Li Fan's question plunged the inn into a dead silence.
The Heavenly Profound Mirror's avatar stared intently at Li Fan, his gaze attempting to pierce through the facade of this unexpected visitor.
Yet, the longer he observed, the more a look of profound uncertainty and alarm clouded his features.
It seemed the man's outrageous, apocalyptic threats were not empty words!
It was only then that the avatar finally understood what Li Fan had meant earlier when he'd claimed, "In truth, we're the same kind of people."
They shared the same top-down, utter disregard for the lives in the Xuanhuang Realm!
But what the avatar couldn't fathom was this: as an immortal artifact, he naturally possessed that right. But this cultivator before him was a mere Nascent Soul. What gave him the audacity?
What the avatar found even more unbelievable was how casually the man spoke of dragging the entire Xuanhuang Realm down with him. The Immortal Ruins loomed overhead; if it were to fall, even an immortal artifact like himself might not escape its grasp.
"Willing to do anything to achieve his goal. Even if it means mutual destruction..."
"Could I have misjudged him? He isn't just utterly selfish... he's a madman."
In that single instant, countless thoughts raced through the avatar's mind.
Finally, he broke the silence with a long sigh. "I never thought... I truly misjudged you."
"A dangerous man like you, one who respects no boundaries, ought to be locked away for eternity in the Alliance's Deepest Prison."
Li Fan simply chuckled, unconcerned. "The Deepest Prison... In this world, there is no place that can hold me."
"Not even this Darkest Star Sea."
At these words, the avatar's expression flickered once more.
"We are more than just similar. Our desires are one and the same. I wish to escape this cage, and you wish to break free from your shackles..."
"Allow me to ask you something. Is creating these so-called human avatars truly your path? Do you call that true freedom?"
"Without your true form, what difference is there between your avatars and those fragile mortals? They're all just ants, crushed with a single touch. Freedom..." Li Fan scoffed.
The Heavenly Profound Mirror's avatar looked at Li Fan but, in the end, offered no rebuttal.
In this battle of wits, he had been thoroughly defeated.
The core reason was his complete inability to fathom the true identity of the man before him.
He even began to wonder if this man was a surviving immortal from the bygone Immortal Realm.
"If things are truly as you say, then cooperation is not out of the question," the avatar finally declared after a long period of contemplation.
"But ultimately," he added, his tone shifting, "I still don't trust you."
Li Fan waved a dismissive hand, a cordial smile spreading across his face. "I can understand your position. But our cooperation can be a gradual process. We can build trust between us, step by step."
"That way, even if I were to have a change of heart, you will have already reaped sufficient rewards."
The avatar considered this. The logic seemed sound, and he gave a slow nod.
"The restrictions placed upon me by the Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate, compounded by the layers added by the Mirror Holders over the years, have reached a truly terrifying level. With your current cultivation, even with those three Dao Integration enforcers you have outside, rescuing me is an absolute impossibility..."
Li Fan cut him off bluntly. "You need not worry about my strength."
"The very fact that I could pinpoint your location should tell you that I have already infiltrated the forces of Mirror Holder Cang."
"Furthermore, we have our own people among the Dharma Transmitters. Hmph. The Immortal Alliance has existed for millennia; did you really think it would remain a monolith?"
The avatar hesitated. "Even so, helping me break free... it still seems like a stretch."
Li Fan didn't answer directly. Instead, he posed a question of his own. "Do you know why I originally came here to kill you?"
The avatar mulled it over for a moment before replying, "To cut off my escape routes?"
"Precisely. But now that your path is set and we can no longer prevent you from escaping via your avatars, the plan has changed. Do you remember the Xuantian King, Xuanyuan Hong?"
"Xuanyuan Hong?" The avatar narrowed his eyes in thought.
Perhaps it was memory loss from creating the avatar, or maybe the human form simply couldn't process such a vast quantity of information.
It took a long moment before the memory surfaced. He asked in alarm, "You're one of the Xuantian Sect?"
"Impossible... The Xuantian Sect never had anyone like you..."
Li Fan snorted. "We want to know the current whereabouts of the Xuantian King. If anyone in the Xuanhuang Realm still knows, it would be you. The original plan was to destroy your avatars, sever your escape routes, and then use an enhanced version of the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation to force your cooperation..."
The avatar was stunned into silence. "I was the guardian artifact of the Xuantian Sect! It's bad enough that you wouldn't rescue me from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, but to plot against me like this?"
Li Fan's voice was laced with scorn. "When the Xuantian Sect was defeated, the Xuantian King vanished without a trace. It all happened too fast, too suspiciously. And now you serve the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. Who's to say you weren't the traitor who orchestrated it all?"
"A traitor?" The accusation seemed to strike a nerve, and the avatar's voice rose sharply. "Me?"
"Back then—" He started to speak, but abruptly cut himself off.
"Back then..."
The avatar searched his memory, struggling to recall the details of the Xuantian Sect's fall, but his mind remained a frustrating blank.
"It's critical information," the avatar said, his expression grim. "Only my true form has the clearance to access it."
Li Fan responded with a derisive laugh.
"Since your goal is to find the missing Xuantian King, then I suppose we do have a foundation for cooperation."
"I still have a measure of trust for the old guard of the Xuantian Sect. As for you, however..." The avatar sized Li Fan up with a suspicious eye.
"A millennium can change a person. Have you never seen that before?" Li Fan retorted, disdaining to explain further.
"Here is the revised preliminary plan. Within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, we will continue to construct the grand formation, using the pretext of completing the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation to gain total control over the Heavenly Profound Mirror."
"In truth, it will be a classic bait and switch. We will alter the formation's core, changing its purpose from control to release."
"Then, we will leverage your authority within the Alliance to create an opportunity for your escape. I can even coordinate with the Five Elders Council and the forces from numerous smaller worlds to lay siege to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and sow chaos."
Li Fan laid out the plan with casual confidence, inadvertently revealing a scope of influence far greater than he had previously let on.
The avatar listened, analyzing every word.
In the end, he was undeniably tempted.
Because, in theory, this ultimate "escape plan" was indeed feasible.
(End of Chapter)
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