Chapter 1051: The Sacrificial Offering, Xuantian King
"However, that might not be a contradiction. Both were beings who had half-stepped into the immortal realm, and in their confrontation, both found the inspiration for a breakthrough..."
"Both had a chance to truly shed their mortal shackles and achieve immortality."
"The Tiandu Grandmaster chose to emulate the immortals of the Immortal Ruins, seeking enlightenment through resonance."
"As for Xuantian King..."
Li Fan's mind replayed the fragmented memories of the Xuantian Sect's Dharma King.
"...he met with a disaster during his breakthrough."
Li Fan had once asked Dan Xuan about the full story of how the Ten Great Immortal Sects had overthrown the Xuantian Sect in an instant.
But the old fellow had been evasive.
He claimed he didn't know the details himself, that they had won the final victory in a bewildering haze.
"Dan Xuan was likely hiding something. But one thing is certain: a third power, besides the Xuantian Sect and the Ten Great Immortal Sects, was involved in the sect's downfall back then."
"They manipulated the Ten Great Immortal Sects into rebellion, skillfully using Xuantian King's own plan to purge internal spies to push events forward. They orchestrated the entire war."
"On the surface, the ultimate winners appeared to be the Ten Great Immortal Sects, who gained dominion over the cultivation world of the Xuanhuang Realm. But perhaps their true target was Xuantian King all along."
Li Fan's thoughts churned.
Recalling Mo Rubin's apprehension towards the statue of the Faceless True Immortal, a bold speculation instantly surfaced in his mind.
"Could it have been the work of the Faceless True Immortal's fanatical followers?"
"Xuantian King, on the verge of becoming a true immortal, was the sacrifice they offered to their god..."
In the years he had spent spreading the faith of the "Red Dust Compassionate Immortal" using the statues of the Faceless True Immortal, Li Fan had witnessed firsthand how the faith of those cultivators grew from nothing and slowly solidified.
Source Power Essence could work wonders, making the dreams of many cultivators a reality.
Even within the Federation of All Worlds, which Li Fan had created casually and barely managed, there were still those who were truly captivated by the True Immortal's power and offered their absolute loyalty.
To say nothing of the ancient Xuantian Sect, when statues of the Faceless True Immortal were everywhere.
Even if Xuantian King later realized something was wrong and removed the statues from the Xuantian Sect's headquarters, how could he ever purge the idols that had taken root in the hearts of his cultivators?
Following a half-immortal whose path to enlightenment was uncertain, versus following a genuine immortal—one who might even be on the level of a "Nameless True Immortal"...
For the vast majority of cultivators, the choice would be obvious.
"So, after Mo Rubin saw the statue I showed him, he lost all trust in me."
Having reconstructed a plausible truth, Li Fan continued to deduce Xuantian King's whereabouts.
"There are two possibilities. One is that he was devoured by the Faceless True Immortal like a ripened fruit, vanishing from the world completely. The lingering power of the Faceless True Immortal in the Xuanhuang Realm would then be a means to cultivate the next fruit."
"The second possibility is that the Faceless True Immortal's attempt to devour him failed. Xuantian King managed to escape by a stroke of luck. His fanatical followers, in turn, bore the wrath of the enraged True Immortal and were annihilated without a trace, their disappearance unknown to the world."
"The second possibility is more likely. After all, aside from my own faction, there are no other traces of the Faceless True Immortal's teachings in the current Xuanhuang Realm. If the sacrifice had truly succeeded, the Faceless True Immortal would have bestowed rewards. Having tasted such benefits, his followers would never have simply stopped there."
A faint light flickered in Li Fan's eyes.
"Mo Rubin is so obsessed with rescuing the Tianxuan Mirror, even willing to play along with my charade, because he's likely long been convinced that Xuantian King is not dead. And he believes the Tianxuan Mirror must know his location."
"So that's how it is."
"Since they vanished from the Myriad Immortals Alliance Headquarters that day, they haven't appeared anywhere in the Xuanhuang Realm. The paper figures of the Salvation Sect haven't seen them, and they haven't shown up in any location where a Tianxuan Mirror is present."
"They must have directly exited the Tianxuan Mirror's main space and reappeared somewhere else entirely."
"..."
"It seems I'll have to find a way to meet with Dharma Transmitter Zhou."
Li Fan focused his mind once more on the white jade statue he had crafted.
He recorded the sounds and blurry images transmitted by the statue.
He then compared them against the cultivator profiles in the Tianxuan Mirror.
He was trying to find a breakthrough.
The vast majority of the cultivators he identified were on the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's wanted list—officially, they were already dead.
But after more than ten days of relentless surveillance, Li Fan actually managed to find one who wasn't wanted by the Alliance and still maintained his official status as a cultivator within the system.
"How audacious. Isn't he afraid of implicating his family..."
Li Fan thought to himself. However, after reviewing the cultivator's life records, he discovered that this man, You Chisong...
...might have been doing it intentionally.
You Chisong, a Nascent Soul cultivator.
The eldest legitimate son of the You family in Tianchen Province.
Ten years ago, he had an opportunity to advance to the Soul Transformation realm.
However, his father took the sole "World Birthing Change" the family had learned of and gave it to You Chisong's younger brother, You Chibai.
This shattered his hopes of reaching Soul Transformation.
This decision even had the support of the vast majority of the You family.
All because You Chibai's aptitude was far superior to You Chisong's.
Even with ample resources, it had taken You Chisong nearly a century to form his Nascent Soul.
In contrast, You Chibai had only taken a little over thirty years.
The gap was simply too immense. Even You Chisong's own mother could only sigh helplessly and offer words of comfort.
But You Chisong refused to accept it!
Because he was the one who had first discovered the information about the World Birthing Change and reported it to the family.
It should have been his for the taking, yet it was snatched away and given to his own brother!
From this, resentment festered in You Chisong's heart.
But the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's bloody purge gave him an opportunity to retaliate against his family.
By a twist of fate, he happened upon Dharma Transmitter Zhou as she was rescuing people.
The moment he saw this group of "rebels," a plan for mutual destruction flashed through his mind.
He immediately knelt and pleaded to join them.
Seeing his earnestness, Dharma Transmitter Zhou brought him into her private small world.
Initially, You Chisong had indeed planned to solidify his identity as a rebel and then report himself to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
However, as he spent more time with Dharma Transmitter Zhou and learned of her deeds...
...and as he lived day in and day out with his new companions, You Chisong's mindset began to change.
Compared to the grand mission of reforming and purging the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, of making the Dharma Transmitters return to their original purpose, the trivial family matter concerning a single Soul Transformation cultivator was utterly insignificant.
Before, he had been blinded by hatred.
But now, he, You Chisong, had a much loftier goal.
He would restore order and justice to the Xuanhuang Realm!
...
Li Fan pieced together the conversations from You Chisong that he had overheard these past few days.
Combining them with his biographical information, it was easy to deduce the journey his heart had taken.
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