Chapter 1146: Shang Shaojun of the Azure Profound
Emperor Yi had long since led the demon beast clans away from the Xuanhuang Realm, while Emperor Sanmo remained deeply hidden within the Myriad Immortals Alliance Headquarters, rarely seen by anyone.
However, they had both appeared in the Fallen Immortal Realm during the "Imperial Beast Sect Incident," so he could seek them out in person and get some answers.
"Daoist Sun?"
Elder Zhang Xu's voice transmission cut through Li Fan's thoughts.
His attention returned to the guarded space of the Deduction Jade, where the little girl was processing an urgent deduction request.
Saddled with yet another task for no good reason, she looked puffed up with anger, her face a mask of resentment.
The request was merely for a Dao Integration technique, yet three days and nights had passed, and she still hadn't produced it.
It was highly likely the little brat was using this as an excuse to slack off.
Inside the deduction space, besides the three Dao Integration guardians, stood a young man in azure robes.
Considering the high priority of this deduction task, any further delay could lead to trouble. Guardian Zhang Xu discreetly sent another voice transmission, asking Li Fan to play the villain.
After all, in the Deduction Jade's eyes, Li Fan had long since been categorized as the most detestable person in the world.
He no longer needed to conjure a bronze gong as a reminder.
The moment an hourglass silently materialized above the little girl's head, her expression changed dramatically. The sphere of glowing characters began to spin several times faster.
Before long, it produced the technique the young man in azure required.
The young man offered his profuse thanks and then departed in a hurry.
"Such urgency... It seems the Azure Profound Army has run into some trouble," Zhang Xu remarked with a sigh.
After repeatedly stepping in to stop the Deduction Jade's slacking, Li Fan had gradually grown familiar with the other two Dao Integration guardians.
Zhang Xu had arrived over a century before Li Fan.
The other guardian was named Hua Yueye. His name, which meant "Flower Moon Night," might have sounded rather feminine, but he was an uncompromisingly fierce man.
He despised injustice and, unable to tolerate the actions of a certain Dharma Transmitter, had actually started a fight with the man on the spot.
The consequences were predictable.
Though he managed to avoid a death sentence with the help of friends and family, he was punished to guard the Deduction Jade here for five hundred years.
Not even half of his sentence had passed.
When Li Fan first arrived, Hua Yueye couldn't even be bothered to greet him. Now that they were acquainted, however, he was actually more talkative than Zhang Xu.
"I can't stand Shang Shaojun's arrogant airs, but you have to admire the man. He's stood guard over that abyss for centuries without taking a single step away..."
"The Azure Profound Army..."
Amidst their idle chatter, Li Fan recalled the identity of the azure-robed cultivator.
He had met the man once before. His name was Yan Huan.
He was one of Shang Shaojun's trusted subordinates, stationed at the Eternal Immortal Fortress within the white mist. Alongside the million soldiers of the Azure Profound Army, he was responsible for guarding and suppressing the Abyss of Roars.
"That man Shang is even more stubborn than I am," Hua Yueye continued. "Once he decides on something, I doubt even a Heavenly Venerate could change his mind. The Dharma Transmitters and Mirror Holders unanimously rejected his proposal years ago, yet he still hasn't given up on it."
"Ahem! Watch your tongue!" Zhang Xu warned.
...
From the snippets of their conversation, combined with certain secrets he had read about before, Li Fan began to piece things together, reconstructing a long-buried chapter of the Immortal Alliance's history.
Years ago, a proposal had gained traction within the Immortal Alliance: to delve deep into the Maze Domains of the white mist and expand their exploration efforts.
This was somewhat different from the Great Age of Exploration that Li Fan had experienced in his simulations.
In that timeline, the Heavenly Profound Mirror's exploration, conducted for its own ascension, was more akin to a comprehensive scan of the entire white mist region.
It marked the locations of all the hidden Maze Domains and secret realms within the mist.
However, it didn't conduct any deep investigation into the domains themselves.
The proposal that the Dharma Transmitters had vetoed, however, suggested a complete cleansing of these Maze Domains.
The appearance of the white mist barrier around the Xuanhuang Realm was far too strange.
The Maze Domains within it were even more bizarre, concealing an unknown number of secrets.
Li Fan himself had encountered fragments of worlds destroyed by the "Chaos" character, a grand frozen array that reversed life and death, and a giant formed from innumerable corpses...
Putting aside the dangers, Li Fan refused to believe that the cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance weren't curious about these domains.
But that curiosity had been decisively snuffed out by the Alliance's high command.
"The Dharma Spreader dismembered and remade the Xuanhuang Realm, and the Alliance leadership has acted in perfect unison on this matter. It's clear that these Maze Domains in the white mist are inextricably linked to Him."
Li Fan recalled how, back when he traveled through the white mist, he would always hear wails and whispers that sounded like the Heavenly Doctor.
And by following those sounds, he had invariably discovered new Maze Domains.
A theory instantly formed in Li Fan's mind.
"These Maze Domains must be just like the Cong Yun Sea and Luoyan Province—fragments of the old Tianfa Realm. However, perhaps due to the influence of calamities like the 'Chaos' character, their remnant laws are far more twisted and chaotic. They aren't suitable for direct fusion with the Xuanhuang Realm."
"So He hid them in the white mist for now. Hmm... perhaps there are remnants of other cultivation worlds in there as well."
"The Dharma Spreader is waiting. Waiting for the precise moment when the Tianfa Realm successfully resurrects itself in a new shell."
His own mastery had not yet reached the level of the Dharma Spreader, so Li Fan couldn't fathom the specific purpose of these world fragments.
"Still, this gives me an idea," he mused. "The Dharma Spreader may hold absolute power, but the cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm surely harbor doubts about the drastic changes He has wrought upon the world. Perhaps... I can guide them to uncover the truth for themselves."
Li Fan knew well that the more something is forbidden, the more it stokes people's curiosity.
Once these cultivators discovered a grand conspiracy potentially involving the Dharma Spreader, they would become Li Fan's allies, whether they wanted to or not.
"Shang Shaojun," Li Fan thought. "I'll start with him."
Li Fan nodded slightly, concealing the faint glint in his eyes.
...
The Heavenly Sword Sect Ruins. The Sword Tomb.
Li Fan's Holy Embryo avatar sat cross-legged beside the Black Sword, absorbing the myriad Sword Daos that swirled around him.
Though he had already used the Black Sword, a Heaven's Wonder, to establish his foundation, being here in the Sword Tomb, surrounded by countless blades, still sparked a continuous stream of new insights within his Holy Embryo avatar.
"A Heaven's Wonder is a manifestation of the laws of the Heavenly Dao itself," he realized.
"The world is in flux, and its laws flow with it; nothing is immutable. Depending on the point in time I arrive here to claim the Black Sword, the Sword Dao it embodies will have correspondingly subtle differences."
A thrill of joy passed through the Holy Embryo avatar.
His understanding of the world's workings had deepened.
Spurred by this realization, he let out a long cry. In response, the millions of swords covering the ground began to tremble.
In the center of them all, the wooden sword left by Mr. Bai actually bent ever so slightly.
It seemed to resonate, just for a moment, with his avatar's insight.
"Excellent."
The Holy Embryo avatar's mouth opened slightly. The Black Sword soared through the air, flew straight into his abdomen, and became one with his Dao foundation.
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