Chapter 1202: Chief of the Law Enforcement Hall
Chapter 1202: Chief of the Law Enforcement Hall
After all, the Transformation Dao Stone Mother was a being that had managed to escape a cataclysm as dire as the extinction of the Xuanhuang Realm. Li Fan had no intention of underestimating it.
"There's no need to rush things," he mused. "In this life, I'll just play the part of an absolutely reliable partner, earn the Taiyan Sect's trust, and learn more of their secrets."
"As for myself, I'll first perfect this data corruption array. If an opportunity arises, I'll put it to a preliminary test and see how it performs."
The space within the Deduction Jade provided Li Fan with a perfectly safe and undisturbed period of time.
Aside from occasionally having to deal with the petite, childlike spirit's temper tantrums, his days were remarkably peaceful.
The interactions among the three Guardian Elders grew less frequent, as each became absorbed in their own world.
However, one day, a rather peculiar group of visitors arrived in the Deduction Jade's space.
They possessed no Audience Jade Tokens but had received special approval from the Immortal Alliance, arriving under the personal escort of the Chief Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall.
Li Fan noticed that it wasn't just the other two guardians; even the normally audacious and fearless spirit of the Deduction Jade had become much more reserved.
As he bowed in turn, Li Fan studied the white-haired old man before him, who appeared to be blind. Information about the Chief of the Law Enforcement Hall flashed through his mind.
"Xu Yuanxian. He has served as the Chief of the Law Enforcement Hall for over three thousand years. Though he appears amicable on the surface, he is, in fact, eccentric and rigid. He adheres to the Alliance's regulations to a dogmatic degree, showing no favoritism. It is said that he would not bend the rules even for a visiting Dharma Transmitter. He is highly regarded by Dharma Transmitter Jiang, and while other Dharma Transmitters may dislike him, there is little they can do about it."
"Being the Chief of the Law Enforcement Hall, Xu Yuanxian's own strength is unfathomable, far beyond that of an ordinary Dao Integration cultivator. The only recorded instance of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance executing a Dao Integration cultivator to retrieve a leaked technique was his doing. It was done so cleanly and swiftly that bystanders barely had time to react."
Xu Yuanxian explained the purpose of his visit. "The great Alliance examination has just concluded. These young ones are the cream of the crop. The Dharma Transmitter Council has granted them special permission to use the Deduction Jade, giving each of them one opportunity to deduce a Dao Integration-level technique."
"What?"
"How can this be?!"
The three guardians and the childlike spirit were all taken aback.
The little spirit pouted, on the verge of complaining.
But after a glance at Xu Yuanxian's expression, she cautiously swallowed her words.
Li Fan was the quickest to react. He nodded and said, "Chief, please present the council's seal."
His expression was serious, showing no hint of sycophancy just because he was addressing his direct superior.
Xu Yuanxian was quite cooperative, projecting a seal of light.
Sensing the aura of the Dharma Transmitters swirling around it, Li Fan carefully verified the information it contained before finally nodding to indicate that the check was complete.
Postponing the cultivators who were already waiting in line, Li Fan instructed the Deduction Jade to first handle the tasks for these new recruits of the Immortal Alliance.
There were sixteen of them in total, all of different ages and cultivation levels.
The colossal sphere of light that was the Deduction Jade began to rotate as the pouting spirit commenced the deduction work.
As the group queued up, waiting for their techniques to be deduced, Li Fan's curiosity got the better of him. He sent a mental message to Xu Yuanxian. "Chief, forgive my ignorance, but these cultivators... they don't seem to possess exceptionally high aptitudes. Why has the Alliance granted them such preferential treatment?"
The mental transmission was not shielded from the other two guardians, who also looked on with curiosity.
However, their query was met with nothing but silence.
Xu Yuanxian remained silent, as if he hadn't heard Li Fan's message at all.
The other two guardians tactfully averted their gazes.
Li Fan didn't press the matter further, and a strange silence fell over the chamber.
It wasn't until all sixteen cultivators had completed their deductions and were about to depart that Xu Yuanxian suddenly responded.
"That's a question I'd like to know the answer to myself."
"But there are too many unknowns in this world; one need not know everything. As long as we do our jobs, that is enough."
"Since the Dharma Transmitter Council has made this decision, they must have their reasons. As their subordinates, all we need to do is obey."
The three guardians bowed their heads, expressing that they had been taught a valuable lesson.
Only after Xu Yuanxian had completely left the Deduction Jade's space did they dare to speak among themselves.
"The Chief is every bit as rigid as the rumors say."
"Fellow Daoist Sun, your reaction was quite swift. The Chief loves that kind of by-the-book attitude you just showed. Who knows, you might have caught his eye. When you leave in five hundred years, he might just pick you as the next Chief," Hua Yueye joked.
Li Fan ignored their teasing. He first recorded and reported the special use of the Deduction Jade, as per regulations.
Then, he stated blandly, "The Chief of the Law Enforcement Hall... that's an even longer prison sentence than this job. I have no interest."
"Besides, I have a beautiful wife at home, waiting for my return."
This half-truth elicited hearty laughter from the other two guardians.
For them, this event was merely a minor interlude in their long watch over the Deduction Jade.
Soon, they had all but forgotten the matter.
All except for Li Fan, of course.
Because...
Among those sixteen individuals, one of them was a mole the Great Qi Dynasty had planted within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
His name was Yang Fei.
Li Fan knew him, though Yang Fei had no idea who Li Fan was.
But that did not lessen Li Fan's vigilance.
The Immortal Alliance never did anything without reason. Granting such preferential treatment to sixteen new recruits made it difficult for Li Fan not to suspect a conspiracy.
"Could it be like the 'Immortal Chosen' from before, sacrifices meant to awaken the power left in the statues of the Dharma Propagation Heavenly Venerate? No, that's not right. If they were sacrifices, they would be destined to die. There would be no need to waste the Deduction Jade's processing power on them..."
Li Fan keenly sensed that something was amiss.
Meanwhile, in the underground chamber of the Sun family, his divine sense finally found the opportunity it had been waiting for.
Sun Luyuan entered the secret room again, his eyes bloodshot.
His face was a mask of inner conflict, but in the end, he took out a Tianxuan Minor Mirror.
Using his own blood essence, he nourished Sun Luyao's spirit within the Immeasurable Mirror while explaining, "The pressure from above is simply too great. Forgive me, brother."
"I thought I could defy them to the death. But when I look at all those faces in the Sun family..."
Sun Luyao manifested as a dark shadow, materializing his form. Following the instructions from Li Fan's divine sense, he offered comfort. "Brother, I understand. It's alright. Just leave it to me."
Sun Luyuan shuddered at the words, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails threatened to pierce his flesh.
At that moment, the information he had previously found about the Great Qi Dynasty flashed through his mind again.
"Perhaps... I could try contacting them."
"Being a dog your whole life still carries the risk of being beheaded at any moment. Perhaps this Great Qi can truly offer me a pleasant surprise."
The Immeasurable Mirror pretended to search for information related to the Tianxuan Mirror's sub-bodies within the mirror's network.
In reality, it was investigating the reason why those sixteen cultivators had received such preferential treatment.
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