Chapter 769: The Wang Family Stands Alone
Chapter 769: The Wang Family Stands Alone
"From what I saw in the main space of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, Deng Mingqian looked to be only thirteen or fourteen. That must be her true age."
"She's so young," Li Fan mused, "she must have been well-protected by her family. That would explain why, despite her mind-reading ability, she lacks any real cunning."
"She's only at the Golden Core stage, yet she could sense my thoughts..."
"It's unlikely to be from a cultivation technique. It's probably related to her Foundation Establishment Wonder. The ability to read minds is rare enough in the Xuanhuang Realm, but to do so while ignoring the vast difference in our cultivation levels... that's practically a semi-divine wonder." An inscrutable glint flickered in Li Fan's eyes.
Throughout his countless lives, besides the divine wonders like the [Deduction Jade] and the [Sword], Li Fan had encountered quite a few cultivators who possessed these semi-divine wonders.
There was He Xinxin's [Dao Character Compass], Fairy Kongyou's [Yin-Yang Jade], and Sun Qi's [Universe One Breath].
Yet, none of them had captivated him, had made his heart pound with such desire, as Deng Mingqian's mind-reading wonder did now.
The human heart is a treacherous thing, a truth amplified in the Xuanhuang Realm, where the Law of Incompatible Cultivation reigns. Who could ever be certain that a companion who calls you brother today won't harbor a hidden blade for you tomorrow?
To say nothing of its use as a de facto power-level detector.
If the ability suddenly failed, you'd know instantly that you were facing someone you couldn't afford to provoke.
"And perhaps," he considered, "I could even reverse-engineer it to find a way to shield my own thoughts from being read."
Decisive as ever, Li Fan immediately returned to the Heavenly Profound Mirror within Tianquan City and began searching for any information on Deng Mingqian.
The results, however, were surprisingly barren. He found nothing of value.
It was as if Deng Mingqian had materialized out of thin air.
Li Fan changed his approach, searching instead for the "Brother Qingyu" she had mentioned.
He cross-referenced the name with the personality traits Wang Wan had described: arrogant, overbearing, and vindictive over the slightest offense.
He got a match almost instantly.
But Deng Qingyu's backing didn't come from a Deng family.
It came from the Wang family of Tianquan City.
"An adopted son," Li Fan noted. "Yet the Wang family treats him as one of their own—better, even, than their direct descendants."
"Likely because of his sister's influence," Li Fan concluded with a silent nod.
While the Wang family of Tianquan City wasn't among the top echelons of the Immortal Alliance, they were not a family one could afford to cross. Many of their cultivators held positions in the enigmatic Guardian Hall.
Rumor had it that the family head was even entrusted with the grave responsibility of guarding the [Deduction Jade]...
The instant he read that, Li Fan made a decision.
He would befriend the Wang family, no matter how many lifetimes it took.
Yet, as he dug deeper, Li Fan’s brow furrowed.
It seemed Deng Qingyu's poor reputation wasn't an anomaly.
The entire Wang family, from the youngest disciples to the eldest members, was universally disliked.
Across the entire Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, you couldn't find a single cultivator willing to speak a good word for them. The mere mention of the Tianquan Wang family was enough to make others spit on the ground in contempt.
"Completely ostracized, every last one of them. This is more than just a matter of poor character; this has to be deliberate."
"Are they trying to avoid suspicion?"
Having once navigated the treacherous currents of court politics, Li Fan was no stranger to such tactics.
"The Deduction Jade."
Li Fan mulled it over for a moment, then halted his search. He didn't dare to probe any further into the matter.
The Heavenly Profound Mirror in this lifetime had already been upgraded; focusing too much on such sensitive topics was a sure way to get himself flagged.
Already deeply wary of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, Li Fan certainly had no desire to cultivate within its domain.
With cultivators from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance scouring every mountain and sea for the entrances to small worlds, even digging a hidden sanctuary in the wilderness had become unsafe.
"And the potential threat from Liu San still hasn't been dealt with..."
For a moment, despite the vastness of the world, Li Fan found himself without a single safe place to enter seclusion.
"This is the price of the Heavenly Profound Mirror's growing power," he reflected, "just like the Mysterious Net in my past life."
After weighing his options, Li Fan decided to rent a private courtyard within the Discussion Tower in Tianquan City.
He then layered it with protective formations, one after another.
Only then did he feel a sliver of security.
"I haven't done anything reckless, and all my plans still seem to be under my control. And yet... in this life, I have the unnerving feeling that every step is a struggle."
"This is the pressure of the grand tide of the era. My cultivation is still too low, leaving me no choice but to drift with the current. If I try to swim against it, the slightest misstep will see me utterly crushed."
"Perhaps it's time to consider using [Truth Realization]."
"But before that, there are a few things I must do."
Li Fan's eyes narrowed.
A moment later, he gave his head a slight shake.
The Transformation Dao Stone in his sea of consciousness had absorbed so much data that his thoughts felt sluggish.
"One step at a time," he told himself. "First, I need to completely master the [Limitless Fullness and Emptiness] technique."
Li Fan closed his eyes. Inside his mind, the blue crystal, seemingly stuffed to bursting, struggled to emit a faint glow as it slowly began to process the immense amount of data on the divine ability he had fed it.
...
Tianliang City.
Xu Bai suddenly received a transmission from Liu San.
"Young Master, excellent news! One of the new disciples Old Fang recruited has successfully reached Foundation Establishment!"
"What?" Xu Bai froze, momentarily stunned.
When it came to understanding the [Foundation Establishment Through Oneself] technique, with Yin Shangren now dead, there was likely no one in the world who knew more than he did. The technique was monumentally difficult. How could someone possibly succeed in such a short amount of time?
Could Liu San be...
A flurry of thoughts raced through Xu Bai's mind, and he fell abruptly silent.
After a moment, Liu San's voice drawled through the connection again.
"Well, not with the [Foundation Establishment Through Oneself] method. It was a young man named Jie Lin. He found our technique too difficult and, completely on his own, figured out a way to establish his foundation using other things from the natural world."
"I didn't pay him much mind at first. But in the blink of an eye, he'd successfully established his foundation using a ten-thousand-year-old Dragon Subduing Grass from Longevity Valley."
"Heh, in that case, this Jie Lin is quite the talent," Xu Bai remarked, his expression softening. "Since he's already succeeded, there's no need to force him onto our path. Just separate him from the others. The important thing is that the true technique doesn't spread among the other disciples."
Liu San's laugh echoed back. "Heh, already done. A prodigy like him would have been snatched up by the Ten Great Immortal Sects in the ancient era. Our Medicine King Sect would never have had a chance. The times have truly changed."
Xu Bai added another instruction, "Use Jie Lin's success story to motivate the others. It might even spur more talents to emerge."
"As thoughtful as ever, Young Master."
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