Chapter 792: The Advent of Mr. Bai
Chapter 792: The Advent of Mr. Bai
And Li Fan was no stranger to the faint aura emanating from that Earth’s Soul.
It was none other than the Earth’s Soul: Ink Death!
In that instant, the eyes of the Sacred Embryo, Xu Bai, grew darker, becoming as black and profound as an abyss.
His gaze seemed to pierce through thousands of miles of space, locking directly onto Li Fan!
BAM!
Li Fan, having just flown back to Longevity Valley, reeled as if struck by a tremendous blow, his body swaying precariously.
The sudden change immediately caught Liu San's attention.
Of the three from the Medicine King Sect, Fang Zaiji was completely absorbed in his refining.
It was Liu San who took the keenest interest in the sect's development. His spiritual sense blanketed the entire valley, ever watchful of the disciples' activities.
And so, he was the first to notice that something was wrong with Li Fan.
"Young Master, are you hurt?" Liu San appeared before Li Fan in a flash, his tense expression showing genuine concern.
"I'm fine," Li Fan replied, waving a hand dismissively as he recovered his composure. "Just a small setback in my cultivation. I'll be alright after a moment's rest."
Seeing Li Fan's breathing steady, Liu San slowly nodded.
Still, his eyes held a trace of suspicion.
Li Fan offered no explanation. After dismissing Liu San, he made his way to a private chamber within the sect.
First, he checked on the status of the [Remnant Images].
As expected, Dongfang Yao had been both swift and thorough.
All one hundred and eight [Remnant Images] were in place.
"A desperate contingency, nothing more. I can only hope it never has to be used."
After a cursory glance, Li Fan turned his attention elsewhere.
Instead, he focused on the increasingly faint sympathetic link, trying to perceive what was happening with the Sacred Embryo, Xu Bai, in Tianyun Province.
The connection was shrouded in a thick fog, allowing him only fleeting, indistinct glimpses through occasional rifts in the haze.
He could no longer perceive the specifics of how the powers of the Earth's Souls were being usurped.
Yet he could clearly sense that the powers of the Earth's Souls were concentrating within the Sacred Embryo, growing stronger and more numerous.
And his very form began to resemble that of an Earth’s Soul.
The immense pressure radiating from him could no longer be hidden.
Gazes from every corner of the Xuanhuang Realm converged on his location.
However...
In his perfect state of near-Heavenly Human Resonance, it would take even a Longevity Heavenly Venerate some time to discern the origins of the Sacred Embryo, Xu Bai, a being never before seen in the Xuanhuang Realm.
Just then, dark clouds began to roil in the sky above Tianyun Province, appearing from nowhere.
The sun was obscured, and in an instant, the entire Tianyun Province was plunged into darkness as deep as night.
The darkness was not merely visual.
All forms of scrying and spiritual probing were severed by the abrupt, impenetrable blackness.
Countless cultivators within Tianyun Province were seized with fear, believing a great calamity was upon them.
Only a few experts at the Dao Integration realm shot to their feet, their faces etched with shock as they stared up at the sky.
"Jiao Xiuyuan, are you ready?"
Back in Longevity Valley, Li Fan contacted Jiao Xiuyuan using a communication talisman.
"Let me make this clear: I will only act once, at the most critical moment. Success or failure, I'm washing my hands of everything that follows."
"Oh, and one more thing," Jiao Xiuyuan's reply came swiftly. "The puppet clone I'm deploying has been specially modified to look like you. This completely absolves me of any connection. So don't think you can use my reputation to intimidate anyone." His speed betrayed his deep reservations about their deal, but Li Fan had offered a price he simply couldn't refuse, compelling him to take the risk.
With Jiao Xiuyuan's confirmation, Li Fan said nothing further and simply ended the call.
His gaze fell upon the eighty-one Chaos Character puppets, standing in silent, rigid rows within the chamber.
Each puppet was inscribed with an incomplete Chaos character.
And together, the eighty-one puppets formed the rough shape of the 'Chaos' character itself.
Their core components, however, remained separate, gathered in the very center of the formation.
Awaiting final assembly.
"If I'm not mistaken, once the Sacred Embryo achieves Dao Integration and Mr. Bai fully awakens, his first act will be to come for me... to seize the [Truth]."
"Unavoidable. Inescapable. I will wait for him here. The only path to survival lies through the jaws of death!"
Seating himself cross-legged amidst the Chaos Character puppets, Li Fan focused his senses once more, trying to perceive the Sacred Embryo's situation.
The sky-blotting clouds seemed to interfere even with the intrinsic connection between his true self and the embryo.
The connection was already sporadic.
For the most part, he could sense nothing at all.
Only during brief flickers could he catch a vague, blurry glimpse of the scene in Tianyun Province.
The usurpation of the world's principles had ceased. It seemed the embryo had already gathered the powers of all the Earth's Souls in the Xuanhuang Realm.
The Sacred Embryo, Xu Bai, now looked starkly different from his clone.
He stood motionless in the air, likely still acclimating to his new form.
The powerful auras that had radiated from him while he usurped the world's principles slowly faded.
Returning to a state of primal simplicity, he appeared no different from an ordinary mortal.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, he slowly raised his head to look at the sky.
His gaze pierced the dark clouds, shot through the heavens, and extended beyond the Xuanhuang Realm itself.
Li Fan's pupils constricted.
Through their sympathetic link, he saw it—a colossal palm descending from the heavens!
In the vision's final moment, he thought he saw the colossal palm collide with the layer of clouds above Tianyun Province.
The colossal palm was unstoppable.
Before it, the dark cloud barrier formed by the world's will was as fragile as porcelain, shattering at the slightest touch.
Meanwhile, the Sacred Embryo simply watched the palm descend upon him.
His face was devoid of fear.
The vision vanished. Li Fan began to count silently.
Three breaths later.
He felt the ground begin to shake violently.
It felt like a massive earthquake, the tremors lasting for a long time before finally subsiding.
Li Fan knew that the scene he had just witnessed was not an illusion.
The earthquake was the aftershock from the collision between the colossal palm and the dark cloud barrier.
Longevity Valley was in Luoyan Province, separated from Tianyun Province by nearly half the territory of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Yet even here, the impact was this violent.
This meant the collision had likely shaken the entire Xuanhuang Realm!
"The Dharma Spreader?"
The name instantly flashed through Li Fan's mind.
The dark clouds over Tianyun Province were the work of the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao, a move to buy enough time for the advent of Mr. Bai.
And without a doubt, the only one who could destroy it so effortlessly was the being who loomed over all cultivators of the New Method...
The Dharma Spreader!
Although the Dharma Spreader had effortlessly shattered the Heavenly Dao's cover...
...the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao had already achieved its purpose.
Because...
The Sacred Embryo, Xu Bai, or rather, Mr. Bai, had disappeared!
Not a single trace of a cultivator's aura remained on him.
He had completely melted into the Xuanhuang World.
Like a drop of water falling into the ocean.
Even if the Dharma Spreader's spiritual sense could sweep across the entire Xuanhuang Realm in a single instant...
...finding Mr. Bai would still take a little time.
Just before the connection to the Sacred Embryo completely vanished, Li Fan saw him—Mr. Bai—striding purposefully toward Longevity Valley!
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