Chapter 970: The Exposed Truth Realization
Chapter 970: The Exposed Truth Realization
"The Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate achieved the Dao many years ago. His power is unfathomable. It would be wise not to underestimate him."
"Forget a million cultivators; even if you combined the strength of every cultivator in the entire Xuanhuang Realm, I doubt they could defeat the Dharma Spreader."
After a moment of astonishment, the seemingly bashful young man quickly regained his composure. He cleared his throat and offered a well-intentioned reminder.
"Hmm..."
"That does make sense. After all, he's a being who has held sway over the Xuanhuang Realm for thousands of years..."
As if persuaded by the young man's words, the arrogant look on Li Fan's face vanished, replaced by a slow, gathering gravity.
"Still, there's no need to be too afraid of him."
"If he truly pushes me into a corner, I'll just unleash the Hunger Immortal from the Immortal Ruins, and we can all go down together!"
And his words made the Dharma Transmitter's expression twist in shock.
Very few cultivators in the Xuanhuang Realm even knew the Immortal Ruins existed.
Fewer still knew that a True Immortal lay in eternal repose within them.
He wasn't sure about the Five Elders Council, but among all the Dharma Transmitters of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, he was the only one privy to this secret.
The Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate himself had told him years ago.
And now...
Dharma Transmitter Jiang stared at the unremarkable cultivator before him, his mind racing as he tried to discern the man's origins.
"'Anyone who knows such a secret must have come into contact with a power beyond the Longevity stage.'"
"'The secret arts of Xuan Tian, a legacy from the Immortal World. He must be a remnant of the Xuan Tian Cult. There's no other explanation.'"
"'To think that after all this time, the ghost of the Xuan Tian Cult still lingers. And it seems they may have even infiltrated the highest levels of the Alliance...'"
As he pondered this, Dharma Transmitter Jiang tried to guide Li Fan's thoughts, saying, "Unless it is absolutely the last resort, we should avoid the path of mutual destruction."
"After all, getting this far has not been easy. To abandon it all now would be a terrible shame!"
Li Fan nodded in agreement. "Over seven years of planning in this life... if I were to abandon it all now, I admit I would be quite reluctant."
Dharma Transmitter Jiang's heart jolted once more. "Over seven years of planning?"
"Only seven years?"
"How is that possible?!"
"Since when was the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance so easy to infiltrate?"
Rage welled up in Dharma Transmitter Jiang, and he sized up the Xuan Tian Cultivator before him once again.
"Or could it be," he wondered, "that he's deliberately trying to deceive me?"
The thought crossed Dharma Transmitter Jiang's mind.
But after a moment of observation, he inwardly shook his head, dismissing his own suspicion.
"All Things Are as I Am" was not some cultivation technique or divine ability. It was a supreme, innate trait he had been born with.
Any living being who came face-to-face with him would perceive him as 'themself.'
Wariness, secrets, defensiveness—all the barriers one raises against others—simply did not exist when facing Dharma Transmitter Jiang.
If faced with a mortal threat, they would instinctively protect him just as they would protect themselves.
In all his thousands of years in the Xuanhuang Realm, Dharma Transmitter Jiang had never encountered a single being immune to this trait.
Not even the Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate of old!
Otherwise, how could he, with his less-than-exceptional strength and talent, have held the top position among the Dharma Transmitters for so long?
The ability was indeed monstrously powerful. For him, the world held no enemies. If he so wished, he could even peer into the secrets of any person he met.
If there was a flaw, it was that the effect was limited to being "like me."
And not "is me."
Admittedly, almost no living being would harbor suspicions toward 'themself.'
But if they began to doubt the authenticity of the 'self' that Dharma Transmitter Jiang projected, they would attack him all the same.
This was precisely how the Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate had seen through him all those years ago.
Thus, he could only carefully fish for information. If he were to directly ask about things the 'true self' considered common knowledge, he risked being exposed.
Despite this limitation, over the years, this heaven-defying trait had allowed him to succeed in every endeavor. The number of cultivators who had ever managed to see through him could be counted on one hand.
The other Dharma Transmitters knew of his ability. Even with their guard up, they were utterly unable to resist it.
They could only treat him with respect and keep their distance.
For the sake of maintaining order among the Dharma Transmitters, he had exiled himself to the blank small world of Return to Ruins, from where he remotely managed the Alliance's affairs.
This cultivator before him, though strange and unpredictable, had clearly not escaped the influence of his innate trait.
"What he's saying must be the truth."
Having reached this conclusion, Dharma Transmitter Jiang felt no sense of relief. Instead, his heart grew heavier still.
"Seven years, seven years..."
Dharma Transmitter Jiang mentally sifted through every event, large and small, that had occurred within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance over the past seven years, trying to identify the mole named Mo Rubin.
But the man had clearly changed his name, leaving him with no leads.
"It seems I'll have to get the information from this man himself."
As his thoughts raced, Dharma Transmitter Jiang chimed in, "You're right. Seven years isn't such a long time. The real problem is, if we miss this chance, who knows how long we'll have to wait for another."
"Heh, that's not a problem," Li Fan began confidently. "With [Truth Realization] in hand, as long as it succeeds once, I can replicate it countless times..." He trailed off, his words stopping abruptly.
He stared at Dharma Transmitter Jiang, his expression apparently unchanged.
But Dharma Transmitter Jiang keenly sensed that the atmosphere had shifted!
"Hmm? Where did I reveal a flaw?"
"With [Truth Realization], you can replicate a successful plan countless times?"
"What kind of treasure is this [Truth Realization]?"
"Could it be an immortal artifact left by the Xuan Tian Cult?"
In a flash, countless thoughts raced through Dharma Transmitter Jiang's mind.
He realized he must have exposed himself, so he dropped the pretense. Seizing the last few moments his innate trait was still active, he pressed, "What is [Truth Realization]?"
"What is [Truth Realization]?"
...
The question echoed endlessly in Li Fan's sea of consciousness.
A gaze devoid of all emotion locked onto Dharma Transmitter Jiang.
Then, the million gods and demons that had been wreaking havoc across the Xuanhuang Realm all returned in an instant.
Demonic energy surged to the heavens, and the ghostly domain descended once more!
Dharma Transmitter Jiang's expression flickered. He tried to sever the connection and retreat from this sea of consciousness.
But it was too late.
The million gods and demons all unleashed a heaven-shaking roar directed at Dharma Transmitter Jiang.
Their roars converged, forming a monstrous, overwhelming wave of sound.
With enough force to obliterate everything in its path, it crashed down upon Dharma Transmitter Jiang!
Concealed within the onslaught of the million gods and demons, a faint, unremarkable seven-colored light shot forth.
It collided with Dharma Transmitter Jiang's consciousness.
The moment they made contact, the seven-colored light silently dissolved, injecting a trace of gray decay into the Dharma Transmitter's consciousness.
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