Chapter 989: A Subtle Disquiet
Chapter 989: A Subtle Disquiet
“Communicating through divine sense isn’t secure. Let’s meet at this location.”
“I’ll hand over that unique artifact to you as well.”
“Lately, I’ve had this nagging feeling that I’m being watched. It’s best to be cautious.”
After transmitting the location, Mo Rubin’s presence vanished without a trace.
Li Fan focused on the glowing point of light that appeared on the map in his mind, his face a silent, unreadable mask.
“Is this a test? Or a trap?”
Ever since he had decided to hold off on using [Truth] and observe how things unfolded, a persistent sense of unease had gnawed at Li Fan.
Yet, no matter how he mulled it over or introspected, he couldn’t pinpoint the source of his disquiet.
Li Fan frowned slightly.
His intuition had always been uncannily sharp. Right now, it felt as though he were navigating a dense forest. He was on the right path, with no immediate threat of predators...
But a subtle, instinctive sense of danger warned him that he was overlooking something crucial.
Li Fan suspected the source of this wrongness stemmed from the statue of the Faceless Immortal.
“The Xuantian statue, the Xuantian Law King...”
An image of Mo Rubin flashed through his mind, and his resolve hardened.
“Mo Rubin might see me as an ally now, but I can’t afford to let my guard down.”
Li Fan’s mind replayed the moment Mo Rubin had consumed Dharma Transmitter Feng.
He had spent some time analyzing and speculating about the nature of Mo Rubin’s power.
Unlike Senior Sister Zhao’s “United as One,” Mo Rubin’s ability seemed more akin to mirroring and assimilation.
“As long as I can hold true to myself and resist the pull of that illusory, mirror-like thread, I should be able to delay the assimilation. With the protection of my Seven-Colored Divine Light and the Immortal Heart Mantra, escaping should be feasible even if I'm overpowered.”
“And if worst comes to worst, I can always release Daoist Baihua to draw his fire. A Longevity realm cultivator, however weakened, should be able to buy me a few precious moments.”
The lingering unease, its source still a mystery, had made his thoughts more convoluted than usual, forcing him into a state of heightened caution.
With his preparations complete, Li Fan slipped away to the designated meeting point.
It was an unremarkable peak on the outskirts of Tianchen Province, near the border of the Immortal Alliance’s central four prefectures.
A stone mountain soared into the sky, its peak piercing the heavens.
Concealed beneath a sea of clouds, an inconspicuous cave was carved into the mountainside.
The entrance was so narrow it could barely admit one person, but after a few dozen steps, the passage opened into a wide, spacious cavern.
Mo Rubin was already inside, having waited for quite some time.
There were no formations or restrictions guarding the cave, yet from the outside, it was impossible to sense the presence of any cultivator within.
Only upon stepping inside and standing before Mo Rubin did his presence become palpable.
“This was one of Dharma Transmitter Feng’s safe houses—a naturally formed, hidden grotto-heaven,” Mo Rubin explained calmly, having reverted to his original appearance. He sat at a stone table. “It’s the kind of place legends speak of, one that only reveals itself to the destined. We are perfectly safe meeting here.”
“Some safe house. I met no resistance at all. Just walked right in,” Li Fan scoffed, his tone dismissive.
Mo Rubin chuckled. “My friend, that’s where you’re mistaken. It only seemed easy because I shared its location with you. Had you come searching for it on your own...”
“...your divine sense would have found nothing. Even if your eyes fell upon the entrance, your mind would have subconsciously dismissed it. You could search for a lifetime and never find your way in. The wonders of creation are truly profound; even beings as powerful as us cannot claim to comprehend them all.”
Li Fan brushed aside his philosophical musings. “Alright, enough of that. Where is the artifact? The one that can deduce formations?” he demanded, his voice cold and impatient.
Mo Rubin shook his head and casually tossed an object to him.
Li Fan caught it, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.
This wasn’t what he had expected. It wasn’t one of the Dissociation Discs. Instead, he held a green cube, an object he had never seen before.
“What is this thing...?”
As he touched it, the cube instantly dissolved into tens of thousands of smaller, identical cubes.
They swirled in the air like a living swarm, assembling and disassembling into a series of intricate, geometric patterns.
Focusing on a single tiny cube, Li Fan discovered it was a composite of over a hundred different formations, all layered together.
“The Array Crown?” The name surfaced in his mind unbidden.
He kept this recognition to himself, however, and simply looked up at Mo Rubin, his gaze demanding an explanation.
“This is the Lifeless Array Crown,” Mo Rubin began. “It was discovered and turned in not long ago in the Alliance’s Lancang Province.”
“An Array Crown, to put it simply, is a construct of hundreds, even thousands, of formations layered one upon another. This particular one evolved from an ordinary Array Crown, constantly changing and generating new patterns.”
“It was supposedly left behind by a Soul Transformation array master who died during an encounter with a Weirdness. The Alliance’s researchers have preliminarily concluded that it’s the result of a mutation that occurred when a Heavenly Treasure fused with the aberrant laws of an otherworldly domain, causing the crown itself to transform,” Mo Rubin explained in detail.
Li Fan immediately grasped the implications. Heavenly Treasures were manifestations of the Xuanhuang Realm’s laws, while a Weirdness was a twisted remnant of the laws from a devoured world.
When the two fused, something utterly unpredictable had occurred.
Li Fan had theorized about such a possibility when he first understood the true origin of Weirdnesses, but he had never encountered a tangible example until now. To think Mo Rubin would produce one so casually.
It was a stark reminder of the vast resources at a Dharma Transmitter’s disposal—an advantage that even his cycles of reincarnation and foreknowledge couldn’t easily overcome.
Li Fan recognized the artifact, but his current persona would not.
Feigning confusion, he cut Mo Rubin off. “Enough, enough, spare me the lecture. Just tell me how to use it.”
“The Lifeless Array Crown is in a constant state of evolution, using existing formations to spawn new ones, ad infinitum,” Mo Rubin explained, unperturbed. “All you need to do is periodically inscribe the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation into it and let it evolve on its own. Think of it like a gladiatorial pit for formations. The one that ultimately survives will be the strongest.”
“Easy enough, I suppose, but it sounds unreliable...” Li Fan muttered, examining the green Lifeless Array Crown.
“There’s nothing to worry about. It may be somewhat unpredictable, but it will achieve our objective. Inscribing the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Formation is a time-consuming and difficult process. Here at the Alliance headquarters, I’m under constant scrutiny, making it impossible for me to act. I must leave this in your hands,” Mo Rubin said gravely.
“There is another artifact, one far more powerful than the Lifeless Array Crown for deducing formations—the Dissociation Disc. Unfortunately, it seems to have incurred heaven’s jealousy and was shattered into nine pieces. The time it would take to reunite them is far too long. We cannot afford to wait. So, we must make do with this,” Mo Rubin added with a sigh of regret.
(End of Chapter)
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