wēi dōu shàng kōng ， lǐ fán mò rán bù yǔ 。
威都上空，李凡默然不语。
Above the city of Wudi, Li Fan remained silent.
gēn jù chéng zhōng fán rén men de jì yì ， tiān xuán jìng fēn shēn shì zài sì zhōu yì dòng chū xiàn de dì èr tiān ， xiāo shī bú jiàn de 。
根据城中凡人们的记忆，天玄镜分身是在四州异动出现的第二天，消失不见的。
According to the memories of ordinary people in the city, the Sky-Primal Mirror's avatar had disappeared on the second day after the anomalies appeared across the Four States.
sōu xún le yī quān ， méi yǒu zhǎo dào duì fāng liú xià de rèn hé zōng jì 。
搜寻了一圈，没有找到对方留下的任何踪迹。
After a thorough search, no trace was found.
mī zhuó yǎn jīng ， lǐ fán méi yǒu sǐ xīn ， yòu qù le tàng cǐ qián gēn mò rú bīn huì miàn de yǐn nì dòng tiān 。
眯着眼睛，李凡没有死心，又去了趟此前跟墨儒斌会面的隐匿洞天。
Squinting his eyes, Li Fan did not give up and went back to the hidden dao realm where he had met Mo Ru Bin previously.
méi yǒu xiū shì céng jīng dào fǎng de hén jì 。
没有修士曾经到访的痕迹。
There were no signs of any cultivators having visited it before.
“ gāi bú huì ……”
“该不会……”
"Could it be..."
“ shì mò rú bīn gēn tiān xuán jìng zhí jiē pǎo le ba ？”
“是墨儒斌跟天玄镜直接跑了吧？”
"Did Mo Ru Bin run away with the Sky-Primal Mirror directly?"
lǐ fán xīn zhōng hū rán fú xiàn chū zhè ge niàn tou 。
李凡心中忽然浮现出这个念头。
The thought suddenly flashed through Li Fan's mind.
huà dào shí lán guāng liú zhuǎn ， lǐ fán xùn sù jiāng jì huà de shǐ mò cóng tóu dào wěi kàn le yī biàn 。
化道石蓝光流转，李凡迅速将计划的始末从头到尾看了一遍。
The blue light from the Dao Stone flowed, and Li Fan quickly reviewed his entire plan from start to finish without his own perspective. Instead, he observed purely as an outsider.
zhè cì ， méi yǒu dài rù zì jǐ de shì jiǎo 。 ér shì chún cuì yǐ jú wài rén de jiǎo dù qù guān chá 。
这次，没有带入自己的视角。而是纯粹以局外人的角度去观察。
From rescuing Mo Ru Bin at the beginning.
cóng zuì kāi shǐ jiù chū mò rú bīn 。
从最开始救出墨儒斌。
Then pretending to be insane, masquerading as Sun Xingwang to gain Mo Ru Bin's trust.
ér hòu zhuāng fēng mài shǎ ， wěi zhuāng chéng sūn xīng wàng 、 huò qǔ mò rú bīn de xìn rèn 。
而后装疯卖傻，伪装成孙兴旺、获取墨儒斌的信任。
Both of them had planned to extract information about the Heavenly Primal King from the Sky-Primal Mirror.
liǎng rén dìng jì ， yào cóng tiān xuán jìng de kǒu zhōng huò qǔ xuán tiān wáng de xiāo xī 。
两人定计，要从天玄镜的口中获取玄天王的消息。
The first few steps of the plan seemed successful until the final step, where something unexpected happened.
jì huà de qián jǐ gè bù zhòu ， sì hū dōu hěn chéng gōng 。 zhí dào zuì hòu yī bù ， bù zhī dào chū le shén me biàn gù 。
计划的前几个步骤，似乎都很成功。直到最后一步，不知道出了什么变故。
...
……
……
Scene after scene flashed before Li Fan's eyes.
yí mù mù chǎng jǐng zài lǐ fán yǎn zhōng kuài sù shǎn guò 。
一幕幕场景在李凡眼中快速闪过。
Looking at his seemingly flawless performance and Mo Ru Bin's cooperation in it, Li Fan's face twitched.
kàn zhe zì jǐ sì hū wán měi wú xiá de biǎo yǎn ， yǐ jí pèi hé zì jǐ yǎn chū de mò rú bīn 。 lǐ fán de liǎn chōu le chōu 。
看着自己似乎完美无瑕的表演，以及配合自己演出的墨儒斌。李凡的脸抽了抽。
Although he had already vaguely confirmed that he might have been tricked by Mo Ru Bin, Li Fan still held a shred of hope.
suī rán xīn zhōng yǐ jīng yǐn yǐn què dìng ， zì jǐ huò xǔ 、 kě néng bèi mò rú bīn bǎi le yī dào 。
虽然心中已经隐隐确定，自己或许、可能被墨儒斌摆了一道。
Returning to the Spirit Wood Realm, he forcibly interrupted Craftsman Wise Master's research and handed over the ancient copper mirror Mo Ru Bin had given him.
bù guò lǐ fán réng rán chí yǒu yī sī huàn xiǎng 。
不过李凡仍然持有一丝幻想。
"Boundary... Boundary Artifact?"
huí dào le líng mù jiè ， qiáng xíng dǎ duàn le qiǎo gōng jū shì de yán jiū ， bǎ mò rú bīn jiāo gěi zì jǐ de nà méi gǔ piáo tóng jìng dì le guò qù 。
回到了灵木界，强行打断了巧工居士的研究，把墨儒斌交给自己的那枚古朴铜镜递了过去。
Craftsman Wise Master's expression turned unusually strange.
“ jiè …… jiè qì ？”
“界……界器？”
He secretly sized up Li Fan before carefully organizing his words: "I apologize for my poor eyesight. This seems to be..."
qiǎo gōng jū shì de miàn sè shà shí jiān biàn dé shí fēn gǔ guài 。
巧工居士的面色霎时间变得十分古怪。
"What do you mean, 'seems to be'? It’s just a common copper mirror. Look at the rust on it; I wonder where he found this," Fang Zaiji of this life had not yet witnessed Li Fan's power, so he was very bold and straightforward.
tā qiāo qiāo dǎ liàng le yǎn lǐ fán ， ér hòu xiǎo xīn zǔ zhī yǔ yán dào ：“ shù wǒ yǎn zhuō ， zhè ge mào sì ……”
他悄悄打量了眼李凡，而后小心组织语言道：“恕我眼拙，这个貌似……”
"I understand now. Thank you for your help, Craftsman Wise Master." Li Fan did not show any emotion on his face as he vanished in a flash before the two of them.
“ shén me mào sì ， bù jiù shì zuì pǔ tōng de tóng jìng ma ？ nǐ kàn zhè tóng xiù ， hǎo jiā huo ， yě bù zhī dào cóng nǎ lǐ wā chū lái de 。” zhè yī shì de fāng zài jì hái méi yǒu jiàn shí guò lǐ fán de wēi shì ， gù ér shí fēn dà dǎn ， zhí jiē liǎo dàng de shuō dào 。
“什么貌似，不就是最普通的铜镜嘛？你看这铜锈，好家伙，也不知道从哪里挖出来的。”这一世的方再济还没有见识过李凡的威势，故而十分大胆，直接了当的说道。
"What are you doing? Wasting our time..." Fang Zaiji was quite dissatisfied with Li Fan's interruption. Just as he wanted to complain further, Craftsman Wise Master interrupted him directly.
“ wǒ zhī dào le 。 má fán qiǎo gōng dào yǒu le 。” lǐ fán liǎn shàng kàn bù chū xǐ nù ， yí gè shǎn shēn xiāo shī zài èr rén miàn qián 。
“我知道了。麻烦巧工道友了。”李凡脸上看不出喜怒，一个闪身消失在二人面前。
"Say less. The Envoy's mood doesn't seem very pleasant," Craftsman Wise Master whispered.
“ gǎo shén me ， làng fèi wǒ men shí jiān ……” duì yú lǐ fán de dǎ rǎo fāng zài jì hěn shì bù mǎn ， tā hái yù fā láo sāo ， què bèi qiǎo gōng jū shì zhí jiē dǎ duàn 。
“搞什么，浪费我们时间……”对于李凡的打扰方再济很是不满，他还欲发牢骚，却被巧工居士直接打断。
...
“ nǐ jiù shǎo shuō diǎn ba 。 shàng shǐ de xīn qíng ， sì hū bù zěn me měi lì 。” qiǎo gōng jū shì qiǎo shēng shuō dào 。
“你就少说点吧。上使的心情，似乎不怎么美丽。”巧工居士悄声说道。
In the underground secret chamber of the Spirit Wood Realm,
……
……
Li Fan held that copper-green mirror in his hand, his expression completely frozen.
líng mù jiè dì xià mì shì zhōng 。
灵木界地下密室中。
"Boundary Artifact..."
lǐ fán shǒu zhōng wò zhe nà méi fàn zhe tóng lǜ de xiǎo jìng ， liǎn shàng shén qíng wán quán dòng jié yì bān 。
李凡手中握着那枚泛着铜绿的小镜，脸上神情完全冻结一般。
"Interesting."
“ jiè qì ……”
“界器……”
With a slight force, Li Fan crushed the copper mirror into pieces with a loud bang.
“ yǒu yì si 。”
“有意思。”
"After so many cycles of rebirth, this is the first time I've been tricked."
pēng de yī shēng ， lǐ fán wēi wēi yòng lì ， jiāng tóng jìng niē de fěn suì 。
砰的一声，李凡微微用力，将铜镜捏的粉碎。
Even though he did not want to admit it, Li Fan could no longer deny this fact now.
“ lún huí zhè me duō nián ， hái shì dì yī cì bèi rén shuǎ le 。”
“轮回这么多年，还是第一次被人耍了。”
Mo Ru Bin might have never taken his identity as a Primal King of Heavenly Primal Sect seriously at the beginning. But during their interaction, Mo Ru Bin discovered that Li Fan's strength was worth exploiting. Thus, he pretended and manipulated him, using Li Fan’s power to release the Sky-Primal Mirror.
shì dào rú jīn ， jí biàn lǐ fán bù yuàn chéng rèn 、 yě wú fǎ fǒu rèn zhè ge shì shí le 。
事到如今，即便李凡不愿承认、也无法否认这个事实了。
Poor Li Fan had always thought he performed well enough.
mò rú bīn huò xǔ yī kāi shǐ ， jiù méi bǎ zì jǐ xuán tiān jiào fǎ wáng de shēn fèn dàng zhēn 。 bù guò zài jiē chù guò chéng zhōng ， tā fā xiàn le lǐ fán de shí lì huò xǔ zhí de lì yòng 。 gù ér xū yǔ wēi yí ， jiè zhù lǐ fán de lì liàng ， shì fàng le tiān xuán jìng 。
墨儒斌或许一开始，就没把自己玄天教法王的身份当真。不过在接触过程中，他发现了李凡的实力或许值得利用。故而虚与委蛇，借助李凡的力量，释放了天玄镜。
However, looking back now, there were many loopholes in his performance that couldn't be explained by the madness caused by the cultivation technique.
kě lián lǐ fán hái yì zhí yǐ wéi zì jǐ yǎn de hěn xiàng 。
可怜李凡还一直以为自己演的很像。
For example, while Li Fan could recall some past events, both his speech and actions differed greatly from those of the real Sun Xingwang.
bù guò xiàn zài huí tóu kàn lái ， dí què yǒu hěn duō lòu dòng ， bìng bú shì gōng fǎ yǐn fā de fēng diān néng gòu jiě shì de 。
不过现在回头看来，的确有很多漏洞，并不是功法引发的疯癫能够解释的。
Another example was...
bǐ rú lǐ fán chú le néng huí yì qǐ xiē dāng nián wǎng shì ， wú lùn shì shuō huà hái shì xíng shì fēng gé ， dōu yǔ zhēn zhèng de sūn xīng wàng dà xiāng jìng tíng 。
比如李凡除了能回忆起些当年往事，无论是说话还是行事风格，都与真正的孙兴旺大相径庭。
"Perhaps it was due to my contact with the Sky-Primal Mirror's avatar."
bǐ rú lǐ fán zài zhū duō guān jiàn shí kè ， zhǎn xiàn chū de jīng rén de zhèn fǎ néng lì 。
比如李凡在诸多关键时刻，展现出的惊人的阵法能力。
The Heavenly Primal Mirror was a treasure of the Heavenly Primal Sect back in its heyday. As one of the most important figures, the Twelve Primal Kings could not be unfamiliar with it.
zài bǐ rú ……
再比如……
"These are two people from the Heavenly Primal Sect working together to deceive me, an outsider..."
“ huò xǔ shì gēn tiān xuán jìng fēn shēn de jiē chù ， zuì zhōng dǎo zhì wǒ lòu xiàn le 。”
“或许是跟天玄镜分身的接触，最终导致我露馅了。”
"Good. You're worthy of being chosen by the Heavenly Primal King to bear the responsibility for saving the world..."
xuán tiān bǎo jìng bì jìng shì dāng nián xuán tiān jiào de zhèn jiào zhī qì ， shēn wèi jiào zhōng zuì zhòng yào rén wù 、 shí èr fǎ wáng bù kě néng duì xuán tiān bǎo jìng bù shú 。
玄天宝镜毕竟是当年玄天教的镇教之器，身为教中最重要人物、十二法王不可能对玄天宝镜不熟。
"Excellent!"
“ zhè shì liǎng gè xuán tiān jiào zhōng rén wù ， hé qǐ huǒ lái piàn wǒ zhè ge wài rén a 。”
“这是两个玄天教中人物，合起伙来骗我这个外人啊。”
Li Fan did not get angry or frustrated at being tricked; instead, he suddenly burst into laughter.
“ hěn hǎo 。 bù kuì shì xuán tiān wáng xuǎn chū lái ， chéng dān gòng tóng jiù shì zé rèn de tiān jiāo ……”
“很好。不愧是玄天王选出来，承担共同救世责任的天骄……”
Because finally, it was all interesting to him.
“ hěn hǎo ！”
“很好！”
Repeated cycles of rebirth had made Li Fan increasingly indifferent towards the living beings in the Xuanhuang Realm.
lǐ fán bìng méi yǒu yīn wèi zì jǐ shàng dàng shòu piàn ér nǎo xiū chéng nù 。
李凡并没有因为自己上当受骗而恼羞成怒。
He treated them like NPCs that could be reset and respawned repeatedly in a game.
ér shì mò rán hā hā dà xiào qǐ lái 。
而是蓦然哈哈大笑起来。
With enough information, even their reactions after hearing certain phrases could be predicted.
yīn wèi tā zhōng yú zhēn zhèng gǎn dào yǒu yì si qǐ lái 。
因为他终于真正感到有意思起来。
Even figures such as the Celestial Physician, Transmission of Dao, Immortal Vastness, or Faceless True Immortal were only seen by Li Fan as stronger bosses.
guò wǎng bù duàn de lún huí jīng lì ， shǐ de lǐ fán duì yú xuán huáng jiè zhōng de shēng líng tài dù yù fā lěng dàn 。
过往不断的轮回经历，使得李凡对于玄黄界中的生灵态度愈发冷淡。
But reality was not a game.
bǎ tā men dàng zuò yóu xì zhōng kě yǐ bù duàn zhòng zhì shuā xīn de NPC。
把他们当做游戏中可以不断重置刷新的NPC。
Just like how the sudden mind-reading ability of the Celestial Physician taught him a lesson, Mo Ru Bin, a Primal King of Heavenly Primal Sect, also gave Li Fan another valuable lesson.
zhǎng wò le zú gòu duō de xìn xī zhī hòu ， shèn zhì lián tā men tīng dào mǒu jù huà jiē xià lái de fǎn yìng ， dōu néng zuò chū yù pàn 。
掌握了足够多的信息之后，甚至连他们听到某句话接下来的反应，都能做出预判。
The Xuanhuang Realm cultivators were not so easily deceived!
jiù suàn rú tiān yī 、 chuán fǎ 、 xiān xū xiān rén 、 wú miàn zhēn xiān zhī liú 。
就算如天医、传法、仙墟仙人、无面真仙之流。
Because they were truly living beings!
lǐ fán yě zhǐ bǎ tā men dàng zuò qiáng yì diǎn de BOSS kàn dài 。
李凡也只把他们当做强一点的BOSS看待。
"It doesn't matter. You can deceive me for one life, but can you deceive me across all my lives?"
kě xiàn shí zhōng jiū bú shì yóu xì 。
可现实终究不是游戏。
Without any disappointment over failure, a look of eagerness burned in Li Fan's eyes.
jiù xiàng dāng chū tū wù dú xīn de tiān yī yī yàng ， xuán tiān jiào fǎ wáng mò rú bīn ， yě hǎo hǎo gěi lǐ fán shàng le yī kè 。
就像当初突兀读心的天医一样，玄天教法王墨儒斌，也好好给李凡上了一课。
"Moreover, we still have unfinished business this time around!"
xuán huáng jiè xiū shì ， bìng bú shì zhè me róng yì yú nòng de ！
玄黄界修士，并不是这么容易愚弄的！
With a cold snort, Li Fan closed his eyes and began to think about对策 (countermeasures).
yīn wèi tā men shì ， zhēn zhèng de ， huó zhe de shēng líng ！
因为他们是，真正的，活着的生灵！
The first thing he needed to clarify was what had happened at the headquarters of the Immortal Alliance on that day.
“ wú fáng 。 nǐ néng piàn de le wǒ yī shì ， hái néng piàn de le wǒ shēng shēng shì shì ma ？”
“无妨。你能骗的了我一世，还能骗的了我生生世世吗？”
Even though it had been so long, this remained a strictly sealed mystery.
bìng méi yǒu shī bài de jǔ sàng ， lǐ fán yǎn zhōng rán qǐ le ， shì yuè yuè yù shì de shén sè 。
并没有失败的沮丧，李凡眼中燃起了，是跃跃欲试的神色。
Without the Transmission of Dao as an insider, Li Fan returned to his previous state of being blind to information about high-level movements within the Immortal Alliance.
“ gèng hé kuàng ， zhè yī shì zán men hái méi wán ！”
“更何况，这一世咱们还没完！”
He knew nothing about their actions or information.
lěng hēng yī shēng ， lǐ fán bì mù ， kāi shǐ sī suǒ qǐ duì cè lái 。
冷哼一声，李凡闭目，开始思索起对策来。
"Some channels must be controlled by myself. Relying on others is not enough."
shǒu xiān yào gǎo qīng chǔ de shì ， dāng rì wàn xiān méng zǒng bù nèi ， jiū jìng fā shēng le shén me 。
首先要搞清楚的是，当日万仙盟总部内，究竟发生了什么。
"Still need my own Transmission of Dao..."
jiù suàn guò qù le zhè me zhǎng shí jiān ， zhè yī jiù shì yán gé fēng suǒ de mí tuán 。
就算过去了这么长时间，这依旧是严格封锁的谜团。
"But fortunately, I have gathered sufficient information in this life. I can start trying gradually from now on."
ér méi yǒu le chuán fǎ zhě zuò wéi nèi yìng ， lǐ fán yě huī fù le cǐ qián zhuā yǎn xiā de zhuàng tài 。
而没有了传法者作为内应，李凡也恢复了此前抓眼瞎的状态。
Li Fan, who had deeply experienced the benefits of having an insider, naturally would not give up.
duì yú wàn xiān méng gāo céng de dòng xiàng 、 xìn xī ， gēn běn yī wú suǒ zhī 。
对于万仙盟高层的动向、信息，根本一无所知。
But that was for after this life.
“ kàn lái ， yǒu xiē qú dào shì bì yào zhuā zài zì jǐ shǒu lǐ 。 kào bié rén hái shì bù xíng 。”
“看来，有些渠道势必要抓在自己手里。靠别人还是不行。”
For now, there were no further methods to gather more information. So Li Fan chose his usual approach: wait!
“ hái shì yào yǒu shǔ yú zì jǐ de chuán fǎ zhě ……”
“还是要有属于自己的传法者……”
Many secrets would no longer be secrets as time passed.
“ bù guò hǎo zài cǐ shì yǐ jīng huò dé le zú gòu duō de xìn xī 。 yǐ hòu kě yǐ kāi shǐ zhú bù cháng shì 。”
“不过好在此世已经获得了足够多的信息。以后可以开始逐步尝试。”
Although it was currently a top-secret matter, it might not remain so in the future.
yǐ jīng shēn kè tǐ yàn guò chuán fǎ zhě nèi yìng hǎo chù de lǐ fán ， zì rán bú huì jiāng qí fàng qì 。
已经深刻体验过传法者内应好处的李凡，自然不会将其放弃。
As confidentiality levels decreased and with the无忧天尊's divine power,
bù guò nà yě shì cǐ shì zhī hòu de shì qíng le 。
不过那也是此世之后的事情了。
Li Fan believed that if he offered enough money at the right moment, he could definitely obtain the truth from those who had personally experienced the event.
yǎn xià ， shí zài méi yǒu jìn yí bù dǎ tīng xiāo xī de fāng fǎ 。 yú shì lǐ fán xuǎn zé zuì cháng yòng de shǒu duàn 。
眼下，实在没有进一步打听消息的方法。于是李凡选择最常用的手段。
All he needed to do was be patient.
yí gè zì ， děng ！
一个字，等！
During this waiting period, Li Fan did not sit idle either.
xǔ duō mì mì ， suí zhe shí jiān de liú shì ， yě jiù bù zài shì mì mì le 。
许多秘密，随着时间的流逝，也就不在是秘密了。
While many things in the Spirit Wood Realm proceeded as usual, the spread of the Interdimensional Alliance and the Faceless True Immortal's dao lineage were halted.
suī rán xiàn zài shì wú fǎ dǎ tàn dào de jué mì ， dàn guò yī duàn shí jiān 、 kě jiù bù yí dìng le 。
虽然现在是无法打探到的绝密，但过一段时间、可就不一定了。
Before finding Mo Ru Bin and the Sky-Primal Mirror, they still needed to remain vigilant.
bǎo mì děng jí yuè lái yuè dī ， zài jiā shàng wú yōu tiān zūn shén lì 。
保密等级越来越低，再加上无忧天尊神力。
Although he could not yet fully understand what had happened at the Immortal Alliance headquarters that day, Li Fan inferred from the disappearance of Lu Xi Chan and Suofeng’s family that the Immortal Alliance was also conducting a purge on potential traitors.
lǐ fán xiāng xìn ， zhǐ yào dào shí hòu chū zú gòu duō de jià qián ， jiù yí dìng néng cóng shì jiàn de qīn shēn jīng lì zhě shēn shàng ， dǎ tàn dào shì qíng de zhēn xiàng 。
李凡相信，只要到时候出足够多的价钱，就一定能从事件的亲身经历者身上，打探到事情的真相。
Many people vanished without explanation.
ér tā xū yào zuò de ， jiù shì nài xīn děng dài 。
而他需要做的，就是耐心等待。
Li Fan secretly collected the names of those who disappeared.
bù guò děng dài de shí jiān lǐ ， lǐ fán yě méi yǒu xián zhe 。
不过等待的时间里，李凡也没有闲着。
At the same time, he kept an ear out for anyone who might have experienced the event.
líng mù jiè zhū duō shì wù àn bù jiù bān ， dàn wàn jiè lián hé huì 、 wú miàn zhēn xiān de dào tǒng de chuán bō ， què shì bèi zhōng zhǐ le 。
灵木界诸多事物按部就班，但万界联合会、无面真仙的道统的传播，却是被中止了。
Five years later.
zài méi yǒu zhǎo dào mò rú bīn gēn tiān xuán jìng zhī qián ， hái shì yào bǎo chí jǐng tì de hǎo 。
在没有找到墨儒斌跟天玄镜之前，还是要保持警惕的好。
(End of Chapter)
Above the city of Wudi, Li Fan remained silent.
According to the memories of ordinary people in the city, the Sky-Primal Mirror's avatar had disappeared on the second day after the anomalies appeared across the Four States.
After a thorough search, no trace was found.
Squinting his eyes, Li Fan did not give up and went back to the hidden dao realm where he had met Mo Ru Bin previously.
There were no signs of any cultivators having visited it before.
"Could it be..."
"Did Mo Ru Bin run away with the Sky-Primal Mirror directly?"
The thought suddenly flashed through Li Fan's mind.
The blue light from the Dao Stone flowed, and Li Fan quickly reviewed his entire plan from start to finish without his own perspective. Instead, he observed purely as an outsider.
From rescuing Mo Ru Bin at the beginning.
Then pretending to be insane, masquerading as Sun Xingwang to gain Mo Ru Bin's trust.
Both of them had planned to extract information about the Heavenly Primal King from the Sky-Primal Mirror.
The first few steps of the plan seemed successful until the final step, where something unexpected happened.
...
Scene after scene flashed before Li Fan's eyes.
Looking at his seemingly flawless performance and Mo Ru Bin's cooperation in it, Li Fan's face twitched.
Although he had already vaguely confirmed that he might have been tricked by Mo Ru Bin, Li Fan still held a shred of hope.
Returning to the Spirit Wood Realm, he forcibly interrupted Craftsman Wise Master's research and handed over the ancient copper mirror Mo Ru Bin had given him.
"Boundary... Boundary Artifact?"
Craftsman Wise Master's expression turned unusually strange.
He secretly sized up Li Fan before carefully organizing his words: "I apologize for my poor eyesight. This seems to be..."
"What do you mean, 'seems to be'? It’s just a common copper mirror. Look at the rust on it; I wonder where he found this," Fang Zaiji of this life had not yet witnessed Li Fan's power, so he was very bold and straightforward.
"I understand now. Thank you for your help, Craftsman Wise Master." Li Fan did not show any emotion on his face as he vanished in a flash before the two of them.
"What are you doing? Wasting our time..." Fang Zaiji was quite dissatisfied with Li Fan's interruption. Just as he wanted to complain further, Craftsman Wise Master interrupted him directly.
"Say less. The Envoy's mood doesn't seem very pleasant," Craftsman Wise Master whispered.
...
In the underground secret chamber of the Spirit Wood Realm,
Li Fan held that copper-green mirror in his hand, his expression completely frozen.
"Boundary Artifact..."
"Interesting."
With a slight force, Li Fan crushed the copper mirror into pieces with a loud bang.
"After so many cycles of rebirth, this is the first time I've been tricked."
Even though he did not want to admit it, Li Fan could no longer deny this fact now.
Mo Ru Bin might have never taken his identity as a Primal King of Heavenly Primal Sect seriously at the beginning. But during their interaction, Mo Ru Bin discovered that Li Fan's strength was worth exploiting. Thus, he pretended and manipulated him, using Li Fan’s power to release the Sky-Primal Mirror.
Poor Li Fan had always thought he performed well enough.
However, looking back now, there were many loopholes in his performance that couldn't be explained by the madness caused by the cultivation technique.
For example, while Li Fan could recall some past events, both his speech and actions differed greatly from those of the real Sun Xingwang.
Another example was...
"Perhaps it was due to my contact with the Sky-Primal Mirror's avatar."
The Heavenly Primal Mirror was a treasure of the Heavenly Primal Sect back in its heyday. As one of the most important figures, the Twelve Primal Kings could not be unfamiliar with it.
"These are two people from the Heavenly Primal Sect working together to deceive me, an outsider..."
"Good. You're worthy of being chosen by the Heavenly Primal King to bear the responsibility for saving the world..."
"Excellent!"
Li Fan did not get angry or frustrated at being tricked; instead, he suddenly burst into laughter.
Because finally, it was all interesting to him.
Repeated cycles of rebirth had made Li Fan increasingly indifferent towards the living beings in the Xuanhuang Realm.
He treated them like NPCs that could be reset and respawned repeatedly in a game.
With enough information, even their reactions after hearing certain phrases could be predicted.
Even figures such as the Celestial Physician, Transmission of Dao, Immortal Vastness, or Faceless True Immortal were only seen by Li Fan as stronger bosses.
But reality was not a game.
Just like how the sudden mind-reading ability of the Celestial Physician taught him a lesson, Mo Ru Bin, a Primal King of Heavenly Primal Sect, also gave Li Fan another valuable lesson.
The Xuanhuang Realm cultivators were not so easily deceived!
Because they were truly living beings!
"It doesn't matter. You can deceive me for one life, but can you deceive me across all my lives?"
Without any disappointment over failure, a look of eagerness burned in Li Fan's eyes.
"Moreover, we still have unfinished business this time around!"
With a cold snort, Li Fan closed his eyes and began to think about对策 (countermeasures).
The first thing he needed to clarify was what had happened at the headquarters of the Immortal Alliance on that day.
Even though it had been so long, this remained a strictly sealed mystery.
Without the Transmission of Dao as an insider, Li Fan returned to his previous state of being blind to information about high-level movements within the Immortal Alliance.
He knew nothing about their actions or information.
"Some channels must be controlled by myself. Relying on others is not enough."
"Still need my own Transmission of Dao..."
"But fortunately, I have gathered sufficient information in this life. I can start trying gradually from now on."
Li Fan, who had deeply experienced the benefits of having an insider, naturally would not give up.
But that was for after this life.
For now, there were no further methods to gather more information. So Li Fan chose his usual approach: wait!
Many secrets would no longer be secrets as time passed.
Although it was currently a top-secret matter, it might not remain so in the future.
As confidentiality levels decreased and with the无忧天尊's divine power,
Li Fan believed that if he offered enough money at the right moment, he could definitely obtain the truth from those who had personally experienced the event.
All he needed to do was be patient.
During this waiting period, Li Fan did not sit idle either.
While many things in the Spirit Wood Realm proceeded as usual, the spread of the Interdimensional Alliance and the Faceless True Immortal's dao lineage were halted.
Before finding Mo Ru Bin and the Sky-Primal Mirror, they still needed to remain vigilant.
Although he could not yet fully understand what had happened at the Immortal Alliance headquarters that day, Li Fan inferred from the disappearance of Lu Xi Chan and Suofeng’s family that the Immortal Alliance was also conducting a purge on potential traitors.
Many people vanished without explanation.
Li Fan secretly collected the names of those who disappeared.
At the same time, he kept an ear out for anyone who might have experienced the event.
Five years later.
(End of Chapter)