Chapter 275: No-Face Xuantian Temple

However, the spiritual energy, once separated from him, was completely blocked by the stone statue, as if water had met an impenetrable dam. The stone statue seemed to be an insulator for spiritual energy and divine sense, rendering all of Li Fan's conventional methods ineffective for probing it.

"Interesting. I wonder what material this is made of," Li Fan mused.

Li Fan then conjured a water blade and precisely guided it towards the statue. This water blade was powerful enough to cleave even refined steel, let alone ordinary stone. Yet, the water blade was utterly ineffective against the damaged statue. The moment it made contact, the spiritual energy sustaining the blade's power dissipated. It merely washed the statue, causing no damage whatsoever.

"What a treasure! It's a shame there's so little of it, and I can't take it back to reality," Li Fan thought. "Otherwise, it could be used to build an absolutely secure secret chamber."

Li Fan mused about the numerous wondrous applications of this unknown stone, yet he couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret. A thought suddenly struck Li Fan. He picked up a piece of stone from the ground nearby. Using it as a tool, he forcibly chipped off another fragment from the statue. He then deliberately embedded the fragment into his arm. Blood immediately streamed out. Li Fan, however, frowned slightly.

When spiritual energy reached the wound caused by the fragment, it could not circulate freely. It had to bypass the area, significantly reducing its efficiency. The fragment remained lodged in his body, preventing the wound from being healed by spiritual energy unless it was removed. After a moment of contemplation, Li Fan painfully extracted the fragment. He then held it in his hand, examining it.

"Perhaps I can defeat Senior Brother Zhang without resorting to a 'depletion' strategy after all." He mused to himself.

While Li Fan was preoccupied with studying the mystical stone statue, the battle raging in the sky had reached a fever pitch. Song Hesong revealed his true identity, joining Chu Liang and others in besieging Zhang Qianmo. The destructive aftermath of their clashes left Ningyuan City below in ruins. Countless homes collapsed, and an unknown number of mortals perished without understanding why. However, at the small temple, thanks to Li Fan's intervention, no danger befell anyone.

"Even without me, with the dilapidated stone statue present, these children would likely have been unharmed anyway." "No wonder they were still so lively and able to organize rescue efforts after the great battle earlier," Li Fan mused internally.

The battle continued to unfold as if following a predetermined script. As Song Hesong found himself at a disadvantage, he abruptly slammed his hands towards Ningyuan City. In an instant, countless mortals were killed or injured. The casualties transformed into a towering crimson malevolent aura, forming the 'Array of Refining Gods of All Beings' which trapped Zhang Qianmo. Song Hesong, seizing his advantage, delivered several more consecutive palm strikes. Each strike from the Golden Core cultivator claimed the lives of tens of thousands of mortals. One such palm strike was directed straight towards the small temple.

Li Fan's eyes flickered. He dropped his protective barrier and instantly moved to hide behind the remaining stone statue. The palm strike, upon encountering the statue, had no effect whatsoever and simply dissipated. Everywhere else, however, was reduced to rubble. It was as if a vacuum zone, impervious to spiritual energy, had appeared, completely escaping Song Hesong's notice.

Li Fan emerged from behind the statue, casually clearing away the surrounding debris. He continued to observe the battle unfolding above.

After Zhang Qianmo underwent a breakthrough, entering the Purple Core state and devastating his opponents, Li Fan pondered for a moment, then pushed the statue aside and entered the underground chamber.

The children inside the chamber initially tensed up when someone entered. Upon recognizing Li Fan, the 'good person,' they exhaled in relief. "'It's best to hide in here. It's truly terrifying outside,' Li Fan said, shaking his head with a sigh." Lu Ya grinned without saying much, simply gesturing for Li Fan to come and sit. The underground chamber was not large, but it was spacious enough for everyone to take shelter. It also contained stored water and food supplies, clearly indicating it was frequently used as a refuge.

Li Fan seized this opportunity to chat with the blond-haired Lu Ya. He learned that this temple was originally named 'Xuantian Temple.' The underground chamber itself had been an accidental discovery, existing long before they found it. Who it was dedicated to remained unknown, as it had been abandoned for many years. As for the missing half of the stone statue, Lu Ya had even less information.

Just then, a little girl nearby chimed in, "I know, I know! It's at Mr. Bai's house! I saw it when he took me home to treat my illness last time." "Half a body just standing there, no face – it was pretty spooky!"

Lu Ya paused, surprised. "You know where Mr. Bai's house is? Then why did you say you didn't know when I asked you last time?" The little girl blushed and glared at Lu Ya. "I went, but I was sick and dizzy. Who could remember the way then?"

"Mr. Bai..." Taking note of the children's conversation, Li Fan became pensive.

Above Ningyuan City, Zhang Qianmo, having eradicated all the villains, frantically searched for any trace of his junior brother, who had warned him. However, his divine sense swept through Ningyuan City multiple times, yet he found nothing. Assuming his junior brother had met a tragic fate, Zhang Qianmo was consumed by profound regret. Still unwilling to give up, he searched a few more times, hoping to at least locate his junior brother's body. Still, there was no sign. Zhang Qianmo could only retrieve the Longevity Fruit by himself and left Ningyuan City, overcome with grief.

Not long after he vanished, a small figure cautiously peeked out from the ruins of the small temple. After observing cautiously for a long time, the figure finally called out confidently, "It's safe now, you can come out!" Immediately afterward, Li Fan emerged from the underground chamber, followed by a group of children. The children gazed at Ningyuan City, now a landscape of ruins and corpses, and couldn't help but feel a sense of bewilderment. However, as orphans accustomed to fending for themselves, their psychological resilience was exceptionally strong. Li Fan was surprised to find no fear or dread in their eyes. They were merely bewildered and uncertain, unsure of what to do next.

"Mr. Bai should be arriving soon," he thought. With no other cultivators in the city apart from himself, Li Fan had no more reservations. He immediately employed his divine sense to search for Mr. Bai among the survivors. Based on the children's descriptions, he should have been easy to locate. They described a young, gentle, and exceedingly handsome, somewhat frail scholar.

However... Li Fan's expression subtly changed. He found no one who matched the description. Li Fan searched several more times, but the outcome remained unchanged. "Could it be that 'exceedingly handsome' was merely an idealization stemming from the children's imagination?" Li Fan couldn't help but speculate.

Having no other option, he decided to wait for Mr. Bai at the small temple. However, to Li Fan's surprise, he waited until the very end of his stay in the Immortalfall Realm, but Mr. Bai never appeared. The surrounding scenery began to blur, and just as Li Fan was about to exit the Immortalfall Realm, he faintly heard the children's excited shouts: "Xiao Bai! It's Xiao Bai!" "Mr. Bai! Mr. Bai!"

Li Fan spun around abruptly, but could only discern a blurry, indistinct figure.