Chapter 550: Heavenly Spirit Blooms

The Squidman fumed silently.

Li Fan's expression remained unchanged: "Fellow Daoist must be joking."

"From what I just heard, it seems the newly appointed Secret Envoy also shares my name, Li Fan. If I truly were a spy for the Five Elders' Society, why would I choose such a high-profile name, drawing unnecessary attention to myself?"

Huang Ranqi heard this and, finding Li Fan's words somewhat logical, nodded slightly.

Li Fan continued, "I've also heard that all cultivators must undergo identity verification before joining the Alliance. I presume, with the Immortal Alliance's extraordinary methods, if there were anything amiss with me, I would surely be exposed on the spot. In that scenario, Fellow Daoist would become a hero for apprehending a spy, having performed a remarkable service. Given that, what does Fellow Daoist have to worry about?"

After some deliberation, Huang Ranqi was finally persuaded by Li Fan.

After Huang Ranqi went ahead to apply for a transit talisman for Li Fan and returned, he then took Li Fan through the island's teleportation array to Congyun Immortal City.

Li Fan looked at the city floating among the clouds before him, a hint of surprise appearing on his face. "I heard that the Immortal Alliance's stronghold in the Congyun Sea was an island," he remarked. "Why is the place we've arrived at now a floating city?"

"That's ancient history," Huang Ranqi replied, appearing reluctant to elaborate. "If Fellow Daoist is interested, you can inquire about it yourself after joining the Alliance."

Li Fan consequently asked no further questions.

Soon, the two arrived at the entrance to the Heavenly Profound Mirror.

"This is the Heavenly Profound Mirror..." Huang Ranqi began to explain to Li Fan.

Li Fan feigned attentiveness, but his heart was taut. As he discreetly activated the "Hand Obscuring Heaven" secret art, he was already prepared to make a swift escape if necessary. Based on his experiences in his previous life, particularly when he transformed his body into various forms and traversed eons, the "Hand Obscuring Heaven" secret art—which had been repeatedly refined during the continuous struggles between the Heaven-Covering Alliance and the Profound Web—was capable of circumventing the Heavenly Profound Mirror's perception. Furthermore, the "Mysterious True Spirit Transformation," deduced by the Derivation Jade, was a profound cultivation method that could completely alter one's aura, destiny, flesh, divine sense, and soul.

It should not be possible for the Heavenly Profound Mirror to detect that he was, in fact, the same person as Li Fan, the Secret Envoy of Congyun City.

However, nothing is absolute, and caution was paramount.

With numerous thoughts flashing through his mind, Li Fan followed Huang Ranqi into the Heavenly Profound Mirror.

To Li Fan's relief, his worries did not materialize. The Heavenly Profound Mirror did not identify him as Li Fan, the Secret Envoy of Congyun City; instead, it assigned him a new identity. The recommendation reward Huang Ranqi received was also appropriate for a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Therefore, he harbored no suspicion toward Li Fan.

After exchanging pleasantries with Li Fan, Huang Ranqi bid him farewell and departed.

Li Fan was thus able to rejoin the Myriad Immortals Alliance under his original identity.

"It seems my conjecture was correct; the Heavenly Profound Sub-Mirror, empowered as it is, cannot compare in power to the original. Although part of it is due to my 'Hand Obscuring Heaven' secret art being a generation ahead, it was indeed a bit too easy to infiltrate. No wonder the Myriad Immortals Alliance is teeming with countless spies from the Five Elders' Society."

Li Fan was momentarily speechless.

On the day the Five Elders' Society attacked Myriad Immortal Island, the Heavenly Profound Mirror suddenly lost its efficacy, turning into a mere stone. This incident gave Li Fan an idea, leading to his bold attempt this time. The outcome was precisely as he had anticipated.

Without lingering too long within the Heavenly Profound Mirror, and after using his gifted contribution points to purchase a storage ring, Li Fan traveled via teleportation array to Tianling Province.

He did not leave Tianling City but quietly waited within it. If the Five Elders' Society truly launched a surprise attack on the Five Elements Grand Grotto-Heaven, based on his past life's experience, Harmonization Realm cultivators were likely to perish in such a brutal conflict. The anomalous phenomena accompanying the death of a Harmonization Realm cultivator would be extensive enough to cover the entire province. This would allow Li Fan to confirm the event's occurrence immediately.

Of course, to avoid arousing suspicion, Li Fan didn't merely wait idly; instead, he strolled through the shops in Tianling City.

"Heavenly Spirit Flower? Yes, yes, we have them! Fellow Daoist, please take a look at these few."

Upon hearing Li Fan's request, the shopkeeper immediately became very enthusiastic, quickly pointing to several potted flowers in the shop and presenting them to Li Fan.

The Heavenly Spirit Flower was a specialty of Tianling Province. Its blooms had uniquely distinct petals. After fully blossoming, each petal would display a unique scene. These could be verdant mountain ranges or mighty, surging rivers. They could also depict white snow falling from the heavens. A single flower thus encapsulated beautiful sceneries from various parts of the world. As if blessed by the heavens, they were exquisitely beautiful.

If one were to ask about the flower's utility...

The answer would be a simple two words: "None." Or perhaps, its sole purpose was for aesthetic appreciation.

However, this flower had a relatively short lifespan; after blooming, it typically lasted only seven days. Even when preserved in special wooden boxes, they could only be stored for about a month at most. What was more troublesome was its extreme sensitivity to various forces. If accidentally exposed to spiritual energy fluctuations or transported via spatial arrays, the scenes depicted on its petals would also be affected. In milder cases, they would merely become blurred; in severe cases, the scenes on the petals would vanish entirely. Without the scenes on its petals, the Heavenly Spirit Flower would completely lose its aesthetic value, becoming worthless.

Therefore, cultivators who admired it and wished to behold the Heavenly Spirit Flower had no choice but to travel personally to Tianling Province. For this very reason, the Heavenly Spirit Flower was exceedingly rare outside of Tianling Province.

In his previous life, during the great war in Tianling Province, the Heavenly Spirit Flower was almost completely annihilated. However, at the time, everyone's attention was fully consumed by the unprecedented conflict, and no one was interested in speculating on its price. Only after the war ended and Tianling Province slowly recovered its vitality did the Heavenly Spirit Flowers gradually flourish once more.

Yet, it was then that cultivators discovered that, perhaps due to the growing grounds being saturated with too much bloodshed, the Heavenly Spirit Flower petals no longer displayed the beautiful sceneries of the world. Instead, they depicted horrifying scenes of cultivators slaughtering one another. It was, quite literally, a gruesome sight that marred their beauty. People longed for the exquisite Heavenly Spirit Flowers of old, but the scenes appearing on the petals were utterly uncontrollable. Transplanting them to other provinces caused them to wither instantly. The former marvel of Tianling Province thus completely vanished from the world. While cultivators lamented its loss, they were helpless to change it. From then on, the Heavenly Spirit Flower truly became a lost wonder of the world.

A fascinating anecdote he had coincidentally read in his previous life flashed through his mind. Li Fan carefully selected a seventeen-petaled Heavenly Spirit Flower in the shop.

"This one will do."

"Just one? Fellow Daoist, won't you pick a few more?" The shopkeeper asked, a little disappointed.

"No, thank you. One is enough," Li Fan said with a smile.

"Three hundred contribution points," the shopkeeper stated, no longer pressing the matter after seeing Li Fan's decision.

After Li Fan promptly settled the bill, he carefully took the sealed wooden box the shopkeeper handed him. Inside the wooden box, the Heavenly Spirit Flower was in full, magnificent bloom. Thanks to special preservation, it could remain in bloom for about thirty days.