Chapter 700: Xu Baimian Celestial Venerable

Originally, outside the void of Tianling Province, Li Fan, who had successfully stolen the Five Elements Grand Cavern Heaven and thereby broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, was quietly preparing to escape.

However, he discovered that a cultivator named Sun Qi, who was on duty below, seemed to be faintly aware of his presence.

He was even aware of his Formless Killing Intent.

It's important to know that even ordinary Dao Integration cultivators found it difficult to sense the Formless Killing Intent that Li Fan, at the Nascent Soul stage, wielded by borrowing from heavenly fate.

Yet, it was precisely this minor Golden Core cultivator who perceived it.

All signs indicated that Sun Qi was no ordinary person. So Li Fan casually released a wisp of Formless Killing Intent and locked onto him.

For a long time, Sun Qi showed no abnormalities. He was just like any ordinary cultivator, cultivating and carrying out tasks assigned by the Immortal Alliance.

It wasn't until recently that Sun Liancheng, the City Lord of Tianling, found him and gave him a 'Flower Scroll'.

Within the Labyrinth, Li Fan, who sensed images from tens of thousands of miles away, paused slightly.

“The more favors one receives from heaven and earth, the harder it is to go against their principles, huh...” Li Fan murmured thoughtfully.

“Brother Li, are you struggling to hold on?” Huangfu Song’s voice pulled Li Fan back to reality.

Dongfang Yao roared, “Just hide behind me! Huangfu, how much longer?”

“Just the last one percent remains, and this Labyrinth will be completely dealt with. Hold on a little longer!” Huangfu Song shouted.

“Damn it, hurry up!” Dongfang Yao threw a punch, tearing dozens of silently approaching shadow beasts into shreds.

Li Fan looked outwards, seeing countless black shadow beasts, like waves, attacking from all directions, completely surrounding the three of them.

This was already the third Labyrinth they had explored recently.

Compared to the previous two, which were desolate and silent, the danger level here had suddenly increased severalfold.

On the seemingly calm ground, countless bizarre beasts formed from shadows were hidden among the jagged rocks.

During the day, there was little movement.

When night fell and a red moon rose, under the glow of the reddish-orange moonlight, all the shadows seemed to come alive.

They frantically attacked the intruders who had entered the Labyrinth, namely Li Fan and his companions.

These shadow beasts were not only swift and stealthy in their movements, but their lethality was also astonishing.

Even Dongfang Yao's rather formidable physical body was left covered in blood after taking a few claw attacks.

What was even more troublesome for Li Fan and his companions was that even after they exerted immense effort to completely eliminate these frenzied shadow beasts,

the next night, when the red moon rose again, all the shadow beasts reappeared.

Not only had their numbers not decreased at all, but they also seemed to retain the memories of their battle with them the previous night.

This immediately plunged Li Fan and the other two into a bitter struggle.

They had nearly exhausted their supplies, barely managing to endure the tide of shadow beasts.

On the third day, they hadn't yet had time to complete the exploration of the entire Labyrinth.

However, the red moon arrived early.

Their situation instantly became extremely perilous.

Fortunately, Huangfu Song and Dongfang Yao were quite strong, and Li Fan had concealed most of his cultivation and combat power.

So they were safe, though not without fright.

The defensive line they set up seemed as though it could be breached by the shadow beasts at any moment, but it was incredibly resilient, always holding firm and refusing to break apart.

Finally, after the Heaven-Measuring Mirror completed all its data recording,

the three of them simultaneously unleashed their power, instantly clearing their surroundings. Then the Samantabhadra True Vessel soared into the sky, sprinting towards the red moon in the air.

Even though the shadow beasts were in a frenzy, they couldn't stop them. They could only watch as Li Fan and his companions flew into the red moon.

“Damn, that was close!” Seeing the familiar white mist around them, Dongfang Yao, covered in blood, couldn't help but curse.

“From now on, I'm not listening to you, Huangfu. If we had listened to Brother Li, we wouldn't have fought to the death with them on the first night, but rather fought defensively while exploring. We would have finished and left long ago.” After complaining, he took a deep breath. Several deep, bone-exposing wounds on his body slowly healed, wriggling.

“Oh, you can't blame me either. Whose fault is it that these damned Immortal Alliance rules make the Qingxuan point reward for 100% exploration directly double that for 99%? Isn't that forcing people to explore the entire Labyrinth thoroughly?” Huangfu Song wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said somewhat innocently.

Li Fan, on the other hand, was calmer: “After all, the real danger could very well be hidden in that remaining one percent. And 100% exploration can directly eliminate the danger. It's understandable that the Immortal Alliance would do this.”

“Let's see our gains this time. We have over 1,600 more points, plus the previous ones…”

“Only 2,400 points.”

The expressions of Li Fan and the other two turned rather sour.

“I didn't expect such a vast difference in value between Labyrinths.”

“I truly miss the days when 30,000 Qingxuan points were easily obtained…” Dongfang Yao muttered.

“Enough with the chatter!” Huangfu Song said somewhat annoyed.

Li Fan did not join their bickering, but instead stared at the Qingxuan point exchange list that appeared in the Heaven-Measuring Mirror.

“Disintegration Disc: 50,000 Qingxuan points.”

“Remaining quantity: 8.”

Li Fan snorted coldly in his heart, “They're indeed using this item to trick people. I wonder which unfortunate sucker bought the first one.”

This time, perhaps to increase cultivators' motivation to explore the white mist, the precious items on the Qingxuan point exchange list all had limited quantities.

Once exchanged, they would be gone.

However, the rewards were indeed generous. Among the Heaven Profound Mirror secondary entities on the list, besides the nine Disintegration Discs, there were also the Spirit of the Profound Mirror and the Stone Plate of Demise.

The Spirit of the Profound Mirror was a nascent consciousness. It possessed a considerable degree of intelligence and could be fused into any magic treasure, doubling its power.

As for the Stone Plate of Demise, it was the most recently generated secondary entity. Its appearance resembled a circular stone plate, hence its name.

Its specific function had not yet been discovered.

“This Stone Plate of Demise seems to be the Calamity Annihilation Stone Plate. In the previous life, the Heaven-Covering Society used this item to mass-produce Calamity Stones that could block Xuan Net sensing. The cultivators of the Heaven-Covering Society also studied it for many years before discovering its marvelous use. Now, this item has just appeared, and it's normal that the Myriad Immortal Alliance hasn't figured out its effects yet.”

“100,000 Qingxuan points, huh...”

Li Fan stroked his chin, and couldn't help but recall the areas he had secretly noted along the way where the wails of “Heavenly Doctors” constantly echoed.

Based on his experience during this period, not every Labyrinth allowed Li Fan to hear the faint sounds of “Heavenly Doctors.”

However, once the sounds of “Heavenly Doctors” appeared, it meant that a Labyrinth could definitely be found nearby.

“They shouldn't all be the testing grounds of that Reversing Life and Death Heavenly Venerate.”

“There's some risk, but it might be worth a try.”

Li Fan's heart stirred with eagerness.

While his main body was exploring the white mist, within the Beast Seed Realm, Xu Bai was already preparing to head to the Myriad Immortal Alliance headquarters.

“Sect Master, why are you taking off all these protective magic treasures I refined for you? Are you dissatisfied with me, old Fang?” Fang Zaiji saw Xu Bai take off his folding fan, white robe, and sachet one by one, and couldn't help but panic.

Xu Bai chuckled softly, “At the Myriad Immortal Alliance headquarters, if I truly encounter any danger, these items won't be of much use.”

“Rather than being buried with the clone, it's better to leave them here.”

Liu San glared fiercely at Fang Zaiji, then reassured Xu Bai, saying, “Young Master, there's no need to worry. I've inquired with Fellow Daoist Jiao, and cultivators of the Immortal Alliance using the Audience Jade Tablet have almost never encountered any mishaps. They can generally return safely.”

“It stands to reason that Young Master's clone should also be safe.”

Xu Bai waved his hand, “There's no need for either of you to worry. It's just a clone. Even if it's lost, I can refine another one.”

“Elder Liu, is the Great Dream Spring-Autumn Array ready?”

Liu San nodded solemnly, “I have already connected the consciousness of your clone, Young Master, to a separate blank node. Should it encounter irresistible force, it can help him maintain a moment of lucidity.”

“That's enough then.” Xu Bai smiled.

Then, alone, he left Evergreen Valley.

Using a teleportation array, he crossed several provinces and arrived at Fuyu Province in the central part of the Immortal Alliance.

In a deserted wilderness area, he used the Audience Jade Tablet.

Soon after, a square door appeared out of thin air. A black-clad cultivator walked out from it.

After looking at the Audience Jade Tablet in Li Fan's hand, the black-clad cultivator said nothing more.

He merely led Li Fan through the transparent door.

His vision blurred, and a slight sensation of dizziness came over him; Li Fan then knew he had arrived inside the Immortal Alliance headquarters.

Unlike the Image of the Heavenly Venerate of Imparting Dharma he had seen in his previous life,

the illusion his clone saw upon entering the Immortal Alliance headquarters this time was a slender figure seen from behind.

With hands clasped behind his back, he gazed up at the sky and sighed softly.

“The path of immortality lies ahead, yet cannot be trodden, for the Heavenly Venerate of Imparting Dharma is above!”