Chapter 747: Initial Setback for the Immortal Alliance

Liu San immediately looked embarrassed: "Uh, this might be a bit difficult..."

"Hmm?" Li Fan paused slightly.

Liu San was about to reply, but Fang Zaiji interjected first: "Haha, Sect Master, have you become confused from your seclusion? Where would our Medicine King Sect find any Qi Refinement disciples now? Even those with the worst aptitude have already successfully established their foundations."

Li Fan's hand, which was rubbing the Dissolution Disk, paused slightly.

"Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Fang to make a trip outside and select some good prospects," Li Fan said, feigning sudden realization, a hint of helplessness in his tone.

"It's best to carry a Doomsday Disk with you and be careful. Otherwise, if you're discovered by cultivators from the Myriad Immortal Alliance, there might be a fight," he kindly reminded him.

"Uh," Fang Zaiji's face fell instantly. "Sect Master..."

"Mr. Fang, please go quickly and return soon. After all, this concerns the hope of deciphering the Heavenly Arcane Mirror, and I wouldn't feel at ease entrusting it to anyone else," Li Fan stated earnestly.

Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Fang Zaiji glared at Liu San, who was watching with amusement, and then flew off directly.

"I want to go out and see too," Jiang Yushan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

Liu San was immediately stunned.

"I've been here too long; it's a bit stifling," Jiang Yushan said indifferently. "The outside world seems quite lively now. Countless small worlds that have been hidden for thousands of years are finally revealing themselves completely, and I'm very interested. Perhaps I might even run into old acquaintances."

Li Fan pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

He handed a Doomsday Disk and a communication talisman to her, instructing, "Safety first. For our Medicine King Sect to rise again, we cannot do without Elder Jiang's help."

"Don't worry," Jiang Yushan replied coldly, then left, breaking through the air.

"Young Master, I also..." Liu San quickly began.

"Elder Liu, you should stay in Medicine King Valley. Soon, there's an important matter that will require you to accompany my clone on a trip," Li Fan said, waving his hand and firmly rejecting Liu San's request.

Liu San's face showed bitterness; he couldn't defy Li Fan. He could only go find the Medicine King Sect disciples in the valley to vent his frustrations.

Li Fan continued to immerse himself in feeding the Dissolution Disk.

Meanwhile, Xu Bai, Li Fan's clone who had returned to Tianliang City, learned about the recent progress of the Immortal Alliance's conquest of myriad worlds.

Up until then, everything had gone smoothly, but shortly after his return to the Xuanhuang Realm, the zealous cultivators finally suffered their first defeat.

The first group of over a hundred cultivators to enter the small world, consisting of three Soul Transformation leaders and fifty Nascent Soul core members, was almost completely annihilated.

The sole survivor was a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Lu Zhixian.

This person was at the end of the team and had only managed to join the expedition by virtue of his connection to a Soul Transformation leader.

He had originally hoped to gain some merits, but who would have thought the battle would take such a sudden turn for the worse? Seeing the dire situation, Lu Zhixian decisively fled.

Perhaps it was precisely because his strength was too low that the enemy did not pursue him to the death.

Such a significant defeat naturally caused a sensation, prompting an official investigation by the Myriad Immortal Alliance.

With the video footage recorded by the Heavenly Arcane Mirror, Lu Zhixian's suspicion of being a spy was quickly cleared. He was released without charge.

The release of the footage further sparked public uproar.

This was because the one who ultimately annihilated the expedition team was a single individual.

He had white hair and white eyebrows, and his face was covered in wrinkles. He looked extremely old, as if he could die of old age at any moment.

However, his attacks were anything but hesitant; they were utterly ruthless.

His beard and hair lashed out like living entities, attacking people. They resembled silver dragons, instantly piercing through the bodies of the Immortal Alliance cultivators.

What was even more horrifying was that after the old man's beard and hair pierced into the bodies of the Immortal Alliance cultivators, they seemed capable of absorbing life force.

Countless cultivators instantly aged dramatically, some even turning into skeletons without being able to utter a single cry.

In turn, the old man's face became a bit more ruddy.

The white-haired old man's strength was at least at the Dao Integration stage. Moreover, he seemed to possess a special advantage within that small world; ordinary Soul Transformation cultivators had no power to resist him whatsoever, only able to watch as they were literally drained dry.

This footage immediately provoked immense indignation among the Myriad Immortal Alliance cultivators.

"He can actually drain a cultivator's lifespan directly? How is such an act any different from that of a demon? Everyone should execute him!"

"Well said! Fellow Daoist, I support you! Go quickly and chop off his head!"

"Hiss, I didn't expect such a ruthless individual to exist within a small world. I don't think he can be slain unless two or three Dao Integration experts step forward."

"A bunch of fools, haven't you understood yet? That Lu Zhixian was deliberately allowed to return to spread the word. It was all to lure more cultivators to their deaths!"

"That makes some sense. But if so, why didn't he just leave that small world and wreak havoc in the Xuanhuang Realm?"

"Because he's not as foolish as you are."

Although it sparked intense debate, the Immortal Alliance cultivators were not foolish. Since such a monster existed in that small world, they would simply bypass it. There were countless unexplored small worlds; why bother fighting to the death with him? Of course, it's always best to pick the softest persimmon!

Thus, a dramatic scene unfolded.

This particular small world was marked with a red skull on the cultivators' maps, yet no one was willing to enter it for exploration anymore.

"Anyway, in the end, the Myriad Immortal Alliance will definitely send people to clear it out."

The cultivators all held this thought and chose to simply ignore it.

The Myriad Immortal Alliance's official stance also seemed to tacitly approve of this behavior, as they issued no bounties or wanted notices for this small world.

"Interesting," Xu Bai mused. After some inquiry, he learned that there was an internal dispute within the Immortal Alliance regarding how to deal with this small world.

One faction believed that such a petty villain should be swiftly eliminated to display the Myriad Immortal Alliance's supreme authority.

The other faction argued that in future conquests of worlds, they would undoubtedly encounter opponents of similar strength to this white-haired old man. If they were to pursue every evil to its absolute end each time, casualties would be inevitable.

Every Dao Integration level cultivator was a pillar of the Immortal Alliance. Losing even one would be a huge loss.

Even with the existence of the Samsara Palace, allowing resurrection after death, the Dao Integration cultivators seemed to be quite apprehensive about "resurrection." Not many were willing to lead the charge.

Xu Bai spent some more effort before finally figuring out the reason.

It turned out that even with various methods to revive and even retain past life memories and cultivation, there was a fatal flaw that no Dao Integration cultivator could ignore.

That was, once one entered the Samsara Palace, they would forever lose any chance of reaching the Immortal Longevity realm.

The exact reason was unknown, but judging from the reactions of the various Dao Integration experts, it seemed to be true.

After all, which Dao Integration expert didn't harbor the ambition of achieving immortal longevity?

Resurrection was merely a last resort.