Chapter 957

Feigning Madness, But Not Truly Mad

"Brother Xingwang, it's me, Mo Rubin." This time, before he even arrived, Mo Rubin quickly called out his greeting.

Li Fan merely scoffed, "If you want to get close, at least recognize the right person!" With that, he once again launched an attack on Mo Rubin's newly formed avatar within his sea of consciousness. Although he couldn't summon the spiritual power of other cultivators, the attack was formidable enough with just his myriad thought-demons. However, it was still significantly weaker than the previous strike that had defeated Mo Rubin. To mask this, Li Fan deliberately feigned a hesitant demeanor.

"Brother Xingwang, hold your hand!" Mo Rubin easily parried the attack. Noticing Li Fan's hesitation, he quickly continued, "I know your memory might be incomplete, but you should still have some impression of the Heavenly Profound Sect from back then, right?"

"Heavenly Profound Sect..." Li Fan's offensive seemed to gradually slow down as if in thought. Mo Rubin's face lit up with joy at the sight.

"No! There is no Heavenly Profound Sect! Only the Supreme Benevolent Immortal of the Mortal World!" Suddenly, Li Fan's expression changed, and he stared coldly at Mo Rubin. Above the eerie and ghostly sky, the image of the Faceless Immortal Stone Statue slowly emerged, like a great sun, dispelling the darkness and illuminating the world.

"Heavenly Profound Statue?!" Upon seeing the statue, which had long vanished from the world, Mo Rubin became even more certain of his judgment.

"Audacious heretic! How dare you misinterpret the Supreme Benevolent Immortal of the Mortal World!" A hint of madness appeared in Li Fan's eyes, and his entire spiritual ghost realm seemed to be agitated, shaking violently without cease. The myriad gods and demons glared angrily at Mo Rubin, their faces contorted into menacing expressions.

"Brother Xingwang, don't accidentally harm one of your own! This... The statue of the Supreme Benevolent Immortal of the Mortal World is actually the Heavenly Profound Statue! You and I are one family!" Mo Rubin tried his best to soothe Li Fan.

"One family?" Hearing this, Li Fan's state of madness somewhat subsided. "So, you are also a follower of the Supreme Benevolent Immortal of the Mortal World?" He scrutinized Mo Rubin, asking with some suspicion.

Mo Rubin was momentarily speechless, but seeing Li Fan's tendency to relapse into madness, he reluctantly nodded, "Uh, I suppose so."

"Hmph, why didn't you say so earlier!" Only then did Li Fan completely drop his guard. Instantly, the myriad demons and the blood moon in the sky all vanished. On a vast, white expanse, only Mo Rubin and Li Fan stood facing each other.

"How have I never seen you before? Could it be that the Immortal left other lineages elsewhere? Hm? No, I think I went looking for you not long ago? Who are you? No, who am I?" Li Fan, who had been relatively stable, suddenly showed symptoms of madness again in an instant.

Mo Rubin secretly frowned. "These symptoms seem much more severe than back then. However, the energy of this cultivation technique is identical. There's no mistaking it..."

"Brother Xingwang, no matter what happened in the past, it's fine as long as our goals align." Mo Rubin then tried to rouse Li Fan.

Li Fan paused slightly, "Goals?" Then he realized, "That's right! The Heavenly Dao is obscured, and the Immortal's lineage is no longer seen in the mortal world. I am determined to set things right and let the name of the Benevolent Immortal shine upon the human world once more!" As he spoke, the Faceless Stone Statue in the sky seemed to sense Li Fan's words, and a faint golden light emerged from it.

Upon seeing the golden light, Mo Rubin's expression changed dramatically. He instinctively moved back a little. Looking at Li Fan, whose expression was somewhat dazed, he hesitated for a moment before speaking out to attract the other's attention.

"With the great task unfinished, how can we face the Immortal? Brother Xingwang, it would be better to wait until the Immortal's lineage is truly restored before seeking credit from Him," Mo Rubin said gravely, with a hidden meaning.

Upon hearing this, Li Fan was immediately filled with respect. "Little brother, your understanding is even higher than mine?" Hearing the other call him 'little brother,' Mo Rubin did not object. Back in the sect, Sun Xingwang indeed used to call him that. "It seems he hasn't completely lost his mind yet," Mo Rubin thought to himself.

Li Fan looked at Mo Rubin, his expression serious. "However, what you said isn't entirely without reason. Without accomplishing something, it is indeed shameless to meet the Immortal so frequently." As he murmured to himself, the image of the Faceless Stone Statue in the sky also disappeared. Only then did Mo Rubin slightly relax.

"Brother Xingwang, do you have any recollection of our other brothers and sisters in the sect?" Mo Rubin asked, seeing that Li Fan's emotions had stabilized.

"Hmm?" Li Fan immediately furrowed his brows. He seemed to fall into deep thought. "Others..." Li Fan's expression kept changing, and he mumbled a few words repeatedly. "Yuzhen, Elder Cui, Big Brother Xuanyuan..." "Xuanyuan? Xuanyuan, Xuanyuan..." Afterward, he just kept repeating "Xuanyuan," and his previously calm sea of consciousness became turbulent again.

Seeing that he couldn't get any more information, Mo Rubin had to give up. "Alright, Brother Xingwang. Let's talk about the past later. Let me ask you, the divine possession incidents in various states, were they your doing?"

Li Fan said proudly, "Indeed! Currently, thirty-six thousand five hundred and thirteen cultivators have all fallen under my control. Under the constant influence of my divine thoughts, they will soon become loyal believers of the Supreme Benevolent Immortal of the Mortal World! Thirty thousand in such a short time! Unifying the world is just around the corner!"

Mo Rubin shook his head slightly. "The Myriad Immortals Alliance is already quite concerned about this matter. I knew it might be your doing, Brother Xingwang, which is why I took the initiative to handle this, just to give you a heads-up. Stop now, Brother Xingwang. Thirty thousand cultivators are already quite a lot. If the situation becomes more serious, it will certainly attract intervention from other Dharma Transmitters. At that point, you might even be at risk of exposure," Mo Rubin advised.

Li Fan immediately refused, "Stop? Why? I'm hidden in the shadows, undetectable. Divine possessions are like weeds; they can't be burned away completely, and they grow back with the spring breeze. In this world, who can do anything to me?" Li Fan's tone was exceedingly arrogant.

Mo Rubin sighed, "It's not that the Myriad Immortals Alliance is truly helpless. It's that the incident hasn't reached a corresponding level yet. If you continue... Think about it. Since I can find your sea of consciousness through the bodies of those cultivators, other Dharma Transmitters can naturally do the same."

Although Li Fan was playing the role of a mad cultivator, he wasn't foolish. He didn't retort immediately but fell into contemplation. Then he looked at Mo Rubin, as if remembering something, and suddenly said, "You really did take over that Dharma Transmitter's body."

Mo Rubin was slightly startled. "Brother Xingwang, have you recovered your memory?"

Li Fan's expression was serious. He didn't answer directly but urgently told Mo Rubin, "The only way to find Big Brother Xuanyuan is through the sect's supreme treasure, the Heavenly Profound Mirror. You must find a way..."