Chapter 990: Li Fan Speechless

Daoist Baihua paused, pondering, and then said, "For cultivators like us, if we live among mortals for an extended period, even without directly touching this Immortal-Mortal Miasma, merely being influenced by its aura could pose a risk of our cultivation falling, couldn't it?"

Li Fan squinted, scanning the mortals below, and nodded. "Indeed," he said, "it's precisely for this reason that we cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm usually live apart from mortals."

"The target is in this city?" Daoist Baihua asked eagerly, having witnessed Li Fan's capabilities. "Although it's not a large city, there are probably over a hundred thousand mortals here. Hmm, I don't sense any cultivator's aura. Searching them one by one would be troublesome. In my opinion, it's better to just make a move directly and force them out!"

Her suggested "move" was, of course, an indiscriminate, large-scale attack to slaughter all the mortals in the city named Weidu. The one who survived would be the Heavenly Profound Mirror clone.

As for the lives of over a hundred thousand mortals in the city, they were never taken seriously by cultivators. Especially outside the Xuanhuang Realm, where the Immortal-Mortal Miasma doesn't exist, mortals are truly like ants to cultivators, and slaughtering them carries no psychological burden whatsoever. Thus, Daoist Baihua, who seemed outwardly virtuous, casually uttered such bloody words.

However, Li Fan did not agree with Daoist Baihua's plan. He chuckled, "Daoist Baihua, you possess quite the murderous aura! As the saying goes, Heaven is benevolent and fosters life. We are simply searching for one person; why needlessly create more negative karma?"

At his words, Daoist Baihua was instantly filled with reverence. Lin Ling, on the other hand, muttered slightly and secretly glanced at Li Fan, though she ultimately dared not voice any doubt.

In truth, it wasn't that Li Fan had suddenly changed his personality. Rather, he considered that the population in the small world he currently controlled was still somewhat sparse. To cultivate cultivators on a large scale through the Commonfolk Spirit Origin Art and then explore the Chronicle of Creation, a certain population base was still required. Waiting for natural growth was simply too slow. Being able to plunder some people from the Xuanhuang Realm wouldn't be a bad method.

As for how to find the Heavenly Profound Mirror clone among these over a hundred thousand people, Li Fan's divine sense swept through Weidu City. In an instant, the appearances and every movement of all the mortals in the city—men, women, old, and young—were simultaneously projected into Li Fan's sea of consciousness. The Dao Transformation Stone glowed blue, separating them into individual subjects for observation. Li Fan floated quietly in the air, monitoring and analyzing.

The Heavenly Profound Mirror was not truly human after all. It was initially an immortal artifact that had taken human form, and as such, it undoubtedly possessed a certain level of cultivation. Even if its "performance" was incredibly convincing, its behavior and conduct would ultimately have subtle differences from a mortal's. Especially at this moment, after Li Fan's divine sense had so unrestrainedly swept across the entire city, the Heavenly Profound Mirror clone must have known Li Fan was there for it, making it more likely to reveal its flaws.

Before long, Li Fan had identified dozens of suspicious individuals. After another half-day of in-depth observation, he finally pinpointed the target.

Above Weidu, the four individuals had already set up a sealing formation in advance.

Li Fan looked at the Heavenly Profound Mirror clone's face and, with a flash, appeared before it. It turned out to be a young waiter from a tavern in the city. At that moment, he had just finished serving guests and was sitting in a corner, resting. When Li Fan arrived abruptly, the previously bustling surroundings immediately fell silent.

The waiter didn't seem surprised by Li Fan's appearance, only slightly curious. "How did you find me so quickly?" he asked.

Li Fan smiled. Instead of immediately making a move, he kindly pointed out, "If you were a real mortal waiter, you'd be wishing to close your eyes and fall into a deep sleep at this moment of rest. Why would you still be so curiously observing every mortal in the shop, like this?"

The Heavenly Profound Mirror clone seemed to realize, "So that's how it is. It's a pity that observation is my nature," it said. "Even reincarnated as a human, I can't change it immediately."

The Heavenly Profound Mirror clone sighed for a moment, then asked, "Are you here to kill me?"

"It could be. It also might not be," Li Fan said, staring at the other party with an inscrutable tone.

"Oh?" This time, the Heavenly Profound Mirror clone was somewhat surprised. He stared at Li Fan for a moment, his brows furrowed. Finally, he shook his head. "I sense a familiar aura about you," he said. "It's a pity that after reincarnating as a human, many things can no longer be remembered or seen clearly."

"So, you're not from the Myriad Immortals Alliance?" Without waiting for Li Fan to respond, the Heavenly Profound Mirror clone asked again. "And no aura of the Five Celestials either..." The Heavenly Profound Mirror clone continuously scrutinized Li Fan, as if it had discovered some novel toy.

The moment he saw the other's gaze, an inexplicable discomfort welled up in Li Fan's heart. This kind of gaze had always only appeared when he looked at beings from the Xuanhuang Realm. It was a profound indifference and detachment stemming from the depths of the soul. Yet now, he was being looked at this way by the Heavenly Profound Mirror clone...

"I only represent myself," Li Fan said in a deep voice.

The Heavenly Profound Mirror clone, however, shook its head again. "Hehe, I don't think so," it said. "Tainted by immortal intent, there's no escape from this calamity... Could it be that you and I are both caught in this net, and you wish to find a way to escape through me?"

The Heavenly Profound Mirror clone had actually seen through the fact that Li Fan was bound by the True Immortal's Net, and probed his mind with its question. Li Fan's eyes instantly flashed with a cold light. "Even if you are an immortal artifact clone, with your current weak human body, I can easily suppress you," he said. "I just wonder if you'll still be so sharp-tongued then..."

The Heavenly Profound Mirror clone, however, was utterly unafraid. He smiled, patting some dust from his clothes. "Given your personality," he said, "if you truly intended to do that, you would have probably acted already. Why would you be here talking so much nonsense to me?"

At these words, Li Fan suddenly fell silent. As expected of a spiritual being transformed from an immortal artifact, after a few rounds of confrontation, it actually made Li Fan feel a long-lost sense of powerlessness, unable to exert his strength. All his offensives were easily neutralized by the other party, who then turned the tables on him.

"In just a brief encounter, you've discerned my personality and my entanglements." Li Fan sneered inwardly. "It's just a pity... what you see is destined to be only the surface..."

Next, adopting a defensive stance as an offense, he generously admitted, "That's right. After all, you are a clone of the Heavenly Profound Mirror. To just kill you like this would be truly a shame. If you can provide sufficiently valuable compensation, then it's not that I can't let you go."

The Heavenly Profound Mirror clone seemed to have heard an extremely funny joke. "Do you even believe what you're saying?" it asked. "Even if you truly gain benefits from me, I'm afraid in the end I still can't escape my destined fate. People like you... one can only keep a respectful distance and cannot trust any of your promises."