Chapter 630: The White Mist Reverses Life And Death

Liu San did not answer immediately. After a moment of thought, he posed a question instead.

"Young Master, does the Myriad Immortals Alliance have something like an outpost within the White Mist Barrier?"

Li Fan was slightly taken aback. "Elder Liu, why do you ask?"

Liu San stroked his beard and spoke slowly. "Earlier, while piloting the Samantabhadra True Boat through the boundless White Mist, I happened to catch a distant glimpse of some cultivators. They were moving as a group and behaving rather strangely.

"They were exposed to the Lifespan-Devouring White Mist without any protection, and their movements were sluggish, as if searching for something.

"Stranger still, I could sense no vital aura from their bodies whatsoever. I initially thought they were deceased corpses acting on instinct. I was about to approach for a closer look when one of them seemed to detect my presence and turned his head. At the same time, I perceived a divine sense sweeping outward.

"My main task was still to find Longevity Valley. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I sent a transmission indicating that I had no ill intent, then withdrew.

"Longevity Valley is hidden within the White Mist. If our Medicine King Sect enters it in the future, we may encounter those people again. It's best to plan ahead."

As Liu San spoke, Li Fan's expression gradually grew solemn.

There are cultivators within the White Mist utterly devoid of vital aura, yet behaving no differently from living ones?

Almost at once, Li Fan's mind went to the team of Myriad Immortals Alliance cultivators who had emerged from the White Mist after Anchor Year 400 in his previous life, dead yet still alive.

Reversing the principle of life and death... has it already succeeded?

Li Fan pressed Liu San for every detail he could recall about the group.

After a moment, the tension in his chest eased somewhat.

Sluggish and dazed, like walking corpses. They are still far from true resurrection. But signs of life have been rekindled in their bodies.

This Eternal Heavenly Venerable, who had reversed the principle of life and death in secret and attained the Dao without anyone noticing, was a figure of utmost mystery.

Even in his previous life, during the era when heaven and earth fell under the Celestial Alliance's unified governance, He had never revealed Himself. Clearly, He was concealing His identity by design. Whatever His purpose, He did not wish to be disturbed.

"This matter is certainly strange. But it has nothing to do with our Medicine King Sect. If heaven falls, the Myriad Immortals Alliance will hold it up. If we ever encounter those people again, we'll simply go around them." Li Fan made a show of considering it briefly, then gave his instructions.

Liu San found the reasoning sound and nodded, letting the matter rest.

"Longevity Valley is currently located within the White Mist Barrier, near the border between Luoyan Province and Lueying Province." Liu San produced a map and marked the location. "Roughly here. Perception of distance warps somewhat within the White Mist, but the general direction is unmistakable."

Li Fan glanced at the mark and fixed it in his memory.

"It isn't far from the Congyun Sea. We can move at any time. And Luoyan Province is far more prosperous than the Congyun Sea, which makes it a better first foothold for the Medicine King Sect's rise. That said, to avoid arousing Zhou Qing'ang's suspicion, we'll need to disentangle ourselves from Congyun Sea’s affairs gradually, without rushing." Li Fan laid out his thinking.

"It's your call, Young Master. We've waited this long; a little more time won't matter. Besides, I've resealed the entrance to Longevity Valley with a secret technique. No outsider will detect it." Liu San nodded, his voice unhurried.

With that settled, Li Fan turned to the real reason he'd come and proposed a sparring match.

Liu San's interest lit up at once. "It seems your cultivation of the new methodology has borne fruit?"

"It has, Elder Liu. The Myriad Immortals Alliance's Tianxuan Mirror is a truly peerless divine artifact, its abilities are beyond imagining. It can even help deduce divine abilities. A pity your cultivation is too high, Old Liu, and your background too difficult to conceal. Otherwise, you could experience it yourself." Li Fan's tone carried equal parts wonder and regret.

"Heh. Even if it offered a thousand benefits, my path is already set. As long as you and the others can make use of them, that's enough." Liu San waved it off without a second thought.

The two made their way to the Medicine King Sect's training hall.

Though it was called a spar, Liu San served more as an assistant in practice. The Heaven-Breaking Heart Sword, extraordinary as it was, still struggled to truly wound a cultivator two full cultivation realms higher. Even so, Liu San's praise was generous.

"Young Master, you are truly the successor the Sect Leader chose. To comprehend such a profound, elegant divine ability—a palm that shatters the heavens, a sword that moves with the will... The attack power is astonishing and the move difficult to guard against. If you break through to the Spirit Transformation realm and execute this ability once more, I may actually find myself in a tight spot."

Liu San extended his left index finger, examining a thin smear of blood across it.

Li Fan surveyed his own work and arrived at a rough measure of the Heaven-Breaking Heart Sword's strength.

He had not used his full power, only the force of a single grotto-heaven domain. If the full might of the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens converged and erupted in a single burst, the result would be ten times greater. At least, more than a scratch.

Far from life-threatening injury. The gap between Dao Unity and Nascent Soul is nothing like the gap between Foundation Establishment and Nascent Soul. Li Fan understood this well.

In the period that followed, he had Liu San select trustworthy individuals from the still-sleeping Medicine King Sect cultivators and wake them first.

The Crimson Flame Sea Scorching event would arrive soon, and when the great calamity descended, everything Li Fan had built here would be buried with it. Washing his identity clean a second time would be far harder.

He had to use this last window to push forward the Medicine King Sect cultivators' induction into the Alliance as quickly as possible.

Liu San understood better than most how rare techniques were in this age of the Exclusivity of Techniques. The higher their tier, the more precious. He was therefore exceptionally careful in selecting personnel.

But in his younger years, he had never been driven by a hunger for power. He had simply followed Liu Ruchen, devoted to cultivation and alchemy. He had no close confidants, only a vague sense of the disciples' characters.

After long deliberation, he even approached Li Fan privately and put forward the idea of forcible control.

It was exactly what Li Fan had hoped for, but he still had to play his part. He lowered his head, adopting an expression of reluctant silence.

Liu San, reading his hesitation, moved to persuade him. "Young Master, you must know that one cannot command an army with mercy. These are extraordinary times, and we cannot afford a single misstep. The human heart has a hundred faces and cannot be fully known.[1] You cannot expect everyone to be like us, willing to fight tooth and nail to see the Medicine King Sect rise again."

Something seemed to occur to him then, and Liu San gave a cold laugh. "There are plenty in the Medicine King Sect with rebellious bones, you know.

"Back then..." He paused. "The Myriad Immortals Alliance is now stronger than the Ten Immortal Dao Sects. Mark my words, once those sleeping ones wake and see the glory of the Alliance, more than a few will start thinking about changing sides."

1. 人心百态，难以尽知 — people's thoughts, motives, and feelings are endlessly varied, and it is impossible to fully understand every one of them. ☜