Chapter 906

Hearing Ji Yuzhen speak in such a way, Xuanyuan Hong’s expression sank.

“Nonsense!”

“The cultivation method you practice—would I not know it well? Though you can divide your soul into countless fragments, the only thing capable of healing my injuries must be the most refined, primal origin soul. If you lose that, your cultivation will suffer greatly!”

“How could I possibly allow that to happen!”

Yet, looking at Ji Yuzhen’s ever-gentle smile, Xuanyuan Hong could not bear to scold her further.

Instead, he consoled her softly:

“Zhen’er, don’t worry. It’s only a minor wound. If I go into seclusion for a time, I will fully recover.”

Ji Yuzhen silently nodded, her gaze lingering on Xuanyuan Hong, unwilling to move away for a long while.

...

Inside a vast grand hall.

Xuanyuan Hong, the Xuantian King, sat high upon the main seat. Below him stood the twelve Dharma Kings.

“In my last battle with the Grand Mage of Heavenly Capital, though I suffered slight injuries, I also gained much from the encounter.”

“I will soon enter closed-door cultivation. During this time, the affairs of the sect—both great and small, will be entrusted to all of you.” Xuanyuan Hong declared with solemn authority.

“Xuantian King, rest assured—there will be no mishaps!” replied the Dharma King known as Elder Cui, stroking his beard.

Xuanyuan Hong nodded slightly.

“If all goes well this time, I may be able to reforge a True Immortal body in the lower realms. Then, our plan to escape the Darkest Star Sea will be advanced by leaps and bounds!”

At these words, the expressions of the twelve cultivators varied.

Some were joyous and offered congratulations.

Some remained indifferent, betraying no interest.

Others were solemn, their thoughts unreadable.

...

In a shadowy secret chamber.

“Zhen’er, I sense that someone has been making restless moves lately. That person who once secretly contacted you…”

“Go find him.” Xuanyuan Hong’s calm tone carried a faint trace of killing intent.

Ji Yuzhen froze for a moment, then quickly understood.

“Brother Xuanyuan, you mean… to lure the snake from its hole?”

Xuanyuan Hong’s face darkened with murderous resolve.

“Exactly! This time, I’ll deal with him and that Grand Mage of Heavenly Capital—once and for all!”

Ji Yuzhen’s eyes lit up with delight.

“Brother Xuanyuan… you’ve already broken through?”

Xuanyuan Hong smiled and nodded.

Ji Yuzhen drew in a deep breath, suppressing the surge of excitement in her heart.

“Good. I’ve always kept up the pretense with that person. I’ll contact him as soon as I return.”

“Mm. But be cautious in all things.”

...

A crimson blood of slaughter surged skyward.

The dying screams of countless cultivators echoed through the air.

“Zhen’er, run quickly…”

After that final transmission, Xuanyuan Hong’s aura completely vanished.

Ji Yuzhen sped toward the last place where she had sensed his presence.

But something abnormal had already drawn the attention of many other cultivators.

Not only she, but the other Dharma Kings, as well as those swayed by the Grand Mage of Heavenly Capital, all rushed there in unison.

Fighting as they advanced. Racing against time.

“Junior Sister, there are far too many enemies! We must first find Brother Xuanyuan, and only then plan our next move!” transmitted Zhou Yangli, one of the twelve Dharma Kings, his expression grim.

The unease in Ji Yuzhen’s heart only deepened.

Indeed, the number of scheming cultivators was far beyond her expectations. But if Xuanyuan Hong was still there, none of this would matter.

Yet…

Ignoring the backlash as her soul transformed into streaks of azure light that scythed through the dense ranks of enemies ahead, Ji Yuzhen pushed herself to fly even faster.

The scene cut off abruptly at this point.

Li Fan carefully went over it again, making sure nothing had been overlooked.

“I never expected that the ambush by the Ten Great Immortal Sects back then was actually orchestrated by the Xuantian King himself. He wanted to lure out the unstable elements within the Xuanhuang Realm and resolve everything in a single strike.”

“But for some unknown reason, at that critical moment, something happened to the Xuantian King himself.”

“Interesting…”

Li Fan narrowed his eyes.

“If the information extracted from Ji Yuzheng’s memories is true, then at that time the Xuantian King had already gone a step further beyond the body of a Half-Immortal. He was already invincible within the Xuanhuang Realm, and after breaking through—who could possibly have stood against him?”

“The Ten Great Immortal Sects? The Grand Mage of Heavenly Capital? Or perhaps…”

Suddenly, the image of that faceless stone statue flickered before Li Fan’s eyes.

For some reason, a faint sense of dread welled up within him.

“That faceless statue was crafted by Xuanyuan Hong, in gratitude for the Faceless True Immortal who saved his life back in the Ascension Passage.”

“From what we can see, the Xuantian King, Xuanyuan Hong, was indeed a man of upright character.”

“But this Faceless True Immortal…”

“That’s harder to say.”

Li Fan analyzed silently to himself.

“Saving Xuanyuan Hong’s life casually back then doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Perhaps in the eyes of a True Immortal, a Half-Immortal like Xuanyuan Hong is no different from an ordinary mortal—worthless without utility.”

“But once Xuanyuan Hong condensed a True Immortal body, everything would change.”

Dark conjectures about what might have happened in those years stirred in Li Fan’s mind. The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

It was like when he had once ruled over the Great Xuan: toward ordinary commoners, he had been gentle and approachable; but when facing officials and nobles, he had been sharp-eyed, predatory—like two completely different men.

By analogy, the Faceless True Immortal might also show different faces depending on the people before him.

This theory also neatly explained why the power behind the Faceless Statue cared little for the prayers of those from the Xuanhuang Realm, instead diverting them onto Li Fan himself.

“It seems that for now, using the statue’s abilities is safe enough—as long as I don’t reveal any [Immortal] power…”

Even so, Li Fan did not relax his vigilance toward the Faceless Statue.

After all, even the Xuantian King might have fallen to it.

How could Li Fan possibly be without fear?

“Ji Yuzheng’s memories are incomplete. The most crucial moments are missing—especially those concerning her cultivation methods. Either they were never here, or they were deliberately hidden.”

Li Fan gazed at the drifting blossoms all around.

“The Xuantian King once said that after cultivating the Immeasurable Celestial Pivot Sundering Divine Technique, one’s countless scattered soul-fragments are distinct from the Original Soul.”

“Now it seems that what lingers in this crater are merely Ji Yuzheng’s scattered soul-fragments. What I’ve obtained are only the memories dispersed among them.”

“As for the Original Soul that holds the truly vital information…”

Li Fan searched the crater once more, then frowned.

“It’s not here?”

“Either it’s hidden too deeply for me to detect right now… or it was never here at all.”

After a long time, unwilling as he was, Li Fan could only give up for the moment.

But even this gave him a new insight.

“With the information I’ve gained here, plus what I glimpsed from Mo Rubin’s mind, I can convincingly pass myself off as a member of the ancient Xuantian Sect.”

“If confronted and caught on details, I can always claim damage to my soul and memory loss.”

“The only flaw is that I can’t reproduce the cultivation methods of the Xuantian Sect…”

Li Fan recalled how, in Senior Sister Zhao’s illusion, she had once obtained several of those very techniques from the Xuantian Sect.