At this thought, a strange light gleamed in Li Fan's eyes.
"Stand on one foot. Turn two circles to the left first. Then three circles to the right." To verify his hypothesis, Li Fan issued another cold command.
If his previous question had been somewhat impolite, then Li Fan's current demand could only be described as utterly absurd.
To ask a Foundation Establishment cultivator he had just met to perform such a bizarre and ridiculous act—no normal person would agree. Yet, Lu Xuejing truly did it, meticulously and seriously completing the entire sequence of movements.
Only, she stared fixedly at Li Fan, her eyes smoldering with fury, as if she wished she could grind his bones to dust.
But what sort of person was Li Fan? How could he be intimidated by a young girl fresh out of the nest?
He smiled faintly and said to Lu Xuejing, "It seems you still don't understand your current situation.
"Hmm, to dare speak disrespectfully even to the inscrutable Old Man Fisher... perhaps you truly are lacking a bit of discipline.
"Keep spinning like that. Don't stop unless I order it," Li Fan said coldly.
A flash of humiliation passed through Lu Xuejing's eyes, yet her body was obedient. She began spinning in that ridiculous manner.
Li Fan ignored her for the moment, turning his thoughts to the reason this situation had come about.
Previously, when Old Man Fisher handed Lu Xuejing over to Li Fan, he had described her using terms like "something."
Clearly, in Old Man Fisher's eyes, this unworldly young girl was his possession.
Then, having obtained the Heaven-Swapping Token, he had gifted this “object” to Li Fan in exchange.
Thus, ownership of this object had fallen to Li Fan.
As the owner of the object, Li Fan naturally possessed absolute authority over it.
Though he didn't know how Old Man Fisher had accomplished it, judging by Lu Xuejing's current obedience to his every word, this had already become an established fact.
This is the right object. But what is its “great use?”
She was nothing more than a female Foundation Establishment cultivator. No matter how stunningly beautiful she might be, she held absolutely no use in the eyes of Li Fan, who sought only eternal life.
Unless...
With this in mind, Li Fan did not order Lu Xuejing to stop spinning and asked directly, "Tell me about your mother."
A flicker of hope flashed in Lu Xuejing's eyes as she spoke haltingly, "My mother's name is Lu Xichan. She is the Chief Array Master of the Myriad Immortals Alliance's Strategy Array Hall, a Dao Unity cultivator..."
As the girl's words fell on his ears, Li Fan's heart shook. A sharp light flashed in his eyes as he looked at Lu Xuejing.
Chief of the Strategy Array Hall... constructing the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array in grotto-heavens... the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens... Could it be? In an instant, Li Fan thought of a possibility.
I don't know what Old Man Fisher saw in me. But since he's already placed this tremendous opportunity before me, I absolutely cannot miss it.
Even if it means activating Return to Truth on the spot, gleaning any information about the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens would be worth the price. And if I could actually set foot inside one and observe it firsthand, that would be better still.
Li Fan's gaze burned, and a surge of excitement rose within him.
However, he did not let this heaven-sent fortune cloud his judgment. He quickly calmed down.
A Dao Unity Immortal Venerable, and the Chief Array Master at that. Her strength is undoubtedly unfathomable.
Although I now hold control over her daughter, if I tried to use that as leverage to extort benefits, it would likely be nothing more than a path to my own death.
I'll need to plan my approach carefully.
An unknown amount of time passed.
Watching the anger in Lu Xuejing’s eyes recede, giving way once again to tearful pleading and utter supplication, a plan gradually formed in Li Fan’s mind.
"Stop!" he finally called out.
Lu Xuejing sighed with relief, ceasing her ridiculous movements.
"Alright, you can go home," Li Fan said directly.
Lu Xuejing was first stunned, looking at Li Fan with disbelief.
Then a trace of wild joy surged across her face.
Her body regained its freedom, and she instinctively fled the place, trying to get as far away from Li Fan as possible. Yet a series of ghostly whispers reached her ears.
"Remember, the relationship between us is your most important secret. You cannot reveal even a hint of information to anyone, in any way.
"If others notice, even if they simply grow suspicious, you will take your own life."
Lu Xuejing's body trembled slightly at Li Fan's utterly icy voice.
"After you return, say nothing. Act completely normal. Wait quietly for my signal.
"If anyone asks, just say you were captured by Old Man Fisher and lost consciousness. Later, you were rescued by a stranger, but before you could express your gratitude, your savior had already vanished.”
A communication spirit talisman drifted to her side, accompanied by Li Fan’s voice.
“Take it. You may go.”
After receiving her owner's instructions, Lu Xuejing stored the spirit talisman. She continued flying towards the distant horizon, not daring to look back.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes, watching the young girl's figure recede.
Making a pact with a tiger is perilous beyond measure, but once successful, the gains are a thousandfold.
As long as I am careful and cautious, and activate Return to Truth immediately if I sense something amiss, I can minimize the risk.
Perhaps, in reality, it's not as dangerous as I imagine. Old Man Fisher's methods are bizarre; even I, as the person involved, cannot detect them.
If that girl hadn't been so utterly incapable, her behavior so blatantly obvious, I probably wouldn't have imagined such a bizarre, unreasonable thing could happen.
Wait... In that instant, Li Fan seemed to realize something. This feeling... it seems somewhat similar to an Oddity?
In Li Fan's mind, the figures from Cloudwater Palace in the Congyun Sea, and Fuzi in the cart pulled by the azure ox, involuntarily surfaced once more.
The Heaven-Scorning Sword is hidden within Cloudwater Palace... everyone in Cloudwater Palace transformed into Oddities. Did the same thing happen to the master of the Heaven-Scorning Sword? What exactly happened back then? Just as Li Fan sank into deep thought, a strange, inexplicable feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.
Looking up, he saw that Lu Xuejing had shrunk to the size of a black dot in the sky.
But then, like a kite with its string cut, she suddenly plummeted straight down, smashing through the tree canopy and vanishing from Li Fan's sight.
Simultaneously, an image abruptly surfaced in Li Fan's mind:
Lu Xuejing’s face was contorted in extreme agony, her body writhing as she rolled on the ground. She convulsed uncontrollably like a mortal without air, or a fish out of water, struggling in despair.
Watching this scene, Li Fan understood something.
As an item belonging to an owner, she could not leave her owner without permission.
Although Li Fan had verbally given the order moments ago, he had not exercised his authority as an owner.
At that time, he still did not know exactly what permissions he held over his “possession.”
But now, Li Fan had finally experienced it firsthand.