“And Dean Ji? Did he go mad too?” Li Fan asked, cutting straight to the heart of the issue.
Huangfu Song glanced at him and coughed lightly. “Dean Ji’s cultivation is profound beyond measure. Of course he didn’t lose control of himself.
“It’s just unfortunate that the cultivators accompanying him were all extremely powerful. Upon joining forces, they even left Dean Ji hard-pressed for a while. With no choice, Dean Ji ultimately killed them all to protect himself.”
His face was filled with remorse.
Li Fan and the others froze briefly.
They understood what that implied, yet none of them dared to think about it further.
“How dangerously close. No wonder it had to be sealed for the time being,” Li Fan said, as though finding the explanation perfectly plausible.
Huangfu Song shot Li Fan a warning look and sent a voice transmission: “Kid, I’ve told you what you need to know. Don’t test your luck.”
Li Fan acted as though he didn’t hear anything.
When they arrived at the Eternal Immortal Fortress, Huangfu Song smiled at Xue Mu and Jiang Qigui. “I’ll be leaving for other regions tomorrow to supervise array construction there. If you have anything to ask before I go, come find me.”
As for Li Fan, Huangfu Song didn’t even look his way. He flicked his sleeve and left.
Li Fan didn’t care.
Years of grueling effort had finally paid off.
The moment they returned to Severed Hand Immortal City, everyone’s first stop was the golden leaderboard to check the contribution rankings.
Over the past five days, the standings had been turned upside down.
Jiang Qigui’s points surged after he oversaw the integration of the Tianxuan hub device. Li Fan held a slightly higher total score than Jiang Qigui due to his earlier lead. Even so, both had dropped out of the top ten, now hovering around twentieth place.
“From the looks of it, plenty of teams must have finished their Tianxuan Soul-Locking Arrays these last few days. There are even unfamiliar names near the top now.”
“It feels a bit unfair. Building the array above the Roaring Abyss was far harder than in ordinary provinces. Master Li and the others should’ve gotten more points.”
“Maybe the points already account for difficulty. Besides, even if the Roaring Abyss is dangerous, it might not be the most perilous place within the Myriad Immortals Alliance...”
Amid the chatter, Xue Mu sent Li Fan a message: “Fellow Daoist Li Fan, look—Guo Yezhong has actually jumped to around three hundredth place!”
“Mm, I saw that too. What do you think it means?” Li Fan asked.
The wooden-faced Xue Mu said calmly, “Everyone’s points keep rising. Yet under such circumstances, Guo Yezhong is able to come from behind and take the lead. A surge this late... and for it to happen only after so many arrays were completed... I suspect he was involved in the original design of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array.”
He continued, “Dean Ji once said that contribution points are based on how much each person provides in completing the construction of arrays. If Guo Yezhong created the design, then every time an array is finished, part of the credit—and points—would naturally accrue to him.
“That’s the only explanation that fits what we’re seeing.”
Li Fan thought back to what Guo Yezhong had looked like at the Cosmos Branch Academy.
“At that time, he was just a Golden Core array master. Could he really have done it?” he asked with a faint smile.
Xue Mu, hearing this, also felt a hint of uncertainty. “Maybe he only provided an idea?” he suggested, though without much confidence.
“Overthinking won’t help. Let’s just do our own work properly,” Li Fan said.
Xue Mu looked at Li Fan’s shockingly aged face, his expression growing grave as he nodded.
Li Fan, meanwhile, couldn’t help but mull it over after they separated and he returned to his room.
If Guo Yezhong had been involved in the initial design of the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array, then he can simply sit back now and claim the rewards later. He would gain an enormous amount of points for the competition as if from nowhere, and once the arrays are universally implemented, his standing would certainly rise. A shrewd move.
Li Fan’s thoughts continued. Once time is turned back thirty years, no one in the world will understand the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array better than I do. All I need is to be careful about how much to reveal.
Lost in contemplation, he waited until night fell, then quietly went to Huangfu Song’s residence.
Huangfu Song seemed to have expected him. A bowl of spirit tea had already been set out, clearly waiting for some time.
“Azure Dragon Whiskers,” Huangfu Song said with mild mockery. “It can extend your life by ten years; barely enough to keep you hanging on.”
Li Fan didn’t bother with politeness and drank it in one gulp.
Smacking his lips, he checked Return to Truth’s panel. His biological age limit had increased by only a single year.
“Barely enough, indeed,” he said, shaking his head as if the gain were insignificant.
Huangfu Song nearly laughed out of pure exasperation, but he didn’t linger on it. He went straight to the point.
“You’re practically at death’s door. Why are you still pushing yourself this hard? Wouldn’t it be better to spend what time you have left in peace? You’re still thinking about competing for a higher ranking—what are you really after?”
In front of Huangfu Song, Li Fan dropped the facade of selfless devotion and lofty virtue he showed to others. His tone shifted. “Because my end is so close, I have to fight even harder. Only then can I find life within death and seize back a thread of hope for survival,” he said firmly.
“Oh?” Huangfu Song’s interest was piqued. “And how do you plan to do that?”
“Being caught in the demonic sound tide and the Lifespan-Devouring White Mist was a true accident. Burning away almost all my lifespan to call for help was also beyond what I expected. I haven’t even lived a full century in this world. How can I accept dying and my Dao dispersing so soon?” Li Fan’s voice sharpened.
“Of course I want to live. But lifespan-extending treasures are far too valuable for someone like me. Even if I spent the rest of my life trying, I doubt I could obtain even one. So if I want to survive, I have to take another route, a roundabout way. There is no guarantee it will work, but it’s a gamble worth taking.”
The keen light in Li Fan’s eyes was completely at odds with his ancient, withered appearance.
Huangfu Song grew even more curious. “A gamble? On what?”
Li Fan’s expression turned grave, each word measured. “I’m betting... that the Myriad Immortals Alliance doesn’t mistreat those who have rendered service. Especially when it comes to building the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array.”
Huangfu Song froze, gave Li Fan a long look, then took a sip of the Azure Dragon Whiskers tea in front of him.
Li Fan pressed on, his tone impassioned. “You and I both understand how important the Tianxuan Soul-Locking Array is. And the story of how I fought desperately to construct these arrays has already spread across the land.
“It’s obvious whose work that is. Before all the arrays are finished, which is the better option: letting a ‘role model for the whole world’ like me die a miserable death of old age, or having the Myriad Immortals Alliance step forward and save my life? Compared to motivating every array master under heaven to work diligently, a few lifespan-extending treasures are nothing, aren’t they?
“Which is why I’m not afraid of old age and death right now; I actually think the lifespan I have left is too long.
“Senior Huangfu Song, that tea you just gave me did more harm than good.
“So, how will you make it up to me?”
With that, Li Fan fell silent, calmly fixing his gaze on Huangfu Song.