The white-haired elder looked somewhat familiar, though Li Fan couldn't recall where he'd seen him before.
He had the kindly, approachable demeanor of a grandfather from next door, the sort that instinctively put people at ease.
Of course, Li Fan knew the man was far from ordinary. This elder's cultivation was simply too profound, far beyond what Li Fan could currently perceive.
That realization made Li Fan increasingly cautious.
He bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Elder."
The white-haired elder chuckled warmly. "No need for such formality. I'm just an old man who should have died long ago but somehow didn't."
He paused, then asked kindly, "Are you here to submit the Cloudwater Model?"
Li Fan nodded and handed over the multicolored miniature model.
The elder accepted the tiny Cloudwater Palace, studying it carefully. His eyes clouded with nostalgia.
"Indeed, this is it.
"Hanhai, Taiyi, Fuyun...
"It has been too long."
Seemingly lost in memory, the elder's gaze grew distant and hazy.
Hearing the elder's words, Li Fan's heart jumped.
He stood silently to the side, not daring to move recklessly.
From the sound of it, this elder was actually from the same generation as that turtle-snake Taiyi?
The fall of Cloudwater Palace had occurred countless years ago. How could this man have survived from then until now?
Ever since the Great Reformation, all cultivators had faced the world's malignant intent. They could no longer achieve the longevity of ancient cultivators.
Living a thousand years was already an extreme challenge.
What level of cultivation would allow someone to live this long? Spirit Transformation? Dao Unity?
Li Fan did his best to rein in his wild speculations while growing increasingly vigilant.
This was a world where immortal techniques could not be shared, yet this figure managed to survive from the Great Reformation until now.
If one truly believed he was as benevolent as he appeared, that would be the height of naivety.
Noticing Li Fan's tension, the white-haired elder smiled faintly.
"What is the current state of Cloudwater Palace?" he asked.
Li Fan proceeded to describe what he had seen in detail: Qin Tang had turned into a statue, Daoist Chong had refined his body into pills, and Taiyi was impaled by countless broken swords.
After a long silence, the elder sighed emotionally.
"If not for special circumstances preventing my entry into Cloudwater Palace, I would not have stood by idly while they suffered.
"To emerge alive from Cloudwater Palace shows you possess considerable wit and vigilance." He glanced appraisingly at Li Fan with approval.
"I was just lucky," Li Fan said modestly.
"I have another request. Would you be willing to take it up?" the white-haired elder suddenly asked.
"Please speak freely, Elder."
"When you have time, make another trip to Cloudwater Palace for me. Simply place this object there." The elder produced a small white jade figurine and handed it to Li Fan.
The figurine appeared to be carved from ordinary jade and emitted no unusual aura.
Its features were identical to the white-haired elder before him.
"Since I cannot enter Cloudwater Palace myself, let this figurine keep them company in my stead.
"As for payment..."
The elder pondered for a moment, then pointed toward Li Fan's brow.
Instantly, countless streams of information flooded Li Fan's mind.
Even with divine sense at the mid-stage Qi Refinement level, Li Fan felt dizzy and lightheaded, and his skull pulsed with pressure.
By the time he regained his senses, the white-haired elder’s figure had long vanished from the Tianxuan Mirror.
The one hundred thousand contribution points had also been successfully credited to his account.
It took Li Fan a long while to sort through the vast amount of information in his mind and finally understand what the white-haired elder’s payment actually was.
Heavenly Physician’s Immortal Scripture .
It wasn’t a cultivation technique, but a medical text.
Its subjects of study not only encompassed human physiology, pathology, diagnosis, treatment, and pharmacology, but even extended to all manner of animals and plants in the world.
It was all-encompassing, leaving nothing out.
The sheer volume of information was so immense that Li Fan estimated it would take him at least a dozen years just to read through it once completely.
This vast and precious treasury of knowledge had been casually transmitted to Li Fan by the white-haired elder in an instant.
It’s good stuff, truly good stuff. A pity it’s too exhausting to learn. I’ll just have to set it aside for now.
Li Fan did not dare neglect the white-haired elder’s request. After all, the other party was a mighty figure, and he had even paid the reward in advance.
Thus, Li Fan made another trip to Cloudwater Palace.
He had expected his avatar to undergo Senior Brother Qin Tang’s trials once more upon arrival.
But after a white light shone from the figurine within his storage ring, Li Fan found himself directly in front of the main gate of Cloudwater Palace.
The elder’s figurine broke free from Li Fan’s storage ring on its own and flew into the sky.
Then, it slowly dissolved and vanished like melting ice.
Is the task completed just like that? It seems a bit too simple and smooth. Li Fan wondered to himself, feeling uneasy.
He waited a while longer, but nothing unusual occurred within Cloudwater Palace.
Who knows what that figurine was for anyway?
Failing to discern any deeper mystery, Li Fan could only choose to leave.
Safely back within the Tianxuan Mirror, Li Fan stared at his balance of one hundred thousand contribution points, falling deep into thought.
Originally, Li Fan had planned for his avatar to obtain the one hundred thousand contribution points, redeem the techniques and treasures he required, and then deliver them to his true self.
It was similar to how Xiao Heng had redeemed the Lesser Water Manipulation Art and sent it to Li Fan in his previous life.
But after meeting this white-haired elder, Li Fan abandoned this idea. For now, it seemed best that his avatar and his true self not have any connection whatsoever.
That elder gave Li Fan an intensely dangerous feeling, and the avatar had already fallen within his line of sight.
If his true self and avatar were to make contact recklessly and he discovered their connection...
Even if that white-haired elder possessed a supremely high cultivation level, one could not guarantee he wouldn’t be tempted by the profoundness of the Heaven-Swapping Art.
After all, in this dangerous cultivation world, people could be refined into Curios of heaven and earth. One could never be too careful.
As for whether these one hundred thousand contribution points would go to waste in his avatar’s hands, left unspent?
There was no need to worry about that at all.
After all, in this world, the most precious things were various forms of knowledge, including techniques!
When his avatar browsed through various texts, it was equivalent to the true self reading them at the same time.
Therefore, spending these one hundred thousand contribution points through his avatar had the exact same effect as spending them through the true self.
Steeling his resolve, Li Fan first searched for information regarding the ancient war Qin Tang and Daoist Chong had repeatedly mentioned back in Cloudwater Palace.
That war seemed exceptionally brutal, leaving such a deep impression on them that they still couldn’t forget it even after transforming into Oddities.
Soon, Li Fan found bits and pieces of scattered information.
Unfortunately, due to the immense passage of time, all related records were frustratingly vague and incomplete.
Only one thing could be confirmed: this great war had indeed occurred.
The conflict seemed to have been a protracted one, beginning even before the Immortal Venerable began spreading his teachings.
It only ceased with the arrival of the Great Reformation.
Next, Lin Fan searched for information regarding Curios of heaven and earth.