NOVPUBLi Fan had met Gongsun Qixuan quite early on.
In later lifetimes, it seemed that behind every abnormal change in the mystical network, there was the shadow of this man.
Including this life, where he was inexplicably transferred into the headquarter of the Strategic Formation Hall of the All Immortal Alliance to participate in the development of the Tianxuan Soul Locking Array.
...
All these pointed to the extraordinariness of Gongsun Qixuan.
After communicating with the Tianxuan Mirror Avatar a few times, Li Fan also gained some understanding of Gongsun Qixuan’s identity.
He was the Tianxuan Mirror’s subject of observation, the human template, when creating human incarnations.
As to why Gongsun Qixuan was selected from the many cultivators of the Immortal Alliance, the Tianxuan Mirror Avatar explained that it was random, a matter of luck.
Of course, Li Fan didn’t believe it.
According to his memories and observations, the temperament of Gongsun Qixuan indeed shared some similarities with the Tianxuan Mirror Avatar.
Even Li Fan suspected that he might just be another human incarnation from the Mystic Sky Realm.
If one searched for information about this person in the Tianxuan Mirror, everything seemed normal. But if one dug a little deeper, it became evident that all the intelligence was fabricated.
Before coming to take office in the Misthaven Ocean, his whereabouts were a complete mystery, known to no one.
As if noticing Li Fan’s covert observation, Gongsun Qixuan imperceptibly glanced towards the sky.
However, he quickly averted his gaze, coughed lightly, and began directing his subordinates to deal with the strange occurrences.
The way they dealt with them was also peculiar; he took out a small figurine made of withered grass from his chest.
He tossed it into the air.
Meanwhile, the subordinates of Tianji Hall, in a very tacit understanding, placed even smaller straw dolls in every corner of the strange outbreak areas.
Under Li Fan’s observation, he discovered that the dark and strange forces did not erode the cultivators of Tianji Hall who had rashly entered.
Instead, they were deeply attracted to the tiny straw dolls they held.
Like streams of dragons, the forces were siphoned into the bodies of the straw dolls.
"Hmm?"
Li Fan immediately became interested.
Upon closer inspection, Li Fan found that these straw dolls seemed to have their own lives as with the influx of the dark forces, their faces displayed weird smiles, pain, anger, and other different expressions.
One could even hear a faint rustling sound coming from them.
These straw dolls, like nodes, absorbed the dark forces and then transmitted them into the body of the largest straw doll in midair.
The action of clearing the strangeness lasted three days.
Eventually, the strangeness that had been spreading in this area disappeared completely, and the normal celestial way of the Mystic Sky Realm once again took the upper hand.
The moment Gongsun Qixuan retrieved the straw doll from midair, something happened that made Li Fan’s pupils constrict.
It seemed as if Gongsun Qixuan was placing the straw doll back into his chest.
But in reality...
It looked more like he opened a massive maw and swallowed the straw doll whole.
In that instant, Li Fan felt as if a dark layer enveloped Gongsun Qixuan.
And his coughing became more frequent.
It wasn’t until they headed to the next site of the strange outbreak that there was a slight improvement.
Of course, not all strangeness required the use of the straw dolls by Gongsun Qixuan.
After thorough investigation, the majority that posed no risk of spreading were simply contained by having the outbreak areas sealed off by Gongsun Qixuan’s order.
Li Fan, watching from above the clouds, thoughtfully mused, "For those of lesser harm, wait for the Profound Yellow Celestial Way to naturally complete the digestion. But for those which grow worse without control, he uses the figurines to absorb them into his own body."
To the current Li Fan, Gongsun Qixuan had become a conglomeration of numerous strangenesses.
With many twisted, chaotic rules interwoven together, it was chilling to behold.
If he were to suddenly die and all those strange entities within him were to burst forth at once, I fear it would be instant devastation for all living beings within several states.
"No wonder every time I see this guy, I feel something’s quite off about him."
"To harbor the Way within the body..."
"That surely isn’t something a cultivator’s body is capable of."
A glint of wariness flashed in Li Fan’s eyes, and he increased the distance between them slightly.
He also recalled Gongsun Qixuan’s words, based only on his fabricated "Tianxuan Soul Locking, Xuanhuang Unification," could actually divine the future.
In an instant, Li Fan had a speculation about Gongsun Qixuan’s true identity.
"For the Tianxuan Mirror to seek to mimic a human incarnation, given its status as a noble Immortal Instrument, how could it genuinely observe and learn from ordinary humans?"
"And the easiest way to accomplish something is to look for a precedent, to learn from those who went before..."
"So..."
A gleam of insight passed through Li Fan’s eyes, and in a moment, many clues merged and made sense.
"The subject of study for an Immortal Instrument must also be an entity that has successfully transformed into a human, yet remains an Immortal Instrument!"
"Gongsun Qixuan must be one of the Immortal Instruments that vanished from the Xuanhuang World, having taken on human form!"
Taking into account the Kun-Qian Skeletal Hand that Ou Shangtian carried, which may have been the relics of a Fairy.
Everything in the Xuanhuang World was participating in Heaven’s Dao Operation, the cycle of the world.
Those vanished Immortal Instruments were likely doing the same.
"Taking on human form, or becoming one of Heaven’s Oddities, or perhaps..."
Li Fan suddenly had an idea about the source of Dharma Transmitter Jiang’s near-Heaven-defying abilities.
"Perhaps they too originated from the transformation of Immortal Instruments..."
Having clarified these connections, Li Fan now looked at Gongsun Qixuan with entirely different eyes.
His wariness was tinged with a hint of greed, along with a measure of caution and vigilance.
An Immortal Instrument, anything that carried the word ’Immortal,’ is a presence that absolutely cannot be underestimated.
Let alone now that Gongsun Qixuan had already come under the attention of the Tianxuan Mirror, even more so being an amalgamation of myriad anomalies, like a time bomb ready to explode at any moment.
"Although a rare treasure, it is something you can see, but cannot touch."
Li Fan stared intently for a long while, finally letting out a sigh and slowly withdrawing his gaze.
"Moreover, at present, I am still in a cooperative relationship with the Tianxuan Mirror. The main mission is to first sever the True Immortal’s Net."
"No rush, now that I have discovered his real identity. There will be opportunities in the future..."
The desire in Li Fan’s eyes gradually faded away.
Below him, Gongsun Qixuan’s brow furrowed slightly, as though he sensed something.
He performed a divination with his fingers.
But he could not discern anything concrete.
Scenes of Li Fan’s past encounters with Gongsun Qixuan surfaced in his spirit consciousness.
"It seems his original form must have been an Immortal Instrument associated with divination."
"However, judging by his current behavior, it seems that after taking human form, his powers have diminished significantly."
Li Fan stroked his chin.
"But this gives me some inspiration."
"In the Xuanhuang World, there are still many secrets waiting to be uncovered."
"Back then, the Xuanhuang World had quite a few entities close to being Immortal Instruments. Not to mention the fusion of many Immortal Cultivation Worlds, so many worlds—are there not existences of the same caliber?"
"Even though some were taken by Law Transmission, there should still be fish that escaped the net."
"I had been limited in the past. Actually, it’s not just about instruments; people could also be even greater treasures."
