Chapter 713: Tianliang Province, Wang Qiupo

An item capable of influencing or even altering the thoughts of a Dao Unity cultivator was undoubtedly a supreme treasure of the highest order.

After all, as long as Eternal Heavenly Venerables did not show themselves, Dao Unity cultivators sat at the very apex of power in the Xuanhuang World.

Even though Li Fan had undergone countless simulation cycles and had uncovered countless secrets of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, he still did not know whether the Alliance possessed any item that could rival the Truth-Binding Fruit.

So to resolve his worries surrounding Jiang Yushan, he would have to turn to the Five Elders Council.

Fortunately, Li Fan had already settled on the bargaining chip he would use in this transaction with the Council.

As for how to contact the Five Elders Council...

Over this period, disciples of the Medicine King Sect had spread out across the various provinces of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, gathering intelligence.

Following Li Fan's instructions, and using the rendezvous methods of the Five Elders Council's spies that he remembered from before, they had locked onto a group of suspicious individuals.

Li Fan reviewed the list of these cultivators one by one, cross-referencing it with knowledge from his past lives. At last, he identified one spy:

Tianliang Province, Wang Qiupo.

This Wang Qiupo, though only at the Golden Core realm, was already eight hundred years old.

His lifespan far exceeded that of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator. His hair had gone white as snow, but he remained full of vigor, showing no sign of age.

Because he had lived so long, all his contemporaries who still survived now were at the Spirit Transformation or Dao Unity realm and occupied important positions throughout the Alliance.

As the saying goes, "Even if you disregard the monk's face, you should consider the Buddha's face."[1] Even if Wang Qiupo possessed no remarkable skills, his network was vast enough to matter.

So even the City Lord of Tianliang treated Wang Qiupo with great courtesy.

No one would ever have imagined that a figure like this could be a spy for the Five Elders Council. The nail had been driven too deep, buried too long.

So deep, in fact, that in Li Fan's past life, when Wang Qiupo finally passed away and the Five Elders Council voluntarily revealed his identity, hoping to thoroughly humiliate the Myriad Immortals Alliance, the Alliance had simply ordered the matter suppressed and sealed rather than lose face.

Li Fan had heard only by chance that a deeply buried spy once caused the Myriad Immortals Alliance tremendous humiliation. He had never learned the man's name.

Only in this life, piecing together the unusual behaviors the Medicine King Sect disciples had uncovered against the knowledge carried over from his past lives, did he arrive at the truth.

It seems Wang Qiupo's lifespan is nearing its end.

Xu Bai drifted out from Longevity Valley into the White Mist and soon encountered a Samantabhadra True Boat.

The other party did not detect him and flew straight toward the depths of the mist.

More and more people are passing through. I wonder how much longer this place can stay hidden.

The thought flickered through his mind. Xu Bai exited the White Mist and headed straight for Tianliang Province.

Tianliang Province lay to the northwest of Tianling Province, renowned throughout the region for being locked in perpetual autumn.

It was said that the aura of slaughter from a great battle in ancient times had lingered for ten million years, causing all things to wither and barring normal growth. Hence this peculiar phenomenon endured to the present day.

Wang Qiupo did not live in Tianliang City. Instead, he had built a thatched cottage at the foot of Liangshan Mountain, outside the city walls.

Remote as the location was, sycophants eager to exploit his connections came to visit in an endless stream. Most were turned away at the door.

By the time Xu Bai arrived, a long queue had already formed before Wang Qiupo's gate. Over a dozen cultivators were standing in wait.

His arrival drew their gazes at once, and several even moved to offer him their place in line.

Xu Bai thanked each of them warmly and declined with a smile, winning the crowd's goodwill instantly.

They filled him in on the situation. "Old Wang's been in a foul mood lately, for reasons no one can make out. He's already turned away a hundred visitors in a row."

"Old Wang's always had a peculiar temperament. No one can ever tell what's going on in his head. But none of us will give up so easily. Who knows? When your turn comes, his mood might just happen to lift. It's happened before!"

"That's right. There was once a young Foundation Establishment cultivator whom no one knew, who had no backing whatsoever. After Old Wang recommended him, he rose to power overnight, securing a post within the Alliance's official structure."

The crowd buzzed on. All the while, Wang Qiupo's roar of "Leave!" rang out at intervals, and the line kept shrinking.

Those turned away left in varying states: some with heads hung low, others with poorly concealed anger on their faces.

None dared speak out of turn. Had they tried, Wang Qiupo would not have needed to intervene himself; the cultivators still waiting at the gate, each hoping to curry favor, would have happily restored order for him.

Xu Bai's expression did not change. He waited in silence.

When his turn came, he walked to the door and heard a low voice from within. "You, boy. What are you here for?"

Xu Bai's cultivation level was actually slightly higher than Wang Qiupo's. Yet the old man still addressed him this way.

The cultivators present showed no surprise.

Xu Bai was unbothered. He cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Senior, I'm here to..."

"Send you off to your death!"

His voice boomed like a bell, echoing at the foot of Liangshan Mountain.

Every cultivator present fell into stunned silence. They stared at Xu Bai, disbelief in their eyes, as if unable to accept that someone so handsome could say something so rude.

Many wore expressions of chagrin.

"Damn it. Now he's gone and infuriated Old Wang. We might not get to see him for months!"

But what came next surpassed all expectations.

For a moment, the thatched hut remained deathly silent.

Then Wang Qiupo's laughter rang out, loud and sudden.

The door crashed open, and Wang Qiupo abruptly stopped laughing. "Interesting. Come in, boy. Let me see just what gives you such a big mouth!"

Xu Bai's expression stayed calm as he walked slowly into the room.

The door closed again, sealing the interior from the world outside.

"You've got a good-looking face. You..." Wang Qiupo looked Xu Bai over, a strange color crossing his face.

Just as he was about to speak, Xu Bai cut him off. "Do you know your days are numbered?"

Wang Qiupo's eyes narrowed instantly. "You..."

"Do you want to die in a foreign land, or return to your roots to be laid to rest?" Xu Bai asked again, ignoring the old man's reaction.

"!"

Wang Qiupo shot up from the rattan lounge chair he had been lying on. The movement was impossibly swift.

"Young man, what exactly do you mean?" He gripped a wooden staff tightly in his right hand, its tip pressed against the ground. His eyes glinted with a dangerous light.

"Where is your hometown? The Paradise of No Troubles? The Land of Truth? Or the Celestial Realm Of Man's Dao?" Xu Bai showed no fear, meeting his gaze directly, each word deliberate.

In that instant, a violent storm of spiritual qi gathered around Wang Qiupo's body, and the wooden crutch in his hand began to emit a pale green light.

He seemed to have already braced himself for a desperate, life-or-death struggle.

But at that very moment, a single sentence from Xu Bai made him reconsider everything.

"Do you want to go home?

"Our Heaven-Toppling Society can help you."

Xu Bai offered a sincere smile.

1. Monk’s face: the person you are dealing with. Buddha's face: the higher power behind them ☜