Chapter 690: World Breach Leaves A Mirage

The news that a primordial Tianling Flower specimen had appeared in Tianling Province swept through the Myriad Immortals Alliance like a whirlwind.

In that single instant, every cultivator who had been fawning over the Tianling Flowers in their own collections found the act utterly tasteless.

"So primordial specimens truly do exist in this world..."

Cultivators cast aside their so-called top-grade and first-grade Tianling Flowers like worn-out sandals and began a frantic search for primordial specimens.

None of them anticipated that after dozens of days, with nearly half the Myriad Immortals Alliance's strength mobilized, they would be no closer to finding a legendary primordial Tianling Flower specimen.

Doubts about the news’ authenticity inevitably surfaced.

But a rigorous interrogation of the cultivators who had witnessed the event that day confirmed it: the incident had truly happened.

The Tianling Flower shown that day was, without a doubt, a true primordial specimen.

Now things got interesting.

Everyone knew Tianling Province had undergone a great transformation, and that no Tianling Flower free of blood aura could be grown there anymore.

The flower displayed by that breathtakingly beautiful cultivator was not a Tianling Flower in its natural state. It seemed to be sealed within a thin sheet of paper.

The answer screamed to be spoken.

That white-robed cultivator had used some method to preserve a seventeen-petal Tianling Flower before the great battle in Tianling Province. This was very likely the only primordial Tianling Flower specimen in the world.

And it wasn't the kind that existed for a few breaths before vanishing. This primordial specimen could endure through time. Its owner could bring it out at any moment for others to admire at their leisure.

The implications were staggering. An object's value lay in its rarity, and this was the only one of its kind in the world. In other words, it was priceless.

The world began searching frantically for the white-robed cultivator who had appeared that day holding the primordial Tianling Flower specimen.

But the man had vanished from the face of the earth. No one saw him again, and no one could trace his past. He might as well have fallen from the sky fully grown, since no one knew his origins or his name.

Even Dao Unity cultivators who used divination arts could not pry into his whereabouts.

Opinions varied.

Some claimed he was a spy for the Five Elders Council, and that the primordial Tianling Flower specimen was a fake meant solely to disrupt the newly flourishing Tianling Flower market.

Others believed he was probably a rogue cultivator from the mountains and wilds, someone who made his home in some remote grotto-heaven. His sudden appearance and equally sudden disappearance were simply a ploy to drive up the price.

Just as the world grew increasingly curious about the mysterious Xu Bai...

Xu Bai had already returned to the Beastkin World.

He merged his own providence with the minor world's heavenly providence, becoming one with the world itself and resisting the divination arts that occasionally targeted him.

"Sect Leader, rest assured. Being within a minor world already weakens any perception of you from the external world. With Old Fang and me working together to obscure the heavenly mechanisms for you..."

Liu San stroked his beard, his tone full of confidence. "As long as no Eternal Heavenly Venerable makes a move, they will never find this place."

Xu Bai, however, wasn't particularly worried about this.

Besides the defenses Liu San had mentioned, he had also employed the secret art A Single Hand Veils the Heavens. Even the Xuan Net could be deceived by this ability. He believed no one in the current Myriad Immortals Alliance could divine his location.

Of course, if the Heavenly Venerable Dao Teacher himself deemed this matter important enough to visit in person, then Xu Bai would simply accept it and Return to Truth on the spot.

After all, his true self remained millions of li away in the great whirlpool, perfectly safe.

"Sect Leader, this move of playing hard to get was masterfully done. According to the feedback from the disciples outside, those fellows are all frantic, scratching their heads. They're all willing to pay a high price just to catch a glimpse of the legendary primordial specimen of the Tianling Flower." Fang Zaiji looked at Xu Bai with something like admiration, his excitement plain.

"Some cultivators have even announced they'd trade a Dao Unity technique for the primordial specimen. Tsk tsk..."

Xu Bai's expression remained unchanged. "No rush. Let them stew a little longer."

"As you wish." Fang Zaiji smiled knowingly. "But Sect Leader, the commotion you've stirred up this time is a bit too big. I'm afraid that when you head out again, those artifacts I forged for you won't hold up."

He frowned, worry clouding his face. "If three or five Dao Unity cultivators agree to attack together, this avatar of yours will be in real danger."

Xu Bai's face twitched. "Rest assured, I have my own plans. Mister Fang, why don't you go study the true Medicine King Cauldron?"

Fang Zaiji chuckled, his form flickering and vanishing.

"Old Liu, I have a task for you," Xu Bai said abruptly after Fang Zaiji had gone.

"Young Master, what are your instructions?" Liu San asked solemnly.

"Find this person for me." Xu Bai projected an image of Jiao Xiuyuan into the air. "He has tens of thousands of avatars scattered throughout the entire Xuanhuang World, one stationed in the Thousand Li Hall of every province.

"I could contact him directly myself, but my true self and my avatar are both tied up for now. And since you don't have an identity within the Myriad Immortals Alliance, you can't enter the Alliance's sky cities. So I'll have to trouble you to search the wilds outside. Focus your efforts on the ruins of ancient sects. It shouldn't be too difficult.

"Once you find him, give him this. Tell him I have a business proposition to discuss with him..." Xu Bai laid out the instructions carefully.

"Young Master, rest assured."

Having received his orders, Liu San immediately left Longevity Valley to search for Jiao Xiuyuan's trail.

Xu Bai turned his attention back to his true self.

The Great Whirlpool, Ningxi Province.

"Fellow Daoist, look! Isn't that the Time Mirage you spoke of?" Dongfang Yao pointed at the massive pillar of light shooting up from the whirlpool, his voice brimming with excitement.

He was practically shouting at the top of his lungs, yet the sound was nearly swallowed by the raging storm. Even his divine sense transmissions came through distorted by the chaotic spiritual qi surrounding them.

Over these months of studying the breach's power alongside Dongfang Yao, Li Fan had noticed something unusual brewing within the great whirlpool. Dongfang Yao, though, didn't seem to sense it.

Sure enough, on this very day, Dongfang Yao, who had been plunging into the heart of the whirlpool to temper his body against the World Breach fissures, suddenly fell into a daze.

Even as the World Breach's power tore several terrible wounds across his body, leaving his blood streaming down, he didn't move.

A towering mountain peak encircled by a crimson serpent inexplicably appeared within the whirlpool.

From its summit, a blazing white light burst forth. Like the sharpest sword blade, it tore through space, billowing upward until it pierced the very heavens.

The world shuddered. The mountain peak began to crumble.

The crimson serpent, screeching in fury, was forced to retreat.

"Breaching the world's boundaries. So this is what a true World Breach looks like..."

Dongfang Yao stared at the magnificent scene, murmuring to himself in a daze.

Li Fan, however, wore a grave expression.

A Time Mirage hardly appears once in a hundred years. And yet, I've stumbled upon another one.