Below the southern peak of Shaoyang Mountain.
As an hour passed, Li Xuan's complexion grew increasingly pale.
Even though Li Xuan's divine soul had reached the peak of the Wandering God level, deducing events from tens of thousands of years ago was still a strenuous task. The screen projection above his head had also become somewhat blurry.
Perhaps sensing his weakening divine soul, Li Xuan rapidly formed hand seals. The formation core beneath him instantly brightened, and strands of spiritual energy from heaven and earth surged towards him from all directions.
Boom!
A faint rumble sounded, and the screen projection cleared up once more. Li Xuan furrowed his brow slightly, changed his hand seals again, and the image instantly sharpened further.
Puff!
Several minutes later, Li Xuan spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes snapping open. Without taking the time to wipe the bloodstains from his lips, Li Xuan’s gaze fixed on the screen projection above, a hint of anticipation flickering in his eyes.
Within the screen projection, the image slowly rolled. A figure drifted forward, their face obscured by the darkness of the night. However, Li Xuan watched the projection with bated breath, the identity of this person about to be revealed.
"The vast universe holds myriad unknown changes. This journey has yielded much. It is a pity that from this world onward, no more cultivators will ever appear. Alas, what a lament."
A sigh echoed, and the figure in the screen slowly came to a halt. Then, with a mere wave of their hand, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged towards them. Following that, top-grade spirit stones were shot out from their sleeves, rapidly piling up on the ground.
"So this is the origin of this grand formation," Li Xuan murmured softly as he observed this. His gaze intensified, burning with curiosity about the figure's identity.
"Fuxi Bagua Array, condense!" As the man's voice faded from the screen, a colossal formation descended.
Amidst the mingling of flying stones and top-grade spirit stones, it interlocked like the construction of a wall. The figure at the center of the formation gradually became clearer under the ethereal light.
Upon seeing this, Li Xuan couldn't help but lean forward slightly.
"Huh?" Just as the man's face was half-revealed, a sound of surprise suddenly emanated from him.
Simultaneously, the screen projection above Li Xuan showed signs of disintegration.
"Unexpectedly, someone from later generations has arrived at this place. This is rather surprising. This pearl, I shall leave it for you."
As Li Xuan's screen projection began to dissipate, it inexplicably stopped. A voice then emerged from the projection. After uttering these words, the projection finally vanished completely.
As the image faded, Li Xuan's eyes were filled with shock. The voice of the speaker seemed somewhat familiar.
What stunned Li Xuan even more was that the last sentence in the image was clearly directed at him!
Li Xuan took a deep breath and stood up, his gaze rapidly sweeping across his surroundings.
In the second before the image vanished, Li Xuan had seen the person’s hand produce a spirit pearl. With a press of their palm, that pearl had disappeared.
But Li Xuan knew that this pearl was something left for him by that individual. If the pearl truly existed, then everything that had happened would be real.
However, after sensing with his divine sense, Li Xuan found no trace of any spirit pearl. After searching in vain, he couldn't help but frown.
If the spirit pearl left by that senior truly existed here, Li Xuan, with his current divine soul, should have detected it. Yet, the image had been derived from his soul's deductions, which were never wrong.
"No! I've been thinking incorrectly from the start. The deduction result cannot be wrong. The senior left a spirit pearl, and thus it must exist. The reason I cannot find it is because I've been searching in the wrong direction. The reason this formation still exists is because the spirit pearl is right beneath the heart of the formation!"
After a moment of rapid thought, Li Xuan's gaze fell upon the area beneath the formation core.
His previous searches had been around the vicinity of the formation's center, while the formation core directly beneath where he stood had become a blind spot. Furthermore, the spiritual energy emanating from the formation core must have affected his senses.
Now, as Li Xuan's divine sense probed downwards, he detected an egg-sized spirit pearl beneath the formation core. It emanated no aura yet its existence was undeniable.
Li Xuan withdrew his divine sense, a smile finally gracing his face.
...
"Are you Li Xuan's friends?" Upon returning home, Li Wan'er immediately saw Yifan and Su Qing.
After Yifan took the initiative to greet her, she quietly explained that their visit was for Li Xuan.
Li Wan'er, who harbored complex feelings for Li Xuan, found herself cooperating with Su Qing and Yifan. After dinner, the three women settled into a quiet bar outside Jinxiu District.
"Uncle Li Xuan has good taste. Sister Wan'er is quite beautiful," Yifan said with a smile, nodding her head.
Li Wan'er's face flushed slightly, and she then let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
"I'm very curious, why did you get divorced?" Su Qing, unlike Yifan, was more reserved. After taking a sip of her coffee, she asked directly.
"We were, in fact, only married in name," Li Wan'er answered truthfully without hesitation. Moreover, Li Wan'er felt that Yifan and Su Qing were not ordinary women.
This sixth sense, at times, was something Li Wan'er couldn't explain herself, yet it was so strong.
"Married in name?" Yifan's curiosity piqued. The volume of her voice involuntarily rose a notch.
Beside her, Su Qing's eyes flashed with a hint of understanding, and she then looked at Li Wan'er with curiosity.
"My family wanted me to marry a young master from high society, and I refused. So, I found him. He had saved me once before," Li Wan'er said, glancing at Yifan and Su Qing, realizing they both harbored some affection for Li Xuan.
Although she didn't know how they met Li Xuan, Li Wan'er recounted the entire story.
"Good heavens, I never imagined Uncle Li Xuan had such a manly side. But after living with you for five years, Sister Wan'er, didn't Uncle Li Xuan ever get tempted?" Yifan exclaimed in disbelief after hearing Li Wan'er's account.
"If he had been tempted even once, perhaps things wouldn't be like this now. But if he had acted on his impulse then, he might not have stayed at home. Such matters in this world are not for you or me to fully comprehend."
Li Wan'er chuckled wryly and shook her head, a hint of complexity in her expression as she sighed softly.
"Sister Wan'er, it sounds like you regret it," Yifan teased.
It was evident that Li Wan'er had developed feelings for Li Xuan, but it was now a thing of the past, and many things could no longer be undone.
"It's all in the past; dwelling on it is meaningless. Tell me about yourselves. If I recall correctly, Li Xuan didn't know many people before. And yet, two such beautiful women," Li Wan'er shook her head and then asked Yifan and Su Qing.
"As for us, we actually only met Uncle Li Xuan not too long ago..."