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.