The elderly man with white hair seemed somewhat familiar, yet Fan Lin couldn't recall where he had seen him before. He appeared gentle and friendly, just like a kindly grandfather, radiating a positive impression.
Of course, Fan Lin didn't believe that this person was an ordinary mortal. It was undoubtedly his cultivation level that was beyond what Fan Lin could perceive at the moment. So Fan Lin became even more cautious.
He paid his respects, "Greetings, senior."
The white-haired man responded with a warm smile, "No need to be so formal; I'm just an old man who hasn't died yet."
After a pause, he asked kindly, "You want to hand over the 'Cloud Water Map'?"
Li Fan nodded and then handed over the model.
The white-haired man accepted the miniature Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, carefully examining it. His eyes filled with boundless nostalgia.
"That's right, this is it."
"Han Hai, Taiyi, Fu Yun..."
"It's been a long time."
Seemingly lost in memories, the old man's gaze became somewhat cloudy.
Hearing the words of the old man, Fan Lin's heart skipped a beat. He stood quietly to the side, not daring to move.
From the old man's words, it seemed that he was of the same generation as that turtle-snake Taiyi. The destruction of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace happened many years ago. How could this guy have survived all this time? After all, following the Great Calamity, cultivators were generally targeted by the malicious will of the heavens and the earth, and they couldn't live as long as the ancient cultivators. Living for a thousand years was already very difficult. What kind of cultivation level was needed to live this long? Soul Transformation? Dao Integration? Fan Lin didn't dare to speculate but became even more cautious.
In a world where different schools of cultivation couldn't coexist, someone who had managed to survive from the time of the Great Calamity until now was a big shot. If anyone thought they'd be as "kind" as they appeared, they were being too naive.
The white-haired man, seeing Fan Lin somewhat nervous, chuckled.
"How is the scene in the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace today?" he asked.
Fan Lin then gave a detailed description of the situation, mentioning how Qin Tang had turned into a statue, the Gu Daoist who refined elixirs using his own body, and Taiyi, whose body was stabbed with broken swords.
"If it weren't for some special circumstances preventing me from entering the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, I wouldn't idly sit by watching them suffer."
After a long silence, the old man sighed deeply.
"To be able to come out of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace alive, you are indeed quite resourceful," he praised Fan Lin after sizing him up.
"It's just a matter of luck," Fan Lin modestly replied.
"I have a request, would you be willing to accept it?" the white-haired man suddenly asked.
"Senior, please speak."
"I need you to pay a visit to the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace for me. Place this object there." The white-haired man took out a small white jade figurine and handed it to Fan Lin.
The figurine didn't seem to have any special aura; it appeared to be made of ordinary white jade. The figurine's appearance was identical to the old man standing before Fan Lin.
"Since I can't personally enter the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, I will use this figurine to accompany them continuously. As for the reward..."
After contemplating for a moment, the white-haired man pointed at Fan Lin's forehead.
Suddenly, Fan Lin's mind was flooded with countless pieces of information. Even with his Qi Condensation Intermediate Stage level of mental power, he couldn't help but feel dizzy, and his head began to throb.
When he regained his senses, the image of the white-haired man had already disappeared from the Tianxuan Mirror, and he had received 100,000 contribution points.
Slowly, Fan Lin organized the vast amount of information in his mind. After a long while, he finally understood the reward from the white-haired man.
It was the "Heavenly Doctor's Immortal Sutra."
It wasn't a cultivation technique but instead a medical treatise. It encompassed knowledge about human physiology, pathology, diagnosis, treatment, and various aspects of medicine. The scope of the treatise even extended to all kinds of animals and plants in the world, making it incredibly comprehensive.
The volume of information contained within was massive. Fan Lin estimated that just a single read-through would take at least a dozen years.
This vast and invaluable repository of knowledge had been casually given to Fan Lin by the white-haired man.
"This is indeed a blessing, but unfortunately, learning it is too mentally exhausting. I can only put it aside for now and slowly digest it later."
Fan Lin couldn't afford to neglect the request from the white-haired man, especially when he had already received the reward in advance. So, Fan Lin visited the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace once again.
He had expected that, upon entering the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, his clone would relive Qin Tang's dream-like test. However, after the figurine emitted a burst of white light from his storage ring, Fan Lin found himself standing right in front of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace's gate.
The figurine left his storage ring and flew into the sky, slowly dissolving like ice melting.
"Is the task considered completed like this? It seems too simple and smooth," Fan Lin mumbled to himself.
After waiting for a while, nothing unusual happened within the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace.
"I wonder what this figurine is for."
Fan Lin couldn't discern any mysteries in it, so he decided to leave. Safely back inside the Tianxuan Mirror, Fan Lin stared at his balance of 100,000 contribution points, lost in thought.
Originally, Fan Lin had planned to have his clone acquire the necessary cultivation techniques and treasures and then give them to his main body, much like the way Xiao Heng had exchanged the "Minor Yan Water Technique" in his previous life. However, after encountering the white-haired man, Fan Lin dispelled this idea.
At present, it seemed best to avoid any connection between the clone and the main body. This white-haired man gave Fan Lin a strong sense of danger. As the clone had already fallen under his gaze, if the main body and the clone had direct contact, there was a risk that the connection between them would be discovered.
Even with the mystical Sun Stealing Technique, in this dangerous world of cultivation, people could be refined into Heavenly Treasures. So, no matter how cautious he was, it wasn't excessive.
As for whether these 100,000 contribution points would go to waste in the hands of the clone and couldn't be spent, there was no need to worry about that. After all, the most valuable thing in this world was various types of knowledge, including cultivation techniques!
While the clone browsed through various knowledge, the main body would be also learning. So, these 100,000 contribution points would be effectively spent by the clone in the same way they would be spent by the main body.
With a focused mind, Fan Lin started by searching for information about the "Ancient War."
During his time in the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, he was greatly interested in the constant references made by Qin Tang and the Gu Daoist cultivator about a war that appeared to be quite tragic, causing them to remember it even after becoming anomalies.
Quickly, Fan Lin found some fragmentary information. Unfortunately, all the related records were vague and incomplete, with the rest being lost to history.
What could be confirmed was that there was indeed such a great war. This war seemed to have lasted for a long time, starting even before the Immortal Ancestor's Preaching. It had continued until the arrival of the Great Calamity.
Fan Lin next searched for information about Heavenly Treasures.