Chapter 230: Chapter 357-360: New Life Territory Beyond the Abyss (5k+ words)
"Bravery in the face of death, sacrificing oneself for others?"
"If I didn't have [Still True], allowing me to start anew at any time, I would never make such a choice!"
"It really leaves an unpleasant feeling!"
In the sea of mist, Li Fan activated the Purple Sky Divine Thunder Escape, transforming into a purple stream of light and swiftly heading towards the Eternal Immortal Stronghold.
A lingering sense of depression and frustration lingered in his heart.
Even the previously always effective Yellow Profound Heart Refining Spell had, surprisingly, reversed its usual speed and was running extremely slowly.
It seemed like a heavy millstone, slowly grinding down his inner thoughts.
It was different from Li Fan's previous wrong cultivation method, which was all about brutal crushing.
At this moment, the Refining Heart Spell refined the rebellious emotions arising from going against Dao heart, transforming them into strands of chilly breath that flowed into the depths of Li Fan's body and mind, nourishing him.
The cool sensation slightly eased his restless emotions.
Practicing Dao heart in reverse is, in fact, actively pursuing [Hard to Please].
This naturally made Li Fan, who had always been willful, feel extremely uncomfortable.
Fortunately, the Yellow Profound Heart Refining Spell did not disappoint Li Fan.
Carefully experiencing the effect of the cold breath on his body, Li Fan's mind suddenly shook.
"This feeling..."
"It's surprisingly similar to when I took [Intention Horse] back then?!"
"The Clear Mind Spell before could enhance my divine sense, and now, correctly practicing the Refining Heart Spell can actually strengthen my divine soul?"
Li Fan's mind was in turmoil.
"No wonder its cultivation level is still above the Dao-level technique 'Cloud and Water Illusory Dream Technique.'"
"Techniques that enhance divine sense, I have seen one or two in the special exchange list of achievements in the Tianxuan Mirror."
"But those that can enhance divine soul..."
"This is truly unheard of."
Divine soul is internal, divine sense is external.
Strengthening the divine soul will naturally correspondingly strengthen the divine sense.
Divine sense is like muscles, which can be continuously strengthened through postnatal training and cultivation.
But the divine soul is like bones, with a predetermined form from birth. Only when there is a breakthrough in one's realm, almost changing the form of life, or through the consumption of treasures like [Intention Horse], can it be strengthened.
The former human cultivator, Zhang Zhiliang, once said that the [Intention Horse] that can strengthen the divine soul is very precious.
Although [Intention Horse] is good, its enhancement effect is limited.
However, the Yellow Profound Heart Refining Spell, which enhances the divine soul, seems to have no upper limit when viewed from a distance!
As long as the Dao heart is constantly practiced in reverse, it seems that the divine soul can be endlessly strengthened!
It should be noted that when the divine soul becomes strong enough, it can be used directly as a means of killing the enemy.
For example, the terrifying Thousand-Faced Demon Lord officially announced by the Wanxian Alliance has abandoned the physical body and exists directly as a entity of the divine soul.
Relying on his powerful divine soul, he freely performs body possession.
"I practice the Yellow Profound Heart Refining Spell, constantly strengthening my divine soul. One day, even if there is a real Thousand-Faced Demon Lord, I'm afraid he won't be my opponent."
"And..."
"[Still True] and I are actually one. After each reincarnation, everything in the world returns to the chosen anchor point."
"Only my changes still exist."
"Even if I don't choose to retain anything, it's still the same."
"When I was still a mortal, my will became stronger with each continuous reincarnation. Later, I could even control the Tai Yan Boat with the body of a mortal. This is evidence."
"Will, divine soul..."
"Doesn't this mean that everything in the world returns to its origin through my choices."
"But my divine soul is constantly growing."
"Someday, even if I don't choose to retain my cultivation, relying on a powerful divine soul will be enough to crush everything?"
The more he thought about it, the more unbelievable Li Fan felt.
"The Yellow Profound Heart Refining Spell can be considered a heaven-defying divine technique, hidden in the commonplace Yellow Profound Clear Mind Spell?"
"What is this..."
Instinctively, Li Fan felt that there must be some conspiracy hidden in this.
With a puzzled heart, after a struggle, Li Fan still decided to continue practicing.
"With such a technique in front of me, I can't give up."
"Even if there is some conspiracy, the strengthening of my divine soul is real."
"If there is really some hidden hand behind the scenes that can ignore the influence of [Still True], then I will accept it."
"If not, then no matter how many calculations there are, they are useless in front of [Still True]."
Once he made a decision, Li Fan immediately felt relieved.
The actual effect of the Yellow Profound Heart Refining Spell far exceeded his expectations.
"This method of practicing Dao heart in reverse is a bit painful."
Li Fan faintly felt that it wasn't as simple as saying things that contradicted Dao heart randomly; it required the integration of knowledge and action, with one's actual deeds also going against Dao heart to become the nourishment for the divine soul.
This was also the reason why he entered the white fog alone.
"For others, the combination of the demonic tide and the devouring primordial white fog is indeed a dangerous and life-threatening place."
"But for me, the level of danger is not that high."
"The only thing I fear is a method that can instantly render me defenseless."
"Whether facing the white fog or the demonic sound, if there is really a fatal danger, I have time to calmly activate Still True."
"Overall, the benefits of this choice far outweigh the risks."
"On the contrary, the Wanxian Alliance territory, which seems to have little risk, is full of dangers if you want to practice Dao heart in reverse."
"If you are not careful, you may attract the presence of Dao-level experts."
While Li Fan pondered, he flew towards his destination.
With the protection of the Black Death Seal, blocking the primordial white fog, Li Fan's only concern was the occasional attacks of the demonic tide.
Whenever he heard the murmuring whispers, Li Fan would stop flying as a precaution.
He would light the Extinguishing Luminous Glass Lamp and wait quietly until the demonic sound weakened before setting out again.
Although there were dangers all around, with Li Fan's careful actions, he traveled safely all the way.
Soon, Li Fan had been flying in the white fog for more than two days.
The five elements in his body were harmonized, and there was no need to worry about the depletion of spiritual power.
However, Li Fan's expression gradually became serious.
"If it's only this level of threat, Cold Shouldering should not have any problems."
"He hasn't returned for a long time. What has he encountered?"
"And why is this growing unease in my heart?"
Li Fan became more vigilant, releasing his divine sense to explore the surroundings.
However, in the misty sea without the demonic tide, it was quiet.
After searching for a long time, he didn't find the source of the threat.
Li Fan could only respond to challenges as they came and continue flying towards the direction where he sensed the Eternal Immortal Stronghold.
So, two more days passed.
Li Fan, flying at high speed, suddenly stopped.
His face became unsightly.
"I finally understand why Cold Shouldering hasn't returned. So, it's like this."
At his speed, he should have arrived at the Eternal Immortal Stronghold in at most two days.
But now, four days had passed since Li Fan left the Jiaxu Base.
In his senses, the Eternal Immortal Stronghold was not far ahead.
But...
Even with such a short distance, no matter how he flew, he couldn't cross it.
"Clearly, it seems to be within arm's reach, but it's like an insurmountable barrier. We call these locations in the white fog barrier the 'Maze.'"
The words of Huangfu Song echoed in Li Fan's ears.
He temporarily gave up flying, stood in mid-air, and his expression changed.
"Unbeknownst to us, a maze has quietly formed on the unavoidable path between the Jiaxu Base and the Eternal Immortal Stronghold outside the Abyss."
"Silent, unknown."
"Cold Shouldering should have lost his way in this maze."
"And now, I'm in the same situation."
Li Fan looked ahead, as if he could see a giant green stone palm just in front.
But he couldn't reach it.
"As close as it is, it's like a distant horizon."
Li Fan sighed faintly.
However, even though he accidentally fell into a desperate situation, Li Fan wouldn't immediately use Still True.
There are still many unfinished matters in this world. Giving up so easily would be a pity.
It also fits Li Fan's character of not giving up until he reaches the Yellow River.
So, Li Fan decided to see if he could find a way to cross this newly formed maze before he ran out of fuel and supplies.
The so-called maze is ultimately an extremely vast space.
Not an absolute dead end.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 358: Fog Over the Graveyard
Li Fan recalled various anecdotes about mazes that Huangfu Qi had told him before.
"Some are purely vast, endless spaces with nothing else."
"While some, like the Abyssal Roar, hide many strange and dangerous things."
"But everything is concealed in the vast white fog, and cultivators who mistakenly enter are like blindfolded, making it difficult to perceive the full picture."
"I brought supplies, and they can last about fifteen days. Whether I can cross this maze depends on my luck in this life."
Collecting his thoughts, Li Fan decided not to continue flying in the direction of the Eternal Immortal Stronghold.
Instead, he marked it as the "front" and flew in the opposite direction, towards the "down."
In the usual White Fog Barrier, there was still land.
However, it was a silent, flat land with no traces of any other life or structures. Even normal undulations were rare.
It was said that walking on it would suppress the innate yearning for life, creating various impulses for self-termination.
On the other hand, a maze was an independent and entirely new space.
Whether it had a "bottom" depended on the specific situation of the maze.
For the Abyssal Roar, it was unfathomable.
Li Fan needed to explore to know more about this maze.
As for why he flew "down" instead of "up" directly out of the maze...
That was because Huangfu Song had mentioned earlier that entering a maze was equivalent to entering a borderless heavenly realm.
Being trapped in a maze, flying alone was almost impossible to escape.
Only by finding the connection between the maze and normal space, the so-called "exit," could he leave.
Using the Abyssal Roar as an example, the green stone palm permanently sealed the Abyss. If a member of the Qingxuan Army accidentally fell into the Abyss, as long as they entered the territory of the Abyss, even if they seemed to be only at the edge, separated by just a thin line from the Eternal Immortal Stronghold, they could return with just one step.
However, due to this short distance and not being in the same space, it might be impossible to cross, even if one kept flying until death.
Since the establishment of the Broken Palms Immortal City, there hadn't been any cultivator who accidentally fell into the Abyss and could come back alive.
The exit of the maze connected two different spaces.
Generally, it would look different from the scenery inside the maze, and even with the white fog covering it, it could still be sensed.
This was also Li Fan's hope for escaping.
Running the Purple Sky Escaping Technique at full power, Li Fan continued to descend for about half a day.
Suddenly, his expression changed.
His divine sense sensed that there was something in front of him, not far away, seemingly within reach, obstructing his way.
However, in the primordial white fog, the sensing distance of divine sense was greatly reduced.
By the time he realized it, it was too late to dodge, and he was about to collide head-on.
Two pitch-black rays shot out from Li Fan's eyes.
Several times faster than his transformed purple light, they annihilated the hidden shadows in the white fog ahead.
Under the Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword, everything in the way turned into nothingness.
This also avoided Li Fan's fate of being knocked senseless.
Li Fan then slowed down, remained vigilant, and approached slowly.
After seeing what was blocking his way, Li Fan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
It wasn't some strange creature but a collapsed and leaning building.
The center of the building had a large hole pierced by the Annihilation Sword, but the original appearance could still be vaguely seen.
The whole building, carved from a giant stone, was clear in its decorations and gates.
Li Fan didn't rush to enter the collapsed building but continued to fly down.
Soon, he landed on the ground.
There was a creaking sound, as if he had stepped on something.
Sweeping his divine sense, Li Fan's heart tightened.
Because what he had stepped on was a living person!
With angry staring eyes, a terrifying expression on his face, he glared at Li Fan!
"How could there be a living person in the maze?" This thought flashed through Li Fan's mind, and his body instinctively reacted.
李凡's body quickly retreated, and the Five Elements Annihilation Sword was unsheathed once again.
However, just as he faced a formidable enemy, something astonishing happened to Li Fan.
The "living person" he had just interacted with had no reaction under Li Fan's gaze. In an instant, the body turned into gray particles, scattered on the ground. In the blink of an eye, the once living person turned into ashes.
"Hmm? Not a living person, but already dead?" Li Fan frowned slightly. Having rich tomb-robbing experience, he was familiar with such scenes. Objects sealed for thousands of years could look lively one moment and decayed the next after exposure to the outside world. However, the situation in this realm was even more extreme, turning directly into smoke and disappearing completely.
"What's going on here..." Remaining vigilant, Li Fan carefully searched the surroundings. The scene he witnessed made even the blood-hardened Li Fan feel uneasy. Within a radius of a hundred yards, there were ruins everywhere, and many bodies lay scattered in every corner of the ruins. They maintained the appearance and attire they had in life, their faces filled with despair and resentment, as if they had encountered something they intensely hated and feared.
Time seemed frozen at the moment of their death, as if a sudden disaster had struck, causing everyone in the ruins to simultaneously lose their lives. No wounds, no bloodstains, just an inexplicable death. Like the body Li Fan accidentally stepped on, as long as there was contact with Li Fan, they would turn into ashes in an instant, dissipating completely.
What frightened Li Fan was that these individuals were clearly not ordinary people. The storage rings they wore and the various magical treasures in their hands all indicated their identities as cultivators. However, in the face of an unknown existence, they were as powerless as ordinary people, waiting for death.
Approaching one of the bodies, Li Fan attempted to remove the storage ring in the hope of finding clues about these inexplicable deaths among the cultivators. Unfortunately, the result was the same as with the other bodies. The moment Li Fan touched them, they turned into smoke and dissipated.
After several attempts, Li Fan had to give up. Suppressing the chill in his heart, he continued to explore outward. The scene remained the same: vast ruins resembling a giant graveyard, burying countless bodies that had died who knows how long ago. It left Li Fan somewhat numb.
Accelerating his flying speed, he swiftly moved out of the range of these ruins.
"It seems like this is some kind of gathering point, where cultivators from different sects have gathered for some reason."
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 359: Unusual Turn and Strange Injustice
Outside the ruins, the shadows of bodies finally disappeared.
In their place was a desolate and silent land.
Keeping his goal in mind, Li Fan retraced the ruins after not finding any useful information. After marking the location, he chose a direction, flew close to the ground, and resumed his journey.
Two days later, Li Fan found a new ruin in the sea of mist. This ruin was several times larger than the first one, and the scenes of countless bodies were even more tragic.
Their vivid expressions made Li Fan feel as if he were witnessing a tragedy.
Suppressing the unease in his heart, Li Fan searched around. Although he found no valuable information, he noticed something peculiar about some of the bodies.
Most cultivators in the first and second ruins died instantly, leaving no information besides their terrified expressions. However, among these individuals, one or two had relatively stronger cultivation bases. Before their deaths, they stared in a direction with resentment and unwillingness, as if the entity that took their lives was there.
Years after their deaths, they still maintained these postures.
This became a guide for Li Fan in the white mist.
Following the indications of the bodies, Li Fan quickly found the third ruin after flying for a day. He continued this pattern, following the path of the assailant. The fourth, fifth, sixth ruins...
Until his supplies were left for only three more days.
Li Fan had encountered eleven ruins filled with bodies along the way.
While rushing towards the twelfth ruin, something strange happened.
After flying for a while, Li Fan unexpectedly returned to the eleventh ruin. Confirming his previous mark, Li Fan realized it wasn't an illusion.
Undeterred, he set off again, only to find himself back at the starting point.
After pondering for a moment, Li Fan didn't panic.
On the third attempt, he slowed down, continuously sensing the direction of the eleventh ruin while flying. Finally, he understood what was happening.
At a certain point during his flight, he unknowingly encountered something. The direction he thought was forward suddenly changed without any trace, leading him backward.
During the first two attempts, Li Fan was unaware, thinking he was flying forward when, in reality, he had turned around.
Standing before the area causing the change, Li Fan's expression was serious.
Entering it, his position didn't change, but the eleventh ruin, which was initially sensed behind him, appeared in front.
Frowning, Li Fan turned back and tried to move away from the eleventh ruin. However, the direction became chaotic again.
With experience, Li Fan kept the eleventh ruin constantly behind him.
Adjusting his direction continuously, he finally arrived at the twelfth ruin after twists and turns, spending two more days.
Among all the ruins, this one was the largest, but strangely, no traces of bodies were found on the outskirts.
Something was amiss.
Li Fan sharpened his focus and explored the central area of the ruin.
Silence surrounded him.
In this isolated realm within the mist, even the demonic sounds from the Abyss could not reach.
Apart from the sounds he made, Li Fan hadn't heard any other noises for a long time.
As he approached the center of the twelfth ruin, a sudden rustling sound made his body tense.
Through the somewhat thinning white mist, Li Fan saw on the ground not far away a cultivator lying face-up, but with limbs strangely twisted downward.
His limbs were irregularly broken.
Toes and fingers were twisted together like twists.
Despite these gruesome limbs, the cultivator crawled in circles slowly and laboriously.
Seemingly tireless.
No sense of how long it had been, and it seemed like it would never stop.
Li Fan watched the creature ahead that had survived in the white mist for an unknown duration, making his scalp tingle, and his heart almost stopped.
Holding his breath, he slowly retreated.
However, the perception of this contorted creature seemed exceptionally keen.
Immediately sensing the arrival of a stranger.
Its drooping head snapped up, folding onto its belly.
Then, it turned 180 degrees, using its face to stare directly at Li Fan.
The face of the contorted creature, as seen by Li Fan, made his heart skip a beat.
The creature's facial features were completely inverted and misplaced.
Two pairs of eyes were located where the mouth should be, constantly moving strangely on the face.
The nose was embedded inside the skull.
The mouth, following the continuous change in eye positions, kept opening and closing.
Inside were not tongues and teeth but other faces filled with blood.
Although the body of the contorted creature had become grotesque, its movements were exceptionally swift.
Hands and feet moved continuously, and in just a moment, it crawled to Li Fan's front with a rustling sound.
The monstrous blood face in the creature's mouth seemed about to cover Li Fan's face the next second.
Li Fan angrily shouted, "Die!"
The Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword continuously unleashed.
As his figure retreated, the Annihilation Sword never stopped.
However, to Li Fan's horror, the black sword light landing on the creature lost its usual annihilating effect.
The sound of bones continuously squeezing and twisting emanated from the creature.
Seeming completely indifferent, the creature only caused its body to stiffen for a moment.
Then it rushed towards Li Fan at an even faster speed.
Even after Li Fan unleashed hundreds of sword lights in succession, the creature took them all head-on without showing any signs of injury.
"Damn it!"
Seeing the contorted creature about to pounce, Li Fan cursed in his heart, ready to activate his True Annihilation.
The next moment, something unexpected happened.
The contorted creature approached Li Fan but did not launch an attack. Instead, it bent down and knelt.
Continuously kowtowing.
While kowtowing, it emitted sobbing cries.
Tears of blood flowed from its two pairs of constantly roving eyes.
In its mouth, it desperately wanted to say something.
But the mouth only consisted of ever-changing, weeping blood faces, unable to express its inner thoughts.
"What's going on?"
Li Fan, looking at the creature still wailing and kowtowing in front of him, was still in shock.
Temporarily escaping danger, Li Fan halted the activation of True Annihilation.
But in the face of the unknown, Li Fan refrained from acting recklessly.
He patiently distinguished the content of the creature's sobbing in its inverted mouth.
"Heaven..."
"Medical..."
"?"
Listening closely, perhaps due to the prolonged exposure to the Abyssal sounds, Li Fan once again heard these two words from the creature's mouth.
Suppressing his shock, Li Fan tried to ask.
"Heaven, medical?"
The contorted creature let out a miserable wail, forcefully banging its head on the ground.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 360: The Tragedy's True Culprit
"Dong! Dong! Dong!"
It seemed that when Li Fan uttered the words "Heavenly Doctor," the contorted creature's emotions were completely stirred up.
It forcefully slammed its head against the ground, creating cracks on the hard and desolate earth.
At the same time, it continuously emitted intermittent sobbing sounds, with blood tears flowing.
Although the creature's appearance was repulsive, the scene unexpectedly made Li Fan feel its inexplicable misery.
"The tragedy here was actually caused by the Heavenly Doctor?"
In Li Fan's mind, the image of the seemingly amiable old man next door appeared momentarily.
On the surface, he looked benevolent with a smiling face.
In reality, his actions were so horrifying to hear.
A chill ran through Li Fan's heart.
Thinking back to the wailing and resentment emitted by the Qin Hall members when they saw the Heavenly Doctor's statue in the Cloud Water Celestial Palace, it seemed that the downfall of the Celestial Palace was undoubtedly related to the Heavenly Doctor.
"However, where is this place? And why has it become a fragmented space appearing in the mist barrier?"
"Why did the Heavenly Doctor indiscriminately massacre these cultivators?"
"And...?"
Li Fan gradually calmed his shocked mind and looked at the still bowing contorted creature.
It had managed to survive in the Heavenly Doctor's hands and had been living alone in this maze for so long.
Li Fan's proud Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword couldn't even harm its fur.
All these signs indicated its formidable strength.
But now, it seemed like an innocent commoner, wrongly accused, kowtowing and pleading before Li Fan, the "official."
As someone who had served as an official for many years, Li Fan found this scene extremely familiar.
Why would this happen?
Certainly not because Li Fan's strength surpassed that of the contorted creature.
But because...
"Mistaken identity?"
"Yes, that must be it. As for why this contorted creature made a mistake..."
In Li Fan's limited cycle of life, "mistaken identity" had happened once.
To verify his guess, Li Fan internally circulated his golden core and individually summoned a strand of Heavenly Doom power, condensing it into a sword.
Sure enough, feeling the somewhat familiar aura, the contorted creature became even more excited.
Its cries were incessant, seemingly about to create a large hole in the ground.
"Heavenly Doom Sword, Old Fisherman."
Li Fan looked at the creature kneeling in front of him, a gleam flashing in his eyes.
"It pleads with me like this only because it senses the Heavenly Doom technique within my Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword, mistaking me for the master of the Heavenly Doom Sword."
"Even the Old Fisherman himself nearly made a mistake. This creature, imprisoned here for who knows how many years, acts on instinct due to its unclear consciousness."
"A case of mistaken identity is normal."
"In this case, the Old Fisherman might be a leader among the fallen cultivators in this maze. The destruction of Cloud Water Celestial Palace back then was undoubtedly related to a conflict with the Heavenly Doctor."
"The Heavenly Doom Sword is incomplete, and the Old Fisherman has lost his memory, going mad. Perhaps it's the handiwork of the Heavenly Doctor."
But soon, Li Fan felt something was amiss.
If it was really the Heavenly Doctor's doing, considering his current strength after living so many years, he should be much stronger than when the tragedy occurred.
He couldn't be unaware of the Old Fisherman's existence.
Why not eradicate him and let the Old Fisherman survive for so long?
Or was it truly as Li Fan had speculated before—had the Old Fisherman become something mysterious that couldn't be eliminated?
"Heavenly Doctor..."
Li Fan narrowed his eyes.
He was not a forgiving person. The Heavenly Doctor had once detected his true form using the "observing, listening, questioning, and examining" technique.
He directly shattered the protection of the Heavenly Mirror, attempting to capture him.
The fear he felt at that time was something Li Fan could never forget.
But due to the huge disparity in strength with the Heavenly Doctor, he had no choice but to keep the desire for revenge deep in his heart.
Now that he realized the Old Fisherman and the Heavenly Doctor might be archenemies, Li Fan felt a bit restless.
"Next life, maybe I can cause him some trouble."
"If Old Fisherman retrieves the Heavenly Doom Sword and happens to come knocking during the battle between the Heavenly Doctor and Master, it would be perfect."
Li Fan's eyes flickered. Combining his experiences from several lifetimes, he quickly formulated a rough plan in his mind.
With a cold laugh, he temporarily set that aside and looked again at the contorted creature in front of him.
"The Black Death Seal can persist for one more day, and perhaps the hope of escaping lies with it."
Li Fan retracted the power of the Heavenly Doom, attempting to appease and communicate with the creature.
Through words, he expressed that he had been deceived and trapped by the Heavenly Doctor, seeking an exit to seek revenge outside.
The contorted creature, almost devoid of consciousness, took almost half a day to understand Li Fan's meaning after stopping its kowtowing.
Ceasing its head-banging, it quieted down, and its head kept rotating as if contemplating something.
Not long after, it suddenly crawled outward with a rustling sound.
And from time to time, it turned its head, indicating for Li Fan to follow.
In the boundary near the twelfth relic, there were still chaotic forces, with the contorted creature leading the way intermittently appearing in the back or suddenly flashing forward. It constantly changed its position irregularly.
Li Fan closely followed behind the contorted creature, using it as a reference point, constantly adjusting the direction of his flight.
After a short while, the black light constantly wandering on the Black Death Seal became increasingly faint, seemingly on the verge of extinguishing.
And Li Fan, following the contorted creature, kept going deeper, as if reaching the central area of this maze.
In a circular pit that seemed to have been smashed by a meteorite, there were numerous figures standing.
They were like the ones Li Fan had seen before, all lifeless corpses.
But the difference was that these corpses no longer looked vivid, retaining their appearance from their past lives.
Instead, they had undergone eerie changes.
Some had petrified, becoming like statues.
Some had jadeified, emitting a brilliant glow.
And some had surfaces like tree bark, covered with uneven, cracked bark.
Most chilling for Li Fan was a kind of insectification.
They seemed normal at first glance, but upon closer inspection, their entire bodies had been hollowed out.
Only countless tiny black larvae filled their bodies.
Even after many years had passed, these larvae continued to squirm incessantly.
...
The closer they got to the center of the pit, the more pronounced the abnormalities became.
There were no longer standing corpses.
Instead, they had turned into an unknown substance adhering to the ground.
It seemed that there was something extremely terrifying ahead, and Li Fan vaguely sensed that the contorted creature's pace slowed down.
Its body was almost imperceptibly shaking.
When it reached a certain limit, it stopped and refused to move forward.
After calming it down, Li Fan had no choice but to proceed alone.
At the same time, he remained on high alert, ready to activate True Transformation at any moment.
It was different from what he had imagined.
There was no terrifying monster in the center of the pit.
There was just a broken stone lying quietly.
The stone seemed to have had some inscriptions originally.
But now, they were barely visible.
However, Li Fan could still discern, through the remnants on the stone, a faint trace.
It was the character "乱" (chaos).
(End of this chapter)
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