Thud! Thud! Thud!
It seemed that uttering the words "Heavenly Physician" had completely agitated the emotions of the contorted monster.
It smashed its head against the ground with immense force, again and again.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the hard, desolate earth from the impacts.
Simultaneously, broken, choked sobs spilled from its mouth, mingled with bloody tears.
Though the creature was hideous to behold, the sheer wretchedness of the scene stirred an inexplicable sense of pity within Li Fan.
Was this massacre truly the work of the Heavenly Physician?
Instantly, the image of that kindly, grandfatherly figure surfaced in Li Fan's mind. On the surface, he appeared benevolent, his smile warm. Yet his actual deeds were so horrifying.
A wave of revulsion washed over Li Fan.
He recalled the time in Cloudwater Palace when Qin Tang and the other disciples, upon seeing the statue of the Heavenly Physician, had all let out those grief-stricken, resentment-filled wails. It seemed the fall of Cloudwater Palace was definitely connected to the Heavenly Physician as well.
But where exactly is this place? And why did it become a spatial fragment, appearing within the White Mist Barrier?
Why would the Heavenly Physician carry out such indiscriminate slaughter of these cultivators?
And also...?
Li Fan slowly calmed the shock in his heart, watching the contorted monster that was still kowtowing.
It had survived the Heavenly Physician's vicious attack back then and lived alone in this Lost Domain for so long. The Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword that Li Fan was so proud of couldn't even scratch its hide. All signs pointed to its formidable strength.
Yet now, it was like a commoner suffering a grievous injustice, kowtowing and pleading its case before Li Fan, this "righteous official."
Having served as an official for many years, Li Fan was intimately familiar with such a scene.
Why was this happening?
It certainly couldn't be because Li Fan was stronger than this contorted monster.
Has it mistaken me for someone else?
That's it, it must be. As for why this contorted monster made the mistake...
In Li Fan's past simulation cycles, such a case of "mistaken identity" had also happened once before.
To test his theory, his Golden Core churned within. Li Fan summoned forth a single thread of Heaven-Scorning’s power, condensing it into a sword.
Sure enough, sensing that faintly familiar aura, the contorted monster grew even more agitated. Its wails grew louder, and it seemed intent on pounding a hole straight through the ground.
The Heaven-Scorning Sword. Old Man Fisher.
Li Fan watched the monster kneeling before him, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
The reason it pleads with me like this is solely because it senses Heaven-Scorning’s Law within my Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword, mistaking me for the master of the Heaven-Scorning Sword.
Even Old Man Fisher himself nearly made the same mistake. This monster has been trapped here for who knows how many years. Its mind is addled, and it now acts purely on instinct.
It’s perfectly normal that it mistook me for someone else.
It seems Old Man Fisher was likely a leader among the cultivators who perished in this Lost Domain. When the Heavenly Physician slaughtered everyone back then, he must have clashed with him.
The Heaven-Scorning Sword is broken and scattered; Old Man Fisher lost his memories and went mad. Perhaps this was also the Heavenly Physician's handiwork.
But soon, Li Fan felt something was amiss.
If this truly was the Heavenly Physician's doing, then having lived this much longer, his current power must be far greater than it was at the time of the massacre.
He couldn't possibly be unaware of Old Man Fisher's existence.
Why not eradicate the root of the problem, instead of allowing Old Man Fisher to live all this time?
Or was it truly as Li Fan had previously guessed—that Old Man Fisher had already become an Oddity, something that simply could not be eliminated?
Heavenly Physician...
Li Fan narrowed his eyes.
He was not a magnanimous man. In the past, the Heavenly Physician had used the arts of observation, listening, inquiry, and palpation to detect the existence of his true self.
He had then directly bypassed the protection of the Tianxuan Mirror, intending to capture Li Fan alive.
The terror Li Fan had felt in that moment was something he had never been able to forget.
It was just that the disparity in strength between him and the Heavenly Physician was currently far too vast, forcing him to bury any thoughts of revenge deep within his heart.
Now, having discovered that Old Man Fisher and the Heavenly Physician might be mortal enemies, Li Fan felt a stirring of ambition.
Next lifetime, perhaps I can cause some trouble for him.
If Old Man Fisher recovers the Heaven-Scorning Sword and happens to come knocking right when the Heavenly Physician and Fuzi are locked in battle...
Li Fan's gaze flickered. Drawing upon the experiences of several lifetimes, a rough plan took shape in his mind in an instant.
He gave a cold laugh, temporarily setting the thought aside, and turned his attention back to the contorted monster before him.
The Black Death Talisman can last another day. Perhaps my hope of escape lies with it.
Withdrawing Heaven-Scorning’s power, Li Fan attempted to soothe the creature and communicate with it.
Through his words, he conveyed that he had been deceived and trapped here by the Heavenly Physician, that he was searching for an exit to seek vengeance upon him in the world outside.
The contorted monster's intellect was almost entirely gone. It took the better part of a day for it to finally grasp Li Fan's meaning.
It stopped kowtowing and grew still, though its head continued rotating as if deep in thought.
Not long after, it suddenly began to scuttle away.
It kept turning its head back, gesturing for Li Fan to follow.
The region near the Ruin Twelve was still saturated with the power of disorientation.
To Li Fan's senses, the contorted monster leading the way ahead would suddenly appear behind him, then blink forward a great distance, its position shifting erratically without pattern.
Li Fan followed closely behind the contorted monster, using it as a fixed coordinate and constantly adjusting the direction of his flight.
After several hours, the black light that had been flowing non-stop across the Black Death Talisman grew fainter and fainter, as if it might sputter out at any moment.
Following the contorted monster ever deeper, Li Fan eventually seemed to reach the heart of the Lost Domain.
A vast circular pit, looking like it had been formed by a meteor slamming into the earth, came into view. And within it stood numerous human figures.
Just like the corpses Li Fan had previously seen, they were long since devoid of life.
Yet they were also different. These bodies no longer retained their lifelike stillness in death. Instead, each had undergone a bizarre transformation.
Some had petrified, turned entirely to stone like statues. Others had jade-ified, their bodies emitting a clear, crystalline glow. Some bore skin like tree bark, rough and fissured.
What made Li Fan’s flesh crawl the most were those that seemed to have undergone some kind of insectification. At a glance, these corpses appeared normal. But on closer inspection, their bodies were completely hollow. They were composed of countless, minuscule black maggots. Even after all these years, the creatures continued to writhe.
The closer one drew to the center of the pit, the more extreme the transformations became.
No standing corpses remained.
Instead, the bodies had fused into unrecognizable substances, melded directly with the ground.
After some point, Li Fan sensed the contorted monster’s pace begin to slow almost imperceptibly. At the same time, its entire body shuddered faintly. It seemed that something ahead inspired a primal, instinctive dread in it.
At an invisible boundary, it stopped completely, refusing to take even a single step forward.
After calming it, Li Fan had no choice but to proceed alone.
He raised his guard to the maximum level, prepared to invoke Return to Truth at any moment.
What awaited him was not what he had imagined.
At the very center of the circular pit, there was no terrifying monster. Instead, only a stone fragment lay there quietly.
Characters had once been carved upon its surface, but time had eroded them to near nothingness.
And yet, from the faint traces that remained, Li Fan could barely make out a single word:
“Chaos.”