Chapter 360: The Original Culprit of the Tragedy

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

It seemed that Li Fan's mention of the "Heavenly Doctor" completely triggered the contorted monster's emotions.

It slammed its head against the ground with great force, over and over.

Cracks were smashed into the hard, desolate earth.

Meanwhile, intermittent sobs escaped its mouth as blood and tears flowed freely.

Although this monster had a hideous appearance, this scene somehow made Li Fan feel an inexplicable sense of its misery.

"Was the tragedy here truly caused by the Heavenly Doctor?"

In Li Fan's mind, the image of that amiable old man, like a friendly neighbor, instantly appeared.

On the surface, he looked kind and benevolent, with a smile on his face.

Yet his actual deeds were so appalling.

A wave of revulsion rose in Li Fan's heart.

Then he recalled the people of Qin Hall within the Yunshui Heavenly Palace, who had all wailed with sky-high resentment upon seeing the statue of the Heavenly Doctor.

It seemed the destruction of the Yunshui Heavenly Palace back then was definitely linked to the Heavenly Doctor.

"But where exactly is this place? And why did it become a spatial fragment appearing within the White Mist Barrier?"

"And why did the Heavenly Doctor carry out an indiscriminate slaughter of these Cultivators?"

"And…?"

Li Fan slowly calmed the shock in his heart, watching the contorted monster that was still incessantly kowtowing.

It had managed to survive the Heavenly Doctor's cruel hands and had lived alone in this Mystic Domain for so long.

Even the Great Five Elements Nirvana Sword, which Li Fan took pride in, couldn't even scratch its surface.

All these signs were enough to prove its formidable strength.

But now, it was like a commoner who had suffered a great injustice, kowtowing and crying out for justice before Li Fan, this "Master."

Li Fan, who had been an official for many years, was certainly very familiar with the scene before him.

Why was this happening?

Naturally, it couldn't be because Li Fan was stronger than this contorted monster.

Rather, it was because…

"Mistaken identity?"

"Yes, that must be it. As for why this contorted monster would make such a mistake…"

In Li Fan's limited Reincarnation cycles, such a "mistaken identity" had happened once before.

To verify his guess, his Golden Core circulated, and Li Fan summoned a trace of Celestial Killing power alone, condensing it into a sword.

Sure enough, sensing the slightly familiar aura, the contorted monster became even more agitated.

Its wailing was Never Ending, and it seemed as if it were about to bash a large hole into the ground.

"Heavenly Fiend Sword, Old Fisherman."

Li Fan looked at the monster kneeling before him, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

"The reason it's pleading with me like this is only because it sensed the Celestial Killing technique within my Great Five Elements Nirvana Sword and mistook me for the Master of the Heavenly Fiend Sword."

"Even the Old Fisherman himself almost made a mistake. This monster has been trapped here for who knows how many years; its mind is clouded, and it acts entirely on instinct."

"It's normal for it to misidentify me."

"In that case, the Old Fisherman might have been a leader-level figure among the Cultivators who fell in this Mystic Domain. When the Heavenly Doctor slaughtered everyone back then, he must have had a conflict with him."

"The Heavenly Fiend Sword is incomplete, and the Old Fisherman has become amnesiac and crazed; perhaps that was the Heavenly Doctor's doing."

But soon, Li Fan felt something was amiss.

If it were truly the Heavenly Doctor's doing, having lived so much longer, his current strength would surely be much greater than it was when the tragedy occurred.

It was impossible for him not to know of the Old Fisherman's existence.

Why didn't he pull up the roots and instead allow the Old Fisherman to continue living in the world?

Or was it truly as Li Fan had previously speculated—that the Old Fisherman had become an anomaly that simply couldn't be eliminated?

"Heavenly Doctor…"

Li Fan narrowed his eyes.

He was not a magnanimous person. Back then, the Heavenly Doctor had used the "Four Diagnostic Methods" to discover his true body's existence.

He had directly broken through the tianxuan mirror's protection, intending to capture him alive.

Li Fan could never forget the fear he felt in his heart at that moment.

However, the gap in strength between him and the Heavenly Doctor was currently too vast, so he had to keep his thoughts of revenge buried deep in his heart.

Now that he discovered the Old Fisherman and the Heavenly Doctor might be archenemies, Li Fan felt a bit restless.

"In the next life, perhaps I can cause some trouble for him."

"If the Old Fisherman retrieves the Heavenly Fiend Sword and happens to show up at his door when the Heavenly Doctor is in a great battle with the Sage."

Li Fan's eyes flickered, and combining his experiences over several lifetimes, a rough plan instantly formed in his mind.

With a cold snort, he set it aside for the moment and looked back at the contorted monster before him.

"The black death talisman can last for one more day. Perhaps the hope of escape lies with it."

Withdrawing the Celestial Killing power, Li Fan attempted to soothe and communicate with it.

In his words, he indicated that he had been tricked and trapped here by the Heavenly Doctor and was looking for an exit to find him outside for revenge.

The contorted monster's sanity was completely gone; it took nearly half a day for it to understand Li Fan's meaning.

It stopped kowtowing and quieted down, its head spinning continuously as if it were thinking about something.

Shortly after, it suddenly began to crawl outward with a rustling sound.

It also turned its head from time to time, signaling for Li Fan to follow.

In the boundary near Relic No. 12, the power of spatial disorientation still filled the air.

In his perception, the leading contorted monster would suddenly appear behind him, then suddenly flicker forward a distance, constantly changing positions irregularly.

Li Fan followed closely behind the contorted monster, using it as a coordinate point and constantly adjusting his flight direction.

Half a day later, the black light moving across the black death talisman grew weaker and weaker, appearing as if it could go out at any moment.

And Li Fan also followed the contorted monster deeper in, seemingly arriving at the center of this Mystic Domain.

Inside a large circular pit that looked like it had been smashed out by a meteorite, many figures stood.

They were just like the ones Li Fan had seen before—corpses that had lost their lives.

But the difference was that these corpses were no longer so lifelike, retaining their appearance from when they were alive.

Instead, they had all undergone bizarre transformations.

Some had petrified, becoming like statues.

Others had jade-like transformations, emitting a clear and translucent crystalline glow.

Some even had surfaces like wood, covered with uneven, cracked bark.

What made Li Fan feel most creeped out was a form of insectification.

It looked normal at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the entire body had been hollowed out.

It was composed entirely of countless tiny black maggots.

Even after many years, these maggots were still writhing incessantly.

…

The closer they got to the center of the circular pit, the more obvious the mutations became.

There were no longer any standing corpses.

Instead, they had become mysterious substances stuck to the ground.

Li Fan faintly sensed that the contorted monster's forward speed had slowed down, as if there was something ahead that it feared greatly.

Its body was even shaking imperceptibly and continuously.

Upon reaching a certain limit, it stopped and refused to go any further.

After soothing it, Li Fan had no choice but to go forward alone.

At the same time, he raised his guard to the maximum, ready to activate Huan Zhen at any moment.

It was different from what he had imagined.

There was no terrifying monster in the center of the circular pit.

Only a broken stone lay there quietly.

It seemed there had originally been some writing on the stone.

But now it had faded to the point of being invisible.

However, Li Fan could still see it through the traces remaining on the stone.

He could vaguely make it out.

It was the character for "Chaos."

Returned late, only one update, tears.