Chapter 956: A Cure for Han Hai's Grief
"And who knows," he thought, "when I report back, I might even be able to coax some useful information out of the Heavenly Doctor."
With that in mind, Li Fan sent another wisp of his spiritual sense into the blue sphere.
It seemed his earlier provocation had an effect. The black light swirling around Han Hai's blue-and-white orb was now moving several times faster than before.
It was like a violent storm had been unleashed, churning the blue-and-white orb into a state of chaos.
Consequently, the frequency and intensity of the shockwaves emanating from Han Hai were steadily increasing.
"It was clear that years of torment from his nightmares, coupled with an insatiable thirst for revenge, were the cause of his instability," Li Fan concluded.
Like a compassionate physician dedicated to healing the world, Li Fan began to contemplate a cure for Han Hai's affliction.
The art of healing, he mused, was fundamentally the same, regardless of the patient.
Throughout history, there had been countless souls like Han Hai, unable to extricate themselves from the shackles of past hatreds.
Waiting for a lull between the shockwaves, Li Fan's wisp of spiritual sense plunged once more into the black storm raging upon the orb.
He was met with the same, endlessly looping nightmare.
This time, however, perhaps due to Han Hai's extreme emotional instability, the first-person view was tinted with a sickly, yellow-black filter.
The scene was also caught in a perpetual tremor.
This made the already horrific scenes of slaughter appear even more grim and terrifying.
Li Fan remained hidden, silently waiting for the 'scene' to unfold.
Soon, the dream reached the pivotal moment when Han Hai believed he had discovered the killer's true identity.
Han Hai's body trembled, his face a mask of disbelief. "The Heavenly Doctor? You're the Heavenly Doctor?!"
The killer, as if on cue, revealed a sinister smile. "Hehehe, that's right. I am the Heavenly Doctor!"
At this confession, veins bulged across Han Hai's body, his eyes widening in fury.
Just as his mind was about to be consumed by rage...
But at that very moment, an incomparably cold voice suddenly echoed in the depths of his mind.
It was ethereal and faint, yet it fell like a torrential downpour, instantly dousing the flames of his boundless fury. "Don't let him deceive you!"
"Look closer! Who is he really?!"
"This man is utterly depraved, the very definition of cruelty. Would such a villain truly admit his identity so easily?"
"Clear your head! The burden of vengeance rests entirely on your shoulders! You cannot afford a single mistake!"
The persistent whisper sent a shiver through Han Hai.
"He's right, he's right..."
"How could he have confessed the moment I asked?"
"There must be a trick..."
"Who are you? Who are you, really?!"
Han Hai muttered, his gaze falling once more upon the killer before him.
To his profound shock, his doubt caused the killer's face and aura to transform once again.
He no longer resembled the Heavenly Doctor. Instead, he had taken on the stern, rigid features of the Heavenly Decree Venerable!
"No! How could the Heavenly Decree Venerable do such a thing?!"
Han Hai shook his head frantically, as if trying to banish the terrifying thought from his mind.
But as his doubts multiplied, the killer's appearance continued to shift.
"The Heavenly Bless Venerable? The Heavenly Sound Venerable? Heavenly Ease..."
The only thing that remained constant was the killer's aura—an unmistakable air of authority from the Tianfa Realm.
To have one's nemesis within arm's reach, yet be powerless to take revenge—that alone was a profound tragedy.
But what was even more tragic was to not even know the true identity of that nemesis.
He couldn't even grasp a concrete target upon which to focus his vengeance.
The world around him began to shake more violently, and cracks spiderwebbed across the yellow-black filter of his vision.
Finally, Han Hai could bear the torment no longer.
The scene shattered.
A tyrannical burst of energy erupted, burying everything within the nightmare.
"Success!"
Li Fan's wisp of consciousness thought, just before it dissipated.
Back in Han Hai's sanctum, outside the blue sphere.
With Han Hai's temporary mental collapse, the shockwaves that had been periodically blasting outward and damaging the seals finally ceased.
"A bone-deep hatred has now been replaced by the bewildering uncertainty of not even knowing his enemy's name. That should keep Han Hai quiet for a while," Li Fan mused.
"However, as time passes, he'll likely settle on a new target for his vengeance."
"And my guess is... it will still be the Heavenly Doctor."
Over thousands of years, the Heavenly Doctor had clearly treated Han Hai more than once. Otherwise, given the degree of torment he endured in those nightmares, he never could have maintained any semblance of lucidity.
Yet each time, Han Hai eventually returned to the conclusion that the Heavenly Doctor was the murderer...
"Perhaps it's because, deep in Han Hai's subconscious, of all the Venerables of the Tianfa Realm, only the Heavenly Doctor seemed capable of committing such a monstrous act."
Li Fan pondered for a moment, settling on the reason for this recurring phenomenon.
In fact, Li Fan could understand Han Hai's reasoning.
The reason was simple: some of the healing methods recorded in the *Mending the Heavens Record* and the *Heavenly Doctor's Immortal Sutra* were utterly contrary to conventional morality.
They went far beyond simply 'fighting fire with fire.'
The sole focus was on curing the ailment and achieving the final objective. The methods employed to get there...
...were of no concern to the Heavenly Doctor.
Take his own 'treatment' of Han Hai, for instance. The entire process could be summarized in one word: deception.
While Han Hai would no longer feel the suffering born of his hatred, he was now trapped in a state of endless confusion.
He was cured, but not truly healed.
But at the very least, the specific 'symptom' Li Fan had set out to treat had indeed been resolved.
This was the Way of the Heavenly Doctor, its core tenet from beginning to end.
It might clash with conventional morality, but Li Fan felt no qualms about employing it.
"The Heavenly Doctor..."
A glint in his eye, Li Fan slowly reined in his thoughts.
Confident that his treatment had worked and that Han Hai would not lash out at the seals again anytime soon, Li Fan turned his attention to repairing the restrictions.
The 'World-Hiding, Void-Concealing' restrictions were incredibly complex.
In his previous cycles, Li Fan had only dabbled in the art of restrictions.
But as the saying goes, to master one art is to understand a thousand. Formations and restrictions shared many similarities.
Besides, the instructions the Heavenly Doctor had imparted were exhaustive.
The entire process went off without a hitch.
Half a month later, the loosened seals were finally reinforced.
The Cloud Water Heavenly Palace once again fell into absolute, dead silence.
"For them, perhaps an eternal slumber is the kindest fate," he mused.
Li Fan sighed to himself, gently placing a jug of wine at the foot of Qin Tang's statue.
Then, with a flicker of movement, he departed.
Outside the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, the celestial phenomenon that had previously appeared in the sky had vanished.
The heavens had returned to their usual tranquility.
For a moment, Li Fan couldn't think of any way to contact the Heavenly Doctor.
So, he simply cupped his hands toward the sky and bowed, a silent gesture to signal that his task was complete.
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