Chapter 959: The Immortal-Mortal Mystery, Solved at Last
Chapter 959: The Immortal-Mortal Mystery, Solved at Last
It had taken Li Fan considerable effort to locate this dwelling, hidden away on a remote mountain in Tongyan Province.
Even before entering, Li Fan could feel a sinister aura wafting out from the cave residence.
A chorus of faint, rustling whispers swirled around him.
They sounded like the vengeful spirits of legend.
But Li Fan knew perfectly well that ghost cultivators didn't exist in the Xuanhuang Realm.
When a cultivator perished, their Dao, in almost all cases, simply returned to the heavens.
Only in the rarest of circumstances would a fragment of their soul linger.
Even retaining complete memories and a clear consciousness was a struggle for such fragments, let alone cultivating with what remained of a soul.
They fell outside the bounds of ordinary consideration.
Li Fan let out a cold snort, and the whispers around him vanished in an instant.
He strode into Luo Suzhen's cave residence to find the floor littered with human skeletons, scattered about in disarray.
They were arranged in various poses, creating the eerie illusion that they were still alive.
A dwarf cultivator, barely reaching Li Fan's knees, was speaking earnestly to one of the skeletons. "Third Brother, rest easy," he said. "I know you're not pleased with the new wife I found for you."
"No matter, I've already found another candidate for you. And you should have a word with Fourth Brother. It was shameful enough that he never found a Dao companion in life; does he really want to remain alone for all eternity in death...?"
He mumbled on, his expression completely serious.
It was as if the skeleton before him were truly alive.
Li Fan watched, his face impassive, before clearing his throat to rouse the engrossed dwarf.
"Eh? Who are you?" The dwarf cultivator craned his neck back, squinting as if trying to make out Li Fan's features.
But Li Fan had already altered his appearance and veiled his presence.
It was impossible for the dwarf to see him clearly.
"Are you the cultivator who can reconstruct a person's appearance from their skull?" Li Fan asked, getting straight to the point.
The dwarf cultivator finally snapped out of his reverie and nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes! That's me."
He rubbed his hands together. "I've been waiting ages for you. Is it true? A reward of at least ten thousand contribution points for completing the reconstruction?"
Li Fan offered a faint smile and nodded. "Rest assured, you will not be short-changed."
"However," Li Fan began, his gaze lowering to scrutinize the dwarf, "are you certain you can do it?" he asked again, his tone carrying a distinct weight.
The invisible pressure in Li Fan's gaze sent an involuntary shiver down the dwarf's spine.
But he quickly puffed out his chest and slapped it resoundingly. "I, Luo Suzhen, have been dealing with the dead since I was a boy!" he declared. "To me, they aren't just piles of bones! They are living people! If I can't do this, I doubt anyone in this world can!"
Only then did Li Fan say slowly, "Then let's begin."
He set up a formation around the area, sealing off Luo Suzhen's cave residence.
Then, Li Fan projected an image into the air: the skull that was on display in the center of the Museum of Divine Treasures.
At first, Luo Suzhen seemed distracted, his eyes still darting occasionally toward the skeletons arranged around his cave.
But as the image of the skull solidified, his attention was slowly, inexorably drawn to it.
Once the skull was fully formed, Luo Suzhen froze completely. He drifted involuntarily toward the projection, a dazed look on his face.
"So perfect..."
"How could such a perfect cranial structure exist in this world?" Luo Suzhen murmured to himself.
"Perfect?" Li Fan's brow creased.
Thinking Li Fan was questioning his judgment, Luo Suzhen immediately launched into an excited explanation. "How could this not be perfect?"
"Look at this frontal bone, these parietal bones, and the occipital bone..."
"It's simply indescribable. The proportions, the way each part joins the others—it's all so exquisitely balanced."
"It's... it's simply..."
After struggling for a moment, Luo Suzhen finally found the words: "A natural masterpiece. Utterly flawless."
Li Fan's eyes slowly narrowed.
Without any prompting from Li Fan, Luo Suzhen eagerly began to reconstruct the appearance of the person to whom the skull had belonged.
His method was peculiar; it wasn't some secret art.
Instead, he began to nervously attempt a conversation with the skull.
Being a mere projection, it naturally couldn't respond.
Yet Luo Suzhen acted as if he were receiving replies, growing more and more excited.
Just as Li Fan began to feel skeptical, he saw Luo Suzhen wave his right hand in the air and begin to sketch out the person's former appearance.
And so, Li Fan waited patiently.
As the face took shape, the expression on Li Fan's own face slowly turned grave.
When the face was finally complete before him...
He struggled to control his expression, to conceal the shock that seized his heart.
He stared at the image in the air for a long, long time.
In a low voice, Li Fan asked, "Are... you certain there's no mistake?"
He knew it was a pointless question, but he had to ask.
As expected, Luo Suzhen reacted with agitation. "A mistake? You can question my..."
Before he could finish, Li Fan took a deep breath, and with a sweep of his sleeve, he drew Luo Suzhen and everything within the cave into his Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven, suppressing them all.
He then wiped away every trace of his presence.
"How could it be him?"
Li Fan hovered in the air for a long time, utterly baffled.
He could not accept this reality.
"The first cultivator to be infected by the Immortal-Mortal Miasma... The first cultivator..."
After a long moment of contemplation, Li Fan's figure blurred as he sped toward the Cong Yun Sea.
His destination was, of course, Master Yin, who was conducting his own research into the Immortal-Mortal Miasma.
From what Li Fan could sense, Master Yin's research had yet to yield a final conclusion.
It seemed Master Yin had sensed something as well, for he had grown hesitant, plagued by indecision and a fear of the outcome.
The frequency of his experiments had dropped noticeably.
It was almost as if...
...he didn't want to take that final step of verification.
Pushing his speed to the absolute limit, Li Fan soon appeared before Master Yin.
Master Yin was stunned by Li Fan's abrupt arrival.
He was about to speak, but Li Fan raised a hand to stop him.
"Daoist Yin," Li Fan began, "regarding the first cultivator to be infected by the Immortal-Mortal Miasma..."
"I've made a startling discovery."
Master Yin shuddered, his face a mask of disbelief as he stared at Li Fan.
"The result is... unbelievable. Utterly inexplicable. You must have felt it too, haven't you?"
After a long silence, Master Yin gave a bitter nod.
Li Fan took a deep breath. "Then," he said gravely, "please begin the final verification."
"I need you to confirm it for me as well."
After a long, motionless pause, Master Yin sighed in resignation and led Li Fan to his laboratory.
Through the transparent walls, Li Fan could faintly make out the white rib bone in Master Yin's possession.
A thick, white miasma began to spray from the surroundings, flooding the entire chamber.
Master Yin's hands flew through a series of seals, his expression shifting rapidly.
Under his control, the dense fog began to thin.
Slowly, something from the air seemed to flow into the white rib bone.
When the chamber was finally clear, Master Yin, his suspicions confirmed, turned deathly pale and collapsed.
"It's true... it's really true..."
he whispered, his voice trembling.
It was Li Fan who slowly gave voice to the answer.
"The first cultivator to be infected by the Immortal-Mortal Miasma," he said, "was also the one who created it."
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