NOVPUBLiving on a remote mountain peak in Tong Yan State, Li Fan had put considerable effort into finding this place.
Outside Luo Suzhen’s Cave Mansion, Li Fan faintly felt a chilling presence emanating from within.
Moreover, there were numerous whispers rustling around his ears.
It was as if he were surrounded by vengeful spirits mentioned in rumors.
But Li Fan was very clear that in the Xuanhuang World, there were no such things as ghost cultivators.
After cultivators perished, in most cases, they directly "Returned to the heavens."
Only in extremely rare cases, some remnants of their souls might be preserved.
It was difficult enough to retain intact memories and clear consciousness from before death, let alone continue cultivation with a remnant soul.
Of course, the beings transformed into strange phenomena within the Celestial Palace of Clouds and Waters were exceptions.
They were not included in common discussions.
Li Fan snorted coldly, and the whispers around his ears suddenly vanished without a trace.
He strode into Luo Suzhen’s Cave Mansion to find it littered with human skeletons arranged haphazardly everywhere.
They were all posed in various movements, giving off the impression that they were still alive.
A dwarf cultivator, only reaching Li Fan’s knees in height, was seriously conversing with one of the skulls: "Third brother, rest assured, I know you’re not satisfied with the bride I found for you."
"It’s okay, I’ve already looked for another one for you. You should also persuade fourth brother; it was shameful enough not to find a partner in life, surely he doesn’t want to be lonely for all eternity after death..."
He rambled on earnestly.
As if the dry bones in front of him were still alive.
Li Fan watched with an expressionless face and lightly coughed to awaken the immersed dwarf cultivator.
"Eh? Who are you?" The dwarf cultivator looked up, seemingly trying hard to discern Li Fan’s appearance.
But Li Fan had already altered his features and concealed himself.
The dwarf cultivator simply could not see clearly.
"Are you the cultivator who can reconstruct the appearance of the deceased based on their skulls?" Li Fan stated his purpose.
It was then that the dwarf cultivator came to his senses and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, that’s me."
He rubbed his hands: "I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Is it true that as long as I complete the reconstruction, the reward will be at least ten thousand contribution points?"
Li Fan smiled slightly and nodded: "Don’t worry, you will not be shortchanged."
"But are you really confident?" Li Fan looked down at him, intensifying the pressure in his tone as he asked again.
Under Li Fan’s gaze, the invisible pressure made the dwarf cultivator shiver.
But soon he patted his chest with a slap-slap sound, assuring: "I, Luo Suzhen, have been dealing with the dead since I was young. To my eyes, they are not just skeletons but living beings! If I can’t do it, I fear no one in this world can!"
Only then did Li Fan say slowly: "Then let’s get started."
Li Fan set up an Array Technique around the area to seal off Luo Suzhen’s Cave Mansion.
After that, Li Fan projected the image of the skull that was centrally displayed in the Museum of Divine Artifacts in the air.
At first, Luo Suzhen was somewhat distracted, still glancing at the placed skeletons within his cave mansion from time to time.
But as the skull gradually became visible, Luo Suzhen’s attention was slowly captured.
Once the skull was completely formed, Luo Suzhen was utterly transfixed by the projection, approaching it in a trance.
"Too perfect..."
"How could there be such a perfect skull structure in the world?" Luo Suzhen muttered to himself.
"Perfect?" Li Fan’s brow furrowed slightly.
Thinking that Li Fan was questioning him, Luo Suzhen immediately became excited and explained: "Isn’t this perfection?"
"Look at this frontal bone, this parietal bone, and this occipital bone..."
"Unspeakably brilliant. The proportion and combination of each is just right."
"Simply, simply..."
After struggling for words, Luo Suzhen finally uttered eight characters: "As natural as the heavens, flawless."
Li Fan slowly narrowed his eyes.
Without waiting for Li Fan’s urging, Luo Suzhen eagerly began to restore the skull’s appearance from before death.
His method was also strange, not through any secret techniques.
Instead, he nervously attempted to converse with the skull.
It was just a projection, so naturally, Li Fan could not reply to Luo Suzhen.
But Luo Suzhen seemed as if she truly received an answer, becoming more and more excited.
Just when Li Fan was doubting this, he saw Luo Suzhen waving her right hand in the air, beginning to depict the skull’s appearance in life.
Therefore, Li Fan waited patiently once more.
As the reconstruction of the appearance continued, Li Fan’s expression gradually grew solemn.
When the portrait finally appeared in front of Li Fan...
He struggled to control his expression, trying to conceal the shock in his heart.
He stared at the image in the air for a long time.
In a low voice, Li Fan asked, "Are you... sure you haven’t made a mistake?"
Even though he knew it was a pointless question, Li Fan still asked it.
Sure enough, Luo Suzhen’s response was very agitated, "Made a mistake? You can doubt my..."
Without waiting for her to finish, Li Fan took a deep breath, swept his sleeve, and suppressed Luo Suzhen along with everything inside the cave mansion inside the Five Elements Cave Heaven.
Then he erased all traces of this place.
"How could it be him?"
Standing in the air for a long time, Li Fan still couldn’t figure it out.
Unable to face the reality.
"The first cultivator to be infected with Immortal-Ordinary Miasma. The first cultivator to be infected with Immortal-Ordinary Miasma..."
After contemplating for a long time, Li Fan’s form soared away, heading toward the Misthaven Ocean.
The target, of course, was Yin Shangren, who was also conducting research on the Immortal-Ordinary Miasma.
In Li Fan’s senses, Yin Shangren’s research had still not reached a final conclusion.
Yin Shangren seemed to sense something and became hesitant and indecisive.
The frequency of the experiments had noticeably decreased.
Even...
There appeared to be a reluctance to take the final step of verification.
Accelerating to his fastest, Li Fan quickly arrived in front of Yin Shangren.
Yin Shangren was quite astonished by Li Fan’s sudden appearance.
Just as he was about to speak, Li Fan gestured with his hand, stopping him.
"Yin Dao friend, regarding the first cultivator infected with the Immortal-Ordinary Miasma..."
"I have made a startling discovery."
Yin Shangren shuddered, his face filled with disbelief as he looked at Li Fan.
"This result is too inconceivable. It simply cannot be explained. You must have had a premonition, right?"
Yin Shangren was silent for a long while, then nodded bitterly.
Li Fan took a deep breath and said in a heavy tone, "Then, please commence with the final verification."
"I would also like you to help confirm it for me."
Immobile for a long time, Yin Shangren finally sighed despondently and then led Li Fan to the front of the laboratory.
Through the transparent outer wall, Li Fan could vaguely see the white rib that Yin Shangren possessed.
Thick white miasma continuously spewed out from the surroundings, filling the entire area.
Yin Shangren continuously formed hand seals, his expression changing.
Under his manipulation, the mist gradually grew fainter.
Slowly, something seemed to flow into that white rib.
When the transparent area was completely cleared, Yin Shangren, who had confirmed his guess, fell to the ground with a pale face.
"That’s really it, that’s really it," he murmured to himself.
Li Fan then slowly stated the answer.
"The first cultivator to be infected with the Immortal-Ordinary Miasma was also the one who created it."
