Chapter 293: Doing Even the Ghost Life Stylish

Li Fan's spiritual consciousness drifted through the blank soul. As time passed, the soul body gradually dissipated, and the size of this blank space continuously shrank. Yet, even when the space became minuscule and everything within was extremely close to Li Fan, he still couldn't detect the presence of the Soul Pact Mark. "This is what they call seeing without perceiving, and hearing without listening!" he thought with a sigh. Amidst his lament, the soul completely vanished. Li Fan wasn't disheartened; he immediately drew out another soul and tried again.

Days turned into weeks, and in the blink of an eye, Anchor Year 26 was more than halfway through. Li Fan had undergone five assessments. Each time, his theoretical test results for the Sky Profound Spirit-Locking Array were excellent. However, in the test for identifying soul pacts, his results were consistently dismal. This caused Ji Hongdao to look at Li Fan with a hint of regret. Yet, Li Fan remained as calm and unhurried as ever.

One day, Li Fan examined the Soul Gathering Orb in his hand. Only about one-third of its golden glow remained. "Three hundred and twelve souls..." he murmured. "Not as many as I initially thought. The seemingly substantial golden light on the outside must have been an illusion caused by a clustering effect." Three hundred and twelve was the number of souls Li Fan had already used. While not an exceptionally high number, it was certainly not small either. Even so, Li Fan's progress remained slow. In the tests, his identification accuracy was only about 0.05 percent. It was essentially no different from guessing blindly. Meanwhile, it was rumored that some cultivators had already achieved an astonishing 99 percent accuracy rate. "The gap between people is truly vast," Li Fan thought, shaking his head silently. He skillfully extracted a soul and immersed himself in it.

"Hmm?" Having already observed over three hundred souls of Five Elders Society cultivators, Li Fan noticed a difference the moment he entered this particular soul. Unlike the other souls, which were a blank and empty expanse inside, this one actually retained remnants of the cultivator's memories from their life. They had stubbornly resisted the cleansing, forming a red reef standing resiliently within the soul. Slowly approaching, Li Fan observed the red mass before him. Within the red glowing mass, images constantly flickered, their specific content unclear. However, he could vaguely discern that it was just a small segment of memory, looping repeatedly.

Li Fan recalled Ji Hongdao's earlier instructions: "The emotional memory cleansing of the cultivators' souls within this batch of Soul Gathering Orbs was carried out simultaneously. Some cultivators' souls are naturally resilient, and if they had something unforgettable until death, it's normal for it not to be completely cleansed. If you occasionally encounter some 'fish that got away,' don't panic. Although memories may still remain, their aggressiveness is close to zero after undergoing cleansing. You can confidently explore these memories. Therefore, for you, it's actually a rare opportunity. It's possible to obtain some cultivation techniques, secret arts, or even confidential information about the Five Elders Society from these surviving memories. You are not required to hand over any memory information acquired from the souls. Consider it your own fortune, so don't feel any psychological pressure. The risk should be minimal, but you should still take precautions to prevent any mishaps."

After some thought, Li Fan severed the connection between this wisp of spiritual consciousness and his main body. This way, if anything went wrong, he would at most lose only this wisp of spiritual consciousness. Conversely, if there truly was no danger, he could bring the acquired memories back to his main body. With preparations made, Li Fan's wisp of spiritual consciousness began to try and make contact with the red cocoon of light before him.

It was as if he had entered another person's body, unable to move or speak. He could only experience and observe the surroundings from the other person's perspective. Several fragmented images flashed quickly before him. These were imperfections caused by the memory cleansing.

"Fellow Daoist... interested in some forbidden books?" A furtive cultivator pulled out a strangely shaped jade slip and offered it."Scram!" the possessed cultivator said impatiently."Fellow Daoist... forbidden books? Absolutely thrilling, no regrets after reading," another cultivator quietly asked.The possessed cultivator thought it over carefully but still refused."Fellow Daoist, take a look at this forbidden book? You'll regret it for life if you don't.""Created jointly by the Bard of Books and the Immortal of Marvelous Pens, an immersive and absolutely real experience..."The possessed cultivator hesitated for a long time before quietly asking, "What's the price?"

The subsequent memories began to become clear and coherent. This was likely the most profound and unforgettable memory of the cultivator's life. "What kind of shocking content is in this forbidden book that made him unable to forget it even after death?" Li Fan's spirits lifted, filled with anticipation.

Inside the dark mountain cave, a bonfire flickered. He rested against the wall, seemingly gravely wounded, his vital energy surging turbulently within him. Outside the cave, there appeared to be a corpse. A graceful young woman's body pressed tightly against him. Her slender legs rubbed against each other, and her delicate hands continually fumbled over his body, attempting to unfasten his clothes. Li Fan was amazed by the immediate intensity. He realized this must be the content of the forbidden book, confirming the peddler's claims of an immersive and realistic experience. It was almost like an Eternal Reminiscence, with the key difference being an inability to act freely, forcing him to passively absorb sensory and visual information through the possessed body. Just as Li Fan's consciousness was pondering, a narration suddenly appeared.

Qin Shou repeatedly pursued Senior Sister Zhao but was constantly rejected. Enraged and humiliated, he harbored malicious intent. Soon after, while Senior Sister Zhao was out on a mission, he secretly followed her. He arrived in a secluded deep mountain and ambushed her when she was unprepared. Senior Sister Zhao was caught off guard and severely injured. Moreover, she was poisoned by Qin Shou's Yin-Yang Bliss Powder, gradually losing her sanity... At this critical moment, you happened to arrive. You angrily denounced Qin Shou's despicable actions and engaged him in battle. Unfortunately, you were not Qin Shou's match; instead of rescuing the beauty, you also sustained heavy injuries. In this perilous situation, relying on a talisman sword obtained from a previous adventure, you successfully repelled Qin Shou and escaped with Senior Sister Zhao to this mountain cave. You thought you were safe, but unexpectedly, Qin Shou managed to follow you by some unknown means. As Qin Shou pressed closer, a look of despair appeared on your face. Just then, Senior Sister Zhao suddenly awoke. Mustering her last bit of strength, she killed Qin Shou, then completely fainted.

The narration recounted the events and their background in detail. However, before Li Fan could fully process it, he was startled by the thoughts reverberating continuously within the memory. "Senior Sister Zhao?" "Senior Sister Zhao!" "Is it her?" "How could this be?!" These were the thoughts of the soul's original owner, echoing like thunder within the memory. The body he possessed, unable to bear the torment, slowly began to move. He lifted the hair of the young woman beside him, revealing a peerless face. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her face was flushed with a deep blush. "Senior Sister Zhao... it's her... how dare... it's really her..." The cultivator's lingering thoughts continued to echo. This memory space itself began to tremble. "The Sect Master of the Grand Dao Sect, one of the Five Immortal Heavenly Venerates of the Five Elders Society..." "How dare... no wonder it's a forbidden book..." "Worth dying for..." The protagonist in the book slowly peeled off Senior Sister Zhao's clothes.