Chapter 356: Mist Covers the Cemetery

Li Fan recalled the various anecdotes about the Mists of Delusion that Huangfu Qi had previously recounted.

"Some are simply vast, boundless spaces with no other discernible features."

"Others, like the Roaring Abyss, harbor numerous strange and perilous dangers."

"However, everything is hidden within a boundless white mist, making it impossible for cultivators who stumble in to discern the full scope of their surroundings, much like being blind with open eyes."

"My current supplies will last about fifteen days. Whether I can traverse this Mist of Delusion depends on my fortune in this life."

Calming himself, Li Fan did not continue in the direction where he sensed the Eternal Immortal Fortress. Instead, he marked that direction as "forward" and himself flew downwards, relative to it.

Within ordinary white mist barriers, land usually exists. It's typically a desolate, flat expanse, devoid of any signs of life or structures. Even normal topographical variations are rare. It is said that walking on it suppresses one's innate desire for life, inducing various impulses to end one's own existence.

A Mist of Delusion, however, is an independent, entirely new space. Whether there's a "bottom" depends on the specific nature of the Mist of Delusion. The Roaring Abyss, for instance, is bottomless. Li Fan would have to explore this particular Mist of Delusion to find out.

As for why he went "down" instead of "up" to fly directly out of the Mist of Delusion... That's because Huangfu Song had previously mentioned to Li Fan that stumbling into a Mist of Delusion was akin to entering a borderless grotto-heaven. Once trapped, it's essentially impossible to fly out by simply ascending. One can only leave by finding the connection point between the Mist of Delusion and normal space, the so-called "exit."

To illustrate, consider the Roaring Abyss. The Azure Stone Broken Palm eternally guards the Roaring Abyss. If a Qingxuan soldier accidentally falls into the abyss, once they enter its domain, even if they appear to be at its very edge—just a hair's breadth from the Eternal Immortal Fortress—they cannot simply step back out. Despite such a short distance, because they are not in the same space, they might fly until death without ever crossing back. Since the establishment of Broken Palm Immortal City, no cultivator who has accidentally fallen into the Roaring Abyss has ever returned alive.

The exit of a Mist of Delusion connects two different spaces. Therefore, it's generally different in appearance from the Mist of Delusion itself; even with the white mist obscuring it, one can detect its presence upon drawing near. This was Li Fan's hope for escape.

Activating his Purple Cloud Evasion Technique with full force, Li Fan continued descending for about another half a day. As he flew, Li Fan's expression suddenly changed. His spiritual sense detected something blocking his path not far ahead, seemingly within arm's reach. However, within the Qi-Devouring White Mist, the range of his spiritual sense was greatly reduced. By the time he reacted, it was too late to dodge, and he was about to collide head-on.

Two streaks of black light shot from Li Fan's eyes. They were several times faster than his own transformed purple stream of light, obliterating the hidden shadow in the mist ahead. Under the Great Five Elements Extinction Sword, all obstacles turned to nothingness. This also saved Li Fan from being disoriented by a collision. Only then did Li Fan barely manage to slow down, raising his guard as he cautiously approached.

Upon seeing what had blocked his path, Li Fan couldn't help but sigh in relief. It wasn't some strange creature, but a section of a collapsed building, leaning diagonally. The center of the building had a large hole pierced by the Extinction Sword, but its original appearance was still vaguely discernible. It was a tall building carved entirely from a single giant stone, with its decorations and doorways still clearly visible.

Li Fan did not rashly enter the fallen building but continued to fly downwards. Soon, he landed on the ground. With a *creak*, he seemed to have stepped on something. His spiritual sense swept over it, and Li Fan's heart immediately tightened. For it was unmistakably a living person! Their eyes were wide with rage, their expression distorted and terrifying, staring fixedly at Li Fan!

"How can there be a living person in a Mist of Delusion?" This thought flashed through his mind instantly, and Li Fan's body instinctively reacted. He retreated sharply, and the Five Elements Extinction Sword was unsheathed again.

However, just as he braced himself as if facing a formidable enemy, something astonishing occurred. The "living person" he had just touched remained motionless under Li Fan's gaze. Its body simply transformed into grey particles in an instant, scattering across the ground. In just one breath, a living person had turned into dust.

"Hm? Not alive, already dead then?" Li Fan frowned slightly. With his extensive experience in tomb raiding, Li Fan was not unfamiliar with such a sight. Ancient artifacts sealed for millennia might appear lifelike one moment, but upon contact with the outside world, they would immediately lose their original appearance and become utterly decayed. The situation in this Mist of Delusion was even more extreme. It had directly turned into dust and completely vanished.

"What exactly is this place..." Maintaining his vigilance, Li Fan carefully searched the surroundings. The scene he witnessed made even Li Fan, accustomed to bloodshed, feel a prickling sensation on his scalp. Within a hundred-zhang radius, there were collapsed and damaged architectural ruins everywhere. And in every corner of the ruins, numerous corpses lay scattered haphazardly.

They still retained their attire and expressions from when they were alive. As if they had seen something they intensely hated and feared, their faces were filled with despair and malice. Time had frozen at the moment of their death. It was as if a catastrophe had suddenly struck, and everyone within the ruins had simultaneously lost their lives. There were no wounds, no bloodstains. Yet, they had died just like that.

Just like the corpse Li Fan had accidentally stepped on earlier, as soon as they came into contact with Li Fan, an outsider, they would instantly turn to dust and completely dissipate. What frightened Li Fan was that these individuals were clearly not mortals. The storage rings they wore and the various magic artifacts they had just drawn but hadn't had time to use, all indicated their identities as cultivators. Yet, in the face of that unknown entity, they could only helplessly await death, just like mortals.

Li Fan approached a corpse, attempting to remove the storage ring from its hand. He wanted to see if he could find any clues regarding the mysterious deaths of these cultivators. Unfortunately, it was just like the other corpses. As soon as Li Fan touched it, it immediately vanished into dust as well. He tried several times, but it was always the same. Li Fan had no choice but to give up.

Suppressing the chill in his heart, he continued to explore outwards. The grim scene remained consistent. The continuous ruins were already a massive graveyard, burying countless corpses that had died an unknown time ago. To the extent that Li Fan later felt a sense of numbness from seeing so many. He accelerated his flight, swiftly exiting the area of these ruins.

"This seems to be some kind of gathering point. Some cultivators wore similar attire, while others had different styles."

"Were different sects gathered here for some reason?"