Chapter 357: 反折嚎奇冤

Beyond the ruins, the sight of corpses finally vanished. In their place, a barren and silent land stretched out. Li Fan, not forgetting his objective, turned back and thoroughly searched the ruins once more. Finding no useful information, he marked the ruins, chose a direction, and resumed his flight close to the ground.

Two days later, Li Fan discovered another set of ruins within the fog-shrouded sea. These ruins were several times larger than the first set. Commensurately, the scene of countless stacked corpses was even more gruesome. The vivid expressions on their faces made Li Fan feel as if he were witnessing the tragedy firsthand.

Suppressing the unsettling feeling in his heart, Li Fan, as usual, conducted a search. While he still found no valuable information, several bodies among the sea of corpses caught his attention. Most cultivators in both the first and second ruins had died in an instant. Beyond the expressions of terror and despair etched on their faces, they had left no discernible information.

However, among the multitude, a few individuals had possessed relatively stronger cultivation. Before their deaths, they had gazed in a particular direction, filled with unwillingness and resentment. It was as if the entity that claimed their lives resided there. They maintained this posture even years after their demise. Conveniently, for Li Fan, an outsider, they pointed the way through the white mist.

Following these grim indicators, Li Fan flew rapidly for a day and subsequently discovered the third set of ruins. Using the same method, Li Fan continued his journey, tracing the path of the perpetrator. He found the fourth, fifth, sixth... This continued until his supplies were sufficient for only three more days. By then, Li Fan had encountered a total of eleven ruins, each piled high with corpses.

As he swiftly made his way toward the twelfth ruin, something peculiar occurred. Though he had been flying rapidly forward, he soon found himself back at the eleventh ruin. Upon locating his previously made mark, Li Fan confirmed this was not an illusion. He set off once more. The outcome remained the same. He circled back to his original starting point.

Li Fan pondered for a moment, remaining unperturbed. For his third attempt, he reduced his speed, constantly monitoring the location of the eleventh ruin as he flew. He finally understood what was happening. At a certain point during his flight, he encountered something inexplicable. His forward direction had, in an instant and without any trace, subtly shifted backward. During his first two attempts, Li Fan had been completely unaware, believing he was still moving forward. In reality, he had turned around. Naturally, he soon found himself back at his starting point.

Now, Li Fan stood with a grave expression before the area that caused this disorientation. He flew into it; his physical position didn't change. However, the eleventh ruin, which he had been sensing behind him, now imperceptibly appeared ahead. Li Fan frowned slightly, turned, and flew backward, attempting to move away from the eleventh ruin once more. But after only a short flight, his direction became disoriented again. However, Li Fan, having gained experience, constantly ensured the eleventh ruin remained behind him. He continually adjusted his direction, pushing forward. This arduous process, taking another two days, finally brought him to the twelfth ruin.

These ruins were the largest in scale among all he had encountered. Yet, on its periphery, there were no traces of corpses. Such an anomaly hinted at something sinister. Li Fan steeled himself and began exploring towards the center of the ruins. A profound silence enveloped the surroundings. Within this isolated, bewildering domain, even the demonic sounds from the Chizha Abyss could not penetrate. Apart from the sounds he himself made, Li Fan had not heard any other noises for a long time.

However, as Li Fan neared the center of the twelfth ruin, a sudden rustling sound sent shivers down his spine. Through the white mist, which had inexplicably thinned, Li Fan spotted something on the ground not far away. A cultivator lay supine, yet their limbs were grotesquely folded backward and downward. Their hands and feet were irregularly broken. Toes and fingers were twisted together like braids. Yet, using these horrifyingly contorted limbs, the cultivator slowly and laboriously crawled in circles. It seemed tireless. It was unclear how long this had persisted, or if it would ever cease.

Li Fan's scalp tingled and his heart lurched as he watched the creature, which had seemingly existed in the white mist for an untold time. Holding his breath, he slowly began to retreat. However, this contorted creature's senses seemed incredibly keen. It immediately detected the arrival of an unfamiliar presence. Its drooping head flopped with a 'thud,' flipping onto its belly. It then rotated a full 180 degrees, its face fixed intently on Li Fan.

The sight of the contorted creature's face made Li Fan's heart pound. The monster's facial features were completely inverted and dislocated. Two pairs of eyes were situated where the mouth should be, grotesquely shifting across its face without cease. Its nose was embedded deep within its skull. And its mouth, conversely, opened and closed incessantly as the eyes constantly relocated. Inside, there was no tongue or teeth, but rather a series of other human faces, each drenched in blood.

Despite its monstrously distorted body, the contorted creature moved with alarming speed. Its hands and feet clawed at the ground, and in mere moments, it scuttled with a dry rustling sound directly in front of Li Fan. The grotesque, blood-soaked faces in the monster's mouth looked as if they would lunge at Li Fan's face at any second.

Li Fan roared in defiance, "Die!" He unleashed a series of Great Five Elements Nirvana Swords. As he rapidly retreated, the Nirvana Swords continued their relentless assault. To Li Fan's horror, however, the black sword light struck the creature, yet its usual annihilating properties had no effect. The sound of bones ceaselessly grinding and twisting emanated from the creature's body. The monster seemed utterly unfazed, merely pausing for a brief moment. It then charged at Li Fan with even greater speed. Even when Li Fan unleashed over a hundred sword lights in quick succession, the creature withstood every single one without any sign of injury.

"Damn it!" Seeing the contorted creature about to pounce, Li Fan cursed inwardly, preparing to activate 'Huan Zhen'. The next second, something entirely unexpected occurred. Instead of attacking, the contorted creature reached Li Fan, bent down, and knelt. It began to kowtow repeatedly. As it kowtowed, it emitted piteous whimpers. Blood-tears streamed from its constantly shifting eyes. Its mouth seemed to desperately try to articulate something. However, only a succession of changing, weeping, blood-soaked faces emerged from within, utterly failing to convey its inner thoughts.

"What is going on?" Li Fan, still shaken, watched the monster continue to wail and kowtow before him. Having temporarily escaped danger, Li Fan halted the activation of 'Huan Zhen'. Uncertain of the situation, Li Fan refrained from any rash movements. Instead, he patiently tried to discern the content of the contorted creature's whimpers.

"Heaven..."

"Healer..."

As he listened, he wondered if it was an effect of prolonged exposure to the abyss's demonic sounds. Li Fan once again distinguished those two words from the creature's utterances. Suppressing his shock, Li Fan tentatively asked, "Heaven, Healer?"

The contorted creature let out a dreadful wail and violently slammed its head against the ground.