Chapter 689: Dead Sea Seals Ten Thousand Cultivators

"If exploring ordinary white fog areas yields contribution points, then what's gained from exploring a mystic realm should be these Azure Profound Points."

Li Fan's gaze inadvertently swept over the Quantian Mirror, which hung above the Puxian True Boat, emitting a brilliant azure light that illuminated a hundred-zhang radius."Is the Profound Heaven Array the core, and the Azure Profound Mirror the foundation...?"The Azure Profound Mirror, Li Fan had heard Zhang Zhiliang mention it in his previous life. It was one of the secondary bodies of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, replicating and storing all knowledge and information that existed within the Heavenly Profound Mirror before its separation from the main body. It encompassed everything, practically an offline encyclopedia of the Xuanhuang Realm.

As for the core formation...After the Myriad Immortals Alliance unearthed the Profound Heaven Dharma King, who had been dormant in the Purple Cloud Sect in this life, the formation with the Heavenly Profound Mirror as its core had become vastly different from the previous life. It had changed from the "Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock" to the "Profound Heaven Spirit Seal." It was more aggressive. Moreover, and most importantly, the difference in the order of the characters "Xuan" (Profound) and "Tian" (Heaven) seemed to indicate that the Profound Heaven Spirit Seal Formation was under the control of cultivators. Whether it was the small mirror that Immortal Lord Hongxi manifested when facing Chiyan, or the Quantian Mirror, which existed as an individual entity at this moment yet possessed part of the Heavenly Profound Mirror's power, both served as evidence for this view.

"Speaking of which, I wonder if the Disintegration Disc, which was the biggest highlight of the Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock Formation construction competition in my previous life, will appear on the Azure Profound Point exchange list this time."The Heavenly Profound Mirror's secondary bodies, as entities separated and evolved from the Heavenly Profound Mirror, although considerably inferior to the main body, were still considered top-tier exotic treasures in the Xuanhuang Realm. Based on what Li Fan knew, the Azure Profound Mirror recorded all things in the world; the Disintegration Disc possessed powerful computing ability and unparalleled formation-breaking power; the Calamity Annihilation Stone Plate could even block Xuan Net perception and create loopholes."If I'm fortunate enough to obtain one of these secondary bodies in this life, I should absolutely choose it when selecting a 'save' option at the end of the 'True Reversion'.""After all, even if I return to the Golden Core stage, achieving the Nascent Soul stage would just be repeating a process for me."

Just as Li Fan's thoughts were swirling and he was lost in imagination, a sudden whispering sound came from beside his ear, jolting him awake from his reverie. Li Fan abruptly looked left and right. Inside the white fog, there was absolute silence. Therefore, in comparison, this sudden, inexplicable whispering was so distinct and eerie. Li Fan squinted, trying to discern the source of the sound. But the sound's direction shifted left and right, front and back, sometimes even appearing as if it were right next to Li Fan's ear. It made his hair stand on end.

Li Fan's unusual behavior quickly caught Huangfu Song's attention. "Brother Li, what's wrong?" he asked with concern. Dongfang Yao, who had been listless, also perked up at the sound and cast a questioning gaze. "Did you hear anything?" Li Fan counter-questioned, his expression somewhat grave. "Huh? Sound? It's very quiet inside this white fog..." Dongfang Yao and Huangfu Song exchanged puzzled glances.

Waving his hand, Li Fan interrupted their intention to press further. He flew to the bow of the Puxian True Boat, concentrating and listening carefully to the whispers coming from within the white fog. The flying boat continued forward, and it was a full incense stick's time before the whispers disappeared from Li Fan's ear."Strange," Li Fan thought. He connected his consciousness to the Quantian Mirror to check their current location. They had already left the large, explored area of blue-black fog, forging a narrow path through the endless white and continuing forward. A flash of inspiration struck Li Fan, and he immediately thought of something."Change direction, head back," Li Fan said to Huangfu Song in a deep voice.

Huangfu Song hesitated for a moment, but seeing Li Fan's serious expression, he immediately complied. Returning along their previous path, it wasn't long before the previously vanished whispers reappeared by Li Fan's ear. "Fly this way," Li Fan said, standing at the bow, simultaneously discerning the sound's source and guiding Huangfu Song. As the Puxian True Boat continuously changed its course, the ceaseless whispers by his ear grew louder. After exceeding a certain threshold, Li Fan could finally clearly distinguish the content of the sound."Tian...""Yi..."

A tremendous sense of oppression instantly surged into his heart. But because he had already anticipated it, he wasn't startled by the content of the whispers. "It seems the 'Tian Yi' (Heavenly Doctor) sound I heard on my way to Chizha Abyss in my previous life wasn't a hallucination caused by my deepest fears," he mused, "but something that genuinely existed." Li Fan suddenly realized.

The Puxian True Boat continued to fly forward according to Li Fan's guidance. The surroundings remained a vast expanse of white, seemingly unchanged. However, Li Fan keenly noticed that the Azure Profound Points for all three people on board instantly changed from zero to one hundred. And they were rapidly increasing as the Puxian True Boat continued its exploration. "Slow down. We should have entered a mystic realm now," Li Fan instructed in a deep voice.

Huangfu Song was first stunned, then after checking the Quantian Mirror, he was overjoyed. "Brother Li, how did you know there was a mystic realm here? Was it because of the sound you mentioned earlier?" he asked Li Fan, pressing quickly."Yes. But what's strange is that after entering here, those peculiar sounds suddenly vanished," Li Fan nodded in reply, while simultaneously sending his spiritual sense to explore the surroundings."We're really going to get rich now. This must be an unfamiliar mystic realm no one has ever set foot in. Our Azure Profound Points are skyrocketing!" Huangfu Song said gleefully.Dongfang Yao, however, reminded them, "It's better to be careful. I always feel a chilling presence here."

After continuing to fly forward for a distance, the Soul-Devouring White Fog began to thin out. It finally vanished completely, revealing the hidden face of this mystic realm. After seeing the scene before them clearly, even Huangfu and Dongfang, who prided themselves on being well-traveled and knowledgeable, stood rooted to the spot, their limbs turning cold. Li Fan, however, took a deep breath, calming the shock in his heart.As far as the eye could see, there was a black, desolate ocean. There wasn't a single ripple on the surface; instead, countless ice crystal cubes floated upon it. Inside each cube, a cultivator's corpse was frozen. Through the ice crystals, one could faintly discern their final expressions before death: anger, fear, confusion... They were lifelike, as if they were still alive. Dense, packed ice crystal coffins filled their entire field of vision, covering the black ocean. It was impossible to estimate how many there truly were. It was as if all the cultivators in the entire world had been frozen and buried here. The intense visual impact plunged the Puxian True Boat into a deathly silence.After a long time, Huangfu Song swallowed, quietly suggesting, "How about we retreat...?" It was clear that Huangfu Song, usually so greedy, had been thoroughly intimidated by the incredibly eerie sight before him.