Chapter 690: Corpse Formation Absorbing Vitality

"I'm afraid even if we wanted to leave, we wouldn't be able to for some time," Li Fan reminded them coolly.

Huangfu Song then remembered that once one entered the mystic realm, departure was only possible by finding and passing through a specific location. Otherwise, though seemingly within reach, it was as distant as the ends of the earth; a mere step away, yet an eternal chasm.

Instantly, a drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

"This..."

Dongfang Yao, with more courage, patted Huangfu Song's shoulder and comforted him, saying, "Relax, Brother Huangfu. Although this place seems a bit eerie, they are all dead people after all. There shouldn't be any danger."

"If you're truly afraid, just hide behind me. I'll take the lead," he promised, patting his chest.

Huangfu Song nodded repeatedly, saying, "Then I'll leave it to you. But be careful, this place..."

He hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "I don't sense a trace of death qi. These cultivators, they might still be alive."

Hearing this, Dongfang Yao's body instantly trembled.

"Brother Huangfu, it's one thing not to exert yourself. But don't talk nonsense!" Dongfang Yao's gaze swept over the countless ice coffins on the black ocean, and his face turned extremely grim.

"There's no need to scare yourselves. Since we're here, let's accept the situation and figure things out first," Li Fan said, stepping forward. Compared to the two beside him, Li Fan, who possessed a rare treasure and could escape at any moment, appeared much calmer, and he commanded with composure.

The three put away the Puxian True Skiff, formed a defensive formation, and set up protective spell arrays around themselves. They also donned the various defensive magical artifacts they had prepared and carefully glided above the sea surface.

The Quantian Mirror flickered with green light, collecting and recording data from the areas they passed through.

The three dared not approach the frozen cultivators floating on the sea surface, merely observing them carefully from a distance.

"Judging from their attire, they appear to be cultivators from the ancient immortal cultivation world. We can't sense any aura from them, so it's impossible to determine their cultivation level."

"Strange, they don't seem alive. Yet, compared to dead people, there seems to be a subtle difference."

"I wonder what they saw before they were frozen. The expressions on their faces are truly terrifying."

"And who did all this? To be able to instantly freeze such a vast number of cultivators... their cultivation level must be..."

The three continuously communicated with each other using divine sense. No one acted rashly or attempted to break the ice coffins below.

Indeed, the magical artifacts, pills, and even cultivation techniques carried by countless ancient cultivators looked incredibly tempting. However, no one could guarantee that breaking the ice coffins wouldn't trigger unknown changes.

What's more, with the Qingxuan points they could obtain from exploring the mystic realm, simply returning safely from here would already mean a huge profit.

With the enticing rewards from the Myriad Immortals Alliance already awaiting them, the ancient cultivators' treasures seemed far less appealing.

In the Dead Silent Black Sea, time itself seemed to have come to a standstill. There was no change of sunrise or sunset, and the sky remained perpetually gloomy and gray.

The connection between the Quantian Mirror and the Tianxuan Mirror seemed to have been severed. The trio's rapidly increasing reward points were only recorded in the ancient square mirror and had not been synchronized.

Huangfu Song and the others knew that if they couldn't get out alive, any Qingxuan points would be meaningless — just a bunch of numbers that couldn't be redeemed. However, if they could successfully escape after completing this exploration, even if they gained nothing further in subsequent actions, what they obtained here alone would be more than enough.

Therefore, they proceeded with extreme caution.

By their reckoning, they had flown for dozens of days, yet still hadn't reached the end of this black sea region.

What met their eyes were still countless frozen corpses.

Even Dongfang Yao knew something was amiss.

"Are we circling the same spot?"

Huangfu Song nodded in agreement. "It seems so now. Although our direction of travel appeared to be a straight line, it's clear that our perception has been twisted by some power in this place. Otherwise, the corpses we've seen these past few days would number in the billions. Even if all the cultivators from the ancient immortal cultivation world were buried here, there wouldn't be this many."

Li Fan, however, remained silent.

He compared and reorganized the images recorded by the Dao Transformation Stone in his mind.

Blue light flickered, as if operating at its very limit.

Soon after, Li Fan discovered a fact that chilled him to the bone.

In reality, up until now, the frozen cultivators they had encountered appeared to be unique, with no repetitions.

Or rather, even if he had overlooked a few with identical appearances, the vast majority of cultivators they saw in this Dead Silent Black Sea were indeed distinct individuals.

"A total of 2.6798 billion cultivators lie sleeping here."

"And this is just what I've seen so far."

Li Fan couldn't help but gaze into the distance, where a dense mass of ice coffins floated on the ocean, still with no end in sight.

"Just how many..."

The strangeness of this mystic realm truly surpassed his imagination.

"Continuing like this is not a solution. We need to find a way out quickly," Huangfu Song said. As he spoke, he suddenly let out a light cough.

Li Fan and Dongfang Yao were momentarily stunned. They exchanged glances, their expressions subtly changing.

"Huangfu, are you alright?" Dongfang Yao quickly moved to Huangfu Song's side, grabbed his shoulder, and began to check his physical condition.

A moment later.

"Strange, there's nothing unusual," Dongfang Yao said, his expression extremely grave. "But what was that cough just now?"

Huangfu Song also realized something was amiss. After closing his eyes and sensing carefully, his face turned grim. "I feel a bit weaker," he said. "It's as if my life force is constantly draining away..."

He looked down at the Dead Silent Black Sea below. "This ocean seems to be draining our life force," he said.

"I see," Dongfang Yao said. "My constitution is a bit sturdier than yours, so I'm fine for now." As he said this, Dongfang Yao suddenly paused.

He couldn't help but look at Li Fan. "But, Fellow Daoist Li Fan, how are you...?"

Huangfu Song's eyes also narrowed.

After all, it was precisely because of Li Fan's guidance that they had come to this strange mystic realm. Huangfu Song was also aware that Dongfang Yao had a unique constitution.

Yet Li Fan, who outwardly only possessed Nascent Soul cultivation, was more "energetic" than Huangfu Song, who was at the Soul Transformation stage, and could actually last longer on this Dead Silent Sea...

Huangfu Song couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Li Fan naturally understood this. He smiled slightly and shook his head. "My two brothers, there's no need to harbor doubts. Perhaps it's because my Grotto-heaven Dharmic Domain is wood-attributed, which grants me a more vigorous life force."

"Under these circumstances, we should still work together wholeheartedly and by no means allow any discord to arise."

"Brother Huangfu, take the Longevity Pill I gave you. It might have a miraculous effect."

Seeing Li Fan's frankness, Huangfu Song temporarily suppressed the suspicion in his heart. He took out a jade bottle and, after consuming the Longevity Pill, his complexion indeed improved.

"It truly works! Thank you, Brother Li!" Huangfu Song said, looking somewhat abashed.

"It's nothing," Li Fan said, waving his hand, seemingly not minding at all.

"Regarding how to get out, Brother Huangfu, do you have any ideas?" he asked.