Chapter 937: A Single Thought Creates Ten Thousand Ghosts

The hollow eye sockets of the skull glowed with a faint, dark light.

It seemed to be staring back at Sacred Fetus Li Fan, as if piercing through layers of obstacles.

However, Li Fan felt no coldness or fear; instead, he experienced a sense of familiarity and warmth.

It was as if...

He had known the owner of this skull before.

“Strange, this feeling...”

The Sacred Fetus gazed at the skull for a long time, not moving.

Unlike other exhibits in the Divine Relic Museum, there was no detailed description for this particular skull.

Its only identification was that it belonged to the first cultivator infected by the Immortal-Mortal Miasma.

Perhaps due to the Immortal-Mortal Miasma infection during its life, it was indistinguishable from the remains of a deceased mortal.

Compared to the bones of some powerful cultivators, which glowed with a faint white light after their demise, the difference was immediately apparent.

According to the docent, perhaps no one, except the curator of the Divine Relic Museum, knew why this item was placed in the very center of the museum.

However, its prominent display in the central position of the entire Divine Relic Museum was enough to signify its importance.

This applied to both its practical and commemorative value.

Through the subtle emotional fluctuations sensed from his main body, the Sacred Fetus also knew that this skull seemed equally significant to him.

However, it was clearly not yet time to take it.

With one last, deep look at the skull, Sacred Fetus Li Fan was about to leave when something suddenly occurred to him.

He turned back, meticulously memorizing the skull's entire appearance.

“Perhaps the cultivator's appearance can be reconstructed from the skull's shape.”

It was precisely for this reason that his main body had issued this instruction.

Although Li Fan himself didn't possess this skill, there would surely be cultivators in the vast Xuanhuang Realm who could achieve it.

Subsequently, the Sacred Fetus explored the Divine Relic Museum for a considerable time.

Only after confirming that his main body had simultaneously mastered the complete contents of the Three Calamities, Hundred Tribulations, Bright Spirit Method did he feign reluctance to leave and departed from the museum.

The escorting cultivator was still dutifully waiting outside the door.

He only vanished after seeing the Sacred Fetus out of the Immortal Alliance headquarters.

Sacred Fetus Li Fan sneered inwardly as he sensed the faint, elusive presence of a cultivator secretly following him.

Without the slightest hesitation, he decisively chose self-destruction.

His Nascent Soul Cavern, like a searing ball of light, burst open with a tremendous roar.

By the time the tracking cultivator realized something was wrong and hurried to catch up,

Sacred Fetus Li Fan had already vanished, reduced to dust!

The tracking cultivator, clad in black, also had the character 'Fa' (Law) inscribed on his forehead.

He gazed at the sky with a grim expression.

To his surprise, there was no unusual phenomenon signaling a cultivator's demise.

“Elder Zhen was right,” he muttered. “It really was a clone!”

“Unfortunately, I didn't expect him to be so resolute and cautious, cutting off the trail!”

“It seems we can only investigate starting from that Law-Seeking Jade Tablet.”

A flicker of unwillingness crossed the black-clad cultivator's eyes, but after repeatedly surveying the scene and still finding no clues, he could only depart begrudgingly.

In the Spiritwood Realm.

Li Fan was meticulously studying the Three Calamities, Hundred Tribulations, Bright Spirit Method in his secret chamber.

He had previously issued a 'divine oracle' through the Faceless Divine Statue, instructing cultivators of the Myriad Realms Alliance to find someone capable of reconstructing the original appearance of the skull's owner.

He believed it wouldn't be long before there were results.

“If I can ascertain the person's identity, I might be able to discover the nature of that eternal remnant thought, which truly holds immense attraction.”

Putting that matter aside for the moment, Li Fan now focused all his attention on the cultivation method before him.

As the reference for deduction was the Three Perils, Ghost-God, Underworld Scroll, and Li Fan's requirement was for the resulting cultivation method to exhibit similar characteristics and effects,

the Three Calamities, Hundred Tribulations, Bright Spirit Method could almost be described as a low-fidelity imitation of the Underworld Scroll.

The Three Perils, Ghost-God, Underworld Scroll involved cultivating countless thoughts within oneself into ghost-god-like entities.

Each ghost-god could be seen as an independent entity.

However, they were created by the main body and remained under its control.

After mastering the Three Calamities, Hundred Tribulations, Bright Spirit Method, countless 'ghost-gods' would similarly exist within one's body.

But instead of severing one's thoughts to form separate entities, these were constructs of divine consciousness, forged and nurtured.

Strictly speaking, these 'ghost-gods' were still part of Li Fan's consciousness.

They were merely unique manifestations.

While their power ceiling was lower, there was no risk of them spiraling out of control.

On the contrary, by transforming distracting thoughts into constructs of consciousness, one's Dao Heart could become even purer.

Of course, for Li Fan, who possessed the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra, he didn't have many distracting thoughts to begin with.

Therefore, to cultivate this method, Li Fan needed to specifically generate numerous thoughts.

Half a month later.

Before Li Fan, a grotesque, transparent construct, neither fully human nor non-human, with two heads and seven arms, suddenly appeared.

After observing the thought construct for a moment, Li Fan felt something wasn't quite right.

Although it was also a thought construct, it seemed significantly different from those created by the Three Perils, Ghost-God, Underworld Scroll.

After much thought, Li Fan finally realized.

“With my mind undivided, the thought constructs I generate inevitably appear somewhat noble and righteous.”

“Unlike the Underworld Scroll's creations, which are sinister and chilling.”

Once Li Fan understood the reason for the difference, dark thoughts soon began to surface in his mind.

Consequently, the subsequent thought constructs became extremely sinister.

Li Fan then proceeded in the same manner.

Normally, generating thought constructs was not something achieved in a single day.

It required slow cultivation, integrating insights gained from the tribulations one had experienced.

Only through accumulated effort over time could an army of thought constructs be nurtured.

But how could Li Fan be an ordinary person?

He had experienced far too much across multiple cycles of reincarnation.

The historical trajectories of the various branches of the Xuanhuang Realm, and all the sights and experiences within them, transformed into nourishment for creating thought constructs.

Furthermore, he benefited from having personally witnessed the Xuanhuang Realm's destruction by a True Immortal's gaze.

The ultimate expressions of terror and despair from countless cultivators during that world-ending event allowed some of Li Fan's created thought constructs to appear horrifyingly abnormal and utterly chilling to behold.

With the augmentation of the Limitless Waxing and Waning Method, his mental fortitude was unparalleled.

Just over ten days later, a formidable army of sinister 'ghost-gods,' brimming with malevolent and resentful energy, had taken root within Li Fan's body.

Feeling his own creation, even Li Fan couldn't help but frown.

“I fear if I release them all at once, it would truly be the advent of a ghastly realm.”

With a thought, Li Fan teleported into an empty space.

It was the enhanced Two Poles Micro-Dust Array, used to trap Yan Fangzhou!

At this moment, Yan Fangzhou seemed utterly unable to bear the inhuman torment.

His eyes were vacant, and he sat blankly on the ground.

He was like a walking corpse, completely devoid of life.

Compared to his spirited and elegant appearance when he first arrived, the difference was like heaven and earth.