Chapter 721: The Corpse Giant Suddenly Unravels

Huangfu Song saw that Li Fan had fallen into deep thought and assumed he was also considering turning back to search for lifespan-extending treasures.

He immediately began to persuade him otherwise.

Without Li Fan, he and Dongfang couldn't explore the Lost Domain with the same efficiency as before. Their hope of redeeming the limited treasures on the Qingxuan Catalog would grow even more remote.

"In truth, this bounty from Immortal Venerable Lan Yu is actually good for us," Huangfu Song said, putting on a thoughtful air. "Think of it as a shifting tide. When one side recedes, the other advances. A significant number of cultivators have been drawn back, which means the competition here in the White Mist will decrease..."

Li Fan smiled and waved a hand, cutting him off. "Brother Huangfu, there's no need to worry. I have no intention of returning. In fact, I might end up staying in the White Mist longer than the two of you."

Dongfang Yao's curiosity sparked. "Oh? Brother Li, have you set your sights on something specific from the Qingxuan Catalog?"

Li Fan didn't bother hiding it. After a pause, he said, "The Final Stone Disc."

Dongfang and Huangfu exchanged a glance. "Gambling a hundred thousand Qingxuan Points on a secondary entity whose function is still unknown..."

Dongfang Yao quickly urged him to reconsider. "Brother Li, think twice! The risk is far too great. If that thing turns out to have nothing but a fancy name and no practical use, wouldn't that be a total loss? You'd be better off looking at other options. Even redeeming a Dao Unity technique would be a better deal. Even if you can't use it yourself, you could trade it with someone else..."

Dongfang Yao rambled on, while Huangfu Song considered the matter and offered his own opinion. "The Final Stone Disc... I've heard that after this secondary entity was born, no other Tianxuan secondary entity appeared for a full ten years. It caused quite a panic among the higher-ups at headquarters. They were terrified that no more secondary entities would ever descend again.

"That's how it earned the name 'Final.'

"However," Huangfu Song frowned slightly, "the prolonged anomaly it caused within the Tianxuan Mirror led everyone to believe it possessed some unique quality. But after a long period of research, no definitive results came to light. In the end, they had to give up studying it. That's probably why the Immortal Alliance put it on the Qingxuan Catalog.

"Still, it is a Tianxuan secondary entity. Perhaps it has some practical use the Immortal Alliance hasn't yet discovered. A hundred thousand Qingxuan Points is steep, but if you gamble right..."

Li Fan smiled and finished the thought. "A single win yields a thousandfold profit! I'm willing to take the risk."

Dongfang Yao clicked his tongue. "Brother Li, you have a gambler's heart. And if that thing turns out to be nothing but a worthless piece of rock..."

"Then at the very least, it'll have some collector's value. There's no way it'll be a total loss!" Li Fan laughed, radiating nonchalance.

"Right now, my only worry is whether someone else will try to compete with me. There are thousands upon thousands of cultivators in the Immortal Alliance. I can't be the only one with a gambling streak."

Huangfu Song clapped his hands. "Then we'd better pick up the pace. We're still a long way from a hundred thousand Qingxuan Points!"

After this discussion, the three of them settled on their goal and continued exploring the Lost Domain in full force.

Time slipped away.

Huangfu and Dongfang had long since redeemed the Disassembler Disc and the Primordial-Devouring Sacred Body Art respectively, and had shifted their focus to other treasures.

Their accumulated Qingxuan Points crept closer and closer to the hundred-thousand mark.

By now, the three of them had explored thirteen Lost Domains in total, including the very first one, the Life-Death Reversal Lost Domain.

Practice made perfect. As exploration grew smoother, Li Fan began to notice patterns in the nature and distribution of the Lost Domains.

He had already concluded that the current Xuanhuang World had formed when the ancient Xuanhuang World merged with many other worlds. Now he suspected that the so-called Lost Domains were fragments broken away from their original worlds during that collision and integration.

The Lost Domains were eerily strange, often bound by their own unique laws, a trait that closely resembled the Oddities within the Xuanhuang World.

By comparing the clothing styles of the cultivator corpses and the decorative patterns of the architecture within the Lost Domains, Li Fan realized these Lost Domains clearly had different origins.

World-level evolution occurred amid these collisions, and the White Mist was the buffer zone between them.

After completing the exploration of yet another Lost Domain, the idea crystallized in Li Fan's mind.

This might also explain the vast empty space within the White Mist. It had originally been the distance between worlds.

"Damn it. Finding undiscovered Lost Domains is getting harder and harder."

The Samantabhadra True Boat had been flying through the White Mist for several days, passing several Lost Domains, but the Heaven-Measuring Mirror kept signaling that each had already been explored. Dongfang Yao cursed.

Huangfu Song turned the Disassembler Disc over in his hand, speaking somewhat absently. "It's only natural. It's been almost a year since the Myriad Immortals Alliance implemented the exploration policy, hasn't it? With the number of cultivators in the Alliance, the shallow layers of the White Mist should be mostly mapped by now. If we want more gains from here on, we'll have to push deeper..."

Thump! Before Huangfu Song could finish, a deafening crash rang out.

Something had fallen onto the Samantabhadra True Boat from above, causing the vessel to shudder violently.

Huangfu Song instinctively put away the Disassembler Disc. He swept the area with his divine sense, and bewilderment crossed his face.

What had collided with the speeding Samantabhadra True Boat was, astonishingly, the corpse of a cultivator.

Judging by the clothing, they hadn't come from a Lost Domain, but rather the Myriad Immortals Alliance.

The three men tensed instantly, expressions sharpening. Fearing the worst for this fellow Alliance cultivator, they braced for whatever danger lay ahead.

What followed made all three of them go cold.

Thump.

Thump.

One impact, then two. Then more, coming faster and faster.

A continuous barrage shook the Samantabhadra True Boat, and its protective light shield flickered dangerously.

Huangfu Song hastily cast a reinforcing arcane art with a pale face, his eyes fixed on the scene outside.

Above them stretched a pitch-black mass without end. Countless cultivator corpses fell from the sky like rain.

Some were relatively intact. Others had shattered entirely, reduced to scattered limbs.

Without exception, each body was ringed at its edges with distorted, writhing marks, like lengths of black rope coiled across the flesh.

On the rare occasions a face was visible, it bore none of the savage, twisted horror seen in the Lost Domains. Their eyes were shut, their expressions peaceful.

The rain of corpses showed no sign of stopping.

Bursting through the downpour at full speed risked damaging the True Boat. With no better option, the three of them brought the vessel to a halt and set about striking aside the bodies falling from above.

These were lifeless objects, posing little real threat, but the scene still sent a deep chill through all three of them.

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