The secret chamber below had no lighting and was pitch-black.
Yet under the sweep of Li Fan's divine sense, the scene within was laid completely bare.
A wisp of flame flicked from his hand, lighting an existing candle.
As the candlelight danced, Li Fan's expression gradually grew solemn.
In this space—neither overly large nor small—a faceless stone statue stood leaning against the wall.
In the center sat a long, dark-brown wooden table.
Traces of congealed, dark-red blood were faintly visible upon it.
At the corner of the table sat a wooden box.
Opening it, Li Fan discovered tools of unknown purpose: hammers, knives, nails, needles, and the like.
Lined along the walls were numerous transparent jars.
Soaked in unidentified liquid within the jars were countless bizarrely shaped organs.
In one corner, Li Fan even spotted several skeletal specimens of human children.
"Mr. Bai..."
Li Fan's expression turned inscrutable as he continued searching the secret chamber.
In another corner, he noticed that the marks on the ground differed slightly from the rest.
His divine sense probed beneath the earth.
Buried within were one, two...
Twenty-eight skeletons.
Judging by the remains, all were half-human, half-beast beings just like Gouzi from the small temple.
Beyond this, there was nothing more to be found in the chamber.
Li Fan did not rush to act, pausing where he stood in thought.
From the various items discovered in this secret chamber, Mr. Bai's persona as "the greatest philanthropist in the world" seemed to be challenged.
Yet...
It could not be completely overturned just yet.
Back when he had still been a mortal governing a region in Great Xuan, Li Fan had judged countless cases, big and small.
Some cases that appeared remarkably simple at first glance often concealed hidden truths.
Take the sight before his eyes, for instance.
It was possible that Mr. Bai had disguised himself exceedingly well. On the surface, he seemed profoundly kind-hearted, but in truth, he was utterly wicked. The skeletons buried underground might have all perished at his hands. Perhaps even those half-human, half-beast creatures in Ningyuan City were entirely the handiwork of his masterful medical skill. And his aid to the orphans in the small temple might have merely been a convenient way to select research subjects.
Yet it was also possible that Mr. Bai was not putting on a disguise. The specimens and corpses in this secret chamber might simply have been used for his medical research. Having transmigrated here, Li Fan did not find such things hard to accept. In Ningyuan City, however, this would likely be considered horrifying and scandalous. Hiding in this underground chamber to conduct his research might simply have been an unavoidable choice, forced upon him by a world that could not understand.
Both possibilities existed.
As to what the truth was, Li Fan would have to verify it himself.
For now, what was almost certain was that the master of this realm of lingering memories was none other than this "Mr. Bai" whom he had never met.
Li Fan decided not to alter his previous plan for the moment, aiming first to resolve the Ningyuan Longevity Fruit Harvest incident without any mortal casualties before doing anything else.
With his mind made up, Li Fan turned his gaze to the somewhat damaged stone statue.
A vast amount of time seemed to have passed since the statue's creation. Covered in the weathered scars of ages, it retained none of its past divinity. Its featureless face stared quietly back at Li Fan.
"A stone this large will be more than enough to forge two or three sets of Immortal-Severing Stone nails," Li Fan thought to himself.
Glancing again at the wooden box on the table, Li Fan was even more pleased.
"Very good. Even the tools are already laid out for me."
Without further hesitation, Li Fan used his divine sense to manipulate the hammers, chisels, knives, and other tools.
After a bout of clinking and clattering, dozens of slender Immortal-Severing Stone nails were finished, which Li Fan arranged one by one on the long table in the basement.
"Next, I must test whether the Sealing Immortals, Severing Qi needle technique can subdue Senior Brother Zhang.
"If it can...
"Chu Liang and the others are mere rabble. I can easily capture them with the Insect Binding divine ability.
"As for Song Hesong, I can do the same and subdue him with Immortal-Severing Stone needles.
"Hm, these Immortal-Severing Stones cannot be stored in a storage ring, so I must lure him into the trap."
After a moment's thought, Li Fan returned to the surface and brought the Immortal-Severing Stone slab into the underground chamber.
Then he sent a message to Senior Brother Zhang:
"Senior Brother, come quickly! I've made a major discovery!"
Li Fan then went back down into the secret chamber, blew out the candle, and quietly awaited Senior Brother Zhang's arrival.
Before long, Zhang Qianmo's voice came from above: "Hm? Junior Brother, what did you discover in this secret chamber?
"So many skeletons...
"Wait, beast seeds?!"
Sensing those half-beast, half-human skeletons in the chamber, Zhang Qianmo's tone instantly darkened.
Faint traces of anger showed as he flew down into the underground chamber.
"Senior Brother, look. Not only are there many bizarre corpses and bones here, but there is also a peculiar stone statue. I don't know where it came from."
In the darkness, Li Fan slowly drew close to Zhang Qianmo, pointing toward the battered stone statue as he spoke.
Unable to use divine sense, Zhang Qianmo relied on the faint light filtering from above to finally notice the faceless stone statue nearby.
His mind shook violently, and he cried out in shock, "A Profound Heaven Divine Statue?!"
Right at that moment, Li Fan behind him violently thrust a slender stone nail straight into his back at the position corresponding to his dantian.
It pierced clean through.
Zhang Qianmo let out a muffled groan.
Never expecting his dear junior brother to ambush him, Zhang Qianmo seemed to realize something; his expression changed drastically, and he turned to retaliate.
However, the circulation of spiritual energy in his dantian stalled, causing the Purple Cloud Thunder Art he intended to cast to lag by a breath.
In that split second, another stone nail was driven viciously into his chest at the Danzhong acupoint.
Then, in rapid succession,
A total of thirty-six Immortal-Severing Stone needles sealed off every vital acupoint across Zhang Qianmo's body.
His entire aura plummeted. Senior Brother Zhang, whose apparent cultivation was at the Foundation Establishment stage, was instantly reduced to the level of an ordinary mortal.
"Sealing Immortals, Severing Qi...
"Profound Heaven Sect remnants..."
Though captured, Zhang Qianmo showed little panic on his face. Instead, he glared at Li Fan and hissed with hatred:
"You're not Junior Brother Li Chen!
"What did you do to my junior brother?!"
Li Fan had not expected these Immortal-Severing Stone nails to be so effective, subduing Senior Brother Zhang with such ease.
Hearing him mistake him for some "Profound Heaven Sect remnant," Li Fan felt a stir within.
Yet on the surface, he remained completely unfazed, speaking in his usual tone: "Senior Brother, you're truly muddled. Can you not even recognize your own junior brother?"
Then, one by one, he recounted past events from Li Chen's memories that only the two fellow disciples knew about.
Zhang Qianmo's expression shifted continuously, filled with shock and suspicion.
"Was Junior Brother soul-searched? No, with the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder intent protecting him, he wouldn't fear any soul searching arts...
"Could it be..."
Zhang Qianmo's face darkened completely.
"To think that you, Junior Brother, were a sleeper agent planted by the Profound Heaven Sect in our Purple Cloud Sect from childhood!"
Li Fan was inwardly amused.
Yet he could tell Zhang Qianmo seemed confident and fearless, completely unconcerned about his own predicament.
Instead, he was looking to seize this opportunity to coax information out of him.
Li Fan therefore decided to play along and beat him at his own game.
"Senior Brother, you must be joking. Profound Heaven Sect? I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Li Fan said with a shrug, looking utterly innocent.
"No idea?"
Zhang Qianmo sneered.
"At this point, drop the act.
"Concealing a Profound Heaven Divine Statue and engaging in deceitful schemes—who else could it be besides remnants of the Profound Heaven Sect?
"Junior Brother, all these years, you've certainly hidden yourself well."
Chapter 283