"Besides, when I report back, I might even be able to pry something useful out of the Heavenly Physician."
With that thought, Li Fan sent another wisp of divine sense into the blue sphere of light.
Perhaps influenced by Li Fan's earlier provocation, the black light swirling across Hanhai's blue-and-white orb was moving several times faster than before.
It was like a violent tempest had been stirred up, churning the orb until it grew somewhat chaotic.
As a result, both the frequency and the intensity of the shockwaves Hanhai released outward were constantly increasing.
"It seems his emotional instability really is caused by years of torment in nightmares and his thirst for revenge."
Like a compassionate healer devoted to saving the world, Li Fan began pondering how to cure Hanhai's affliction.
The ways of medicine were fundamentally similar.
Throughout history, people like Hanhai who could not pull themselves out of past hatred were by no means rare.
Before long, Li Fan came up with a countermeasure.
Waiting for a lull between the erupting shockwaves, Li Fan's wisp of divine sense plunged once more into the black storm swirling over the orb.
It was still the cyclical nightmare.
Only now, likely due to Hanhai's extreme emotional instability, the scene seen from Li Fan's first-person perspective was coated in a dark yellow filter.
Moreover, it was in a perpetual state of trembling.
This made the already horrifying scenes of slaughter appear even more grim and gruesome.
Li Fan lurked in secret, quietly waiting for the "plot" to unfold.
Soon, the memory reached the point where Hanhai "saw through" the murderer's true identity.
Hanhai's body shook slightly, an expression of disbelief on his face. "The Heavenly Physician? You're the Heavenly Physician?!"
The murderer cooperated completely, revealing an eerie smile. "Hehehe. That's right. I am the Heavenly Physician!"
Having received the answer, veins bulged across Hanhai's entire body, his eyes wide with fury.
Just as his mind was about to be consumed by wrath...
An intensely cold voice suddenly rang in his heart.
Ethereal and elusive, yet like a torrential downpour, it instantly doused Hanhai's boundless fury. "Don't be fooled by him!"
"Look closer! Who is he really?!"
"This person is utterly devoid of conscience, cruel to the extreme. How could such an evil being admit his true identity so easily?"
"Wake up! The heavy burden of revenge rests entirely upon you! There cannot be the slightest mistake!"
Amid the relentless whispering, Hanhai could not help but shudder.
"Right... that's right..."
"How could he admit it the moment I asked?"
"There's definitely something strange about this..."
"Who are you? Who are you really!"
Hanhai muttered under his breath, looking once more toward the murderer before him.
To his immense shock, his suspicion caused the other party's appearance and aura to shift once again.
He was no longer the Heavenly Physician, but had transformed into the stern, solemn Venerable Tianyu!
"No... how could Venerable Tianyu do such a thing?!"
Hanhai shook his head madly, as if trying to banish the terrifying thought from his mind.
Yet as his doubts multiplied, the murderer's appearance continued to shift.
"Venerable Tianyou? Venerable Tianyin? Tianyi..."
The only constant was the aura of authority representing the Tianfa Realm.
To have one's enemy right before one's eyes yet lack the power to take revenge was already tragic beyond measure.
Yet even more tragic was not even knowing who the true enemy was.
He could not even find a concrete target for his vengeance.
The surrounding scene shook with growing violence, and cracks began spreading across the dark yellow filter.
Finally, Hanhai could no longer endure the torment.
The scene shattered with a resounding crash.
The resulting burst of violent energy buried everything within this nightmare.
*It worked!*
Li Fan thought to himself just before that wisp of consciousness dissipated.
***
Outside the blue sphere in Hanhai's dwelling.
With Hanhai's mind temporarily collapsing, the shockwaves that periodically burst forth to damage the seal's restrictions finally ceased.
"His bone-deep hatred has now turned into confusion over who his enemy actually is. That should keep him quiet for a while."
"Still, as time passes, he'll probably find a new target for revenge."
"Hmm... and it'll probably still end up being the Heavenly Physician."
Over the course of thousands of years, the Heavenly Physician had clearly treated Hanhai more than once. Otherwise, given the degree of torment from such nightmares, it would have been impossible for him to retain any semblance of sanity.
Yet each time, he ultimately reverted to viewing the Heavenly Physician as the culprit...
"Perhaps in Hanhai's subconscious, of all the Venerables of the Tianfa Realm back then, only the Heavenly Physician was capable of committing such an atrocity."
Li Fan pondered for a moment, determining the reason behind this phenomenon.
In truth, Li Fan could somewhat understand Hanhai's perspective.
The healing methods of the Heavenly Physician recorded in the *Mending the Heavens Record* and the *Heavenly Physician Immortal Scripture* truly ran contrary to the values of normal people.
They were far more outrageous than merely "fighting poison with poison."
Curing the illness and achieving the goal was the supreme priority. As for what methods were employed during the process...
None of that fell within the Heavenly Physician's consideration.
Taking Li Fan's "treatment" of Hanhai this time as an example, the process could practically be summed up in one word: trickery.
Although Hanhai would no longer suffer from the pain brought by hatred, he would remain trapped in endless confusion.
He was cured, yet not entirely cured.
At the very least, however, the original "symptom" Li Fan had set out to treat was indeed resolved.
This was the essence that ran through the Dao of the Heavenly Physician.
It might clash with the moral compass of ordinary people.
Yet Li Fan felt no psychological barrier whatsoever in using it.
"The Heavenly Physician..."
Li Fan's eyes flickered slightly as he slowly reined in his thoughts.
Having confirmed that his treatment was effective and that Hanhai would not assault the seal again in the short term, Li Fan set about repairing the restrictions.
The restriction known as "Hidden World Concealing the Void" was exceedingly intricate.
Regarding the Dao of restrictions, Li Fan had only dabbled in it slightly during his previous cycles.
However, mastery of one principle led to mastery of ten thousand. Formations and restrictions shared many similarities.
Moreover, the Heavenly Physician's instructions had been extraordinarily detailed.
Throughout the entire process, no errors occurred.
After half a month, the loosened seal was finally reinforced once again.
The Cloud Water Heavenly Palace sank once more into absolute, dead silence.
"For them, perhaps sinking into eternal slumber is the best outcome after all."
Li Fan sighed inwardly, gently placing a jug of wine at the foot of Qin Tang's stone statue.
Then, taking to flight, he quietly departed from the place.
***
Outside the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, the anomaly that had previously manifested in the sky had disappeared.
The former tranquility had returned.
For the moment, Li Fan could not think of a way to contact the Heavenly Physician.
So he merely cupped his hands toward the sky in a respectful salute, signaling that he had completed his task.
Chapter 956