Luo Suzhen resided on a remote mountain peak in Tongyan Province, and it had taken Li Fan quite a bit of effort to track the place down.
Even from outside the cave abode, Li Fan could faintly sense waves of an eerie, chilling aura emanating from within.
Faint, rustling whispers swirled continuously around his ears, much like the wronged spirits of legend.
Yet Li Fan knew very well that ghost cultivators did not exist in the Xuanhuang Realm.
When cultivators fell, in the vast majority of cases, they returned their Dao directly to heaven.
Only in exceptionally rare circumstances could a remnant soul be preserved.
Even retaining intact memories of life and a lucid consciousness was difficult, let alone cultivating as a remnant soul.
Of course, those beings in the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace who had transformed into anomalies were an exception, falling outside the bounds of ordinary discussion.
Li Fan gave a cold snort, and the whispers around his ears vanished in an instant.
Striding into Luo Suzhen's cave abode, he saw human skeletons strewn everywhere in haphazard disarray.
They were all arranged in various postures, giving the impression that they were still alive.
A dwarf cultivator, standing only knee-high to Li Fan, was solemnly conversing with one of the skeletons: "Rest assured, Third Brother, I know you aren't satisfied with the new wife I found for you.
"No matter, I'm already looking for another one for you. You should talk to Fourth Brother too—failing to find a Dao companion in life was embarrassing enough, but is he really going to stay lonely for all eternity in death...?"
He babbled on with an earnest expression, as though the withered bones before him were truly alive.
Li Fan watched with an impassive face and gave a light cough, rousing the engrossed dwarf cultivator.
"Huh? Who are you?" The dwarf cultivator tilted his head back, straining to make out Li Fan's appearance.
Yet Li Fan had already altered his features and concealed himself, so the dwarf cultivator could not see through his disguise at all.
"Are you the cultivator who can reconstruct a deceased person's appearance from their skull?" Li Fan stated his purpose.
Only then did the dwarf cultivator snap out of it, nodding repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes, that's me."
He rubbed his hands together. "I've been waiting for ages. Word was that as long as I finish the reconstruction task, the reward is at least ten thousand contribution points?"
Li Fan smiled faintly and nodded. "Rest assured, you will get every bit of it.
"However, are you truly certain of your ability?" Li Fan looked down at him, weighing his words with deliberate emphasis as he asked again.
Beneath Li Fan's gaze, the intangible pressure sent a shiver through the dwarf cultivator.
Yet he quickly thumped his chest loudly and guaranteed, "I, Luo Suzhen, have dealt with the dead since childhood! In my eyes, they aren't mere skeletal frames—they're all living, breathing people! If I can't do it, I'm afraid no one else in this world can!"
Only then did Li Fan say slowly, "Then let us begin."
He laid down formations in the surroundings, sealing off Luo Suzhen's cave abode.
Li Fan then projected into the air the likeness of the skull displayed at the center of the Museum of Divine Archives.
At first, Luo Suzhen was somewhat absentminded, still glancing from time to time at the skeletons arranged throughout his cave abode.
Yet as the skull gradually materialized, Luo Suzhen's attention was drawn in.
Once the skull had fully taken shape, Luo Suzhen was completely stunned. He involuntarily drew closer to the projection, his expression dazed.
"Too perfect..."
"How could such a perfect cranial structure exist in this world?" Luo Suzhen muttered to himself.
"Perfect?" Li Fan frowned slightly.
Thinking Li Fan was questioning him, Luo Suzhen immediately explained in excitement, "Is this not considered perfection?
"Look at this frontal bone, this parietal bone, and this occipital bone...
"Sublime beyond words. The proportions and how they fit together are all so immaculate.
"It's simply... simply..."
After struggling for words for quite a while, Luo Suzhen finally squeezed out eight characters: "Natural as heaven's handiwork, utterly flawless."
Li Fan slowly narrowed his eyes.
Without waiting for Li Fan to urge him, Luo Suzhen impatiently took the initiative to reconstruct the skull's appearance in life.
His method was also quite bizarre, relying on no secret art.
Instead, with nervous trepidation, he began attempting to converse with the skull.
Being merely a projection, it naturally could not reply to Luo Suzhen.
Yet Luo Suzhen grew increasingly excited, as though he had truly received a response.
Just as Li Fan was growing suspicious, he saw Luo Suzhen wave his right hand through empty air, beginning to delineate the skull's living appearance.
And so Li Fan waited patiently once more.
As the facial features were progressively restored, the expression on Li Fan's face gradually grew grave.
When the portrait finally appeared before Li Fan...
He struggled to control his facial expression, attempting to conceal the shock in his heart.
He stared at the image in the air for a long time.
Li Fan asked in a low voice, "Are you... certain you haven't made a mistake?"
Even though he knew the question was futile, Li Fan still asked it.
Sure enough, Luo Suzhen's reaction was intensely agitated: "Made a mistake? You can question my—"
Before he could finish, Li Fan took a deep breath and waved his wide sleeve, sweeping Luo Suzhen along with everything in the cave abode into the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens to suppress them.
Afterward, he erased every trace of the place.
"How could it be him?"
Standing suspended in the air for a long time, Li Fan remained thoroughly baffled.
Unable to face this reality.
"The first cultivator infected by the immortal-mortal miasma. The first cultivator infected by the immortal-mortal miasma..."
Li Fan pondered for a long time before taking flight, speeding toward the Congyun Sea.
His destination was naturally the location of Master Yin, who was likewise conducting research on the immortal-mortal miasma.
In Li Fan's perception, Master Yin's research had still not reached its ultimate conclusion.
And Master Yin seemed to have sensed something, becoming hesitant and indecisive, wavering back and forth.
The frequency of his experiments had noticeably dropped.
There was even...
a hint of reluctance to perform the final step of verification.
Pushing his speed to the utmost, Li Fan soon arrived before Master Yin.
Master Yin was quite startled by Li Fan's sudden appearance.
Just as he was about to speak, Li Fan took the initiative to wave his hand, stopping him.
"Fellow Daoist Yin, regarding the first cultivator infected by the immortal-mortal miasma...
"I have made an astonishing discovery."
Master Yin shuddered violently, staring at Li Fan in utter disbelief.
"This outcome is too inconceivable. It simply defies explanation. You must have had some premonition of it as well, haven't you?"
Master Yin remained silent for a good while before nodding bitterly.
Li Fan took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "Then please, begin the final verification.
"I would also like you to help me confirm it."
Remaining motionless for a long time, Master Yin let out a dejected sigh, then led Li Fan to the front of the testing chamber.
Through the transparent outer wall, Li Fan could faintly see the white rib held by Master Yin placed within.
Thick white miasma steadily spewed from all around, filling the entire area.
Master Yin formed incantation gestures continuously, his expression shifting.
Under his manipulation, the fog slowly thinned.
Gradually, something in the air seemed to flow into that white rib.
Once the transparent area was completely cleared, Master Yin, having confirmed his suspicion, turned pale as death and collapsed to the ground.
"It really is so. It truly is so,"
he muttered under his breath.
Li Fan, meanwhile, slowly spoke the answer.
"The first cultivator infected by the immortal-mortal miasma is the very person who created it."
Chapter 959