Chapter 358: Mist Covers the Cemetery
Li Fan recalled the various anecdotes about the maze that Huang Fu Qi had recounted.
"Some are purely vast and boundless spaces, devoid of any other existence."
"While some are like the Abyss of Roars, hiding many strange and dangerous things."
"But everything is concealed in the vast white mist, and cultivators who mistakenly enter it are as blind as if their eyes were open, making it extremely difficult to perceive the whole picture."
"The supplies I brought can last for about fifteen days. Whether I can cross this maze depends on the circumstances of my fate in this world."
Gathering his thoughts, Li Fan did not continue to advance in the direction of the Eternal Immortal Stronghold.
Instead, he marked it as "front" and flew downward in the opposite direction.
In the usual White Mist Barrier, there is land present.
It's just a flat and silent land, with no traces of any other life or structures.
Even normal undulations are rarely seen.
It is said that walking on it will suppress the instinctive yearning for life in one's heart, leading to various impulses of self-termination.
And the maze is an independent, entirely new space.
Whether there is a "bottom" depends on the specific situation of the maze.
The Abyss of Roars has no bottom in sight.
Li Fan must explore this maze to know.
As for why he went "down" instead of flying directly out of the maze...
That's because Huangfu Song had previously mentioned to Li Fan that entering the maze is equivalent to entering a boundless paradise.
It's basically impossible to fly out of the maze by just flying.
Only by finding the connection between the maze and the normal space, the so-called "exit," can one leave.
Let's use the Abyss of Roars as an example.
Outside the city of Broken Palm Eternal, as long as a member of the Azure Mystery Army accidentally falls into the abyss and enters its territory, even if it seems to be only at the edge of the abyss, just a step across can return them to safety.
But even with such a short distance, because they are not in the same space, even if one flies until death, they may not be able to cross.
Since the establishment of Broken Palm Immortal City, no cultivator who accidentally fell into the Abyss of Roars has been able to return alive.
So, generally speaking, the scenery near the maze is different, and as long as one approaches, even if it's covered by white mist, it can still be sensed.
This is also where Li Fan's hope lies for escape.
Operating the Purple Sky Escape Art with all his might, Li Fan continued to descend, and roughly half a day passed.
As Li Fan was flying, his expression suddenly changed.
Sensing with his divine sense, not far ahead of him and within reach, it seemed like something was blocking there.
However, in the devouring white mist, the distance of divine sense perception greatly decreased.
By the time he reacted, it was already too late to dodge, and he was about to collide head-on.
Two black lights shot out from Li Fan's eyes.
Several times faster than his purple light body, they obliterated the hidden shadows in the white mist ahead.
Beneath the Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword, all obstacles turned into nothingness.
This also avoided the fate of Li Fan being knocked unconscious.
Only then did Li Fan slow down slightly, become vigilant, and cautiously approach.
After seeing what was blocking his path, Li Fan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
It wasn't some strange creature, but a section of collapsed, slanted building.
The center of the building was pierced by the Annihilation Sword, but the original appearance could still be vaguely seen.
The entire giant stone-structured tower, its decorations and doors, were still clearly visible.
Li Fan didn't rush into this collapsed building but continued to fly downward.
Soon, he landed on the ground.
With a creak, it seemed like he stepped on something.
His divine sense swept over, and Li Fan's heart tightened.
Because what he stepped on was unmistakably a living person!
Eyes glaring angrily, with a terrifying expression on his face, he stared at Li Fan!
"How can there be a living person in the maze?" This thought flashed through Li Fan's mind in an instant, and his body instinctively reacted.
His figure retreated violently, and the Great Five Elements Annihilation Sword was unsheathed again.
However, just as he was on high alert, something that astonished Li Fan happened.
The "living person" he had just made contact with, under Li Fan's gaze, made no movement at all.
His body just turned into gray particles and scattered all over the ground in an instant.
In just a breath's time, the living person turned into flying ashes.
"Huh? Not a living person, but already dead?"
Li Fan frowned slightly.
Li Fan, who had rich tomb-raiding experience, was not unfamiliar with this scene.
Those ancient relics sealed for thousands of years, still vividly alive one moment.
But after contact with the outside world, they immediately lost their original appearance, becoming rotten beyond recognition.
And the situation in this maze was even worse.
They directly turned into smoke and disappeared completely.
"What exactly is this place..."
Without relaxing his vigilance, Li Fan carefully searched around.
The scene before him, even for Li Fan, who was accustomed to bloodshed, couldn't help but feel scalp tingling.
Within a radius of a hundred meters, there were collapsed and damaged architectural ruins everywhere.
And in every corner of the ruins, many bodies lay scattered.
They still retained their appearance and expression from before their death.
As if they had seen something they deeply hated and feared, their faces were filled with despair and resentment.
Time froze at the moment of their death.
It's as if a disaster suddenly struck, and everyone in the ruins lost their lives at the same time.
No wounds, no bloodstains.
But they died like this.
Just like when Li Fan accidentally stepped on that corpse earlier, as long as they had contact with this outsider Li Fan, they would turn into flying ashes in an instant and disappear completely.
What frightened Li Fan was that these people's identities were obviously not ordinary.
The storage rings they wore and the various treasures they had just taken out but hadn't had the chance to use all indicated their identity as cultivators.
However, in the face of the unknown existence, they could only wait for death powerless, just like ordinary people.
Li Fan approached one of the bodies, trying to remove the storage ring from his hand.
To see if he could find any clues about these inexplicably dead cultivators.
Unfortunately, it was the same with those corpses.
As soon as Li Fan touched them, they immediately dispersed into smoke and disappeared.
He tried several times, and the result was the same.
Li Fan had no choice but to give up.
Suppressing the chill in his heart, he continued to explore outward.
The scene remained unchanged.
The continuous ruins had become a giant cemetery.
Burying countless bodies that had died who knows how long ago.
So much so that Li Fan began to feel a bit numb.
He increased his flying speed and quickly rushed out of the range of these ruins.
"This seems to be some kind of gathering point. Some of these cultivators have similar clothes, while others are different."
"Different sects, for some reason, have gathered here."