Chapter 729 Huangfu Song’s Legacy

But things did not go as planned.

Even after Li Fan and his two companions had explored every corner of this Lost Domain, they still could not find an exit. With no other option, they returned to the black sphere.

"It seems that if we want to get out, we have to find a way through this thing," Huangfu Song said, his expression sour.

"You don't think the exit is inside it, do you?" Dongfang Yao shuddered.

"What exactly is this black sphere? You two are well-traveled and knowledgeable. Any ideas?" Li Fan stared at it for a long moment before asking.

"I know that there are some things that divine sense cannot perceive. But this thing doesn't match any of them!"

Both Dongfang and Huangfu were at a loss.

Silence stretched on. Then the black talisman above Li Fan's head began to fade, its energy spent.

"Staying put won't solve anything. Let's test its nature first."

He replaced the talisman with a new one, then flew over to one of the tentacles spewing from the black sphere. Gently, he reached out and touched it.

His hand passed through empty air, like grasping at a phantom.

"It's like something that doesn't exist. So why could it snag the Samantabhadra True Boat?" The three exchanged baffled glances.

Li Fan hesitated a moment, then shielded himself and flew straight toward the enormous black sphere. Huangfu and Dongfang hesitated only briefly before following.

The writhing mass of black, viscous matter pressed together, filling their entire field of vision.

Suppressing the pounding in their hearts, the three forced themselves to endure the discomfort and burrowed into the sphere's interior.

They could not make contact with this black substance with either divine sense or physical touch. But once their bodies were fully enveloped, a strange sensation crept over them.

It felt as if cold, slimy insects were slithering over their skin, clammy and nauseating.

Mercifully, aside from this mental torment, the viscous black substance seemed to pose no other harm.

Like wading through a muddy swamp, they crept forward step by step, advancing toward the core region.

After some unknown span of time, the endless black sea around them finally began to change.

Ahead, something seemed to give off a faint light.

"Quick! The exit must be up ahead!" Huangfu Song sent a mental transmission, his voice tinged with excitement.

Li Fan and Dongfang Yao were about to respond when the calm black sea around them erupted into a frenzy.

In an instant, the black, viscous substance came alive and surged madly toward Huangfu Song.

Moments ago it had been an intangible substance that could not be touched. Now, for some unknown reason, it had found an opening.

It poured through Huangfu Song's seven orifices and into his body.

"Ugh..."

His face twisted into sheer terror, and his body began to swell like a balloon being inflated.

"Save me!"

Unable to speak, Huangfu Song transmitted his plea to his two companions.

But this only made things worse. The black substance flooded into him even faster.

His face contorted with agony and fury.

Artifacts flew from his body one after another. He even produced a Disassembler Disc and set up an array around himself in the blink of an eye.

It was all futile.

In a flash, his body swelled to more than ten times its original size.

Bang!

Under the horrified gazes of Li Fan and Dongfang Yao, it exploded with a thunderous roar.

No blood or viscera flew. Only a vast torrent of black, viscous matter sprayed in every direction.

By all logic, any cultivator at the Nascent Soul realm and above could be reborn in an instant as long as their grotto-heaven remained intact, even if their physical body perished.

But what happened next chilled both men to the core.

They waited. And waited. But Huangfu Song’s flesh did not regenerate.

Instead, they saw a faint glimmer of light break through the air and vanish toward some unknown destination.

Is he... dead? Li Fan stared, stunned.

"Huangfu!" Dongfang Yao's eyes blazed with fury. He lunged forward, desperately searching for any trace of his friend.

But all he found on the ground were the items Huangfu Song had carried, including the Heaven-Measuring Mirror and the Disassembler Disc. Nothing else remained, not even a single strand of hair.

Li Fan replayed the event in his mind, and a suspicion surfaced.

Perhaps that black, viscous substance was… corporealized divine sense!

Shuddering in alarm, Li Fan shouted, "Brother Dongfang, listen to me! Do not let your divine sense leave your body! Use only spoken words!"

Dongfang Yao understood instantly, his face turning pale.

Li Fan flew to his side and gathered up Huangfu Song's belongings.

Then, in a low voice, he commanded, "This place is too dangerous. We leave. Now."

He grabbed Dongfang Yao and shot toward the center of the black sphere.

Earlier outside the sphere, the divine sense had been scattered, so their own probing divine senses had triggered no reaction.

But inside this black sphere, the divine sense was condensed to a horrifying density.

When Huangfu Song rashly sent out a mental transmission, it was like striking a hornet's nest. The condensed divine sense found a breach.

It poured into his mind before he could resist.

Even with the resilience of a Spirit Transformation cultivator’s soul, it was utterly impossible to withstand such a monumental flood.

He was overwhelmed on the spot, his soul shattered and scattered to the winds.

Grief wracked Dongfang Yao, and cold sweat drenched his back.

If he had been the one to send his divine sense out first...

Li Fan pulled Dongfang Yao through the central layer of light and into a relatively open interior space.

There was no solid black divine sense here. Instead, transparent faces drifted everywhere.

Joy, anger, sorrow, fear… there were ountless expressions, each unique. None of them had eyes.

They swirled like a school of fish, wandering and drifting endlessly.

Dongfang Yao trembled in terror, dodging these floating faces as if they were plagues.

Li Fan, however, reached out and seized one without hesitation, then absorbed it.

A moment later, a blurry image appeared in his mind.

Wails and weeping rose from every direction.

Under a sky drenched in blood, a shadow of death devoured every living thing it touched.

It was as if his eyes were covered. He could only make out the vaguest outline of the scene.

When that shadow reached him from the horizon, his vision went black. The image in his mind shattered.

Li Fan concentrated, trying to sense whether his soul or divine sense had grown stronger.

But the sudden disappearance of that transparent face drew the attention of the other entities around them. They grew restless, their wandering quickening. He weighed his options for a moment, then decided against acting rashly.

"Let's go!"

Li Fan led Dongfang Yao to the highest point of the space, where the light shone brightest.

There, they found the exit of the Lost Domain.

His vision blurred. Moments later, the two of them stood outside the Lost Domain.

"Brother Huangfu!"

Only then did Dongfang Yao snap back to reality and break down in tears.