Everlasting Immortal Firmament
chapter-103

Li Haoran could no longer resist, so Gu Hai went over and started searching him. Soon, Gu Hai found a golden medallion.

“Not in the Divine Strategy Token; it is in his bracelet! The bracelet! The Dragon Luring Jade is in his storage bracelet!” Long Wanqing shouted from outside the protective barrier.

“Oh?” Gu Hai lowered his hand and looked at the dried bones of Li Haoran’s right arm. Indeed, there was a bracelet there.

Gu Hai kicked the bones away and picked up the bracelet.

Whoosh!

As Gu Hai checked the bracelet, a figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“The Unborn Man?” Liu Nian, who was pressing his hands on his wounds, felt shocked at the Unborn Man’s arrival.

“Liu Nian, why are you in such a miserable state? This is not like you, right?” the Unborn Man asked indifferently.

With a bitter smile, Venerable Liu Nian replied, “This is Old Mister Guan Qi’s setup, and I am not the player. How could I resist?”

The Unborn Man shook his head. Then, he turned his head to look at the nearby Li Haoran.

At the side, Long Wanqing’s expression changed when she saw the black-and-white-robed Unborn Man. After some silence, she finally asked, “Senior Unborn Man, did you learn anything in the nether realm?”

“The Unborn Man?” Gu Hai frowned slightly as he looked at the Unborn Man, as he could sense that the Unborn Man had not entered the puzzle with the identity of a Go stone. He was not a white Go stone, a black Go stone, or a transparent Go stone, so how did he get in?

Whoosh!

The Unborn Man just waved his hand.

Whoosh!

A strong gale suddenly blew. Then, a faint green figure slowly materialized amid the wind.

That faint green figure gradually grew distinct, showing the appearance of a woman wearing a gauze dress. She appeared dazed, but her eyes eventually grew spirited.

“Aunt Lu? Is that you? Aunt Lu?” Long Wanqing suddenly called out in shock.

“This is…a ghost? This is an earthly soul that is about to reincarnate? Where did you find her?” Venerable Liu Nian said in shock.

“A ghost? This is Aunt Lu’s ghost? Aunt Lu, do you remember me? I am Long Wanqing! I am Long Wanqing!” Long Wanqing immediately cried out.

The ghost looked at Long Wanqing before suddenly revealing joy on her face. “First Young Miss, you…you have grown so big?”

“Aunt Lu, I was six when you all left. When I heard news of you all again, you all had already… Now, I am thirty!” Long Wanqing said bitterly.

“More than twenty years have passed already? Haha! It felt like a nightmare! I thought that I would never be able to take revenge for the hall master. Unexpectedly, I still have an opportunity before I reincarnate. To think that there is such a chance! The hall master died a miserable death! Sob! Sob! Sob!” The ghost started crying.

The countless cultivators in the surroundings looked at the Unborn Man in shock.

A ghost? How did the Unborn Man find a ghost?

“Aunt Lu, who was it? Who killed my mother? Tell me. Tell me!” Long Wanqing said anxiously.

“Who was it? Who was it? Haha! No one expected that the hall master’s murderer would be him! The Li Haoran who paid so much attention to the hall master. He is the one who killed the hall master!” the ghost said hatefully, suddenly pointing at Li Haoran.

“What?” Long Wanqing’s expression changed.

Gu Hai did not say anything, just watched silently.

“That’s impossible. How could it be him?!” Venerable Liu Nian exclaimed in shock.

“Teacher Liu Nian, why did you become a monk?” The ghost looked at Venerable Liu Nian.

Venerable Liu Nian shook his head but did not explain.

“Is it because of the hall master? Haha! I should have thought about it. Teacher loved the hall master so much. When she died, Teacher’s heart died with her? However, it’s true. I was the hall master’s maid. I accompanied her at all times. It was Li Haoran, definitely him. He went crazy and killed everyone. He killed me too. Before I died, I saw him kill the hall master in cold blood, shooting an arrow through her heart. Hahaha! Who could have thought that Li Haoran would attack us? It was him! He was the one!” the ghost said hatefully as she pointed at Li Haoran.

Long Wanqing’s expression changed. Ding Rui had said that before Li Haoran killed her, so Gu Hai started suspecting Li Haoran. However, Long Wanqing had not believed her.

Some guilt flashed in Long Wanqing’s eyes as she looked at Gu Hai.

However, Gu Hai stared straight at the Unborn Man. If the Unborn Man and Venerable Liu Nian were sure about this, they would not be showing such expressions.

“I did not! I did not kill her! It’s not me! Cough! Cough! Cough! It’s not me!” Li Haoran shouted in horror with eyes wide open.

“It was you! Li Haoran, I saw it myself. Aside from me, there was also Ding Rui. Ding Rui saw it too. Where is she?” the ghost cried out.

“It really is Li Haoran?” Long Wanqing said while goggling.

“It can’t be. If it were Li Haoran, Long Wanqing’s maternal grandfather would have figured it out already. He definitely would have found out if it were Li Haoran!” Venerable Liu Nian shook his head.

“It’s not me! I did not do it! I did not do it!” Li Haoran exclaimed weakly.

“I saw it with my own eyes! I can’t be wrong!” The ghost hatefully looked at Li Haoran.

The Unborn Man walked slowly towards Li Haoran. Gu Hai opened up the defensive barrier and let the Unborn Man enter.

“Li Haoran, Li Shenji’s nephew, right? Back then, Li Shenji single-handedly established the Divine Strategy Battalion. Did he hand it to you later on? Li Shenji is considered an incredible and influential person. How did he end up with such a scoundrelly nephew like you?” the Unborn Man said indifferently.

[TL Note: The given name of Li Shenji, which is Shenji, has the same characters as the divine strategy in Divine Strategy Battalion. This likely means that Li Shenji named the Divine Strategy Battalion after himself.]

“Ah? Senior, you know my uncle?” the weak Li Haoran said emotionally, as though he had found his savior.

“Answer this, did you kill the previous Elite Hall Master, Long Xiaoyue? Did you kill Long Xiaoyue?” the Unborn Man asked.

The Unborn Man’s voices seemed to contain a power of some sort, inducing lethargy in anyone who heard it, as though they had fallen under a curse.

Li Haoran’s eyes suddenly turned vacant as he said blankly, “I did not. I did not kill Long Xiaoyue. I wanted to pursue her, but she did not like me in the same way. I did not kill her!”

Buzz!

Everyone suddenly startled awake and looked at the Unborn Man in horror.

Earlier, Gu Hai felt that power charge at his mind. If not for the black Go stone in his forehead space trembling, he might have fallen under this spell too.

“Senior, it is him! I saw it with my own eyes. I can guarantee it on my earthly soul! I saw it with my own eyes at that time!” the ghost cried out anxiously.

“What did you do to me? My uncle will not spare you!” Li Haoran shouted in horror.

“Your uncle, Li Shenji? Haha! If you killed Long Xiaoyue, do you think that your uncle would dare to turn hostile against Long Xiaoyue’s father?” the Unborn Man said indifferently.

Li Haoran’s face immediately turned ashen.

Clearly, Long Wanqing’s maternal grandfather held great prestige. Even Li Haoran did not think that the uncle he was proud of would dare to turn hostile to Long Wanqing’s maternal grandfather.

“I feel that even Li Shenji would not dare to do this. How could you, Li Haoran, dare to kill Long Xiaoyue? Aren’t you afraid of having your entire clan executed?” The Unborn Man looked at Li Haoran with a suspicious gaze.

“Indeed. If it were Li Haoran, wouldn’t it have been discovered long ago?” Venerable Liu Nian said doubtfully.

“However, the one I saw was him!” the ghost shouted as she pointed at Li Haoran.

“You keep accusing me, but I did not! I did not kill Long Xiaoyue!” Li Haoran roared anxiously.

“That’s not right. Perhaps there is a possibility…” the Unborn Man said.

“Oh?” Venerable Liu Nian narrowed his eyes, appearing to have guessed as well. “Memory removal? Li Haoran erased that memory so that even he forgot what happened back then? Then, no matter what others did, they would not find out anything from him?”

“Memory removal?” Long Wanqing said in shock. “He went to such extreme lengths? Memory removal can injure one’s three spiritual souls, right?”

“Let me check your three spiritual souls for damage. If there is any damage, then that is evidence of memory removal!” The Unborn Man extended his hand towards Li Haoran.

“No! No!” Li Haoran cried out in alarm.

Buzz!

However, just before the Unborn Man grabbed Li Haoran’s head, a golden light came out of Li Haoran’s forehead. Li Haoran’s expression changed dramatically, evincing extreme pain. “Argh!”

“What?” the Unborn Man exclaimed.

Boom!

Li Haoran’s head suddenly exploded. Then, a strong wind blew through the surroundings.

Whoosh!

After the strong wind passed, Li Haoran’s head was already gone from the explosion.

“Who is it?!” Venerable Liu Nian’s expression changed as he tossed out nine Buddhist prayer beads.

The nine Buddhist prayer beads released a dazzling azure light that encased the surroundings. However, the strong wind just subsided slowly as if it had never been there.

The Unborn Man extended his hand to catch something.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The Unborn Man suddenly grabbed slivers of transparent wisps.

“This is?” Venerable Liu Nian exclaimed.

“Li Haoran’s three spiritual souls are all shattered!” the Unborn Man said coldly.

“Li Haoran committed suicide?” Long Wanqing exclaimed.

“It was not suicide. Someone silenced him!” Venerable Liu Nian’s expression changed. “Who was it? To think that he could destroy Li Haoran’s three spiritual souls under our noses?”

“No! It should be that someone tampered with Li Haoran’s three spiritual souls. That person is far away. It’s just that some sort of trigger was activated, which exploded Li Haoran’s three spiritual souls!” the Unborn Man said sullenly.

“Li Haoran died already. Hall Master, you can rest in peace now. Li Haoran is finally dead! Sob! Sob! Sob! Sob!” the ghost woman cried.

“Alright. Many thanks to you for this. I’ll send you back to the nether realm,” the Unborn Man said indifferently.

“Yes. Many thanks, Senior!” the ghost said tearfully.

The Unborn Man stretched out his hand and waved.

Buzz!

The ghost vanished slowly, giving the surrounding cultivators a chill.

“My mother is avenged?” Long Wanqing felt conflicted as she looked at Li Haoran’s corpse.

“Haha! The previous hall master’s vengeance? Perhaps it is just starting?” Gu Hai smiled bitterly.

“You mean that…?” Long Wanqing looked at Gu Hai. After experiencing so much, she now had unusually great trust in Gu Hai.

“Li Haoran should just be a tool. Venerable, what do you all think?” Gu Hai turned to Venerable Liu Nian.

Venerable Liu Nian’s expression changed as he nodded. “Li Haoran must have been possessed at that time. Someone used the power of souls to possess Li Haoran and used his body to kill Xiaoyue!”

“Who could it be? Who could possess Li Haoran?” Long Wanqing asked with an unsightly expression.

“Naturally, the culprit behind the scenes is an expert several times stronger than Li Haoran. That person should be a Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator,” Venerable Liu Nian said with an unsightly expression.

“A Heavenly Palace Realm expert?” Long Wanqing’s expression changed.

“The trail goes cold again? That person behind the scenes is really thorough. After possessing Li Haoran, he even left restraints in Li Haoran’s three spiritual souls? Haha! Lass, the person you offended is quite incredible!” The Unborn Man’s voices contained a trace of bitterness.