Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Forcibly Crossing the River of Forgetfulness, Eagerly Drinking Meng Po’s Soup
Qiu Changtian closely followed Luo Yan, the two of them controlling Sword Light as they rushed toward the depths of the Land of Fengdu.
This Ghost Gate of the Ten Halls of Fengdu was also cleverly designed, said to be modeled after the real Netherworld.
Everywhere was filled with eerie, cold energy, and shadows of ghosts flitting about, instinctively making one feel uneasy.
If it were normal times, he would have been in the mood to explore.
But now, following the future Luo Yan, with urgency in their steps, there was no time to pause.
After traveling for dozens of minutes, a large building loomed ahead, resembling an ancient city tower, looking ferocious and terrifying under the cover of night.
“This place is the Ghost Gate,” Luo Yan reminded.
As the two dived down on their Sword Light, suddenly a Soul Hooking Envoy with a Nether Banner on its head and a tongue that was unusually long rose up, eerily saying:
“Halt, travelers. This is the Ghost Gate. Do you have a guide?
Luo Yan did not pay it any heed, merely saying:
“This is merely a minor checkpoint.”
“Trialists can accept its task, search nearby for stray souls and wild ghosts, then return and exchange them for a guide.”
“But we don’t have that kind of time.”
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Having said that, Luo Yan rapidly performed an incantation, and a spell of “Jade Pivot Divine Thunder” thundered past, blasting the Soul Hooking Envoy and flipping it over.
The cultivation realm of the Soul Hooking Envoy was not high, and it was caught off guard, failing even to conjure its protective Ghost Qi, and thus was instantly blasted into residue.
The sound of the explosion resounded through heaven and earth.
There were also some other trialists around, who had been transported to this Land of Fengdu of the Ten Halls.
After negotiating with the Soul Hooking Envoy, they were searching high and low for stray souls and wild ghosts; they turned their heads in shock, only to see two streaks of Sword Light entering the Ghost Gate, while the Soul Hooking Envoy was nowhere to be seen.
“Can it be? Who was that expert, to directly force their way through the gate?”
The onlookers all flew up to check, just in time to meet the soldiers and officers of the Netherworld rushing out from the Ghost Gate, startled. A melee ensued, and they were cut down, crying and screaming for mercy.
Since Qiu Changtian was following Luo Yan and they were the fastest, they managed to avoid the fray by sheer luck.
As the two flew over the Netherworld Path, the True Qi refined from the “Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra” was extremely pure, granting them strong endurance.
Moreover, having learned the essence of Sword Control from Shushan, the speed of their Sword Control was now far beyond the standard of the average cultivator, which is why the ghosts and monsters in their way could not catch up at all.
Continuing to fly madly, they shot straight across the Netherworld Path, arriving at the bank of a river, where suddenly, Restrictions materialized out of nowhere, oppressing them so they could no longer control their swords.
“This is the River of Forgetfulness,” Luo Yan said, “Above the River of Forgetfulness, there’s a wooden bridge called the ‘Naihe Bridge.’”
“Due to the Restrictions, we must walk across. Later, stay close behind me, and do not move around at will.”
Qiu Changtian: ?
He wanted to take advantage even in speech? Something’s off with you!
The two ran to the bridge, only to see the river water below them murky with a blood-red hue, and from it, countless slender, dark ghost hands extended, trying to fiercely drag them into the water.
Luo Yan operated the Peach Blossom Sword, with pink light flashing rapidly, and wherever it touched, the skin of the hands disintegrated into blood, annihilating numerous ghost hands, which twitched uncontrollably, flailing wildly in the air.
While controlling the sword, he indifferently recited the lines:
“If this were the real River of Forgetfulness in the Netherworld, falling into it would mean separation of flesh and bone, the Divine Soul trapped, forever unable to reincarnate.”
“But in this Trial Illusion Realm, falling into the water only means failure of the trial, and being expelled from the Pavilion.”
“The further up the bridge you go, the more stray souls and wild ghosts will attack, so remember, before setting out, to buy more Flame Rush Talismans from Yuqing View and carry them on you.”
No sooner had he finished speaking, Luo Yan suddenly brought out Magical Treasure Talisman Scripts.
The Talisman Scripts were all Flame Rush Talismans, frenziedly thrown ahead as if they cost nothing, causing the multitude of ghost hands to sizzle and shake wildly.
The Magical Treasure was Miss Shi’s signature Heaven-flipping Seal, which at that moment was spinning idly in the air, striking any hand it saw.
The ghost hands were beaten until their flesh split open, tendons ruptured, and bones fractured, forcing them to retract back into the River of Forgetfulness, daring not to emerge again.
The two continued to advance on the bridge, and indeed, as Luo Yan had said, the higher up on the bridge they went, the more ghost hands reached out from below.
While these ghost hands did not possess strong individual power, they triumphed in their nearly innumerable quantity and the extreme craftiness of their angles. If it were an average cultivator who encountered them, they would naturally suffer greatly.
However, Luo Yan was clearly well-prepared, using up one stack of Flame Rush Talismans after another, almost setting the entire wooden bridge ablaze.
The Heaven-flipping Seal was also extremely sharp, occasionally there are powerful ghostly hands piercing through the sea of fire to charge at us, each was promptly battered into a sloppy mess with a flurry of chaotic strikes.
It was not until we crossed the Naihe Bridge and reached the other shore that Qiu Changtian still hadn’t quite come to his senses.
Did I just pass through unscathed like that?
“Once you’ve crossed the River of Forgetfulness, you will come upon the Pavilion of Home Viewing,” Luo Yan suddenly pointed ahead and said.
There in front of the Pavilion stood an old crone blocking the way, behind a small table, on which a row of sea bowls was placed.
“This is Meng Po’s stall, selling the Elixir of Memory,” Luo Yan said woodenly, “Following the normal sequence of passing through, naturally, you would have to drink the soup to proceed.”
Also, drinking it would be of great benefit to you.”
After pondering for a moment, Qiu Changtian nodded and went over to take a bowl from the stall.
The soup looked whitish but not quite white, with no oily sheen, turbid throughout, emitting heat when sniffed, but lacking any appealing fragrance.
He tipped his head back and gulped it down, gurgling the soup until it was gone.
Instantly in his mind, from birth until now, memories of family alleys, skyscrapers, school playgrounds—all fluttered past in a whirl.
Parents and relatives from a previous life, teachers and friends, their voices and smiles before his eyes, but they faded away swiftly.
Unknowingly, a nameless emotion rose from within his heart, and tears streamed down his cheeks.
“Why do you seek the Daoist path?” a voice in the void asked him.
Initially immersed in profound wistfulness, fortunately, being of the Daoist Heart Clarity constitution, his mind instantly cleared, and he replied:
“To seek immortality.”
“To seek boundless freedom and ease.”
“To aspire to step out of the Three Realms and Five Elements, the cycle of the Six Paths, to ascend to the highest throne in the heavens.”
“To have mighty power within myself, no longer bound by the world!”
The voice then faded away in an instant.
Regaining his senses, he found himself feeling refreshed and clear-headed, all the flaws in his state of mind seemed to have been mended, and even his cultivation level felt like it had slightly surged.
Realizing the benefits, he turned his thoughts and looked at Luo Yan.
However, Meng Po immediately extended her claw-like old hand, protecting the row of soup bowls and declared:
“One bowl per person, drinking more is of no benefit.”
Luo Yan said indifferently:
“Recognizing that you and I are one and the same, Meng Po is also part of the Pavilion’s Restrictions, no need to worry.”
Qiu Changtian then nodded, thinking to himself what a pity.
The two of them once again proceeded at full speed.
After passing the Pavilion of Home Viewing, they were faced with Black Dog Ridge.
Although the mountain path was rough and difficult, it was not a problem for cultivators.
It’s just that, from time to time, evil dog spirits would attack in the darkness, aiming to bite at a person’s limbs.
Luo Yan remained silent, not waiting for Qiu Changtian to take action, but simply wielded the Peach Blossom Sword and the Heaven-flipping Seal, creating a flurry of strikes that left the pack of dogs yelping pitifully.
Before long, numerous evil spirits with disheveled hair and ragged clothes came rushing towards them, angrily shouting:
“These dogs are so adorable, why do you need to beat and kill them…”
As their words began, it felt almost like a tightening spell, giving Qiu Changtian a splitting headache.
Looking at Luo Yan, however, he simply did not bother to argue with them and directly struck out.
The evil spirits’ heads were busted, and they ran around in panic; in no time, they were all eliminated.
Lying amidst the scattered spiritual remains, there shone an object, though it was not clear whether it had burst forth from person or dog.
Luo Yan picked it up and stored it away, saying in a grave voice:
“This object is called the ‘Black Dog Spike’, forged with the hot blood from the neck of a robust male dog, effective for warding off evil.”
“We will be using it later on.”