Chapter 649: Entering the City

An uproar broke out at the Ferry of Oblivion.

“How did he get on first?”

“He was clearly at the very end of the line.”

“Could it be that this is the secret method for boarding the Empty Return Raft? But how could merely introducing common knowledge achieve this?”

The spirits and soul cultivators clamored, utterly bewildered.

After a moment of stunned silence, the elder who had guided Sun Lingtong bowed deeply to Yun Xiao’s Reflection, saying, “Thank you, esteemed senior, for your great kindness and for elevating this junior. I am deeply grateful and will proclaim your benevolence and fairness my entire life!”

Upon hearing his words, the Ferry of Oblivion immediately fell silent. No matter how resentful or confused they were, they wisely shut their mouths. The reason was simple: Yun Xiao’s Reflection had promoted the elder. To question this was to oppose Yun Xiao’s Reflection’s choice!

Yun Xiao’s Reflection, however, showed no reaction. He waved his long sleeve again. The next moment, Sun Lingtong vanished from his spot and appeared on the Empty Return Raft.

An uproar once again erupted at the Ferry of Oblivion.

“What’s going on?!”

“How did that little brat get up there too?”

“Why is he allowed on? He was just the one being helped.”

If not for the rules, these soul cultivators and spirits would probably have attacked the elder and the young boy on the Empty Return Raft. This was outrageous! The Empty Return Raft only had ten spots, and two were gone in an instant. It was known that the number of people currently queuing at the Ferry of Oblivion far exceeded thirty. The ferry spots were extremely limited, and Sun Lingtong and the elder boarding early made many spirits and soul cultivators almost curse aloud, shouting about favoritism!

Sun Lingtong, as one of the parties involved, also felt quite bewildered. He walked over to the elder and inquired telepathically, “Elder, what exactly is going on?”

The elder winked at Sun Lingtong. “This is actually all thanks to you, little fellow. Consider it an old man owing you a favor.”

“Huh?” Sun Lingtong was puzzled. He was clearly the one who had been guided and helped.

The elder looked deeply at Sun Lingtong. “Little fellow, who were you in your previous life? What good deeds did you do to possess such immense merit and light of purity?”

“You are a truly good person.”

“Therefore, my little help to you was already sufficient.”

Sun Lingtong’s pupils contracted slightly, and his heart pounded. He quickly understood the truth: How could he be a truly good person? Without the Void Gate’s interference, he had enjoyed stealing in his daily life; how could he possess a pure aura?

“It’s the aura Little Ning’s mother gave me.”

“She said it could help me enter the Immortal City of Oblivion.”

“So this aura actually has such a great use!”

Although he had understood, Sun Lingtong still feigned ignorance, scratching his head. “I’m not sure.”

The elder patted his shoulder. “It’s normal to lose some memories when becoming a spirit. It doesn’t matter if you can’t figure it out; I said I owe you a favor, and I will definitely repay you.”

While the two communicated telepathically, Yun Xiao’s Reflection repeatedly waved his sleeve, selecting eight more individuals to board the Empty Return Raft. Yun Xiao’s Reflection gradually faded, finally dissipating into the vast river mist.

The many soul cultivators and spirits left at the Ferry of Oblivion watched longingly, or glared with wide, angry eyes, staring fixedly as the Empty Return Raft leisurely drifted away. Many kept their gazes on Sun Lingtong and the elder, their throats bobbing as they opened their mouths to speak, but ultimately dared not utter a single curse word. After all, they could still continue to queue here, waiting for a chance to board later. If they were to curse openly, enraging Yun Xiao’s Reflection and getting themselves expelled, they would truly never have this opportunity again in their lives.

The Empty Return Raft slowly drifted on the surface of the River of Oblivion. It wasn't shaped like an ordinary vessel; rather, it resembled a colossal, slightly concave, frost-white crescent moon, or a gigantic, half-withered lotus petal with distinct veins. The bow and stern of the raft curved naturally inward, with fluid lines that still conveyed a sense of decaying beauty. Its entire body emitted an extremely faint, almost ethereal, moon-white soft glow, forming a protective aura as thin as a cicada's wing yet incredibly resilient.

Sun Lingtong, being restless, couldn't stay still and paced around on the Empty Return Raft. He poked here and prodded there. He discovered that the raft's material was highly unusual: neither metal nor wood, neither stone nor jade. The raft's body seemed to be woven from countless translucent, hair-thin glass-like veins, within which extremely dim, star-dust-like silver light faintly flowed, resembling solidified tear stains. The material filling the spaces between the veins was beyond Sun Lingtong's comprehension; he couldn't identify it at all. It felt icy to the touch, yet its texture was unexpectedly tough and stable, possessing both fragility and tenacity after enduring ages. This made Sun Lingtong think of moonlight—but a congealed, cold moonlight.

The entire raft was exquisitely beautiful, yet it exuded a bone-deep sense of loneliness and emptiness. Sun Lingtong, recalling the story of Yun Xiao and Yue Yi, couldn't help but feel a hint of the unending and irreparable loss in Yun Xiao's heart.

The waters of the River of Oblivion surged. Countless spirits floated and struggled within, emitting silent shrieks and wails. Upon seeing the people on the Empty Return Raft, they all rushed forward, displaying despair and malicious intent to drag others down with them.

The soul cultivators and spirits on the Empty Return Raft felt tense. They knew well the dire consequences of being pulled into the water. Moreover, the raft itself didn't feel solid; standing on it gave a strange sensation of floating, like treading on dense, cold mist, which made everyone feel uneasy.

The long river surged, waves crashing against the Empty Return Raft's light shield, kicking up sprays of water and causing the raft to tremble. Each tremor would activate the starlight and moon glow within the raft's glass-like veins. Silver-white star-dust light and soft moon-white radiance intertwined, firmly protecting everyone on the raft.

A swirling vortex formed by intertwining undercurrents trapped the Empty Return Raft. For a time, the raft could only spin in place, causing those on board to blanch and grow even more anxious. Fortunately, the vortex soon vanished, and the Empty Return Raft resumed its journey.

On the surface of the River of Oblivion, an eerie wind howled, waves roared, and the wails of sinking spirits could be heard. Inside the raft, however, there was a profound stillness, a stark contrast to the chaos outside.

However, this stillness was almost deathly, completely unsettling. The longer they remained, the more a heavy sadness permeated their hearts. At the same time, they felt an emptiness within, as if a void had opened up, draining all meaning from life and making everything seem utterly lifeless. Past regrets and the pain of loss were invisibly magnified yet had nowhere to be expressed, tormenting those on the raft to no end.

The River of Oblivion seemed endless, and everyone's sense of time became extremely blurred. Perhaps only an incense stick's worth of time had passed, yet it felt as if they had drifted for a thousand years. Surrounded by boundless eerie winds, murky waves, and resentful spirits, only the Empty Return Raft beneath their feet emitted a small, faint, yet steadfast field of light, like the sole ark of deliverance floating in a desperate abyss.

In the oppressive atmosphere, the raft gently vibrated, and then the moon-white light shield enveloping it quickly faded and disappeared. Those on the raft were utterly astonished, for they discovered that they had arrived at the Immortal City of Oblivion. More precisely, they had reached the city's foundation.

Innumerable unimaginably colossal black pillars, like the fangs of primeval beasts, grimly pierced through the murky waters of the River of Oblivion, some winding, others straight, stabbing towards the sky. The place where the Empty Return Raft docked could barely be called a 'dock'—a few uneven, exceptionally slippery stone steps extended from beneath the dark waterline, disappearing into the shadows of the stone pillars. Murky waves surged and crashed just inches below their feet, splashing foul foam that almost reached their ankles, while the mournful wails of resentful spirits, mixed with the eerie wind, echoed ceaselessly among the pillars.

As soon as Sun Lingtong stepped off the Empty Return Raft, he was enveloped by a bone-chilling eerie wind. He carefully ascended the stone steps, climbing all the way up. There were no railings on the steps, which were narrow and slippery underfoot, with the surging, murky River of Oblivion beside them. The higher they climbed, the more anxious everyone became, as a single misstep could send them plunging into the irretrievable depths of the river.

After ascending more than halfway, the eerie wind grew even fiercer, howling past, cold as a blade. Eerie grayish-white mists drifted everywhere, capable of draining one's spirit and physical strength. The closer they got to the Immortal City, the more life signs appeared—more and more vines emerged, capable of tangling around ankles, and even spirits and soul bodies were not spared. Piles of weathered white bones in the crevices of the stones silently recounted the fates of those who had failed the climb.

When Sun Lingtong's group first set out, there were ten of them. By the time they reached the summit, only four remained. Sun Lingtong's limbs felt as heavy as lead, and his heart was filled with dread, despair, and other negative emotions, leaving him utterly exhausted both mentally and physically. The elder honored his promise, intervening multiple times along the way to help Sun Lingtong with the climb.

Upon reaching the colossal city gate, Sun Lingtong collapsed directly onto the ground, too exhausted to move, panting heavily. The other three were in no better state. The stone platform was wide and icy cold. The city walls of the Immortal City of Oblivion loomed high, like an iron curtain descending from the sky.

Rumble...

Sensing the four newcomers, including Sun Lingtong, the heavy city gate slowly creaked open. Above the gate, a precious mirror hung. It was an ancient bronze mirror, covered in an iron-gray patina, yet exuding a faint reddish-blue hue. Its surface resembled murky mercury, faintly revealing swirling grayish-black quicksand and emitting a grim, phosphorescent glow. It was the Sin Mirror.

The four cultivators, either prostrate or seated, observed the Sin Mirror while catching their breath. After a long while, the first one to recover stood up, formally took a step, and slowly walked towards the open gate.

Buzz—!

The ancient bronze mirror suddenly vibrated, its hum almost shrill, tearing through the silence. The Sin Mirror's surface abruptly erupted with a beam of green light, causing eyes to ache intensely.

“Argh...”

The spirit cultivator struck by the beam let out a scream, black and red light-fire erupting from their body, which then rapidly dissipated under the green mirror light, like snow melting in intense sunlight.

Sun Lingtong and the others' pupils constricted sharply in shock. The vanishing spirit cultivator, possessing Golden Core cultivation, was utterly powerless to resist, more fragile than an infant under the green light. And once activated, the Sin Mirror did not stop. After the grim green beam annihilated the first spirit cultivator, it swept across, landing on the elder who had helped Sun Lingtong.

The elder, who had been sitting, immediately lowered his head, as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on his neck. He resisted with all his might, his entire body emitting plumes of white smoke and trembling violently under the mirror's light.

Sun Lingtong and the fourth spirit cultivator were observing when, unexpectedly, the green light beam suddenly expanded, engulfing both of them. Sun Lingtong's heart leaped into his throat. In that instant, he felt as if he had been stripped bare and placed in a world of ice and snow, all his past sins exposed without a hiding place!

Just as he felt he was doomed, the aura he carried suddenly emanated, enveloping his entire body. This aura was from the Buddha Healer, Meng Yaoyin! Under the green light's illumination, the aura displayed resplendent golden radiance, along with a pure white glow, like auspicious clouds rising. The grim, green light, originally cold, severe, and imbued with an aura of judgment and destruction, immediately softened and warmed above the golden radiance and auspicious clouds. The Sin Mirror, sensing merit and purity, calmed its hum, as if in acknowledgment.

The elder transmitted a thought telepathically: “My heavens, little fellow, just how many good deeds did you do in your lifetime?” He was already close to collapse and quietly acted, stealing a few wisps of the aura to bolster himself.

The green light shining on both of them quickly dissipated. The remaining green light continued to envelop the fourth person for a moment, leaving them severely injured and unconscious before it slowly faded away. The elder looked at the fourth person with lingering fear and explained to Sun Lingtong, “Although he didn’t pass, his sins weren’t too deep, so he was spared his life. Once he recovers, he can return the same way, board the Empty Return Raft, and go back to the other side of the river.”

Sun Lingtong, however, squinted his eyes, scrutinizing the elder. The elder waved his hand at him. “I’m ashamed, my young friend, I’ve benefited from you again. I will definitely repay you handsomely once we enter the city.” Sun Lingtong hummed in acknowledgment before turning his head away.

He walked ahead, with the elder behind him. The old and the young pair thus walked through the city gate, officially entering the Immortal City of Oblivion!

Meanwhile, on another path.

Hoofbeats thundered like rolling thunder as a spectral cavalry regiment marched in a mighty procession. The cavalrymen were all spirits, either blue-faced and fanged, or red-haired with ghostly eyes. However, their bone-blade battle flags fluttering in the wind, their cold, gleaming crescent greatswords, their spatial-rending long spears compressed from talismans, and their black-blooded paper horses all revealed their true identity—the Azure Scorched Army!

After separating from Sun Lingtong and Buddha Healer Meng Yaoyin, Ning Zhuo, Qing Chi, and others also set off for the battlefield. The reason they could transform into various spirits was a spell inherent to the Azure Scorched Army's unique troop type, called 'Human-Spirit Visage'. This spell allowed the soldiers to become either completely human or entirely spectral. However, it didn't cover their battle flags, weapons, and other equipment, making these their vulnerabilities. Fortunately, their marching route was quite secluded, so even if they encountered scattered spirits or soul cultivators along the way, it caused no significant harm.

“Above us should be the altar for the Heavenly Demon Incarnation’s Calamity Offering!” Ning Zhuo, following the guidance of Buddha Healer Meng Yaoyin, arrived at the correct location. He and Qing Chi and the others looked up at the sky and saw thick black clouds, with occasional flashes of crimson light, like lightning bolts amidst thunderclouds.

Qing Chi felt a predicament. “The altar is high in the sky; how do we get up there?” Few in the Azure Scorched Army possessed the ability to fly. Ning Zhuo, however, was confident; he had already thought of a solution on their march. Immediately, he said, “That’s easy enough. We’ll use the Ceremonial Military Camp.”