Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 897 Sitting in Oblivion

Xiao Ran, Wu Man, and Jin Chanzi suddenly raised their heads, looking at the monk with question marks on their faces.

"Your name is Lu Zhishen?" Jin Chanzi asked, his eyes wide. The one from Liangshan Marsh?
"It is I, Lu Da. But the Liangshan Marsh is pure nonsense. I have read that book, and it actually compares me to that black-faced Song. It is truly hateful. If I were to really go to Liangshan, I would definitely kill that black-faced Song with a shovel first."

The high monk introduced himself, took another big gulp of wine, and stroked his beard: "Most of what's in that book is fiction, but some of it is true. I killed Zhen Guanxi, and there's also Iron Buddha Cui Daocheng. I beat Yang Zhi, Huyan Zhuo, and the National Preceptor Deng Yuan, but it's not exactly like what's in the book. Obviously, a storyteller made up my stories to make it easier for him to spread them and get promoted."

There have always been beginners in this field, including storytellers who advance their careers by spreading stories.

But there aren't that many good stories to find, and it's not easy to make them up. So I simply took the stories of other beginners, combined them with the present, modified them myself, and used them as storytelling material. The effect was excellent.

As a result, many versions of the story have been passed down.

By piecing together fragments from different parts, the story gradually came together.

The same applies to the Four Great Classical Novels.

Without the fabrications of predecessors, it would not have been so easy to write the Four Great Classical Novels later on.

However, this was still quite shocking for Xiao Ran and the others.

After downing three large bowls of wine, Lu Da opened up and began to speak: "What's so special about this? When I first came here, I met quite a few experts. At first, I was just as shocked as you are. Later, I learned that one day here is equivalent to one year outside, and one year here is equivalent to three hundred years outside."

After Lu Da said that, Xiao Ran and the others felt relieved.

"So, we've been here for two days, but two years have already passed outside?" Wu Man asked Xiao Ran.

"Pretty much. I wonder what the outside world has become in the last two years."

As the three of them talked, the food was almost ready.

Eight large dishes, seven large bowls, steamed buns, stir-fries, fried and boiled dishes, chicken, duck, fish and meat, accompanied by a jar of wine, made Lu Da so full that his upper lip couldn't close his lower lip.

He'd been here so long and hadn't had a decent meal in ages; today he was finally able to enjoy a good meal.

After the meal, Lu Da no longer harbored such strong hostility towards Xiao Ran and the others.

After eating and drinking his fill, Lu Da casually found a place to lie down and soon fell fast asleep.

With his invincible physical body, he wasn't worried at all about Xiao Ran and the others taking advantage of the situation to attack him. Besides, Xiao Ran and the others didn't even have that intention.

"Now I'm starting to believe that we might encounter Zhang Sanfeng. I wonder what this old Taoist priest looks like?"

Looking at Lu Da, who was fast asleep, Wu Man couldn't help but start to imagine things.

After landing in the Lost City, Changbai Mountain seems to have become a convergence point of multiple timelines.

The treasure ship moved slowly forward, and along the way they noticed occasionally some dilapidated villages and towns below, with scattered figures of people.

But they didn't set their sights on the treasure ship; instead, they watched it sail away.

The treasure ship glided silently across the vast snow-covered landscape, its hull crystal clear, reflecting the cold starlight and the undulating silvery-white mountain ridges below.

Suddenly, Xiao Ran's pupils constricted, and her gaze fixed on the snowfield below.

"Look, there's a treasure ship down there."

As Xiao Ran finished speaking, even Lu Da got up and walked to the edge of the deck to look down.

Below them, on the snow-covered plain, lay a wreck of a ship nearly the same size as the treasure ship beneath their feet, lying silently amidst the gravel and snow.

"Destroyed?"

The wreckage was severely damaged, with only the outline of the stern barely discernible. The keel was broken into two pieces, and it was almost in a state of disarray.

"Could it be that someone used too much force while fighting for the treasure and destroyed the treasure ship?" Wu Man speculated on one possibility.

But at this moment, the ginseng spirit in his arms jumped out and denied it, saying, "Impossible. This place is a famous dead end, Eagle Falling Ridge. Even if an eagle flies over from the sky, it will suddenly fall down. Apart from the treasure ship, no one can fly here. Eagle Falling Ridge is a thousand-year-old cold land with a natural maze. Who would be so bored as to make a move here?"

After saying this, the ginseng spirit looked around and said, "Look, the wreckage at the bow is facing us, which means that the ship fell from the opposite direction. I think there must have been some trouble ahead, and the ship was damaged and then fell due to the influence of Falling Eagle Ridge."

"Front?"

Xiao Ran frowned, released her mental energy, and explored forward.

When Xiao Ran's mental strength was stretched to its limit, she finally saw a stone tablet on the other side of the hill ahead.

The stone tablet is inscribed with the three characters "坐忘虚" (zuò wàng xū) in ancient script, with a line of smaller characters next to it.

To sit in oblivion and return to emptiness is a great fear for humankind.

Xiao Ran continued to explore forward, only to find that what lay ahead was no longer a continuous range of snow-capped mountains, but an indescribable area.

There was no light, no darkness, no shape, no sound, and even the concept of space became blurred.

It is like a void that has been forcibly 'carved' out of the universe, or like the 'nothingness' that all things ultimately head towards.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran turned to the ginseng spirit and asked, "What is the Forgotten Void?"

"Sitting in oblivion!"

The ginseng spirit was taken aback, then widened its eyes and said, "That's no good place. Legend has it that this is a place where the Heavenly Dao collapsed and the laws were annihilated, a graveyard where all things return to nothingness! Entering this desolate place, the five senses are stripped away, and all laws cease to exist." Simply put, that place is a graveyard for all things.

After saying that, the ginseng spirit's expression changed: "No way!"

Xiao Ran nodded: "This ship is heading that way. Are you sure it can get out of the so-called graveyard?"

These ginseng spirits felt a chill run down their spines; they had no idea about such a problem.

He would never come to this place, let alone enter the so-called "sitting in oblivion."

"This..." The ginseng spirit glanced at the wreckage of the treasure ship below, his heart pounding. After a moment, he suddenly thought of something.

"correct!"

The ginseng spirit said, "Light the lamp. As long as the light is bright enough, it will protect us from the effects of the Meditation Void."

After saying this, Xiao Ran and the others exchanged glances, looking at the ginseng spirit as if it were an idiot.

If simply lighting lamps could prevent this, people would probably already be inside, torches lit, searching for treasures.

Seeing that no one believed him, the ginseng spirit quickly said, "It's true, it's true. I've heard from the elders of my clan that if you stay in a place of light, you can avoid the influence of the Void of Meditation."

Seeing that the ginseng spirit spoke with such conviction, Xiao Ran and the others had no other choice but to try the method suggested by the ginseng spirit.

Xiao Ran, Wu Man, and even Lu Da each searched their own spaces for lamps, lit them, and illuminated the entire deck of the treasure ship.

As the treasure ship gradually approached the Void of Oblivion, a putrid stench began to waft through the air, growing stronger and stronger.

As it drew closer, the treasure ship seemed to slow down, and its crystal-clear deck became dull and lifeless, as if covered by an indescribable layer of gray.

Just then, the lights on the treasure ship went out quickly, clearly indicating that the method mentioned by the ginseng spirit was completely useless.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Ran immediately took out some joss paper, pinched out more than ten paper flowers, and casually sprinkled them around the treasure ship.

The Secret Technique of Crossing the Spirit Scripture: Paper Flower Heart Lamp!

Xiao Ran formed a hand seal and channeled his essence and spirit into the paper flowers, instantly igniting streaks of light that illuminated the surroundings.

That is to say, Xiao Ran's attributes have all exceeded 400. Otherwise, in the past, let alone throwing out more than ten lamps in one go, even three lamps would probably have been enough to give Xiao Ran trouble.

"Whoo~~~"

A cool breeze carrying a putrid stench swept in, and then the surrounding world suddenly darkened.

The surrounding darkness grew ever greater.

The ginseng spirit was already trembling uncontrollably. Even the crimson horse and tiger demon who had boarded the ship with them were prostrate on the ground, anxiously looking around.

But Xiao Ran and the others felt as if the world had suddenly become quiet.

It was an ultimate tranquility.

It was as if the sound was being taken away at that moment.

Wu Man frowned and couldn't help but try clearing her throat, making a coughing sound.

But Xiao Ran, Jin Chanzi, and even Lu Da did not respond; they acted as if they had not heard anything.

As the treasure ship gradually extended deeper into the ocean.

Suddenly, the crimson horse on the deck let out a neigh, struggled to its feet, and began to leap wildly. Then, it leaped off the treasure ship.

Just then, Xiao Ran suddenly appeared behind the Crimson Blood Horse and slapped it unconscious.

He then turned to look at the tiger demon curled up and trembling beside him, and with a flick of his finger, knocked the tiger demon unconscious as well.

Ultimately, their strength is too weak, and once their senses are disturbed, they will inevitably start to panic.

The truly terrifying aspect of this state of meditation and forgetting the void lies precisely here.

Depriving people of their five senses, forcing them to sit still and wait for the treasure ship to slowly launch, is nothing short of torture for anyone.

In this state, time loses its meaning, and fear can even amplify infinitely as time goes on.

Xiao Ran guessed that it was this fear that caused the people on the treasure ship to start frantically smashing at it, which could have resulted in the ship being destroyed.

It's not difficult to solve this problem; you only need to retain one of your five senses.

Just as a blind person can't see but has hearing, a deaf person can't hear but can see, and a mute person can't speak but can gesture, there's always something that allows people to find their anchor in the world.

Even if someone is deaf, blind, and mute, the mere presence of touch can bring them boundless hope.

Therefore, Xiao Ran now felt that what the ginseng spirit said earlier was correct. As long as there was enough light to protect their vision from being deprived, they might be able to get through safely.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran pinched her fingers, and the surrounding paper flowers quickly gathered and surrounded them.

(End of this chapter)