The villains are redeemed, and the heroines cry and beg for forgiveness.

No, it may not necessarily be a river. It's too early to draw conclusions. All we can confirm right now is that the sound came from a river.

And it doesn't necessarily mean it's talking to me; it might just be a sound being transmitted.

Gu Ran glanced around and found that no one else reacted to the sound; it seemed that only he had heard it.

"what!--"

Another scream rang out from the Dragon Blood River, but it lasted for less than a second, sounding rather abrupt—because the owner of the scream had sunk to the bottom of the river and could no longer make a sound.

"Come...come...come here..."

The sound was much clearer this time, and there was one more word.

past?

Is that voice calling me over?

Gu Ran frowned slightly and took a step back.

The strange sounds and the eerie river must have possessed him to obediently cross over.

At this time, you should be even more careful and observe patiently. If the situation is not right, leave immediately.

Another challenger sank into the river in an instant, and this challenger disappeared completely from everyone's sight before he could even scream.

Apart from his family and friends, no one else will remember that he ever came into this world—if he has any family or friends at all.

"Please come...come on...I'm waiting for you..."

The sound was intermittent, but compared to the beginning, a few more words were added, forming a sentence.

Gu Ran turned around and scanned the scene again, finding that no one else seemed to have noticed the strange sound. Their attention was still on the challengers, talking about those who had failed the challenge and had become silt at the bottom of the river.

To become silt at the bottom of the river?

A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Gu Ran's mind.

After that, several more challengers sank to the bottom of the river without even letting out a scream. The guards on the riverbank were already used to it, but the "newcomers" who were just watching for fun were still feeling uneasy.

"Hey, look at this time, it seems like more people have died than before. Another one just failed. That's already three-quarters of the number of people who went down to the river to challenge. It's really strange."

The guards nearby were talking amongst themselves, and they also felt something was amiss.

Gu Ran was horrified when she heard this.

Why has the death toll suddenly increased this time?

Could it be that... the number of deaths is not high enough?

Why is the death toll not high enough?

"Please come here... I've been waiting for you!"

The voice grew clearer and clearer in Gu Ran's ears, sounding like an old friend who had been waiting for him for a long time.

"what!"

This time, the unsuccessful challenger lingered on the river for a little longer, and his terrified screams immediately echoed throughout the entire riverbank.

After this challenger also sank into the river, only two challengers remained on the surface!

"It's really strange. More than three-quarters of the people failed the challenge this time. Could it be that the rules of the Dragon Blood River have changed? I wonder if there will be a reward if we tell Lanxin University about this?" A martial artist who was obviously there to watch the fun muttered to himself.

But then, he glanced around warily, as if he realized he had just said something inappropriate.

After realizing that no one seemed to have heard his mutterings, the martial artist immediately left the crowd and headed towards the inner city.

It seems they're going to try their luck.

Gu Ran noticed the martial artist leaving, but at that moment he didn't care much about anyone else.

Because the sound became much clearer.

"Come here, my destined one, I have been waiting for you..." The aged voice seemed to be sighing, yet it also seemed to be urging.

At this moment, Gu Ran was almost 100% certain that the river was not randomly "killing" challengers; it was systematically replenishing its "energy."

Gu Ran didn't know if the word "energy" could accurately describe the state of this river, but he knew that with each challenger who died, the voice became clearer, which was definitely not a coincidence. It was as if each dead challenger was replenishing the "strength" of this voice.

This immediately made a connection to Gu Ran, who had just experienced the relics of the Merfolk.

Why today?

Why when I was there?

Was that voice directed at me?

Is it a river, or is there something else in it?

......

In an instant, various speculations arose in Gu Ran's mind. Moreover, instead of walking towards the river, he took two steps back, his toes pointing outwards, ready to leave Canglong City immediately.

"Come here, my destined one. I have been waiting for you, if you are truly my destined one."

Destined person?

WTF?

Suddenly, Gu Ran's pants pocket moved.

Gu Ran instantly thought of the thing in his pocket, his expression changed, and it really was himself?

What Gu Ran had in his pants pocket was not something else, but the core of the Merfolk's heritage site—a triangular crystal cone.

Because he held the highest authority over the triangular crystal cone, he could shrink it and put it in his pocket whenever he wanted to take it away.

Previously, the triangular crystal cone had been quiet, and he never expected that it would suddenly become erratic at this moment.

His connection with the triangular crystal cone allowed him to clearly sense that the direction the triangular crystal cone wanted to go was the direction of the Dragon Blood River.

The reason why only I could hear that sound was because of this triangular crystal pyramid?

Is the Dragonblood River related to the merfolk?

Is it still related to... the builder of that merfolk's legacy ruins?

Gu Ran instantly realized the apparent similarity between the two—using the flesh and blood of merfolk and humans as a source of some kind of "energy".

The eagerness of the triangular crystal pyramid further strengthened the connection between the two.

Gu Ran really wanted to leave. He didn't fantasize about any extraordinary adventure in this strange situation. Instead, his first thought was whether it was a trap.

The sensation emanating from the triangular crystal cone grew stronger and stronger—it yearned to go to the Dragon Blood River.

After Gu Ran obtained the highest authority over the triangular crystal cone, he could vaguely sense that it was not an inanimate object, but rather possessed a certain degree of self-awareness.

And now, this sense of self is manifested in an incredibly strong way.

Gu Ran even began to doubt whether this triangular crystal cone truly possessed self-awareness.

However, in an instant, Gu Ran abandoned this unrealistic fantasy.

Because with the current level of human technology, we are far from reaching the level of artificial intelligence depicted in fantasy novels.

Of course, this triangular crystal cone was not created by modern humans, so it seems inappropriate to measure the limits of this triangular crystal cone with current human technology.

However, Gu Ran had never heard of such a powerful non-human technological civilization existing in history, and he had never felt its "intelligence" even after having this triangular crystal cone for so long.

—Except for now.

The restlessness emanating from the triangular crystal cone far surpassed that of an inanimate object, yet it was still far from being alive. Therefore, Gu Ran could only find an intermediate product to barely describe it—semi-intelligent.

Although he really wanted to leave, the connection between the Dragon Blood River and the triangular crystal cone was much stronger than Gu Ran had imagined.

And the next moment, the voice coming from the Dragon Blood River changed its content.

"If you are truly the destined one, you should be able to sense your specialness..."

"Don't resist, and there's no need to resist... because sooner or later you will walk the path you are meant to walk..."

Gu Ran looked around and found that the two remaining challengers in the Dragon Blood River were still safe.

It seems that the Dragon Blood River has "eaten its fill"?

Now Gu Ran has two paths in front of her.

One option is to listen to the voice and follow it into the Dragon Blood River;

Secondly, leave and ignore the strange, mysterious voice.

He couldn't predict the consequences of entering the river; there might be some extraordinary events, or... some deadly events.

By leaving, he might miss out on a wonderful adventure, but he would also minimize the possibility of encountering a crisis as a result.

In the end, Gu Ran chose to stand still and watch the remaining two challengers successfully swim to the other side.

Then the two challengers were surrounded by guards on the opposite bank, seemingly going through some kind of procedure: taking photos, creating documents, stamping and signing documents, and so on. It seemed to be about obtaining permanent residency in Canglong City. It was indeed true, and it was happening very quickly.

Gu Ran left the riverbank and the slums of Canglong City with the dispersing crowd.

However, Gu Ran did not leave Canglong City immediately. Instead, he hunted down several lone ferocious beasts in the nearby wilderness and had a hearty meal.

It must be said that although the beasts become more dangerous after turning into ferocious beasts, their meat seems to be of better quality, perhaps because it contains spiritual energy.

Gu Ran patiently waited until nightfall before completely burying the campfire.

Then he pulled out the triangular crystal cone that had been restless in his pocket. When Gu Ran took the triangular crystal cone out of his pocket, it seemed to want to fly away immediately, but after Gu Ran grabbed it, it could not break free at all.