Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

One strike, one kill!

Gou An did not let his guard down, but instead looked around with his knife in hand, wary of any potential dangers.

After confirming that there were no other wild animals or threats around, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued to study the stone pillar, but found nothing particularly interesting.

So Gou An prepared to go and see other places on the island.

However, after walking and stopping for a long time, they found only desolate mountains and wilderness, without any guiding clues.

On the entire island, it seems that only the highest mountaintop stone pillar is somewhat different.

However, when Gou An crossed the entire island and arrived at the other side of the riverbank, he saw another light shining in the distance through the gray fog.

"So that's how it is!" Gou An said thoughtfully.

To reach the so-called other side, one should follow the lighthouse's guidance step by step.

So Gou An didn't delay any longer and immediately returned along the original route.

We prepared to return to where we were moored and row again to the next lighthouse location.

But when Gou An returned to the place where he had parked his soul boat, he found that the soul boat was gone.

"Wow!"

Gou An scanned the river surface, but there was no trace of the Soul Boat.

But Gou An remembered that he had clearly stopped the boat properly when he stopped it!

It's absolutely impossible for him to have been carried away by the waves; that means he was shaken away by other people on the island or by some demon.

"Damn it!" Gou An was furious and wanted to start cursing, but he stopped himself.

If there are other people or monsters on this island, it would be very dangerous to reveal our location rashly.

Without the wooden boat, he would be unable to reach the next island.

However, the Soul River cannot support a physical body, so it is impossible for him to swim across.

At this moment, Gou An wished he had grown a pair of wings so he could fly away.

But just as this thought arose, Gou An saw a bird fly out from the island. However, after leaving the island's area, it seemed to be pulled by the strong suction of the river and plunged into the water, sinking to the bottom.

"This..." Gou An was shocked.

So being able to fly is useless after all!

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Gou An left the riverbank.

With so many trees on the island, why not build a boat ourselves, regardless of whether it's useful or not, and give it a try first?

So Gou An went to the nearest grove of trees, took his knife, and chopped at a decent tree.

But when he slashed down, the impact made Gou An's wrist go numb. The tree was incredibly hard, like a piece of refined iron.

Even with eight-tenths of his strength, the blow only left a small cut. If he wanted to cut it off completely, he probably couldn't even break the knife in two.

Just as Gou An was wondering what to do next, he suddenly heard the sound of boats mooring on the riverbank.

Someone's coming!

Gou An immediately hid behind a tree, channeling all his demonic power into his eyes, trying to see as far as possible.

Then they saw a figure moor a small boat on the shore and then land on the island.

"There's always a way out!"

Gou An sighed inwardly, "Who cares who stopped the ship? I'm determined to steal it."

Suddenly, a bear roar came from the direction of the mountaintop, startling Gou An, followed by a muffled thud.

"Hmm?" Gou An suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Just then, the person who had stopped the boat slowly walked in and suddenly stopped in place.

"Who's there?" The figure seemed to have spotted Gou An hiding and suddenly shouted in his direction.

But why does that voice sound so familiar?

It's like my own voice?

Before Gou An could react, the figure suddenly condensed a ball of demonic fire in his palm and threw it over.

Gou An instinctively stretched out his palm to block, and the demonic fire was steadily caught by him, which he then absorbed.

Upon closer inspection, wasn't this the Nine-Separation Demon Flame that he had condensed?

"How could this happen?"

Gou An was completely dumbfounded.

Seeing the figure approaching him, Gou An turned and ran without stopping.

Only after running far away did I suddenly realize that I seemed to have been trapped in a maze.

Upon closer reflection, it might be even more terrifying than being trapped in a maze.

The bear roars and muffled thuds I heard when I first arrived on the island were actually another version of my own experience?

And at that moment, I felt like I was being watched, and it was another version of myself?

Are the cut marks on the tree and the footprints next to the stone pillar on the mountaintop left by myself?

The most crucial question is: did the wooden boat I moored disappear, or did another version of myself steal it?

Is all of this because I'm trapped in some kind of time loop?

Gou An became increasingly frightened and did not want to stay on the island any longer. He immediately rushed to the riverbank and found the wooden boat where the figure had just been moored.

Sure enough, this wooden boat was exactly the same as the one he had rowed there before!

"Never mind!"

Gou An boarded the wooden boat, rowed the oars, and sailed away from the island, striving towards the next island.

Passing through layers of black fog, Gou An was finally getting closer and closer to the next island.

The strange island behind us was getting farther and farther away.

Having learned from his previous experience, Gou An deliberately chose a steep cliff to moor the boat this time, hiding it in a crevice between the rocks.

After doing all this, Gou An carefully climbed onto the island, ready to explore its structure.

However, after arriving on the island, Gou An had a vague sense of unease.

I have a feeling that this island is very similar to the one I just saw.

As Gou An slowly made his way along the steep mountain forest toward the mountaintop lighthouse, he suddenly heard another bear roar.

The bear's roar was so similar that it instantly roused Gou An!

Immediately afterwards, a muffled thud was heard, and the place where it had crashed was not far from its path.

"Are you kidding me?!"

Gou An couldn't believe it and cautiously reached out.

When they arrived at their destination, Gou An was dumbfounded.

Below the cliff, piles of black bear carcasses lay everywhere.

All the black bears had been stabbed in the face, their flesh and bones separated.

"Is it still the same island?"

Gou An couldn't believe it at all. After a brief moment of stunned silence, Gou An quickly climbed up the steep cliff to find out what was going on.

When we reached the top of the mountain, we found the same stone pillars, the same marks, and the same footprints all over the ground!

Don't stay here for long!

Gou An turned and ran, wanting to leave and return to the Soul Ship.

But when Gou An arrived at the crevice in the cliff where he had hidden his wooden boat, he was horrified to find that the boat he had been hiding for so long had vanished!

"Damn it, who is it?!"

Gou An launched into a tirade of curses!

How could the boat I hid so well have disappeared?

It must have been the work of the remnant souls of the ancient pagoda!

So Gou An thought of the place where he first moored his boat.

Should we steal it again?

So Gou An carefully made his way along the riverbank of the island, but when he arrived, there was no soul boat docked there.

"Isn't it a cycle?" Gou An frowned.

But just as this idea came to mind, a small boat appeared on the river, slowly drifting towards them with the waves, and finally crashed into the rocks on the edge of the island.

Upon closer inspection, wasn't the person on the wooden boat himself?

"Holy crap, is it really me?"

Gou An witnessed another version of himself stop his boat and land, and then the roar of a bear came from above the island again.

Just as Gou An was about to steal the boat, he discovered that another version of himself had gotten there first.

Gou An was shocked. Wasn't this himself when he first stole the boat?

Before he could even be surprised, Gou An immediately turned around and walked back!

When they reached the place where they landed for the second time, they indeed saw another ship hidden among the cliffs.

Without a second thought, they immediately boarded the boat and rowed it away.

But just as the wooden boat left the shore and disappeared into the gray fog, a faint but familiar curse suddenly rang out behind them.

"Damn it, who is it?!"