71: Three parties move together (seeking follow-up reading)

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed and his thoughts stirred upon hearing the White-Browed Old Monk's words.

A piece of information had previously flowed through his Mud-Pill Palace.

"Eliminated a Heart Demon of the White-Browed Old Monk, Luck points +15."

When it first appeared, he was quite surprised.

He hadn't expected to gain Luck by breaking this scene, and it even concerned the Old Monk.

This confirmation indicated that the danger here was indeed as the Old Monk had said.

Firstly, there were the Dao traces left by the formation of the Dao Heart; secondly, those left behind were martial arts powerhouses who were either left here to debate scriptures and comprehend the Dao, or became lost here, or perished here.

If the imprints left by those who achieved Dao trapped these people, and they couldn't break free, these people would likely develop Heart Demons, become completely lost here, until they died.

As Chen Yuan's thoughts unfurled, his heart tightened.

The Divine Souls of tens of thousands of people from Qingshan County being drawn into this unfathomable place was likely very dangerous.

He thought of Old Wu, who always cared for him and would stand at the end of the alley, craning his neck to look around;

The mischievous Little Squirrel, the timid white fox,

And the neighbor mother and son who always liked to hold idiom criticism sessions;

...

Chen Yuan's heart surged.

He was alone in this world, and these were the only people close to him.

He couldn't just abandon them.

However, due to the contract, he could vaguely sense the direction of the Little Squirrel and the others.

He decided not to linger any longer.

But before leaving, he still asked the White-Browed Old Monk: "This place is unfathomably dangerous, Great Master, are you willing to come along?"

The White-Browed Old Monk, with his lowered brows and eyes, uttered a Buddhist chant, "Amitabha, since benefactor has just arrived here and has a karmic connection with this humble monk, this humble monk is willing to accompany benefactor for a journey!"

Saying this, a Buddhist bead flew out from the Old Monk's hand.

In a breath, it transformed to the size of a millstone.

Then it flew into the great river,

Like a skipping stone, it glided rapidly across the river, bobbing up and down.

Following that, the Old Monk leaped lightly, landing on the Buddhist bead, and sat down cross-legged.

Seeing this, Chen Yuan's feet became swift, he entered the river without sinking, and followed closely with a whoosh.

The two headed east along the great river.

As the two left the deck with such movement,

The people on the boat seemed oblivious, each busy with their own affairs.

As if they hadn't seen anything.

However, soon, white mist rolled up on the river.

Obscuring everything.

...

At the Place of Scripture Debate,

In a certain visualization space,

A huge city, crashed down onto the white mist.

Then, night, like a tide, rapidly rose, enveloping the entire city, making it impossible to see one's hand in front of their face.

Suddenly, streaks of firefly meteors descended from the sky.

Landing in this city, which spanned over ten li, and entering house after house.

Immediately after, a green lamp descended from the sky, landing above the city.

Then it suddenly spun rapidly.

Flames, one after another, spun out from the green lamp's fire.

Then they flew into thousands of households!

Lighting up the myriad lights of homes!

Soon, groans echoed from all over the city.

Either on the streets, or in thousands of households.

"Oh, why does my head hurt so much?"

"How did I suddenly fall asleep?"

"My dear, you're awake, me too, I just had a very strange dream."

"Master, master, this is bad, all the servants in the house have fallen to the ground... oh, they're awake again...."

"Shopkeeper, shopkeeper, why are you lying on the ground, are you alright, I don't know what happened just now."

"Why is there such a thick fog outside?"

......

Almost all the citizens of the city simultaneously woke up slowly.

Sounds of surprise or confusion came from all over the city.

Some wondered why they had suddenly fallen asleep.

Some recalled the dreams they had just had and couldn't help but speak of them, only to find them surprisingly consistent, immediately causing alarm.

Some seemed unaware, thinking they had just suddenly fallen asleep.

But some noticed something unusual,

"Why are the lights on in the house?"

Almost every household in Qingshan County had an unwritten rule: once night fell, they would extinguish their lights.

Such was the way of the world.

Looking outside again, it was pitch black, and there was a thick fog.

The blackness, like ink, entered the room, dimming the lamplight,

The oppressive feeling made it almost impossible to breathe.

Not even a hint of starlight could be seen outside.

At this moment, on the street, a Night Watchman rubbed his forehead, slowly waking up.

"What happened, how did I fall to the ground?"

The Night Watchman rubbed his swollen and painful forehead, grimacing, uncertain and surprised.

The lantern, drum, and other tools in his hand were scattered on the ground.

He bent down to pick them up, cursing under his breath,

"Damn it, looks like I need to drink less in the future."

The Night Watchman thought he had habitually gotten drunk for courage before starting work and had blacked out.

After all, in this world, patrolling at night still required some courage, just in case he encountered something unclean.

The Night Watchman picked up his tools, ready to continue his work.

But as he stood up and looked around,

He found the sky terrifyingly dark, and a thick fog enveloped everything.

The surrounding streets and houses were completely invisible.

The lamplight could only illuminate three feet in front of him.

Beyond that, it was completely impossible to see one's hand in front of their face.

No starlight, no moonlight, and a thick fog, which made him inexplicably nervous.

He held his lantern, slowly patrolling through the night fog.

Not long after he started walking,

Suddenly,

From the fog behind him, several footsteps reached the Night Watchman's ears.

"Tap, tap."

He was startled and stopped.

The footsteps immediately ceased.

The Night Watchman's face relaxed; it seemed the footsteps were his own, this cursed weather almost made him scare himself.

He continued forward,

The "tap, tap" of footsteps continued to sound.

However, slowly, the Night Watchman's expression grew worse and worse.

Why were there two sets of footsteps?

"Who's there?"

The Night Watchman mustered his courage, suddenly turned his head, and shouted.

He held the lantern and shone it backward, only to see endless fog, nothing else.

And the footsteps had also stopped.

The Night Watchman stood still, holding the lantern, looking around in surprise.

He waited for a long time, but there was no further movement.

All of this made him increasingly doubt whether he had drunk too much, blacked out again, and was hallucinating.

Just as he hammered his head to make himself more sober,

Suddenly,

From the fog behind him,

The "tap, tap, tap" of footsteps sounded rapidly.

Like drumbeats pounding heavily on his heart.

The Night Watchman turned his head in horror, shining the lamp.

His pupils instantly widened.

A man in a green robe, The whole body is rotten, with his eyes closed, was three feet away from him.

The Night Watchman was scared out of his wits, his body trembled, and he fell to the ground.

The lantern in his hand rolled away, into the fog.

Darkness immediately encroached.

The next second, the rotting man suddenly opened his eyes.

Then, a scream.

With a "whoosh,"

The Night Watchman was dragged into the darkness.

And at the same time, in Jiazi Ward, on an alleyway,

A chubby little boy, nervously holding a lamp,

Was shouting on the fog-shrouded street.

"Mother!"

"Where are you?"

"Mother!"

His voice seemed to travel very far.

Appearing empty and silent.

There was even an echo.

And on the chubby boy's shoulder, a Little Squirrel was clinging to his left shoulder, its fur bristling, its black eyes vigilantly staring into the darkness.

It had been to this "place" before.

While a white fox was on his right shoulder, whimpering and calling for something.

At this moment, from the white fog ahead, a clear sound of reading suddenly came.

Then, the white fog dispersed.

A bright private school appeared.

...

At this time, in the outside world, Qingshan County.

The time had already reached daytime.

The flow of time seemed different in the two places.

Outside Qingshan County, on the Nu River,

A hundred boats competed.

Small boats were loaded with people and livestock.

At the dock, people swarmed.

Everyone shouted, carrying various supplies, driving carriages and leading horses, all entering Qingshan County.

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