Chapter 594: River of Forgetfulness
Bang.
Sun Lingtong slammed headfirst into the Paper Puppet General, but it was as if his fleshly body had crashed into a wall. The impact left him dizzy and seeing stars, his soul swaying violently.
“Ow, ow, ow!”
Sun Lingtong bared his teeth in pain. After quite a while, his soul finally stabilized, and his face returned to its lively expression.
“What’s going on?” Sun Lingtong immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Carefully, he stretched out his lotus-root-like arm and pressed it against the Paper Puppet General’s chest. It felt as if he were pressing against a mountain rock.
Because Ning Zhuo was connected to him through Life Hanging by a Thread, he saw everything clearly and said, “Boss, take it easy. This probably isn’t some special setup. Your soul cultivation is likely insufficient. You’re not a soul cultivator. Sigh, if I’d known earlier, I would’ve given you some Netherworld Cuisine.”
Sun Lingtong had already guessed the truth and rolled his eyes dramatically.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to eat it! Last time I trained my physical body, my bodily foundation increased greatly. If I ate Netherworld Cuisine this time and my soul grew again, how would I cross the stage of turning the illusory into the real?”
As it turned out, Sun Lingtong had already reached the final stage of the Foundation Establishment stage. Once he crossed it, he would obtain a Golden Core.
However, this stage was related to a cultivator’s foundation.
For the Golden Core to transform from illusion to reality, it had to reach complete perfection.
If a cultivator’s physical body, soul, and other foundations kept increasing again and again, they would never reach perfect completeness. Naturally, the illusory core would never transform into a true core.
Sun Lingtong’s cultivation had already reached this stage. But previously, in order to help Ning Zhuo, he had personally comprehended the convenient uses of the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel. Combined with external pressure, his physical cultivation had increased considerably.
Undoubtedly, this pushed back the progress of turning his illusory core into a real one.
The Thousand Peaks Forest campaign of Liangzhu Kingdom had made Sun Lingtong feel an even stronger desire to increase his cultivation.
Thus, this time in the Lord of White Paper Immortal City, even though he had a good opportunity to cultivate his soul, he restrained himself and planned to wait until he officially advanced to a Golden Core cultivator.
After advancing to the Golden Core stage, he could increase the foundations of his body and soul as much as he liked.
After all, the cultivation method he mainly practiced was the Boy Technique, which specialized in cultivating the Sea of Consciousness. He had already comprehended it thoroughly and cultivated it to great perfection.
A cultivator’s main cultivation method was their true foundation. If that cultivation was insufficient—for example, if they advanced to a real Golden Core with only ninety percent completion—then the grade of the core would drop, and their foundation would become unstable.
For Sun Lingtong, cultivating the body earlier or later made little difference and would not affect his foundation.
His plan had been beautiful. But who would have thought such a situation would occur?
Now, because his soul foundation was insufficient, Sun Lingtong could only watch helplessly as the Nascent Soul–level Paper Puppet General stood before him, impossible for him to enter.
He was so angry that his entire soul body seemed to “swell” several sizes larger.
“This is infuriating!”
After trying several more times and failing every time, Sun Lingtong could only turn his gaze toward the other paper puppets.
He wiped his small hand across the paper puppet deities on the war chariot. These deity puppets all possessed Golden Core–level combat power, yet when he touched them it felt like pressing against leather armor—he still could not enter them.
Sun Lingtong became even more irritated and had no choice but to look for other targets.
His gaze swept across the area, passing the spear-and-shield soldiers and the crossbow paper puppets before finally stopping on the ox cavalry.
He climbed onto one of the oxen and placed both hands on the cavalry paper puppet.
This time it felt as though he were pressing against a thin sheet of window paper. With a slight push, he “pierced” through it, and his entire soul body entered.
The paper cavalry immediately “came to life,” and its entire form changed.
Within a few breaths, it was no longer a paper puppet made of white paper and wooden frames but had become a living Yin soldier.
The Yin soldier was burly and muscular, extremely sturdy, yet its eyes darted around cleverly, giving it a lively cunning that contrasted sharply with its massive body.
Sun Lingtong felt as if he had put on a layer of oversized cotton clothing. It was extremely uncomfortable.
To his disappointment, he discovered that he could only control the rider. The mount beneath him was still merely a paper construct.
So he jumped down from the ox’s back. The fall to the ground was much shorter than before, as his body had become much larger.
Sun Lingtong shook his shoulders. His earlier frustration and anger came quickly and vanished just as quickly, replaced entirely by curiosity and eager excitement.
“Woohoo! Underworld, here I come!”
Under Ning Zhuo’s close observation, he was about to set off.
“Boss, wait a moment. I’ll use the Field-Path Lamp to teleport you out. This place is very secluded—if you just run out directly, you’ll leave traces.” Ning Zhuo suddenly had a thought and quickly reminded him.
Sun Lingtong naturally agreed.
Ning Zhuo activated the lantern, and in the next moment Sun Lingtong was moved ten li away.
The Underworld was desolate.
Sun Lingtong felt as if he were trekking through a barren desert.
The scenery never changed, and his interest quickly faded.
“What’s that sound?”
His ears twitched as he heard the sound of water.
He immediately decided to move toward the direction of the sound. It was better than wandering aimlessly.
Halfway there, black snow suddenly fell from the sky.
Sun Lingtong tried catching it with his hand and discovered it was merely burnt paper ash.
The ash seeped into his paper puppet body and actually gave him a slight increase in strength.
Disturbed by the black snow, numerous Underworld creatures crawled out from unknown places.
There were Yin hounds, ghost heads, and strange monsters with human bodies and ox heads…
“It’s here again, it’s here again!”
“The Prefecture Lord of the River of Forgetfulness has done a great deed. With such a grand ritual, we gain something every day.”
“That’s mine! Mine!”
The black snow did not fall for long. Soon the Underworld creatures began fighting among themselves.
A pack of Green Corpse Wolves surrounded many ghosts. Their leader was larger than an elephant and possessed Golden Core–level strength.
“Hand over all the black snow, or become food in our bellies.”
The wolf leader bared its teeth and issued a warning, openly robbing them.
This immediately ignited the ghosts present, and they began fighting the wolves.
Sun Lingtong was swept into the chaos and forced to join the battle.
The battlefield instantly became chaotic.
Three Qi Refining–level Green Corpse Wolves surrounded him in a triangular formation. As they ran, patches of eerie green ghost fire flickered behind them.
Sun Lingtong grinned slightly and watched as the wolves rushed toward him.
Only when the clash was about to begin did he drop his concealment spell and stop hiding his aura.
The three wolves showed no emotion. Even when their prey suddenly jumped from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment strength, they did not panic and continued their attack.
Sun Lingtong clenched his fists. First he dodged the frontal wolf’s pounce, then swung both fists left and right—one punch each—directly blowing apart the heads of two wolves.
Then he stepped forward and stomped heavily onto the back of the third wolf.
The wolf whimpered before being crushed into two halves.
Sun Lingtong’s eyes shone as he looked at his fists. After just one round of combat, he had already understood—the quality of this paper puppet body was extremely high, possessing peak Foundation Establishment combat power.
Seeing Sun Lingtong kill three Qi Refining wolves so easily, a Foundation Establishment–level wolf lieutenant immediately charged at him.
The wolf was the size of a calf. It howled and used a ghost technique, its speed suddenly increasing and leaving a black afterimage behind it.
It pounced viciously onto Sun Lingtong.
“Good!”
Sun Lingtong could have dodged, but his excitement rose. Instead of retreating, he raised both arms and blocked the attack head-on.
He smashed his forehead forward, knocking the wolf’s head backward.
The wolf roared angrily and opened its jaws to devour Sun Lingtong’s head.
Crunch!
But it bit empty air.
Sun Lingtong had anticipated this. He lowered his body and shrank inward, then stomped hard with his foot. His spine rose like a dragon, and he delivered a brutal uppercut that sent the wolf flying.
Amid the chaotic battlefield, a Foundation Establishment–level wolf lieutenant was launched high into the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.
The scene caused many combatants to pause, and even the Wolf King’s gaze turned toward him.
Soon its eyes locked onto Sun Lingtong.
The Wolf King let out three low howls. Three more wolf lieutenants immediately dashed out toward Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong felt his fists go numb and knew he had already tested the limit of this paper puppet body.
Seeing the three wolves charging and the Wolf King staring at him coldly, he turned around decisively and ran.
Though powerful, the wolves were far faster than he was. Before he could reach the edge, they surrounded him.
Theft Technique—Void Crossing.
Sun Lingtong used his signature move, but the effect was poor. He only teleported about a hundred steps away.
The wolves paused briefly before continuing their pursuit.
Sun Lingtong felt dizzy and shook his head before running again.
After several rounds of fighting, he seized an opening and used the Theft Technique once more to break free and continue escaping.
He fought while retreating until the Wolf King suddenly howled again.
Upon hearing the call, the three wolf lieutenants immediately turned around and abandoned the pursuit, returning to the main pack.
Several others had escaped like Sun Lingtong, but many more remained trapped in the battlefield. Under the well-trained wolves’ siege, their fate was almost certainly grim.
Cultivation, hunting, survival—the drama of present and future—had been vividly staged before Sun Lingtong without warning.
After escaping danger, Sun Lingtong stopped somewhere and gasped for breath for a long time.
Through this battle he confirmed his true combat strength. He was not a true soul cultivator; his soul foundation was limited. Although he could still use techniques like Theft Technique, they did not match this body well. Thus his combat power remained at the Foundation Establishment stage. Facing three wolf lieutenants alone could easily lead to his death.
The near-death experience left his body numb with lingering exhilaration.
“This is cultivation. This is life!”
Savoring the aftertaste of adventure, Sun Lingtong set out again.
Black snow occasionally fell again. Each time it lasted only briefly but always triggered fights among the ghosts.
After seeing it many times, Sun Lingtong felt conflicted.
“They all praise the Prefecture Lord of the River of Forgetfulness… but aren’t their deaths caused by him?”
“This ruler of the Underworld truly has skill—stirring up so much slaughter, yet his reputation keeps rising.”
The sound of water grew louder.
Finally, a great river appeared in Sun Lingtong’s sight.
It flowed from the northwest to the southeast, vast and endless.
The river surface stretched over a hundred li wide—its sides invisible in the distance. In the longitudinal direction, space itself seemed distorted, giving it a majestic yet eerie feeling.
The water was dark green-black, like molten bronze flowing, heavy despite its rapid current.
Along the banks stretched long sections of black stone embankments. Each stone brick was covered with countless tadpole-like runes.
Though it was Sun Lingtong’s first time here, he immediately understood when he saw the river.
“The River of Forgetfulness?!”
He had guessed correctly.
This was the greatest river of the Underworld—The River of Forgetfulness.
It was extremely famous and often recorded in many texts of the living world.
Standing on the embankment, Sun Lingtong’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“There’s someone.”
He discovered a burly ghost cultivator squatting on the stone embankment, fishing.
Even while squatting, the ghost cultivator was taller than Sun Lingtong’s current body. If he stood upright, he would surely resemble a giant ghost.
The fishing rod was very special—it was a magical treasure mourning staff refined from a spine bone.
The fishing line was made from many infant umbilical cords stitched together.
Suddenly, something took the bait.
The line jerked violently.
The ghost cultivator laughed and suddenly opened his sleepy eyes, lifting the rod with all his strength.
Splash.
The river surface burst slightly, sending up a wave. Then a large bowl was pulled out of the river.
“Nascent Soul level!”
Sun Lingtong’s pupils shrank as he sensed the aura leaking from the ghost cultivator.
If it were Ning Zhuo, he would have retreated cautiously long ago. But Sun Lingtong could not move his feet. He stared at the bowl in fascination.
“What kind of bowl is that?”
“Little Zhuo, I’ve never seen someone fish up a magical treasure before!”
“If I could learn this fishing method, wouldn’t I get rich just fishing by the river every day?”
While secretly speaking with Ning Zhuo, the ghost cultivator slowly turned his head and looked at Sun Lingtong.
“You want it? Heh. Meeting is fate. I’ll give it to you.”
With that, he handed the bowl to Sun Lingtong.
Although they were separated by several hundred steps, the next moment Sun Lingtong was suddenly moved right in front of the ghost cultivator.
Sun Lingtong’s heart trembled in shock. Though startled, his hands moved quickly as he took the bowl.
It truly was a magical treasure.
“This is the Dust-Cleansing Bowl used to hold Meng Po Soup. There are many of them in the river. But a magical treasure-grade one is valuable to you, so I’ll give it to you.”
The ghost giant was unexpectedly generous and showed goodwill.
Sun Lingtong remained fully alert but cupped his hands and thanked him.
The ghost giant said casually, “Fishing up the Dust-Cleansing Bowl isn’t the real prize. The truly rare catch is the Obsession-Bone Silver Carp.”
Curious, Sun Lingtong blurted out, “Senior, what’s the Obsession-Bone Silver Carp?”
The ghost cultivator snorted.
“You should know that although the River of Forgetfulness is vast, very few creatures can survive in it.”
“The Obsession-Bone Silver Carp is one of them. It is formed from the memories lost by countless ghosts when they approach the River of Forgetfulness—memories filled with the strongest obsessions, resentments, hatred, regrets, and expectations.”
“Look in my fish basket. There’s one right here.”