Chapter 641: Entering the City
The Severed Emotions Ferry Crossing erupted into an uproar.
“Why did he go up first?”
“Wasn’t he the last one in line?”
“Could it be that this is the secret method for boarding the Empty Return Raft? But how could simply explaining those bits of common knowledge achieve something like this?”
Ghosts and soul cultivators all shouted in confusion, unable to understand.
The old man who had guided Sun Lingtong froze for a moment before suddenly performing a deep bow toward the Reflection of Yun Xiao.
“Many thanks for your great kindness, Senior, for uplifting a junior like me. I will engrave this grace in my heart and spend the rest of my life spreading word of your benevolence and fairness!”
As soon as he said this, the Severed Emotions Ferry Crossing instantly fell silent.
No matter how dissatisfied or puzzled the others were, they wisely shut their mouths. The reason was simple—the Reflection of Yun Xiao had chosen to elevate the old man. To question that was to oppose his decision.
The Reflection of Yun Xiao showed no reaction. He merely waved his sleeve once more.
The next moment, Sun Lingtong vanished from where he stood and appeared on the Empty Return Raft.
The ferry crossing erupted again.
“What is going on?!”
“How can this little brat go up too?”
“Why does he get to board? He was just the one being helped!”
If the rules here did not restrain them, these ghosts and soul cultivators might already have attacked the old man and the child on the Empty Return Raft.
This was simply outrageous!
The raft clearly had only ten spots, yet two of them were gone in an instant.
At the moment, more than thirty people were lined up at the ferry crossing.
The number of boarding spots was extremely limited. With Sun Lingtong and the old man boarding ahead of time, many ghosts and soul cultivators nearly burst into curses, shouting that there must be insider dealings.
As the person involved, Sun Lingtong himself was also bewildered.
He walked to the old man’s side and transmitted a thought through spiritual sense.
“Elder, what exactly is going on?”
The old man winked at him.
“This is actually thanks to you, little ghost. I owe you a favor.”
“Huh?” Sun Lingtong was astonished.
Clearly he had been the one receiving guidance and help.
The old man looked deeply at him.
“Little ghost, what kind of person were you when you were alive? What good deeds did you do to possess such immense merit and a light of purity upon you?”
“You are a truly good person.”
“So helping you just a little was already enough.”
Sun Lingtong’s pupils shrank as his heart shook violently. He quickly realized the truth.
How could he possibly be some great good person? As a member of the No-Void Sect, he normally took pleasure in theft. How could he possess any light of purity?
“It must be the aura given to me by Little Ning’s mother.”
“She said it could help me enter the Forgetting River Immortal City.”
“So that aura actually has such great use!”
Although he had figured it out, Sun Lingtong still pretended to be confused and scratched his head.
“I don’t know.”
The old man patted his shoulder.
“It’s normal for ghosts to lose some memories after death. It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember. I said I owe you a favor, and I will definitely repay it.”
While the two communicated through spiritual sense, the Reflection of Yun Xiao waved his sleeve repeatedly, selecting another eight individuals to board the Empty Return Raft.
His figure gradually faded until it finally dispersed into the vast river mist.
The many soul cultivators and ghosts left at the Severed Emotions Ferry Crossing stared with wide eyes. Some glared angrily, watching the raft drift away leisurely. Many stared at Sun Lingtong and the old man, their throats moving as if they wished to curse, yet not a single one dared utter a foul word.
After all, they could still continue waiting in line for another chance to cross.
If they truly cursed and angered the Reflection of Yun Xiao, getting expelled would mean losing this opportunity forever.
The Empty Return Raft slowly drifted upon the long river of the Forgetting River.
It did not resemble any ordinary boat. Instead, it looked like a massive frost-white crescent moon, slightly concave, or perhaps a half-withered lotus petal with clearly defined veins.
The bow and stern curved naturally inward, its lines smooth yet carrying a beauty of decay.
The entire raft emitted an extremely faint moon-white glow, almost nonexistent, forming a thin yet resilient protective halo.
Sun Lingtong was restless and could not sit still. He wandered around the raft.
Pinching here, touching there.
He discovered that the material of the Empty Return Raft was extremely strange—neither metal nor wood, neither stone nor jade.
The body seemed woven from countless translucent, hair-thin glass veins. Within those veins flowed dim silver light like scattered stardust, moving slowly like frozen tear tracks.
The substance filling the spaces between the veins far exceeded Sun Lingtong’s knowledge. He could not identify it at all. It felt cold to the touch yet unexpectedly tough and stable. After enduring countless ages, it possessed both fragility and resilience, reminding him of moonlight.
Only—this was moonlight that had been frozen and turned cold.
The entire raft was exquisitely crafted, yet carried a deep loneliness and emptiness that seemed to seep into one’s bones.
Thinking of the story of Yun Xiao and Yue Yi, Sun Lingtong faintly sensed the endless loss in Yun Xiao’s heart that could never be filled.
The Forgetting River surged endlessly.
Countless ghosts rose and sank within it, struggling and letting out silent screams and wails. Upon seeing the people aboard the Empty Return Raft, they lunged toward them with despair and malicious intent to drag others down with them.
The soul cultivators and ghosts aboard the raft all grew tense. They clearly knew the consequences of being dragged into the water.
Furthermore, the raft’s surface lacked a solid sensation. Standing on it felt like floating upon dense cold mist, making people uneasy.
The long river roared, wave after wave crashing against the raft’s protective light, splashing water everywhere and causing the raft to tremble.
Each tremor triggered the star-light and moonlight within the glass veins of the raft.
The silver stardust glow and the gentle moonlight intertwined, steadily protecting everyone aboard.
A hidden current suddenly intertwined into a vortex, trapping the Empty Return Raft.
For a time, it could only spin in place, causing the passengers’ expressions to change in alarm.
Fortunately, the vortex soon vanished, and the raft resumed its journey.
On the river surface, Yin Wind roared, waves thundered, and ghosts cried in despair. Yet within the raft there was silence—a stark contrast to the chaos outside.
But this silence was nearly deathly, offering no comfort.
The longer they stayed, the more sorrow spread through their hearts, growing heavier and heavier.
At the same time, they felt an emptiness inside, as if a hollow had appeared within them. Nothing in life seemed meaningful anymore, and everything felt devoid of interest.
Past regrets and the pain of loss were invisibly magnified, yet there was nowhere to speak of them. The torment left the passengers suffering greatly.
The Forgetting River seemed endless. Their sense of time blurred. Perhaps only the time of an incense stick had passed, yet it felt as though they had drifted for a thousand years.
All around were endless Yin Wind, turbid waves, and resentful souls. Only the Empty Return Raft beneath their feet emitted a small but unwavering field of light—like the sole ark of salvation floating within a pit of despair.
Amid the oppressive atmosphere, the raft suddenly trembled slightly.
The moon-white protective light surrounding it quickly faded and disappeared.
Everyone on the raft was astonished.
They had already arrived at the Forgetting River Immortal City.
More precisely—its foundation.
Countless unimaginably massive black pillars pierced through the filthy waters of the Forgetting River like the fangs of primordial beasts, some twisting and others straight, stabbing toward the heavens.
Where the Empty Return Raft docked could barely be called a pier.
Several uneven, extremely slippery stone steps extended upward from beneath the dark waterline, disappearing into the shadows of the pillars.
The turbid waves churned just beneath their feet. Filthy splashes nearly reached their ankles while the mournful cries of resentful souls echoed between the pillars with the Yin Wind.
As soon as Sun Lingtong stepped off the raft, biting Yin Wind wrapped around him.
Carefully, he climbed the stone steps.
There were no railings. The path was narrow and slippery, while beside them roared the endless waters of the Forgetting River. The higher they climbed, the more nervous everyone became. One slip would send them plunging into the river’s abyss without hope of return.
After climbing more than halfway, the Yin Wind grew even fiercer, howling past like blades.
Strange gray-white mist drifted everywhere, draining one’s spirit and stamina.
The closer they came to the immortal city, the more signs of life appeared. Vines grew increasingly numerous, capable of wrapping around ankles—even ghosts and soul bodies could not escape them.
Weathered white bones scattered within the cracks of the stones silently told the fate of failed climbers.
When Sun Lingtong’s group first set out, there had been ten people.
By the time they reached the top, only four remained.
His entire body felt as heavy as lead. Fear, despair, and other negative emotions filled his heart, leaving him utterly exhausted.
The old man fulfilled his promise, helping Sun Lingtong several times along the way.
When they finally reached the enormous city gate, Sun Lingtong collapsed onto the ground, too tired to move, gasping for breath.
The other three were not much better.
The stone platform was wide and icy cold. The walls of the Forgetting River Immortal City towered like an iron curtain hanging from the heavens.
Rumble…
Sensing the arrival of the four newcomers, the massive city gate slowly opened.
Above the gate hung a treasure mirror.
An ancient bronze mirror, coated in iron-gray patina streaked with faint blue and red hues. Its surface resembled filthy mercury with swirling gray-black sands, emitting a sickly green phosphorescent glow.
It was the Mirror of Karmic Sin.
The four cultivators, some lying and some sitting, gasped for breath while staring at the mirror.
After a long while, the first to recover stood up and slowly walked toward the open gate.
Buzz—!
The bronze mirror suddenly trembled. Its buzzing shriek tore through the silence.
A beam of green light burst from the mirror, stabbing into the eyes.
“Ah—!”
The ghost cultivator struck by the beam screamed as black-red flames erupted across his body. Under the green mirror light, the flames melted like snow under blazing sunlight and quickly vanished.
Sun Lingtong and the others’ pupils shrank in shock.
The ghost cultivator possessed Golden Core cultivation, yet he was completely powerless under the light—more fragile than an infant.
Once activated, the Mirror of Karmic Sin did not stop.
After destroying the first ghost cultivator, the pale green beam swept across the platform and landed on the old man who had helped Sun Lingtong.
The old man had been sitting but immediately lowered his head, as if an invisible mountain pressed down on his neck.
He struggled with all his strength. White smoke rose from his body under the mirror’s light as he trembled violently.
While Sun Lingtong and the fourth ghost cultivator were still watching, the beam suddenly widened and engulfed them both.
Sun Lingtong’s heart jumped into his throat.
At that moment he felt as if he had been stripped naked and thrown into a frozen wasteland—every sin of his past exposed with nowhere to hide.
Just as he thought he was finished, the aura within his chest suddenly spread out and wrapped around his entire body.
That aura came from the Buddhist Healer Meng Yaoyin.
Under the mirror’s light, it revealed magnificent golden霞 clouds, accompanied by blue-white radiance like auspicious clouds rising.
The originally cold and judgmental green light instantly softened upon touching the golden glow and cloudlike radiance.
The Mirror of Karmic Sin sensed merit and purity. Its buzzing calmed, as if acknowledging them.
The old man transmitted through spiritual sense:
“My heavens… little ghost, how many good deeds did you do in life?”
He was already on the verge of collapse. Secretly, he stole a few strands of that aura and added them to himself.
The green light shining upon them quickly faded.
The remaining beam still covered the fourth person for a while, leaving him gravely injured and unconscious before finally dissipating.
The old man looked at the fourth person with lingering fear and explained to Sun Lingtong:
“He didn’t pass, but his sins aren’t too heavy. He still keeps his life. Once he recovers, he can return the way he came and take the Empty Return Raft back to the other side of the river.”
Sun Lingtong narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the old man.
The old man waved his hand awkwardly.
“Ashamed, ashamed. Little friend, I’ve once again benefited from your fortune. After entering the city, I will definitely repay you generously.”
Sun Lingtong hummed in acknowledgment before turning away.
He walked ahead while the old man followed behind.
Thus, the old and the young stepped through the city gate together, officially entering the Forgetting River Immortal City.
At the same time, elsewhere.
The thunder of hooves roared like a storm as a vast cavalry force marched through the Underworld.
The riders were all ghosts—some with green faces and fangs, others with red hair and ghostly eyes. But the bone-blade war banners fluttering in the wind, the cold crescent blades, the crack-splitting spears compressed with talisman paper, and the black-blood paper horses revealed their true identity.
They were the Azure Blaze Army.
After parting ways with Sun Lingtong and the Buddhist Healer Meng Yaoyin, Ning Zhuo, Qing Chi, and the others had also set off toward the battlefield.
The reason they could transform into various ghosts was because the Azure Blaze troops possessed a special spell called Human–Ghost Visage.
Soldiers could use it to become either completely human or entirely ghostlike.
However, items such as war banners and weapons could not be disguised, leaving obvious flaws.
Fortunately, their marching route was extremely remote. Even when they encountered scattered ghosts or soul cultivators along the way, it caused no real trouble.
“Above us should be the altar of the Heaven Ghost Transformation Tribulation Offering Rite!” Ning Zhuo said after following the directions given by Buddhist Healer Meng Yaoyin.
He and Qing Chi looked up toward the sky.
Dark clouds covered everything, and from time to time streaks of crimson flashed through them like lightning.
Qing Chi frowned.
“The altar is in the sky. How are we supposed to get up there?”
Very few in the Azure Blaze Army possessed the ability to fly.
But Ning Zhuo already had a plan.
He had thought of a solution during the march.
“That’s easy,” he said calmly. “We’ll use the Ritual Military Camp.”