Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 895: Chapter 311: Crossing the River of Forgetfulness on the Empty Return Raft (Part 2)

After he queued up at the end, the ghosts and soul cultivators all shut up. Some snorted discontentedly, while others turned to glance at Sun Lingtong, eyes filled with malicious intent almost impossible to conceal.

"Little ghost, you’re not too foolish. Queueing at the back, it’s all benefit and no harm to you."

An old man suddenly spoke. He was right in front of Sun Lingtong, originally last, now second to last in line.

Sun Lingtong cast a glance and saw it was a soul cultivator from the Human Clan, and tried to inquire, "Elder, is there something behind this?"

The old man nodded, "They want to accumulate virtue and goodness, seizing every opportunity to accumulate merits."

"But true virtue and goodness, and what they’re doing, naturally there’s a great difference."

"Like me, I am truly accumulating virtue and doing good deeds!"

The old man spoke openly, not hiding from others, nor using Divine Sense Transmission.

Hearing this, many ghosts and soul cultivators erupted, turning around with furious glares.

"Old man, quit with the nonsense!"

"What kind of thing are you, daring to teach your ghost grandpa about doing good?"

"Do you look down on us? Hypocritical!"

The old man aroused public anger yet laughed heartily, turning to smile at Sun Lingtong, "Watch closely, little ghost."

After saying this, he turned around, glaring and shouting at the crowd, "What are you yelling for?! You bunch of fools, come on and hit this old man."

"Don’t worry, I’m very weak, my cultivation level is poor, only in the Qi Refinement Realm, no different from a mortal."

"You could kill this old man with one punch, come, come, strike my heart with your fists. I guarantee I’ll drop dead immediately!"

Hearing this, the crowd that had just been clamoring fell silent.

Sun Lingtong observed and instantly knew these people had been deeply intimidated.

The old man’s "victory through weakness" also made Sun Lingtong realize: Even before entering Wangchuan Immortal City, he was already under some kind of city rules.

"Could it be, this Wangchuan Immortal City holds the elderly and cherishes the young, encourages virtue and goodness?" He asked the old man.

The old man nodded, "The rules in Wangchuan Immortal City are strict, and all soul cultivators, ghosts, and the like entering the city are subject to strict scrutiny."

"The key content of the scrutiny is whether there are sins, how many sins there are, whether there is virtue, and how much virtue there is."

"The fewer the sins, the more the virtues, naturally the easier it is to enter the Immortal City and gain the qualification of a citizen."

"And at this Forgetfulness Ferry, you must also abide by the rules. If you shout and scream, or cut in line arbitrarily, you might anger the reflection of Yun Xiao and not be allowed to board the Empty Return Raft."

The more Sun Lingtong listened, the more puzzled he became, and couldn’t help but ask, "Wait a moment, elder. What is this reflection of Yun Xiao? And what is the Empty Return Raft? Is it a ferry?"

The old man, hearing his question, was also taken aback, "Little ghost, you want to enter Wangchuan Immortal City, yet don’t know these two things?"

Sun Lingtong thought, his inexperience already revealed, and decisively shook his head, "I don’t know."

The old man sighed, genuinely moved, "Then you’re in luck encountering me, little ghost."

"I’ll tell you."

"All the ferries and crossings on the River of Oblivion involve two senior sages."

"They were a pair of Dao companions, the female cultivator named Yue Yi, the male cultivator called Yun Xiao."

"They were a perfect couple, in harmony like musical instruments, pursuing the Great Dao together, deeply in love, promising to seek eternal life together."

"The elder Yue Yi was gentle like moonlight, pure-hearted, often doing good deeds. Then came a sudden disaster with the collapse of a virtual realm. To protect all living beings, the elder Yue Yi sacrificed herself to the array, perishing, her soul falling into the Netherworld."

"The elder Yun Xiao was heartbroken, his Dao heart nearly shattered. Without her on the path to immortality, even if he lived tens of thousands of years, it would only be an eternal shackle of solitude."

"Ignoring the advice of fellow practitioners, he abandoned the Dao path, relying solely on his own strength and courage, forcibly opening the Nine Netherworld Yellow Springs path, and broke into the depths of the Netherworld, breaking through several underworlds."

"This journey was truly perilous with countless obstacles, a journey of nine deaths and one life. He cut down blocking evil spirits with his sword, endured the bone-eroding fierce wind, traversed knife mountains and sea fires in the absolute regions of the Netherworld, ignoring the strict iron laws of the Ghost Clan. What sustained him was the indestructible obsession in his heart—to find her, to bring her back!"

"Finally, after going through countless tribulations, he followed the familiar trace of his Dao companion’s soul, found this place, maybe even standing right where we stand today."

"It is this eternal Wangchuan River."

"The waves roared, the fierce wind struck, countless twisted soul ghosts struggled and floated in the muddy river, wailing with cries that made one’s soul tremble. Then through the washing and purification of Wangchuan, they shed their past memories, free themselves from intense emotions, attaining release and enlightenment, floating to the surface."

"The elder Yun Xiao finally found the elder Yue Yi here. However, his joy and anxiety could not evoke any reaction from the elder Yue Yi."

"The elder Yue Yi had soaked for too long, washing away too much emotion and memory. Upon seeing the elder Yun Xiao, she furrowed her brows as if making an effort to remember, but ultimately, it was in vain."

"Although the elder Yun Xiao found his Dao companion, alas, this was the result. He tried retrieving the emotions and memories lost by the elder Yue Yi, but they were dispersed into the infinite waters of the Wangchuan River. Even elder Yun Xiao was powerless to change it."

"Carrying his numb Dao companion’s soul, he stood on the Wangchuan Riverbank, striving tirelessly for seven days and nights. Eventually, all his sacrifices, all his journeys, all his persistence, gradually turned into despair colder than the waters of Wangchuan River."

"In his despair, he grieved to the extreme, his cry resounding towards the sky. Amidst the cry, heedless of consequences, he unleashed all his strength and abilities."

"His cry mingled with the roar of the waves, his entire cultivation level and innate talent deeply imprinted on the Wangchuan Riverbank, transformed into numerous ferry crossings and ferries."

"Every ferry crossing and ferry was identical in design, they are the Forgetfulness Ferry and Empty Return Raft."

Sun Lingtong was mesmerized, murmuring the names, savoring them. Unlike before, he could now comprehend the grief, despair, sorrow, and countless other emotions within.

The old man continued, "Because the elder Yun Xiao was a sage of the Righteous Path, anyone entering the Forgetfulness Ferry must follow the rules."

"Poor behavior, like fighting, arguing, or even loud shouting, can lead to being expelled from Forgetfulness Ferry. The worst part is, having been expelled once, one may never be able to enter the Forgetfulness Ferry again in their lifetime."

"The space on the Empty Return Raft is limited, and only the top ten performers are selected each crossing."

"The best performance here refers to one’s actions within the Forgetfulness Ferry."

"Only by boarding the Empty Return Raft, can we reach Wangchuan Immortal City."

Sun Lingtong finally understood completely, grasping the whole story. He gazed at the long line before him, thinking, "So they previously volunteered to let me cut in line, all to entrap me while showcasing themselves!"

He slightly opened his mouth, about to continue asking questions, when suddenly, a mist appeared, forming a cultivator, clad in wide-sleeved white robes, ethereal and immortal-like, with his back turned to the crowd, facing the Wangchuan River, gazing into the past.

Forgetfulness Ferry instantly fell silent.

The old man did the same, eyes wide, staring intently at the back figure.

Sun Lingtong also stared, recalling the previous introduction, immediately guessing the truth: "Could this be the reflection of Yun Xiao?"

Just as the reflection of Yun Xiao appeared for a few breaths of time, mist began to rise around, as if a large fog formed over the river surface.

In the vast river mist, a ferry gradually approached.

This ferry was also very rudimentary, and not very spacious.

Sun Lingtong couldn’t help but think, "No wonder this elder just said they only take the top ten cultivators."

The reflection of Yun Xiao beckoned to the Empty Return Raft, and the Empty Return Raft accelerated, docking at the ferry crossing.

The reflection of Yun Xiao waved his sleeve.

The next moment, the old man who helped Sun Lingtong disappeared from his original spot.

When he reappeared, he was already on the ferry, becoming the first passenger of the Empty Return Raft!