Escape, Part 2 (2)

Zhang Rongfang fell silent.

Only now did he truly realize that in the face of such an existence, ordinary people would die no matter how many came. The group quickly packed up, and Qing Su's expression remained unchanged. Although she was terrified, she was, after all, a person who had experienced many storms. After arranging for everyone, she followed Zhang Rongfang and left the valley as quickly as possible.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the group returned to the garrison where they had been stationed before entering the canyon.

"My lord, this place is extremely dangerous. We suspect that the fog we saw earlier may have been hallucinogenic, causing us to hallucinate and then being led into the valley by those hallucinations. In the end, we were attacked by poisonous bees, resulting in heavy casualties."

Qing Su reviewed the previous situation and summarized the reasons.

"Hallucinogenic toxins?" Zhang Rongfang looked into the depths of the canyon. The fog had dissipated there, but the wind still howled continuously.

In the sound of the wind, it seemed as if someone was saying something.

But it was blurry and unclear; he couldn't hear it.

Although he couldn't hear clearly, he could vaguely sense that the voice sounded a lot like the Xue Tong he had encountered before. "Set up camp nearby, but don't get too close. The Poison Mist here is too potent. All our antidotes can only relieve physical pain; they can't dispel hallucinations," Zhang Rongfang instructed.

"Yes!"

Qing Su's face was pale at this moment. She was not injured, but she was frightened by the inexplicable deaths and injuries.

They brought in so many elite troops, but half of them died inexplicably.

Anyone who encounters such a thing would feel heavy-hearted and terrified.

Zhang Rongfang, however, had no time to pay attention to them.

He walked slowly forward to the flowing stream in the canyon.

"Young friend?"

"Young friend??"

The sounds of the stream and the wind mingled together, as if someone were calling out to him.

"Senior Xue Tong!?" Zhang Rongfang called out softly.

No one responded.

The sounds of the wind and water no longer seemed similar to what they had just heard, as if the shouts he had just heard were merely an illusion.

"Senior, my men have been rescued. Now, as a way of repaying you, what do you need me to do? Just say the word!"

Zhang Rongfang refused to believe that everything that had just happened was a hallucination.

Given his physical Life Force and resistance, that little bit of toxin couldn't possibly affect him.

There has still been no response.

The surroundings were peaceful An Ning.

In the distant canyon, the air is clear, and the sounds of monkeys and birds fill the air.

Dark green rock walls, gray-white valleys interspersed with black, scattered green Woodland, and a cloudless Cloudless sky.

And the huge shadow cast by the mountain wall.

"Senior, I keep my word. If you need any help, feel free to come to me!"

Zhang Rongfang spoke up again.

There was still no reply.

All around were the sounds of wind, water, birdsong, and monkey cries.

There was nothing else besides that.

Zhang Rongfang, carrying the Wish Bell, turned and walked out of the valley.

Without the Wish Bell, he might have thought that everything that had just happened was caused by the Poison Mist.

But the object in his hand clearly showed that everything that had just happened was real.

"Sir, what's wrong with your hand?" The question returned to the Pine Crane Temple team that had sealed off the entrance to the canyon.

Qing Su approached, intending to report the situation to him.

Suddenly, she frowned slightly and looked at Zhang Rongfang's right hand.

"I found this at the bottom of the valley." Zhang Rongfang shook the tattered Wish Bell.

"What? Do you have something in your hand?" Qing Su was slightly taken aback.

Zhang Rongfang was taken aback and picked up the Wish Bell.

"This is it."

"Is there something in your palm?" Qing Su asked hesitantly, looking at Zhang Rongfang's palm.

"."

Zhang Rongfang suddenly fell silent.

He picked up the Wish Bell and hung it in front of Qing Su.

"This."

But Qing Su still looked at Zhang Rongfang through the clock, as if she had X-ray vision and could see through the clock face to see the scene on this side.

"My lord, please don't joke with me." Her expression changed slightly.

Zhang Rongfang fell silent.

He took a deep breath and picked up the Wish Bell to change to another person.

"Excuse me, what do I have in my hand?"

"Reporting to you, sir, there is nothing there."

What do I have in my hands?

"No"

"In my hands"

"Uh, I don't see anything?"

"In my hands"

"Glory! With glory in your hands, my lord, you will be invincible!"

"..." Zhang Rongfang ignored the drama queen, picked up the Wish Bell, put it aside, and then took out the Blood God Statue he had obtained earlier.

"What do I have in my hands now?"

Qing Su hesitated slightly.

"A blood-red statue," she answered honestly.

Zhang Rongfang finally understood.

No one present, except him, could see the Wish Bell.

He returned to the Wish Bell and opened the Attribute Panel.

Intuition Warning: What are you believing? And what are you doubting?

The inexplicable hints only made everything more confusing.

Zhang Rongfang silently turned off his Intuition Warning to avoid affecting his vision.

He sat to the side, took a deep breath, and felt that everything that had happened before was like a dream as night slowly descended.

Zhang Rongfang sent a message to his sister through someone, while he stayed at the entrance of the canyon, waiting patiently.

He must figure out the whole story!

Gods and Buddhas and Buddhas, Xue Tong, clocks, Statue —what are the differences and connections between them? A mountain breeze blows, and occasionally a light drizzle falls.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

After eating each day, Zhang Rongfang would sit in meditation by the stream and enter a meditative state.

During these times, he could always vaguely hear someone calling him from the stream.

But whenever he listened carefully and attentively, he would find nothing.

Wish Bell remain beside him, broken and motionless.

The Blood God Statue was also in his waist pouch, and a crack had appeared on its surface.

Qing Su led the team back to Pine Crane Temple to handle the aftermath and compensation matters.

Ten men were left nearby to guard the canyon entrance.

Zhang Rongfang also no longer allows ordinary people to freely enter and exit the canyon.

The bright moon hung high in the sky, casting a sliver of light from the top of the canyon, which shimmered on the stream.

Zhang Rongfang sat upright by the stream, his height exceeding two meters, tall and robust.

He was shirtless, with clear Blood Lotus patterns visible on his back, and was meditating An Ning.

Meditation is originally a state of focusing the mind and calming the spirit, and putting all the energy into the practice.

But today, Zhang Rongfang suddenly had a change of heart and decided not to practice the Supreme Bright Void Skill.

Instead, he simply sat quietly, following some meditation techniques he had seen in his previous life.

In past lives, both the East and the West had similar techniques for entering a meditative state.

In the West it's called meditation, in the East it's called entering a state of deep concentration, visualization, etc.

Instead of using the most complex techniques and routines available today, Zhang Rongfang only used the most basic steps.

That is: imagine your heart is a vast emptiness. Listen to your calm heartbeat, and gradually focus all your attention on the rhythmic beating. Concentrate on this one point, forget everything else, and finally let your mind wander, entering a state of complete absorption in the world.

He didn't know why he was doing it.

But after meeting Xue Tong, he heard from him about the doubts about Yue Dewen, the current Grand Master of the Great Dao Sect.

He then developed a slight doubt about the Supreme Bright Void Skill. He also began to question the strategy of the Great Dao Sect's Heavenly Treasure Palace, which had previously focused solely on cultivating Civilian Skill.

From the beginning until now, he has always been a practitioner of the Great Dao Sect Civilian Skill.

But now, he wanted to try something completely new, a different kind of Civilian Skill.

Let's see what happens.

This was just a whim.

There was no reason, no cause.

That's all I wanted to do.

Soon, with the foundation of other Civilian Skill, the most basic state of meditation was quickly achieved.

Zhang Rongfang sat upright by the stream, eyes closed, the only sound the beating of his own heart.

Slowly, slowly, when he stopped caring.

All the sounds outside—the wind, the water, the birdsong, and so on—mingled together like paint, forming a blurred sound: 'The Dao resides in a single thought.'

'Intentional or unintentional, let nature take its course; Ever-Changing, effortless success.'

'Young friend, you're finally back!'

The sound gradually became clearer and more distinct.

Finally, Zhang Rongfang slowly opened his eyes.

At the foot of the mountain wall directly in front of him, in front of a Locust Tree Forest.

A blurry black figure stood there, its robes swaying in the wind, its back to him.

"Senior?"

"It's me." Xue Tong's voice was faintly heard amidst the wind. "You succeeded. But the Gods don't die. She's after you now. Be careful."

"Thank you for your help, senior. Is there anything I can do for you now?" Zhang Rongfang had already vaguely grasped some kind of trick.

"I did say that," Xue Tong replied, "Gods possess immortality; they are absolutely immortal. But they can be forgotten. And how can they be forgotten? First, we need to see who still remembers them."

"You mean!?" A sudden thought flashed through Zhang Rongfang's mind.

Great Ling used to massacre entire cities for the sake of a few members of his Secret Teaching sect, initially causing great resentment among the people.

Now it seems that "yes, only by killing all believers, and all those who still remember its true divine appearance, can they be forever plunged into the Forgotten Abyss."

"Therefore, I want you to completely eradicate all of Wish Woman's followers. Let no one remember her, let no one mention her, and let no record of her circulate," Xue Tong's voice trailed off.

Zhang Rongfang suddenly understood why the Great Ling had recorded some of the Gods and Buddhas as Secret Teaching, and why any dissemination of this material was forbidden.

"I will remember this!"

"Remember that you possess something special that makes them fight over it. Don't easily reveal this in other places," Xue Tong continued.

"In return, I will tell you the secrets of those warriors Worship God Gods and Buddhas."

"It's a secret." Zhang Rongfang listened intently.

"This secret."

The sound suddenly became softer and weaker, and could not be heard at all.

Zhang Rongfang felt a chill run down his spine, realizing something was wrong.

He then realized that he had unknowingly broken free from his meditative state.

He immediately calmed down again.

Time slips away bit by bit.

About ten minutes later, he re-entered a meditative state.

"Senior?"

"Remember, whether intentionally or unintentionally, I will say it again now. The immortality of Worship God is not true immortality, but merely a transference."

"Transfer!?"

Zhang Rongfang was startled.

"Every time they die, a believer takes their place; this is transference."

Xue Tong's voice gradually lowered.