Fairy Tale Town (Third Update)

A colorful river flows through a charming town. Although the town's architecture is in the medieval style, it is not as dirty and chaotic as the city. On the contrary, it is very clean.

A strange and absurd atmosphere enveloped the town, making it seem as if it existed in a beautiful fairy tale, and the town was indeed called Fairy Tale Town.

At this moment, Lu Li suddenly appeared in the seven-colored river, inside a golden bubble. Although the water was seven-colored, the sunlight was not blocked; instead, it penetrated even better.

After being exposed to the sunlight for a while, some black scorch marks began to appear on Lu Li's body. A stinging pain brought Lu Li back to his senses. He opened the Oil-Paper Umbrella he always carried with him. Golden bubbles enveloped Lu Li, and he drifted along the seven-colored river, finally landing on a riverbank. The surrounding area was full of seven-colored pebbles, each one seemingly imbued with a story.

After delivering Lu Li to the riverbank, the golden bubble that had been holding Lu Li down, turning him into a golden pebble that fell to the ground, where some stories seemed to be rolling around.

Lu Li touched his chest. He could feel his legendary heart being activated once again, absorbing a small amount of legendary elements. The source of these legendary elements was the golden pebble in front of him.

Picking up the pebble, Lu Li activated his Eye of Detection, and information about the golden pebble gradually entered Lu Li vision:

[The Altered Golden Fruit]

[Affiliation: Strange Light.]

[Original location: Cinderella.]

[Reason for generation: The legends of the Land of Stars were condensed by the River of Wisdom, making it a significant historical site.]

[Additional Ability: Can Extraction a related magical item based on a legend.]

[Evaluation: This is a gift from the River of Wisdom. Most people would simply discard an item after acquiring it, but you might gain something else from it.]

Three scenes are carved on the golden pebbles. The first scene shows a woman praying under a tree, with birds flying around her. The second scene shows a woman in full dress running onto a Pumpkin Carriage, leaving behind a crystal-clear shoe. The third scene shows the woman putting on the shoe and becoming radiant.

"Isn't this the story of Cindy?" Lu Li understood immediately. He turned around and looked at the seven-colored river. Under the seven-colored light, it seemed that countless bubbles were moving through the river, but for some reason, he couldn't see them clearly.

"I think you'd better not stare at that river, or you might go crazy." Prince William's voice came from behind him. Lu Li turned around and saw Prince William standing behind him holding a white pebble.

"This river is said to be a superficial manifestation of some great being. Although it has been shielded by layers of obscuring, if one looks at it for too long, it is still possible to witness the truth." Prince William spoke of the river with a rare air of awe.

"Isn't it better to see the truth?" Lu Li asked instead.

"Because humans are inherently illusory beings, our perceptions are inherently illusory, and some truths are enough to drive people mad," Prince William said with a smile.

"That great being is said to be omniscient and omnipotent, so although this river is only one of its manifestations, and various shields have been erected around it, making it impossible for us to observe its true state, we can still pass its tests and gain knowledge—knowledge that can drive people mad."

"Therefore, we call it the River of Wisdom," Prince William said somewhat cautiously. "In Fairy Tale Town, some residents worship this river and have even formed a cult. So if you're interested, you can join that order. They're said to have a deeper method of observation."

"Now that I'm here, can you tell me what happened?" Lu Li asked the Prince. He had obtained the qualification ticket before, but then it fell silent.

The only information Lu Li gleaned from this was the waiting time. It wasn't until after Cindy's death, when Prince William also produced a ball of light, that Lu Li realized there were two tickets, and the Prince's ticket was the dominant one.

"Now that you're here, and considered a resident of Fairy Tale Town, I can tell you these things. The place we were in before was called the Land of Stars. It's like a sky full of stars, with similar yet different customs, different terrains, different ethnic groups, and different countries."

"We can travel there via the River of Wisdom, and by passing River of Wisdom trials, we can receive River of Wisdom blessings," Prince William said. "And that last time was a holiday trip for me."

"I previously obtained a ticket from the River of Wisdom, which allows me to enter a low-difficulty Land of Stars —essentially a bonus. Once I enter, I can return as long as I find the other half of the ticket."

After listening to Prince William's account, Lu Li felt that this was similar to what gamers did. The Land of Stars was like a dungeon, and the River of Wisdom was like the official game, only their power systems were different.

According to Prince William's later explanation, completing the trials of the Land of Stars will grant one the blessings of the River of Wisdom. Some blessings are like Prince William's ticket, some are items one wishes to take out, some are magical artifacts generated based on legends, but most are various kinds of knowledge.

Prince William then picked up his white pebble, tapped it three times, and took out a crystal coffin inside, where Miss Cindy lay peacefully and happily.

"Would you like to see my collection? I've amassed one hundred and twenty-six timelessly beautiful artifacts," Prince William invited enthusiastically. "Among them are your old friend, the Mermaid Princess, and Snow White, who was once hailed as the most beautiful Snow White. I've also collected..."

"I'm not interested." Lu Li interrupted the Prince's excited speech. His interests were completely different from Prince William's. Rather than visiting Prince William's collection, he would rather find out what kind of magical items that golden pebble could give him.

"I can sense that you, like me, are on the path of pursuing fun, but unfortunately, your tastes are different from mine," Prince William said regretfully, then pointed east and said, "The Theseus Magic Society you're going to is over there. I hope you'll come out unharmed."

"Completely intact? It seems this Theseus Magic Society is quite dangerous." Lu Li noticed the problem in Prince William's words.

Watching Prince William walk further and further away, Lu Li suddenly called out, "William, I have another question?"

"What? Speak!" William seemed ready to tell him everything.

"What is that great being called?" Lu Li asked, pointing to the seven-colored river.

After a moment of silence, Prince William said in a respectful tone, "Yog Sothoth, the Lord of the Endless Void."