Weird Town

Yes—reincarnation.

Though he did not know exactly whose reincarnation he was, he knew that he had to be the reincarnation of some existence, a cultivator who had pursued immortality.

Feng Buzhi had realized he was reincarnated when he was five. At first, the feeling had been vague and uncertain, but by the time he was nine, he had confirmed it completely.

In his previous life, aside from researching how to shatter humanity's shackles, he had spent the rest of his time trying to awaken his Reincarnated Memories.

To that end, he had read countless books and gone into the Wilderness hundreds of times to seek enlightenment.

Unfortunately, until his previous life ended in death, his Reincarnated Memories had never awakened.

Feng Buzhi knew that his way of thinking carried many limitations from the Dharma-ending World. If he could awaken his Reincarnated Memories, then the strength with which he could break those shackles would certainly not be a problem.

Without giving it much thought, Feng Buzhi climbed onto a nearby building, then leaped across the rooftops as he surveyed his surroundings.

Thanks to his frequent nighttime climbs over the buildings of the Psychiatric Hospital, as well as his years of often escaping the Psychiatric Hospital to venture into the Wilderness and perceive heaven and earth, he had mastered some parkour techniques. Even with his right arm injured, relying only on his left arm, he still climbed with the smoothness of drifting clouds and flowing water.

Just like that, after less than half a day, Feng Buzhi had roughly explored the medieval-style town.

The town was circular and not particularly large, with a diameter of roughly seven kilometers.

It was not that the town itself formed a perfect circle. Rather, a ring of Mist lay outside the town, and the area enclosed by that Mist was circular.

In short, it was a roughly seven-kilometer-wide circular region. Mist filled the outside of the region, while a dilapidated town stood within it.

Around twenty thousand people lay unconscious in the town. Most had the faces of Huaxia People, generally between the ages of twenty and forty, though an occasional child or elder could be seen.

From eavesdropping on their conversations, Feng Buzhi learned that some of them had come to this world after dying, while others had arrived here in a muddle.

It was probably like taking a nap, or going to the bathroom, only to arrive here afterward.

Within two hours of Feng Buzhi waking up, these people had gradually awakened as well.

Generally speaking, those in better physical and mental condition woke earlier, while those in worse condition woke later.

Like Feng Buzhi, many among the twenty thousand had already begun exploring. Some had even gone beyond the Mist.

The Mist around the town was peculiar. From afar, it looked so dense that one could not see anything within it, but upon entering, one would discover that it did not obstruct vision too severely. Some distant scenery could still be seen.

As they entered the Mist, strange whispers would sound beside their ears.

The whispers left people dazed, and some even became dizzy.

Feng Buzhi had also tried experiencing the Mist. He heard the whispers, but they had virtually no effect on him. After all, he was no ordinary mortal.

Besides the strange whispers, there was another point worth noting in the Mist: Monsters.

Green-skinned, less than 1.5 meters tall, with savage and ugly faces—there seemed to be a kind of Monster in the Mist shaped like Goblins.

In games, Goblins were usually weak fodder for novice players to practice on.

But that was not the case in this Mist.

Of a temporary exploration team of more than a dozen people, only two fled back in terror. According to their tearful account, they had encountered an ambush by a group of Goblins in the Mist. Those cruel and vicious Goblins had nearly crushed them in an instant. In their panic, all they could do was run, and in the end, only the two of them made it back.

From the two men's description, those short green-skinned Monsters known as Goblins were utterly impossible to defeat. It seemed they had been scared out of their wits.

The news spread quickly. On the eastern side of the town, almost no one continued exploring into the Mist. Most chose to wait and see.

Naturally, Feng Buzhi would not shrink back in fear like an ordinary mortal. After that, he entered the Mist again to explore for a while. Yet after searching the dense forest within the Mist for nearly half an hour, he found no trace of Goblins.

What he did notice was something unusual about the whispers in the Mist.

—Do you wish to possess power?

The whispers in the Mist seemed to be expressing and speaking of something, as if tempting people to pursue power.

However, due to time constraints, he did not explore the Mist for long.

Because besides the Mist outside the town, there was another place in town worth noting: the Central Square.

At the center of the Central Square stood a massive Black Crystal, like a stone stele. At its base were the words [Human Race 74396], seemingly the crystal's serial number.

When Feng Buzhi had first seen the crystal sculpture, he had not noticed anything special about it.

At that time, few people had awakened, and hardly anyone had come to the square. After observing it from afar for a while, he had chosen to leave.

Yet while exploring other parts of the town, he gradually heard people discussing the Central Square.

Feng Buzhi headed toward the square at the center of town. As he approached, many people had already gathered nearby.

When he arrived at the Central Square this time, he saw a white halo surge from the black stele at the center of the square and envelop a man.

Feng Buzhi climbed onto a nearby building and observed from afar atop it.

The white halo slowly dissipated. The man appeared unchanged, except that he was staring at his own arm with a surprised expression.

The man said something to his companions around him, and Feng Buzhi listened carefully.

The surrounding noise was somewhat chaotic, and he could not hear clearly, but he still caught the general gist.

It seemed the man had conducted a test. His arm had been cut, and he had used the Repair function of the black stele to heal it. The cost of treatment was 100 Abyss Points. The man seemed to be saying that he should injure himself more seriously and continue testing.

Watching the commotion at the center of the square, Feng Buzhi's lips curled slightly upward.

"The whispers in the Mist outside the town, and this white light—without question, this world is not a Dharma-ending World. In other words, my path to immortality can continue."

"But precisely because the path to immortality can continue, I must awaken my Reincarnated Memories as soon as possible. After all, cultivating with Reincarnated Memories and cultivating without them differ vastly in efficiency."

Without continuing that line of thought, Feng Buzhi looked back toward the center of the square.

In fact, aside from the white light that had just healed injuries, the people in the square had another unusual feature: food.

After many people touched the Black Crystal with their palms, food appeared in their hands. Some had more lavish meals, while others had simpler fare.

Feng Buzhi jumped down from the building and quickly headed toward the center of the square.

The mortals gathered there were very uneasy.

As Feng Buzhi approached the crystal at the center of the square, these people examined and sized him up with all kinds of looks. Occasionally, someone invited him to form a team.

Because of his sunny, handsome appearance, he received many invitations.

Feng Buzhi had no intention of mingling with these ordinary mortals. He chose a route with fewer people and swiftly weaved his way to the Black Crystal at the center of the square.

He pressed his palm against the crystal. Along with a strange fluctuation, a screen of light appeared in his mind.

The screen was divided into five sections: [Information], [Food], [Basic Cultivation Assistance (can accelerate basic training and pre-rank cultivation)], [Repair], and [Promotion].

The [Basic Cultivation Assistance] section contained some annotations, while the other sections had no additional text.

After thinking briefly, Feng Buzhi quickly opened the [Information] section. Two pages of information appeared in his mind.

...

[Personal Information]

Feng Buzhi

Race: Human Race

Rank: Unranked

Soul Level: Unranked

Abyss Points: 324

...

[Town Information]

Affiliated Race: Human Race

Number: 74396

Town Trait:

[Basic Cultivation Assistance] (Excellent): Exclusive trait of Initial Town No. 74396 of the Human Race.

The Town Crystal gains an additional [Basic Cultivation Assistance] option. All members of the Human Race may use the Town Crystal to accelerate basic training and pre-rank cultivation. Each use costs 25 Abyss Points.

...