The colossal body of the Forgetting River Bearer, as large as an ancient continent, slowly came to a stop at the edge of the Desert of Forgetting. The gray-white ancient city on its carapace was faintly visible in the wind and sand. A large number of silver memory patterns flowed continuously along the inside of the tortoise shell, like billions of frozen rivers of fate slowly writhing.
Its enormous, eyeless head slowly lowered, grains of sand constantly scattering from its mouth, and a deep voice, as if reverberating from the depths of ancient times, said, "Presumably... the Silent-Crying Kite and the Breathing White Bones... have already been utterly annihilated by you..."
Upon hearing this, Chi Jun immediately clasped his hands and bowed his head, his attitude extremely respectful. "Reporting to Senior, we were merely fortunate. If the two divine beast supreme beings had not suffered damage to their origins, it would have been impossible for us to accomplish this."
The Forgetting River Bearer remained silent for a moment, then turned his massive head slightly, as if looking towards the direction of the Blank Rift Valley. "When the Silent-Crying Kite was at its peak... you were indeed not qualified to set foot within a hundred miles of it... Unfortunately, it fought a great battle with me before, and its Fate Soul essence was severely shattered. It intended to slowly recover using the Fate String Mystic Liquid, but by a twist of fate, it encountered you... and was ultimately annihilated. This is its own karma."
Chi Jun felt a chill run down his spine. Only now did he finally understand that Silent-Crying Kite's previous severe injury to its origin was not due to any other reason, but rather because it was injured by the Forgetting River Bearer. However, he dared not delve deeper into the matter, as these three supreme divine beasts had existed in the Desert of Forgetting for countless years. What had happened between them was something that was beyond their comprehension.
Even so, a thought still subconsciously flashed through Chi Jun's mind, "Two tigers cannot share one mountain... or..." But he dared not utter these words aloud. However, just as this thought arose in his mind, the Forgetting River Bearer suddenly spoke in a low voice, "No need for wild guesses..." "The Desert of Forgetting was originally under the joint control of the three of us..."
"For countless eons... we have never fought each other..." "If it weren't for that mysterious army..." "We... wouldn't have ended up like this..." A collective gasp swept through the Chi Lineage. Shen Qingchen and Su Qingyuan exchanged a glance instinctively. A mysterious army? An existence capable of simultaneously suppressing three supreme divine beasts?
What level of power was it? No one dared to ask. Just hearing the words "mysterious army" caused the silver patterns on the armor of the Forgetting River Bearer to become violently disordered, and large amounts of grayish-white sand particles kept floating out of its mouth, as if some kind of deep-seated Fate Soul restriction was faintly taking effect. Chi Jun immediately lowered his head.
He was clever; the less he knew about such things, the safer he was. The Forgetting River Bearer didn't say anything more, only slowly exhaling a breath of grayish-white sand, causing the entire Desert of Forgetting to tremble slightly. After a long while, it spoke again, "Other matters..." "Need not be mentioned again..." "Next..." "I need your help..."
Chi Jun immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute. "Senior, please give your orders. As long as it's within our capabilities, we will do our utmost." The Forgetting River Bearer remained silent for a moment. Then, its massive, mountain-like body slightly shifted to the side, finally revealing the greyish-white ancient city on its back to everyone. Boom!!! The entire Chi Lineage team instantly felt their scalps tingle. Because that ancient city... was actually "breathing."
Large amounts of grayish-white mist slowly rose from the city, and the faceless figures inside the streets began to move slowly. Some walked with lanterns, some stood on the eaves looking down, and even a few child-like shadows slowly crouched on the edge of the city wall, revealing an empty and eerie smile to the Chi Lineage below. And those smiles had no faces at all.
There was only a blank space. The next moment, the deep voice of the Forgetting River Bearer slowly rang out. "I want you all..." "Enter the ancient city on my back..." "Tear apart the three talismans for me." Chi Jun's pupils suddenly contracted. "Talismans?" His voice had become noticeably serious. "Senior, may I ask what exactly these talismans you speak of are?" The Forgetting River Bearer remained silent for a few breaths.
Then it finally revealed the truth. "Not long ago... a mysterious army... entered the Desert of Forgetting..." "They slaughtered countless divine beasts, supreme beings, and ancient remnants within my region... and finally..." "They left three runes within me, Silent-Crying Kite, Breathing White Bones..." "From then on..." "We would uncontrollably kill each other..." "And they..." "Every so often..."
"Then they will send someone to collect the Fate String Mystic Liquid..." As its voice continued to fall, the silver memory patterns on its carapace began to go crazy and become chaotic. A large number of gray-white cracks gradually appeared on the surface of the tortoise shell, and even the entire ancient city began to tremble slightly. For the first time, the deep voice of the Forgetting River Bearer revealed a trace of uncontrollable anger.
"The Breathing White Bones and the Silent-Crying Kite... have already devoured part of their spiritual essence... Non-Self tortoise shell..." it could still suppress part of their Fate Soul... " " Now, I... " have long since become a puppet in their hands..." The entire Desert of Forgetting suddenly fell into deathly silence.
The Chi Lineage members felt a chill slowly spreading from the depths of their Fate Soul, because they finally realized that what was truly terrifying... was not the Desert of Forgetting at all, but the mysterious army that could suppress and control even the three supreme divine beasts.
The edge of the Desert of Forgetting fell completely silent. Grayish-white sandstorms slowly swept over the enormous, sky-covering skeleton of the Forgetting River Bearer. Faint footsteps echoed from the ancient city on its back, and faceless figures continued to walk slowly through the city, like countless souls forgotten by time.
After a long silence, Chi Jun finally clasped his hands in a fist salute, his expression extremely solemn. "Senior... even with your cultivation level, you couldn't shake those three talismans. How could we possibly do it?" The Forgetting River Bearer did not answer immediately. Its huge head without eyes slowly rose, and a large amount of grayish-white sand continuously drifted out of its mouth.
After a moment, it spoke in a low voice, "Listen to me first... My current cultivation level..." "has already reached the Eternal Silence Realm · Supreme..." "But the person who left those three talismans..." "has already surpassed the Above Limitless..." The Chi Lineage members were all shocked at the same time. Surpassed the Above Limitless? That was a level they could not understand.
The Forgetting River Bearer continued slowly, "Those three runes... were formed using an extremely unique Annihilation-Construct Logic..." "They automatically sense all fluctuations in Fate Soul, origin, divine power, and boundary rules..." "Any cultivator who approaches... will immediately suffer a backlash..." "I once tried to touch them with my own Fate Soul and divine sense..."
"In just a moment..." "It was almost shattered from its very core by that talisman..." As it said this, the silver river of memories inside the tortoise shell suddenly began to violently turbulent. Numerous gray-white cracks spread along the shell, clearly indicating that even just recalling the experience of touching the talisman was enough to cause its current Fate Soul structure to tremble.
The next instant, the Forgetting River Bearer slowly lowered his head, and his deep voice rang out again. "But later..." "I noticed something..." "Those three runes..." "have a fatal weakness..." "They don't react to 'mortals' at all..." "As long as there's no fluctuation of Fate Soul, no flow of origin, no trace of divine power..." "They can be easily torn apart..."
Chi Jun suddenly looked up, his pupils contracting sharply. "Mortals?" The Forgetting River Bearer nodded slowly. "But true mortals..." "cannot even step into the Forgetting River Ancient City..." "Before they even get close..." "their consciousness will be devoured by the forgotten aura within the ancient city... So the only way..." "is your Chi Lineage's— " "The Mortal Transformation Pill."
Boom! Chi Jun's breath hitched for a moment. He finally understood why the Forgetting River Bearer had been preventing them from leaving. The Forgetting River Bearer continued to speak in a low voice.
"After consuming the Mortal Transformation Pill..." "The cultivator will temporarily lose all Fate Soul, origin, and cultivation fluctuations..." "Transforming into a true mortal body..." "And I..." "will infuse the pill with the aura of an ancient city..." "allowing the consumer to briefly merge into the Forgetting River Ancient City..." "Once inside..." "You only need to find those three talismans within half an incense stick's time..." "Tear them apart..." "And I will be able to completely break free of these shackles... and soar far away..."
The entire Desert of Forgetting fell into a deathly silence. Cold sweat began to pour down Chi Jun's back, for he finally understood that this was no ordinary mission. It was a gamble with his life, and into an ancient city filled with "forgottenness." He slowly raised his head, his expression extremely solemn. "Senior..." "Even if I've taken the Mortal Transformation Pill..." "After entering the Forgetting River Ancient City..." "Can a mortal body truly survive...? This is too..."
As he finished speaking, his voice began to hoarse, but the Forgetting River Bearer slowly shook his head. "No need to worry..." "After consuming the Mortal Transformation Pill..." "You will no longer essentially belong to the cultivators..." "I will integrate the aura of the ancient city into the pill..." "To temporarily fuse it with your Fate Soul structure..." "In a short time..." "The ancient city will not actively devour you..." Chi Jun remained silent for a long time, then suddenly clasped his hands in a fist salute again. "Since you have a connection with that being of my Chi Lineage..." "Why not go directly to the Chi Lineage for help?"
The Forgetting River Bearer fell silent. This time, it remained silent for a very long time, the entire Desert of Forgetting eerily quiet. After a long while, it slowly spoke. "That's why..." "I cannot go..." "If I step into the Chi Lineage... that mysterious army..." "will immediately lock onto your clan..." "At that time..." "Not only the Chi Lineage..." "Even the entire Fourth Multidimensional Universe, the Void Dharma Realm..." "will be dragged into calamity..." "Therefore... your arrival this time..." "is a matter of cause and effect..."
Boom! Chi Jun's mind jolted again. He finally understood the gravity of the situation. Just then, as if struck by a sudden thought, his expression changed slightly. He slowly spoke, "Senior..." "But now..." "In my storage crystal core... there's only one Mortal Transformation Pill left..." "Could I give this pill to you, Senior...?" "So that you can spare a wisp of your divine sense to consume it...?" "And enter the ancient city yourself to remove the talisman?"
The Forgetting River Bearer suddenly fell silent. After a moment, it slowly lowered its head. "One... only one..." It remained silent for several breaths, then slowly shook its head. "No..." "Even if I consume the Mortal Transformation Pill... as long as my divine sense enters the ancient city... the talisman will immediately sense it..." "It might even alert the person who left the talisman..." "At that time..." "Everything will be completely out of control..."
After listening, Chi Jun fell completely silent. He stood there, his expression constantly shifting, his mind racing with conflicting thoughts. "That old tortoise's words were half true..." "But if we don't help it..." "It will never let us leave... But there's only one Mortal Transformation Pill... If we really enter the ancient city..." "Nobody knows what will happen... What... what should we do..." Just as Chi Jun was struggling internally, he suddenly noticed that Shen Qingchen was slowly raising his head, gazing at the ancient city on the back of the Forgetting River Bearer. And deep within that ancient city, there seemed to be a "gaze" as well.