Chapter 316: Wandering

In the world painted with splashed ink, there was nothing to be seen at first, as if it was the end after the world melted away.

Luo Xuanyi, however, felt refreshed. All the shackles fell off her body and fell to her feet. She looked down, but only saw the clouds and mist swirling below her.

Now there are clouds and fog in the world, and there is a voice.

"Hey, you're qualified to get on board. Come on."

As soon as the voice called out, Luo Xuanyi floated lightly through the clouds. Bursts of starlight surged out from beneath the diffuse mist. Now she could see stars scattered in every corner of the darkness, near and far. The nearest star looked like a ball wrapped in black and white.

A hand reached out and grabbed Luo Xuanyi's wrist, pulling her forward until her feet landed on the boat. The dark, dark boat was silent, having stopped there at some point. She was the only one on board, along with the person who had pulled her aboard.

He released his hand from hers and took it back. Luo Xuanyi couldn't help but look at the person in front of her curiously, but everything about him was hidden in the darkness, and the starlight couldn't illuminate the black cloak he was wearing.

"I am a guide. You may see me only once, or you may see me many times. I suggest you pray that you only see me once."

"Well, you'll sit down before you go to the door."

The guide, having finished his monologue, walked to the bow, grasped a long pole inserted into a wicker pot resembling a fish basket, and tossed it into the mist. He exuded an aura of repulsion, and Luo Xuanyi was certain he wouldn't say another word to her.

But she had no desire to ask anything, and her heart was extremely calm.

The boat, unstirred, set sail amidst the drifting mist and starlight, its hull swaying slightly as if it were sailing on a windy river.

Luo Xuanyi leaned against the side of the boat and looked down at the gaps in the drifting clouds. Her eyes involuntarily fell on the nearest black and white star again. This star seemed to have an inexplicable attraction to her.

The quick glimpse just now only allowed me to see the color, but now when I look closely, I find that the sphere is not really black and white. The white layer seems to be floating on the black.

After careful observation, Luo Xuanyi suddenly realized that the star should have been pure black, but there was a giant pure white beast lying on the star!

The giant beast has three tails and six claws. It holds the dim black star in its arms, and a faint light emanates from its body, making people almost mistake it for a glowing star.

Something flashed through Luo Xuanyi's mind, but the feeling of horror receded like a tide, and her heart calmed down again.

The black star held by the giant beast gradually drifted away from the ship, naturally blending into the entire starry sky. Luo Xuanyi withdrew her gaze and suddenly realized that the ship had stopped.

The guide raised his hand and put the fishing rod into the fishing basket, then turned to the darkness and said, "You are qualified to get on the boat, come on."

Who else wants to take the boat? Luo Xuanyi looked curiously, but all she saw was rolling clouds and mist, and a vague black shadow floating over, being pulled onto the boat by the guide.

The guide repeated what he had said to Luo Xuanyi, then continued to swing the pole and sail. The shadow seemed to be saying something to him, but the guide turned a deaf ear to it. Finally, the shadow floated to the stern of the boat in frustration.

Luo Xuanyi could not make out the shadow's features in the hazy darkness. She could only see the rough outline of a person, unable to even distinguish between a man and a woman. As she observed the shadow, it also faced Luo Xuanyi.

"Where do you come from, fellow Daoist?"

Luo Xuanyi tried to ask the black shadow, but the black shadow didn't hear her. The black shadow also waved in front of Luo Xuanyi as if wanting to talk to her, but she still didn't hear anything.

There was no way to communicate, and both of them realized this and fell silent again.

The boat drifted freely across the galaxy, the guide occasionally pulling new shadows aboard, speaking the same words to everyone. Each shadow's reaction to boarding varied, but they all ultimately fell silent.

Everyone is waiting to reach the finish line.

"jingle."

After an unknown amount of time, Luo Xuanyi, who was leaning against the stern of the boat, suddenly heard a clear ringing sound. The shadows heard it at the same time and all looked up in the direction of the sound.

In front of the ship, there stands a magnificent stone gate.

The boat stopped, and the guide retracted the long pole and shouted nonchalantly in a long voice.

"Get off the boat—"

Luo Xuanyi's feet floated lightly again, and she was the last to follow the dark shadow in front of her down the boat. As soon as she landed in the mist, all the dark shadows in front of her disappeared, leaving only the majestic yet tightly closed stone gate standing.

There were two long pillars on each side of the stone gate, each carved with a strange cloud pattern. On each of the two stone doors, there was a strange pattern carved.

The left side of the stone gate was decorated with thick clouds, descending to the ground, with densely carved stars within them. A long-tailed bird stood on the cloud, its back turned, looking back coldly at Luo Xuanyi. Its eyes, carved from gray stone, actually glowed like a living thing.

On the right side of the stone gate, a rolling sea of clouds was roughly carved, and a round sun was about to rise from the clouds. Thousands of golden rays shone on the human-faced fish scales swimming in the clouds, blocking the face of Luo Xuanyi who was looking at it in the backlit darkness, and even the lines of the carvings were blurred.

Luo Xuanyi stared at the stone door, not knowing what to do for a moment. Suddenly, the long-tailed bird spoke, its voice sounding like that of an old man.

"No access. How did you get up here?"

Luo Xuanyi didn't know what it was saying, but her mouth couldn't help but answer: "The door has been lowered, and I have come along the way."

"Is this really true?"

The human-faced fish hidden in the darkness suddenly swam, and its face slightly brightened to reveal a pair of eyes.

"It is true, it was done according to the Empress' orders."

Long Tailed Bird said calmly: "Now that the gate has been lowered, the order from the rear should not be disobeyed."

"I, Yijiu and Wangchi, already know about this."

The mermaid stopped swimming, its face fading into darkness once more. The long-tailed bird's eyes shone brightly, suddenly stinging Luo Xuanyi's. She instinctively raised her hand to shield herself, but when she lowered it, she was already standing in the main hall of the Stone Palace.

Looking at the motionless black curtain in front of her, Luo Xuanyi's face showed confusion.

What just happened?

She seemed to decide to enter the curtain and gaze into the darkness...

Did she go in?

"I'm back, I'm back!"

In the main hall, the caller, who was inexplicably fighting with the skinny dog again, suddenly lunged at Luo Xuanyi, but she dodged out of habit. Seeing the caller about to plunge into the curtain in panic, Luo Xuanyi reached out with her long arm and pulled him back to his feet.

"I just went into the dark?"

"Eh, you don't remember?" Huzhe poked Luo Xuanyi's head with his finger as if he had found a new toy. "Will I become stupid if I go in? How scary!"

Luo Xuanyi ignored the caller's movements and turned to look around. The hall was littered with torn pieces of clothing and blood. A skinny dog, covered in bite marks and dripping with blood, looked at the caller with a face full of resentment and unwillingness.

Looking back at Huzhe, there were indeed more bloodstains on his blackened teeth. Before she made the decision to enter the dark room, these traces had not existed, which meant that time had indeed flowed.

Before Luo Xuanyi could fully grasp her thoughts, the black curtain suddenly trembled.

Something is coming.

First update~Thanks to Miao Xiaoyu’s smurf account Lala Lala for rewarding this book with 25,000 Qidian coins~Thanks for your support!

Thank you to Xia Yixing for your two monthly tickets, thank you to Xia Rizhuoyu for your two monthly tickets, thank you to Ruoyou Shaoyuexiwei for your two monthly tickets, and thank you to Wu Kejun for your four monthly tickets ~ Thank you everyone!

(The last three monthly ticket holders will have their three updates this weekend, which means four updates over the weekend. For the new monthly ticket holders, I’ll have extra updates next week!)