"We’re almost there."
The warhorse accelerated, galloping wildly westward.
Half a day later, Wen Yan stood by the raging river. It churned with waves, mixing in so much air that the water appeared silvery white.
Wen Yan stood sowhat disconsolately by the river, unpacked a pack of cigarettes, and lit one for himself.
Great, great, so it’s just a ga, huh?
He looked out into the depths of the river, which seed to be just over a thousand ters wide, a distance where one would normally be able to see the other side.
However, as he looked now, beyond a thousand ters, the river began to look ethereal, as though it were a model that had been half-constructed and not yet rendered. The waves there appeared as if drawn with lines.
And beyond that, further into the distance, there was only the Void.
Honestly, if the Seventh Great-Uncle Master hadn’t personally co and conducted many experints, confirming that the shelves could only be opened closest to ... And every ti the window opened, it was beside the great river in the Nether Soul Realm. The closest place to , therefore, should be a river. My aunt also said this should be the way out. Without these assurances, I’d have no confidence right now.
He glanced back; the others, along with their warhorses and Little Fire Seed, kept their distance far from the riverbank, none daring to approach.
The Grave Walker said that river was strange; he had the feeling that if he fell in, he would never co back up.
Just getting closer, he felt as though the great river was going to devour him.
Lin Jue also said that as he got closer, he began to feel dizzy, as if he was going to plunge headfirst into the water, instinctively feeling a sense of dread.
Little Fire Seed, which had always clung to Wen Yan from the mont they set out, had jumped down on its own initiative, not daring to co near.
Wen Yan squatted by the river like a ruffian, yet felt nothing unusual; he just thought the water’s turbulence was quite fierce, and there shouldn’t be anything else to it.
He didn’t rashly attempt to cross the river. Considering the current situation, it seed that no one but him would be able to cross.
He led everyone along the bank, scoping out the area in a circuit.
The river flowed from south to north. Traveling about dozens of kiloters to the south brought them to an end where the river erged from the Void, flowing across the land.
Going northward a hundred more kiloters, they also reached an end. From there, the river once again entered the Void and disappeared from sight.
They circled around the end of the river and continued west. It seed as if they had reached the opposite side, where an endless tract of land still stretched out. Yet, standing on the riverbank and looking toward the opposite shore, it still resembled that half-rendered model.
Having walked around this hundred-kiloter stretch of river, Wen Yan was thoroughly convinced that this river indeed seed to be a portal connecting to other places.
In the culture of the Divine Land, rivers had always been associated with the deceased. Water held a unique significance there; whether in legends of the deceased moving on or in the real-world practices of the living offering sacrifices to them, it was all related to water. The deceased had to cross a river on their path forward, and the living, when offering sacrifices, would release river lanterns and paper boats into the water. Indeed, if there were a conduit between the real world and the Netherworld, nothing would be more suitable than a river.
Furthermore, this association was not unique to the Divine Land. In legends around the world involving the Netherworld, rivers were an inescapable concept. Each sect elsewhere also had its own version of the Styx River. These were surprisingly similar cultural images across different places, races, and sects.
The issue now, Wen Yan felt, was that this river was indeed connected, but it seed not completely so.
After pondering for a mont, he had his people pitch camp near the riverbank.
After having eaten their fill and rested for a day, Wen Yan brought the Grave Walker to the riverbank.
As he approached within seven steps of the water, the Grave Walker’s initial tension and fear instantly eased. His eyes glazed over, and he began to walk toward the water, step by step.
Imdiately thereafter, Wen Yan picked him up and carried him back.
"How do you feel?"
"Feel... I don’t feel anything; I had lost consciousness completely, with no idea of what I was doing," the Grave Walker trembled, clearly terrified.
How was he supposed to get them across?
"How about you guys wait here, and I’ll go scout ahead since I really don’t feel anything?" Wen Yan suggested.
"Master, I think it’s better to make so kind of boat," said the Grave Walker. "I have the feeling that this river is very sinister. It seems like it can devour any soul or Nether Soul, whether it belongs to a demon, ghost, or human being; there probably isn’t any difference."
Unfortunately for them, they had just about everything else here, except for a demon.
There was Lin Jue’s Nether Soul; the Grave Walker, a ghost; the Paper Man Butler, a ’weird’ creature; and Little Fire Seed, a spirit.
If you also counted the Black Mountain Stone Sculpture, then it barely made up a complete set of demon, ghost, spirit, weird creature, and human being.
Apart from Wen Yan, anyone else who approached the river felt as though their soul would be devoured.
Wen Yan grinned. What a joke, I don’t even have a soul for this river to devour! And even more conveniently, I have the Calamity Protector Water Official Talisman, so it’s impossible for to drown anyway.
Then he said aloud, "You all wait here; I’m going to give it a try."
"Master..." the Grave Walker held onto Wen Yan.
"What is it?"
"Let’s be prepared, just to be sure."
A mont later, a rope made from bridles tied together was wrapped around Wen Yan, fashioned into a safety line.
A group of warhorses held onto the rope, ready to instantly try and pull Wen Yan back up at the first sign of any trouble.
Wen Yan approached the water’s edge, attempting to step one foot into it. Other than the icy chill that penetrated to the bone, he felt nothing else.
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