ATPnovel Chapter 110, Level 3, Sea of Life and Death
Chapter 110, Level 3, Sea of Life and Death
Chen Fan's feet suddenly lost their footing.
He plummeted straight down.
There was no sound of wind, only the sound of pages turning.
Page after page, brushing past my face.
Some were covered with writing.
Some only contain half a sentence.
Some areas were blank, with black marks on the edges, as if they had been burned.
Chen Fan tried to steady himself, but as soon as he raised his hand, his wrist tightened.
Scriptures.
The blank scripture had somehow become entangled in his hand, like a piece of cold iron, dragging him deeper into the abyss.
The area below is not ground.
It is the sea.
A sea made of paper.
Boundless.
The undulations on the sea surface are not waves, but the turning of old pages.
Each time I flip through it, a few lines of text appear.
"In a certain month of a certain year, I was granted the lifespan of thirty years."
"At a certain time on a certain day, I will die in your place."
"Debts have not been settled, so we will settle the matter later."
Chen Fan crashed into the sea, a tightness in his chest.
No water was being pumped in.
Only countless sheets of paper were being forced into his mouth and nose.
Like a swarm of insects eager to find a master.
He smashed open the ledger pages in front of him with his fist, and just as he raised his head, another wave of paper exploded beside him.
Zongwu also fell down.
He had barely shown his face when he uttered a curse.
"This third floor is fucking unlucky!"
Chen Fan wiped the wet bits of paper off his face and glanced at him.
"You've come in too."
Zong Wu took a breath, his eyes were dark.
"If that booklet opens and I don't follow, you'll die even faster by yourself."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sea suddenly became still.
The pages of the ledger floating all around flipped over in unison.
It's like someone in the dark flipping through a book together.
The booklet slipped from Chen Fan's wrist and hung in front of him, its cover cracking slightly.
The first page is still empty.
A line of text slowly emerges from the blank space.
The cost of finding the first page.
Once the characters emerged, they immediately sank back into the paper.
Zongwu saw this and his face darkened.
"They really treat you like a laborer."
Chen Fan did not reply.
He stared at the sea.
This place is not right.
There were so many ledger pages that it didn't look like a hidden ledger, but rather like a person being buried alive.
Every page carries a breath of life. Some are old, some are new, some are heavy, some are light. Like someone's life torn into shreds and carelessly thrown into the sea.
He had just swum forward half a zhang when a tabernacle suddenly appeared on his left.
There was a name written on it.
Chen Fan.
The handwriting is old and the ink is grayish.
Chen Fan's eyelids twitched, and he reached out to grab it.
The moment my finger touched the paper, fog suddenly rolled in from the sea.
It's not white fog.
It is light blue.
A picture quickly lit up in the fog.
A rented room.
The instant noodles on the table were not finished.
Car headlights flashed outside the window.
A young man lay on the bed, his face pale as blue, with blood at the corner of his mouth.
Chen Fan recognized that face all too well.
It's him.
Younger than they are now.
She's also thinner.
Zong Wu turned his head and frowned.
"Is this you?"
Chen Fan remained silent.
The image is still moving.
The phone beside the bed kept vibrating, with several missed calls popping up on the screen.
The young man struggled to sit up, raised his hand to reach for the water glass, but before he could even reach halfway, he collapsed.
With a thud.
His head hit the corner of the bed.
It stopped moving.
The screen was still lit.
The date is clearly stated on the label.
It was the night before he traveled through time.
Two lines of small characters suddenly appeared on the ledger page in Chen Fan's hand.
Originally, it was predicted that he would die from a pre-existing illness, and his soul would be scattered and never return.
Follow-up: None.
Chen Fan's knuckles tightened, almost tearing the paper to shreds.
Zong Wu's expression also changed.
"You were supposed to die?"
Chen Fan stared at the two lines of text, his throat tightening.
It's not time travel.
It's not a soul transfer.
According to the account book, he should have been cut off that night and wouldn't even have been qualified to transfer to the Journey to the West.
Why did he wake up under the Five Finger Mountain?
And who put him in here?
As if knowing what he was thinking, the sea surface flipped through the pages of the account book all at once.
It made a swishing sound.
Several old papers flew into the air and swirled around him.
The entire annotation above is the same sentence.
This person is not on the page.
This person is not on the page.
This person is not on the page.
Zong Wu felt a chill run down his spine.
"Chen Fan, your background is a bit strange."
Chen Fan chopped all the papers into pieces with his other hand.
"Enough talk. Find out the consequences first."
He said that, but his chest was heavy with pressure.
In the previous court hearing, the cataloger cut off evidence, opened the book, the principal debtor lost his composure, and the judge's face was contorted with rage.
Those people seem to be covering up a loophole.
Now the sea has torn open a breach.
He didn't get in normally.
Even the scriptures are dredging up old accounts of this matter.
Just as Zong Wu was about to speak, a piece of paper appeared beneath his feet.
The paper was so black it shone, as if it had been soaked in ink.
His name appeared on the paper.
Zongwu.
His face stiffened.
Chen Fan looked over.
"Will you touch it or not?"
Zong Wu grinned, his smile forced.
"They've already tracked us down to our feet, so we have no choice but to touch them."
He grabbed it.
Sea fog rises again.
The scene looks strange this time.
It's not a house, not a mountain, not a cave.
It is a passage of text.
It's just a paragraph of text, lying across the fog, like someone writing narration in the air.
"A group of demons from the west came to offer their congratulations. There was a small demon by the cliff, looking up to watch the ceremony. Its name was unknown and it was not recorded."
Just one line.
There was a figure standing below.
Thin and grayish, he blended into a group of demons, his face barely visible.
The figure looked up at a rock in the distance.
The stone was cracked, as if something was hidden inside.
Zongwu's eyes narrowed instantly.
The next instant, another line of words appeared in the fog.
"Afterwards, they dispersed, and all the demons disappeared."
Next line.
"But one demon, by asking one more question, caused the fate line to shift."
The screen flashed.
The thin, demonic figure rushed to the edge of the stone and reached out to touch it.
A beam of black light burst forth from the stone and struck his forehead.
When the fog cleared, the face of the demonic figure was already that of Zong Wu.
Zongwu remained silent for a long time.
His hand was still pressing on the paper, his knuckles taut.
Chen Fan understood.
This thing originally didn't even have a name.
Just a passerby in the narration.
Because of Wen Shi, because of extending an extra hand, he transformed from an "unknown little demon" into Zong Wu.
Chen Fan twitched the corner of his mouth.
"No wonder you always say that you were given a second chance at life."
Zongwu cursed under his breath.
"I used to think I was being modest. Now I realize I really did get lucky."
He looked up at the sea, his eyes slowly hardening.
"This damn place isn't a mirror; it's throwing the earliest version at your face."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud boom resounded in the distance.
A crack appeared in the middle of the sea.
Countless pages rolled up to both sides, as if being parted by a giant hand.
Something is rising below.
The bow of the ship is visible first.
Made of stone.
It's badly damaged.
The ship's planks were full of cracks, and a broken rope hung from the side, with a few tattered sheets of tent tied to it.
Further up, there's the entire ship.
The boat was very old, as if it had been dug out of a mountain.
A crooked sign was stuck at the bow of the boat, with only two characters on it.
Watanabe.
Chen Fan's eyelids twitched when he saw the sign.
He felt a sense of familiarity for no apparent reason.
I've seen it before.
It's because I'm familiar with the feel of it.
Like he had touched this stone tablet before.
Zongwu also kept his eyes fixed on the ship.
"Stone boats are being raised in the sea; this place is getting crazier and crazier."
The boat didn't stop.
It keeps rising.
When it rose to half a foot above the sea surface, the entire Sea of Life and Death became still.
The scattered pieces of paper slowly moved toward the stone boat.
Like a pilgrimage.
It's like archiving.
The scriptures suddenly shook in front of Chen Fan.
The cover automatically flips open by about two finger widths.
It's still blank inside.
Only a line of small, blood-red text appeared in the corner of the page.
The price of the first page lies in the hands of the old ferrymen.
"Jiudu people?"
Zong Wu read it aloud, his expression not looking good.
"Don't tell me there are still survivors on board."
Chen Fan did not answer.
Because at the bow of the ship, a person actually stood up.
The man kept his back to them.
He was dressed simply, in a short brown shirt and an old belt, like an ordinary person working in the mountains.
He was also carrying a bamboo basket.
The basket was filled with fruit.
They have both red and green ones.
There was no wind at sea.
The man's sleeve twitched slightly.
Chen Fan's breath hitched.
His memories of his days at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain flashed through his mind.
The mountain crevice is narrow, and so is the sky.
He squatted by the stone every day, passing fruit inside.
Sun Wukong took it, first scolded him, then ate it.
a hundred years.
It has been a hundred years.
The posture, the bamboo basket, the frayed edges on the cuffs—it's all so similar.
Zongwu asked in a low voice, "You know him?"
Chen Fan's voice was deep.
"Like me."
"What?"
That person looks like me.
Zong Wu was taken aback at first, then stared intently at the source.
The man at the bow of the boat seemed to have heard it.
He slowly turned around.
First, show your chin.
Then the corners of his mouth appeared.
Above that is the bridge of the nose, the brow bone, and the entire face.
All the accounts at sea trembled simultaneously.
Zong Wu's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"Hold……"
That face doesn't resemble one.
They are exactly the same.
Younger.
It's also cleaner.
Just like Chen Fan looked before he transmigrated here.
At the bow of the boat, "Chen Fan" was carrying a bamboo basket. He looked down at the two people on the sea and suddenly smiled.
He smiled faintly.
Then he took a piece of fruit from the basket and handed it out.
The movements were exactly the same as they were back then at Wuzhishan.
He spoke.
The sound wasn't loud.
But it pressed directly against Chen Fan's ear.
"Will you feed it again this time?"
With a snap, the scripture in Chen Fan's hand turned to the first page on its own.
Chapter 166 The Monkey Feeder
The fruit was handed out in mid-air.
The stone boat rocked slightly.
Chen Fan did not answer.
He stared at the face at the bow of the ship, his throat tightening, and it took him a long time to squeeze out a sentence.
"Are you pretending to be your mother?"
The man at the bow of the boat still had a smile on his face and his hand was still raised.
"His temper is just like mine back then."
Sun Wukong strode in front of Chen Fan, his golden cudgel held horizontally in front of his chest, the tip pointing directly at the bow of the ship.
"Don't try to imitate my brother Sun's face."
"If you keep acting like that, I'll smash your head in."
The man glanced at Sun Wukong, his gaze lingering for a moment.
It looked like he'd been watching for a long time.
Then he said softly, "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, it really is you."
Sun Wukong frowned.
"You recognize me?"
"I recognize it." The man put the fruit back into his basket. "I fed you for seventy-three years."
A single sentence can make the sea seem to sink an inch.
Chen Fan's eyelids twitched.
Tang Sanzang stood behind, his robe still stained with black ash from the tears in the scriptures. Upon hearing this, he immediately stopped reciting his prayer beads.
"Seventy-three years?"
"Feeded Wukong?"
"Who exactly are you?"
The man looked down at his palm, as if examining a layer of old skin.
"I forgot the name."
"If you stay here long enough, you'll forget your name first, and then you'll forget where you came from."
"They gave me a nickname later."
"Previous generation anchor point".
Upon hearing those two words, Chen Fan's heart sank.
Anchor point.
This wasn't the first time he'd seen this word.
From the day the moral system was activated, many inexplicable things seemed to be pushing him toward that word.
It just hasn't been revealed yet.
Now, the person in question has stepped forward.
And it has his face.
Chen Fan stared at him: "You also came from another time?"
"I guess so."
"Were they also thrown under the Five Finger Mountain?"
"right."
"Is it also for feeding fruit to monkeys?"
"right."
The man answered each sentence smoothly.
The flatter it is, the scarier it is.
Sun Wukong's face darkened.
He is not a fool.
Upon hearing these words, he immediately understood their meaning.
There is more than one Chen Fan.
More than once at Wuzhishan.
Chen Fan took two steps forward; the stone boat surface beneath his feet was cold and damp.
Explain yourself.
"Don't try to squeeze out information bit by bit."
"I'm not the first, am I?"
The man looked up at him and finally nodded.
"no."
There are people ahead of you.
"a lot of."
The sea breeze suddenly turned cold.
No, there's no wind on this sea to begin with.
A thin layer of sweat appeared on Chen Fan's back.
He recalled the sense of disorientation he felt when he first transmigrated, the cold, impersonal message the system gave him when it first appeared, and the occasional feelings of familiarity that surfaced during the hundred years he spent under the Five Finger Mountain.
There were some things he always thought he had just been crazy for too long.
Now it seems that's not the case.
Someone has walked a similar path.
Tang Sanzang asked in a low voice, "A lot? How much?"
The man said, "I can remember thirty-six."
"Those you can't remember don't count."
"More sank."
Chen Fan slowly clenched his fist.
"Did all thirty-six of them go to Wukong's side?"
"Every era has one," the man said. "Some are early, some are late. Some are born three days before the Five Finger Mountain is pressed down. Some are born fifty years after it is pressed down. Some don't live to see the monkey. Some see it, but go mad before they can finish three sentences."
Sun Wukong's cheek twitched.
He gripped the bat tighter.
"You mean, there were people around me when I was being pinned down?"
"Yes." The man looked at him. "People have been continuously sent to you."
"What are they going to do?"
"I'll let you have your way."
"Off-center?"
"Deviating from the written path."
Around the stone boat, the fragments of account pages on the sea surface suddenly turned slightly, making a rustling sound.
It's like a group of people hiding underwater, eavesdropping.
Chen Fan immediately grasped the key point.
"them?"
"Who are they?"
The man smiled, but it was a cold smile.
"Weren't you already fighting them?"
"Those who copy scriptures, those who catalog, those who keep accounts, and those who collect accounts."
"The group in the sky is one group, the group in the West is another group, and there's yet another group behind them."
"They're not on the same page either."
"Your system has survived until now only because it squeezed out a crack while they were fighting amongst themselves."
Chen Fan felt a chill run down his spine.
This statement carries a lot of weight.
But when it comes to the things mentioned earlier, it all fits together perfectly.
The Journey to the West system.
There is no moral system.
Western catalogers.
Life Tent Sea.
These things are not isolated incidents at all.
It was a covert war.
Wuzhishan is where the chess pieces are thrown.
Sun Wukong suddenly spoke, his voice deep and resonant.
"I'm asking you."
"What did those people say when they came to me?"
The man remained silent for a while.
"Someone advised you to endure it."
"Someone advised you to kill."
"Someone is lying to you, saying that Buddha will release you."
"Someone is kneeling and begging you not to believe in the pilgrimage."
"Someone might call you brother, but then turn around and try to kill you."
There are still people who genuinely want to save you.
As he said this, his gaze fell on Chen Fan's face.
"I'll count as one."
"You're one of them too."
Sun Wukong stood still.
There was no expression on his face.
Tang Sanzang, however, saw through it.
The monkey's breathing became disordered.
He was holding back.
It's not about suppressing anger; it's about suppressing something much deeper.
Five hundred years of pressure on the mountain.
It turns out they weren't just waiting for one Tang Sanzang.
It's a cycle of waiting for someone to come, only to see them disappear again and again.
Chen Fan had also thought of this.
He glanced at Sun Wukong, feeling as if a hard stone was lodged in his heart.
No wonder.
No wonder the monkey didn't immediately turn hostile when he first offered it fruit.
No wonder that later on, Wukong seemed to believe many of what he said, yet he was always willing to listen to more of it.
It's not because I'm particularly charming.
Someone had paved the way for him with their life.
Chen Fan took a breath and stared at the man at the bow of the boat.
"The vast majority failed?"
"right."
What happens if we fail?
The man raised his hand and gently tapped the surface of the sea.
"Recycle."
"What do you mean?"
"Fall down. Shatter. Rotting in this sea. Names gone, faces left behind, words left behind. The unlucky ones won't even leave behind half a word."
Several bubbles suddenly appeared in the sea.
*Kiss.* *Kiss.* *Kiss.*
It looks like someone is opening their mouth from below.
Tang Sanzang's face turned pale, and he subconsciously took half a step back.
"In this sea..."
That person finished speaking for him.
"These are all anchors of failure."
Chen Fan felt a chill run down his spine.
When he first came in, he thought the sea was filled with tents.
I only found out now.
There are people under the tent.
They are all people like him.
His throat was dry, but he still pressed on with the question.
"You failed too."
"right."
"Why are you still standing on the boat?"
"The boat isn't a reward." The man looked at the stone boat at his feet. "It's a temporary storage place. It's like a cage. I've held out for a few more years than them, and I can say a few words, that's all."
Sun Wukong suddenly took a step forward.
"Who dumped you here?"
The man looked at him, his eyes filled with an indescribable weariness.
"I can't say."
Sun Wukong sneered.
"Can't you say, or are you afraid to say?"
"I'll leave after I've said that."
"Even if we're scattered, we still have to talk." Sun Wukong tapped the bow of the boat with his golden cudgel. "I want to know who's been using me as a trap, repeatedly dumping people into it."
The man stared at the tip of the stick, then shook his head after a long while.
"It's not the right time yet."
"Knowing the name now is useless."
"They were buried too deep."
"If you try to do it now, you'll only ruin the whole game."
Upon hearing this, Chen Fan's eyes grew even colder.
"Are you still keeping quiet for them?"
"It's not about keeping quiet," the man said, looking at Chen Fan. "It's about protecting you."
Chen Fan scoffed.
"Come on."
"Then tell me something useful."
"Like me."
Why did I survive?
"So many people before me sank, why did I have to become Chen Fan, survive to this day, and still mess up the journey to the West like this?"
The stone boat fell silent.
Even the sound of the underwater curtains stopped.
The man at the bow of the boat did not answer immediately.
He glanced at Sun Wukong first.
That look is strange.
It's like confirming something.
It's as if it's finishing up for someone.
Chen Fan's nerves were on edge.
"explain."
"I don't have time to play riddles with you."
The man finally spoke.
"The system didn't choose you."
"It's not like Hai let you go."
"The monkey chose you."
A single sentence was uttered.
Chen Fan was stunned.
Tang Sanzang was also stunned.
Even Sun Wukong was taken aback, his brows slowly furrowing.
"Me?"
The man nodded.
"At the foot of Wuzhi Mountain, every anchor point will arrive in front of you first."
Whether or not we can continue to live doesn't entirely depend on those above us, nor does it entirely depend on the system.
"Let's see if you admit it first."
"If you don't acknowledge it, they won't live much longer."
"Only if you admit it will the sea take a step back."
Chen Fan felt as if he had been struck hard in the head.
Many images suddenly surfaced.
The fierce and crazy monkey at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain.
The first time I handed him the fruit, those eyes were fixed on him.
The monkey didn't laugh when he first said "I don't want to accept my fate".
When the phrase "smash this day" was first mentioned, the monkey reached out and took the second fruit.
It turns out that from the very beginning, it wasn't just him who turned them to defect.
It was Wukong who stopped him first.
Sun Wukong's lips moved as if he wanted to curse, but in the end he didn't say it.
He only whispered, "Those people in front of me, I recognize them too?"
The man looked at him and didn't look away.
"I admit it."
"Some of them took a whole day to recognize it."
"Some have been committed to this for ten years."
"And there's another one, you almost died with him."
The veins on the back of Sun Wukong's hand bulged out.
"Who?"
"I can't remember." The man shook his head. "Like I said, the name isn't here. All that's left are fragments."
Chen Fan stared at him: "And what about me? How am I different from them?"
"You took an extra step."
"Which step?"
"You don't just want to save the monkeys," the man said in a low voice, "you want to flip the table too."
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes.
He believed that statement.
This is indeed the biggest difference between him and others.
Saving Sun Wukong was the starting point.
The path forward is to overthrow those who fabricate the accounts.
The man continued, "Many people ahead of me just want to change one outcome."
"You are not."
"You wanted to change the rules from the very beginning."
"The sea is most afraid of this."
"That's what they're most afraid of."
Chen Fan wanted to ask more questions.
A sharp cracking sound suddenly came from the bottom of the boat.
Click.
Like an iron ring fastened to a stone.
Then, there was another sound.
Click. Click. Click.
The entire stone boat suddenly sank.
Tang Sanzang almost lost his footing and hurriedly grabbed the edge of the boat.
"What is it?"
The man at the bow of the boat's expression changed for the first time.
"You're too early."
Chen Fan immediately looked down at the bottom of the boat.
The sound wasn't coming from inside the ship's deck.
It's from below the boat.
It looked like a chain was slowly sliding along the bottom of the boat.
Splash!
Splash!
The louder and denser it became.
Bubbles began to rise from the sea surface.
One after another.
The few pages of account paper floating not far away flipped over, then were pulled up by something underwater and sank.
Sun Wukong's eyes flashed with anger, and he brandished his staff.
"come out!"
next moment.
The sea surface swelled up.
Not in one place.
There are more than a dozen places.
More than twenty places.
It looks like heads are pushing upwards from below.
Chen Fan frantically flipped through the pages of the scripture in his hand, making a rustling sound. The word "debt" on the first page began to bleed black.
The man at the bow of the boat took half a step back, his voice becoming deep.
"You're asking too many questions."
"They heard it."
Chen Fan cursed.
"who are they?"
"A failed anchor point." The man stared at the sea. "After a while, there's only one thing left to recover."
"Get new users."
The sea exploded with a deafening roar.
One hand reached out first.
The skin on his hand was white, his nails were worn down, and a broken chain was still hanging from his wrist.
Then came the second one.
The third one.
The fourth one.
In the blink of an eye, hands were everywhere.
One by one, mutilated human faces emerged from the sea.
There are men and women.
There are both old and young people.
Many faces were so badly damaged that they were unrecognizable.
Some of the photos still show the original facial features.
Seven or eight of the faces bore a striking resemblance to Chen Fan, with three or four parts resembling him.
Further away, there's even a picture that's almost a completely different version of him.
Those afterimages surfaced, their mouths opening and closing together.
At first, I couldn't hear clearly.
Then the sounds piled up one after another.
"It's time to change it..."
"Your turn..."
"You've lived too long..."
"Get down..."
"For us..."
Tang Sanzang felt a chill run down his spine and threw a string of Buddhist beads at them.
The prayer beads passed through the face of an afterimage, creating a circle of black waves.
The afterimage paused for a moment, then suddenly lunged onto the edge of the boat, pressing half its face against Tang Sanzang's, its mouth full of seawater.
"You'll come down too..."
Tang Sanzang's expression changed, and he slapped it away with his palm.
Sun Wukong had already made his move.
With a swing of his golden cudgel, he smashed the three afterimages on the left side into pieces.
Black water splashed everywhere.
The exploding afterimage scattered into mist, then reassembled into half of its body behind it.
"Can't be killed?" Sun Wukong grinned, his eyes gleaming with ferocity. "Then I'll go and break through the sea!"
Just as Chen Fan was about to speak, the man at the bow of the boat suddenly grabbed his wrist.
My hands were as cold as stone.
Listen.
"They're not here to capture monks, nor are they here to capture monkeys."
"They're only after you."
"Once you fall into the sea, your position will be taken."
"You'll be standing down there too, waiting for the next Chen Fan."
Chen Fan abruptly shook him off.
"Then give me a solution!"
The man stared at him, his lips barely moving.
The chains on the bottom of the ship suddenly snapped open.
The entire stone boat was pulled downwards by a tremendous force.
Outside the ship's hull, the afterimages of dozens of failed anchor points simultaneously rose into the air.
They stared at Chen Fan, their eyes unwavering.
The next instant, all hands reached out and grabbed at him.
Chapter 167 Anchor Point of Failure
Dozens of hands clung to the edge of the boat.
His knuckles were gray, and his fingernails were like rotten wood chips, squeaking as he gripped the stone boat.
The entire boat sank.
The sea was calm, but the ship felt like it was stuck in mud.
Chen Fan stepped on the bow of the boat, flicked his sleeve, and kicked away the foremost hand.
Two fingers were broken off, but they grew back immediately after falling off.
The afterimages below all had their heads raised.
There are men and women, old and young.
His clothes were a mess.
Some people wore Taoist robes. Some wore armor. There was also a bald monk with half his face rotten and a string of cracked beads around his neck.
The most dangerous thing isn't their faces.
They all had something stuck in their chests.
Some are half a jade plaque.
Some are a section of iron ruler.
Some were just a charred sheet of paper.
There was also a copper bell the size of a human head, but only the clapper remained.
That thing flickered, and its aura was very mixed.
Chen Fan recognized him at a glance.
"System fragments".
Zongwu stood in the boat, asking if the stone was still pressed in his palm.
Its face was even paler than before.
"Not a system."
"It's made from scraps and leftovers from many failed projects."
The man at the bow of the ship who looked exactly like Chen Fan had already retreated to the back, as if he didn't want to get involved in this mess.
He looked at the afterimage below, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Chen Fan was so amused that he wanted to grab his hands.
"You knew all along?"
The man didn't reply; he was still carrying a bamboo basket.
There were only three fruits left in the bamboo basket.
The first one to climb up from below was an old Taoist priest with a broken nose.
He had half a jade pendant embedded in his chest, with only the character "升" (sheng, meaning rise) remaining on it.
As soon as the old Taoist priest boarded the boat, he grinned at Chen Fan.
"A newcomer, daring to stand at the bow of the ship?"
"When I entered the Sea of Life and Death, I was even more secure than you. In the end, I still ended up rotting here."
On the other side, a tall, thin scholar also climbed up.
He had half a sheet of gold paper pasted on his chest, his eyes were sunken, and his lips were black.
"His skin is quite nice."
"Perfect for filling in the gaps."
The third one is even more ruthless.
It was a burly man in armor, with half an iron ruler stuck in his shoulder. As soon as he climbed up, he grabbed Chen Fan by the neck.
"Stop talking nonsense, just tear him apart."
Chen Fan raised his hand and slapped the scripture onto the back of the burly man's hand.
Snapped.
The skin and flesh of that hand were torn open.
The burly man looked down, paused for a moment, and then roared.
"You hit me with the Book of Life and Death?"
"Are you worthy?!"
Sun Wukong is not here.
Tang Sanzang is not here.
Now, only he, Zong Wu, and a mysterious "Chen Fan" are on the ship.
If a real war breaks out, we can't rely on others.
Chen Fan didn't back down; instead, he laughed.
Whether you're worthy or not, you've already suffered.
The burly man turned his face and threw a punch.
Before the punch even landed, the chains at the bottom of the ship jolted again.
More afterimages surged upwards.
In the blink of an eye, the stone boat was surrounded by people.
There were more than twenty dishes.
They all stared at Chen Fan, their eyes gleaming with hunger.
Chen Fan glanced around and suddenly realized something was wrong.
These people all wanted to pounce, but none of them made the first fatal move.
Everyone's watching.
Everyone is waiting for someone else to make the first move.
Zong Wu gripped the question stone tightly and spoke in a low voice.
"Did you notice?"
"They're afraid of losing a second time."
Chen Fan tilted his head.
Zongwu raised the stone, and a crack flashed on its surface.
"I just asked."
"They have something in common."
Nobody admits defeat.
"In this sea, admitting your debt means sinking to the bottom. Denying it means you can still cling to life and wait for a replacement."
Chen Fan understood immediately.
This place is called the Sea of Life and Death.
What is the most feared thing about a tent?
I hate it when old grievances are brought up.
When he looked at those afterimages again, he suddenly saw a group of experience packs disguised in human skin.
They're all holding system fragments, yet they're still stubbornly refusing to admit it.
Just right.
Chen Fan took two steps forward and stood at the very front of the boat.
"Come on, keep barking."
"Who just said they were more reliable than me back in the day?"
The old Taoist priest with the broken nose frowned.
"Of course it's me."
Chen Fan nodded.
"And the result?"
The old Taoist priest sneered.
"I just made a mistake."
"A slip-up?" Chen Fan burst out laughing. "You've been soaking in this state, and you still say you slipped up? Your half of the jade pendant is cracked beyond recognition, and you're still so stubborn."
There was a moment of silence on the ship.
Several afterimages turned their heads at the same time, looking at the old Taoist's chest.
The old Taoist priest's face twitched, and he subconsciously used his hand to block the jade pendant.
Chen Fan immediately followed up with a fatal blow.
"Let me guess, have you ever dreamed that you were the chosen one, that once the system was activated, you were the greatest in the world? But after only two days of pretending, you got killed. And you were too ashamed to admit it, so you just squat here looking for a substitute."
"You're talking nonsense!"
The old Taoist priest suddenly pounced.
Just as he took a step, a black line suddenly emerged from beneath the sea and wrapped around his ankle with a snap.
The old Taoist priest swayed and almost fell.
He hurriedly pulled back, but the black thread only got more and more tangled.
The remaining afterimages all changed color.
Chen Fan could see it clearly.
it works.
The sea really falls for this.
He immediately turned his attention to the scholar.
"Don't pretend to be so refined."
"You can't even protect half a page, yet you want to take my booklet?"
"Did you write yourself out before you even finished the first page?"
The scholar's eyes twitched, and his voice became shrill.
"Who said I haven't finished writing!"
"I wrote half a page!"
"Half a page?" Chen Fan patted the scripture. "They wanted the first page, and you gave me half a page. You're quite proud of that?"
"you!"
Just as the scholar was about to step forward, a ring of black waves rose from the seawater beneath his feet, creeping up the soles of his shoes.
He froze.
Seeing that things were going badly, the burly man started cursing.
"Stop talking nonsense! Everyone here has been manipulated! Everyone—"
Chen Fan interrupted him directly.
"No, you weren't tricked."
"You're a noob."
The burly man's eyes bulged out.
Chen Fan continued to spout nonsense.
"A truly capable person can turn the tables even after death. Someone like you, carrying half an iron ruler to bolster your courage, actually thinks you're someone important?"
"Look at your armor, it's riddled with holes. A fragment of the system is stuck in you, you can't pull it out, can you? It's not that you don't want to pull it out, it's that you're afraid that if you do, you won't even have this shell left."
"To put it bluntly, you guys are all a bunch of useless trash who can't admit defeat."
When the last four words were uttered, the entire stone boat trembled.
The chains beneath the sea clanged in unison.
The sound of splashing and rustling filled the air.
The faces of the more than twenty afterimages twisted simultaneously.
Someone roared.
Some people retreated.
Some people even instinctively covered the shards of metal on their chests.
Zongwu stared at the sea, his voice strained.
"It's done."
"The life-or-death account is in the core account."
Chen Fan felt relieved, but his words became even harsher.
"Come on, didn't you want to tear me apart?"
"Why aren't you moving?"
"Afraid that if you make a move, all your embarrassing secrets will be exposed?"
"I'm telling you, you didn't lose to anyone else, you lost to yourselves and you still won't admit it."
"You've fallen so low, and you still want to drag me down with you? You think you're worthy?"
These words were like a bucket of oil poured directly into a fire.
The old Taoist priest was the first to explode.
He suddenly pointed at the scholar.
"You have the nerve to stand up! Back then, for the sake of the first page, you first sold out your companions, then your sect, and in the end, you still made a mistake!"
The scholar's face turned pale.
"You old fool, what makes you so great? You failed to advance your cultivation level, and then you used your disciple as a sacrifice in the furnace. That's why the jade tablet is cracked!"
The burly man roared as well.
"Shut up! You two are the worst! At least I've fought head-on!"
The rotten-faced monk in the corner suddenly let out a strange laugh.
"Fight head-on? You surrendered on your knees. I remember it clearly. They only asked one question, and you gave away your entire set of techniques."
"You're asking for it!"
"You die first!"
Suddenly, everything was in chaos.
These images were exposed, and the criticisms were increasingly harsh.
Everyone was afraid that Chen Fan would continue to search for himself.
Let's just expose their secrets first.
With each curse, another black line appears on the sea.
Each time the scar is revealed, the fragment on the chest darkens a little more.
Someone tried to shut up, but the people around him brought up his old grievances again.
The situation was completely out of control.
Chen Fan, standing at the bow of the boat, almost burst out laughing.
This is hardly an attack.
This is clearly a bunch of losers attacking themselves.
Zongwu was stunned.
"You can do that?"
Chen Fan kept an eye on the situation while making his way forward.
"Talking is a skill too."
"Why fight for something you can get for free?"
A blurry figure was grabbed by the waist by three black lines, and half of its body sank into the sea.
He was still struggling.
"I didn't lose! I was just one step away!"
Chen Fan walked over, squatted down, and looked at the fragment of the copper bell on his chest.
"Losing even by one step is still losing."
Whether you admit it or not, the debts are still there.
The afterimage's eyes narrowed.
The sea suddenly ripped open, pulling him right down.
Only the broken pieces of the copper bell fell onto the deck with a snap.
Chen Fan reacted quickly and grabbed it.
The moment the fragment was acquired, the Morality-less System shuddered.
[Foreign fragment detected]
[Undergoing merger]
[Missing logs being repaired... 1%... 3%... 7%]
Chen Fan's eyes lit up.
It's really nourishing!
There's no need to be so polite.
He turned around and put it away.
The old Taoist was strangled by a black line. Chen Fan went over and kicked him into the sea, then casually picked up half of a jade pendant.
The scholar's feet were caught by the seawater, so Chen Fan used the scripture to slap his hand away and tore off the half-page of gold paper.
The strong man was the most resilient; he managed to tear off the two black lines and still tried to pounce on Chen Fan.
Chen Fan retorted.
"When you surrendered, did you kneel on your left or right knee?"
The burly man's face froze instantly.
The next second, seven or eight black lines rushed out of the sea, wrapped him up in a ball, and dragged him down.
Half of the iron ruler remained outside the nail seam.
Chen Fan pulled it out; his hand was numb from the shock, but his face was full of smiles.
Experience pack.
This is a real treasure trove of experience.
In a short time, the ship was almost empty.
The remaining afterimage terrified him, and he tried to jump into the sea to escape.
But they were already in the sea.
This sea doesn't want them to escape, it only wants them to acknowledge it.
The more they deny it, the more stubborn they become.
Chen Fan collected the fragments while listening to the system's activity.
[Log completion 14%]
[Log completion 22%]
[Log completion 31%]
Turn the pages of the book yourself.
The word "debt" on the first page is becoming clearer.
Then, lines of blurry small characters appeared, as if they had been soaked in water and then roasted by fire.
Chen Fan glanced at it, his breath catching slightly.
There are words on it.
"The Monkey Feeding Project in Wuzhishan..."
"Initiating permission verification..."
"Source of permissions: Unknown observer..."
"Affiliation determination: Not directly under the Heavenly Court, nor directly under the Buddhist sect..."
Chen Fan paused.
It's not the Heavenly Court.
It's not a Buddhist sect either.
Who threw him under the Five Finger Mountain and fed him to monkeys for a hundred years?
Zong Wu saw it too, and his expression changed instantly.
"There's something else on top."
"Higher than the cataloger?"
Chen Fan didn't reply and continued flipping through the pages.
The next line is even lighter.
It looked like it had been deliberately scraped off, leaving only half a name mark.
"Observe..."
The text after the main text is completely blurred.
Just then, a coughing sound came from the stern of the boat.
Chen Fan suddenly turned around.
Only one last afterimage remained on the ship.
He was the first monk with the rotten face.
While everyone else was attacking each other, he remained huddled in a corner, silent.
The seawater has now reached his chest.
Black threads were wrapped around half of his body.
He stared intently at the scripture in Chen Fan's hand, his eyes surprisingly clear.
"You... managed to complete this step..."
Chen Fan carried the scripture book over.
"What do you know? Tell me quickly."
The monk grinned, revealing that his teeth were broken.
"So...someone actually made it this far..."
"I thought... no one would ever turn to this page again."
Chen Fan grabbed his chin.
"Stop beating around the bush, it's the name."
The monk stared at him, making gurgling sounds in his throat.
"Not the cataloger..."
"The cataloger...is just someone who keeps accounts..."
"Those who truly focus on the book... are called..."
Suddenly, the seabed was pulled down.
The monk's face was half submerged in the water.
Chen Fan exerted force with his arm and pulled him up another half inch.
"What are you calling out for!"
The monk's eyes were starting to bulge.
With his last breath, he uttered three words.
"The one who contemplates the sutra..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the string of cracked beads on his chest shattered completely.
He was dragged into the sea by the black line.
Not even a splash.
Before Chen Fan could ask any further questions, the entire Sea of Life suddenly fell silent.
So quiet.
The chains stopped rattling.
The afterimage disappeared.
Even the pulling force beneath the boat stopped for a moment.
next moment.
The center of the sea slowly bulged up.
It's like something needs to be flipped up from underneath.
Zongwu took a step back, and a crack immediately appeared in the stone.
For the first time, "Chen Fan," the man carrying a bamboo basket at the bow of the boat, stopped smiling and looked up at the sea.
Chen Fan also looked over.
A line appeared to split open on the surface of the sea.
It's not a joke.
Like a page of a book being flipped open from the middle.
A giant hand-shaped shadow slowly emerged from the sea.
His fingers were long and slender, and he made a turning motion between them.
It wasn't fully exposed; only half of its hand was visible.
The back of his hand was covered with tiny characters, as if the entire scripture was engraved on it.
That hand stopped in the center of the Sea of Fate.
With a gentle flick of the index finger.
It's like turning the page to the next chapter.
Chapter 168 The Observer of the Sutra
With a flick of that hand.
The entire sea of life was initially still.
The next moment, the sea was in complete chaos.
It's not a wave crashing.
The character is being flipped.
Countless black characters rose from the seabed, like thousands of tiny worms crawling wildly along the surface. As soon as the failed anchors gripped the ship's edge, the characters on their wrists lit up, flashing as if someone were renumbering them from afar.
"Back off!"
Chen Fan gave a low shout and pulled Zong Wu backward.
Zong Wu staggered two steps, his face pale: "It turned the page, it really turned the page..."
The man with the bamboo basket at the bow of the boat, "Chen Fan," stared at Hai Xin, his smile vanishing completely. The fruit in his hand cracked open with a snap, juice dripping down the back of his hand.
Chen Fan didn't have time to look at him.
The stone boat beneath his feet is changing.
Words began to seep out from the old cracks in the ship's deck.
One line after another.
It was so dense it made my scalp tingle.
Chen Fan recognized some of the characters.
"At the foot of Wuzhi Mountain, fruit has been fed for a hundred years."
"The first time I tried to persuade the monkey, it wouldn't listen."
"The twenty-seventh attempt to rewrite failed."
"On the ninety-third attempt, Tang Sanzang failed to enter the game."
"The 146th time, the anchor point has been replaced."
Chen Fan's eyelids twitched.
It's all accounts.
It's not his memory.
It's the record left by each of his versions.
The giant hand shadow in the heart of the sea was only half visible. Five fingers seemed to be pressing down on the entire sea. It slowly turned, and all the words on the sea changed accordingly. The anchors of failure began to distort; some faces aged, and some collapsed directly, like ink being wiped off a page.
Zong Wu's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice trembled: "The third layer needs to be rewritten."
"Rewrite?"
"It's just crossing out the useless segments." Zongwu stared at the sea, his lips dry. "Look at those afterimages; they could have been considered anchors before. Now they're not."
Chen Fan followed his gaze.
really.
Just as the ship was halfway up the nearest failed anchor point, a line of words swept across the sea.
"This section is invalid."
Four characters were pasted on its forehead.
The man didn't even have time to scream before his face went flat, as if pressed back into paper by an invisible hand. He was gone in the blink of an eye.
Zongwu almost sat down.
"It's over...it's getting serious."
Chen Fan stared at the hand, and his mind calmed down instantly.
This thing isn't here to kill anyone.
It was repairing the tent.
Anyone blocking the main text will be deleted.
Suddenly, a page-turning sound rang out from Hai Xin.
It's very light.
It sounded like it was right next to my ear.
Then, a hoarse old voice came from all directions.
"You saw it?"
Chen Fan suddenly turned his head.
The "Chen Fan" who handed him the fruit had somehow ended up standing at the stern of the boat.
He put down the bamboo basket, his eyes looking much more somber than before.
"Who exactly are you?"
"The monkey feeder," the man replied flatly, "the previous generation's anchor."
Zongwu looked as if he had seen a ghost: "Previous generation? Weren't you already...?"
"Dead?" The man chuckled. "Here, death is nothing unusual. Only when it's written away is it truly gone."
Chen Fan stared at him: "What is that hand?"
The previous anchor did not respond immediately.
He glanced at Hai Xin first.
The enormous hand shadow had already turned half a page, and large cracks began to appear in the sky above the Sea of Fate. It was like an old piece of paper that had been forcibly torn open, its edges all shattered.
Only then did he speak.
"The one who contemplates the sutra."
Upon hearing those three words, Zong Wu's legs went weak, and he immediately knelt down.
"I knew it... I knew there were still eyes in higher-ups..."
Chen Fan frowned: "Is he a member of the Buddhist sect?"
"no."
"The Heavenly Court?"
"No, not exactly."
The previous anchor raised his hand and made a cursory gesture in the air.
Several dots suddenly appeared on the surface of the sea, resembling a chessboard.
Some lights were illuminated with white light.
Some spots are black.
Some simply split in two.
"It only cares where the story is headed." The previous anchor's voice lowered. "Who wins, who loses, who dies, who goes mad—it doesn't care. What it wants is for someone to dig up old grievances. Whoever can do it, it gives them the thread. Whoever can't, it replaces them."
Chen Fan's heart sank.
Once those words were spoken, many things suddenly made sense.
There is no moral system.
The Journey to the West system.
And then there are all those messy faction quests.
It's not simply a matter of opposition.
It's a trial balloon.
Chen Fan stared at the points of light: "Did it place these systems?"
"It released a lot," the previous anchor said. "Not just the two types you've seen. Some support Buddha. Some support demons. Some specifically raise rebellious individuals. Some only teach their hosts how to survive. It throws a bunch of people into different segments, making them bite, tear each other apart, and deceive each other. Whoever survives to the end is qualified to deal with old debts."
Zongwu's lips trembled as he asked, "Then what are we?"
The previous anchor glanced at him.
"It's about calculating the bait. It's also about calculating the sieve."
Zong Wu's face instantly turned pale.
Chen Fan asked even faster, "What are the old debts?"
"I don't know the whole story." The previous anchor shook his head. "I've only touched a corner. Buddhism has taken things that didn't belong to it. Heaven also owes debts. That book isn't a book, it's an account book. The first page isn't for you to write down your merits, it's for you to write down your price."
Chen Fan looked down at the scripture in his hand.
The first page is still open.
The character for "debt" above is getting deeper and deeper.
It looks like it was just carved with a dull knife.
Hai Xin turned over again.
This time, the entire stone boat suddenly sank.
Zongwu slammed his head against the edge of the boat, drawing blood from his forehead immediately. He didn't bother wiping it away, yelling hoarsely, "It's looking for the owner of this page! It's going to make this page its own!"
The chains rattled and clanged loudly beneath the boat.
Those failed anchors have all gone mad.
They stopped seizing the boats.
They started scrambling for the words.
Someone ripped the tab from their chest and slapped it against someone else's face. Someone pried open their mouth and forcibly pulled out the old words etched on their tongue. The whole sea was in chaos, like a boiling pot.
Chen Fan immediately understood.
Whoever makes it to the first page will be nailed here.
The previous anchor suddenly stepped forward and pressed down on the scripture.
"Listen, you will not be able to touch the true form of the Amitabha Buddha. If you want to live now, there is only one way."
"explain."
"Get the warrant, go back." He stared at Chen Fan. "You're not enough yet. You can only touch the first page. Take it, leave the third level. Go back and finish up your side of the game."
Chen Fan's eyes flashed.
This is exactly what he expected.
To confront that hand head-on now would be suicidal.
If we really want to get things done, we have to go back first.
Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang, and all those other people waiting for him outside are still waiting for him.
How do I obtain the voucher for the price?
As if in response to his question, the scripture in his hand suddenly vibrated twice on its own.
A new line of text slowly appears on the first page.
The characters are very neat.
It's as if someone wrote down the rules in advance.
"Offer the original version in exchange for the first page."
After seeing it clearly, Zongwu's voice cracked: "The original version? It wants your destiny account!"
Chen Fan stared at the line of text without moving.
The previous generation of anchors looked even uglier.
"It's still this one, just as I expected."
Chen Fan looked up: "What do you mean?"
"The original version, your very first life," the previous anchor said, enunciating each word clearly. "Not the current you. It's the Chen Fan you were before you transmigrated. Hand over that version, and this account will be yours. The first page is yours as the price, and you can take the proof back with you."
Zongwu panicked: "We can't hand it over! That would be like uprooting you! If we hand it over, who will know who you really were?"
"What's the use of knowing?" the previous anchor interrupted coldly. "If you don't hand it over, it'll stay here for now. Next time you turn the page, there won't even be this one left."
The sound of pages turning at sea grew faster and faster.
The giant hand shadow had already lifted a corner of the third floor.
The sea in the distance began to collapse.
Where the wall collapsed, there was no water, only a blank space. Within that blank space, one could vaguely make out many figures struggling. It was as if half-written text had been scraped away.
Zongwu retreated while cursing, "They've gone mad, they've all gone mad! This page is about to be closed!"
Chen Fan ignored him.
He only looked at the first line of text on the first page.
The original version is offered.
To put it bluntly, it means handing over your original line of command.
From then on, he was still Chen Fan.
But he is no longer whole.
He was the one who fed monkeys at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain for a hundred years.
He's the one stirring up trouble in Journey to the West now.
But what if the person from before I traveled through time is completely gone?
The previous anchor suddenly lowered his voice.
Don't be reluctant to part with it.
"I couldn't bear to part with it back then, so it's been sitting here rotting."
Chen Fan looked up.
The previous anchor stared at him, a hint of something real appearing in his eyes for the first time.
It's not numbness.
It is regret.
"I kept thinking I had to bring myself back with me. But in the end, I didn't get the pages, and I couldn't even leave. Look at me now, who am I?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the young man named "Chen Fan" carrying a bamboo basket at the bow of the boat suddenly swayed.
His face began to blur.
Like ink meeting water.
Chen Fan's heart sank.
The previous generation's anchor points weren't meant to scare him.
He's really about to fall apart.
Zong Wu gritted his teeth and said, "Just hand it over! Let's live first! Isn't this what you've always done?"
Chen Fan pressed his fingers on the corner of the page.
The scriptures are cold.
So cold it felt like it had been fished out of ice.
Chapter 169 Piracy Fate
The scriptures were so cold they were prickly to the touch.
It looks like a well is pressed down at the bottom corner of the page.
Chen Fan didn't rush to flip through it.
He first looked up and glanced around.
The sea was filled with shadows. The defeated anchor lay on the side of the ship, half his face pressed against the plank, still uttering words.
"Give it to yourself."
"You can only give it to yourself."
"Promiscuity will lead to an even faster death."
Zongwu's forehead was covered in sweat, and the cracks in the stone in his hand had deepened, as if it would shatter at any moment.
The young man named "Chen Fan" at the bow of the boat stood motionless, the bamboo basket still hanging in his arm. The ink on his face spread even faster, and his nose began to look blurry.
The previous anchor coughed, its throat sounding like sandpaper rubbing against wood.
"Quickly. The Observer has already raised his hand. He'll retrieve the first page himself if it's been delayed too long."
Chen Fan looked down at the first page.
There was only one line of text on the paper.
Pay the price on the first page in exchange for the voucher on the first page.
The space below is empty.
Like waiting for someone to fill a life.
Zong Wu's voice tightened: "Write about yourself. It's better to cut out a little bit than to fall completely."
"Cut your grandpa's ass."
Chen Fan cursed, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He suddenly remembered the face on the bow of the ship.
I remember that fruit.
I recall that old line that should have been cut off long ago, at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain a hundred years ago.
This place honors debts, but not people.
At least, that was the case before.
The former anchor stared at him: "What do you want to do?"
Chen Fan didn't answer, but instead flicked his wrist and turned the book to a side page.
There was still a blot of light ink left on it.
It was a fragment of fate's trajectory that had been scraped off from the mirror's reflection.
Incomplete.
It's not clean either.
But it has a most crucial name.
Chen Fan.
Zong Wu's eyelids twitched: "Don't do anything rash. This is the mirror destiny, not the original destiny."
"I know."
"The Life Account Sea will be investigated."
"Let it investigate."
After Chen Fan finished speaking, he pressed his finger directly on it.
With a hissing sound.
The blot of light ink seemed to come alive, creeping down the paper's grain and disappearing into the blank space of the first page.
The paper trembled slightly.
All the remaining images on the sea fell silent.
Even the hands that were pressed against the side of the boat stopped.
Zong Wu stared blankly, his entire body frozen.
"You...you really used pirated copies to top the list?"
Chen Fan stared at the paper without blinking: "I'll keep the original for myself. Let's get the pass first."
The words begin to appear on the first page.
He didn't write it.
The book is something I recognize myself.
[Client: Chen Fan]
[Source: Fragment]
[Comparison in progress—]
In that instant, the entire sea lit up.
Faces surfaced from the sea. They were all Chen Fan's. Old and young, lifeless, blood-covered, carrying bamboo baskets, buried under the mountain.
They're all watching.
Zong Wu's legs went weak, and he almost sat down: "It's over, it's over, this is really going to explode."
A sudden rumbling sound came from the bottom of the ship.
It's like something is calculating on the seabed.
A sound.
Two sounds.
Third tone.
The words on the first page trembled.
[Comparison Deviation: Within One Line]
[Account Classification: Related Branches]
[Approved...]
When the last two words appeared, Zongwu's face went completely blank.
The previous generation of anchors was also stunned.
The failed anchor points on the beach were initially stunned, then they all went crazy.
"It's approved?"
"This actually passed?"
"Fake! This is ridiculous!"
"Has the life-saving tent been blinded?"
Chen Fan himself paused for a moment.
The next moment, his palm felt heavy.
The first page was peeled off the book, shrunken into half a thin, bluish-gray coupon, and fell into his palm.
There are six characters written on it.
First page, the price certificate.
They didn't draw his blood.
They didn't cut his bones.
They didn't take anything from him either.
Chen Fan held the thin voucher in his hand, holding his breath in his throat, before finally exhaling.
It became.
It really worked.
He grinned: "I told you. Recognizing a name and a travel history doesn't necessarily mean recognizing whether it's the original or not."
Zong Wu stared at the certificate, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
It took him a long time to manage to squeeze out a sentence.
"You think this place is some kind of street stall? You think you can buy pirated travel permits here?"
Chen Fan tucked the voucher into his sleeve and patted him on the shoulder.
"Take note. This is called setting strict rules."
The previous anchor stared at him, his lips twitching slightly.
He seemed about to curse, but in the end he only managed to utter, "No wonder I couldn't get to this point."
Chen Fan tilted his head: "You're too honest."
Honesty leads to an early death.
"Now you know."
As soon as he finished speaking, the young "Chen Fan" at the bow of the ship steadied himself.
The ink blush on his face had actually stopped.
Although it's still faint, at least it hasn't continued to dissipate.
He looked at Chen Fan, and for the first time, his gaze changed.
I no longer want to see someone who is just a repeat of themselves.
It's like watching a madman who can actually flip the ledgers.
He whispered, "It can be like this..."
Zongwu was enlightened by this sentence.
He suddenly looked down at the questioning stone in his hand.
Words are emerging from the crack in the stone.
[Narration slot: Removable]
[Available for sale]
[Can be used to offset the expenses listed on the first page and below]
Zongwu was stunned for a moment, then his breathing became rapid.
"Chen Fan".
"Um?"
"I think I can sell things too."
Chen Fan glanced at it: "What are you selling? Belts?"
"No." Zong Wu raised the question stone, his voice changing. "It's my identity as the narrator."
Chen Fan squinted.
Zong Wu occupied the sidelines of the "explanation" throughout the journey. Wen Shi recognized him, and many distracting noises only passed through his ears, not directly hitting Chen Fan's brain.
This counts as half a permission.
It's also half a burden.
It will be useful to keep it.
Selling it might get you something even worse in return.
Chen Fan only asked one question: "How much is it worth?"
Ask the stone to jump to the character itself.
[Can be exchanged for: Second-level access to the Stone Inquiry - Follow-up Inquiry]
Zong Wu's chest heaved as he gripped the stone tightly: "The first level of authority is only to listen; the second level is to ask questions. If you can keep pressing it until it tells you a layer of the truth."
Chen Fan's eyes flashed: "Sell."
Zong Wu gritted his teeth and slammed the question stone directly onto the deck.
I'll sell it.
Click.
Like teeth crushing bones.
The crack in the middle of the stone was suddenly torn open.
A grayish-white clump, only as thick as a finger, was pulled out from between Zongwu's eyebrows and fell into the stone like a wisp of smoke.
Zong Wu swayed on the spot, his face turning pale.
"Damn...he can really chuckle."
A line of small characters floated on the ship.
[Narration slot sold]
[Secondary Permission Enabled]
The next moment, the words on the stone changed color.
It was originally grayish.
It's now faintly red.
Zong Wu took a couple of breaths, then raised his hand and asked, "After the first page, which page is the most likely to kill someone?"
Wen Shi paused for a moment.
The words appeared.
[Page 2]
Zongwu then asked, "How do we avoid it?"
[Cannot be completely avoided]
Zong Wu's face turned green: "You call this the truth?"
The stone continues to produce characters.
At least one true protagonist dies.
As soon as those words appeared, the entire ship fell silent.
The fruit in the young "Chen Fan's" hand fell into the sea.
The previous anchor closed its eyes, as if it had known all along, or perhaps it simply didn't want to hear it.
Zong Wu's Adam's apple bobbed, and he turned to look at Chen Fan: "The real protagonist... who's the real protagonist here?"
Chen Fan did not answer immediately.
His gaze first swept across the sea.
Going further up.
The enormous hand shadow, still hovering in the center of the Sea of Life, was still turning pages.
It was just fast just now.
We're a step behind now.
Something seems to have gone wrong.
It's like looking at them all over again.
Chen Fan's heart sank, and he looked up.
The scripture book, whose entirety could not be seen in mid-air, suddenly made a rustling sound as it was turned over.
not heavy.
But with each page turned, the sea surface would tremble.
Zongwu heard this too, and his face turned pale: "Has it noticed us?"
The previous anchor suddenly raised its head, its voice extremely low.
"It's not them. It's the one turning the pages above."
Chen Fan followed his gaze.
At the edge of the sea fog, a seated figure could be vaguely seen.
They were too far away to see their faces clearly.
Only one hand could be seen resting on the pages of the book.
That hand was flipping through things the whole time.
It's stopped now.
It stopped in mid-air.
It's like someone seeing two bugs crawling out of a book for the first time, and they're quite good at biting.
Zongwu's back was completely soaked, and his voice trembled as he said, "Contemplator of the Sutras..."
Chen Fan remained silent.
The first page of the voucher in his sleeve suddenly felt hot.
It looks like it's been stamped.
The next second, the entire Sea of Life split open from the middle.
It's not fried.
Yes, that's right.
The seawater receded to both sides, revealing a black stone path. It led downwards, straight to the deeper depths of the seabed.
There was a gate at the end of the road.
The door has four old characters hanging on it.
The General Amendment Court.
Those four words were like nails, piercing straight into one's mind.
All the failed anchor points along the ship have gone mad.
Someone lunged forward.
Some people shrank back.
Some people laughed so hard their teeth broke.
"The door is open!"
"It's really open!"
"Whoever goes in has to pay the bill!"
"Once you've finished fixing it, you're no longer yourself!"
Zong Wu's hands and feet turned cold, and he instinctively moved closer to Chen Fan: "Are we still going?"
Chen Fan stared at the road, uttering only two words.
"Go ahead."
We've come this far, it would be foolish not to go.
But just as he was about to lift his foot, the old anchor at the bow suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist.
That hand was terribly cold.
But his strength was astonishing.
Chen Fan turned around.
The skin on the former anchor's face was gradually peeling away, as if it were about to be blown away by the wind. The light in his eyes was still there, fixedly on Chen Fan.
"The last sentence."
"Listen before you leave."
Chen Fan stopped.
Zongwu dared not utter a sound.
The previous anchor coughed up a mouthful of black liquid, but the corner of its mouth twitched.
"You fooled them on the first page. You can't fool them on the second."
"It wants the real accounts."
"We need to see blood."
He stared at Chen Fan, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"Someone will die on the next page."
Zong Wu's face immediately fell.
Chen Fan didn't move: "Who?"
The hand of the previous anchor slowly loosened, but the gaze deepened.
"Not a passerby."
"Not a shadow."
"One of the main characters has to die."
After saying this, he leaned back, and half of his body scattered into ink spots.
A gust of sea wind swept through, and even the last vestiges of human form were almost gone.
The young "Chen Fan" suddenly looked up, as if trying to grab him, but his hand stopped halfway through its reach.
The former anchor looked one last time at the black stone road leading to the Grand Censorate, and his lips moved slightly.
The sound was very soft this time.
It was only enough for Chen Fan to hear.
"Don't let the monkeys go through the door first."
As soon as he finished speaking, his entire body shattered completely.
The bow of the ship is empty.
Only the bamboo basket remained, which rolled to Chen Fan's feet with a thud.
At the same time, the door at the bottom of the sea opened a crack on its own.