Zhao Li's consciousness sank, falling endlessly in the darkness, when suddenly he saw a glimmer of light, exceptionally dazzling in the gloom.
The moment he saw the white light, Zhao Li miraculously realized he had been standing on solid ground the whole time, as if the previous sensation of falling had just been an illusion.
"Where is this? What happened to me? Didn't I burn my Soul origin, losing control of the degree for a moment, and then fell into a coma? Is that faint white light over there the Bone Chilling Flame?"
Zhao Li was full of questions. He looked around, but everywhere was pitch black. It seemed the only difference in this place was the faint white light in the distance.
After a moment's contemplation, Zhao Li stopped overthinking and chose to walk towards that faint light.
Even though he couldn't see anything else, Zhao Li kept walking step by step, feeling the solid ground beneath his feet with every stride.
Zhao Li walked for a very, very long time, his pace slowing down until he finally stopped.
He furrowed his brow, lost in thought:
"What's going on? What kind of ghost place is this?"
Zhao Li found the place rather strange. The light looked clearly not far away, but he had walked for so long and still couldn't reach it, even though he could feel the distance shortening with every step he took.
"Hoo~"
Zhao Li let out a long breath, calmed himself down, and then closed his eyes. His focus was unprecedentedly sharp, unwilling to miss any anomaly.
Immediately, Zhao Li stepped forward.
Although Zhao Li always preferred caution, here, doing nothing would yield no results, not even the most basic information.
It was a simple step, but in Zhao Li's perception, it felt as if he had passed through some special, unknown object. A surge of joy spread from his heart.
Zhao Li didn't understand why, but he didn't open his eyes. He just carefully sensed the emotion that had suddenly risen in his heart.
A moment later, Zhao Li suddenly opened his eyes, his face showing horror, and his heart churning with turbulent waves:
"No! There's someone else here!"
Just now, Zhao Li suddenly realized that the joy that had risen from his heart was not his own emotion. It seemed someone had influenced his emotions silently.
"Is anyone there?"
After taking a few deep breaths, the turmoil in Zhao Li's heart gradually subsided. Zhao Li tried shouting into the darkness.
For a long time, the place remained silent, with no response, as if everything had been Zhao Li's illusion.
After pausing in place for a while and still finding nothing, Zhao Li had no choice but to continue forward.
The distance was the only different place here. Whether it was to figure out where this was or how to leave, Zhao Li could only walk towards the light spot in the distance. He had no other choice.
Just like before, Zhao Li carefully sensed with every step he took. Zhao Li walked faster and faster, faster and faster, as if he was passing through a period of time.
He didn't know how long he had walked, but Zhao Li stopped again. He once again felt an emotion that didn't belong to him; this time it was endless loneliness.
Just like Zhao Li at this moment, he was in the darkness, with only a little light in the distance, walking alone towards the light. There were no people, no energy, no sound, and even time seemed not to exist, immeasurable, a vast silence.
When a person is in a quiet environment, they will unconsciously start to think, whether good or bad.
But perhaps Zhao Li was already lonely in this place, or perhaps the sudden loneliness stirred Zhao Li's emotions. Under the endless loneliness, Zhao Li only felt the long road ahead, and a sense of fatigue arose in his heart. For a moment, he lost the desire to continue moving forward:
"Things like the elderly having a good end, the strong being useful, the young growing up, and the widowed, lonely, disabled, and sick all being cared for, these should be guided and created by sages. I am just a mortal. Why think about those things? With my current strength, as long as I don't mess around, what kind of life can't I enjoy? Just lie flat and do nothing."
Zhao Li remembered his initial pursuit when he started cultivating, and he remembered what he had seen along the way. Although people were suffering, they didn't seem to desire change. It seemed they didn't need him to do anything. On the contrary, he was the one who only thought about changing things, without even asking for their wishes. He felt a bit dejected.
"No, those are just appearances. What I truly seek is freedom and ease. Those were just thoughts that arose in my heart during this process."
Zhao Li had already lain down, but then he suddenly realized that those were just excuses he had prepared in advance for fear of not being able to achieve his goals. It was like countless writers who claimed they weren't writing for money, but only out of passion, wanting more people to see what they wrote, which was very contradictory.
"I seek freedom, but in this state, where is there any semblance of freedom? Continue! The road ahead is long and winding, I will search high and low."
Perhaps it was from lying down for too long and being truly bored, and there was nothing in this Space, so the desire to move forward rose in Zhao Li's heart again, and he chose to continue on his journey.
However, this time Zhao Li couldn't calm down no matter what. Miscellaneous thoughts that he didn't usually have kept popping up in his mind.
After walking for a short while, Zhao Li stopped again, muttering to himself:
"This ghost place has everything, but I can't even cultivate. If I'm trapped here forever, wouldn't I be wasting time? Even if I can get out, time will have passed, others will have grown, and what will I, who has been standing still, be worth then? Come out, who are you? What do you want to do?"
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Zhao Li shouted into the darkness.
But Zhao Li listened intently for a long time, and there was still no sound.
Zhao Li forcibly suppressed the frustration in his heart, took a few deep breaths, forced himself to calm down, and continued to walk towards the only different place here.
He knew that thinking about these things wouldn't help at all. He still wouldn't find a way to leave.
But good times didn't last long. Zhao Li once again sat dejectedly on the ground, his eyes filled with confusion, weakness, helplessness, and even some fear and despair, like a lost lamb:
"Can I really walk over there? Even if I do, can I leave this place?"
The greatest torment in life is definitely not how difficult things are now, but not knowing when such days will end.
Zhao Li's heart was very unbalanced at this moment. He couldn't see any hope of leaving.
Without hope, there was no anticipation, and in the endless loneliness and despair, Zhao Li began to complain about everything, from the Soul Hall bullying others with their Momentum, to Huang Wen's indecisiveness and blindness, to his own self-righteous meddling. He even complained about fate:
"You made me transmigrate here, gave me extraordinary talent, a good family background, teachers, and various fortuitous encounters. Everything went smoothly along the way, but just when I was young and had become a peak figure on the continent, wanting to enjoy the scenery from the mountaintop, you threw me into this lifeless ghost place. Is it really that interesting to arbitrarily play with other people's lives?"
Zhao Li shouted. He didn't believe he was here for no reason. Someone must be messing with him.
At this moment, Zhao Li seemed to have fallen into a desperate situation. He began to deny himself, deny others, and then he comfortably immersed himself in disappointment with the world.
Zhao Li complained for a long time, then squatted down again, wrapping his arms around his knees and burying his head. He cried. To think that a dignified Ninth Grade Alchemy Great Grandmaster, a Dou Venerate powerhouse, would cry... one could only imagine the torment he had endured in this darkness.
After crying in the darkness for a long time, Zhao Li's mindset slowly began to change.
Even permafrost that has been buried underground for years will thaw when it's brought to the surface and exposed to sunlight. And night will always eventually be broken by dawn.
Zhao Li gradually realized the problem with his own state of mind and began to question himself repeatedly:
"What's wrong with me?"
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