https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-222-Cangling-Debate-of-Swords-30-/13547391/
Chapter 223
Chapter 223
Feng Bu Jue activated his spirit sense body technique as he began his jump. After just a few steps of acceleration, he launched himself forward, then deactivated his skills mid-air. Naturally, he hadn’t used his skills to make the jump look stylish—he simply wanted to extend his range.
In mid-air, he dove headfirst, arms spread wide, plummeting toward the mist-shrouded abyss below.
At that moment, all he could hear was the wind roaring past. His eyes, however, gleamed with excitement and exhilaration.
This sensation of free-falling—aside from actual suicide—could usually only be simulated in three ways: diving, bungee jumping, or skydiving. Feng Bu Jue, who couldn’t swim, had never tried diving, and had never had the chance to experience the other two. Now, finally, he was getting a taste of that high-altitude thrill in this neural-linked game.
Though it was just a Neural-Linked Game, the simulation of crashed sensations was indistinguishable from reality. Typically, even if someone didn’t scream mid-fall, their body would instinctively tense up.
But Feng Bu Jue was someone who couldn’t feel fear. In mid-air, he could completely relax, savoring the purest sensation of free-fall.
He didn’t even blink, staring straight down with wide eyes. Even if I die from the impact, he thought, I’ll make sure to see what’s down there before I go.
Seconds later, Feng Bu Jue plunged into the thick white mist. In that instant, he realized—he’d made the right choice. This path was definitely the correct one.
The white mist acted like a cushion medium, softer than water yet far more effective at reducing impact. When a body collided with the mist, it didn’t feel like hitting cement as in high-diving. The sensation of plunging into the mist felt like stepping suddenly from an air-conditioned room into the sweltering streets—his body was enveloped by a dense, viscous air, and his crashed speed gradually slowed in a gentle rhythm.
When he landed, Feng Bu Jue felt like a drifting feather, experiencing no impact at all. His vitality value remained completely intact.
Beneath the misty valley, a hidden world awaited. The clouds above seemed like another sky, filtering sunlight that cast a dim, shadowy glow over the valley.
The air here was slightly damp, and sparse woods surrounded him. Feng Bu Jue briefly surveyed the environment before looking upward. Despite having kept his eyes open during the fall, he couldn’t gauge the height of this place.
He didn’t try shouting upward—his voice wouldn’t carry that far. Instead, he decided to wait, keeping his gaze skyward so he could spot where si yu landed when she jumped.
In the following time, Feng Bu Jue tested the gravity here. It was normal. The height he could jump and the weight he felt upon landing were identical to usual. He deduced that the key to surviving the fall was the white mist above. Perhaps when someone passed through that layer, they were automatically granted a low-speed crash Buff, which disappeared upon landing.
Si Yu didn’t keep Feng Bu Jue waiting for five minutes—she jumped just two minutes later. Feng Bu Jue spotted her descending figure and estimated her landing spot, immediately striding toward it.
Perhaps luck was on his side. Si Yu landed not far from Feng Bu Jue, and he quickly reached her side. His first words were: “See? The Leap of Faith worked, right?”
“When you jumped, Lu Qing Ning thought you were possessed by madness,” Si Yu replied. “When I said I’d jump too, she thought I was trying to commit suicide with you.”
“Haha…” Feng Bu Jue laughed. “We couldn’t exactly explain game menu or team interface status to an Npc, could we?”
“Still, jumping directly required considerable courage,” Si Yu said. “Relying solely on speculation and risking instant death… I have to say, you’re…”
“Arrogant to the extreme, right?” Feng Bu Jue cut in. “Alright, I get it.” He turned toward the valley’s interior. “Let’s move. No time to waste.”
“Not waiting for the Npc?” Si Yu asked.
“She’ll never come down,” Feng Bu Jue replied. “Put yourself in her shoes—imagine in real life, two strangers you just met spout some incomprehensible theories and leap off a cliff. Would you gamble your life to follow them?”
Feng Bu Jue’s assumption was spot-on. Lu Qing Ning, watching the two from broken sword tea house vanish into the abyss, stood frozen in disbelief. She began questioning whether they were real or if she’d gone mad, suffering from hallucination.
There was no way lu qingning would follow unless she could see the valley’s bottom clearly or heard their shouts from below. Otherwise, such an irrational, suicide-like act was unthinkable for her.
Si Yu fell silent for two seconds before nodding coldly. “Let’s go.”
………
The pair walked for about twenty minutes before emerging from the woods, arriving at a vast lake surrounded by trees on all sides.
The lake was enormous. Gazing toward its center, a small island came into view. Under the gloomy sky, the island looked desolate and eerie. Even from the shore, they could sense an invisible, powerful aura coiled around it.
At the lakeside, Feng Bu Jue crouched, dipping his hand into the water. It was clear and cool, with plump fish leisurely swimming beneath the surface.
Ten meters behind them, the woods glowed with crimson and golden hues. Reflecting on their quiet journey—scant conversation, the surrounding silence—the scenery felt both romantic and unsettling.
“There’s a boat,” Si Yu said, her gaze tracing the shore to a small vessel moored in the distance.
“Hmm… Looks like we don’t have a choice,” Feng Bu Jue shrugged, walking with Si Yu toward it.
Undoubtedly, something awaited on that lake heart island. It was likely the wronged soul’s location. Swimming was impractical—no matter how skilled a swimmer, reaching such a distant island would be exhausting. Hence, the system provided the boat.
“I think something horrifying will happen on that island,” Feng Bu Jue said, rowing the boat.
“You trying to scare me?” Si Yu replied.
“No…” Feng Bu Jue said. “I just realized… This plot line might avoid all combat. If so, the system must’ve added some terror elements.”
“Now that you mention it… We’ve had it easy so far,” Si Yu said.
Feng Bu Jue nodded. “This main quest about Ling’er hasn’t forced any unavoidable combat on us yet. Every potential battle was avoidable.” He paused. “Like the spirit tree and the spirit monk. Both could’ve been defeated through brute force. We could’ve killed the tree to get the Bell, or defeated the monk to seize the bell and open the rift to the lingzhong realm.”
“Even lu qingning… If she’d attacked us out of misunderstanding, killing her wouldn’t have been impossible.”
“But doing so would’ve cost us information—like the adamantine bell’s details, Lin Chang’s schemes, and more…”
“In short, using pure violence to clear the game would leave us clueless. We’d only learn fragments through death scene replay clichés. Most of the time, we’d just kill everything until the end, still confused.”
“This playstyle is mentally easy—no thinking, just killing every hostile Npc or monster. But our team couldn’t sustain that.”
Adjusting his posture to row more smoothly, Feng Bu Jue continued: “We’ve relied on peaceful negotiation, though there were exceptions like ‘interrogation.’ But we didn’t kill anything…”
“In the end, our playthrough gathers more story details and conserves resources. No extra stamina value consumption, no loss of supplies, Ammunition, vitality value, or spirit energy value…”
“According to this game’s usual nature… If you don’t pay a price or take risks, you won’t gain rewards. So I think… If this spiritual line can be cleared without combat, we’ll face puzzle-solving, terror, or instant-death flag choices ahead…”
As he spoke, their boat had crossed most of the lake. Suddenly, a cold breeze swept in, bringing bone-deep chill.
The low, mist-covered sky grew darker. With every inch closer to the island, the light dimmed further.
By the time they reached the island’s shore, the surroundings had turned nearly pitch-black, with only faint twilight filtering down. Visibility shrank to mere meters.
Feng Bu Jue and Si Yu landed on a sloped shore, stepping onto the island. Before them loomed dense woods of hemlock and cedar, their shadows black and thick, as if tangible. The darkness pressed forward like living things, lurking at the island’s edge, threatening to pounce.
A player with a weaker heart would’ve seen their Terror Value spike over 30% just standing at the woods’ edge—let alone entering.
(End of Chapter)
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