Chapter 348: Treading the River

【The gloom of slaughter wounds without measure,】

【In the dead of night, tears splash, the heart mourns itself.】

【Longing to tread the frozen river on the path,】

【With this body, break the stone, shatter the sunken dream.】

【Still, a lone man sits upon the wall,】

【Hating the parting, my flesh and bones cold within.】

【- Xue Qi the Deceased】

This is the poem Xue Qi wrote before his death; in fact, from the very beginning, it told everything to the world.

In the first story of the White Bear and the Rabbit.

Mother White Bear's psychokinesis ascended, and she left the world.

In the Great Xia, this story might imply the departure of some powerful ancient god.

In the story of Slaughter Village, Mother White Bear is the Ancient Dream Beast.

The Ancient Dream Beast left the second layer of the Dream Abyss and went to a new place.

And this place is precisely the third layer of the Dream Abyss.

The meaning expressed in this poem by Xue Qi is this.

He wishes to tread across the frozen river, shatter the sunken dream, and thoroughly end all of this.

But he did not expect that before his grand wish could be fulfilled, his wife and daughter would be separated from him due to the betrayal of the village chief and the others.

The evil of man, the evil of the world, forever cycling, forever suffering.

Only when humanity falls right before the dawn do they discover that their own bodies are the very mountains blocking that first glimmer of dawn.

Everything was already clear.

Chen Yan transformed into a streak of pitch-black lightning, rushing through the dark night.

Behind him, San Jin was sobbing.

It was very painful, but she did not say a word.

Chen Yan discarded his withdrawal token, which meant that Chen Yan was going to go all-in.

If Chen Yan's guess and judgment were incorrect, then what Chen Yan would face would only be endless darkness and malice.

Chen Yan was gambling.

He had even gambled his own life away.

This was just a college entrance exam.

Because he had entered the third layer of the Dream Abyss, everything had been ruined.

Jiang Yuan was pushed away by the Fei Yi beneath him, his whole body flung high into the air.

His gaze watched Chen Yan's back moving further and further away from him.

Jiang Yuan's eyes became exceptionally serious.

"Chen Yan..."

He murmured, his body beginning to fall, and with a wave of one hand, a withdrawal token appeared in his palm.

Roar!

That Fei Yi that had pushed him away lunged at him with all its might, wanting to snatch the withdrawal token away and leave Jiang Yuan thoroughly trapped in the third layer of the Dream Abyss.

Jiang Yuan, however, had a calm expression; threads of psychokinesis emerged from between his fingers, binding the withdrawal token firmly to him.

As spatial fluctuations rippled across his body, no matter how desperately that Fei Yi struggled, it could not take the withdrawal token away from Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan's figure began to dissipate.

In the end, he did not speak another word.

It was just that those eyes seemed to be brewing many things.

"Heh..."

With a relieved smile, Jiang Yuan vanished from the third layer of the Dream Abyss.

Inside the village, Cheng Zizhen and the other villagers watched Chen Yan's departing figure, feeling incomparably lost.

Following Jiang Yuan's departure, after Chen Yan's withdrawal token was shattered by the other four Fei Yi.

The remaining five Fei Yi all chased after Chen Yan.

These Fei Yi only wanted to kill Chen Yan; as for the people in the village, the Fei Yi did not care.

Cheng Zizhen's red lips parted, endless disappointment flickering in her eyes, and she sat on the ground as if she had lost all her strength.

She lowered her head, feeling no sorrow, only endless despair.

Despair, despair, despair...

The moment Chen Yan left, he had never even looked at her once.

What would the days ahead be like?

Regardless of whether these five Fei Yi were there or not, all the people in this village could only wait for endless darkness.

She lowered her head, and for some reason, her fingers suddenly felt a trace of extreme cold.

It was incomparably cold; had she not dodged quickly, that chill might have directly obliterated her.

This chill came from the dense forest in front of her, bone-piercingly cold.

Cheng Zizhen stood up and walked toward the source of the chill; the closer she got, the more intense the chill became.

She had to exert her blood energy to protect herself in order to get any closer.

Until at a certain moment, behind an ancient pitch-black tree, an ice spear radiating a deep blue glow was stuck diagonally into the ground.

On the spear shaft, a pitch-white cold mist flowed slowly, with several large characters written in a bold, sweeping style.

"There is a path that is nine deaths and one life; whether to walk it depends on your choice."

These large characters suddenly fell into the sight of Cheng Zizhen and the dozens of villagers who had rushed over.

Their breathing grew rapid, and they looked at one another.

A path of nine deaths and one life.

Is it the Ice River?

That young man said it very clearly: to leave the third layer of the Dream Abyss, one must step across the Ice River.

But they, the people of this village, had long since come into contact with the Ice River.

It was a river containing endless malice.

Such a river, how could one step across it?

Despair appeared in the eyes of the villagers one by one.

What was placed before them had, in fact, always been despair.

Even without Chen Yan, they would still be devoured by their own elders.

Or, on some day, the Fei Yi within Tang Chang would be born and eat them.

Despair.

A path with absolutely no choice.

Cheng Zizhen lifted her face; on her cheeks, the golden feathers were exceptionally beautiful under the illumination of the ice spears' blue light.

The next moment, her blood-Qi surged, and she flew toward the direction of the Ice River without a moment's pause.

Soon, the people in the village also erupted with combat power one by one, following after Cheng Zizhen.

A young man of twenty or thirty years old growled:

"Even if only one person can survive, we are still winners!"

He clenched his fists, and flames almost ignited within his eyes.

The villagers looked at him and nodded one by one.

This thought was born in an extremely absurd way.

Because, once one died, what meaning would there be even if the others were still alive?

But after the young man's voice rang out, the others were inexplicably moved by these absurd words.

"Let's risk it!"

"Staying here is death sooner or later; at least now we have Chen Yan leading the way for us!"

"I would rather risk death once than live in a muddled stupor!"

Low roars rang out one after another.

These dozens of villagers, birthed by the Great Xia examinees, destined to be treated as meat, and longing for the outside world...

Were roaring.

They kept charging forward until they reached the Ice River.

On the riverbank in the distance, there were still sounds of thunder and the roars of the Fei Yi.

That was Chen Yan being hunted by the Fei Yi.

"Chen Yan is intentionally helping us hold back the Fei Yi."

Cheng Zizhen spoke, her eyes flickering; then she took a deep breath and stepped onto the Ice River.

In an instant.

Sss, sss, sss...

The gray-black river water exuded an incomparably cold aura, entangling itself around Cheng Zizhen's legs.

In a flash, Cheng Zizhen lost control over her own feet.

This was a malicious coldness that not only seeped into her feet but also seeped into the depths of her brain.

Her expression became incomparably pained.

This Ice River, just the moment she touched it, made it difficult for her to endure.

Let alone stepping on the Ice River to cross over.

If not for Chen Yan, she would never have attempted it at all.

The remaining dozens of villagers also had looks of fear appear in their eyes, but at this moment, there was no other way.

Sounds of painful roars rang out as all the villagers stepped onto the Ice River.

In the distance, Chen Yan saw this scene, his body exploding with thunder, and he flew onto the Ice River carrying San Jin.

*Pat. *

This Ice River was in a fluid state; one had to control it with their own internal strength to avoid sinking into it.

However.

This current phenomenon also confirmed that Chen Yan's guess was correct.

Because when carrying the withdrawal token, Chen Yan had felt an irresistible attraction upon arriving at the riverbank.

Even if one were stronger, they would still be sucked into the river.

But now, it was not like that.

The gravitational pull in this river was not as intense as it had been before.

At the same time.

Five Fei Yi flew to the riverbank, their five pairs of eyes looking at Chen Yan in unison.

Then, they actually left without a word.

Just like how the Fei Yi hadn't seen the old man on the river before, as Chen Yan stepped onto the Ice River, the Fei Yi's perception seemed to be obscured.

Plop, plop.

San Jin stood on the Frozen River with a deathly pale complexion.

The moment she reached the Frozen River, a strange force like a hand pulled her away from Chen Yan.

The Frozen River was like a natural checkpoint that the examinees had to cross themselves.

She was not short, only half a head shorter than Chen Yan, and was considered outstanding among female martial artists.

Yet at this moment, even breathing was incredibly difficult.

A cold malice that pierced the heart and spirit struck, and even Chen Yan felt a wave of discomfort at this moment.

Suddenly.

Woo!

Above the boundless, desolate, and cold Frozen River, a vast and distant cry suddenly rang out.

This cry echoed within Chen Yan's heart and spirit, sweeping through every part of Chen Yan's body, as if it were about to freeze Chen Yan's blood vessels and nerves in an instant.

Chen Yan looked around and saw a look of horror flash across the faces of San Jin, Cheng Zizhen, and the others simultaneously.

"Chen..."

A villager spoke with a pale face:

"As long as we cross the Frozen River, we will definitely be able to get out, right?"

He spoke almost pleadingly, hoping Chen Yan could give a definitive answer.

But to his despair.

Chen Yan did not speak.

Everyone looked around; except for the pitch-black riverbank, the entire Frozen River was vast and boundless, as if it would never see an end.

"Don't speak." Cheng Zizhen said with difficulty, glaring at the man.

The man bit his lip and lowered his head, but after lowering his head, he saw the pitch-black river water beneath his feet again.

His pupils shrank, as if some endless fear were lurking beneath his feet.

Suddenly, he was terrified.

Splash!!!

Following that, the river water beneath the man began to boil, intertwining around him like black snakes, pulling him into the river.

"No!"

The man roared in utter despair:

"Save me!!!!"

Plop!

He was pulled into the Frozen River and disappeared completely.

Those around were all frightened, and many of the girls began to cry.

And the moment they cried, the river water beneath their feet also began to boil.

"Don't be afraid!"

Chen Yan shouted in a low voice:

"This is the Malicious Frozen River; once you cannot endure the fear, you will kill yourself!"

Chen Yan's voice was like thunder, suddenly booming.

The others all looked at him and couldn't help but move closer to Chen Yan.

Those few who were still crying stopped their sobbing at once and gritted their teeth.

Sure enough, the moment they gritted their teeth, the river water beneath their feet stopped boiling.

In an instant, everyone regained their composure.

At this moment, there was finally some hope.

They all looked at Chen Yan in unison.

This young man, who clearly wasn't very old, had become their backbone.

Chen Yan glanced downward, but could only see a mass of pitch-black; he could see nothing but the darkness.

San Jin said nothing, and for some reason, she was always closing the distance between herself and Chen Yan.

Feeling the cold coming from the soles of his feet, Chen Yan began to step forward.

For some reason, something in the distance was summoning him, and this summoning pointed out the direction for him.

Plop, plop!

The group began to walk across the river.

The whole world went quiet, except for the sound of footsteps making contact with the river.

On this Frozen River, even Chen Yan could not unleash his combat power too recklessly and could only walk forward quietly.

Following that trace of a summons, Chen Yan kept his eyes on the river water beneath his feet.

He clearly felt that San Jin behind him had already begun to pant heavily from the cold.

Chen Yan turned his head and looked at San Jin.

"I... I... am fine."

San Jin shook her head; at this moment, her face was deathly pale, and tears were clearly welling up in her watery eyes.

As for Cheng Zizhen and the others, they were no better off than San Jin.

Some people were already becoming delirious; if not for their companions holding onto their sleeves, they would definitely have lost their way.

Time passed slowly.

The coldness invading their bodies grew increasingly intense.

Woo!

That low, desolate, and distant cry came once again from all directions.

It struck the soul.

Finally, someone spoke with difficulty:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

That person sobbed, an incomparable look of despair appearing in their eyes; they took out a small knife and, amidst the loud shouts of their companions, plunged the knife into their own neck.

*Puchi! *

Blood sprayed out.

That person lost all strength and fell into the river; before death, what welled up in their eyes was a look of relief.

Their death was like a heavy blow, causing the others to fall into despair as well.

Chen Yan crouched down and narrowed his eyes.

He watched the person's corpse fall and be swallowed by the river water.

Subsequently, under Chen Yan's stunned expression, the corpse landed upon a mass of darkness.

This mass of darkness occupied the entire stretch of river water beneath Chen Yan's feet.

Boundless and limitless.

But it was only at this moment that Chen Yan fully realized.

The river water was clear, not gray-black.

The true pitch-blackness came from that thing beneath the river water.

Those ring-shaped muscle cells were unimaginably massive, and the gaps between the cells looked like underwater ravines within Chen Yan's line of sight.

Beneath the river water, the boundless black was the sclera within the eye of some existence.

The sclera alone was unimaginably vast.

It.

It existed within the glacial river just like this, watching Chen Yan and his group step over it.

In its eyes, Chen Yan and the others were even smaller than its cells.

But it saw them.

Because Chen Yan clearly perceived it.

The blackness within the river water beneath his feet was slowly shifting.

That terrifying existence was rotating its eye, intending to use its pupil to gaze down at Chen Yan from above.