Chapter 262 - 261: Traps at Every Turn
Hearing familiar conversation, Yu Feng was not surprised, but shook his head and sorted out his memory.
He was sorting out his memory while skillfully getting out of the bed to hide in the cellar.
“My father and mother are dead again.” Yu Feng’s face was expressionless as he contemplated his next move based upon his memory.
“How many times has it been?”
A plain voice became audible, sounding like a thunderbolt out of the blue to Yu Feng, who jumped backward in fright.
“Who?” Yu Feng rarely showed expressions of fear, his voice trembling, reflecting his terror.
Of course, Yu Feng was afraid. He had hidden in the cellar countless times and never had it emitted any sounds. Why would there be a voice coming out of the blue?
“It’s me.” A figure emerged, staring compassionately at Yu Feng.
“Although I wanted to just say that, even if I did, you wouldn’t know who I am.”
“My name is Jiang Li, and I come from another world.”
“Another world?” Yu Feng instinctively repeated Jiang Li’s words then immediately became highly guarded.
“Is it you who continuously make me resurrect?” Yu Feng asked with hatred in his voice, seemingly attempting to kill Jiang Li. God only knows how many times he had experienced death; a torment unbearable for individuals.
It would be better to let him die.
Can you imagine witnessing the deaths of your parents thousands of times right before your eyes?
Every time he watched, Yu Feng’s heart ached, to the point he eventually became completely numb.
His father died – oh, he knew, it’s time to hide in the cellar.
His mother died – oh, he knew, it’s time to hide in the cellar.
“It wasn’t me, but I presume I know why you keep resurrecting.” Jiang Li looked at Yu Feng, his head shaking sympathetically. Poor child.
“The fragment of the Immortal Ascension Ladder inside you contains the Dao of Time, allowing you to resurrect with each death.”
Yu Feng became highly aware of Jiang Li’s presence, therefore, when Jiang Li spoke, Yu Feng felt that he was indeed the perpetrator tormenting him behind the scenes.
Seeing Yu Feng this way, Jiang Li sympathized with him even more. This child must have endured endless reincarnations.
Yu Feng would have to hide here for five days. Therefore, Jiang Li had sufficient time to slowly explain to him.
“Are you saying that our world is called the Ancient World, a realm subordinate to the Immortal realm, once connected by the Immortal Ascension Ladder, but for some reason, the ladder fragmented, with a piece attaching to me?”
“It’s a large piece.” Jiang Li emphasized; the fragment inside Luo Ying could only work once. Clearly, what Yu Feng got was more durable.
Only then did Yu Feng slightly believe Jiang Li’s words.
This world was the cultivation world, and people often talked about Immortals and the Immortal Realm. But time had passed, and it had now become a mere legend.
Yet, he only half-believed.
Either this person was speaking the truth, or he was the mastermind making him resurrect constantly.
Yu Feng, rarely irritated, paced back and forth, unintentionally kicking an iron pan and drawing the attention of the bandits.
The bandits found the cellar following the sound and killed Yu Feng.
Yu Feng woke up to the sunshine, and the first thing he saw was Jiang Li’s face. He was momentarily stunned, as it was his first time seeing someone else who could resurrect like him.
What Yu Feng didn’t know was that Jiang Li wasn’t resurrecting, but was watching as the world’s time rapidly reversed, everything returning to the origin.
The noise outside made Yu Feng realize that now wasn’t the time to find out who Jiang Li was. The most important thing was to hurry up and hide.
Yu Feng hid in the cellar again.
“Don’t you want to save your parents?” Jiang Li asked.
Yu Feng chuckled coldly, “Save my parents?”
“Yes, I have the memory of cultivation and martial arts training, I am stronger than an ordinary person. I can kill the bandits outside and save my parents.”
“But what then? There are not only a few bandits in the village, but hundreds.”
“Even if I take my parents to hide in the cellar, when the bandits find their comrades dead, they’ll conduct a search without leaving a stone unturned. When they find the cellar, none of us will survive.”
“Do you know how many times I have died trying to save my parents?”
“I’ve proved after hundreds of deaths that I can’t save them.”
Yu Feng’s tone was indifferent, as if he was talking about a trivial matter.
He was rambling about his experiences with death, and though Jiang Li wasn’t the best listener, he stayed silent.
As if he’d found a vent, Yu Feng explained his experiences of endless death and resurrection.
Tens of thousands of deaths and resurrections, only he knew what had happened. How tragic!
It didn’t matter to him who Jiang Li was anymore. He just wanted a listener.
“It’s not easy to hide from the bandits either. I’ve tried hiding in haystacks, large pots, roof beams, under the bed… all failed. Only hiding in the cellar can save my life.”
“But I can’t make loud noises like earlier, or I’d be killed.”
“I can’t just hide for one day either. The bandits don’t leave, they gather in the village temple, drinking, eating and playing with women, with occasional patrols. Going out would mean certain death. I have to wait until the fifth day when they have had their fill with food and drink before I can leave.”
“Why aren’t you cultivating?” Jiang Li asked. He knew that Yu Feng would certainly cultivate – system task completion displayed as Nascent Soul Stage, but he died for an unknown reason and everything had to start over.
“I can’t cultivate now. Cultivating will cause fluctuations in spiritual power, which the bandits can detect. I’ve died a few times for this reason.”
Jiang Li didn’t speak again, and just like that, five days passed in a flash.
Five days later, Yu Feng crawled out of the cellar once more, and as if completing a task, paid homage to his parents by kowtowing. He said he failed to bury them, then hurriedly left.
Seeing Jiang Li wanting to ask a question, Yu Feng explained preemptively: “There’s no time to bury them. Some bandits return after losing their belongings. If they see that the bodies of my parents are gone, they will immediately search the vicinity, leaving no stone unturned, even the cellar.”
“I meant to ask, why don’t you wait until the bandits have finished looking for their belongings before burying them?”
“No, we must leave here immediately. Do you know who is behind the bandits? A group of cultivators who practice the Blood River Technique. After the bandits kill, they inform these cultivators, who then come to the villages and drain all the blood from the bodies.”
“If I delay my departure, I’ll be discovered by these cultivators.”
It’s not hard to imagine that Yu Feng’s experience cost him numerous lives.
Died while trying to bury his parents.
Died after waiting for the bandits to leave before burying his parents.
Died before he could escape, being discovered by a demon cultivator.
Conservatively, he must have died seven or eight times.
“After leaving the village, you must hurry to the small town, or else you’ll be attacked by demonic beasts.” While saying this, Yu Feng walked and ran toward the small town.
“And you can only run to the small town. If you go west, you encounter the bandits.”
“If you go south, you face landslides.”
“The demonic beasts are coming from the north, so you can’t go north.”
Once again, Yu Feng arrived at the small town, his face covered in dust. But he showed no signs of relaxation because he knew that the town itself held hidden dangers. Any carelessness would cause him to start over.
Jiang Li felt that Yu Feng had encountered too many life-or-death situations along the way. Even the gods seemed to have arranged an unbelievable amount of perils. If he could survive until the peak of the Body Integration Realm, gatecrashing the Transcendence Tribulation Stage would be a certainty.