Chapter 701 604: Limitless Distance
After resting for the night, Zhao Yi continues his journey, now the river is right in front of him, and Zhao Yi is extremely excited.
Having passed so many hurdles and defeated so many enemies, surviving by the skin of his teeth, he is finally only one step away from victory.
Zhao Yi feels overwhelmed with emotions momentarily, and Lao Fan is equally excited, but when they proceed further, things seem a bit off.
"Master, have you noticed, the distance between us and the river doesn't seem to be shortening, it's quite peculiar.
Logically speaking, this absolutely shouldn't be happening, at our speed, this distance should be covered in the blink of an eye."
"Yes, I've noticed this too, no matter how hard we try, no matter how fast we go, the distance seems unchanged.
It appears this place must have some power of laws or other game rules at play, but it's unclear how to break these rules or if someone is watching from the shadows."
Zhao Yi feels alert as he speaks, but apart from some wind sounds, there's no sign of anyone else, and Zhao Yi senses no murderous intent.
This makes him realize that it's likely a self-protection mechanism of the river, with this thought, he speaks to the Nine Dragon Jade Seal.
"There are two possibilities now: First, these are the laws of the river protecting itself, preventing us from approaching.
The other is that the distant river is an illusion, the real river isn't here."
"What you've said makes a lot of sense, but regardless of which is true, we're unable to break the illusion right now, what should we do?"
The Nine Dragon Jade Seal shares its idea, Zhao Yi thinks about it, then closes his eyes, instructing the Nine Dragon Jade Seal to remain silent.
In Zhao Yi's Spiritual World, an emptiness manifests, and he begins to walk forward slowly, at first feeling tense with his Heart Spirit trembling.
But after walking a mere dozen meters, Zhao Yi's Heart Spirit becomes completely void, leaving only his body to move mechanically.
After about a cup of tea's worth of time, Zhao Yi suddenly hears water and opens his eyes to find the river before him.
He discovers the river isn't very wide, no more than twenty meters, and the surface is extremely calm, puzzling Zhao Yi.
In his impression, the river should be turbulent, given it harbors many strange fish and the power of the entire cosmos.
Zhao Yi approaches the riverbank, attempting to touch the water, but a powerful force rushes into his body, causing a tremble throughout.
He dares not touch it again, merely observing quietly.
Suddenly, a fish leaps from the water, aiming for Zhao Yi's head, startling him, but he reacts swiftly to evade.
Reaching out to catch the fish, it vanishes into thin air.
"It seems this river is far more formidable and complex than we imagined, do you agree?"
"Why not let me go down first? As a dragon, if anything unusual happens, I can quickly escape.
If there's nothing unusual, you can follow, what do you think?"
The Nine Dragon Jade Seal feels confident in this idea, but Zhao Yi shakes his head upon hearing it.
"This matter requires me to experience directly; remember they said I must press forward relentlessly.
If I retreat at the slightest danger and have you go first, it wouldn't be pressing forward relentlessly."
Looking around, Zhao Yi decides to remove his coat and personally enter the water, the Nine Dragon Jade Seal doesn't intervene.
Yet, it wants to enter with him, which Zhao Yi refuses.
"If we both go underwater and someone attacks us or sets traps from the shore, we'd know nothing; wait for me on the shore.
If I don't surface within a quarter-hour or an hour, then leave and don't enter."
Zhao Yi speaks solemnly, and the Nine Dragon Jade Seal feels saddened, addressing Zhao Yi.
"You must return; if you don't, I won't live either. Since following you, I've felt happiness.
I don't want to follow anyone else or become a masterless wandering Divine Artifact."
Zhao Yi smirks at the Nine Dragon Jade Seal's heartfelt words, then plunges headfirst into the river.
Suddenly remembering the net, the Nine Dragon Jade Seal throws the box and net into the water, Zhao Yi clings to the box.
Gradually sinking, his eyes can open underwater, allowing him to observe clearly, yet surprisingly.
He finds nothing related to his initial exploration within the river, pondering where things went wrong when discomfort arises.
A thousand-pound force presses upon him, causing difficulty in breathing, he attempts to expel the force using his Spiritual Energy.
But the stronger his Spiritual Energy, the greater the surrounding force, overwhelming Zhao Yi until a revelation occurs.
He retracts all Spiritual Energy and conceals his power to the lowest level, instantly alleviating the pressure.
Zhao Yi moves freely within the river, overjoyed, swimming for nearly half an hour.
The flow suddenly becomes swift, Zhao Yi speeds along, a vast water expanse unfolds before him.
The sight amazes Zhao Yi; peculiar fish swim around, seemingly oblivious to his presence.
Recalling previous conversations, he starts searching for the Five-Colored Fish, spending almost half an hour.
Despite exhaustion, Zhao Yi realizes he must retreat if unsuccessful in capturing the fish.
As Zhao Yi feels disappointed, a Five-Colored Fish gently swims past, bringing him instant joy.
He attempts to grasp it, but the fish vanishes again; Zhao Yi realizes he needs the net.
Quietly he clutches the net, and after half a cup of tea's time, the Five-Colored Fish appears in the distance.
Zhao Yi swims toward it carefully, but the cunning fish quickly escapes.
With much greater speed, it eludes Zhao Yi's pursuit, alarming the guards as they retreat, staring at Zhao Yi.
In the vast water, only Zhao Yi and the strange fish remain.