Chapter 00155: Knife Edge Dock
# Knife Edge Dock
Chapter 155
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 155: Knife Edge Dock
Before, Lan Xiaobu merely felt something was off and had trouble speaking naturally with that Golden Core cultivator.
Now, he sensed something was truly wrong.
He glanced back at Gu Dao, who seemed to still carry a trace of fear in his eyes.
“Gu Dao, do you also think there's something strange about that Golden Core on the three-masted ship?” Lan Xiaobu asked.
Gu Dao let out a low growl and nodded repeatedly, clearly agreeing with Lan Xiaobu's thoughts.
Furrowing his brow, Lan Xiaobu was convinced that the Golden Core cultivator was alive.
But how could a living person lack emotion and give off such a chilling vibe? What did that mean?
As for the other individuals on the ship, they hadn’t shown themselves, but upon thinking back, their faces seemed incredibly blank—just like they too were devoid of any feelings.
Lan Xiaobu’s consciousness swept outward once more, but in a short span, the three-masted ship had nearly left his detection range.
It was unknown if it was due to the formation being activated or if it was the distance, but he couldn’t penetrate the ship with his spiritual sense.
He looked at the positioning ball in his hand, where a fuzzy outline appeared…
“Wait a moment, isn’t the positioning ball supposed to show a clear route? Why does it only have one outline?”
Just as Lan Xiaobu continued to ponder this, an island suddenly appeared in his perception.
Glancing again at the positioning ball, the outline became even clearer—it was unmistakably that island.
Should he go? While he was still contemplating this question, the boat beneath him was swiftly approaching the island.
A sense of unease washed over him; it felt as though the sea’s currents were guiding them towards the island.
Had he encountered something bizarre? With a firm grip, Lan Xiaobu crushed the positioning ball into powder.
Yet, the ship still moved swiftly toward the island, and in less than a short incense stick's worth of time, the island vividly appeared before him.
At this moment, without even using his spiritual sense, he could clearly see three large characters on the outskirts of the island—Knife Edge Dock.
The entire island resembled a head, and their entry point was at the neck of this head.
Without hesitation, Lan Xiaobu commanded the ship to steer away from Knife Edge Dock.
Despite channeling his true essence to the maximum, the mid-grade spirit vessel only drifted back slowly.
The moment he slightly lost control of his true essence, the boat would surge closer to the dock.
What an uncanny situation.
Lan Xiaobu considered that perhaps his ship had been ensnared by the sea mist when they passed through it.
Since escaping was likely impossible, rather than depleting his spiritual and true essence, it might be better to investigate Knife Edge Dock.
Many things are like this: the more you fear them, the deeper you fall.
But if you instead move towards the center of the issue without fear, there might still be a chance for salvation.
Lan Xiaobu resolutely piloted the boat to the dock of Knife Edge Dock.
Though it was called a dock, it was merely a singular landing area.
“Let’s go, Gu Dao, keep close,” Lan Xiaobu called out after stepping ashore, reminding the eagerly following Gu Dao that this place felt strange.
Something didn’t seem right.
Lan Xiaobu sensed the ground beneath him felt a bit soft.
If the island wasn’t so vast, surrounded by various trees, he’d almost suspect he was stepping on a person’s head.
Crossing the not-so-large docking area, Lan Xiaobu reached a square spanning over an acre.
The edges of the square were lined with various buildings.
As a Level 5 formation master, Lan Xiaobu quickly discerned that the entire square was surrounded by restrictions, and it seemed to form a large array as well.
“Wait…” Lan Xiaobu halted Gu Dao before they stepped forward into someone else’s formation.
Just as he stopped, several cultivators leisurely strolled out from one corner of the square, crossing it with an air of normalcy.
If he hadn’t had the prior contact with Shi Buxun, Lan Xiaobu might have seen nothing wrong and even considered approaching them to ask a few questions.
However, having met Shi Buxun, as these individuals passed by, he suddenly sensed that they too lacked an essential part of themselves, just like those devoid of emotion.
Confused, Lan Xiaobu wondered if these people had lost their minds.
That couldn’t be right.
After all, Shi Buxun still recognized that his Silver Glimmer Fish was valuable and even wanted to offer 100,000 high-grade spirit stones to buy it.
Moreover, Shi Buxun recognized the significance of the Yulin Grass he received before trading for the positioning ball of Knife Edge Dock.
Thus, Shi Buxun’s intellect seemed to still be intact.
Not only did Shi Buxun have a physical presence; Lan Xiaobu could sense his temperature.
Thus, it became evident that they weren’t spirits but actual living beings.
Staring at the expansive square, just as Lan Xiaobu contemplated the array’s nature, an overwhelming sense of killing intent swelled up.
Without hesitation, Lan Xiaobu dashed into the square with Gu Dao, and the next moment he sensed a blurring wave of blade-like space cutting through the very spot he had just occupied.
A chill ran down his spine.
He saw that the square formed a large array, yet he hadn’t expected that as soon as he stepped on the dock he had already entered a killing formation—a Void Strangulation Array.
Before he had the chance to ponder further, a horrifyingly deep sound rushed at him.
In the next instant, a gigantic claw that even his consciousness couldn’t detect reached deep into his awareness.
Was it a Level 7 Soul Snatching Array? Lan Xiaobu quickly affirmed that it must be a Level 7 Soul Snatching Array, a formation specifically designed to extract a cultivator's seven souls.
At that moment, everything became clear—Shi Buxun and those cultivators he had seen earlier were nothing more than a group of individuals whose seven souls had been taken.
Without delay, Lan Xiaobu’s spiritual consciousness constructed various soul shields, protecting both him and Gu Dao. “Act like a soulless person! No looking around; you can only move stiffly behind me,” he instructed Gu Dao.
Gu Dao sensed the danger without needing further encouragement, obediently following him like a little bug.
Sizzle! That nearly invisible giant claw struck the soul shield, causing a sound that made Lan Xiaobu shudder.
Feeling a tingling in his spine, Lan Xiaobu understood he couldn’t afford to be careless.
A Level 7 Soul Snatching Array was beyond what he could set up, and even if he tried to break it, he likely wouldn’t succeed.
Though he was on the verge of advancing to a Level 6 formation master, a Level 7 array could only be laid down by a formation grandmaster.
“Construct a model for the Level 7 Soul Snatching Array immediately, and find a way out.”
With his soul shield protecting the seven souls, Lan Xiaobu wasted no time urging his cosmic model to create a structure for the Level 7 array.
At the same time, he halted all other configurations, directing all his essence spirit stones and whatever remnants of spiritual veins he had to fuel the cosmic model.
The cosmic model roared to life, and the array began to take shape before his eyes.
Lan Xiaobu felt cracks appearing on his soul shield.
With every crack, he swiftly repaired it.
Once the outermost layer was torn, he rushed to add another layer.
The strain on his consciousness was rapidly consuming his strength, and cold sweat beaded on Lan Xiaobu’s forehead.
If his soul shield failed before the construction of the Level 7 formation was complete, he would likely end up like Shi Buxun.
Fortunately, the cosmic model did not let him down.
In less than a short incense stick’s time, the Level 7 Soul Snatching Array’s structure clearly formed in his sea of consciousness.
“Follow me,” Lan Xiaobu called to Gu Dao and swiftly entered the opening in the formation, dashing toward the island’s heart.
Some things, if you don’t understand, you could spend a lifetime trying to escape; but once you do, it’s merely a matter of a few steps.
With the model of the Level 7 Soul Snatching Array firmly in mind, Lan Xiaobu managed to cross the square in just a few minutes.
When he finally relaxed, he found himself standing at the entrance of a grand hall.
Above the hall were three characters: “Seven Souls Hall.”
On the surface, Lan Xiaobu remained calm, much like the cultivators stripped of their seven souls, showing no emotions.
Yet inwardly, he seethed with rage.
Damn it! I came here just to find a Spirit Nurturing Fruit, and now they want to take my seven souls? Even if I can’t deal with you today, I’ll be back for revenge.
The angrier he was internally, the calmer he appeared outwardly.
Yet, in his heart, he cursed while still feeling anxious.
He worried that the one who set up these formations might be lurking in the shadows, and if their cultivation level was anything like Gui Wushou's... he would be in serious danger today.
As Lan Xiaobu stepped into the hall, a familiar figure emerged from inside.
Spotting this person, he almost cried out.
Qin Mocai.
A few years ago in Mubei Market, Qin Mocai had invited him to explore the Marsh Island in search of the Spirit Nurturing Fruit, and to think, all these years later, they were in the same place.
Just by looking at Qin Mocai's appearance, it was clear he had lost his seven souls.
Lan Xiaobu sighed inwardly; once you embark on the path of cultivation, sometimes death comes easier than for ordinary beings.
Qin Mocai also noticed Lan Xiaobu.
He stopped and even greeted him, “Lan Sect Master, you are also here for the Spirit Nurturing Fruit? There is some here. I haven’t found it yet. I’ll be off to look for it.”
With that, Qin Mocai nonchalantly walked further away.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t call out to him.
Qin Mocai appeared in worse condition than Shi Buxun, probably unaware he had lost his seven souls.
As for Marsh Island, if the name hadn’t been mentioned, Lan Xiaobu would never have believed it.
Suddenly, he recalled those three characters, “Knife Edge Dock.” Wasn’t that the breakdown of the name Marsh Island? The script of Yuan Continent and Earth’s writing had some distinctions, yet with a closer look, there seemed to be a connection if viewed through Earth’s lens.
Lan Xiaobu refrained from further speculation.
He had crossed through the great hall and at the center of the rear chamber, he found a circular altar with a shadow seated in the middle.
The shadow was practicing some technique, seemingly oblivious to Lan Xiaobu’s arrival.
Or perhaps, even if it did notice, it didn’t care because cultivators like Lan Xiaobu often entered and exited freely, merely walking around the circular altar.
“Cosmic model, construct the formation model for this shadow.” While instructing the cosmic model, Lan Xiaobu mechanically made his way around the altar.
He didn’t even dare scan with his spiritual sense, fearing it might disturb the meditating shadow.
(End of Chapter)