Absolute Destiny Game

However, Xiao Jie could not keep flying all the time, as the Nine Evil Yin Wind made his Life Value continuously decrease. Xiao Jie didn't dare to linger in the air too long and flew swiftly northward. After flying several kilometers, seeing his health bar drop nearly halfway, he hurriedly plunged back into the sea, recovering while frantically swimming.

Above him, the giant Kun pursued once more. Although slow, it was immensely intimidating. Xiao Jie glanced around; even any Water Clan creatures he could convert were gone.

Fortunately, he still had his aquatic form at his disposal.

Essence Soul Transformation—Green-scaled Golden Jiao!

His figure surged, instantly transforming into a Jiao Long dozens of meters long.

Of course, he remained tiny compared to the giant Kun, but Xiao Jie wasted no words and swam northward at full speed.

The Kunpeng chased him for quite a while until Xiao Jie completely outpaced it, finally giving up on the pursuit.

He swam for half an hour straight, yet ahead, he still couldn't see any sign of Gu Yun State.

The transformation time for the Green-scaled Golden Jiao was quickly expiring, but luckily Xiao Jie had the Mythical Talent, Demon Spirit Myriad Forms, allowing him to extend the transformation time by consuming Mana, and Xiao Jie's Mana was high, so he could afford it fully.

He swam for over two hours.

Finally, when his Mana was about to be exhausted, an island appeared ahead.

Xiao Jie couldn't afford to explore what this island was about now; he urgently needed a place to rest. With a leap, he landed on the island, instantly reverting back to human form.

Phew, finally some rest, Xiao Jie hurriedly sat down cross-legged, starting to meditate and restore his Mana.

Once his Mana was fully restored, he finally had the time to properly observe the island.

The island was several li in size, bare without any vegetation, layered with rocky mountains forming a stone hill. At the very center of the hill, a massive stele stood prominently.

Interest piqued in Xiao Jie's heart, this island appearing in the Beihai, and precisely on the route to Gu Yun State, definitely wasn't without reason.

The game designer having placed such an island here, it's likely related to the quest for immortality.

The quest for immortality itself is a hidden mission line, Xiao Jie journeyed north, and everything he encountered hinted that the game designer had deliberately designed this path of seeking immortality.

According to general game design logic, for such a high-difficulty mission, the designer would definitely arrange numerous challenges and obstacles for those undertaking it, definitely not allowing players to complete it easily.

But at the same time, this mission must have a chance of success, no game would ever design a mission impossible for players to complete unless it's a broken project, or a half-finished task for the next expansion.

Though this game can't be understood with common sense, at least in terms of game design philosophy, from Xiao Jie's perception, the designer seems to have designed it entirely according to real game rules, which is the basis for Xiao Jie believing he can succeed in seeking immortality.

At this moment, he had a feeling this island is definitely an important component of this task chain.

Walking slowly to the mountain top, the stele stood tall, its surface exceptionally smooth, its material clearly the same as the one in the ice cave in Luoxue Valley.

On it were carved words like knife cuts—

Searching for the immortal trace, the path of nine deaths. Mortal flesh should not seek grand illusions.

The sea is cold, the sky bitter, boats do not cross. Cloudy paths a thousand miles, cranes struggle to pass.

I urge you not to move a step further; if you insist forward, remember this riddle:

Do not seek cave abodes in the azure sea; instead, can the mountains approach me?

If you unravel the inversion method within, no need to seek the Jade Pearl in the azure sea.

Otherwise, swiftly sail back, the bright moon's light filling the worldly society.

Chanting the poem on it once in his heart, Xiao Jie understood, indeed, this poem must be left by an Immortal, to warn those seeking immortality.

Clearly, it could also be understood as a hint from the task designer to the players.

Looking at the verses on the stele, Xiao Jie silently analyzed their meaning.

[Searching for the immortal trace, the path of nine deaths. Mortal flesh should not seek grand illusions.]Indicating that seeking Immortal Path is fraught with danger, mortal bodies cannot... What does grand illusion mean?

Xiao Jie's gaze turned to the sky; though it was daytime, the sky was pitch-black, with stars visibly twinkling. Could grand illusion refer to outer space?

[The sea is cold, the sky bitter, boats do not cross. Cloudy paths a thousand miles, cranes struggle to pass.]This verse is easy to interpret, there's an extreme cold DEBUFF in Beihai, and piercing yin wind DEBUFF in flying through the sky, making even sailing or flying hard to cross.

Thankfully, this point isn't much of a problem for him.

[I urge you not to move a step further; if you insist forward, remember this riddle.]This means don't walk further, but if one must go forward, they must remember the words below. The word for riddle also suggests it requires players to decode it.

[Do not seek cave abodes in the azure sea; instead, can the mountains approach me?]This statement is clearly a riddle; what does it mean? Xiao Jie frowned, pondering tirelessly with no solution.

Not seeking cave abodes in the azure sea probably means Gu Yun State isn't in the sea, which seems obvious, Gu Yun State presumably is above the skies.

But how to interpret the latter phrase? What he could relate to is that phrase [if the mountain will not come to me, I'll go to the mountain.]But what does this mountain refer to? Is it this mountain before him? The problem is I am already on the mountain.

[If you unravel the inversion method within, no need to seek the Jade Pearl in the azure sea.]Inversion method? Must it be viewed with some form of reverse thinking? It seems if the meaning of this phrase can be deciphered, one can successfully reach Gu Yun State.

[Otherwise, swiftly sail back, the bright moon's light filling the worldly society.]This is obvious, if you can't unravel it, just get back home quickly.

Xiao Jie pondered over the stele for a long time, still failing to understand it. He thought to himself, maybe he should look again. There might be verses on the back of the stele, which could provide more clues.

He walked around the stele and turned to the other side, but was suddenly taken aback.

There, beneath the stele, lay a corpse. Due to the extreme cold, it had become an ice corpse.

Scattered around the corpse were many scattered bones, seemingly belonging to at least six or seven people. However, these bones were in disarray, and there was not one complete skeleton among them.

Even the corpse was clutching a leg bone in its embrace.

Xiao Jie thought to himself, these corpses must have been left behind by the Immortal seekers of yesteryears.

But why was there only one complete corpse? All the other bodies were fragmented, reduced to bones. Could it be—

Xiao Jie suddenly thought of a possibility and felt a chill in his heart—this guy must have eaten his companions!

Of course, it might not have been his companions, but the bodies of those who came before.

No matter which, clearly this person was determined to become immortal, enduring here until supplies ran out, forcing him to eat humans.

However, it seems that even by eating his companions, this person didn't complete the path to immortality, ultimately ending up trapped here.

Xiao Jie felt an emotional stir in his heart, making a secret resolve, but I'm different, I will definitely succeed!

Thinking thus, he couldn't help but look north.

His gaze suddenly narrowed, and in the dark sky to the north, he could vaguely see the outline of a broken continent floating there.

Anxiously, Xiao Jie cast an Eagle Eye Skill on himself. Indeed, it was a fragmented continent, suspended in the void. Without a doubt, that had to be Gu Yun State.

Xiao Jie felt a burst of ecstasy, hahaha, finally found it.

Xiao Jie couldn't wait to set off again.

He originally intended to fly directly over, but considering the size of the silhouette, feared it might still be quite far away.

After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Jie still opted for caution, summoning the Land Traveling Boat once again, and rode it off the island, heading towards Gu Yun State.

At this moment, the storm had slightly subsided, the sea appeared a bit calm, and Xiao Jie could barely maneuver the boat, but hardly a few minutes after setting sail, he suddenly found the boat had stopped.

The wooden wheels on either side of the boat were still spinning, yet the bow seemed to have hit something, refusing to move forward.

What's going on?

Xiao Jie felt somewhat surprised, could there be a spell barrier?

Raising his hand, he cast a Hidden Weapon, which flew swiftly forward and landed in the not-far sea, splashing up a small wave.

No problem.

He tried moving forward again but still couldn't move. Xiao Jie simply jumped into the sea and swam forward, yet he seemed to be pressing against an invisible barrier, unable to move an inch no matter how hard he tried. He swam left and right, discovering he could move sideways without hindrance, but couldn't slant forward. This invisible barrier was extraordinarily straight, almost spanning across the sea, blocking Xiao Jie's path.

Xiao Jie thought to himself, what on earth is this thing? Could it be a restriction left by some Immortal? Why does it feel so familiar?

"Damn, damn!" Xiao Jie cursed in frustration.

"Jie, what's going on?" Gu Feiyu poked his head out from the bedroom curiously.

"I've encountered some trouble. I'm blocked by an invisible barrier. It's really infuriating."

Gu Feiyu walked over for a glance at the screen, "Is this an air wall?"

Xiao Jie suddenly realized, this wasn't some spell, it was clearly an air wall!

Yes, it certainly was an air wall. Such things are commonplace in ordinary games.

But this game's excessive freedom and openness had caused Xiao Jie never to encounter an air wall, making him forget about such matters.

But now he's realized, it seemed like it was indeed an air wall.

Xiao Jie opened the map, and indeed, at this very moment, he had reached the northernmost, outermost position on the map. In other words, the whole game map had already reached its limit.

So does that mean completing the Immortal Path isn't part of this version's content? Impossible, the Heavenly Venerate has already achieved immortality.

Xiao Jie gazed towards the distant sky where Gu Yun State lay; that couldn't possibly be an in-game texture, could it?

Damn it, I just don't believe it!

Transforming back into the Storm Thunder Eagle, Xiao Jie charged towards the sky. However, no matter how high, how low, or how wide he flew, he couldn't advance forward, the air wall had no gaps at all.

After a busy round of left and right maneuvers, noticing his life bar was nearly depleted, Xiao Jie had to land back on the island once again.

He looked at the puzzle poem on the stone stele, thinking it seemed that he must solve this riddle to proceed.