Chapter 1 Starting

Feng Bujue activated Spiritual Sense Gathering Technique as he leaped, and after a few short steps of running, he jumped into the air, then deactivated the skill mid-air. Of course, he didn't activate the skill to make his jumping posture more dashing, but just to jump a little further.

In the air, he adopted a head-down, arms-spread posture, plummeting straight down into the cloud-covered abyss.

At that moment, all that remained in his ears was the sound of the wind, and his eyes were actually filled with excitement and joy.

This kind of experience like jumping off a building can usually only be simulated in three ways besides actually jumping off a building: diving, bungee jumping, and skydiving. Anyway, Feng Bujue, this guy who couldn't swim, had never dived, and he had never had the chance to try bungee jumping or skydiving either. And now, he finally experienced the feeling of leaping from a high altitude in a virtual online game.

Although this was just a nerve-linked game, the simulation of the sensation of falling was no different from the real world. Usually, even if the person jumping down didn't scream, their body would instinctively tense up.

However, Feng Bujue was a person who couldn't feel fear, so he could completely relax his body in the air and experience the purest sensation of rapid descent.

He didn't even have to blink; he stared straight down with his eyes wide open, thinking that even if he fell to his death, he would still see what was below before he died.

Seconds later, Feng Bujue plunged into the thick clouds, and it was at that moment that he understood that he had not chosen the wrong path, and he should indeed have gone this way.

Those white clouds were like a cushioning medium, softer than water, but with a stronger cushioning effect. When a person's body crashed into the fog, it didn't feel like hitting cement as it would in a high dive. When Feng Bujue penetrated the clouds, it felt like suddenly walking from a room with very low air conditioning temperature to a hot street. His body felt like it was wrapped in a ball of thicker air, and then his falling speed gradually decreased at a gentle pace.

When he landed, Feng Bujue was like a falling feather, without feeling any impact, and his survival value was not reduced at all.

Below this misty valley was a different world. The clouds above seemed to have become another sky, and the sunlight filtered down, making the valley seem a bit gloomy.

The air here was slightly humid, and the surroundings were sparse woods. Feng Bujue took a rough look at the surrounding environment and looked up, but even though he had kept his eyes open throughout the jump, he couldn't tell how high this place was.

He didn't try to shout loudly upwards, because it was obvious that his voice couldn't travel that far. So he decided to wait here, keeping his head up, so that when Si Yu jumped down, he could know where she landed.

In the following time, Feng Bujue also tested the gravity situation here, and the result was normal. The height he jumped from the ground and the weight his feet felt when he landed were the same as usual. So he judged that the white mist in the sky was the key to his not falling to his death. Perhaps when a person's body passed through that layer of mist, a slow-falling buff would be applied, which would automatically disappear after landing.

Si Yu didn't make Feng Bujue wait for five minutes; she jumped down after only two minutes. Feng Bujue saw the figure slowly descending from the sky, estimated the landing point, and immediately strode towards it.

Perhaps it was good luck, but Si Yu's landing place was not far from where Feng Bujue landed. Feng Bujue quickly came to her and said the first sentence: "How is it? Leap of faith was right, right?"

"When you jumped down, that Deer Lady thought you were crazy and possessed," Si Yu replied. "When I said I was going to jump too, she thought I was going to commit suicide with you."

"Hahaha..." Feng Bujue laughed, "There's no way around it, we can't explain game menus and team status terms to NPCs."

"However, it really takes considerable courage to jump down directly," Si Yu said. "Relying only on speculation and guesswork, you dare to take the risk of dying directly. I have to say you are..."

"So narcissistic that you're at your limit, right?" Feng Bujue interjected, "Okay, I get it." He turned to face the valley, "Let's go, let's make the most of our time."

"Aren't we waiting for the NPC to come down?" Si Yu asked.

"How could she possibly come down?" Feng Bujue said, "If it were you, in real life, if you saw two people you met for the first time acting strangely and saying these inexplicable theories, and then jumping off a cliff one after another, would you risk your life and follow them down?"

Feng Bujue's speculation was indeed correct. Lu Qingning looked at the two from Broken Sword Teahouse jumping into the deep valley, and her mind went blank. She couldn't help but wonder if these two people really existed, or if she had gone crazy and had some kind of hallucination?

It was impossible for Lu Qingning to jump down as well, unless she could stand on top and see the situation at the bottom of the valley, or hear the two of them shouting at her from the bottom of the valley. Otherwise, she would never do such an unreasonable and seemingly suicidal thing.

After hearing this, Si Yu was silent for two seconds, then nodded indifferently: "Let's go."

…………

The two walked for about twenty minutes and came out of the forest. In front of them was a lake surrounded by forests on all sides.

This lake was very large, and looking at the heart of the lake, one could see a small island. Under the cloudy sky, the island appeared secluded and eerie. Even standing on the shore of the lake, one could feel... a kind of invisible and powerful aura seemed to be wrapped around the island.

When they reached the lake, Feng Bujue squatted down, reached out and probed the lake water. The water was clear and cool, and you could see fat fish swimming leisurely at the bottom of the lake.

Ten meters behind the two was the forest, which revealed crimson and golden colors. Thinking about it now, they had been walking silently all the way, without much conversation, and the surroundings were silent. It was hard to say whether this scenery and atmosphere was romantic or weird...

"There's a boat." Si Yu's gaze followed the shore of the lake and saw a small boat tied up on the distant shore.

"Well... it seems we have no choice." Feng Bujue shrugged and walked towards it with Si Yu.

There was no doubt that there must be something on that island in the center of the lake, most likely the location of the vengeful spirit. Obviously, swimming over was not realistic. Even swimming champions would not find it easy to swim to such a distant island, so the system had set up that small boat.

"I think something very terrible will definitely happen on that island." Not long after the two got on the boat, Feng Bujue said while rowing.

"Are you trying to scare me?" Si Yu replied.

"No..." Feng Bujue replied, "I just suddenly thought... on this storyline, maybe all the battles are avoidable. If that's really the case, then the system will definitely set up some scary elements."

"Speaking of which... it's been very easy so far." Si Yu replied.

Feng Bujue nodded, "The main quest on the mountain about Ling'er has not yet arranged any unavoidable battles for us. All potential battles have been avoided by us." He paused for a second and continued, "For example, that demon tree and that demon monk, these two can obviously be dealt with by violent means. When we encountered the tree, we could directly kill it to obtain the bell; and when we encountered the monk, defeating him would definitely also allow us to take the bell and open the crack leading to the Realm of the Bell."

"Even Lu Qingning, if she misunderstood and fought with us, and was eventually killed by us, this kind of plot could also unfold."

"But if we really did that, it would undoubtedly lead to a loss of information, such as the situation of the Vajra Bell, Lin Chang's conspiracy, etc..."

"So... using pure violence to break through the level would mean that a lot of the plot and information would be unknown. At most, we would rely on death scene replays to learn a little about the situation. And most of the time, we would just kill whatever we saw, until we cleared the level without a clue."

"This kind of gameplay is mentally easier. You don't have to consider anything. Just kill any hostile NPCs or monsters you see, but in terms of combat, our team can't support this kind of gameplay."

Feng Bujue adjusted his sitting posture to make the rowing action smoother, and continued: "And the two of us have been relying on peaceful negotiations all the way. Of course, there were also 'interrogation' events, but we didn't kill it anyway..."

"In short, our clearance process not only allows us to grasp more of the plot, but also saves resources. There is no extra stamina consumption, and almost no loss of supplies, ammunition, survival value, and spiritual energy..."

"According to the usual nature of this game... it is unlikely to gain anything without paying a price or taking a risk. So I think... if this paranormal line can be completed without fighting, then we will definitely face puzzles, scares, or instant-death flag choices and other problems..."

As they spoke, they had passed more than half of the journey by boat. Suddenly, a wisp of breeze blew, bringing with it a bone-chilling coldness.

At this time, the cloudy, low sky became even darker. It seemed that the closer they got to the island, the darker it became.

When the two arrived at the shore of the island in the center of the lake, the surroundings were almost like night. Only a little twilight shone down from the sky, and people could only see very close things.

Feng Bujue and Si Yu landed on a slope on the side of the island. They stepped ashore and were met with a forest densely covered with hemlock and pine trees. The shadows of the trees were all black, and the thick, unyielding shadows were as if they had substance, shrouding the road ahead; they were also like living things, as if they were about to pounce outwards, frightening the edge of the island.

If a player with a smaller heart were to stand at the edge of this forest, their scare value would probably reach 30%, let alone walk directly into this forest...