12dz Chapter 290 I am a little fish (45)
Chapter 290 I am a little fish (45)
Once again, it felt similar to when I left the snowfield, as if I had vomited something up.
However, this time the stickiness and putrid smell were significantly reduced, replaced by a certain sour, metallic odor.
The incident happened suddenly, and Meng Li didn't have time to retrieve the previous boat, so the two of them were caught up in it.
Surrounded by swirling bronze fragments, the two of them were unlikely to be injured in this swirling tunnel, but they were bound to bump into each other and might even be scattered.
Fortunately, almost simultaneously, Jingli and Mengli each took out a prop card and conjured a spiritual energy shield, thus averting this situation.
Nevertheless, when she stood once again in the rain-soaked "Spirit Puppet Immortal Abode," she still showed signs of being somewhat disheveled.
In particular, when Jingli discovered that the Chun Xiaopian in her arms had disappeared without her noticing.
Jingli even suspected that she had accidentally let go during the process and left Chun Xiaopian inside.
But that's impossible. Not to mention that Jingli has gotten used to holding Chun Xiaopian, just having that life-ball-like prop card means Chun Xiaopian won't stray far from them.
There is only one possibility: Chun Xiaopian was left inside the main hall.
Meng Li frowned, looking somewhat displeased: "That faceless man took three of our array cores, but left that little devil behind. That's not fair."
Normally, these words would seem naively cute, but in this blessed land, they are taken for granted.
There is an unspoken rule in this blessed land: equivalent exchange.
Perhaps because blessed lands are often self-contained, they naturally need to maintain balance. If a cultivator who enters a blessed land obtains a key item, he can exchange it with the native inhabitants of the blessed land and receive an equal return.
This kind of measurement is often evaluated using numbers, such as three array eyes corresponding to three people. Other situations will be explained by the natives to the visiting monks.
It's somewhat similar to an NPC in a game.
Meng Li's choice to exchange with that witch doctor was not arbitrary, and although the information obtained from the blessed land was relatively complex, it all pointed to the key theme of "humans and puppets".
In the entire Spirit Puppet Immortal Abode, besides the missing Imperial Preceptor, the only person related to the "transformation of humans into puppets" is this witch doctor.
In addition, if the information mentioned in 6058 is found to be incorrect by the indigenous people, they will slowly fall into the "core" layer. If this indigenous people refer to the people in the blessed land, it will be difficult to find a solution.
However, what if this "native inhabitant" refers only to the citizens of Lingkui Immortal Abode?
So witch doctors are obviously not included in this category.
The rouge shop owner, having received money from the puppet's scheme, took the person to the witch doctor.
What did the witch doctor receive?
There should be some money, but Meng Li could clearly smell blood in his medicinal soup.
In other words, people retain a part of themselves that belongs to them, and transform that part of themselves into a puppet.
This means that Meng Li and the others could also give the puppets to the witch doctor and ask the witch doctor to "turn them into humans".
That is, to leave that puppet world and return to "reality".
Of course, Meng Li's speculation played a part, but based on her experience, it was probably true, which is why she dared to take Jing Li directly to the witch doctor.
However, the equivalent exchange is no longer valid.
"Does it mean we need to exchange an entire puppet for an entire person?" Jingli guessed.
Meng Li shook her head: "The puppet at the core of the formation is different from the puppets they sell. If he wanted to exchange a complete puppet, he would have said something completely different back then."
Instead of a sinister "there's no turning back."
"Perhaps there's a reason why Xiaopian had no choice but to stay," Jingli continued to speculate.
Meng Li agreed with this point.
Previously, Chun Xiaopian had already allocated a portion of her resources to fight the rift. As the small formation outside became increasingly unstable, the pressure on Chun Xiaopian also increased, and now she had no choice but to devote herself entirely to it.
Meng Li tilted her head slightly and said softly, "Then the remaining array eye might have another purpose."
As she finished speaking, she looked up—they were just a few steps away from the back alley.
Jingli's understanding with her had advanced to a level that even he himself couldn't believe. With just a glance from Meng Li, he understood something, and the two of them headed towards that place without the slightest delay.
Perhaps because of the short distance, perhaps because they were fast enough, or perhaps because Jingli was blessed with good luck as a koi fish, when they arrived at the back alley, the two of them happened to see a sneaky figure.
—But to Jingli's surprise, it wasn't the witch doctor who came out, but rather the bloated beggar.
Meng Li seemed to have not expected this either, and a rare look of surprise appeared on her face.
The beggar was still dirty and seemed clueless, struggling to move his large body, trying to find a familiar scent.
He first went to the rouge shop, twitched his nose a few times like a blind dog, then pushed open the wooden door, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The narrow wooden door seemed insufficient for him to squeeze into the shop, and he didn't even try. He gestured a couple of times before giving up and turning back to where the witch doctor had been.
The witch doctor's place didn't even have a shop; all that was left was a wooden scepter and a few broken bowls, so the beggar was naturally disappointed once again.
He hung his head and went to his usual "dining" spot. After sitting down, he remained unresponsive, like a silent, green mountain.
"It seems that wizards are not the 'outsiders' we imagined."
The wizard was indeed not a local, but he did not have the ability to leave the formation.
He himself was also included in the rebirth bell during that sacrifice.
The beggar's departure precisely illustrates his uniqueness.
Meng Li initially thought that the beggar in the "fruit pulp" was not a real beggar and could not provide any practical help in breaking the formation.
However, the reality seems to be different.
The fact that Chun Xiaopian couldn't get out of there was purely by chance. It was this coincidence that brought out the key characters and made them realize that the beggar character might have a hidden identity.
This must be inextricably linked to the final key point of the formation.
"The most urgent task is to bring this beggar along."
Meng Li pondered for a moment, then had Jing Li take out another array core. However, she didn't hand it to the beggar; instead, she waved it in front of him and asked, "Are you hungry?"
The beggar's eyes lit up as he looked at the puppet parts in Meng Li's hand. He reached out to take them, but Meng Li easily dodged him and continued walking quickly towards the city gates.
Jingli hesitated for a moment, then followed closely behind, pondering Meng Li's intentions.
The most "meaningful" places in Lingkui Immortal Abode are only three: the main hall, the back alley, and the low-temperature cemetery outside the city.
They symbolize the fusion of humans and puppets, and also seem to tell the story of this country's history.
The main hall and the back alley are the entrances and exits of the "Fruit." Before leaving, the witch doctor said there was no turning back, meaning that once they left the "Fruit," they could not re-enter through the main hall.
Entering the main hall now, you'll probably see a different scene—which is why Jingli hesitated for a moment.
But he quickly came to a realization.
Think about the first formation they entered after entering the blessed land. There were three gates: the Gate of Life, the Gate of Death, and the False Gate. Only the Gate of Life could lead them to the true core of the formation.
In comparison, isn't this main formation the same?
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(There will be another chapter tonight! I'm almost done with work! I promised to leave this blessed land the next day, but I was so busy that I missed a whole week. I hate myself, sob sob sob. I apologize to all my readers who have been following my updates. I'll have more time next week and I'll try my best to update more frequently to make up for my previous slow updates T T)