"Is deciphering formations really that difficult? Isn't it just a matter of logic, like putting together a puzzle, except some patterns are more complex, and some are even multidimensional?"
Ning Beichen grumbled inwardly, forgetting that others didn't possess his extraordinary eyesight and couldn't see the formation patterns.
Initially, Ning Beichen would glance at it, but eventually, he stopped bothering, leaving Zhao Yingdie to decipher it herself.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Ning Beichen approached Zhao Yingdie and found her still engrossed in deciphering. Her eyes were bloodshot from three days and nights without sleep.
"Just a little longer, almost there."
Zhao Yingdie mistook Ning Beichen's approach as an interrogation and hurriedly explained.
In reality, she hadn't made significant progress and seemed trapped in a vicious cycle, her attempts at deciphering leading her back to a dead end.
"No rush. However, you've made a mistake in a few places. You should do it this way."
Ning Beichen immediately spotted her error and casually manipulated the formation diagram. The problem that had troubled Zhao Yingdie for two full days was instantly resolved.
Zhao Yingdie was stunned. Looking at the formation, so easily broken by Ning Beichen, she felt like a fool in his presence.
With a loud boom, the formation on the cliff face was broken. Instantly, water surged out like a tsunami from the cliff, engulfing Ning Beichen and his companions.
The surroundings then shifted, and Ning Beichen, Zhao Yingdie, and Ling Jue found themselves on a desolate island surrounded by water.
"Where is this place?"
Ning Beichen asked curiously, looking around.
"In ancient grotto-heavens and blessed lands, there's a place called the Dead Sea Barrens. Legend has it that it's filled with water that possesses immense buoyancy, allowing people to walk on its surface..."
Zhao Yingdie explained.
"Could this be the Dead Sea Barrens?"
Ning Beichen inquired.
"I'm not entirely sure, but we'll know if we test it. If we can truly walk on water, then this is undoubtedly the Dead Sea Barrens."
Zhao Yingdie stated.
"Ling Jue, what's your opinion?"
Ning Beichen asked him.
"I believe Zhao Yingdie is making sense."
Ling Jue replied.
"Alright, then you go and try."
Ning Beichen told Ling Jue.
Zhao Yingdie could decipher formations, while Ling Jue could only be Ning Beichen's lackey. Otherwise, Ning Beichen would have no use for him.
Ling Jue dared not refuse. He jumped into the water without using any cultivation and discovered he could indeed stand on the water's surface without sinking.
However, standing and walking on water required a certain sense of balance, as the water surface was yielding, unlike solid ground.
Witnessing this, even Ning Beichen became excited. He also stepped into the water to try, finding that he could stand on it, which was astonishing.
At the very least, Ning Beichen had never heard of water that could support a person standing.
While the Dead Sea exists, it merely prevents one from sinking; it doesn't allow walking on its surface.
However, not long after, the three of them became somewhat bewildered.
Walking on water was possible, but where were they supposed to go now?
All they could see was a barren island with nothing on it. Water surrounded them, and no structures were in sight.
Even stranger, they couldn't fly in the air here.
It wasn't that they couldn't fly, but there was a gravitational force overhead. Once they attempted to fly, they would be pressed down, forcing them to search only on the water's surface.
Yet, the water was also devoid of anything. They searched for a long time but found nothing, nor did they see any buildings. Eventually, they returned to the empty island.
"Is this grotto-heaven and blessed land all there is?"
Ning Beichen frowned.
Ling Jue and Zhao Yingdie were also completely perplexed.
Logically, a grotto-heaven and blessed land shouldn't be like this, but reality dictated otherwise.
Ning Beichen took out some food to share with them and pondered why it was like this, wondering if something had been overlooked.
As he thought, Ning Beichen's gaze drifted upwards.
There was gravity in the air, people could stand on the water below, and a barren island in the middle.
This scene, this arrangement... Ning Beichen felt a sense of familiarity.
"A painting?"
A thought suddenly flashed through Ning Beichen's mind.
He remembered.
He had indeed seen a painting very similar to this place: a lone island, surrounded by water, with an ancient-attired figure standing on the water.
And here, it was a lone island, surrounded by water, on which people could stand. However, unlike the painting in Ning Beichen's memory, that painting had a reflection.
Ning Beichen, standing in the water, had no reflection.
"Reflection..."
Ning Beichen's mind whirred like a winding clock.
Suddenly, an idea struck him: could the grotto-heaven and blessed land they were currently in be the opposite?
What did "opposite" mean?
Simply put, they were currently in a reflection and hadn't truly reached the real grotto-heaven and blessed land, which was why they knew nothing.
The more Ning Beichen thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. However, this was his first encounter with such a situation, and the image in his memory might not even be related to this place.
But regardless, it was a thought and a guess, better than having no clue.
So, if his guess were true, how could they reverse this situation?
Ning Beichen shifted his attention back to recalling the painting, determined to find a solution. He paid no mind to Ling Jue and Zhao Yingdie.
Ling Jue and Zhao Yingdie were also trying to figure things out, but they had no leads. Such a situation was unheard of, even in the Mortal Realm.
After an unknown amount of time, when Ling Jue and Zhao Yingdie were about to despair,
Suddenly, Ning Beichen stood up. He walked onto the water's surface and stood still.
Then, Ling Jue and Zhao Yingdie witnessed a bizarre scene.
Ning Beichen's body suddenly became ethereal, like a shadow. After a while, Ning Beichen was entirely a shadow, his real body having vanished.
Ling Jue and Zhao Yingdie exchanged a strange glance, both feeling a prickle of fear. Neither of them understood what had happened to Ning Beichen.
Even less did they understand why Ning Beichen had bizarrely turned into a shadow.
And where had his real body gone?
Was he dead?
Or alive?