Free Web NovelChapter 520: Chapter 137: The Topmost Layer of the Well
Changes are happening all around the world.
With the recent emergence of an ultimate creature that transcended human understanding, the causality lines completely collapsed.
The evil dragon broke through its seals, and the warriors were scattered and divided.
Perhaps the most distorted changes have not yet arrived, but all are destined to come.
The world outside the Well is becoming increasingly deformed. Within the Well, everything remains an unknown.
Bai Wu, the Ten of Spades, and Jing Liu had been lingering in a dark and chaotic space for an indeterminate amount of time.
The three seemed to exist in a void lacking any concept of space and time.
For Jing Liu, this was no different from his previous exile.
There was no pain, but the endless darkness was unusually torturous.
Fortunately, as the Ten of Spades had said, the world inside the shell resonated with the Well under the influence of Bai Wu’s Power of Twist.
Eventually, the crack that flashed through the darkness grew larger and lingered longer.
It was as if two worlds were constantly colliding, and the collisions were intensifying.
At first, only sparks were emitted, but halfway through, a breach was opened.
During these times, Jing Liu, Bai Wu, and the Ten of Spades had many inconsequential conversations.
Most of the discussions were between the Ten of Spades and Bai Wu.
When Bai Wu first appeared on the farm, it was the first time he met the Ten of Spades.
At that time, Bai Wu was like a wise man, a Guider.
But the true Ten of Spades was actually a contemporary of Bai Yuan. Especially after many encounters with Bai Yuan, he looked at Bai Wu more like an elder watching over a junior.
What they talked about most was another world.
"Another world... What exactly is it? How did you manage to bring me to this world?"
"And you, Jing Liu, what exactly are you and High Tower’s ruler Wang Jue plotting?"
What Bai Wu really wanted to ask about was the secret of Prayle’s Eye.
But he wasn’t sure if these two people before him truly knew.
The only thing he was certain of was that his death began with the Ten of Spades.
The Ten of Spades marked his end in another world, but Jing Liu marked his beginning in the High Tower World.
The Tower God Society, the Wang Family, Jing Liu, and his own body, which was quite similar to his past life’s.
Along with Prayle’s Eye, all these elements felt as if they were deliberately engineered together.
The Ten of Spades did not answer; whenever Bai Wu asked about something crucial, he would just smile and not respond.
This process did not last very long.
Because the movement through spaces had stopped.
The darkness and chaos vanished in an instant.
Blinding light came through, and Bai Wu, the Ten of Spades, and Jing Liu, having been in the darkness for too long, were slightly discomforted by the sudden appearance of light and instinctively closed their eyes.
Fortunately, they all possessed extraordinary physiques and soon opened their eyes.
One second, the three of them were in darkness and chaos; the next, they appeared in an endless, vast forest.
Tall and lush trees were everywhere.
Bai Wu had never seen such arboreal plants. Each tree could be considered a towering giant.
In this boundless forest, the atmosphere was serene, and the sunlight filtered through the layered canopies, leaving many specks of light across the leaf-strewn ground. ƒreewebɳovel.com
The air was filled with the scent of earth.
Looking up, a dozen or so meters up the branches, around ten peculiar birds stared at Bai Wu with wide eyes, similar to owls.
Jing Liu and the Ten of Spades looked towards Bai Wu at the same time.
Bai Wu frowned, finding this sensation truly annoying.
The Ten of Spades said,
"If your vision is fine, you would be able to see from those birds’ pupils that Jing Liu and I don’t exist."
Yes.
Although Bai Wu could see the Ten of Spades and Jing Liu, they seemed like illusions exclusive to him.
Bai Wu’s earlier guess was correct; the Ten of Spades and Jing Liu had probably become something akin to personal grandfathers.
"Translate a bit, eh? Look around with your eyes and provide some information," said the Ten of Spades with a smile.
Unlike Bai Yuan’s smile, the Ten of Spades’s grin was sly.
Of course, a skilful liar often smiles very sincerely.
However, the Ten of Spades didn’t see the need to pretend. Pretending just didn’t suit his image.
Jing Liu also felt it strange; the surrounding feeling was one of clarity and peace that reached into the soul.
She saw creatures that appeared to be birds but couldn’t sense the presence typically associated with Evil Fallen.
These animals... had no malice and seemed pure.
Jing Liu urged as well,
"What do you see with your eyes?"
Damn. Who is the real cheat here? So, both of these people know I have an information-gathering Sequence
Bai Wu certainly had information in his sight, and he was curious about the notes.
[As the saying goes, the support of flowing water and the steadfast guide, Yan, are you perhaps relying on these two useless little... well, the deceiver and the smart one, aren’t they useless when it matters most, needing me to step in?
Even though the creatures you see are odd, with feathers sharp as swords and oversized eyes like they’ve been enhanced by photo apps, they are not Evil Fallen.
They are native creatures of this place, friendly, kind, and weak. You will encounter many such creatures moving forward.
Oh, and please cast your gaze at the surrounding vegetation... or perhaps you could jump up to take a look at the sky?
You will see a breathtakingly beautiful scene.]
Bai Wu became increasingly confused:
"These creatures are not Evil Fallen; they’re native creatures."
Jing Liu had already realized that if they were Evil Fallen, she would be able to smell the resentment.
Jing Liu looked at the Ten of Spades:
"It appears your conjecture was wrong. We indeed have come to an unknown place, but it’s not the Well."
The surrounding atmosphere was serene and tranquil, and even the occasional birdcall or the sound of unknown creatures stepping on dry leaves only added a touch of liveliness to the quiet.
Bai Wu leaped up vigorously, startling the odd birds into taking flight.
They seemed panicked but didn’t fly too far, settling on a tree trunk after a short while to continue watching Bai Wu.
Standing on the trunk of a massive tree, Bai Wu looked up to see the clear, blue, dust-free sky.
With cotton-like white clouds sprinkled below, the sky was as lucid as the ocean.
Such a beautiful sky was something even Bai Wu had never seen before.
This place was simply too beautiful.
From atop the vast tree trunk, Bai Wu could see distant mountains, rivers, lakes, and a small town.
But according to the notes, the town was uninhabited.
[Congratulations on finding the next observation point of this area.
Heading there, we will discover some ’small flaws’ of this world.
In any case, there’s no need to worry about anything; this place is, as the swindler had said, the other side of the world. If you consider it the Inner World of this world... then this place is the purest and cleanest within the Inner World.
Furthermore, don’t be curious about why this place is so pure and clean, given that you haven’t yet reached the core of the Well. Some places are very similar to the structure of the places you know, just reversed.]
Pure, clean.
It’s hard to imagine that this place could be connected to the Well.
The last note made Bai Wu realize that he probably hadn’t come to the wrong place.
"There’s no mistake, we are inside the Well. But clearly, the Well and our understanding of the Well... have significant differences," Bai Wu admitted.
Jing Liu couldn’t believe that such a tranquil and peaceful place could have driven Jing Si insane.
The Ace of Spades had never been here before, but he felt that it was indeed like a utopia.
"What a wonderful place; your eyes should be able to guide you on where to go, right?" The Ace of Spades said with a smile, looking at Bai Wu.
Bai Wu nodded reluctantly:
"There’s a small town that seems to be inhabited by people; perhaps we can head there since these beasts, being indigenous, can’t communicate with us."
Bai Wu changed direction, beginning to walk toward the town.
To get to the town, he would have to go through the forest, as well as cross a huge lake.
This wasn’t difficult for Bai Wu.
However, he walked slowly along the way,
because many creatures he had never seen before appeared here.
There were creatures resembling mountain deer, but with bodies nearly a hundred meters tall, like walking mountains; they moved slowly and seemed leisurely.
Their blood seemed to be infused with a fluorescent agent, glowing with a red-blue light. Bai Wu had seen red monkey bottoms before, but it was his first time seeing ones that glowed red.
Besides these seemingly gentle animals, there were indeed poisonous insects, snakes, ants, and ferocious animals like wolves, tigers, and leopards.
However, the snakes seemed not to bite people, and when the ferocious animals saw Bai Wu, they only glanced at him from a distance.
They appeared to be somewhat interested in Bai Wu, but only stayed at the observational stage. And moreover... their attitude was friendly.
Tigers that walked on two feet, leopards that could camouflage with their environment, bees whose tail stings could make flowers bloom with just a touch...
Bai Wu had never seen so many bizarre creatures before.
Each one gave him an intense sense of déjà vu, yet none belonged to any species he had seen before.
In the center of the forest stood a giant tree, larger and sturdier than all the others.
Its branches twisted and turned, and the trunk even had human facial features.
When Bai Wu approached, the branches suddenly became supple, like the swaying arms of a dancing girl; they gently moved towards Bai Wu, the fragrance of the leaves becoming stronger.
Bai Wu could feel that whether carnivorous animals, herbivores, insects, or plants, all were extremely friendly.
He couldn’t sense any malice at all.
This place was as pure as the sea of the sky above.
After walking out of the forest, Bai Wu saw a lake so vast that he couldn’t see to the other side in one glance.
As he stepped onto the surface of the lake, causing a ripple to spread, a distant creature with fins like wings—a "whale"—appeared.
This whale’s size was about the same as the hundred-meter-tall mountain deer.
Yes, a freshwater lake with creatures like whales, which are marine animals.
The whale breached the surface, nearly three hundred meters high, but when it fell back, it didn’t stir up a tremendous wave.
Because its fins danced slowly as it descended, as if it were spiraling down through the sky.
Bai Wu watched this enormous creature and found that the colossal creature was also watching him, its eyes still very friendly.
It sank slowly, its large eyes disappearing into the water bit by bit, even blinking a couple of times.
The Ace of Spades said:
"There isn’t a trace of twisted aura, as if the whole world is welcoming you. Tsk, tsk, this is indeed very different from the Wells that we know of. But I love places like this."
Bai Wu walked on the surface of the lake, as countless fish surfaced, exhibiting a friendly demeanor.
Jing Liu also found it unbelievable: "We should be cautious. There’s something fishy about such abnormality."
Bai Wu didn’t pay attention. He could feel that there was no hint of danger here.
Still, Bai Wu quickly tested his abilities to see if they were affected by the environment.
After leaving the forest, he quickened his pace, so fast that he could leave behind numerous afterimages.
The animals that had appeared friendly when looking at him now became panicked instantly.
Clearly astonished by Bai Wu’s powerful abilities. But these creatures did not panic for too long, at least they showed no hostility.
The vast lake with edges impossible to see was quickly left behind by Bai Wu.
Bai Wu had no interest in looking at the strange world of animals any longer.
He remembered something Bai Yuan had said, that in the Inner World, anything could be matched with something in the real world.
What could these odd yet pure animals and this beautiful, clear space correspond to in the real world?
An abandoned village suddenly appeared in front of the group, seemingly out of place in this area.
"There are actually places like this, but from the looks of it, no one lives here anymore."
Spade Ten was very excited.
The Well, the core of distortion. Even though they saw strange creatures within this core, they couldn’t sense the aura of distortion.
The more abnormal it was, the more intriguing Spade Ten found it.
Jing Liu, on the other hand, was cautious.
"In a place where animals gather, there are many animals, but a place where people should gather... has no people. Where have all the people gone?"
Jing Liu raised a question that Bai Wu also wanted to know the answer to.
These two old grandpas who always followed him around hadn’t provided any help so far, just creators of problems.
The style of this small village was extremely similar to Zao Lake Village that they had explored before.
Bai Wu didn’t bother to explore it in detail; he didn’t want to waste time.
Jing Si became insane inside the Well but also gained tremendous power.
If possible, Bai Wu hoped that he too could gain great power and emerge "out of the shell" early.
To use powerful strength to end twist with Twist.
But he also understood a principle: the greater the benefit, the higher the risk.
In such a completely safe place, he definitely couldn’t find what he was looking for.
Therefore, he quickly conducted a survey with the solid Yan.
"Don’t bother looking, has the evolved me ever wasted your time? I’ve already marked the place you need to conquer. It’s a blacksmith’s shop. Inside, you’ll find what takes you down to... uh, am I spoiling too much? I mean, it’s the key to the next area~
Next, you will make a series of... choices involving the soul."]
Go down?
It brought to mind something Prayle’s Eye had mentioned before — "Some places are structured very similarly to what you’re familiar with, just in reverse."
Bai Wu suddenly thought of the High Tower, and a flash of insight appeared — the riddle of the Eye of Mystery was suddenly solved.
If the High Tower involves climbing up through layers, could it be that the Wells go down layer by layer?
Is the area I’m in the top layer of the Well?
He recalled the initial High Tower, where the people on the first layer lived as if in ancient times, those on the second layer slowly adopted some modern civilization, and those on the third layer were truly living in a "city."
Could it be, the Wells are the same, with increasing level comes increasing distortion?
