Embers Ad Infinitum

When the light of the street lights went out one after another and the surroundings became pitch black, Shang Jianyao raised his right hand and pinched his temples.

He lay down completely and closed his eyes.

…………

This time, the place where he appeared was not the "Hall of Stars", but the illusory sea of ​​flowing light.

There was a small island in front of him. The soil on it was dark brown, the rocks were jagged, and there was no trace of life.

This is the first island Shang Jianyao encountered after entering the "Sea of ​​Origin".

According to antiquities scholar Du Heng, this corresponds to the fear hidden in everyone's heart. The "islands" encountered by different awakened people will never be the same, and the number is also the same.

Shang Jianyao has stayed here for many days and still cannot defeat this "island".

There are no monsters on the island, but an extremely harsh "natural condition".

Once Shang Jianyao climbs up, all the light in front of his eyes will disappear, and there will no longer be any sound in his ears.

On the island, he seemed to be in a dark, closed, and weird room. Not only could he not see his fingers, but he could not even hear his own voice.

This made Shang Jianyao unable to even feel the passage of time. He only felt that darkness and silence seemed to have turned into substance, slowly eroding his soul.

He could not stay on the island for too long every time, always quitting due to mental breakdown, extreme fear, and approaching madness.

If antiquities scholar Du Heng hadn't talked about the "Sea of ​​Origin" and the significance of different islands, Shang Jianyao would have given up trying and instead looked for other islands in the boundless sea.

He believed that bypassing this place would mean that he would be defeated by the fear in his heart, and there would be a high probability that the awakened person's abilities would no longer improve or change.

After staring at the island for a while, Shang Jianyao lowered his head according to the predetermined plan and looked at himself looming in the illusory waves.

He hesitated for a few seconds, and his eyes gradually deepened:

“They are employees of Pangu Biology, and I am also an employee of Pangu Biology;

“They were young and I was young;

"Their parents are around, so..."

Shang Jianyao paused and answered by himself:

"So, my parents are here too."

A smile gradually appeared on his face, a soft, reassuring smile.

Without wasting any more time, Shang Jianyao grabbed the rocks on the edge of the island with both hands and climbed up directly.

Because the "Sea of ​​Origin" is illusory in nature, his clothes did not become wet, and there were no drops of dew on his hair.

As soon as Shang Jianyao's feet landed, his eyes suddenly turned dark and he could no longer see anything.

This not only gave him the feeling that the space was narrow and that he would touch the edge at any time, but also made him inexplicably afraid of the unknown danger hidden deep in the darkness.

"Hey! How are you?" Shang Jianyao tried to speak loudly, but couldn't hear a sound.

At this moment, he seemed to be abandoned by the world, left in an extremely terrifying place where no one cares.

Shang Jianyao took tentative steps, using walking to resolve the fear and uneasiness that gradually rose in his heart.

However, no matter how he comforted himself, the "darkness" was still slowly and uncontrollably eroding his soul.

Shang Jianyao shrank his body, seeming to have found some support in the dark, silent place.

This allowed him to hold on longer than usual, but later on, the fact that there was only air around him still made him feel lost, his heart beat faster, and his expression gradually wavered.

"Fake..." Shang Jianyao suddenly whispered.

Cold sweat quickly broke out on his forehead, his knees slowly bent, and he squatted down, hugging himself.

…………

In room 196, Shang Jianyao opened his eyes.

He gasped for air and looked around.

The room was dark, and there was silence outside.

Shang Jianyao hurriedly took out his flashlight from under the pillow and pushed the button.

A beam of light shot out and shone on the opposite wall, illuminating the clothes hanging on the expansion screws and the sink next to it.

Looking at this yellowish light, Shang Jianyao's breathing gradually stabilized.

After almost a minute, he turned off the flashlight, pulled up the quilt, and fell into a deep sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Shang Jianyao was awakened by a knock on the door.

The knock on the door was repeated three times and gradually faded away.

Shang Jianyao knew that this was the members of the "Life Sacrifice" cult telling him that the party time was coming.

——For members who do not have a watch and are far away from the wall clock on the street, the "Life Ritual" sect will send someone who can control the time to remind them.

As for being unwilling to get up after hearing the knock on the door, or not wanting to attend the party for various reasons, that is your own business.

If you have decided not to attend in advance, or if you have guests at home who would not be able to know about such things, just wipe off the chalk graffiti under the door before turning off the lights, so that no one will knock on the door.

Shang Jianyao quickly got out of bed, washed his face, and brushed his teeth carefully.

Then, he put on his dark green cotton coat, took a flashlight, and went straight to a nearby public toilet for a quickie.

After doing all this, Shang Jianyao followed a familiar road to Li Zhen's house at No. 35, Area A.

Boom, boom, boom, Shang Jianyao knocked on the door three times.

Soon, a deliberately suppressed voice came from the door:

"Life is the most important."

Shang Jianyao responded very skillfully:

"A new life like the sun."

With a slight movement, the door quickly opened back, and the dim light inside flowed out.

Li Zhen, whose eyes were slightly raised, looked at Shang Jianyao, smiled and said:

"come in."

She quickly stepped aside and allowed Shang Jianyao to enter the room.

"You'll have to tell us what it's really like outside later." Li Zhen opened the door and said with a smile.

"Okay, Aunt Li." Shang Jianyao was very polite.

Li Zhen pointed at a location casually:

"Sit down, it's about to start. You're a little late."

She just said it casually, without any intention of blaming her. After all, it wasn't really time for the party yet.

Shang Jianyao explained seriously:

"I brushed my teeth first."

"..." Li Zhen nodded with a slightly stiff smile, "Okay, very good."

Shang Jianyao then walked towards the small bench and sat down.

The bench was short, and for a person of his height, he had to curl up his feet as much as possible to fully rest his buttocks.

Seeing that his sitting posture was obviously uncomfortable, Shen Du, who had already arrived, stood up:

"Let's change positions."

"Thank you, Uncle Shen." Shang Jianyao was not polite.

After sitting down again, he looked around and greeted other members.

He had attended similar religious gatherings several times and was familiar with all the members of this floor.

After waiting for a while, "Guide" Ren Jie came out of the room leading to the inner bedroom and walked between the big bed, wardrobe and cabinets.

"The businessman is back?" Ren Jie, who was wearing a polyester shirt, nodded gently and greeted with a smile.

Shang Jianyao immediately replied:

"Praise for your tolerance!"

"..." Ren Jie was stunned for several seconds before she realized what Shang Jianyao meant was to thank Siming for his care and finally returned safely.

She forced a smile and said:

"No need to be so formal, just a normal chat."

Without waiting for Shang Jianyao to respond, she said with a solemn expression:

“The sermon officially begins, today’s content is death.

"Life will eventually pass away, just like leaves will always turn yellow and fall to the ground..."

Shang Jianyao suddenly raised his hand.

"What's the problem?" Ren Jie asked worriedly.

She thought Shang Jianyao had discovered something unusual.

Shang Jianyao stood up and said:

"The leaves of many trees do not turn yellow..."

Ren Jie's facial muscles twitched, interrupting his statement:

"It's just a metaphor.

"Wait until the sermon is over before raising similar questions. Listen carefully and don't talk."

"Yeah." Shang Jianyao sat down slightly disappointed.

Afterwards, he listened to Ren Jie's sermon with a very focused expression, but his eyes seemed a bit vacant and lacked focus.

Not long after, Ren Jie finished his sermon and said to all the members present:

"Next is the talking stage. You can tell your brothers and sisters about your inner troubles and draw strength from them..."

When she said this, she stared at Shang Jianyao, suppressing this guy with her eyes and preventing him from speaking.

She remembered that the first time she said similar words, Shang saw Yao's suddenness and interrupted:

"Not just brothers and sisters, but uncles and aunts."

After finishing speaking, and confirming that Shang Jianyao could no longer interrupt, Ren Jie breathed a sigh of relief.

The next second, Shang Jianyao raised his hand and shared his inner troubles:

"I'm a little hungry now."

"Next one." Ren Jie responded without hesitation.

A woman in her twenties pursed her lips and said:

“Wang Yafei, the director of our ‘Material Supply Market’, has been supporting the establishment of a ‘fertility center’, believing that this can reduce the excuses for female employees to take leave, and that it can make the relationship between the couple better.

"I know this is a personal opinion and cannot represent anything, but I couldn't help but argue with him, and he, he actually found an excuse to transfer me from my original position and put me in the hardest cleaning position... …”

After Ren Jie listened quietly, she raised her arms as if rocking a baby:

"God will punish sinners."

She said no more and said to Shen Du:

"It's your turn."

Shen Du scratched his hair:

"My children are becoming more and more disobedient..."

Next, each member shared their troubles such as the death of a relative, a rude husband, a cold wife, a naughty child, and unsatisfactory work, all of which were comforted by others.

At the end, Ren Jie returned to her original position and said to the members of the cult:

"Down below, receive Holy Communion."

Shang Jianyao's back suddenly straightened up, and his eyes were bright.

Soon, Ren Jie and Li Zhen came out of the inner room, one holding a cylindrical translucent container, and the other carrying various tableware.

The container was filled with a white, viscous liquid.

Ren Jie was the first to come to Shang Jianyao and scooped a spoonful of liquid into the lunch box in his hand:

"Here's the sacrament of the day, yogurt."

Shang Jianyao took a breath and responded with unusual piety:

"Praise for your tolerance!"

PS: Please vote for the third update~