I'm Trapped in the Block

Chapter 286: Chapter 284: Coalescence

”You’re leaving?”

”Yes, we want to see the outside world.” The little person replied, ”The Chali Race has been on this island for far, far too long.”

There was a hint of melancholy in his voice.

Mo Ling froze for a moment, then instantly understood his thoughts.

Ever since Bai Zhou came to this island, the minds of the Chali Race were no longer closed off. They yearned for the world beyond the island and wanted to know if the things Bai Zhou told them were true.

But they had been forcefully trapped on the island, fighting against the schools of fish for twenty-two hundred years.

”This island is too small. There are some things we can only imagine. I want to see more beautiful scenery, too,” the little person said wistfully. ”Snow-white mountains, lakes so vast you can’t see the other side, deserts of endless sand...”

The more they knew, the stronger their desire for knowledge grew. It was the same for the Chali Race.

”But how can you leave with the mist?” Mo Ling asked, confused.

”We need someone who isn’t affected by the mist to lead our entire race far away from the island. Although the mist will slowly follow, as long as we run fast enough, it will always be behind us, never able to catch up.”

Hearing the little person’s explanation, Mo Ling understood instantly.

’Someone who isn’t affected by the mist... isn’t that me?’

So they needed his help after all.

”What do I need to do?” Mo Ling didn’t mind helping. Getting the mist to leave the island was a good thing, too.

”Do you remember the way to the Moon Altar?” the little person asked.

”I do.”

”Go to the Moon Altar first and gather all our people.”

...

Soon, Mo Ling followed the route from his memory and returned to the Moon Altar.

The Moon Altar was now dim and lightless, just as it had been when Mo Ling first saw it. But even without its glow, the altar still looked magnificent.

”This Moon Altar will probably remain here forever,” the little person said with a sigh.

”What about the previous Moon Altars?”

Hearing Mo Ling’s question, the little person pointed to the sky. ”The schools of fish make them fly up into the sky and hide them. That way, the newborn Fishmen will continue to build Moon Altars.”

’So that’s how it is.’ Mo Ling nodded.

”Put me on any one of the Immortal Wood Balls.”

”Okay.”

Mo Ling walked onto the Moon Altar and found the nearest fish eye. The little person seized the chance to jump onto it, his root-like tendrils piercing into the Immortal Wood Ball.

In an instant, Mo Ling thought he saw a transparent river flowing along the runic lines of the Moon Altar, continuously converging on the little person’s tendrils.

Just like when he absorbed the mass of Remnants, a stream of transparent, jelly-like substance flowed along the tendrils and into the little person’s body.

This time, however, it took much longer.

Mo Ling waited for a long time before the little person slowly retracted his tendrils.

Moreover, after absorbing the Remnants this time, the little person froze in place for a long while, completely unresponsive. Even when Mo Ling waved a hand in front of his face a few times, he didn’t react.

”Are you okay?”

Only after Mo Ling asked several times in a row did the little person finally snap out of it as if suddenly waking up.

”I’m fine. There are too many people in here now. It’s a bit noisy.”

The little person scratched his head, looking troubled.

This answer piqued Mo Ling’s curiosity.

”What’s it like inside that relic?”

The little person thought for a moment and replied, ”It’s a lot like Master’s Memory World from before, except everything in here is made of wood. There are many magnificent palaces and pavilions, and it’s very large...”

’Magnificent palaces and pavilions?’

”Did you build them?”

”Of course not. They’ve always been there.”

Hearing the little person’s answer, Mo Ling, though still curious, didn’t press the matter.

’Maybe this relic has other functions.’

”You’re planning to put all your people inside?” At this point, Mo Ling had a general idea of the little person’s plan.

”That’s right. It’s huge inside, even bigger than the island. It can definitely fit everyone,” the little person answered with certainty.

Mo Ling nodded. ”Then what about the rest of your people?”

”They usually gather by the sea. Let’s go take a look. I have a way to make them all come over.”

”Alright.”

Mo Ling once again brought the little person to the nearby seashore.

The little person hopped down from Mo Ling’s shoulder, walked onto the beach, and let the waves crash against him.

Just as he was about to be submerged by the seawater, the little person plunged his tendrils into the ground beneath him. His arms began to sway with the waves, rising and falling.

He was like a dry twig buried in the sand, swaying unsteadily in the surf.

After a few waves, the little person’s movements became more and more rhythmic. From a distance, it looked as if he were performing some kind of dance in the water.

Sometimes submerged, sometimes surfacing, the little person’s dance cycled endlessly with the ebb and flow of the waves. The rhythm of the two gradually aligned until they were in perfect sync.

Not only that, but slowly, the little person’s dance began to precede the waves. For a moment, it was impossible to tell whether he was anticipating the waves’ rhythm or controlling their rise and fall.

The little person raised his hand, and a wave would surge forward to engulf him.

The little person lowered his hand, and the wave would slowly recede back into the sea.

The sea itself seemed to be dancing gracefully to the little person’s command!

The waves crashed in rhythm, and the dancing little person seemed to merge into the ocean, becoming one with it.

Along with this rhythmic crashing, countless Remnants began to appear in the sea. Their transparent bodies weren’t conspicuous in the water, but as they gathered together, the entire surface of the ocean looked as if it had been coated in a thick layer of glue.

These Remnants quickly converged on the little person, slipping into his body with the splashing waves.

From a distance, it looked like another turbulent wave was rolling in, only to come to an abrupt halt the moment it reached the little person.

As more and more Remnants appeared, they began to affect the rhythm of the ocean waves, slowly replacing them. They rolled onto the shore, wave after wave, and merged into the little person’s body.

In that moment, the little person was like a nail hammered into the beach, incredibly conspicuous.

All the Remnants that came near were absorbed by him.

The little person’s dance grew more and more unrestrained. Many more Remnants appeared on the surface of the distant sea, seemingly drawn by his dance, swimming over without a second thought.

The tide of Remnants also lasted for a long time. The little person’s dance never stopped until the very last Remnant had entered his body.

As a wave crashed ashore, the little person’s tendrils suddenly loosened, and he was washed onto the beach with the surf.

He lay on the sand, his eyes staring blankly at the sky.

Seeing that the next wave was about to hit, Mo Ling quickly went forward and picked up the little person to prevent him from being swept back into the sea.

At this moment, the little person seemed to have reverted to his true nature as a root carving, completely lifeless.

The moment Mo Ling took the little person in his hand, he felt a heavy mist press down on him.

He clearly wasn’t supposed to be affected by the mist, but this fog, so thick it was almost solid, still exerted considerable pressure on him.

The little person in his hand stiffly turned his head to look at Mo Ling. He stared blankly for a long time before finally coming to his senses.

The moment he recovered, a helpless sigh escaped the little person’s lips:

”So noisy.”