Chapter 936 - 296: Night Voyage

Han Zhan was enveloped by the golden ticket and transported through the teleportation array at the bottom of the pot, emerging at the mouth of the pot.

A boat had been waiting here for quite some time.

As Han Zhan arrived on the boat, the world turned completely black, as if day had suddenly become night.

The River of Eternal Darkness truly lives up to its name.

At the moment Han Zhan boarded the boat, it began to sail forward.

Strangely, Han Zhan had just left the Water Planet not long ago, and it seemed he had some unresolved connection with this boat.

However, compared to the "luxurious" giant ship on the Water Planet, this boat was much smaller.

If one were to describe it, it was more like an ancient wooden passenger boat, only larger, with enough internal space to seat four or five people.

The boat sailed on the River of Eternal Darkness, stirring a ripple in the water.

Sailing at night was an experience in itself, if not for it being the River of Eternal Darkness.

Han Zhan’s clenched palms were slightly sweaty.

In the silence of extinction, he could even hear his own heartbeat.

Thump! Thump!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Han Zhan froze for a moment.

He listened carefully again, the surprise on his face turning into vigilance.

He turned around abruptly, only to see, as expected, a shadowy figure silently sitting in another corner of the boat cabin!

The source of the second heartbeat was found!

"Who are you?"

Han Zhan frowned, feeling increasingly wary.

With his current strength surpassing that of gods, his senses were incredibly sharp, yet he hadn’t noticed the person’s presence.

This made the person in Han Zhan’s mind even more mysterious and dangerous.

"Who am I?"

As the person’s hoarse voice sounded, Han Zhan’s eyes, gradually adjusting to the dim environment, barely made out the features of the figure.

It was a very old man.

So old that his face was full of wrinkles, almost stacked upon each other, making his already unclear features even more indistinct.

"You don’t need to know who I am."

"You just need to know, we are on the same boat."

Han Zhan: "..."

Isn’t that obvious?

Even if you didn’t say it, I would know.

Han Zhan muttered internally, the person’s voice was low and hoarse, with a ghostly vibe, making it even eerier in the environment of the River of Eternal Darkness.

"Hold on tight, the boat is about to speed up."

The old man spoke up.

As if to confirm his words, the boat surged forward, the sudden acceleration almost knocking Han Zhan over.

Luckily, he managed to grab hold of the boat’s frame in time.

Splish splash.

Outside the wooden boat, the sound of water breaking against the boat rang out; the water’s sound was gentle, not as terrifying as rumored.

"Do you know why?"

The old man spoke as if he could guess what Han Zhan was thinking.

"Because we are on the surface of the River of Eternal Darkness, which is equivalent to being inside it."

"Inside? Is there a difference?"

"The difference is, the River of Eternal Darkness is mercilessly annihilating to those not yet devoured, but indifferent to those already swallowed."

The old man emphasized the words "already swallowed."

Hearing this, Han Zhan’s heart sank.

"That’s right, we are inside the River of Eternal Darkness, we have already been devoured by it."

As the old man spoke, Han Zhan carefully discerned that the person’s voice had no obvious fluctuations, and his expression was normal, not like he was lying.

Could it be that he was truly swallowed by the River of Eternal Darkness?!

"Then do we still have a chance to leave this place?"

Han Zhan pondered for a moment before asking.

"Leave? Hahahaha, young man, thank you for bringing me the funniest joke I’ve ever heard."

Trying to leave the River of Eternal Darkness is indeed an enormous joke.

Not even the Creator God can achieve it.

Han Zhan’s heart sank.

Now he wasn’t sure if Dawn had deceived him about this matter, or if their purpose was to have him swallowed by the River of Eternal Darkness.

Ultimately, Han Zhan decided to trust Dawn this time.

Since I’ve come, I might as well stay.

"Where will this boat eventually go?" Han Zhan, having steadied his mind, exhaled a turbid breath and continued to ask.

"This boat will ultimately sail towards death."

The old man didn’t hide it and told him straightforwardly.

Han Zhan: "..."

This definitely wasn’t good news.

"Why do you know so much?" Han Zhan curiously asked another question.

He thought the old man would give an answer as before.

To his surprise, the old man was caught off guard by the question.

"Yes... why... do I know..."

The old man muttered to himself hesitantly.

He no longer spoke, sinking into silence in the darkness like a meditating monk.

Only the sound of trickling water continued to flow from outside the boat into the cabin.

Just as Han Zhan thought the old man wouldn’t speak again,

the mysterious old man suddenly lightly tapped on the boat’s window, humming a rhythmical tune.

It seemed to be a song Han Zhan had never heard before, the hoarse and low voice singing with a sense of weathered time.

"Open the window and take a look at the river surface."

"We are born, only to die."

At these words, Han Zhan pushed open the boat’s window, looking down at the surface of the River of Eternal Darkness.

In the next second, his eyes widened.

If the appearance of the mysterious old man left him feeling shocked and wary, then seeing the scene under the river left him only in awe.

It was... a scene from the dawn of a cosmic era!

The old man’s words still echoed by his ears.

Born to die.

The universe was born from a blazing white, tiny Singularity, and at the moment of the Big Bang, it was like a soul-stirring creation firework.

If not on the River of Eternal Darkness, such scenes could never be seen.

Especially seeing such a scene, with the old man’s rhythm peculiar, more like a rare folk ballad humming, within the passage of time, emerged the majestic vastness of the universe’s unfolding.

The old man sang, Han Zhan watched the river surface, only the wooden boat did not stop.

Under the cover of night, it continued to swiftly travel across the river, never ceasing.

Han Zhan noticed.

As the wooden boat kept moving forward, the scenes beneath the river continued to change.

From the creation of the cosmos to the coalescence of planets, from extinction darkness to a myriad of shining stars.

In Han Zhan’s eyes, he seemed to transform into the Cosmic Will, quietly comprehending the changes.

Han Zhan’s Creation Dao was growing rapidly.

Nothing could bring more insight into creation than witnessing the birth and demise of a universe with one’s own eyes.

The River of Eternal Darkness may be grim and terrifying, but who would’ve thought it held such encounters?

The cosmic era in Han Zhan’s eyes grew ever more magnificent and grand, gaining vitality, as life emerged, and the old man’s song grew increasingly long and enduring.

Suddenly, the singing abruptly stopped.

The splendid and brilliant cosmic era beneath the river also came to an abrupt halt.

Extinction descended.

"I seem to know... who I am..."

The old man slowly lifted his bowed head, his eyes, for a brief moment, cleared.

"I am—the Cosmic Will—swallowed by the River of Eternal Darkness."