"Wake up!"
A loud shout suddenly rang in his mind. Orochimaru stopped walking, his mind instantly clearing, but one foot had already stepped into the river.
In the intoxicating fragrance of flowers, Orochimaru barely steadied himself, wondering in surprise, "What's going on?"
"It should be a trick."
The genie extended his body, then quickly pulled it back.
"There are no red flowers on the other side of the river. It seems you can only see and smell them here."
"A trick?"
Orochimaru licked his lips, deeply wary.
He didn't believe Sage of Six Paths was targeting him. It seemed that every spirit coming here would be attacked by the trick. Such a large range and such a terrible effect made this power chilling.
Sensing Orochimaru's emotional fluctuations, the genie glanced at him, "Don't overestimate it. Your resistance to tricks isn't high, not to mention you're in a pure spirit form now."
Spirits are formless and intangible, almost immune to all physical and ninja skill damage. But from another perspective, because they lack a stable form as an anchor, they are very easily swayed and affected or distorted by tricks.
"Sage of Six Paths has left some room for struggle."
The genie pointed to the riverbank, "Look, some spirits have broken free with their own will."
Orochimaru turned his head to look, only then noticing quite a few spirits on the riverbank.
Some stayed motionless on the shore, but more were moving forward and backward, as if drunk, their eyes flickering between clear and dazed.
Here on the bank of the River of Three Crossings, in the scent of death flowers, the influence grew stronger as time passed.
"These should be spirits with strong attachments in their hearts."
The genie smiled, "Look there, there's someone you know."
Orochimaru walked for a while in the direction the genie pointed and saw a familiar figure. His gaze sharpened. "Sakumo?"
A white-haired man sat cross-legged by the river, his eye sockets deep, his nose high, his thin lips pursed, his gaunt face covered with stubble.
Noticing Orochimaru's attention, he slightly raised his drooping head, a hint of clarity flashing in his eyes, but he quickly fell into a daze again.
--This wasn't the person he was waiting for.
"Still troubled by that matter."
Orochimaru couldn't help but feel a bit sad, but he wasn't here to counsel his former friend.
Urged by the genie, Orochimaru followed the pulling force and jumped directly into the River of Three Crossings.
Splash, splash...
Spirits don't need to breathe. Even in this illusory river, he felt somewhat at home, indescribably free.
Orochimaru moved his body, his mind more relaxed than ever before. The troubles of the mortal world seemed unrelated to him. Even the so-called dream of omniscience and eternal life was nothing. He had already found bliss here.
Orochimaru's lips curved slightly, his smile happier than ever before. The scent of death flowers grew stronger in the River of Three Crossings, and his mind seemed to be even more intoxicated.
"Although I expected it, your resistance is really low. No wonder the Sharingan is your weakness."
The genie muttered and directly chose a crazy song to loop in Orochimaru's mind.
The demonic sound from a different land directly made Orochimaru shudder. The spirit trembled a few times.
"Can you make it stop?" Orochimaru glanced at the genie. "I'm awake now."
"Are you sure?"
The genie didn't think so, "Can you guarantee you won't be controlled by the trick again? The further we go, the stronger the trick's power will be."
In fact, even Uchiha Madara wasn't staying awake in this Pure Land, let alone Orochimaru, whose spirit was already damaged.
Orochimaru frowned slightly, but thinking about his previous experience, he couldn't say anything to argue. He could only endure the demonic sound in his head and swim forward with the flow.
With him were countless other spirits, intoxicated by the scent of death flowers. As they moved forward, their expressions grew more dazed, and their features began to blur. Finally, their shapes turned into tadpole-like blue light clusters, no longer showing any human form.
"Tsk tsk..." The genie examined these light clusters, a mysterious smile on his lips, wondering what he was thinking.
Orochimaru didn't have the leisure to care. He used the demonic sound in his head to resist the bewilderment of the death flower fragrance, and glanced at his companions. Noticing that they were moving downwards, his eyes narrowed. "Where are they going?"
"River of Three Crossings, River of Three Crossings. Different people enter this river, and they will naturally head toward different paths."
The genie smiled, "Don't follow them. There's nothing you want there."
Orochimaru nodded, trying to resist the tendency of his body to sink.
Even if he wasn't affected by the trick, his spirit was still incomplete, after all. It wouldn't be easy to avoid falling into the lower layers.
The undercurrent surged. Orochimaru floated up and down in the River of Three Crossings, barely managing to persevere to the end.
Suddenly, his vision opened up. He arrived at a wide, gray space, filled with floating mist and layers of hazy light.
Looking up, the sky was exceptionally clear, a dreamy blue seemingly boundless, with stars twinkling, but much lower than expected.
Orochimaru's heart stirred. He floated up, reaching a 'star' near him, and saw a familiar face.
It was the Third Kazekage, who had arrived before him.
At this moment, his eyes were closed, as if immersed in a great dream. Dust-like gray substances fell from his spirit, and his aura grew more solid.
Orochimaru looked at the things separating from the Third Kazekage's spirit and instinctively felt a sense of rejection. "What are these things?"
"Impurities in the spirit, I guess."
The genie shrugged, "That doesn't sound quite right. Anyway, they're everything in human chakra souls that's different from Ootsuki."
"Different?"
Orochimaru glanced at the 'stars' in the sky, and suddenly remembered the God of Death he had briefly met before. His eyes flickered, and he immediately understood Sage of Six Paths' plan.
--He was creating soldiers, soldiers similar to the Ootsuki bloodline.
Like his curse marks, the Pure Land was continuously influencing these souls.
The reason for doing so was also obvious.
Among the Akatsuki Uchiha, Orochimaru wasn't the only one who knew about the Ootsuki clan. This eldest son of Ootsuki Kaguya knew even more than him, and was even clearer about their threat. How could he not make preparations?
In Sage of Six Paths' mind, he probably had more faith in the power of the Ootsuki bloodline than in the ninja of the ninja world.
Orochimaru looked up and down at the Third Kazekage and licked his lips involuntarily. "Impurities... What would happen if too many of these impurities were separated?"
"Haven't you already seen it?"
The genie spread his hands, "Of course, they would break down into pure soul energy. That's the whole purpose of our coming here."
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