I'm Trapped in the Block

Chapter 353: Chapter 350: Infinite Construction

This time, the builder’s hands moved so fast they left a trail of afterimages.

His left hand lay flat, palm up, while his right formed a claw and snapped down. The Giant God’s deep voice boomed once more:

”Construct: Prison!”

Instantly, the air grew still. Mo Ling felt as though the Block were hemmed in by countless walls. Invisible solids seemed to materialize in the air—unseen, but incredibly hard.

Jin Lou, still in motion, slammed into one of these walls. It reached out a hand in confusion, then froze in place.

”It’s all stone!”

It shouted to the Block.

Mo Ling knew it too, of course. These invisible stones seemed to fill every inch of space, making it impossible to move.

’So this is... the Prison?’

He suddenly understood what the Giant God meant.

However, even with everyone trapped, the Giant God’s hands did not stop moving.

His hands shifted again. In a blur, he brought his palms together and raised them to his lips.

”Construct: Temple!”

As the deep voice rang out, Mo Ling suddenly heard the rhythmic clacking of stone from all around.

CLICK, CLACK, CLACK... CLICK, CLACK, CLACK...

It was like someone gently rolling Buddhist Beads.

As the beads turned, the sound was joined by the hollow knock of a wooden fish. Mo Ling even heard faint murmurs, as if someone were chanting sutras in the distance.

The chanting drew closer, and the surroundings grew misty. The smoke of incense, rising from some unknown source, began to spread, coiling over the black-and-white land.

Figures appeared within the incense smoke. They knelt on the ground, encircling the Block and muttering ceaselessly.

Some of the figures were human, others were different humanoid creatures, but all were made of white-light stone. They all seemed incredibly devout, kowtowing repeatedly to the Block while muttering incantations.

”Please, spirit, bless me! Make me rich and powerful, so I can crush all the clansmen who look down on me...”

”Please, spirit, bless me. Make the one I love leave his partner and fall deeply in love with me. I know I can give him a better life...”

”Please, spirit, bless me. Grant me unparalleled wisdom. I want to climb, step-by-step, to the highest seat of power...”

”Spirit, I want power...”

”Spirit, I want eternal youth...”

”Spirit...”

Cravings. Endless desire. In an instant, it all coiled around the Block along with the incense smoke.

Mo Ling had a shocking realization.

’I’m the idol in the temple!’

Immobile, bearing the incense, and bearing the desires.

Both good desires and evil ones, he had to accept them all.

The chaotic desires coiled around him with the incense smoke. Mo Ling wanted to dodge, but the invisible stones held him fast, leaving him unable to move.

In an instant, Mo Ling’s mind was flooded with those desires, completely overwhelming his own thoughts.

Nearby, Jin Lou seemed to have suffered the same fate, shutting down completely where it stood.

However, the blindfolded Li Luo didn’t see any of the figures.

She only wondered why the smell of incense in the air was getting stronger.

The voices of desire slowly reached her ears, and she began to make out the raw, unveiled cravings they expressed.

”How ugly.”

These desires felt familiar to her.

The thick incense was choking her. It reminded her of the banquets she used to attend, with their swirling cigarette smoke and the reek of alcohol, where the stench of desire seemed to rise from everyone’s head.

COUGH!

Li Luo couldn’t help but let out a cough.

But that single cough was enough to jolt the temple’s idol awake.

Mo Ling suddenly wondered, ’Why am I letting myself get absorbed by these desires?’

He instantly pulled his consciousness back, retreating into the Block.

’Was that an illusion?’ Mo Ling realized belatedly.

The sudden incense, the worshipping figures—none of it felt quite real to Mo Ling.

It seemed to be a mental attack that created illusions and weaponized desire. The builder’s repertoire of techniques was truly astounding.

However, now that he’d come to his senses, the solution was simple.

’If there are no believers, I won’t have to hear their desires!’

Mo Ling cautiously extended his consciousness outward again.

Sure enough, the figures began to drone on about their desires, and the swirling incense once again coiled toward him.

”Please, spirit, bless me...”

”No blessings for you!” Mo Ling instantly targeted the muttering figure and sliced it in half.

”Spirit, I want...”

”No, you don’t!”

”Spir—”

”Shut up!”

Mo Ling’s attacks were precise. He teleported to and sliced apart anyone who tried to speak. The incense kept coiling around him, but the distracting thoughts of desire no longer flooded his mind.

Finally, all the figures had been reduced to broken chunks of stone scattered across the ground.

The incense still swirled, but the clamor of prayers was gone.

”Much quieter.” Mo Ling breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally dealt with all the believers.

However, while the ”Temple” problem was solved, the ”Prison” problem remained. The invisible stones were still floating in the air, keeping them trapped.

Not only that, but when Mo Ling looked at Jin Lou, he saw it was still shut down.

’What’s wrong with it?’

’Could it be that the believers it and I saw weren’t the same group?’

Come to think of it, if ”Temple” was truly a hallucinatory attack, that was a distinct possibility.

The thought made Mo Ling grow worried again.

However, just as Mo Ling was worrying, Jin Lou’s arm twitched. A moment later, its body began to move again.

Except now, the reactivated Jin Lou seemed dazed, looking all around itself.

”Fire Thief...”

”Hell Island...”

It muttered something, then suddenly stood still and looked up at the Giant God in the sky.

”The builder.”

Jin Lou reached out and tapped the invisible stone in front of it.

”This is... the Prison.”

It was like a newborn child, repeating the names of things around it. The sight was unnerving to Mo Ling.

”The lock to the Prison is on the direct line between you and the builder, about twenty meters out and slightly to the left. Try attacking that spot. The Prison will be undone.”

It suddenly raised its head and said this to Mo Ling.

Mo Ling didn’t hesitate, launching a teleportation attack at the spot Jin Lou had indicated.

To Mo Ling’s eyes, the spot was empty air. Yet the instant his attack landed, a lock made of white-light stone suddenly appeared inside the Block.

The stone lock fell to the floor and broke in two as its shackle snapped open.

Outside, the invisible stones that had been floating in the air instantly vanished. The Block’s movements were no longer restricted, and it could move freely once more.

”It seems you succeeded.”

Jin Lou reached out, feeling the air in front of it.

”A future I had never foreseen... It happened again.”