Chapter 98 The Bridge of Reincarnation Continues! As long as even a fraction of sincerity remains, what is there to worry about...
In order to make their relationship develop more quickly in the future and not waste time in vain, Bitao finally hardened her heart.
He conjured a barrier with his Dharma form, enclosing the bright light within it. He raised his hand, activating a surge of wood spirit, and sent the bright light out of the range of the tribulation lightning that would affect it.
Then she looked at the immortals gathered not far away, their faces filled with worry and despair as they looked at her.
They faced off against Zhan Kui, whose five senses and five consciousnesses had already been unlocked by the others.
Zhan Kui was holding Guang Han in his arms. Guang Han's injuries were extremely severe. Zhan Kui didn't know what had happened before, and Guang Han didn't say that she had become like this to save Zhan Kui.
But his injuries were so severe that Zhan Kui was heartbroken.
She even complained about Meteor, asking why he didn't die sooner, why he did bad things and wouldn't admit his guilt, and why he had to make such a mess of things!
She nearly killed her favorite little lover. What if he injured his back or kidneys? How will he ever be able to play with her again?!
Zhan Kui's previous fondness for Liu Xing had long since vanished amidst Guang Han's painful groans.
She was like a foolish "master" who favored his concubine over his wife; if the concubine uttered a sound, even the wife's breathing would be considered wrong.
Even Guanghan herself didn't realize that she ultimately triumphed over the demeanor of a brothel owner.
So, a neckline that plunges to the pubic bone isn't entirely useless; sex appeal can be a powerful weapon in certain situations.
Moreover, the good things Meteor did before have now been proven by Zhan Kui, based on the battle process described to her by the immortals, to be all fake!
He didn't like her at first, and he let her mold him and take whatever she wanted, all just to possess her.
It turns out he was being kind to "himself" and also coveting her lucky charm!
Fortunately, Bitao had already seen through the true nature of this damn meteor!
Want to possess her? Maybe in your next life! Pah!
At that moment, Zhan Kui met Bi Tao's gaze and knew that their real plan was about to begin.
With some reluctance, she put down Guanghan, and before anyone could notice, she suddenly leaped out from the crowd, rushing towards Bitao amidst the thunder and lightning.
Bitao's Dharma image knelt on the ground, her fingers rapidly drawing an array on the ground.
The lightning above his head was like a waterfall; this tribulation of judgment was ultimately different from the tribulation of normal gifts.
No matter how much Bitao opened her spiritual platform, blood was already flowing from the corner of her mouth, and she was about to give way to her Dharma form!
Zhan Kui used the few remaining white spirits to move with incredible speed, silently reciting the incantation that Bi Tao had taught her to avoid injury during the lightning tribulation.
Fearful yet fearless, they ran towards the center of the thunderstorm.
Bitao said that as long as she did as Bitao said, she could gain merit while lying down and return to the heavenly realm!
Bitao's mind has always been outrageously sharp, and Zhan Kui's trust in her even exceeds her trust in herself.
Zhan Kui muttered, "Heavenly Mother, I am a good child. I open my spiritual platform, I open my divine sense, I offer no resistance..."
During her first competition to secure her position, she frantically darted through the clouds to avoid the lightning tribulation. Because she was a lucky koi fairy with boundless fortune, all the lightning tribulations were absorbed by Yun Chuan, the unlucky fellow who died with her at the time.
But now they are running towards the lightning tribulation on their own initiative, leaving all the immortals stunned.
Guanghan, barely clinging to life, saw Zhan Kui running towards Bitao and, drawing strength from who-knows-where, scrambled to her feet and chased after him.
Apart from his face, which was as beautiful as a peony, there was almost nothing intact on his body; his skin was torn and his clothes were tattered.
When Bitao revealed his Dharma form, he was also struck by lightning. He was so injured that he coughed up blood every time he opened his mouth.
It looks like he's about to die.
But he struggled to move his legs and chase after Zhan Kui, trying to call out to her, but no sound came out from his exposed chest.
He knew that Zhan Kui and Bi Tao were very close, but Bi Tao was now being punished because she had broken the heavenly rules!
Zhan Kui... can't just stand by and watch himself go to his death...
Everyone was worried about Zhan Kui running into the thunderstorm, and they never expected that Guang Han, a "half-dead" person, could still run.
The immortal closest to the two not only failed to stop Zhan Kui in time, but also failed to stop Guang Han, and was so anxious that he stomped his feet.
Zhan Kui didn't turn around at all, so he didn't notice Guang Han chasing after her.
The moment Zhan Kui ran into the array drawn by Bi Tao, his human form was suddenly filled with five thunderbolts.
However, instead of manifesting her true form like Bitao, she directly reverted to her original form.
—It turned into a huge, bright red carp, as tall as a two-story building, with an unbelievably round belly.
The big carp flicked its tail on the dry land and flipped itself over.
He thought to himself, "Bitao is really amazing! Opening my divine sense to welcome the Five Thunderbolts really doesn't hurt, it even feels a little comfortable, what's going on!"
At this moment, Bitao's Dharma form had already cracked open amidst the heavenly thunder and lightning.
Mingguang was sent to the crowd by Bitao using a burst of wood spirit, along with the barrier. However, for a short while, no one was able to open the barrier of the immortal's Dharma form in this realm.
He couldn't break through the barrier; he only ended up covered in wounds.
Kneeling within the barrier, hands supporting his weight on the ground, he looked up at the tribulation lightning above Bitao's head. The lightning grew increasingly fierce, shaking his mind and causing his liver and gall to shatter.
Small peach branch...
Mingguang was born a celestial being, able to summon wind and rain, and control all realms and command all immortals. Yet, for the first time, he felt so insignificant and powerless.
He couldn't save his little peach branch.
He couldn't save his little peach branch!
Bitao lowered her head again and said to Liuxing, whose face was now flushed, whose mind was clear, and who was ready to die without having put everything aside, "Senior Brother Liuxing, your cooking is really delicious."
"Although the scent of the Soul-Guiding Incense is a bit strong, I still enjoyed my meal. I can't ask anyone to help you collect the dried vegetables drying on the upper floor of the Heart-Asking Pavilion."
"I have no way of judging your merits or demerits."
Bitao held up the shooting star and said, "But didn't you want to continue the bridge of reincarnation in this world? I can help you with that."
Meteor also looked up at the sky. At this moment, the heavens were like a torn sea, with lightning pouring down like seawater.
In that instant, he felt incredibly small. All his past loves, hates, and convictions seemed like a drop in the ocean compared to the vast and mighty power of the heavens.
Among all living beings and the myriad realms, perhaps only such a fierce Heavenly Dao can maintain balance.
But the surging emotions in his chest were abruptly cut off by a single sentence from Bitao.
What are you saying?
Meteor laughed. "You have broken the heavenly rules. This torrent of lightning is all for killing you."
"You are already struggling to protect yourself, and you will soon perish with me under the wrath of heaven. How can you then help me reconnect the bridge of reincarnation in this world?"
Bitao's appearance was like cracked, parched earth, about to collapse in the blink of an eye, but she raised her head and laughed at the sky.
The runes just drawn beneath my feet, the wood spirit flowing and forming an array—it's a spirit-shifting array!
What she is best at and uses most often are formations.
"Why are you still laughing at a time like this? Aren't you afraid of dying?"
The meteor had done something wrong and was now willing to accept his punishment, but he didn't understand why Bitao, who had only revealed her Dharma form in the mortal realm, was being struck down like this. What was so funny about that?
Bitao said to Liuxing, "Senior Brother Liuxing, it's because you haven't attained a celestial position that you don't understand."
"Although you have confessed your crimes, it is only because you were forced by circumstances, and because you feel guilty towards the people you killed."
"You never believed in the way of Heaven. You felt that Heaven and Earth were unkind, that the way of Heaven was muddled and unjust."
Bitao gripped her natal peach wood sword with both hands, knelt on one knee with the sword tip pointing downwards, and performed a standard "respect for the ancestral master" gesture.
He indicated that he had confessed to the crime.
As the lightning condensed, thousands of bolts of lightning transformed into a long whip that reached the heavens and the earth, lashing towards Bitao!
The Heavenly Dao of Myriad Realms has personally taken action!
Bitao smiled and said, "But I feel that the way of Heaven is merciful, majestic, and just."
"Senior Brother Meteor, you possess the heart of all living beings, don't you understand?"
"Your beings created you, making you immortal. If you make a mistake, they will forgive you simply by admitting it."
"The celestial beings in the heavens are the gods of all living beings, and all living beings are also the gods of the celestial beings in the heavens."
"Our merits, demerits, life and death are left to the gods!"
Bitao raised the peach wood sword with the shooting star stuck in it high and plunged it downwards, embedding it into the spirit-shifting array beneath her feet.
As the raging lightning whip lashed her back, instantly severing her Dharma form in two—
Bitao's voice, mingling with the thunderous tribulation that swept across the sky, resounded throughout the heavens and the earth: "As long as half a bit of sincerity remains, what worry is there that the Supreme Law will not be effective—"①
In an instant, lightning streamed down from the sky like a galaxy—
Lightning enveloped the entire Wuman Mountain. This lightning was so fierce and violent that it seemed to want to cleanse all the filth of the entire star realm in one go!
Those immortal positions exposed in the mountains were blasted far away once again.
At that moment, the bright light's barrier was blasted open by the powerful lightning, causing cracks to appear.
Bitao's divine form, along with the peach wood sword in her hand, was completely shredded by the lightning.
Peach Blossom Armor and her soul shattered together, scattering peach blossoms across the sky like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.
The spirit-shifting array drawn by Bitao silently opened a rift leading to the underworld.
This crack was like a vortex from the abyss, sucking all of Bitao's shattered form, fragmented soul, and Peach Blossom Armor—including the soul of the meteor destroyed by lightning and a heart of all living beings that always shone brightly—into the ground.
Above the formation, the giant carp that had originally appeared had been half sucked in.
Just as her entire body was about to be swallowed by the crack and she was being teleported away by the array, Zhan Kui looked around and turned around. He saw that not far away from the lightning, the one who was blasted away was obviously the "skeleton" that had followed her - Guang Han!
Zhan Kui gasped, his clumsy body twisting wildly in the lightning, trying to force himself out of the crack in the ground.
Fish-shaped creatures have difficulty walking on the ground; if they want to move quickly, they can only roll in place.
She quickly rolled to Guanghan's side, her appearance was truly unbearable to look at.
At least when the tyrannical lightning was about to pulverize Guanghan, it rolled to the ground beneath her.
Then Zhan Kui slammed his tail on the ground—his clumsy, plump carp body shot into the air and swallowed Guang Han whole into his gaping maw.
Then she slammed her hand on the ground with a "thud," not even having time to catch her breath, and rolled once again towards the cracks in the formation and into the lightning—
Although she was a moment too late, she managed to squeeze in before the crack completely closed.
They almost squashed them!
—Meanwhile, deep underground!
The array that Bitao instructed Zhan Kui to draw in the underworld before Liu Xing went to Wu Manshan to make an appointment suddenly lit up!
The myriad ghosts of the underworld were utterly annihilated by the thousands of white spirits brought down by Zhan Kui.
However, because those white spirits were too pure and too corrosive to the underworld ghosts, they were like a swarm of moths drawn to a flame, yearning for "light and vitality," yet for a moment, they were completely unable to get close.
Above the core of the spirit-shifting array, a little girl, bound hand and foot and missing half of her face, was left next to the pile of white spirits.
No matter how hard they struggled, they couldn't break free.
The Spirit Transfer Array is extremely useful. All things in heaven and earth, living and dead, tangible and intangible, can be transferred as long as there is spiritual energy attached to it.
The only drawback is that everything transferred within the formation must have a "homogeneous object" at the destination.
The robe that Bitao had previously painted for Wei Danxin was made with her own blood.
When she accompanied Zhan Kui to the underworld last time, she intentionally left a piece of her soul on a fierce little ghost there.
At this moment, the "homogeneous" souls, acting as the core of the array, triggered the spirit-shifting array.
A crack appeared around the little girl, forming the core of the formation.
The next instant—a storm of light that should never have appeared in the underworld, and boundless vitality, surged wildly into the crack—
The countless ghosts, who had fought tooth and nail for Bai Ling, fled in terror under the vast and boundless lightning, some even plunging headlong into the River of Forgotten Souls, disregarding their own lives.
The little girl at the heart of the formation was unable to escape in time because she was bound too tightly by the net that restrained the evil spirits.
Struck by lightning, he was writhed like a worm, about to roll into the karmic fire that corroded his soul!
Just then, amidst the crack and the seemingly endless lightning, a peach branch quietly sprouted.
It took root and grew into a towering tree in no time.
Peach branch stopped the little girl just before she was about to fall into the flames.
The peach tree roots continued to grow and climb from the ground, reaching all the way to the edge of the broken Bridge of Reincarnation.
Lightning continued to pour into the formation.
The darkness that should have been forever shrouded in night has been transformed into a majestic "daylight".
The peach wood trunk extended its branches endlessly, reaching into the infinite, blocking and embracing all the scattered lightning flashes.
Then, as if alive, the branches gathered together, writhing and shimmering with lightning. They stretched from one end of the broken Bridge of Reincarnation to the other.
The branches, like nimble fingers, densely wrapped around both sides of the broken Bridge of Reincarnation.
Finally, with a sharp pull, the Peach Branch continued to extend the Bridge of Reincarnation!
"boom!"
It was a resounding echo from the netherworld.
"boom!"
It was the sound of the chains on the octagonal eaves of the Wenxin Pavilion breaking in unison, the sound of the thousand-year-old Ghost-Suppressing Tower collapsing.
"Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom—"
The entire star realm trembled incessantly, and the mountains and rivers of the human world continuously emitted choked tremors and mournful cries.
Rumble... that was the sound of the heavenly tribulation finally receding into the distance.
Before the lightning had completely subsided, Mingguang broke through the barrier and stumbled to the open space that had been scorched by the lightning tribulation.
He looked around frantically, but no matter how much he wiped his eyes, he could no longer see Bitao.
He staggered, his heart breaking and his spirits shattered, utterly devastated.
His little peach branch... died.
It was annihilated by the lightning tribulation.
It was to save him.
Mingguang felt as if his heart had stopped beating.
Blood trickled down his lips, but he didn't scream or even show any sign of his eyes widening in horror.
He wandered aimlessly across the scorched earth, his empty eyes beginning to dim like the night, and soon... he could see nothing at all.
When Yun Chuan and the others arrived later, they were almost scared out of their wits when they saw what they saw: "Everyone, quickly follow me to form a healing array! Ming Guang's heart meridian is broken, and he is rapidly undergoing the five signs of decay!"
Mingguang fell to his knees on the ground, and it seemed that someone came to help him up and pull him up.
But all he could hear was thunder.
I can't feel anything anymore.
He was about to lose all five senses. Even the healing formation that had incorporated him and countless immortals had joined in to infuse him with spiritual energy could not stop his decline.
If this continues, he will still die.
They did not die in this world, but returned to heaven and were reborn in a higher position.
Instead, they died completely, their souls vanished, and their immortality and spirit collapsed.
Just then, the thick clouds of the lightning tribulation dispersed completely, and a ray of sunlight shone down from the sky.
The ground continued to shake for some unknown reason, and the rumbling sounds of mountains collapsing could be heard everywhere.
At this moment, the plants and trees on Wuman Mountain, which had been nourished by the peach blossoms, sent a gentle breeze through them as they trembled.
A gentle breeze stirred up the peach petals that had not yet dispersed, which had been left in the mountains, and brushed against Mingguang's muddy face.
Like an incredibly gentle kiss.
Mingguang's senses, which had been on the verge of being lost, suddenly returned, and he reached out like a madman, grabbing the falling petals.
Immediately afterwards, he used his spiritual power to condense a small barrier, just like the one that protected him, and began to collect flower petals from the mountains.
Floating in mid-air, he jumped up to grab it; deep into the muddy ground, he lay down and dug.
His heart suddenly stopped breaking down.
He even felt an indescribable surge of joy from the bottom of his heart.
These... these are all remnants of Xiao Taozhi's soul, torn apart by heavenly lightning!
A remnant soul... as long as she has a remnant soul, she's not dead!
She will not die.
Mingguang was well-versed in official documents from all realms. He was always diligent and conscientious, wishing he could memorize all the official documents, ancient books, every formation, and every set of moves by heart, as if only in this way could he be worthy of his status.
Now... now, at this critical moment, he remembered the ancient book that recorded the underworld!
One of the methods describes how to repair or even reshape a remnant soul!
With just one million merits, he can reshape the soul of the remnant!
It was as if Mingguang had found a single log to support him amidst a raging torrent, which held up his crumbling will.
When everyone saw that he had suddenly recovered, they searched everywhere for the remnants of Bitao's soul, and no one stopped him.
Because everyone was too preoccupied to care about that anymore.
It was already broad daylight.
They all looked up into the air.
In the mountains and forests, underground, in towns, everywhere, countless ghosts rose up with the sunlight.
Weak, incomplete, whole, male, female, old, young—these souls, which shouldn't have appeared in broad daylight, all rose into the air at this moment.
They were silent at first, like thousands of bright lamps rising into the sky at the same time, their light almost overshadowing the dawn.
Then they began to cry softly, which eventually developed into shrieks.
Ten thousand ghosts wept, ten thousand souls howled!
Its power was earth-shattering, its pain sharp and piercing, its sorrow utterly devastating.
The immortals had no choice but to shut off their hearing to avoid having their minds damaged by the ghostly howl.
However, soon, all these souls rushed in one direction—towards the collapsed Wenxin Pavilion.
Under the sunlight, the souls huddled together and swayed in the wind, like willow catkins drifting in the spring breeze, carrying countless seeds that symbolize new life.
And at this moment, the source of these surging souls is—below the Netherworld.
Amidst the dense peach branches on the bridge, the lightning gradually dissipated and was absorbed, but soon a soft glow appeared.
The light was not dazzling, but it illuminated the path of reincarnation—it came from the hearts of all beings embedded in the overlapping peach branches.
Under the light of the hearts of all beings, the karmic fire that was originally flowing everywhere under the bridge, which could burn souls with just a little bit of it, now flowed back under the bridge like a well-behaved child being called home by his mother for dinner at nightfall, extinguishing most of the raging flames.
The fleeing ghosts stopped, and their wailing abruptly ceased.
All the ghosts stared blankly at the bridge of reincarnation that had been reconnected in the blink of an eye.
The first person to step onto this brand-new bridge of reincarnation was the little girl who was instructed by Bitao to be bound to the spirit-shifting array as its core by Zhan Kui.
She was clever and ruthless enough to seize the opportunity amidst the chaos and completely restore her soul.
The piece of soul that restored her face was torn from a peach wood branch.
She has now regained her true appearance, just as Bitao had imagined, she is incredibly beautiful and lovely.
She has always been bold, but after witnessing how many times reincarnation requires exchanging one life for another, she cautiously stepped onto the Bridge of Reincarnation, a bridge no one dared to cross.
She didn't want to stay here any longer.
She has forgotten everything about her past life during the long time she has been a dead soul.
She wants to be reincarnated.
All souls desire reincarnation.
She walked shakily onto the bridge.
She is prepared to face the scorching flames of karma; she will grit her teeth and endure it so as not to fall.
But she walked safely to the middle of the bridge.
Nothing happened.
A bridge is a bridge.
Stable and solid.
Although it was constructed from countless peach branches, it was unlike the bridge she had seen before, which was made of lightning-struck wood and could not withstand the karmic fire.
So... can she reincarnate?
She looked into the darkness on the other side of the bridge.
She gritted her teeth, stopped lingering, and bravely ran over!
Even at this point, the myriad ghosts still did not swarm forward to vie for the chance of reincarnation.
At the end of the bridge, the voice of the messenger guiding the ghosts could be heard.
"Huh? Why is there a little sister who's been reincarnated here?"
"Didn't they say that the Bridge of Reincarnation here has broken, and that all kinds of ghosts are causing havoc on the world? And that the ghost officials of this world are also harming the common people. They urgently need to send us here to stabilize this underworld?"
"Isn't this Bridge of Reincarnation perfectly fine? It even has a light on?"
The ghost messenger took out a book of reincarnation that recorded souls, and used his fingertips to gather ghostly energy into a pen, which he then suspended above the book of reincarnation.
He bowed slightly and asked gently, "Little sister... what's your name? What year were you born? Where did you live? How did you die?"
"I...I don't remember anything."
As soon as the voice fell, the ten thousand ghosts whose souls were still intact surged toward the Bridge of Reincarnation.
Meanwhile, in the celestial realm.
Because the Fairy of the Peach Blossom violated the heavenly rules, she was punished by the Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation, which tore her soul apart and caused her to fall from her immortal position. The Silver River Net had already been extinguished.
But for some reason, it suddenly lit up again.
The scene that was shown was a bit strange; it was from the underworld—a perspective from which countless souls were trampled underfoot.
On the six imperial competition platforms of Chongxiao, the enormous Silver Han Net, which displays the rankings of the immortals, shows that the merits of the Peach Blossom Immortal are increasing at an incredible speed!
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