Chapter 5469 Lost
In the beginning, there was the Divine General.
Higher than the Divine Envoys (or Divine Messengers), the next level up was the Divine Master.
The strength of an envoy reached the supreme-peak level, and the power of this Demon Sound Divine General probably surpa.s.sed even the likes of Wu Zuo and Bai Junw.a.n.g among the supreme-peak.
Only the Four Great Temple Masters could be comparable to such figures.
In the Four Great Secret Realms, these individuals were invincible.
Jian Wushuang had to be cautious.
"You"re quite impressive. I heard about you from Wu Zuo. You can call me Moyin," the Demon Sound Divine General, Moyin, said indifferently.
Jian Wushuang was somewhat flattered. He hadn"t expected to be so famous, not only known by the tier 5 Emperor of the Original Universe but also recognized by the Demon Sound Divine General.
Divine General Moyin raised his hand, and a beam of light descended. The dark red ground beneath began to collapse, eventually transforming into a bubbling lava purgatory.
"Entering here is just the first step. This purgatory has three bridges; everything depends on your luck!" he declared.
Jian Wushuang looked at the purgatory beneath his feet, his mind shaken. He replied, "Yes!"
Although he felt immense danger, it came with tremendous opportunities.
His figure began to descend. From above, it appeared as a purgatory, but when he reached the bottom, the scene changed.
After he entered the purgatory, the ground reverted to its dark red color, as if no changes had occurred.
The Demon Sound Divine General slowly opened his eyes, seeing through s.p.a.ce with a glance and looking at Jian Wushuang. In his heart, he mused, "Is this guy the favored one of the era? Is he truly that powerful?"
Having just revived, his strength had returned to its peak.
A character who had already fallen, upon revival, although his strength was restored, he no longer had the hope of becoming the Universe Master in this lifetime.
How unwilling!
If that were the case, it would have been better to remain fallen.
Now, he, who was still alive, was merely a spirit, a trace of soul selected from the past timeline by the Zhen Ling. Placing the flesh back and integrating the soul, would he truly be himself?
Contemplating this, Divine General Moyin slowly closed his eyes.
After entering the purgatory, Jian Wushuang found himself on a winding path. It was unremarkable, devoid of any peculiarities or obstacles. Walking along it seemed to offer no advantages, surrounded by darkness with the risk of getting lost if he deviated.
"Interesting. This seems to be a special s.p.a.ce, not a blessed land!"
There was a significant difference between a special s.p.a.ce and a blessed land.
Continuing down the path, Jian Wushuang finally reached the first bridge. Below the bridge, there flowed scorching magma, while on the bridge, there were wandering souls. These souls swayed aimlessly, resembling the sprites after the Emperor"s Fall, but with much greater strength. Each one was at the Emperor level, unconscious in their wanderings, numbering in the hundreds.
Although the strength of these wandering souls was considerable, all of them were tier 3 Emperors. Who were they underestimating?
Jian Wushuang took a step, and behind him, thousands of sword qi erupted, dispersing the souls on the bridge.
Cras.h.!.+
In the instant the souls dissipated, the entire bridge began to crumble. Jian Wushuang couldn"t just stand by and watch; he had to retreat. However, the bridge disappeared?
"What is this?"
Jian Wushuang was puzzled.
"Could it be related to the wandering souls?" he speculated.
If that were the case, at least give him a chance, like returning to the starting point. What if there was no way forward halfway through?
Flying over wasn"t an option, right?
The powerful force of the pull, he estimated, hadn"t even flown over yet, and he feared he might have dropped into the molten lava below.
The magma couldn"t harm him, but the wild beasts within, all genuine tier 6 Emperors, meant only a dead end awaited him if he fell.
"What to do!" Jian Wushuang scratched his head.
Glancing at the magma below, he took a step back; swimming across was out of the question.
Even if he transformed into a wild beast, he would still be recognized, unable to blend in.
Searching around, he found nothing but a body covered in weeds.
"What kind of h.e.l.l is this refining?" he sighed helplessly and had no choice but to head backward.
Returning along the original path meant a journey of a hundred years.
Despite only taking an hour to arrive, going back took a century, and crucially, he hadn"t reached his starting point.
Midway, he regretted his decision, retraced his steps toward the bridge, but couldn"t reach it, forced to follow a single path.
100 years, 1,000 years, 10,000 years.
Jian Wushuang, initially hopeful, gradually gave up, even shouting the name of Divine General Moyin in hopes of getting out.
But in this cursed place, shouting to the heavens brought no response.
Slowly, exhaustion set in. Walking, he lost his humanoid form, his body unkempt, resembling the souls he saw on the bridge.
Unconsciously, he continued walking, the awareness in his mind gradually fading away.
He didn"t know how long he had been walking. The power of his divine body had been completely depleted without replenishment, but thankfully, his physical form was indestructible. At least he still retained a semblance of humanity.
After an unknown amount of time had pa.s.sed, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
The figure was elusive and transparent, with a skeleton trailing behind it, presumably left behind by a physical body.
Without a physical body or divine form, all that remained of a person was the soul.
As for the Origin Source, it had long been lost.
The moment Jian Wushuang saw the figure, it was as if he had glimpsed hope.
A spring burst forth in the mustard seed, instantly replenis.h.i.+ng the divine body. Subsequently, his eyes began to brighten, and his footsteps quickened.
From limping to walking normally, he even started running.
This time, instead of taking action, he rushed to the front of the figure, intending to awaken them.
Now he understood. The wandering souls on the bridge were probably pract.i.tioners who came to this place. The bridge would disappear by extinguis.h.i.+ng those wandering souls. Although he still didn"t quite understand why, it was clearly related to pract.i.tioners.
Having finally seen another pract.i.tioner, how could Jian Wushuang not be excited?
After discerning the visage of the other"s soul, Jian Wushuang was somewhat surprised.
Wasn"t this "Wanyan, who had entered the Demon Sound Hall ahead of him?
The other was even more pitiful than him, consciousness weakened to the point of no perception.
No matter how Jian Wushuang tried to call him, there was no response.
Jian Wushuang raised his hand for two resounding slaps, but unfortunately, the other was in a soul state and couldn"t be touched at all.
In the end, he could only endure the pain and take out numerous G.o.dstones, forcefully stuffing them into the other"s being.
A trace of power gathered, and Wanyan"s eyes began to show glimmers. His consciousness gradually returned.
At the moment of the other"s awakening, upon seeing the Jian Wushuang in front of him clearly, he instantly became astute.
"Jian Wushuang!" Wanyan recognized Jian Wushuang.
Back when Jian Wushuang gained recognition from the Origin Source, he had seen him.
Subsequently recalling the various events leading to their current situation, he utilized the power of G.o.dstones to restore his divine body and condense his physical form. With it, Wanyan"s Origin Source also restored to its peak.
After the recovery, Wanyan quickly took out a clean set of robes from a mustard seed and put them on.
"Thanks a lot for this!"
Jian Wushuang waved his hand, saying, "Now is not the time to discuss this. Fellow Daoist, isn"t it because of that bridge that you ended up like this?"
If that were the case, then the souls on that bridge weren"t meant to be annihilated by them but to be rescued.