1014

Chapter 1014: Perfecting the Seven Bridges

A body without a soul had suddenly appeared at the bridge of souls’ bridgehead. Sensing it, endless ghostly spirits flocked towards it. They moved purely on instinct and wanted to occupy the body.

It’s just that these ghostly spirits all died to Ba Meng without exception. Seeing Ning Cheng not moving, Ba Meng said, “You can do the same as me. As long as your friend’s soul is still in the netherworld, there is a good chance of reuniting the soul and the body.”

Ning Cheng nodded and, with a wave of his hand, brought out Xun Hanrui’s body. She currently looked as if she was sleeping.

“Wait-wait, did she take the Six Yin Soul Pill!?” After seeing Xun Hanrui, Ba Meng immediately tried to stop Ning Cheng.

Ning Cheng nodded, “Yes, I gave her a Six Yin Soul Pill, but she never woke up.”

“Hurry up and put her away. A Six Yin Soul Pill is similar to sending one over into reincarnation. As long as her body can be preserved, she would eventually wake up with her memory and cultivation intact after taking the pill. If her soul is currently in recovery, it would be catastrophic to bring her body out in this place to lure out her remnant soul. If you’re worried about her slow recovery, just put her back where she died.” Although Ba Meng felt shocked about Ning Cheng using a Six Yin Soul Pill, he quickly tried to explain it in as much detail as possible.

“Why is it bad?” Ning Cheng couldn’t understand.

Ba Meng was about to answer when the ghostly spirits on the bridge of souls suddenly went berserk. The ghostly spirits, who originally just swarmed over on instinct, suddenly started to accelerate as if someone rained down hellfire behind them. They even emitted bursts of ear-piercing screams and chirps.

“That’s Ba Luo; he’s here.......” Ba Meng released a tearful cry, collected Ba Luo’s body, and rushed towards the bridge of souls. He even forgot about the instructions he gave to Ning Cheng earlier, about not stepping onto the bridge of souls under any circumstances.

Ning Cheng quickly put away Xun Hanrui’s body. He had also seen the ghostly spirit that vaguely resembled Ba Luo. It’s just that this ghostly spirit got swarmed over by other ghosts, quickly obscuring it from view.

Ning Cheng had only just reacted when Ba Meng got swept away by the endless ghostly spirits on the bridge of souls. Even Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness could barely see Ba Meng’s shadow among the endless souls.

Ba Meng’s in danger. Ning Cheng had just thought of this when he saw a huge black mouth rush towards Ba Meng. Wherever the mouth passed, ghostly spirits immediately got sucked in. However, even though the mouth sucked in over half the ghostly spirits on the bridge, more ghostly spirits flocked in to take their place.

Ning Cheng took a deep breath. He didn’t know what this huge mouth was, but he immediately thought of the Burial Shadow Fiend. Ba Meng would most likely die if Ba Meng got swallowed by this huge mouth.

Ba Meng was one of the few people who treated him with genuine kindness. If it weren’t for Ba Meng, his cultivation would never advance to the late stages of the Dao Sculpting Realm in a short period. Therefore, Ning Cheng also rushed onto the bridge of souls without hesitation.

He quickly understood why Ba Meng couldn’t put up resistance. He had mentioned that the bridge of souls would suppress one’s cultivation. The suppressive force would be higher the higher one’s cultivation. Fortunately, Ba Meng luckily wasn’t crushed into debris or erased.

“First Bridge of Coping.......” Landing on the bridge of souls, and just before the powerful force of the netherworld’s laws came crashing down, Ning Cheng cast the First Bridge of Coping. This time, however, he didn’t activate the Seven Bridges Realm Book. Who knows what would happen in this place? It would be depressing if something unexpected happened and he lost the Seven Bridges Realm Book.

Once the First Bridge of Coping came out, the endless ghostly spirits seemed to have found some organisation and madly surged towards the First Bridge of Coping. Even the violent ghostly winds on the bridge of souls rolled towards the First Bridge of Coping, mixing with the First Bridge of Coping’s original ghostly winds and the blood river beneath it.

As the First Bridge of Coping swallowed the endless ghostly winds and ghosts, it didn’t weaken. On the contrary, it strengthened. Ning Cheng’s heart suddenly surged with an impulse. What if he tried condensing the full Seven Bridges Spirit Technique in the netherworld? How long would it take? This place felt much more suitable than the Burial Shadow Blue Sands.

Once he could successfully condense the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique, killing a Dao Transformation cultivator like Ding Si would no longer need the 5-Coloured Star Splitter Arrow.

“Ka......” Not waiting for Ning Cheng to finish his train of thought, a particularly powerful force of law blasted onto Ning Cheng’s body. Even if Ning Cheng was a body refiner, he felt his bones pushed to the breaking point.

At this moment, Ning Cheng no longer thought of anything else. He immediately grabbed Ba Meng, still struggling to break free near the bridgehead, and frantically retreated.

As soon as he left the bridge of souls, the powerful law suppression instantly weakened. With Ba Meng’s strength restored, he landed on the ground and looked at Ning Cheng blankly. “You’re a Dao Sculpting cultivator, yet you managed to safely withdraw from the bridge of souls and even saved me? Was that the First Bridge of Coping of the Seven Bridges?”

Ning Cheng nodded. In his mind, however, he kept thinking about the feasibility of perfecting the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique on the bridge of souls. After all, he had experienced how dangerous it could be on the bridge.

Ba Meng didn’t show any inclination to learn more about it. After he asked Ning Cheng that question, he glanced woodenly at the bridge of souls and muttered, “It’s useless. Because of that powerful soul cultivator, Ba Luo’s soul has long since dissipated. Even if it can recondense again from the remnant strands of his soul, it would have no sanity.”

“Soul cultivator?” Ning Cheng asked with a frown.

Ba Meng didn’t immediately answer Ning Cheng’s question. He remained silent for a few minutes before finally recovering and saying to Ning Cheng. “Yes, soul cultivators. When the laws of the netherworld were intact, these soul cultivators would be crushed into nothingness by the laws once they reached a certain level. They would also not be able to enter the reincarnation cycle. But now, because of the shattered laws of the netherworld, more and more powerful soul cultivators have started to emerge. The one we just saw, the mouth, is one of those soul cultivators. As their name implies, these soul cultivators devour ghostly spirits and souls in this place to grow; however, the more they devour, the lower their sanity drops, but the greater their strength rises.”

Looking at Ba Meng, who now looked like a lost soul, Ning Cheng took out a jade bottle and handed it. “Dao Friend Ba Meng, many thanks for giving me the Dragon Washing Pool. I will give you this pill in return.”

Ba Meng subconsciously took the jade bottle and only reacted when the jade bottle was in his hand. He didn’t open it but tried to return it to Ning Cheng. “Dao Friend Ning, many thanks for the consideration, but pills are essentially useless for me. This Ba Meng has been living at the edge of the Grand Essence Sea for many years, so although I lost my son, it hasn’t pushed me to devastation.”

Ning Cheng only showed a faint smile. “Dao Friend Ba Meng, I know how you feel. I suggest you open the bottle and look inside. You can return it to me if it’s useless to you.”

Ba Meng opened the jade bottle suspiciously and then exclaimed in even more shock. “That.... That’s a Six Yin Soul Pill..... Wait, a top-quality one? How did you get this...... right, your friend also took the Six Yin Soul Pill.”

Ba Meng clenched the jade bottle tightly in his hands, his heart flipping in ecstasy. He couldn’t even form a fully coherent sentence.

“Is that pill useful to you?” Even though Ba Meng didn’t actually ‘give’ him the Dragon Washing Pool, just leaving him with the location, Ning Cheng was still grateful in his heart. Once he took care of the matter here, he felt confident that he could go further with the help of the Dragon Washing Pool.

Ba Meng bowed to Ning Cheng with complete respect. “Dao Friend Ning, you saved my and my son’s life. I, Ba Meng, don’t know how to repay such a huge favour.”

Ning Cheng patted Ba Meng on the shoulder, “You gave me the Dragon Washing Pool, which is much more valuable than a Six Yin Soul Pill.”

Ba Meng felt a bit embarrassed as he replied, “Dao Friend Ning, you know, that Dragon Washing Pool, even if I didn’t ‘give’ it to you, I can’t take it away.”

“But I’m indebted to you.” Ning Cheng said cautiously.

“Okay.” Ba Meng carefully put away the Six Yin Soul Pill and took out a spirit sense jade strip before handing it to Ning Cheng. “Dao Friend Ning, if there is any need for Ba Meng’s help in the future, no matter where I am, I will not refuse it. Also, after we go out, I will not return to the Dragon Washing Pool; that place belongs to you from now on.”

Ning Cheng felt satisfied. There was still more than a year before the Five Grand Realms’ Alchemy Competition. Therefore, his cultivation could go even further with the Dragon Washing Pool’s help.

“Dao Friend Ning, let’s get out of here. It’s still a bit dangerous for the living before crossing the bridge of souls, and our strength is still a little too low.” Ba Meng had, by now, completely returned to his previous self, full of life and blood. Moreover, his mood had also become quite cheerful.

Ning Cheng only smiled, “Dao Friend Ba Meng, you can leave first. Remember to wait for me where we broke the boundary for a few days. I feel that I can perfect my First Bridge here; I will return as soon as I have perfected it.”

Ba Meng had witnessed the power of Ning Cheng’s First Bridge. Therefore, he nodded but also left a warning, “Alright, but you should also be careful. At most, take only a few steps from the front end of the bridge of souls, don’t go in too deep.”

......

After watching Ba Meng leave, Ning Cheng carefully stepped onto the bridge of souls once again. The first time he did it to save Ba Meng, but this time he did it to perfect the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique.

As soon as he stepped onto the bridge of souls, a terrifying law power blasted over. Ning Cheng had been prepared for this. Therefore, as he brought out the First Bridge of Coping, he actively controlled his body-forging cultivation method.

As the terrifyingly powerful laws of the netherworld tried to crush him, Ning Cheng’s cultivation method immediately redirected the power to transform it into his body’s strength. Ning Cheng quickly discovered, to his surprise, that using the pressure of laws to refine his body was much more effective than refining his body under a volcano or a thunderstorm.

Sure enough, an invisible pressure was better than a physical stimulus. Before this, Ning Cheng had naively assumed that flames and thunder tribulations were the only things that helped forge one’s body.

But before Ning Cheng had the time to savour this masochistic joy, endless ghostly spirits came pouncing over.

“First Bridge of Coping!” Ning Cheng hadn’t come here to refine his body; he came here to perfect the Seven Bridge Spirit Technique.

As these ghostly spirits swarmed into the First Bridge of Coping, Ning Cheng quickly cast the Second Bridge of Looking Homewards, the Third Bridge of Forgetfulness River, and even the Fourth Bridge of Yellow Springs.

As the first three bridges grew more substantial, the Fourth Bridge of Yellow Springs also started to condense swiftly as the endless ghostly spirits, and ghostly winds poured into it. Ning Cheng also found that the worldly laws of the netherworld had a similar solidification effect on the rest of the seven bridges.

It might even help him in coalescing the complete Seven Bridges Spirit Technique. After all, this place was many times better than the Burial Shadow Blue Sands, especially as it contained the laws of the netherworld.

As the Bridge of Yellow Spring’s dao charm strengthened, the pressure on Ning Cheng gradually decreased.

Huh, this isn’t the right approach. I came here to perfect the seven bridges, but since the laws of this place could also help me refine my physique, why should I not try it? Ning Cheng deliberately took a few steps forward.

Suddenly, a sharp point silently pierced Ning Cheng’s Sea of Consciousness. Ning Cheng’s Sea of Consciousness instantly went out of control, and he understood that something had gone wrong. Somebody sneak attacked him.

“Boom....... Ka-Ka......”

Ning Cheng had just realised that someone had secretly attacked him when the First Bridge of Coping blew up under the crushing pressure of an extremely cold law power. With the First Bridge unexpectedly blowing up, the pressure on his body suddenly increased severalfold.

“Kacha, Kacha.....” Even if Ning Cheng took extreme precautions, his bones started to break inch by inch under the increased pressure, and he spat out an arrow of blood.

Chapter 1014: Perfecting the Seven Bridges

A body without a soul had suddenly appeared at the bridge of souls’ bridgehead. Sensing it, endless ghostly spirits flocked towards it. They moved purely on instinct and wanted to occupy the body.

It’s just that these ghostly spirits all died to Ba Meng without exception. Seeing Ning Cheng not moving, Ba Meng said, “You can do the same as me. As long as your friend’s soul is still in the netherworld, there is a good chance of reuniting the soul and the body.”

Ning Cheng nodded and, with a wave of his hand, brought out Xun Hanrui’s body. She currently looked as if she was sleeping.

“Wait-wait, did she take the Six Yin Soul Pill!?” After seeing Xun Hanrui, Ba Meng immediately tried to stop Ning Cheng.

Ning Cheng nodded, “Yes, I gave her a Six Yin Soul Pill, but she never woke up.”

“Hurry up and put her away. A Six Yin Soul Pill is similar to sending one over into reincarnation. As long as her body can be preserved, she would eventually wake up with her memory and cultivation intact after taking the pill. If her soul is currently in recovery, it would be catastrophic to bring her body out in this place to lure out her remnant soul. If you’re worried about her slow recovery, just put her back where she died.” Although Ba Meng felt shocked about Ning Cheng using a Six Yin Soul Pill, he quickly tried to explain it in as much detail as possible.

“Why is it bad?” Ning Cheng couldn’t understand.

Ba Meng was about to answer when the ghostly spirits on the bridge of souls suddenly went berserk. The ghostly spirits, who originally just swarmed over on instinct, suddenly started to accelerate as if someone rained down hellfire behind them. They even emitted bursts of ear-piercing screams and chirps.

“That’s Ba Luo; he’s here.......” Ba Meng released a tearful cry, collected Ba Luo’s body, and rushed towards the bridge of souls. He even forgot about the instructions he gave to Ning Cheng earlier, about not stepping onto the bridge of souls under any circumstances.

Ning Cheng quickly put away Xun Hanrui’s body. He had also seen the ghostly spirit that vaguely resembled Ba Luo. It’s just that this ghostly spirit got swarmed over by other ghosts, quickly obscuring it from view.

Ning Cheng had only just reacted when Ba Meng got swept away by the endless ghostly spirits on the bridge of souls. Even Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness could barely see Ba Meng’s shadow among the endless souls.

Ba Meng’s in danger. Ning Cheng had just thought of this when he saw a huge black mouth rush towards Ba Meng. Wherever the mouth passed, ghostly spirits immediately got sucked in. However, even though the mouth sucked in over half the ghostly spirits on the bridge, more ghostly spirits flocked in to take their place.

Ning Cheng took a deep breath. He didn’t know what this huge mouth was, but he immediately thought of the Burial Shadow Fiend. Ba Meng would most likely die if Ba Meng got swallowed by this huge mouth.

Ba Meng was one of the few people who treated him with genuine kindness. If it weren’t for Ba Meng, his cultivation would never advance to the late stages of the Dao Sculpting Realm in a short period. Therefore, Ning Cheng also rushed onto the bridge of souls without hesitation.

He quickly understood why Ba Meng couldn’t put up resistance. He had mentioned that the bridge of souls would suppress one’s cultivation. The suppressive force would be higher the higher one’s cultivation. Fortunately, Ba Meng luckily wasn’t crushed into debris or erased.

“First Bridge of Coping.......” Landing on the bridge of souls, and just before the powerful force of the netherworld’s laws came crashing down, Ning Cheng cast the First Bridge of Coping. This time, however, he didn’t activate the Seven Bridges Realm Book. Who knows what would happen in this place? It would be depressing if something unexpected happened and he lost the Seven Bridges Realm Book.

Once the First Bridge of Coping came out, the endless ghostly spirits seemed to have found some organisation and madly surged towards the First Bridge of Coping. Even the violent ghostly winds on the bridge of souls rolled towards the First Bridge of Coping, mixing with the First Bridge of Coping’s original ghostly winds and the blood river beneath it.

As the First Bridge of Coping swallowed the endless ghostly winds and ghosts, it didn’t weaken. On the contrary, it strengthened. Ning Cheng’s heart suddenly surged with an impulse. What if he tried condensing the full Seven Bridges Spirit Technique in the netherworld? How long would it take? This place felt much more suitable than the Burial Shadow Blue Sands.

Once he could successfully condense the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique, killing a Dao Transformation cultivator like Ding Si would no longer need the 5-Coloured Star Splitter Arrow.

“Ka......” Not waiting for Ning Cheng to finish his train of thought, a particularly powerful force of law blasted onto Ning Cheng’s body. Even if Ning Cheng was a body refiner, he felt his bones pushed to the breaking point.

At this moment, Ning Cheng no longer thought of anything else. He immediately grabbed Ba Meng, still struggling to break free near the bridgehead, and frantically retreated.

As soon as he left the bridge of souls, the powerful law suppression instantly weakened. With Ba Meng’s strength restored, he landed on the ground and looked at Ning Cheng blankly. “You’re a Dao Sculpting cultivator, yet you managed to safely withdraw from the bridge of souls and even saved me? Was that the First Bridge of Coping of the Seven Bridges?”

Ning Cheng nodded. In his mind, however, he kept thinking about the feasibility of perfecting the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique on the bridge of souls. After all, he had experienced how dangerous it could be on the bridge.

Ba Meng didn’t show any inclination to learn more about it. After he asked Ning Cheng that question, he glanced woodenly at the bridge of souls and muttered, “It’s useless. Because of that powerful soul cultivator, Ba Luo’s soul has long since dissipated. Even if it can recondense again from the remnant strands of his soul, it would have no sanity.”

“Soul cultivator?” Ning Cheng asked with a frown.

Ba Meng didn’t immediately answer Ning Cheng’s question. He remained silent for a few minutes before finally recovering and saying to Ning Cheng. “Yes, soul cultivators. When the laws of the netherworld were intact, these soul cultivators would be crushed into nothingness by the laws once they reached a certain level. They would also not be able to enter the reincarnation cycle. But now, because of the shattered laws of the netherworld, more and more powerful soul cultivators have started to emerge. The one we just saw, the mouth, is one of those soul cultivators. As their name implies, these soul cultivators devour ghostly spirits and souls in this place to grow; however, the more they devour, the lower their sanity drops, but the greater their strength rises.”

Looking at Ba Meng, who now looked like a lost soul, Ning Cheng took out a jade bottle and handed it. “Dao Friend Ba Meng, many thanks for giving me the Dragon Washing Pool. I will give you this pill in return.”

Ba Meng subconsciously took the jade bottle and only reacted when the jade bottle was in his hand. He didn’t open it but tried to return it to Ning Cheng. “Dao Friend Ning, many thanks for the consideration, but pills are essentially useless for me. This Ba Meng has been living at the edge of the Grand Essence Sea for many years, so although I lost my son, it hasn’t pushed me to devastation.”

Ning Cheng only showed a faint smile. “Dao Friend Ba Meng, I know how you feel. I suggest you open the bottle and look inside. You can return it to me if it’s useless to you.”

Ba Meng opened the jade bottle suspiciously and then exclaimed in even more shock. “That.... That’s a Six Yin Soul Pill..... Wait, a top-quality one? How did you get this...... right, your friend also took the Six Yin Soul Pill.”

Ba Meng clenched the jade bottle tightly in his hands, his heart flipping in ecstasy. He couldn’t even form a fully coherent sentence.

“Is that pill useful to you?” Even though Ba Meng didn’t actually ‘give’ him the Dragon Washing Pool, just leaving him with the location, Ning Cheng was still grateful in his heart. Once he took care of the matter here, he felt confident that he could go further with the help of the Dragon Washing Pool.

Ba Meng bowed to Ning Cheng with complete respect. “Dao Friend Ning, you saved my and my son’s life. I, Ba Meng, don’t know how to repay such a huge favour.”

Ning Cheng patted Ba Meng on the shoulder, “You gave me the Dragon Washing Pool, which is much more valuable than a Six Yin Soul Pill.”

Ba Meng felt a bit embarrassed as he replied, “Dao Friend Ning, you know, that Dragon Washing Pool, even if I didn’t ‘give’ it to you, I can’t take it away.”

“But I’m indebted to you.” Ning Cheng said cautiously.

“Okay.” Ba Meng carefully put away the Six Yin Soul Pill and took out a spirit sense jade strip before handing it to Ning Cheng. “Dao Friend Ning, if there is any need for Ba Meng’s help in the future, no matter where I am, I will not refuse it. Also, after we go out, I will not return to the Dragon Washing Pool; that place belongs to you from now on.”

Ning Cheng felt satisfied. There was still more than a year before the Five Grand Realms’ Alchemy Competition. Therefore, his cultivation could go even further with the Dragon Washing Pool’s help.

“Dao Friend Ning, let’s get out of here. It’s still a bit dangerous for the living before crossing the bridge of souls, and our strength is still a little too low.” Ba Meng had, by now, completely returned to his previous self, full of life and blood. Moreover, his mood had also become quite cheerful.

Ning Cheng only smiled, “Dao Friend Ba Meng, you can leave first. Remember to wait for me where we broke the boundary for a few days. I feel that I can perfect my First Bridge here; I will return as soon as I have perfected it.”

Ba Meng had witnessed the power of Ning Cheng’s First Bridge. Therefore, he nodded but also left a warning, “Alright, but you should also be careful. At most, take only a few steps from the front end of the bridge of souls, don’t go in too deep.”

......

After watching Ba Meng leave, Ning Cheng carefully stepped onto the bridge of souls once again. The first time he did it to save Ba Meng, but this time he did it to perfect the Seven Bridges Spirit Technique.

As soon as he stepped onto the bridge of souls, a terrifying law power blasted over. Ning Cheng had been prepared for this. Therefore, as he brought out the First Bridge of Coping, he actively controlled his body-forging cultivation method.

As the terrifyingly powerful laws of the netherworld tried to crush him, Ning Cheng’s cultivation method immediately redirected the power to transform it into his body’s strength. Ning Cheng quickly discovered, to his surprise, that using the pressure of laws to refine his body was much more effective than refining his body under a volcano or a thunderstorm.

Sure enough, an invisible pressure was better than a physical stimulus. Before this, Ning Cheng had naively assumed that flames and thunder tribulations were the only things that helped forge one’s body.

But before Ning Cheng had the time to savour this masochistic joy, endless ghostly spirits came pouncing over.

“First Bridge of Coping!” Ning Cheng hadn’t come here to refine his body; he came here to perfect the Seven Bridge Spirit Technique.

As these ghostly spirits swarmed into the First Bridge of Coping, Ning Cheng quickly cast the Second Bridge of Looking Homewards, the Third Bridge of Forgetfulness River, and even the Fourth Bridge of Yellow Springs.

As the first three bridges grew more substantial, the Fourth Bridge of Yellow Springs also started to condense swiftly as the endless ghostly spirits, and ghostly winds poured into it. Ning Cheng also found that the worldly laws of the netherworld had a similar solidification effect on the rest of the seven bridges.

It might even help him in coalescing the complete Seven Bridges Spirit Technique. After all, this place was many times better than the Burial Shadow Blue Sands, especially as it contained the laws of the netherworld.

As the Bridge of Yellow Spring’s dao charm strengthened, the pressure on Ning Cheng gradually decreased.

Huh, this isn’t the right approach. I came here to perfect the seven bridges, but since the laws of this place could also help me refine my physique, why should I not try it? Ning Cheng deliberately took a few steps forward.

Suddenly, a sharp point silently pierced Ning Cheng’s Sea of Consciousness. Ning Cheng’s Sea of Consciousness instantly went out of control, and he understood that something had gone wrong. Somebody sneak attacked him.

“Boom....... Ka-Ka......”

Ning Cheng had just realised that someone had secretly attacked him when the First Bridge of Coping blew up under the crushing pressure of an extremely cold law power. With the First Bridge unexpectedly blowing up, the pressure on his body suddenly increased severalfold.

“Kacha, Kacha.....” Even if Ning Cheng took extreme precautions, his bones started to break inch by inch under the increased pressure, and he spat out an arrow of blood.