“No saving him,” the God Emperor said calmly as he glanced at the Blade Divine Lord’s corpse.
Xu Zimo crouched down and inspected the body.
The Blade Divine Lord’s cause of death was strange, just like the people from Grand Origin Sect earlier, his internal organs were all crushed into powder, but there wasn’t a single wound on his body.
His sword lay nearby, broken in two, with many small cracks on the blade.
“This place is dangerous. Even a God Meridian Realm expert didn’t have time to escape,” Xu Zimo said as he stood up.
The two of them continued forward. After walking through the dark corridor, they finally saw a bright light ahead.
Their view widened.
Ahead was a river formed of lava, flowing endlessly in twists and turns.
Above the river was a bridge made of wooden planks laid across a few beams, with stone railings on both sides.
On both banks of the lava river grew many fire-element plants.
What surprised Xu Zimo was that these plants were of many varieties, but he had never seen a single one before.
It was as if they were ancient, extinct species.
Xu Zimo looked at the God Emperor, who also shook his head, indicating he didn’t recognize them.
The lava itself wasn’t ordinary fire either. It was a kind of flame Xu Zimo had never seen but could tell was very powerful.
The flame flowed slowly and thickly. It was red on the outside, with a purple-blue hue inside.
Xu Zimo didn’t touch the lava, but the heat alone made his spiritual energy flow become sluggish.
“This flame is strange too,” Xu Zimo narrowed his eyes and said.
They stepped onto the bridge. Maybe because it was so old, parts of it were falling apart.
Their steps made loud creaking sounds.
The long bridge stretched endlessly ahead, disappearing into the distance.
The further they walked, the stronger that mysterious power became.
It constantly tried to enter Xu Zimo’s body and merge with his spiritforce.
After walking on the bridge for over half an hour, Xu Zimo felt dizzy.
The strange force was now starting to force its way into his mind and body.
“This is really annoying. No wonder even God Meridian Realm cultivators can’t get through,” Xu Zimo said.
He was already a dominant figure in the God Meridian Realm, far stronger than most others. If even he found it difficult, ordinary God Meridian experts wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Young Master, are you alright?” the God Emperor asked with concern.
“I’m fine,” Xu Zimo replied, shaking his head.
He brought his consciousness into his internal God World and summoned the Primordial Chaos Bead from the void.
Once the Primordial Chaos Bead entered his mind, it instantly suppressed everything.
Its primordial power spread quietly through Xu Zimo’s consciousness.
It devoured the strange energy completely and calmed everything. Xu Zimo felt much better.
He looked ahead, but the path was still endless. He couldn’t see where it led.
As they continued, they came across another corpse.
It was the Sword Divine Lord.
When Xu Zimo got closer, he found the man wasn’t fully dead yet.
He quickly transferred the power of the Tree of Life into his body.
As the life force surged in, the Sword Divine Lord coughed a few times and slowly woke up.
“It’s you,” the Sword Divine Lord said weakly when he saw Xu Zimo.
“What did you encounter?” Xu Zimo asked.
“This bridge has no end. I walked for what felt like forever, then just felt so tired... I fell asleep,” the Sword Divine Lord said, clearly exhausted. “Leave me alone. Let me sleep a bit more.”
“If you keep sleeping, you’ll die,” Xu Zimo warned.
But before he even finished, the Sword Divine Lord had already closed his eyes again.
When Xu Zimo checked him again, he found that all of his organs had already turned to dust.
Yet just moments ago, he had seemed completely fine.
“Dead?” the God Emperor asked from the side.
“See anything?” Xu Zimo stood up and asked.
“A very strange death. I think it might be related to that mysterious force,” the God Emperor replied.
“He said this bridge has no end. There’s no point in walking further,” Xu Zimo said.
The God Emperor frowned slightly and looked around.
His gaze stopped on the lava river below.
“Then the only way is down there. There’s no other path,” the God Emperor said.
Xu Zimo looked at the fiery river and jumped off the bridge, diving into the lava.
The God Emperor followed right after.
But the burning sensation they expected never came.
Instead, their vision was covered in fiery red, and their bodies spun wildly as if being turned inside out.
Then Xu Zimo felt like he was emptied out and dropped heavily from the air onto solid ground.
He opened his eyes, stood up, and looked around.
The scene surprised him.
They were now in a small space completely surrounded by fire.
Inside a blue barrier, the elders from the Vast Immortal Sacred Ground and Grand River God Sect, along with some rogue cultivators, were huddled together.
Outside the barrier, flames raged endlessly, roasting everything.
Xu Zimo sensed the strange atmosphere.
“What’s going on with you all?” he asked as he walked up.
“Young Master, please have that senior save us!” a rogue cultivator shouted.
They had seen the God Emperor’s power earlier. He might be their only hope.
Just then, there was a loud boom as the sea of fire above exploded, and the God Emperor broke through space and descended.
“There was a force trying to suppress me just now. I shattered it,” the God Emperor said.
“Senior, please help us. Our sects will be forever grateful,” someone pleaded.
It’s true what people say: the longer some people live, the more afraid of death they become.
“Tell me what happened first,” Xu Zimo asked, frowning.
“You probably felt it too, Young Master. Ever since entering this space, some strange force has been trying to invade our minds. Those who can’t resist die. Those who survive lose their sanity and turn into mindless killers,”
explained the elder from the Grand River God Sect.
“Luckily, I had the Heaven-River Shield left by my ancestor. But even that won’t last long. It’s only giving us a temporary defense.”