Mahayana 110
BGM: Punishing Grey Raven - Endless Path
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Chapter 110: Meng Po’s Soup Before the Naihe Bridge. Forcing the Crossing
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
Part 1
Yet the vision lingered at the instant before Xiao Yifeng accepted a master, then suddenly stopped, as if cut short.
The Three Lives Stone seemed to utterly give up. Vast currents of vital essence surged into Su Miaoqing, though still far less than what Xiao Yifeng had received.
Instead, a single drop of golden blood condensed in mid-air, radiating a terrifying aura. It fell upon Su Miaoqing’s forehead, and in an instant, blazing flames erupted from her body.
Words appeared upon the stone: Immortal Phoenix Bird, too deeply entangled with one who defies heaven. The future cannot be foretold.
Another crack spread across the Three Lives Stone. As if enraged beyond reason, it violently pushed Su Miaoqing away and shrouded itself in a thick curtain of blood, sealing itself off, unwilling to have any further contact with them.
Xiao Yifeng rushed forward and pulled Su Miaoqing into his arms. As the flames around her grew ever more terrifying, he pressed a finger to her forehead, forcibly suppressing the dreadful drop of golden blood.
The others nearly had stars popping out of their eyes. That drop of blood was obviously the Immortal Phoenix’s original source blood from her past life.
One drop. That was all it took. With it, phoenix essence blood could be created endlessly. Given enough time, it would be as though the Immortal Phoenix herself could be reborn before their very eyes. And now, before it was refined, it was still within reach.
Greed stirred openly among them, especially Daoist Lingyun. His foundation had been damaged, and this was precisely the kind of divine relic he needed. With it, not only could he recover what he had lost, even the path to the Dao might once again lie open.
Xiao Yifeng sensed their covetous stares and let out a cold snort. “This source blood shares the same origin as my junior sister. You may not even survive absorbing it. Control your greed, gentlemen, or do not blame me for being ruthless.”
Only then did they look away, though the restless glimmer in their eyes betrayed hidden schemes.
Fearing that such reckless absorption of spiritual energy might shatter her foundation, Xiao Yifeng stepped forward and pressed his palm gently against Su Miaoqing’s back. Carefully, he guided the excess and impure qi out of her body, torrents of spiritual energy spilling into the air.
The onlookers’ eyes lit up at once. Xiao Yifeng’s control forced them to reassess him.
At last, Su Miaoqing’s aura stabilised. Yet even such terrifying power had only pushed her to the seventh stage of Foundation Establishment realm.
Her eyes slowly opened. For an instant, golden light blazed within them, savage and uncontrollable. Xiao Yifeng’s heart clenched. Was she being overtaken by memories of her former life?
Thankfully, the second she saw him, she snapped back to normal. Turns out she’d been aware the whole time. Looking worried, she asked, “I didn’t mess things up again, did I?”
Xiao Yifeng smiled and patted her head. “Nothing like that. You’ve gained an incredible stroke of fortune. This is a good thing.”
The gesture made Su Miaoqing pout in mild protest, though she was secretly pleased. Reaching the 7th stage of Foundation Establishment realm meant she was no longer a burden.
“Why can’t we approach the Three Lives Stone anymore?” Lin Xiao asked, baffled.
Several people had already passed the trial. After Su Miaoqing stepped away, Lin Xiao tried to move forward, only to be blocked by a blood-red barrier enveloping the Three Lives Stone.
Liu Yue stepped up as well, touching the crimson barrier, but found it completely impassable.
“The Three Lives Stone was probably scared witless by Fellow Daoist Wu Chen and this fairy,” Luo Yun said with a strange look on her face, clearly torn between laughing and holding it in.
Lin Xiao could not help but feel vexed at missing such a rare chance. If only he hadn’t hesitated for that brief moment. After those two caused such havoc, the Three Lives Stone had practically sealed itself off. What kind of freaks were they, anyway?
“These two fellow Daoists are no ordinary people. One walks against the heavens, the other is the reincarnation of an Immortal Phoenix. Their futures are surely extraordinary,” Old Demon King said those words with meaningful look on his face.
Xiao Yifeng caught the malice hidden in his words and replied coldly, “You actually believe in this Three Lives Stone? If it were genuine, how could we have cracked it?”
With the Three Lives Stone rendered unusable, the group continued onward, each person harbouring hidden intentions. Xiao Yifeng quietly gripped several talismans and sent Su Miaoqing a warning to stay alert.
After nearly half an hour of walking, they saw it. A vast, unbroken line of wandering spirits stretched into the distance. Their bodies were ghostly transparent, their faces drained of thought, of will, of life.
The souls moved as one, a slow, silent current drifting forwards.
“Just cheap theatrics,” The Old Demon King sneered with a smile. “The Naihe Bridge must be up ahead. Let’s go and see.”
“I want to know whether Lady Meng truly exists,” Mo Shuiyao said with a soft, confident laugh. Her power had grown, and fear no longer had much hold over her.
Even after witnessing the Three Lives Stone and Road to the Yellow Spring, they still could not accept that this place was the fabled Netherworld.
Following the silent ranks of wandering souls, the group advanced for another half hour. Then, at last, it appeared. The Naihe Bridge.
Ancient and forbidding, the bridge was forged entirely in black, stretching for hundreds of zhang into the darkness. It rose in three levels. The upper glimmered red, the middle glowed a dull yellow, and the lowest sank into absolute blackness. The lower the level, the narrower and more deadly the path became.
Beneath it howled the River of Forgetfulness, its winds screaming like tortured souls. Countless evil ghosts swarmed below the bridge, their cries of despair echoing endlessly.
On either side, white bones were piled into mountains. The cold wind carried shrieks without pause, weaving a symphony of suffering that clawed at the nerves.
And yet, above it all, the bridge itself reeked of thick, metallic blood. At its entrance stood a black stone stele, silent and ominous, as if passing judgement on all who approached.
Three characters were carved deep into the black stone: The Naihe Bridge.
More words lay etched in the lower right corner, but they were too distant to be seen clearly.
At the head of the bridge stood a woman in white. Her robes gleamed like fresh snow, and her dark hair cascading her back like a waterfall of night. A thin veil obscured her face, denying any clear glimpse of her features.
She seemed unreal, like an immortal cast into the Netherworld. In her hand she held a green lamp, and she stood there in stillness, sorrow and mercy mingled in her gaze.
And though the bridge was filled with ghosts, every one of them bowed in reverence before the woman in white.
The Naihe Bridge was already choked with an endless queue. Countless wandering souls stood in solemn order, each receiving a bowl from the woman in white before moving on to cross the bridge.
Seeing a person at last lifted the group’s spirits, though surprise followed close behind. Could there truly be a Lady Meng? This immortal palace had recreated the legends with uncanny precision.
At the bridgehead, they read the three small lines carved into the stone: Those who practised virtue in life walk the upper tier; those of equal good and evil walk the middle tier; those who committed evil walk the lower tier.
Old daoist Lingyun lingered on the inscription, but dared not entertain further thoughts. Once burned, one fears even the faintest spark.
When the woman noticed their arrival, she turned and smiled, her voice gentle as she asked, “Are you also among those who wish to cross the Naihe Bridge?”
“Are you… Lady Meng?” Lin Xiao stepped forward, smiling as he asked, unable to hide his curiosity.
“If you choose to call me Lady Meng, then I shall answer to that name,” the woman said quietly. “It is but a title. Still, I am the one who governs this bridge.”
“And how do we cross?” Luo Yun asked, his voice steady.
“To cross the naihe Bridge is to walk a path from which there is no return,” Lady Meng said, smiling faintly. “Those who wish to pass must drink the Bowl of soup I hold.”
“If one drinks it,” Mo Shuiyao asked slowly, “will it truly be as the legends say? Will all memories of past and present lives vanish in a single swallow?”
“Naturally,” Lady Meng said. “If you are unwilling to drink my Meng Po soup, there is another choice. Leap into the River of Forgetfulness below, wait a hundred years, and only then may you cross this bridge.” She pointed towards the dark river beneath the Naihe Bridge.
None of them would drink the Meng Po soup, nor would they leap into that horrifying river. Exchanging glances, a dangerous idea formed among them: to force their way across.
Lady Meng’s cultivation could not be sensed at all. She seemed like an ordinary woman, yet everything about her felt deeply unsettling. The green lantern in her hand radiated a quiet but terrifying power.
“Hmph,” Liu Yue snorted. “If I refuse to listen to you and choose to force my way across this bridge instead?”
“You are welcome to try,” Lady Meng replied calmly.