This collapsed Bridge of Immortality hung there among the stars just as it always had. It did nothing as the river of stars neared it, then began to pass it by.
However, as the river of stars passed, suddenly… countless dots of light appeared on the surface of the Bridge of Immortality. They spread out throughout all the areas of the bridge, growing thick and dense, seemingly without end. However, their flickering seemed to be in accord with some pattern. Somewhere deep within the Bridge of Immortality, on a chunk of broken rock that no one could see, were two particular shining lights among the masses of others that bore the semblance of eyes.
Imagine that you could solidify all of this into a physical picture, and then zoom in on the Bridge of Immortality. What you would notice is that the vast chunks of rock were actually something like continents or land masses. If you zoomed in again, then you would see that in the very center of it all was a mountain. On top of that mountain were two dots of light that looked almost like electricity. Shockingly… they were two people!
A man and a woman!
The man was scholarly and refined. He wore a green robe, and his expression was, for the most part, indifferent and blank, although it would occasionally shine with clarity of mind. The woman stood with her arms wrapped around the man. The blankness in her eyes was occasionally dispelled by a faint smile.
This man was none other than Han Shan!
Reborn Demon Emperor Han Shan!
In this moment, his eyes suddenly became clear. He looked up into the sky, and apparently, could see that within the river of stars drifting past, among all the countless fragments of light that it contained, was a familiar face.
“So we meet again,” he said, his voice both light and hoarse. “Ah, Karma!” Although there was no loneliness to him any more, he was just as bleak and desolate as before. Yet, when he looked down at the woman next to him, the bleakness would transform into tenderness and… a lack of regret.
Han Shan lifted up his right hand and waved it toward the sky above. Instantly, all of the Bridge Slaves in the entire Bridge of Immortality lifted their heads up and roared a soundless roar.
No outsider could hear the sound of their roars. Nonetheless, the sound shaped together into something completely shocking. It shot out from the Realm of the Bridge ruins, out of the Bridge of Immortality, and up toward the river of stars.
It pierced into the river, shooting through the countless fragments of light and motes of dust until it found… Meng Hao!
“Wake up!”
“Wake up!!”
“WAKE UP!!!”
The roaring of the innumerable Bridge Slaves echoed about in Meng Hao’s mind, transforming into thunderous roar capable of splitting Heaven and Earth. It filled his mind, his heart, to the point of explosion.
The explosion originated in the sound created by the countless Bridge slaves. It transformed into vast amounts of sharp thorns that pierced all of Meng Hao’s body. The provocation filled his brain and caused tremors to run through his body. After eight such tremors, Meng Hao’s eyes suddenly snapped open.
At first, his eyes were lit with confusion. The voices of the Bridge Slaves had been cut off without a trace.
As of this moment, Meng Hao was the only person who was awake within the river of stars. He looked around in confusion for the space of three breaths before his gaze shone with clarity.
In the moment he gained clarity, Meng Hao realized that he couldn’t move. It was as if he had been awakened with only enough power to open his eyes. His Divine Sense was being suppressed intensely, and was restricted to a space about thirty meters.
Even paralyzed, he could still see the stars, and the countless fragments of light and dust speeding along. Then he noticed someone off in the distance, floating there with his eyes closed. It was none other than Zhao Fang, who the Spirit Severing Patriarch of the great Cloud Sky Tribe had entrusted him with protecting.
“Am I the only one awake? But… why…?” Meng Hao suddenly caught sight of the Bridge of Immortality. When that happened, the image of Han Shan suddenly flashed through his mind.
Meanwhile, back on the Bridge of Immortality, the countless dots of light were beginning to fade away. The lights that represented Han Shan and his wife gradually disappeared.
Meng Hao’s eyes gleamed with understanding as he realized that the reason he had awoken was most likely… because of Han Shan.
Although he couldn’t be absolutely certain what had led to this state of clarity, Meng Hao couldn’t help but ponder how it might be useful to him in the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane. In any case… there couldn’t be a downside. In fact, now that he was clear-headed, he was sure that there must be a way to use this opportunity to get an advantage.
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