Chapter 555: 508 River and Bridge

Having swallowed the pure Yuan Qi, the snake shadow that had been coiled like a hibernating snake became active, its upper body suddenly rising straight up, like a mountain-climbing snake about to launch an attack.

However, even as it stood upright, it remained a shadow, stuck to the ground.

For a moment, Tang Zhao almost thought this snake had come alive, rising from the plane of the shadow to become a real snake in the Human World. But after steadying his mind, he realized it was merely slithering within the shadow on the ground; it was likely that the light and shadow had created a visual distortion, making him feel for an instant that this shadow was three-dimensional and truly existed.

The snake slithered away from its original spot, leaving behind the faint, water-glimmering crack that had been on its head, which stretched longer and longer until the shimmering water formed a river.

The crack on the ground finally settled at twelve zhang in length.

But this river was not twelve zhang long, because from the perspective of Tang Zhao and the others, this river did not flow from East to West, nor from North to South, but from top to bottom.

Yes, they seemed to be standing at the top of a waterfall, looking down as the surging river water roared and vanished downward like a falling Yin He.

This waterfall, this river, was twelve zhang wide!

However, a waterfall in the Human World would eventually land on the flat ground of a plain, so where did this waterfall in the shadow fall to?

They did not know, because what they saw was merely a shadow resembling a waterfall; the river, the water's glimmer, and the waterfall were all images composed of light and dark changes within the shadow.

It was as if this broad shadow were a canvas, and the waterfall was a storyboard drawn by a painter proficient in the rules of perspective, a pattern that gave one infinite imagination.

Watching it, Tang Zhao only felt that the shadow was an infinitely deep, infinitely large Black Hole world, and through the falling river, he saw a glimpse of the world on the other side.

At this moment, Xing Cang tilted his head to look at him and said, "This is You Water."

Tang Zhao nodded to acknowledge the instruction, secretly recalling in his heart: You Water...

It seemed to be the river water in legend that poured into Yingyuan, the only passage in this world that communicated with the Shadow world.

Some had proposed that if one truly wanted to explore Yingyuan, one could sneak through by diving into the You Water.

Of course, this plan was too crazy, and it was rejected as soon as it was proposed.

Only the Jinwu who proposed the plan thought it was feasible.

Seeing the river fully unfold, the bridge also appeared.

The coiled shadow snake was right by the river, as if it were a river-guarding beast, and it suddenly plunged its tail into the river water.

A twisted ribbon of silk was cast into the river within the shadow.

In an instant, the Shadow river rippled, and the ripples turned into whirlpools.

A bridge rose from the river water.

Using "rose" was likely inaccurate, because the bridge was also a shadow; the shadow rose from the shadow, still not having departed from that plane of "shadow."

But it was still that kind of light and shadow transformation; Tang Zhao could see the feeling of "rising" from it. This was still a masterpiece that cleverly used the principles of perspective; even if it were sketched on drawing paper, one could still see a realistic three-dimensional sense.

This bridge drawn by shadows was the Yinglang Bridge!

The bridge spanned diagonally across the two banks of the river, with one end right before their eyes and the other end plunging straight into the endless shadow, the opposite bank invisible.

"The Yinglang Bridge has appeared; you may enter. Go across first, one by one."

Tu Fei pointed to the bridge and said sternly to the team from Changfa Manor: "This is your first time walking it, so don't be afraid. Cross it steadily, and nothing will happen. By rights, I have already obtained the permission of Lord Panying, and we should be able to go onto the bridge and pass through without obstruction. But there is a one-in-a-million chance that some Abyss Envoy might pass by; they might just take a look, or they might take an interest and want to interrogate you."

"This possibility is very low, but I am still making it clear to you. If you encounter an Envoy you do not recognize, you must not panic, nor be disrespectful, and certainly do not go up to curry favor. Every Lord has a different temperament; you do not know which word or action might violate a taboo. If that happens, no one can save you if you die!"

"If you encounter a Lord, just stand there honestly. If they pass by, then they pass by; if they block the road to ask questions, answer whatever is asked. Do not look guilty! We are all people from Wangliang Mountain, so we have plenty of confidence and are not afraid at all. Just speak properly, and naturally, nothing will happen."

Tang Zhao thought to himself: But... it seems not everyone is one of our own.

Tu Fei said the possibility of encountering an Abyss Envoy was very low, just a warning in case of an emergency, but Tang Zhao felt a bit uneasy—his luck seemed quite average.

He often encountered things that only had a very small chance of happening.

"After crossing, just stay on the bridge and wait for the main force; do not run around. Although it only leads to the Second Tier, it is not a place where you can run around. If you are caught and killed by some bad-tempered manor owner, no one will stand up for you. But as long as you are on the bridge, you are safe. Now, who will go first? Xing Cang? Or Xing Qi?"

Tang Zhao looked at the bridge, which in no way seemed to be in the same dimension as him, and could not help but remain silent, then looked at Xing Cang.

I heard you walked the Yinglang Bridge back in the day; how about you walk a few steps for us?

Xing Cang sighed: "I shall go first. How nostalgic; seeing this bridge again, the bridge is still the same bridge as it was back then, but the people and things have changed."

After uttering a lament that no one understood, he took a step forward with his foot.

One step, crossing the boundary between the Human World and Wangliang Mountain!

Tang Zhao had heard Chen Zong speak of a weapon called a Second-Dimensional Foil.

This weapon could strike a person from three dimensions into two, from a three-dimensional object into a flat one. Of course, given Chen Zong's conditions, it was impossible to explain it very vividly; he himself could not even draw a clear sketch, and Tang Zhao could not perceive it intuitively, so he could only rely on imagination, or perhaps he could not even imagine it and had to rely on abstraction.

But today, Tang Zhao saw a scene that could only be described as "having been hit by a Second-Dimensional Foil."

Xing Cang stepped onto that "three-dimensional" bridge; with one step he lost his color, with two steps he lost his shape, and with three steps he merged with the bridge, becoming a silhouette on it.

In particular, this bridge had some three-dimensional perspective in it, so when Xing Cang stepped onto the bridge, he did not immediately turn into two dimensions, but maintained that three-dimensional sense, only becoming slightly blurred. As he advanced, the blurring deepened until he truly became one with the Yinglang Bridge, and the crowd suddenly realized with a start that he was already a person of another world.

When they wanted to look again, he had already crossed the bridge into the You Water that did not know where it was falling.

Recalling this change in detail, there was a strange sense of horror.

This was the first time Tang Zhao had seen such a strange sight, reminding him of those people in Baiyujing who were dragged into the Yingyuan by black shadows; at the time, they were described as: "Never to be reincarnated for eternity." Now he actually had to walk onto the bridge leading to the Shadow world himself; if this wasn't throwing oneself into the jaws of hell, what was it?

Tang Zhao still remembered his identity; although it was his first time walking the Yinglang Bridge, by rights he had lived in Wangliang Mountain for many years and should never be making a fuss, so he had to force himself to stay calm, his lips pressed tightly together.

It was the White Fox, who truly had experience, who saw this and said in a voice only Tang Zhao could hear: "It is nothing more than an entrance to Tianwaitian. Wangliang does not have the ability to create a rule-based world; they just made the entrance look intimidating. What you see is not the old man's current appearance, but his projection on this side."

Tang Zhao pondered it carefully before he understood a little: the so-called Tianwaitian was a Small World belonging exclusively to one's self that could only be created by those above the Sword Immortal level. It was just that the Small World of the Sword Immortal realm was far from being able to independently create life and form its own universe; in fact, it was just a semi-independent small isolated space of the Great World. In essence, it was similar to an Empty-Type Demon Cave, perhaps not even as complete as an Empty-Type Demon Cave.

Wangliang's strength was also at the Sword Immortal level, and its Wangliang Mountain was a similar existence. This Yinglang Bridge could be seen as an entrance, only it manifested in a strange way; once a person entered, they had entered, and had already completely arrived in another world. They were not being dimensionally reduced. And this shadow could be seen as a window; looking from the outside, it was a projection of the people inside. It looked strange because the window through which it was projected was quite sinister, making the projected image look strange.

It was essentially the same principle as looking into a funhouse mirror.

Was that what it meant?

Tang Zhao could not be sure, but he felt a little relieved in his heart. He was about to get on the bridge next. With so many pairs of eyes watching, he could not afford to hesitate.

One step, two steps.

The moment he stepped onto the bridge, he felt the world before his eyes fading rapidly, as if it were covered by a gray-white curtain.

Immediately after, a clattering sound exploded in his ears, as if a huge waterfall were truly falling before him, emitting a deafening roar.

Before his eyes, countless black, white, and gray lines rushed toward him, like a torrential downpour; he only saw rainwater, raindrops, and rain lines tangled chaotically, bit by bit, drop by drop, thread by thread. Between heaven and earth, there were only these tangled lines, and he could not distinguish any shape. Fortunately, apart from the overwhelming colors before his eyes, he felt nothing in other parts of his body.

Tang Zhao held his breath and stepped steadily forward on the bridge, only feeling that with every step he took, he sank a little further; the ground beneath his feet seemed to be collapsing endlessly downward, all the way down to the underworld.

But as he lowered his head slightly, he saw that he was still firmly stepping on Yinglang Bridge, while all around him were various gray-white rays of light, making it impossible to distinguish the four cardinal directions.

Now, he could only continue walking forward.

After walking a few steps, he felt as if a massive Shadow had swept past him.

Was that... a fish?

If that Shadow was a fish, it was at least a Kun of the Northern Deep; it was so massive that the Shadow almost completely covered Tang Zhao's surroundings.

Tang Zhao was startled and paused slightly, but after the Shadow swept past, it vanished, leaving only those chaotic lines that formed no shape before his eyes.

Stay calm; this might be the Abyss Envoy that was just mentioned passing by. At this time, one must not act surprised or alarmed; unless it actively seeks me out, just pretend not to see it.

Thinking this, Tang Zhao continued walking forward, only to feel another Shadow sweep past; this time, it was a gigantic ape.

The shadow of the ape also flashed by. Tang Zhao remained calm on the surface but cursed inwardly: Wasn't it said that usually there is no one here, and at most an Abyss Envoy passes by occasionally? Why are they coming one after another?

Fortunately, this stretch of road did not seem long; after walking a few steps, he could already vaguely see an exit ahead where the light was not particularly bright.

Just at this moment, another Shadow lunged toward him. This Shadow was a few sizes smaller than the previous ones, but still sufficiently massive. Because its features were not distinct, Tang Zhao could not tell what it was; it seemed like a bear, yet also like a cat.

Here it comes again, here it comes again; do not pay it any mind.

Tang Zhao kept his eyes straight ahead, waiting only for it to pass so it would be over.

However...

The black shadow suddenly stopped.

Tang Zhao's heart sank, and he heard a sound by his ear: "Eh?"

Immediately following that, he heard a voice from the gray-white depths say: "Who are you?"