Chapter Forty-Four: Enforcing Justice on Behalf of Heaven—True Enforcement of Heaven’s Will

“Hmph, you are still defeated. Before you stand my three artifact spirits, and within the bridge, countless more await. You are finished. I want to see for myself what power the so-called Savior among the Prophets truly possesses!”

As the Bridge Spirit spoke, the space trembled; behind the three artifact spirits, more began to appear, densely packed, layer upon layer, encircling Wuyun.

“It’s raining!”

In the great hall, the Rain of Mokong Soulwater began to fall, but for these artifact spirits, it had no effect. They were not beings of soul, and thus had no fear of the soulwater’s corrosion.

The rain grew heavier, its rhythm distinct, faintly resembling the sound of someone weeping. Gradually, the sound became clearer—it was not weeping, but rather an ancient Buddha chanting, narrating the sufferings of the world.

“What is this sorcery?” The Bridge Spirit, well-versed in myriad arts, felt a surge of terror at the Buddha’s voice within the rain. Before he could fade away, Long Yun made a motion with his hand, and the artifact spirits froze in place.

Picking up the remaining eighty-three beads, Long Yun finally spoke in a slow, measured tone: “This string of prayer beads was cast down by the Buddhist Realm from the highest dimension. Along with the beads came a penitent, sent to expiate his passivity and sins.”

“When he arrived, I was not present. When he departed, I alone knew the fate of these prayer beads. The Spirit of Space collected them, and later, they were hidden by his servant.”

“These prayer beads possess no offensive power, their material is ordinary. Yet you must know, anything from the Divine Realm can carry divine intent—an intent of tremendous might. So too with these beads. I combined this intent with the soulwater to forge a new form of attack—a curse. It seems simple and easy to resist, but those unaware are often its victims!”

At last, the Bridge Spirit’s expression changed. The tide of artifact spirits that had surged forth now withdrew just as quickly, leaving only three.

“The sharp-nosed gnome is the most troublesome—not strong in attack, but always the first to strike, ruthless and merciless. As for the others, these three dare to pit the wives, concubines, servants, and mounts of the Golden Bridge Emperor-Immortal against us? Such arrogance.”

With a wave of Wuyun’s hand, the image of the Six-talented Ancestral Dragon appeared, howling within the two halves of a broken scissor. He was slowly dissipating, his spirit sundered as his vessel was cleaved in two. As the vessel perishes, so does the spirit.

But in the next instant, Wuyun pointed, his speed so great that the Bridge Spirit barely registered it before the Six-talented Dragon vanished.

In the following second, the Bridge Spirit’s heart jolted. Wuyun had transferred the spirit of the Six-talented Dragon into the Ancient Yellow Severed Blade. That was his life-bound weapon—now that he was devoid of a physical body, he relied on it to suppress lesser foes!

In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, dragon patterns emerged on the blade’s surface and it flew to Long Yi, who was both shocked and overjoyed. Yet the Six-talented Ancestral Dragon mocked, “So, you can control a Dao Artifact, but you can’t subdue this broken heavy weapon?”

“When this divine blade is restored, I’ll cleave you three times a day to vent my hatred!” he rambled on, until Wuyun tapped once more, and the dragon vanished into Long Yi’s body. The latter seemed stupefied—his wounds had not yet healed when the severed blade heartlessly cut in, reopening the freshly mended gash!

“You did that on purpose, you old devil! I’ll activate the restriction!”

Wuyun stopped the agitated Long Yi with a look that said everything, while the little eagle behind them scoffed, “A tiger does not eat its cubs, much less a dragon. Your father merely wishes to teach you well, to keep you from straying down the wrong path.”

“Kill! Attack them!” the Bridge Spirit commanded again, but the Lady in Red, the black-faced elder, and the crimson poison flood-drake moved even slower than before. Sometimes, a single move required three efforts, each faltering, before it was complete.

It was as if a sword thrust had lost all its force when it struck the steel.

Touching his wound, Wuyun sent a message to Long Yi, then took the lead, walking straight toward the Bridge Spirit.

With every step he took forward, the Bridge Spirit retreated a step, until he was forced into a corner. It was not that he didn’t wish to flee, but the restriction prevented escape.

Terror showed on the Bridge Spirit’s face—a god, fallen from two realms, now cast into the mortal world. Should he truly die, his true spirit’s reincarnation would struggle a thousandfold to ever return to the godly or immortal realms!

At such moments, Wuyun dared not be careless. Desperate foes often choose mutual destruction, shattering both jade and common stone alike.

“Mibami La Hong…”

A long, sonorous chant rang out. The Bridge Spirit hesitated, and before he could react, a fissure appeared in the Golden Bridge. Through the fissure, an immense eye emerged.

The eye was expressionless, yet contained infinite emotion, as if all things in the world resided within it. It gazed thoughtfully at Wuyun, who forced a laugh and whispered, “Carrying out Heaven’s will—truly carrying out Heaven’s will!”

Amid the Bridge Spirit’s terror and cries, the eye glared; instantly, the interior of the Golden Bridge was thrown into chaos. Then, in the blink of an eye, everyone found themselves in a passageway.

Ahead, a vast spatial rift was slowly closing.

The passage was in disarray—countless objects scattered everywhere, weapons and artifact spirits among them. Suddenly, thunder burst from the spatial rift; hundreds of tribulation bolts surged in, then vanished.

Those who could withstand a single tribulation bolt—either their Dao Artifacts were demoted to treasure artifacts, or left damaged. None emerged unscathed. The Lady in Red, the black-faced elder, the crimson poison flood-drake—all dissolved into vapor as soon as they landed in the passage.

The Lady in Red suddenly uttered words in the celestial tongue, followed by the elder and the flood-drake, their voices muttering until, at last, they faded into nothingness. This was not the result of the Golden Bridge’s destruction, nor of the tribulation thunder, but rather the Bridge Spirit—the godly stowaway—being devoured by the Spirit of Space.

Wuyun listened for a while, but when the others vanished, he simply collected three white crystal beads and murmured, “Given the chance, I’ll crush your soul beads when I reach the First Immortal Realm. That way, when your souls reincarnate, you might return home once more.”

The others did not understand the tale. Wuyun sighed, “They came here to die, and yet they managed to drag me into this. It seems that from the moment the Saint Tyrant appeared here, everything was already fated.”

“They wanted to entrust me with finding the reincarnation of the Golden Bridge Emperor-Immortal, and revealed the various treasures they left behind in the Second Immortal Realm. Alas, the Lady in Red was the Emperor’s daughter, the black-faced elder his brother, the crimson flood-drake his mount, the stone golem sent by a comrade-in-arms, and the sharp-nosed gnome a fortune-king seeking gain…”

Wuyun let out a long sigh. One realm suppresses another; gods entering the Immortal Realm find it a thousand times harder than immortals entering the mortal world!

As for why the Spirit of Space appeared, it was because Wuyun used his unique status to communicate. Anything belonging to the Spirit of Space bears its mark—none can steal it. Moreover, by carrying out Heaven’s will, he formed an accord with the Spirit of Space: all previous grievances would be written off, and Xiong Laosan and others could bring immortal treasures into the Qianluo Space. So long as they did not use them, there would be no pursuit—a tremendous favor!

In return, the others obtained the Golden Bridge Emperor’s artifact—the true treasure!

Where profit is involved, the Spirit of Space always appears!

While Wuyun mused, the Battle King, Long Yi, Xiong Laosan, and the rest scrambled to snatch up the various objects strewn about the passage, prompting Wuyun to curse, “You treat the scraps as treasures! Ah, Little Eagle, that precious rope is nice—give it to me for tying my hair.”

Though everyone was gravely wounded, the spoils were rich. The Spirit of Space cared little for most things within the Golden Bridge, so many ancient treasures from the Qianluo Space were scattered everywhere.

Almost everyone acquired thirty to fifty treasures, and two or three damaged Dao Artifacts. As for spiritual artifacts, none bothered to pick them up!

“To survive such a trial! Compared to this foe, even the Tiger-faced Immortal is nothing!” Wuyun fondly fiddled with the prayer beads in his hand, letting Liu Ruyan tie up his hair for him.

It was the first time a woman had ever tied his hair—even if she was a formidable woman, an old maiden at that!