“What’s wrong?” The two women were taken aback by his reaction.
Zu An explained severely, “I have the ability to foresee danger, and with Firework’s blessing, I was able to see further ahead than I usually can. I foresaw my death on every chain I stepped on, and every death was as tragic as could be.”
“How’s that possible?” Isabella’s face paled. She grabbed Zu An’s arm. “You shouldn’t go then. It’s a path of certain death.”
Firework frowned. “It doesn’t make sense for all eight paths to lead to death. Big brother Zu, try to look back on what you saw. Do none of the routes provide a hope of survival?”
Zu An shook his head as he shared his deaths for each of the eight chains. He then said, “If there’s a chain that offers a glimmer of hope, it would be the first one. I didn’t witness my death after plummeting into the rift valley. There might be a shot at surviving after falling in there.”
Firework stopped him. “No, that won’t do. The rift valley is too dangerous. Even its wind carries immense destructive power. You’ll die a tragic death if you fall in there.”
“Indeed!” Isabella exclaimed. She held onto Zu An, afraid that he would recklessly attempt the first chain.
“But we’ll be dead meat if we return without giving it a try,” Zu An replied worriedly. It hadn’t been easy for them to get here, and the terrifying demon spider was waiting for them behind. They didn’t stand a chance against the spider. He was the type to choose to gamble instead of facing certain death.
“Big brother Zu, aren’t you capable of instantaneous movement and swapping positions? Can’t you move to the other side right away?” Isabella suggested.
“Those skills are limited to the range of my divine sense, but I’m only able to extend my divine sense across fifty meters here. It isn’t enough for me to reach the opposite side.” Zu An shook his head.
Isabella crumbled into despair.
Firework pondered about it and asked, “Big brother Zu, is it possible that one of the chains doesn’t lead to certain death? Perhaps the vision you saw wasn’t the end. Try to look back on what you saw. It might be possible that you came back to life in one of the visions.”
Zu An widened his eyes as he remembered the words Yumen Beiqing had left him back then: ‘The end can also be the beginning’. He should have understood that better than anyone, being a Time Scribe as well as an Enigma and Chaos envoy.
Indeed. What I saw might not necessarily spell death. Let me see which situation I could possibly come back to life in.
Realization struck him moments later.
“Allow me a moment of silence.” Zu An walked up to the cliff and stared at the chains contemplatively.
Firework and Isabella held their breaths and kept completely silent lest they disrupt him.
In truth, Zu An wasn't doing any thinking. Instead, he took out his Spring and Autumn Brush and Time Annal[1]. He wrote a sentence in it. Moments later, he walked up to the third chain.
Seeing this, Isabella exclaimed with a quivering voice, “No! Your flesh will be sliced off and you’ll turn into a skeleton!”
Even Firework asked, “Are you sure that’s the right chain?”
Zu An replied, “I practice a unique cultivation skill. I won’t die even when reduced to a skeleton.”
The Primordial Origin Sutra granted him tremendous regenerative prowess, whereas his position as the Netherworld’s master gave him a deeper grasp of death than anyone else.
“That might be true elsewhere, but it’s too dangerous here.” Isabella’s eyes were filled with concern.
Zu An agreed that this place couldn’t be evaluated with common sense. To be safe, he squeezed out a droplet of blood essence and handed it to Isabella. “If a mishap happens, put this blood essence droplet on my skeleton. It will bring me back to life.”
Isabella bit her lips and nodded. I’ll guard this blood essence droplet with my life.
“Since you've made up your mind...” Firework bit her lips as she activated her Dream Clan’s blessing once more. “...I’m sure you’ll succeed!”
A golden light shrouded Zu An. All their lives were at stake here, so he didn’t stand on ceremony. He patted her shoulder before making his way to the third chain. He lifted his foot and stepped on it.
The old, grayish chain lit up, bringing slight illumination to the thick darkness. Runes flowed across its surface like water.
Unfortunately, the light appeared to have drawn the notice of something beneath the rift valley. Several eerie red lights glowed below. Sometimes, there were also flickering green lights that resembled the eyes of terrifying behemoths. This made the sinister environment feel even more stifling and nerve-wracking.
Isabella nervously followed Firework to the edge of the cliff. They didn’t dare breathe loudly, fearing that they would alarm Zu An. They clenched their fists so tightly that their nails were digging into their flesh.
A strange wind blew up from the rift valley. Recalling that was how her Planet Detector had shattered, Isabella was so nervous that her heart thumped up into her throat.
Zu An lifted the Wind Quelling Pearl he'd received from Isabella. The destructive wind assailed him, but it couldn’t breach the space within a meter of him. In the end, it slowly dissipated.
The two women on the cliff’s edge exhaled in relief. It’s good that the Wind Quelling Pearl works.
Zu An continued his journey.
More gusts of wind blew up from the rift valley, each one stronger than the previous. However, they were unable to breach the safety zone created by the Wind Quelling Pearl. Eventually, the wind died down as if it understood the futility of its endeavor.
Even so, Zu An showed no relief, as the wind dying down suggested that the attacks were coming from a sentient being. Could there be something below?
But it was too late for regrets. He could only muster his courage and march on.
As he advanced further, the runes on the chain grew brighter. Zu An felt immense pressure crushing him, so much so that it eroded his cultivation. He should have been strong enough to easily flit across even a metal wire, but with the unraveling of his cultivation, the stress he was under amplified greatly. He felt as if he was marching with a mountain on his back.
The previously stable chain shook violently, and it looked as if he would fall at any moment. Furthermore, he felt countless malevolent gazes staring at him from the shadows around him. Fear, regret, and despair gripped his mind.
I shouldn’t have come here. Why did I take such a huge risk to save someone else’s father? Maybe it’s not too late to turn back.
...
Doubts gushed into his mind, and they only made the chain shake more.
“Big brother Zu!”
“Be careful!”
Zu An suddenly heard the familiar cry of a bird. Hundredwarble unfurled its wings and soared into the sky. The miscellaneous voices distracting him slowly quieted down, and his eyes regained clarity.
I’m not just saving someone else’s father. I’m saving myself, too!
His willpower had been tempered by countless life-and-death situations. It didn’t take long for him to dispel unnecessary thoughts and continue on with stable footsteps.
But Isabella clutched her mouth. She saw Zu An’s flesh disappearing with each step that he took, such that even his bones could be vaguely seen.
1. Chapter 2631. These two tools are used together to allow him to turn whatever is written into reality, but it has to be within reasonable grounds. It’s similar to Keyboard Come, but he doesn’t have to pay a price straight away. Instead, he risks suffering a backlash if the outcome is not ‘plausible’ enough. ☜