The reddish-orange whips flailed from all directions like divine retribution. Their sheer momentum caused space to freeze up, making it impossible to avoid them.
“Be careful, big brother Zu!” Firework flitted behind Zu An and used her back to block the whip coming from the most challenging angle.
Pah!
The strike ripped her robe open, and her blood and flesh splattered. Her fair skin was charred black, as if singed by intense flames.
More whips flew in their direction. Zu An took Firework in his arms and hurriedly dodged them.
There should only have been eight whips, yet they covered the area. Despite his movement skills and special abilities, not even Zu An could dodge all of them. To make things worse, even the chain he was stepping on was flailing around like a whip, moving up and down like a wave and robbing him of stable footing. This forced him to jump to and from different chains.
All those factors made it more difficult for him to keep up. He could only hold Firework in his arms and use his body to protect her from the whips reminiscent of divine retribution.
Pah!
One of the whips struck Zu An, inflicting him with immense pain that hurt not just his body but his soul as well. Goosebumps rose across his body.
He had sustained many injuries in his lifetime, including from whips. The one that left him with the strongest impression was Chu Huanzhao’s Wailing Whip. But the pain inflicted by this whip was a thousand times greater!
Despite his resilience, he still let out a groan. It had to be even worse for Firework.
More whips flailed over. Zu An quickly used Annals of History, the ability bestowed upon him by Deity of Memory Meng. Glimmering with starlight, the river of history appeared around him. Firework was enchanted by the river’s beauty.
The reddish-orange whips fell into the river of history.
Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. The river of history had stopped even the terrifying demon spider’s attack, so it likely wouldn't have a problem blocking these attacks.
The next second, however, he widened his eyes in astonishment. The whips flailed through the river of history and struck his body, nearly knocking his soul out.
What is wrong with these whips? Why is the river of history unable to stop them? There are at least tens of thousands of years to the river, if not more! Are these whips forces that transcend time?
Zu An had no time to ponder this. He could only endure the whips while doing everything he could to avoid them. He had already attempted flight, but it was impossible to do so above the rift valley.
No matter how he dodged, the whips continued their assault relentlessly. He realized that the only thing he could do was to try his best not to fall into the rift valley while withstanding the whips.
He simultaneously channeled the Heaven-Devouring Sutra and the Primordial Origin Sutra, the former to absorb the whips’ destructive prowess and the latter to heal his injuries.
Even so, he still quickly reached his limit. The pain inflicted on his soul was unbearable.
Firework felt a droplet of blood falling on her face. She raised her head to look at the man embracing her. His dashing face was distorted by intense pain, and she could smell charred flesh coming from him. She fell into a daze.
“Why do you treat me so well?” she whispered.
Zu An couldn’t answer the question. He didn’t even hear her words, as his mind was already strained to its limit.
Just then, a golden tortoiseshell silhouette appeared around him. Isabella had been scouring her bag in a fluster and finally pulled out a set of defensive armor. That greatly lifted the burden on Zu An, and he finally had the energy to think about how he could overcome this crisis. He noticed that the eight flailing chains were extending from the shadows.
An idea popped into his mind. While a chain was striking him, he grabbed it and used its returning force to propel him and Firework forward. He was planning to use it to travel to the opposite side of the rift valley!
But the other chains flailed over, refusing to give him a chance to escape. If he didn’t let go, the other chains would cut him to pieces. As a result, he had no choice but to let go.
But his eyes gleamed. He noticed there was a skill he could learn from the chain—the Eight Barren Netherworld Suppression Formation!
This must be the formation behind the eight chains. If I can grasp the formation, I might be able to control the chains. Otherwise, I’ll be whipped to death.
He wanted to learn the formation, but when he saw the astronomical Rage points required for it, he was gripped by despair.
The Keyboard system swiftly notified him that there was a connection between the Netherworld Book of Life and Death and the Eight Barren Netherworld Suppression Formation, which greatly reduced the amount of Rage points needed to a million.
Even so, that was beyond Zu An’s means. He only had 97,460 Rage points left.
Do I have no choice but to be struck to death by this formation?
Foreseeing his impending death, an idea suddenly popped into Zu An’s mind. He shouted at Isabella, “Do you have an artifact that provides soul energy?”
Over the years, he'd slowly come to understand that Rage points were the manifestation of a person’s soul energy. A person’s soul fluctuated the most when feeling anger, making it the ideal moment to harvest their soul energy. Given the Universal Conglomerate’s influence, they would likely know about soul energy.
Isabella was panicking when she suddenly heard those words and shouted, “Yes, I do!”
She reached into her bag and pulled out a black card. Zu An had no idea how she did it, but the card suddenly appeared in his hand the next moment.
He was taken aback. This card resembled the credit cards he had seen in his previous life, just that it was made of a special material. This thing can provide me with soul energy?
But there was no time for him to think. He invoked the Keyboard System’s ability to learn the Eight Barren Netherworld Suppression Formation. His Rage points were emptied right away, but just when he felt a force dragging his soul out, the black credit card in his hand suddenly glowed and paid the remaining 902,540 Rage points required.
Before Zu An had time to be amazed, a formation blueprint appeared in his head, and he widened his eyes in enlightenment. He swiftly formed a series of hand seals while murmuring an obscure incantation.
The whips froze in midair. The runes on the chains reorganized themselves, causing the reddish-orange light to slowly vanish and be replaced by a gentle glow. At the same time, the chains settled down, and a light barrier formed between them, giving rise to a bridge that extended into the distance.