The Lord of Void and Real
Chapter 546

Chapter 546: Chapter 542: The Bridge of Netherstone Chapter 546: Chapter 542: The Bridge of Netherstone “Go!”

Upon seeing this, Lu Huaming's expression changed. He quickly summoned a moon-white flying boat, pulling Xie Yuxin onto the boat, and flew away.

The white flying boat was incredibly fast, keeping up with the pace of Dan Yangzi and the others.

Observing this, Shen Luo also summoned the Pure Yang Sword Embryo, making it adhere to himself. It transformed into a crimson sword light that dashed forward, nimbly catching up with Dan Yangzi and the others, matching their pace.

The ghosts within the cloud let out angry roars, spewing black Qi into the cloud beneath their feet. However, it seemed that the cloud could only travel at a certain speed and no faster.

Immediately, a considerable distance was established between them.

Seeing this, Shen Luo heaved a sigh of relief.

“It's good that you all are safe. But how did you find yourselves here?” Once the immediate danger had passed, Lu Huaming took the opportunity to ask Dan Yangzi and the others about the situation back there.

“We were teleported here by that array. Without Brother Lu, we had no leader, so we aimlessly wandered around. Unfortunately, we encountered these ghosts and have been pursued all the way here. However, luckily, due to these beasts, we managed to regroup.” Dan Yangzi said.

After hearing this, Lu Huaming realized that Dan Yangzi and the others, too, were completely unknowing of this place. He couldn't help feeling disappointed.

“Brother Lu, what do we do now?” Dan Yangzi promptly asked.

“First, we must do everything we can to lose those ghosts behind us!” Lu Huaming decisively said.

Shen Luo was of the same opinion and was about to speed up his sword using the Pure Yang Sword Technique.

“Master, be careful! Ghosts are approaching from the front!” The Ghost General's voice echoed in his mind again.

“Everyone, be cautious. There's something happening in front of us.” Taken by surprise, Shen Luo immediately warned aloud.

The others were momentarily taken aback, but before they could ask, a shrill scream rang out from the front, and a streak of black shadows shot out from the darkness ahead. They were black ghost birds.

These ghost birds were four to five zhangs long, their bodies entirely black. Two eyes shone with blood-red, fierce lights. The most peculiar thing about them was their beaks, which were as long and sharp as swords.

At this moment, these ghost birds folded their wings close to their bodies, their bodies straightened like giant black arrows, and dashed towards the group with astonishing speed.

Since everyone's field of vision was rather limited in this place, they were fortunate to have Shen Luo's warning. They were on guard, promptly scattered, and narrowly avoided the giant birds' attack.

Only Lu Huaming's flying boat was quite large, and he also had Xie Yuxin on board, thus he couldn't dodge in time and a ghost bird's beak was about to hit them.

A green thunderbolt dashed in, hitting the black ghost bird. With a huge bang, the bird was sent flying away – it was Shen Luo's timely help.

Lu Huaming heaved a sigh of relief. Although his flying boat had some protective capabilities, it probably wouldn't have been able to withstand the ghost bird's sharp beak attack.

“Don't get entangled with these damn beasts, lose them with speed!” He nodded gratefully at Shen Luo while simultaneously controlling the flying boat to dodge the attacking ghost birds, and shouted.

In truth, even without Lu Huaming telling them, others knew what to do.

These ghost birds weren't a real threat. The real danger lay behind them. If they were caught, and the ghosts from behind caught up, the six of them would be doomed.

Everyone pushed their speed to the limit and dodged left and right amidst the flock of ghost birds, and only when it was absolutely necessary did they summon their magical instruments to kill some of them.

However, there was a great number of ghost birds, and it seemed like they intentionally entangled Shen Luo and the others. Although they made every effort to move forward, their speed had greatly decreased.

The cloud behind them was quickly approaching, and it looked like it would catch up with the group any moment.

At this moment, an ancient stone bridge appeared by the river ahead. Despite its visible broadness and tangible deterioration, it remains largely intact, meandering towards the opposite side of the river, its end unknown.

“Across the bridge!” With a flash in his eyes, Lu Huaming ordered decisively and was the first to vault onto the stone bridge.

Seeing this, everyone else also flew up to the bridge.

As soon as the group set foot on the bridge, the ghost creatures in the dark cloud and those black ghost birds stopped instantly. They seemed to have lost sight of them and stared blankly around while uttering furious roars. However, they never glanced at the few people on the bridge, as if they had suddenly gone blind.

But now those ghostly creatures did not disperse but surrounded the head of the bridge. They were sniffing with their noses, or listening with their ears, in search of the group's traces.

“What's the matter with these ghost creatures? Can't they see us?” Xie Yuxin asked in astonishment.

Shen Luo looked down at the stone bridge, attempting to extend his Divine Sense to explore, but was blocked by an invisible prohibition on the bridge which prevented his Divine Sense from leaving his body.

“This stone bridge seems to be somewhat peculiar,” he said, raising an eyebrow.

Dan Yangzi and others also quickly sensed the prohibition on the bridge and showed a look of surprise.

Only Lu Huaming remained calm, even appearing to have heaved a sigh of relief.

“Lu Daoist, by the looks of you, it seems you know about the origin of this bridge?” Dan Yangzi looked at Lu Huaming and asked.

“Master once told me, there is a Styx River in the Netherworld that connects the Yin and Yang Realms. Above the Styx River, there is a Ming Shi Bridge built from a special mineral known as 'ming stone' found in the gap between Yin and Yang. The bridge allows only the living souls to pass but not the ghost creatures, hence why the ghosts underneath can't find us,” replied Lu Huaming.

“What does 'allowing only living souls to pass but not ghost creatures' mean?” Xie Yuxin asked, puzzled.

“Elder Brother Xie may not know this. After death, a living soul still carries the Yang Qi from the Human World, which takes some time to completely purge. This Ming Stone has the effect of absorbing Yang Qi and turning it into Yin force. However, the Styx River harbours many dangerous creatures. To prevent them from attacking the newly deceased, the Netherworld put prohibitions on this bridge, which will automatically hide the Qi of those bearing Yang Qi. All of us monks carry Yang Qi, hence upon stepping on this bridge, the bridge will mask our Qi. Thus the ghost creatures underneath can't find us. Just now, I was only giving it a try and didn't expect it to be true.” said Lu Huaming.

“So that's how it is!” Xie Yuxin looked down at the stone bridge and exclaimed in astonishment.

Shen Luo was also taken aback on hearing this. Although he had sensed something odd about this stone bridge, he had not expected the bridge to have such a history.

“So according to Brother Lu, this Ming Shi Bridge spans across the Yin and Yang realms. So is the other side of the bridge the Yang Realm?” asked Chi Yang Master, looking towards the other end of the bridge, his face showing doubt. It seemed he didn't entirely believe Lu Huaming's words.

That place was shrouded in dense white fog, making it impossible to see what was ahead.

“I can't guarantee that with absolute certainty. Master didn't elaborate to me about the Styx River back then. I hope it's as I said.” Lu Huaming hesitated for a moment, then replied.

No one spoke for a moment as they exchanged glances. They had encountered many strange incidents today. The appearance of this stone bridge was peculiar, and although Lu Huaming sounded confident in his explanation, nobody was sure whether that was the truth. Advancing held uncertain dangers.

“Regardless, there are countless ghost creatures lurking under the bridge. Retreating means certain death, but pressing forward offers a glimmer of hope. I believe Brother Lu's judgment won't be wrong,” said Shen Luo.

“Brother Shen is right. We should press ahead. Even if dangers lie ahead, I believe we can handle them if we all work together,” added Xie Yuxin.

Dan Yangzi and Red Hands Master exchanged glances, seemingly still hesitant.

“Let's go,” said Ge Tianqing who had been silent the whole time. He took the lead, stepping towards the front.

Shen Luo, Lu Huaming, and Xie Yuxin also proceeded forward.

Seeing this, Dan Yangzi and Red Hands Master could only follow suit.