Wang Lin withdrew his gaze from the heaven trampling scene. The last thing he looked at was the vast sea between the celestial clan and Ancient clan, mainly the nine pillars that formed the door to the Immemorial God Realm.
However, even with his cultivation level, he still could not clearly see the Immemorial God Realm. It was as if the Immemorial God Realm was far beyond Wang Lin’s current abilities.
Wang Lin gazed at the stormy sea, and after a long time, he closed his eyes. The moment he closed his eyes, his gaze disappeared from the Immortal Astral Continent.
When he opened his eyes, again he was still in this unknown place and on the huge second bridge. However, when he looked down, he found that although he was still on the second bridge, he was almost on the other side now.
It was as if everything from before had taken place in the few moments it had taken him to cross the bridge. It was impossible to distinguish if it was a dream or reality.
Looking at the Heaven Trampling Bridge, looking at the third, fourth… Until the ninth bridge, and looking at the blurry image beyond the ninth bridge, he couldn’t help but feel like it was all so far away. Even his heart felt distant, as if the bridges represented an unattainable peak that made anyone who looked at it want to stop.
The moment this thought surfaced it amplified infinitely until it filled Wang Lin’s body. It was as if a voice was telling him to turn back and leave this place. To stop and not attempt to cross the remaining seven bridges.
Wang Lin stood at the edge of the second bridge. He only needed to take one step to walk down the second bridge to completely cross it. However, after a long time, he still seemed unable to take the last step.
Time slowly passed for a long time. Wang Lin still stood there and calmly looked ahead. He let out a sigh as he raised his right foot and stepped past the second Heaven Trampling Bridge.
“Is it to question oneself… If one’s heart were not strong, if one didn’t have a heaven-defying will, if one didn’t have the persistence to go on, perhaps they would have retreated on that step,” Wang Lin murmured to himself as he walked toward the third bridge.
The third bridge was very far and very close, but Wang Lin walked for three days and he still didn’t arrive at the bridge. He walked for three more days and it was the same. Three more days passed and the bridge still looked very far and very close.
On the ninth day, Wang Lin stopped. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly looked up. His eyes revealed a strange gaze and then he slowly closed them.
He didn’t need to look with his divine sense or his eyes. He sealed his vision and divine sense so he wouldn’t look at the direction or location of the third bridge. He then casually walked forward.
He walked forward step by step, and on the ninth step, he heard the sound of birds chirping around him. The soft light seemed to penetrate his eyelids.
He smelled the aroma of earth and also that familiar breath and aura. It was the smell of wood chips and the spiciness of tobacco.
His steps stopped.
“Tie Zhu, how is your studying?”
“Tie Zhu, you have to study well. Next year will be the county exam; whether you will have a future or not will depend on it. Don’t end up like me, who is stuck in this village for life.”
“Enough, you keep nagging him every day. I say our Tie Zhu can definitely pass the exam.”
These were the voices of his father and mother. This voices seemed to cross thousands of years to reach Wang Lin’s years. They were so real and seemed to bringt Wang Lin back to the quiet mountain village from thousands of years ago.
Wang Lin silently stood there and listened to the voices of his father and mother. Tears unconsciously flowed down from his eyes. There was a voice echoing in his heart, telling him to open his eyes to look at his father and mother.
However, at the same time, Wang Lin also knew that if he opened his eyes, he would stop on the third Heaven Trampling Bridge.
The first bridge fused the law of the world into one’s origin soul. The second bridge allowed one to get the view of heaven trampling but question whether their heart was strong enough… Wang Lin hadn’t understood the question at the end of the second bridge at first and was hesitant, but now he understood.
This third bridge was likely one’s inner demons. If one’s heart was determined and their life could flash by while their heart remained calm, then they would be able to walk past the third bridge.
But once that person opened their eyes, they would need to face their inner demons, face their own life. As a result, the chances of passing the third bridge would infinitely decrease.
The voices of his mother and father were still beside his ears as tears flowed down Wang Lin’s face, and he didn’t hesitate at all to open his eyes. Before him, he saw the familiar house, familiar yard, familiar table, and the familiar food on the table.
He saw his father, who was emptying his pipe on the side. He saw his father’s wrinkled face and stern eyes, but also the gentle affection behind those stern eyes.
He saw his mother walk out with the freshly cooked food from the house. There were some white hairs on hear head. There weren’t many, and were mostly hidden by her black hair, but Wang Lin saw them.
His mother might not have been beautiful to outsiders, but in Wang Lin’s heart, his mother was the most beautiful woman and forever a shelter from the wind in his heart.
Looking at his father and mother and the familiar scenes, although tears were flowing down, he smiled. He watched everything before him slowly dissipate into the void. He knew it was all fake, but he still had to take a look.
When this scene broke, Wang Lin was still standing below the second bridge and was far from the third bridge.
His father and mother were not cultivators, and mortals couldn’t be resurrected. For them, the best place to be was the reincarnation cycle. However, Wang Lin’s memories were eternal and he will not erase them, as they were more important than his life.
“If Wan Er had appeared, would I have opened my eyes even though I knew it was fake...
“But when father and mother appeared, even though I knew it was fake, I still opened my eyes,” Wang Lin muttered to himself.
“Who decided that one must close their eyes when facing the memories of their past and ignore these memories while maintaining a firm heart to not be affected by one’s inner demons?
“Who decided that one must have a firm dao heart to pass the third bridge...
“Who determined this was the only method of crossing this bridge…” Wang Lin’s eyes lit up.
“Family, love, and friendship are the most important things in my life. Why do I need to close my eyes? I want to keep my eyes open and see it all. I will open up my dao heart and accommodate everything!” Wang Lin took a deep breath and walked forward again.
After nine steps, he saw his parents again, and after nine more steps, he saw Mu Bingmei, Li Qianmei, and Li Muwan. Nine more steps and he saw Wang Ping. He saw the poor child pull his clothes and seriously asked him to cultivate. He wanted to accompany his father for life, he didn’t want to leave this world and leave his father alone. If his father was going to be alone, he hoped that his presence would exist beside his father.
Wang Lin saw Situ Nan, Qing Shui, Dun Tian, the old Vermillion Bird, and a lot of people who had helped him. He looked at them with his eyes opened and walked forward.
Big Head, Red Butterfly, Qing Shuang, Zhou Ru, Qing Lin… and many more people. Wang Lin seemed to recall his entire life as these people appeared.
Along the way, Wang Lin didn’t control his emotions. He cried, smiled, felt pain, felt sadness… He continued to walk forward for a long time. He didn’t know when he had stepped onto the third bridge, but when he arrived at the end of the third bridge, everything disappeared. He stood there and sighed. He looked back for a long time before he walked off the third bridge.
The fourth bridge was far away, and even further away, the illusion at the end of the ninth bridge had become a bit more clear. Wang Lin still could not see through the fog, but he could vaguely tell that there were two people inside.
Wang Lin walked forward with the memories he had just recalled and all the emotions he felt. A few days later, he arrived before the fourth Heaven Trampling Bridge.
This bridge was even larger than the ones before it, like a huge behemoth in this space. A hint of pressure spread out shrouding the area.
Wang Lin looked at this bridged, and after pondering a bit, he raised his foot. However, when his foot landed, it penetrated the bridge and stepped onto nothing.
At the same time, the fourth bridge suddenly trembled before Wang Lin and turned into countless specks of light. The specks of light all rushed toward him and formex a giant vortex that devoured Wang Lin’s figure.
The moment Wang Lin was devoured, in the secret chamber in Prince Ji Du’s palace, Wang Lin suddenly opened his eyes.
His eyes were filled with confusion for a long time, and it lingered. His slaughter essence true body had fully integrated with his body and there was no longer an overlapping shadow.
The ethereal essences were floating before him and the Celestial Emperor’s soul was still surrounded by his soul fire. The secret chamber was silent.
Only Wang Lin’s slightly rough breathing slowly echoed.
“Trample the heavenly path, Void Extinction Dao, Immortal Soul, Worshipped by all… I only crossed three of the nine Heaven Trampling Bridges and stopped…” Wang Lin took a deep breath and looked up. The confusion in his eyes dissipated and was replaced by determination.
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