After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Zhou Ran continued forward.

With each step the boots touched the frozen surface of the River of Oblivion, black and gold patterns spread outwards from beneath the feet, clinging to the ice.

The faces of the dead beneath the ice were illuminated by the desolate yang energy. Their chapped lips twitched, and some fingers curled up against the ice, as if grasping for their last breath of reincarnation.

The power of oblivion from the River of Oblivion climbed up his ankle, seeped into his bones, and clung to his soul, trying to scrape away his past bit by bit.

Within Zhou Ran's dantian, the Golden Core of the Heart circulated once.

"My memories are not under the jurisdiction of the River of Oblivion."

As soon as the words were spoken, the power of oblivion that had climbed to his knees was pressed back into the ice layer, the ice surface made a fine cracking sound, and was then welded back together by the black gold blood energy.

From within the Yin Gathering Banner, Li Zhiyao spoke:

"Your Mind-Only Golden Core is even more domineering than it was six months ago."

Zhou Ran didn't stop walking.

"Only tyranny works."

He looked up at the few human skin lanterns hanging at the bridgehead in the distance.

"Those who are reasonable have already been put on the list."

Li Zhiyao did not respond.

A hundred feet away, the Bridge of Helplessness lies across the sealed-off River of Oblivion.

The bridge, built of gray and white stone blocks, was blackened by the embers of the embers. The red ropes that used to be tied to the railings on both sides were now mostly broken, with the remaining ropes dragging on the ice, stained with black blood, and some even wrapped with severed fingers.

The north bank of the bridge has fallen into the hands of the rebels.

Rows of black flags were raised.

The Fifth Hall Yama's flag was placed at the forefront, while the Eighth Hall City King's flag was hung diagonally on the side, its base being whipped up by a cold wind, revealing the densely packed fusion soldiers behind it.

Those soldiers were clad in Eastern-style armor, but their lower bodies were connected to the skeletons of Western undead.

Some had their ribs flared outwards, while others had rusty iron wings nailed to their backs. As they walked, their joints collided with each other, making a dense, cracking sound.

Zhou Ran glanced at the north bank; the other side had not yet pressed forward.

Black Impermanence stood at the bridgehead, facing him across the hundred-foot-deep icy river.

The command flag in his hand was raised, but not lowered.

Zhou Ran ignored him and went straight to the bridge.

The third bridge pier was driven deep into the ice.

The entire bridge pier was cast from yin iron, and its surface was covered with moss and rust. Several yin talisman nails that had long since rotted were also embedded in the rust.

The ice beside the bridge piers was a darker color, and beneath it lay clusters of dead souls, their faces overlapping, pinned to the water by the power of the frozen river.

Zhou Ran crouched down, activating his Purple-Gold Demon Eye.

In the Demon Eye's vision, a thin line of folded space was hidden at the base of the bridge pier.

The line clung to the rust, so thin it almost melted into the iron itself.

If it weren't for the resonance between the Primordial Origin Bone and the object, even if it were a Golden Core Great Perfection cultivator, it would only be treated as an ordinary crack and passed by.

He stretched out his left hand and pressed it against the bridge pier.

The vital energy and blood of the Great Wilderness seeped into the palm.

A low vibration emanated from inside the bridge piers, causing a few pebbles on the bridge surface to fall and bounce twice on the ice.

Li Zhiyao reminds:

"Don't use brute force."

"That's a spatial fold from four thousand years ago."

"If you tear it in the wrong place, the bridge pier will break."

Zhou Ran said:

"Give me directions."

Li Zhiyao said:

"Three inches to the left."

Zhou Ran moved his palm.

"Go down another half inch."

Zhou Ran did as instructed.

"stop."

"Your blood pressure is too low, don't let it dissipate."

Zhou Ran gathered the primordial energy and blood into a thin thread and sent it into the edge of the spatial folds.

The black and gold blood energy burrowed into the line, and the outer layer of rust on the bridge pier peeled off in pieces, revealing the old patterns engraved underneath.

The breach that had been sealed for four thousand years has been opened.

A bluish-white light emerged from within.

The light and shadow formed the outline of a short halberd, with sword light flowing along the edge of the blade, and an extremely sharp killing intent compressed within.

As soon as Zhou Ran's palm approached, he felt a dislocation in his left arm bones, as if they were being pressed down by a mountain. The Primordial Origin Bone vibrated under his skin and flesh, enduring the oppressive force.

"Is this the sword intent of the Nascent Soul stage?"

He closed his eyes slightly, carefully sensing the sensation.

This is the second Divine Transformation Sword Intent left behind by Li Chengfeng.

When I first comprehended the previous concept, I was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, far from having the same level of understanding as I do now.

He murmured to himself,

"He cultivates the wilderness, and his attacks are not limited by weapons."

"The halberd represents the form, the sword represents the intent."

Zhou Ran stared at the bluish-white light: "This sword intent can kill the Lord of Avici Hell!"

Li Zhiyao said:

"After being fully awakened, it can force the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm to reveal its weaknesses."

Zhou Ran lowered his brows, somewhat surprised.

"Only enough to force an opening?"

Li Zhiyao's tone became a bit harsher:

"Do you think a Nascent Soul cultivator is like a wandering ghost by a bridge, someone you can just strangle with your hand?"

"You're currently in the late stage of the Golden Core realm. The fact that you can even hold it shows you're tough enough."

Zhou Ran did not reach out and forcibly take it.

The primordial energy and blood seeped into the outer layer of the bluish-white light and shadow little by little.

That sword intent had been dormant for too long, and had long since become connected with the energy of the bridge pile.

Every time Zhou Ran moved slightly, the bridge piers would tremble, and more stone dust would fall from the bridge surface, sprinkling onto his shoulders and the ice.

Li Zhiyao said:

"Slow down."

"If the bridge piers crack, the bridge will collapse."

"The bridge collapsed, and even sealing off the river won't hold it back."

Zhou Ran did not reply.

He used his right hand to draw a half-zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) circle on the ice.

The primordial blood energy suppressed the edge of the circle, and the demonic fire in his palm condensed into a point of black flame, which landed in the center.

The ice was burned through, leaving a hole the size of a bowl.

The waters of the River of Oblivion surged up from the cave, their inky black surface swirling around the cave entrance.

The power of oblivion rushed towards Zhou Ran's face along with the water vapor, trying to drill into the space between his eyebrows.

The faces of Chen Ya, Xiao Hongli, and Lin Qingxue flashed through my mind, some becoming blurry.

Zhou Ran whispered:

"go back."

With the suppression of the Golden Elixir of the Mind, the surging waters of the River of Oblivion were pushed back below the cave entrance.

The water level sank, revealing the surrounding ice edges that had been scorched red by the blood energy of the primordial wilderness.

He took out the two broken pieces of porcelain given to him by Meng Po and put them into the River of Oblivion.

After the porcelain shard was submerged in water, golden liquid surfaced from the broken edge.

Pulled by the water, the two pieces of broken porcelain slowly came together, their edges interlocking, and molten gold seeped in through the crack.

Li Zhiyao said:

"Meng Po's bowl is an old artifact from the underworld."

"The longer it remains shattered, the more chaotic the River of Oblivion becomes."

Zhou Ran asked:

"What can you do after gluing it on?"

Li Zhiyao said:

"Serve the soup."

Zhou Ran looked at the Gathering Yin Banner.

Your answer is practically the same as not answering at all.

Li Zhiyao said:

"Some things in the underworld, the simpler they are, the more they suppress order."

"There is no soup in the River of Oblivion, so the souls of the dead cannot cross the bridge."

"If the souls of the dead block the riverbank, the underworld will eventually be overcrowded."

"What the rebels lack most is manpower."

Zhou Ran said:

"So when Meng Po handed the bowl to me, she was also putting her escape route on the line."

Li Zhiyao said:

"She believes you."

Zhou Ran said:

She had no other choice.

Before the words were finished, the bluish-white sword intent within the bridge pier trembled.

The golden patterns on Zhou Ran's left arm lit up.

A scene from the past suddenly entered my consciousness.

The Naihe Bridge, built four thousand years ago, is still standing.

The bridge railings were intact, and red ropes hung down. The waters of the River of Oblivion churned beneath the bridge, but were forced back three zhang by a powerful aura.

A man clad in black armor stood on the bridge, holding a short halberd. His back was tall and his spine was straight.

He thrust a wisp of sword intent into the bridge pier, the tip of the short halberd slicing through the folds of space, the bluish-white killing intent sinking into the dark iron.

Then, he turned around and spoke to the empty river.

"If anyone comes to take it later, the underworld will likely be completely rotten."

"Tell him not to follow my example."

"The living have their own way of life; don't kneel and wait for the dead to save you."