He walked barefoot along a blood-red road, each step leaving a crimson footprint. The path was treacherous, littered with flames and traps. Yet, Ning Beichen pressed onward as if drawn by an irresistible flame, a moth to a fire. Time and space no longer seemed to bind him.
After an unknown duration, Ning Beichen's consciousness suddenly cleared. He saw the terrifying flames and traps before him, and the surrounding monsters, sending a shiver down his spine.
"Is this my own Zhou Tian Lu? Is Zhou Tian Lu this terrifying?"
Ning Beichen felt a surge of panic but managed to calm himself. Before him lay a dark abyss from which countless monsters crawled. They advanced towards him, and Ning Beichen stumbled back a few steps, only to find himself surrounded by a dense mass of creatures behind him, their forms indescribable.
"This is my own Zhou Tian Lu. I cannot be afraid, nor can I retreat."
With a gritted determination, Ning Beichen stopped retreating and advanced towards the monsters.
With a swish, Ning Beichen cried out in pain. A bloody gash appeared on his thigh, inflicted by a monster with four eyes and four limbs.
"These monsters are real, not illusions or figments of imagination."
The pain made Ning Beichen more lucid. The bloody wound on his thigh was a stark reminder that if he continued to treat these creatures as phantoms, he would surely perish.
"Die!"
Ning Beichen threw a punch at a monster. With a crack, the creature was reduced to a pulp.
"That's it?"
To his surprise, Ning Beichen found these monsters were not invincible. No longer afraid, he unleashed a barrage of attacks.
With a roar, Ning Beichen's "Da Beng Mie" strike annihilated a large group of monsters. He quickly pushed forward. The place was too bizarre, the monsters inexhaustible, making Ning Beichen question if this was truly his Zhou Tian Lu.
Ning Beichen continued to eliminate monsters, finally reaching the end of the abyssal blood road. He discovered that beneath the end of the blood road was another, larger abyss, filled with even more fearsome creatures.
At that moment, a colossal monster emerged from the end of the abyss. It resembled a small mountain, its body covered in sharp claws. This ferocious creature immediately swiped at Ning Beichen as it approached, its claws lashing out.
With a deafening crash, the monster's claws gouged a massive rift in the blood-red ground. Ning Beichen was blasted backward by the shockwave.
"Da Beng Mie!"
Without checking his injuries, Ning Beichen unleashed his "Da Beng Mie" at the monster. However, this time, his previously invincible strike was blocked by the creature's claw.
With a snap, another of the monster's claws pierced Ning Beichen's body, pinning him to the blood-red road. A soul-wrenching pain coursed through Ning Beichen, causing him to convulse.
Gritting his teeth, Ning Beichen tried to break free. But then, another claw descended, piercing his abdomen. Ning Beichen let out a piercing scream. As the third claw moved towards his head, Ning Beichen roared. A faint red light emanated from his body, and a mysterious power surged forth. Ning Beichen raised a hand, pushing against the descending claw. With a crack, blood rained down. Ning Beichen, with sheer force, ripped the claw from his body.
Simultaneously, the colossal monster roared. The claw embedded in Ning Beichen's abdomen lifted him, flinging him into the air. Blood poured from his midsection. His intestines were ruptured, and he was on the verge of suffocation. He knew that if he didn't find a way out, death was imminent.
"Is this truly the path to becoming one with heaven and man, to transcend the mortal realm?" Ning Beichen began to falter. But survival was the immediate priority.
Just as Ning Beichen felt utter despair, he remembered the Songshan Sword Art. The woman in hemp had said it was a transcendent sword technique. If he could bring the bronze ancient sword in, he might have a chance of survival.
As Ning Beichen sighed, lamenting his inability to bring the bronze ancient sword with him, it miraculously appeared in his hand. Ning Beichen was momentarily stunned, then his excitement erupted. His inner strength surged, and he unleashed the Songshan Sword Art towards the monster above.
The immensely powerful monster, under the might of the Songshan Sword Art, was cleaved in two. Its head was severed by the bronze ancient sword. Ning Beichen fell from the sky, his multiple bloody wounds causing him to tremble. But seeing the monster cut in half in the distance, he laughed like a child, tears of joy streaming down his face. He had finally won, albeit by sheer luck, proving that his life was not meant to end.
Moreover, perhaps because he had defeated the giant monster, no more creatures emerged from the abyss's end. But with such severe injuries, could he endure?
As this thought crossed Ning Beichen's mind, the corpse of the slain monster suddenly dissolved into a shower of mysterious light, which flowed into Ning Beichen's body. Ning Beichen was startled, fearing he was about to be possessed. But soon, he realized that as the light entered him, his wounds instantly healed, and he felt better than ever.
Ning Beichen quickly got to his feet and examined himself. He found not only that he was uninjured but also brimming with vitality.
"What… what is happening?" Ning Beichen could not comprehend it. Logically, he was merely in a state of consciousness, deep in meditation. He should not have a physical body. Yet, he now had one, could be injured, and could even use the Songshan Sword Art. Was this his physical self? Or was the self outside his physical self? If this was his physical self, then where was it currently?
Ning Beichen suddenly realized that Zhou Tian Lu was far more complex than he had imagined, its intricacies exceeding his wildest comprehension.