So-called Eternity

Chu Ming fell silent.

He had seen that road, but the road was the road, and he was himself.

Seeing the road did not mean he could walk it.

To walk it required time, required accumulation, required taking one step at a time upon that road, passing one trial after another.

The three words "look to yourself" were like three needles piercing his Dao Fruit.

Tianheng's afterimage began to fade.

Starting from its feet, the fading spread upward.

Its feet changed from solid to translucent, then from translucent to transparent.

The transparency spread upward—to its knees, its waist, its chest.

The time of an incense stick had run out.

Its gaze fell upon Chu Ming.

Within those eyes were anticipation, blessings, and the relieved acceptance of someone thinking, "This is as far as I can help you."

"Chu Ming."

It called his name.

Its voice was lighter than before, as light as wind passing through a bamboo grove.

"The Eternal Bridge is not the end. It is the beginning."

"Only by crossing it will you know what lies on the other side."

Its words fell.

The afterimage dispersed.

From its chest to its neck, from its neck to its head.

Before vanishing, those eyes gave Chu Ming one final look.

That gaze held trust, and the entrustment of someone saying, "I leave everything to you."

Then it disappeared.

The platform returned to silence.

Those runes continued to circulate, and those lights continued to flicker.

At the center of the platform, that fragment continued to float, radiating a light that belonged to no known law.

Chu Ming stood there, looking in the direction where the afterimage had vanished.

His gaze was calm.

Three breaths later, he turned around.

Blood Butcher and Dark Nether's auras were drawing near.

They had sensed the