The void stretched without end, its stars dazzling.
Meng Chuan faced the Path Guardian at the fourth fork.
The guardian was humanoid, dressed in a green robe. His features had a delicate, almost feminine cast, and his lively yet world-weary eyes seemed to have seen through all the affairs of the Mortal World.
Curved horns grew from his head, and patches of scales covered the backs of his exposed hands.
One look was enough to tell that he was not of the Human Race.
"After so many years, someone has finally made it here again and stood before me."
The green-robed, horned man clasped his hands behind his back and regarded Meng Chuan, his tone unhurried.
"I'm glad to have made it before you, too," Meng Chuan replied with a smile.
This Path Guardian was different from the previous three.
The earlier Path Guardians had not been true Living Beings. They had merely been formed from the power of Saint Origin Hall.
But the man before Meng Chuan was a true, intelligent Living Being.
Meng Chuan had known it the moment he laid eyes on him.
Of course, it was also possible that the ones Meng Chuan had encountered simply had not been true Living Beings.
According to the accounts, a God King had once encountered a real Living Being serving as the Path Guardian at the third trial.
Stranger still, that God King had also seen the same Path Guardian in the Corridor World.
In other words, if a real Living Being served as a Path Guardian, he might also be a native of the Star River Corridor World.
One moment he might be an overlord of the Star River Corridor World; the next, a Path Guardian barring Cultivators from the Origin Continent from advancing.
He wore many hats.