In the sky.
The thorn-entwined gateway stood open. Within lay the waning gloom of near dusk. A single speck of azure light leaped inside and, like a clay ox entering the sea, vanished without a trace.
Tiantuo stood upon the Coiled Image, unable to make out anything before him. Only boundless twilight came licking toward him, greedily swallowing him and the Coiled Image whole.
Bang!
The sound of wood striking stone abruptly pierced his ears. The Coiled Image hit the ground, subjecting him to such a violent impact that even his Purple Mansion Tier Dharma Body felt dizzy.
Twilight lay heavy, obscuring everything.
The Coiled Image gradually returned to its original shape, shrinking to a foot in length. It rose like a dragon or serpent and coiled upon Tiantuo's shoulder, emitting rays of azure Jia Wood light that barely illuminated the way ahead.
The road beneath him was paved with great slabs of blue stone, overgrown with weeds and wreathed in white vapor, with no end in sight. Overhead hung heavy twilight, and in the far west, a dim, sinking sun.
That setting sun was frighteningly huge, seemingly very close to the ground. Its red light looked like dripping blood. Beneath it, he could faintly discern a bottomless abyss, from which layers upon layers of pitch-black vegetation stretched upward like long arms, holding aloft this great sun of dusk.
Tiantuo stood motionless, staring blankly at the strange scene. The setting sun and twilight embraced him like a woman, holding him so tightly that he could scarcely breathe.
It was as though he were one of the humans who had stood upon the earth tens of thousands of years ago, gazing at this same twilight scene, when the oldest Shamans would call their tribespeople home to escape the night.
An unbearable