I have Taoism and can understand other worlds

Chapter 634 Bridge of Confusion

"Three souls are eternal, and there is no loss of soul."

After casting the incantation, the two slowly opened their eyes. Looking before them, they saw a long, chilling river.

The river was as black as ink, without a single wave. It was as calm as a mirror, utterly still.

Jiang Wen plucked a red petal from the ground and threw it into the river. The petal sank and disappeared into the river in a moment.

Seeing this, he threw another black stone towards the river, which fell straight down just past the surface.

"Eight hundred miles of quicksand, three thousand miles of weak water. Even a goose feather cannot float, and reeds will sink to the bottom. This Wandering River is so deep that stones will fall when it passes by, which is somewhat similar to the legendary Quicksand River." Jiang Wen looked at the silent river surface, somewhat curious about this long river.

He took out a jade bottle from his storage bag, made a sword-finger gesture, and pointed it at the river. A thin stream of water rose from the river's surface, but quickly disappeared back into the water.

Jiang Wen frowned slightly. He had just been preparing to collect some of the river water. However, he hadn't expected it to be so difficult to collect; it was as if a tremendous force was pulling the water back into the river.

He tried several times, but to no avail. This left him somewhat disappointed. The river's extraordinary appearance suggested that some mysterious secret might be hidden within it. However, since he couldn't retrieve the water, he had no way of figuring out its mysteries.

Seeing his actions, Yukihime couldn't help but ask curiously, "Um, benefactor, what are you doing?"

"I was planning to collect some water from the Wandering River to take back, but unfortunately I can't hold it all," Jiang Wen said regretfully.

"..." Xue Ji was stunned upon hearing this. She had never heard of anyone daring to collect the waters of the Wandering River. When the Holy Maiden of Hundred Streams came to this place, she was too busy avoiding the Wandering River to even think about touching its waters. It was said that once you touched a single drop of the Wandering River's water, you would never be able to escape from it.

The little girl swallowed hard, feeling that her benefactor was someone special.

"Just call me Brother Jiang. 'Benefactor' doesn't sound very nice," Jiang Wen said to Xue Ji with a smile. He didn't really like the word "benefactor," since too many people called him that. Although many people called him Brother Jiang, at least that was something he liked to hear.

Xue Ji nodded obediently, like a chick pecking at rice. Although she was a saintess, she understood who the main character who had come to the holy land was.

Looking at the Wandering River, Jiang Wen's heart stirred.

A wooden whip appeared in his hand, and he picked it up and lashed it across the river.

The river water was like ice water poured into hot oil; it immediately boiled and churned like a fountain.

Jiang Wen was overjoyed and immediately began collecting water from the river. There were no obstacles at the moment, and he quickly filled two bottles with the water from the River of Wandering.

He put away the wooden whip and patted the storage bag with satisfaction.

Sure enough, this wooden whip is more powerful.

Yukihime, who was following behind, was dumbfounded. She never expected that the River of Wanderings could have such a strange sight.

Seeing the river water splashing in all directions, Xue Ji quickly hid behind Jiang Wen. She gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, not daring to relax her grip even for a moment.

After fetching water from the river, they headed towards the ancient bridge over the river. Before long, the two arrived at the bridge.

Jiang Wen didn't rashly step onto the ancient bridge; after all, everything in this world seemed rather strange. This ancient bridge was no ordinary structure; it couldn't be anything simple. No one would believe that something so unusual could exist across the River of Wandering.

He looked at Yukihime behind him, wanting to know the origin of the bridge.

"The Bridge of Confusion—if your will is not firm, you will be trapped on it forever," Xue Ji said.

"The Bridge of Confusion? Well, there is a way." Jiang Wen chuckled, feeling as if the River of Wandering and the Bridge of Confusion were prepared just for him.

He took out two yellow talismans and handed one to Xue Ji.

"Here you are." He made a sword-finger gesture, holding the yellow talisman in his palm. He chanted, "Lingbao Tianzun, comfort my body. My soul, my five internal organs, are in profound darkness. Azure Dragon and White Tiger, stand in harmonious opposition; Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise, guard my true self. Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"

But the moment Jiang Wen finished chanting the incantation, two yellow talismans glowed. Xue Ji felt a refreshing coolness throughout her body, as if the blazing sun had fallen into an icy spring.

Before she could savor the moment, she heard Jiang Wen's voice coming from the other end.

"Let's go."

The two stepped onto the ancient bridge, and the world seemed to turn before their eyes.

However, the ancient bridge, which was only three or four zhang long, suddenly grew longer, its end disappearing into the bluish-gray mist. And the bridge, which was one zhang wide, now became more than three zhang wide, enough to accommodate several carriages side by side.

Yuki carefully examined the Bridge of Confusion. She had heard the saintesses mention this bridge long ago. According to them, crossing the Bridge of Confusion would free one's heart from confusion. But no one is without confusion, so even the saintesses who were fortunate enough to cross the bridge usually spent a long time clearing their hearts of confusion.

With a heart full of trepidation, she followed behind Jiang Wen. She curiously observed the man in front of her, feeling that he was hiding many secrets.

Although they were members of the Baiyi tribe who had been rescued, they didn't feel like rescued people at all when they saw him. Instead, they thought he was the young master of some tribe who had just gotten lost in the Land of Fallen Immortals.

After returning to the capital, she thought they would never meet again, since becoming a Holy Maiden meant she couldn't leave the inner ring of the Azure Sky Tower without permission. But then, she was summoned by the elders and saw him again in the council hall.

This man always had a calm and indifferent expression, as if he didn't care about anything. Even when facing the Twelfth Elder of Baixi, he remained composed. This sometimes made Xueji wonder, what could possibly have gotten to him?
The girl's thoughts were complicated, which Jiang Wen was unaware of.

After stepping onto the Bridge of Confusion, he walked toward the end.

Along the way, piles of white bones were everywhere, their clothing revealing them to be those of holy maidens undergoing trials. One can only imagine how many holy maidens have perished on this Bridge of Bewilderment over the millennia.

There was no idle chatter; the two silently walked past rows of skeletons. The crunching sound of their footsteps on the bones constantly assaulted Yuki's ears. In a daze, she seemed to see many saints standing by the bridge, their hands clasped in prayer, then extending their palms toward her.

Countless whispers echoed in her ears, constantly calling for her return.

"Come, come to this tranquil place."

"Is this world of suffering truly what you desire? Come to us, and you will find liberation."

……

Just as Yukihime was about to reach out her hand in a daze, a loud voice woke her up.

"Wake up, don't be misled by these decadent songs."

The voice was like thunder, instantly pulling Yuki back to reality.

The little girl felt her heart racing and was drenched in cold sweat. She gasped for breath, trying to relax.

Looking around at the skeletons with lingering fear, she hurriedly caught up with Jiang Wen.

The illusion she had just experienced almost bewitched her, causing her to remain there forever.

"Thank you, thank you so much, Brother Jiang." Xue Ji quickly expressed her gratitude, knowing that he had saved her life.

"Don't let your mind wander, or you'll easily lose yourself here," Jiang Wen's calm voice came.

Yukihime's expression hardened, and she composed herself, walking forward.

Soon the gray fog was left behind, and the end of the bridge appeared.

(End of this chapter)