Joe Di gazed at the desolate expanse of yellow earth surrounding him. He closed his eyes, feeling a surge of passion and excitement within.
It was here that, years ago, he had stepped onto the Lethe Bridge, using it as a gateway into the Cycle of Rebirth.
Way Resonance spread from beneath Joe Di’s feet, gradually enveloping him. In just a few breaths, a black Reincarnation Bridge appeared in the void.
Joe Di’s gaze fell upon the Reincarnation Bridge. Suddenly, he sensed that it was somehow different from before. The bridge grew clearer, slowly extending to beneath his feet.
Taking a deep breath, Joe Di lifted his foot and stepped onto the Reincarnation Bridge.
One step, two steps...
With each step Joe Di took along the Reincarnation Bridge, his figure grew fainter until he finally vanished into nothingness. Yet the bridge still stretched across the void, resting on the ruined yellow earth.
Perhaps countless cycles of rebirth had passed, or perhaps it was only an instant. On the far end of the Reincarnation Bridge, Joe Di’s silhouette slowly appeared, at first a hazy outline.
As Joe Di drew closer to the bridge’s other side, his form became increasingly distinct.
When Joe Di’s feet once again touched the ruined yellow earth, he had returned to the moment he first entered the Reincarnation Bridge. The only difference was that his arms were now whole.
With a flick of his hand, Joe Di was now clad in a blue cultivator’s robe. His cultivation, which had remained dormant, had now advanced to the perfected Dao Integration stage.
Joe Di gently touched the jade at his chest, feeling as if he’d just awoken from a dream. When he returned from the Lethe Bridge, the dream was over. Yet he knew well that this was no dream, but a true cycle of reincarnation. On the path of reincarnation, Cassie Cao had helped him perfect his Dao heart.
But had his Dao heart truly been perfected? Cassie Cao was gone, and now there was another—Jaxon Di—who lingered in his thoughts. Up to now, he still didn’t know whether deliberately reincarnating to perfect his Dao heart was right or wrong. Cassie Cao, just like him, didn’t know either.
With a sigh, Joe Di extended his hand, and the Lethe Bridge appeared in his palm.
Something was off. As soon as Joe Di grasped the Lethe Bridge, he sensed a difference. His control and affinity for the Lethe Bridge were far smoother and more natural than ever before.
In the past, he seldom used the Lethe Bridge in battle. Against truly powerful opponents, the Lethe Bridge was of little use, and with ordinary foes, he had no need for it.
Yet never before had he felt such effortless mastery over the Lethe Bridge. This wasn’t simply due to a breakthrough in cultivation.
Joe Di immediately recalled the fragmented Nascent Soul he’d once pulled from the Lethe Bridge. He had no idea how many years that soul had been trapped there, nor did he recognize its origin or know when it had been suppressed within the Lethe Bridge.
Joe Di’s consciousness melded with the Lethe Bridge, but there was no longer any trace of residual soul. Even if there had been, a single thought would have allowed the Lethe Bridge to crush it cleanly—how could he have casually pulled it out after so many years?
“Hiss!” Joe Di drew in a sharp breath, suddenly understanding. He must never have truly mastered the Lethe Bridge before; the reason was that fragmented Nascent Soul residing within it.