"How did you end up here?" Nick Ning was deeply puzzled. Lyle Yew was supposed to be in the Genesis Universe—how did he suddenly arrive in the Five Elements Universe? With Lyle Yew's status, even if there was some urgent matter in the Five Elements Universe, he shouldn't have come in person.
Most crucially, even for someone like Lyle Yew, coming to the Five Elements Universe was no easy feat. He had to use the Rift of Annihilation to get here.
But Nick Ning quickly understood, his gaze settling on the Chaos Gate. "So you came for this artifact?"
Lyle Yew laughed heartily. "You could say that. If you open your world yourself, I promise to let you go to reincarnation. Even your woman—I won't touch her."
It was only after arriving in the Five Elements Universe that Lyle Yew sensed the aura of the Chaos Gate, which was why he came here and happened to run into Nick Ning.
As for asking Nick Ning to open his own world, it was because Lyle Yew was confident he could kill Nick Ning, but not confident he could open Nick Ning's world himself.
Nick Ning shook his head, unwilling to waste any more words. He raised his hand, and a ghostly pale arch bridge appeared before Lyle Yew.
Lament, lament—Lyle Yew, you might as well rest in peace on the Bridge of Lament.
The first bridge Nick Ning summoned from the Seven Bridges Divine Art was the Bridge of Lament. It wasn't because he thought Lyle Yew was too powerful and needed the full Seven Bridges Divine Art to suppress him. It was because Lyle Yew had killed countless cultivators of the Five Elements Universe. Both Nick Ning and Emperor Ye had been forced by him into the Rift of Annihilation, and even Zachary Zephyr's disappearance was connected to him.
Simply killing this man would be too easy for him. He must be suppressed within the Seven Bridges, never to rise again.
Lyle Yew had seen Nick Ning's Seven Bridges Divine Art before—more than once, in fact. Though it was a top-tier divine art, he believed it was wasted in Nick Ning's hands.
Such a supreme technique should be wielded by Lyle Yew himself, not left in the hands of an ant.
So when Nick Ning unleashed the Seven Bridges Divine Art, Lyle Yew didn't even think to retreat. Cloaked in the Golden Altar, he instead charged straight toward the Bridge of Lament.
In Lyle Yew's eyes, the Bridge of Lament was nothing more than a shabby wooden bridge surrounded by broken Dao resonance. Nick Ning's Dao was fractured, so Nick Ning did not deserve the Seven Bridges Divine Art.
Boom! Before Lyle Yew could set foot on the Bridge of Lament, its soul-piercing resonance swept over him. His own domain's Dao laws began to shatter, and he could no longer sense his own Grand Way.
No return in life, no retreat in death—once you step onto the Bridge of Lament, you never come back.
No longing for home, no reincarnation—only the Blood River washes away sin!
Countless times Lyle Yew had experienced the resonance of the Bridge of Lament, but never as profoundly as now. He felt his very soul wrapped up by that resonance. At this moment, not only was he unable to summon the altar, even maintaining his sanity on the bridge became a luxury.
How could Lyle Yew not realize that Nick Ning's Grand Way now completely overwhelmed him? Yet he had foolishly charged straight into Nick Ning's Seven Bridges Divine Art. His Golden Altar was a mere imitation; even if Nick Ning returned the true Heaven's Dominion Altar to him, he would still be unable to tear through the surging resonance of the Bridge of Lament.
The resonance on the Bridge of Lament surged like the tide, while a misty, ghostly wind swept up from beneath the bridge. At this point, Lyle Yew could no longer afford to care about his foundation or lifespan.
His Grand Way burned, his blood and lifespan burned—Lyle Yew drove the imitation Golden Altar to tear open the resonance of the Bridge of Lament in a frenzy.
That sliver of a rift was like a beacon before death for Lyle Yew. He nearly burned away all his divine essence, desperate to escape through that gap.
Before Lyle Yew could reach that rift, an even more violent surge of ghostly energy swept in. He saw the second bridge.
Step onto this bridge, do not look back—the end of longing holds no one waiting.
No farewell glance, no hesitation—once your foot falls upon this bridge, your heart is broken.
Lyle Yew knew this earth-yellow bridge well—it was Nick Ning's Bridge of Longing. He had just escaped the Bridge of Lament and now landed on the Bridge of Longing.
Lyle Yew's wild gaze gradually calmed. He knew that even if he risked everything, he could cross the Bridge of Longing, and maybe even Nick Ning's third Bridge of Lethe. But he was certain he could never cross the fourth Bridge of the Underworld. Besides, he knew Nick Ning's Seven Bridges Divine Art had seven bridges in total.
Even if Nick Ning only had three bridges, after crossing the Bridge of Lethe, he would be waiting for death. He knew well that Nick Ning's strongest divine art was not the Seven Bridges Divine Art, but the Lawbreak Finger.
The moment despair filled his heart, all of Lyle Yew's fighting spirit vanished. He stopped advancing and stood on the Bridge of Longing, turning to gaze at the endless rolling resonance. There, he seemed to see his homeland—the Seven Realms Universe, the place where he was born and first cultivated...
A torrent of gray resonance surged up from beneath the Bridge of Longing, instantly enveloping him. Lyle Yew's Dao laws shattered like paper, and he was swept up by the rolling resonance.
“Nick Ning, can you tell me how you managed to progress so much in such a short time...?”
Lyle Yew never heard Nick Ning’s answer. As soon as he finished speaking, the surging Dao resonance of the Bridge of Longing engulfed him, sweeping him down beneath the bridge.
Nick Ning watched as Lyle Yew was swept beneath the Bridge of Longing, his heart filled with emotion. Back then, even when he joined forces with Emperor Ye, they had been no match for Lyle Yew. In the end, they’d been hunted down and forced to flee into the Rift of Annihilation, where, on the brink of death, he’d awakened to the true realm of 'seeing mountains as mountains, seeing water as water.' He understood that the absence of law was not a new law, but true lawlessness.
Now, even before his new Dao was fully perfected, killing Lyle Yew felt as effortless as slaughtering a chicken. It was a testament to how much his strength had grown.
Yet Nick Ning was puzzled: Lyle Yew seemed far weaker than he had been in the Genesis Universe. Not only were his treasures strangely diminished, but even his cultivation realm appeared...
That's right—Lyle Yew was still gravely wounded. Could it be that someone in the Genesis Universe had seriously injured him, forcing him to flee here?
There were many in the Genesis Universe capable of wounding Lyle Yew. What Nick Ning couldn’t understand was—who would dare? And even if Lyle Yew was gravely injured, why would he flee to the Five Elements Universe? With Zane Edge backing him, what did Lyle Yew have to fear?
Joe Di now stood outside the Rift of Annihilation. Even without entering, he could sense the terrifying aura of Nirvanic destruction within. This aura suppressed all Grand Ways—Joe Di suspected that the moment he stepped inside, his own Dao would begin to unravel.
Had Zha not appeared, Joe Di might have hesitated. But now, knowing Zha existed—and that there might be more figures like him within the Genesis Nest—Joe Di was even more certain: unless he broke through to the peak of the Creation Realm, he would never have a voice in the contest for the Saint Seat.
So, after observing the rift for just an hour, Joe Di stepped into the Rift of Annihilation. He had no choice; his Path of Rules had to advance further.
The moment he entered, terrifying Dao resonance tore at him. Instantly, Joe Di felt his inner world destabilize, his Path of Rules thrown into chaos—he couldn't even complete a single cycle of circulation.
Fortunately, as long as Joe Di’s will remained, his Path of Rules would never cease, even with his divine sense and essence suppressed.
Once the Rule Cycle formed, even if his Dao was shredded by the Nirvanic aura in the Rift of Annihilation, his Path of Rules would repair itself in an instant. This eased Joe Di’s mind somewhat. He raced deeper into the rift, convinced that the information He Wang had obtained was not fabricated. If he could cross the Rift of Annihilation, he would truly reach the Genesis Nest.
Joe Di’s physical body had already surpassed the Saint Physique, and with the World Tree and Path of Rules constantly repairing his battered form, even so, his flesh was repeatedly torn apart and restored again and again.
At first, Joe Di could only advance using ordinary movement techniques. Later, as his Path of Rules operated, his divine sense stretched farther, allowing him to use divine sense flight. Eventually, he relied solely on Rule Movement, his speed increasing steadily.
For Joe Di, unless his wounds became fatal, he would never stop.
(That's all for today—good night, friends!)