Chapter 2874: Chapter 2874: To Cross The Bridge
Zen knew that the Souls of Light weighed almost nothing.
As the width of the bridge could only allow two people walk on it side by side, the people of the Nine Li race and the Oneness Sky Palace had been marching in two rows, moving forward along the bridge.
Now they each grabbed onto whoever was in front of them, so that the whole group was connected.
Zen moved to the front of the line and grabbed the hands of Hutton and Sally.
There was a whooshing sound.
Everyone felt like a vise had gripped them by the arms and pulled them up forcefully. The Souls of Light were lifted into the air.
“Hang on!” Zen shouted.
As they held on tightly to him and to each other, Zen stomped on the ground and increased the power beneath his feet.
Earlier, he had been controlling his steps, trying to tread as lightly as possible, because he feared the bridge would not bear his power. However, as the red python glided by, he realized the bridge was not as fragile as it seemed.
As he stomped down, the wooden planks under Zen started to sink. But the bridge did not break.
Instead, the bridge bent down, then snapped back into place.
Like a tight bowstring, the bridge bounced Zen away. The Souls of Light flew into the air but kept a tight grip on each other, forming a glowing line in the darkness. From a distance, it looked like Zen was flying a kite.
The Souls of Light were disoriented at being tossed into the air. Some of them called out to each other, trying to fight their dizziness. “We're moving so fast!”
“Where are we now?”
“Careful, we might fall into the Dark Region!”
They could feel cool, dry winds sweeping through their souls in the air.
The bridge creaked and groaned as Zen landed on it.
As soon as he found his footing on the bridge, Zen rushed forward again.
The red python seemed to have been caught by surprise at how fast these people were moving. It hissed loudly. The scales on its head crested, like a threatening cockscomb.
The python slithered forward on the cramped bridge, increasing its own speed and gaining on Zen and the others.
In the air, the disciples could see the snake catching up. They felt chills of fear at the terrible sounds made by the red python behind them.
The speed of Zen's movement left the disciples behind him floating in a line that trailed upwards. The disciples at the furthest end of the line were at least fifty feet in the air.
The disciples had fought to keep their grip on each other despite Zen's jarring quickness. Some of them were screaming. Most of them found it difficult to stay calm especially as the red python seemed to be moving even faster than Zen.
“Thad, hurry!” “It's coming closer!”
“It's only a hundred feet away!”
“We're going to get eaten!”
Those words were from the disciples at the end of the line, who realized that they would be the first to get eaten if the red python decided to raise its head and snap its jaws at the line of flying Souls of Light. 𝘙ᴀNÓᛒĘs̈
Zen didn't bother looking back. He could feel the rhythm of the red python's movement on the bridge and knew that it was about to catch up to him. Unfortunately, Zen couldn't fly on the Other Shore.
He didn't waste energy on speaking. He just focused all his energy on moving forward. He was now running at his maximum possible speed.
However, it wasn't fast enough. He still couldn't shake off the red python.
Each time it raised its head, half of its body rose into the air. Its huge mouth opened to reveal sharp fangs and a forked tongue. The disciples closest to it were terrified.
“Hold on!” Zen shouted.
The disciples gripped each other tightly as Zen swung his arms and flicked the line of souls forward.
The red python had just reared its head. Its open jaws closed on nothing as the Souls of Light were sent flying forward. Zen had flicked the line of souls like a whip.
The python let out a sound that was a mixture of roar and hiss.
It had fully expected to bite down on the souls at the end of the line, and it slithered forward so quickly it looked like a long red blur on the bridge.
“The python is much faster than I am! I can't outrun it much longer,”
Zen thought to himself.
The red python lifted its head and snapped its jaw forward.
It approached Zen and the others like a streak of red lightning.
This time, Zen had no time to save the souls at the end of the line. He tried to flick them forward again, but the python was too fast. In an instant, its jaws had closed around four screaming disciples.
In a panic, most of the remaining disciples lost their grip and fell to the bridge. Chaim shouted as he fell off the edge of the bridge. Fortunately, he managed to grab the railing of the bridge with one hand. Trembling, he pulled himself up.
Everyone stopped and turned to face the red python. Now they had to fight. There was no chance to escape.
The majority of the disciples were so terrified that they stood frozen in place, just gawking at the intimidating red python. Elvinia, Dorothy, and the members of the Nine Li race retreated cautiously, keeping a nervous, watchful eye on the python.
They were frantically considering what they could do to fight against the python. But Souls of Light were no match for the creatures who lived on the Other Shore. Moreover, the python was a creature of the Dark Region. It was too strong for them.
The python roared and opened its jaws to reveal long white fangs.
It began to slither towards them, ready to devour more souls.
The disciples kept backing up instinctively. But they knew in their hearts that the python was about to eat them.
“Stand aside!”
Zen bellowed. Instantly, he turned into a giant version of himself. He was hundreds of feet tall now. Before the python could react, Zen reached down and grabbed it by the head.
Even though Zen had activated the Wild Body, his power was not increased by much. Still, his size made it a fair fight between him and the python.
The red python tried to open its jaws but it was smothered in Zen's grip. It twisted and thrashed, but to no avail. Zen lifted the python into the air and threw it over the side of the bridge.
The snake roared one last time.
The red python fell into the infinite darkness, until they couldn't hear it anymore.
Most of the people in the group, including Chaim, had never seen Zen change into a giant. They had been so focused on the python that they initially failed to recognize that the giant who had saved them was Zen. They stared at him for several moments, stunned, before coming to their senses.
“Thad's thrown the red python off the bridge!”
“I thought we were doomed!”
“Dang, we lost six more disciples!”
They paused, remembering the six who had been killed by the python. Those who survived were grateful to Zen for saving them. If he had hesitated for even a moment, more of them would have died.
“I don't know how deep the darkness goes. The python comes from the Dark Region, so it may not be killed simply by falling into the darkness. We should cross the bridge as soon as possible,” Zen said.
Everyone sobered up at Zen's warning.
The two kinds of creatures they had met in the Dark Region were stronger than they had ever imagined, so it would not be wise to underestimate the place.
Without Zen, even Hutton and his people would have given up already. They were not afraid of taking risks. But they would not court death in the face of impossible odds.
“Let's keep going!”
They resumed walking forward on the bridge, trying to move as quickly as they could.
They kept a sharp lookout for further threats, but it looked like the python might have scared those human-monkey monsters away. They did not show up again. Indeed, compared to the tribulations of the first half, the second half of their journey across the bridge went very smoothly.
After an hour, Zen saw the end of the bridge.
The bridge led to a path on the ground, which was lit by a dim yellow light.
Zen squinted. He saw that the path eventually became forked. There was a hut at the end of each of the three forks. Three lit candles had been placed in front of the huts.
The candle at the furthest hut was too dim to light up the fork.