Bab 455: Menginjak Batu, Masuk ke Kehampaan
Pandangan Meng Hao mengabur. Begitu semuanya kembali jelas, ia langsung memancarkan Spiritual Sense sambil mengawasi sekeliling dengan waspada.
"Jadi inikah Alam Reruntuhan Jembatan?" Ia ragu sejenak, menatap Batu Jembatan Keabadian di tangannya. Benda itulah yang membawanya ke tempat ini.
Kehancuran mengelilinginya. Langit menampakkan aneka warna, kadang merah, kadang hitam pekat. Kilat menari-nari di atas, meninggalkan jejak yang tampak seperti retakan.
Daratan hancur total. Mayat-mayat tergeletak, entah sudah berapa tahun lamanya. Sisa-sisa perjalanan waktu terlihat di mana-mana. Tempat ia berdiri kini rupanya dahulu sebuah kota.
Aura kematian memenuhi udara; dunia ini seperti kurungan, tempat yang bila kau terlalu lama terjebak di dalamnya, kau akan terkubur bersama aura kematian itu.
Meng Hao sedikit mengerutkan kening sambil menyimpan Batu Jembatan Keabadian. Ia mengamati sekitar, meninjau ulang peristiwa yang membawanya ke sini. Setelah lama terdiam, matanya berkilat saat mengenang pemandangan di luar ketika delapan Immortal itu pergi, lalu tiba-tiba kembali.
Bergumam sejenak, Meng Hao maju dengan hati-hati. Tempat ini membuat Spiritual Sense-nya jauh melemah. Sulit melihat jauh ke segala arah. Bahkan jangkauannya kini tampak terbatas sekitar seribu lima ratus meter. Menatap kilat di langit, Meng Hao membuang segala niat untuk terbang.
Waktu berlalu. Tak lama kemudian sudah sebulan. Selama itu, Meng Hao berhasil menjelajahi sekitar separuh tempat ini. Ia tidak menemukan makhluk hidup lain, termasuk para Cultivator dari Gurun Barat.
Dunia ini sangat kecil, dan tampaknya tidak berbentuk teratur. Batas-batasnya terbentuk dari tepian bergerigi, di baliknya hanya kehampaan. Meng Hao kini berdiri di salah satu tepian itu.
Di depannya gelap pekat, muram dan dingin. Tampak mampu menelan apa pun dan segala hal saat menyelimuti kawasan ini. Bergumam, Meng Hao mengangkat tangan dan menggenggam. Sebuah batu di dekatnya langsung melayang dan mendarat di tangannya. Ia melemparnya ke arah kegelapan. Begitu menyentuh kegelapan, batu itu terpantul kembali ke tangannya. Ia menatap batu itu dan melihat bagian yang menyentuh kegelapan tampak seperti teriris pisau. Rata dan halus sempurna.
Kening Meng Hao semakin berkerut saat perlahan mundur. Kehampaan hitam ini memberinya rasa bahaya luar biasa. Ia hanya bisa membayangkan apa yang akan terjadi pada tubuhnya jika sampai bersentuhan dengan kegelapan itu.
"Ada yang tidak beres. Jika ini Alam Reruntuhan Jembatan, mengapa hanya aku yang ada di sini? Lagi pula... tempat ini terlalu kecil. Dan tidak ada jejak Tanah Surgawi yang disebut Bapak Agung Suku Gagak Prajurit!
"Selain reruntuhan kota itu, aku belum melihat sisa-sisa Jembatan Penginjak Immortal!" Meng Hao berbalik untuk melanjutkan penjelajahan yang hati-hati.
Ketika setengah bulan lagi berlalu, wajah Meng Hao muram. Ia berdiri di pusat dunia, menatap sebuah prasasti batu.
Prasasti itu retak, tapi tidak hancur. Kondisinya relatif baik, dan di permukaannya samar-samar terbaca beberapa aksara besar.
"Kota Harmony...." kata Meng Hao pelan. Sorot penuh pikiran muncul di matanya. Ia tiba-tiba teringat pada delapan Immortal yang dilihatnya dalam perjalanan ke sini, juga wanita itu, Iblis Wanita Zhixiang.
"Sekte Iblis Immortal. Menyamar sebagai boneka. Iblis Wanita Zhixiang, berusaha menghindar dari pengejaran maut...." Tenggelam dalam pikiran, Meng Hao duduk bersila.
"Iblis Wanita Zhixiang itu berasal dari Sekte bernama Sekte Iblis Immortal. Ia menipu Tuan Muda dari delapan Immortal itu hingga kehilangan hartanya. Lalu ia mengubah dirinya menjadi boneka demi menghindari pengejaran mereka.
"Setelah ia kabur, mengapa delapan orang itu mengejar kami lagi dengan wajah kalut dan geram...?" Tiba-tiba, sorot penuh perhatian memenuhi matanya.
"Sebenarnya, ia tidak kabur! Ia memakai cara lain untuk menipu delapan pengejarnya dan menuntun mereka menjauh. Mereka cepat menyadari ada yang tidak beres dan segera kembali. Meski, kalau dilihat dari sudut itu... yah, mungkin ia melakukan sesuatu yang benar-benar berbeda yang tak mampu kubayangkan. Atau mungkin ia datang ke Alam Reruntuhan Jembatan dengan kekuatannya sendiri, untuk menjelajah. Kemungkinan terakhir... ia sebenarnya ada di antara kami, para Cultivator dari Gurun Barat!" Meng Hao duduk diam tak bergerak. Iblis Wanita ini dikejar delapan Immortal, jelas dasar kultivasinya luar biasa.
Orang seperti ini bukanlah sosok yang ingin diprovokasi Meng Hao. Tak perlu analisis lebih jauh. Meng Hao memutuskan harus waspada dan berjaga. Meski para Cultivator Gurun Barat tampaknya tercerai-berai, ia merasa dugaan ketiganya paling mungkin benar.
"Dengan siapa ia bersembunyi...." pikir Meng Hao. Tiba-tiba ia menengadah dan melihat sosok gelap mendekat dengan kecepatan tinggi. Sosok gelap itu bukan Cultivator, melainkan batu raksasa!
Batu itu lebarnya tak kurang dari dua ribu meter. Ia melesat turun dari atas, memunculkan kilat di setiap tempat yang dilewatinya, dan memecah udara. Tampak seolah kekuatan penghancur luar biasa sedang turun.
Batu itu bergerak dengan kecepatan luar biasa saat menyambar. Tekanan besar terbentuk, membuat daratan bergetar. Pupil Meng Hao menyempit, dan ia baru hendak mundur ketika tiba-tiba merasakan bahwa batu selebar dua ribu meter itu sebenarnya tidak akan menghantam dunia tempatnya berada. Batu itu justru membentuk lengkungan, mengubah arah dan melesat ke wilayah lain di langit.
Meng Hao menatap terkejut, lalu menarik napas panjang sambil mengawasi batu raksasa itu menghantam kegelapan di tepi dunia ini.
Saat itu terjadi, kehampaan kegelapan itu tampak pecah, dan celah besar terlihat. Batu itu melayang melewatinya lalu menghilang.
Semua ini terjadi dalam waktu singkat sepanjang pembakaran sebatang dupa. Meng Hao tak punya banyak waktu untuk memikirkannya. Ketika batu itu menghilang ke dalam kehampaan hitam, pupilnya menyempit dan pikirannya serasa kilat menghantam di dalamnya. Ia tiba-tiba teringat saat mendekati Jembatan Penginjak Immortal, melihat celah-celah di antara batu-batu jembatan, dan debu di dalamnya.
"Batu tiga ribu meter itu adalah salah satu dari sekian banyak butir debu yang kulihat tadi. Mereka terus melayang di celah-celah antara batu-batu penyusun Jembatan Penginjak Immortal!
"Kalau begitu, aku pasti berada di Jembatan Penginjak Immortal. Pada tahun keruntuhannya, jembatan itu pecah menjadi serpihan tak terhitung. Jika aku ingin keluar dari sini, satu-satunya jalan... adalah dengan bantuan debu itu!" Pikirannya bergejolak saat ia sampai pada pemahaman baru ini. Ia menarik napas panjang lalu duduk bersila untuk menunggu dengan tenang.
Waktu berlalu. Menurut pemahaman Meng Hao, waktu di tempat ini berjalan berbeda dengan dunia luar. Jika benar berbulan-bulan atau bertahun-tahun berlalu di luar, itu akan jadi hal yang tak bisa disembunyikan para Cultivator yang masuk ke sini. Lagi pula, Bapak Agung Suku Gagak Prajurit tak mungkin meninggalkan bagian itu.
Tiga bulan berlalu, selama itu Meng Hao melihat enam batu raksasa datang dan pergi. Ia tidak bertindak gegabah, melainkan mengamati dengan cermat apa yang terjadi pada batu-batu itu setelah menghantam kehampaan hitam. Akhirnya suatu hari, sebuah batu mendekat, lebarnya sekitar dua ribu meter.
Ketika batu itu muncul, Meng Hao menarik napas panjang. Tubuhnya tiba-tiba lenyap. Saat muncul kembali, ia berada di udara, menginjak batu yang melesat di langit.
Begitu kakinya menyentuh, Meng Hao tiba-tiba merasa seolah ada kekuatan mengerikan yang siap mencabik tubuhnya. Ia memutar dasar kultivasinya dan cahaya tiga totem muncul. Dengan begitu, ia mampu memaksakan dirinya ke kondisi stabil. Ia segera duduk bersila dan menatap lurus ke depan.
Batu itu bergerak dengan kecepatan luar biasa. Dalam sekejap, ia melintasi daratan. Dalam waktu sekitar sepuluh tarikan napas, ia mencapai kehampaan hitam. Jantung Meng Hao berdebar gelisah. Usaha ini adalah pertaruhan; namun, setelah mengamati apa yang terjadi pada semua batu lain, ia yakin.
Dalam sekejap, batu itu tiba di kehampaan hitam. Ia menghantamnya, menimbulkan robekan di kegelapan, celah yang kemudian dilewatinya. Saat melesat melewatinya, Meng Hao menenangkan Qi dan memusatkan perhatian. Duduk bersila di atas batu tampak menakutkan, tapi sebenarnya tidak berbahaya. Kini ia berada di kehampaan hitam.
Begitu masuk ke kehampaan, Meng Hao tiba-tiba merasa dingin. Intensitas dingin itu sedemikian rupa hingga mampu membekukan jiwa. Meng Hao cepat memutar dasar kultivasinya untuk melawan dingin.
Matanya membelalak saat mengamati sekeliling. Kegelapan tampak tanpa akhir. Namun, ia bisa melihat berkas-berkas cahaya berwarna beterbangan di sana-sini.
Tiap berkas itu adalah batu raksasa!
"Cara ini seharusnya bekerja baik. Alam Reruntuhan Jembatan ini berisi sisa-sisa Jembatan Penginjak Immortal. Orang-orang yang datang ke sini bergerak di antara reruntuhan Jembatan Penginjak Immortal dengan bantuan batu-batu ini!" Tubuhnya mulai menggigil karena dingin. Ia memutar dasar kultivasinya, tapi itu saja tidak cukup. Tubuhnya mulai kaku. Mata berkilat, ia mengedarkan kekuatan totem apinya, memaksa tubuhnya agar tidak kaku karena dingin. Meski begitu, lapisan embun beku muncul di kulitnya. Tampak hampir seperti ia berubah menjadi patung es.
"Dengan cara ini, aku seharusnya bisa bertahan lebih lama. Untung aku punya Api Abadi. Kalau tidak, tanpa menyiapkan benda penolak dingin lebih dulu, akan sulit bertahan di sini." Dingin di sekelilingnya terus menguat. Meng Hao duduk tak bergerak, memastikan tak ada panas yang keluar dari tubuhnya, dan daya hidupnya tetap terjaga.
Waktu berlalu. Meng Hao tidak yakin berapa lama batu itu membawanya melalui dunia kegelapan ini. Tiba-tiba, sebuah batu berukuran hampir seribu meter muncul di kejauhan. Dari cara ia melesat ke arahnya, tampak ia akan melintas dekat Meng Hao dan batunya.
Saat kedua batu semakin mendekat, suara ringan "eee!?" tiba-tiba terdengar.
"Jadi aku bertemu orang yang datang tanpa harta penolak dingin! Sungguh keberuntungan! Hahaha!" Suara itu milik seorang pria, dan saat batu lain mendekat, Meng Hao bisa merasakan seorang pria paruh baya duduk bersila bermeditasi di atasnya.
Dasar kultivasinya berada di tahap awal Jiwa Lahir, dan tubuhnya berkilau dengan tato totem. Di dahinya ada tato totem emas yang tampak seperti singa. Ia dikelilingi lima batu putih yang memancarkan perisai, menyelimuti pria itu dan melawan dingin.
Saat kata-kata pria itu bergema, ia menjilat bibirnya. Matanya dipenuhi sorot tajam, dan ketika batunya mendekati batu Meng Hao, pria itu tiba-tiba berdiri. Ia lenyap, dan saat muncul kembali, ia berdiri di atas batu Meng Hao. Ia mengangkat tangan, dan seekor singa emas muncul secara ajaib. Singa itu mengaum saat menerkam ke arah Meng Hao.
"Akan kubunuh kau untuk mengakhiri penderitaanmu, lalu aku, Xue, punya satu pesaing lebih sedikit, dan peluang sukses lebih besar!,
Chapter 455: Step on the Stone, Enter the Void
Meng Hao’s vision blurred. As soon as everything became clear again, he sent out his Spiritual Sense as he looked around vigilantly.
“Is this the Realm of the Bridge Ruins?” He hesitated for a moment as he looked down at the Immortality Bridgestone he held in his hand. It was this object that had brought him to his current location.
He was surrounded by destruction. A variety of colors could be seen in the sky which was sometimes red and occasionally pitch black. Lightning danced about up above, leaving behind what seemed like cracks.
The land was in complete ruins. There were corpses lying about which had been there for who knew how many years. Vestiges of the passage of time could be seen everywhere. Where he stood now was apparently once a city.
An aura of death filled the air; this world seemed to be like a cage, a place where, if you got stuck too long, you would end up being entombed there just like the death aura.
Meng Hao frowned slightly as he put away the Immortality Bridgestone. He looked around as he carefully reviewed the events which had led up to him arriving here. After a long moment, his eyes glittered as he recalled the scene outside when the eight Immortals left, only to suddenly return.
Muttering to himself for a moment, Meng Hao proceeded forward carefully. This place seemed to make his Spiritual Sense much weaker. It was difficult to see very far in any direction. In fact, his range now seemed to be limited to about fifteen hundred meters. Looking up at the lightning in the sky, Meng Hao dispelled any notions of flying up.
Time passed. Soon it was a month later. During that time, Meng Hao had been able to explore about half of the entire location. He encountered no other life forms, including any of the other Cultivators from the Western Desert.
This world was very small, and did not seem to have a regular shape. Its borders were formed by jagged edges, beyond which was nothingness. Meng Hao currently was standing on one such border.
In front of him was pitch blackness, gloomy and cold. It seemed capable of swallowing up anything and everything as it surrounded this region. Muttering, Meng Hao lifted up his hand and made a grasping motion. A nearby rock immediately flew up into the air and landed into his hand. He tossed it out toward the blackness. As soon as it touched the blackness, it bounced back to land in Meng Hao’s hand. He looked down at the rock and noticed that the part that had touched the blackness looked as if it had been sliced with a knife. It was completely flat and smooth.
Meng Hao’s frown deepened as he slowly backed up. This black void gave him a sense of incredible danger. He could only imagine what would happen to his body if he happened to run into the blackness.
“Something’s not right. If this is the Realm of the Bridge Ruins, then why am I the only person here? Besides... this place seems too small. Furthermore, there is none of the Celestial Soil that the Crow Soldier Tribe Greatfather mentioned!
“Other than the ruins of that city, I haven’t seen any of the remains of the Bridge of Immortal Treading!” Meng Hao turned to once again continue his careful explorations of this world.
By the time another half month went by, Meng Hao’s face was grim. He stood in the very center of the world, looking at a stone stele.
The stele was cracked, but not broken apart. It was in relatively good condition, and on its surface could vaguely be made out some rather large characters.
“Harmony City....” said Meng Hao softly. A ponderous look appeared in his eyes. He suddenly thought back to the eight Immortals he had seen on his way here, as well as the woman, Demoness Zhixiang.
“Immortal Demon Sect. Masquerading as a puppet. Demoness Zhixiang, trying to evade a deadly chase....” Sinking into thought, Meng Hao sat down, crossing his legs.
“That Demoness Zhixiang comes from a Sect called the Immortal Demon Sect. She conned the Young Master of those eight Immortals out of his treasure. Then she turned herself into a puppet to evade their pursuit.
“After she fled, why would the eight of them pursue us again, looking flustered and exasperated...?” Suddenly, a look of concentration filled his eyes.
“Actually, she didn’t flee! She used some other method to trick her eight pursuers and lead them away. They quickly realized something fishy was going on and returned as quickly as they could. Although, if you look at it from that perspective... well, perhaps she did something completely different that I couldn’t possibly imagine. Or perhaps she came to the Realm of the Bridge Ruins on her own power, to explore it. The final possibility... is that she is actually among us Cultivators who came from the Western Desert!” Meng Hao sat there silent and unmoving. This Demoness was someone who was being chased by eight Immortals, and clearly had a sublime Cultivation base.
A person like this was someone that Meng Hao had no desire to provoke. There was little need for further analysis. Meng Hao determined he would need to be vigilant and on the lookout. Although the Western Desert Cultivators seemed to have been scattered, he had the feeling that his third guess was the most likely one to be true.
“Who is she hiding with....” thought Meng Hao. Suddenly, he looked up into the sky to see a dark figure approaching at high speed. This dark figure was not a Cultivator, but rather, an enormous rock!
The rock was no less than two thousand meters wide. It whistled down from up above, causing lightning to spring up wherever it passed, and shattered the air. It seemed as if some incredible crushing force were descending.
It moved with incredible speed as it bore down. A huge pressure formed, causing the land to shake. Meng Hao’s pupils constricted, and he was just about to retreat when he suddenly sensed that this two thousand meter wide rock was actually not going to strike into the world he was in. Actually, it became an arc, changing directions and shooting off into another area of the sky.
Meng Hao stared in shock before taking a deep breath as he watched the enormous rock slam into the blackness that lay at the border of this world.
As it did, the void of the blackness seemed to shatter, and a huge gap became visible. The rock sailed through it and then disappeared.
All of this happened in the short amount of time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Meng Hao had little time to think about the matter. When the rock disappeared into the black void, his pupils constricted and his mind felt as if lightning were crashing around inside of it. He suddenly thought back to when he had been approaching the Bridge of Immortal Treading, and had seen the gaps between the various bridge stones, and the dust therein.
“That three thousand meter rock was one of the countless pieces of dust that I saw earlier. They are constantly flying about in the gaps between the stones which make up the Bridge of Immortal Treading!
“In that case, I am definitely on the Bridge of Immortal Treading. The year it collapsed, it broke apart into countless fragments. If I want to leave here, then the only way... will be with the aid of that dust!” His mind reeled as he came to this new understanding. He took a deep breath as he sat down cross-legged to wait quietly.
Time went by. According to Meng Hao’s understanding, time passed differently in this place than in the outside world. If months or years actually passed on the outside, that would be something that the Cultivators who entered this place could not hide. Furthermore, the Crow Soldier Greatfather wouldn’t have left that part out.
Three months passed, during which time, Meng Hao saw six huge rocks come and go. He did not act rashly, but rather, carefully observed what happened to the rocks after they slammed into the black void. Finally one day, a rock suddenly neared that was roughly two thousand meters wide.
When this particular rock appeared, Meng Hao took a deep breath. His body suddenly vanished. When it reappeared, he was in mid-air, stepping down onto the rock that was shooting through the air.
The instant he set foot onto it, Meng Hao suddenly felt as if there were some terrifying force getting ready to pull his body apart. He rotated his Cultivation base and the glow of three totems emerged. In this manner, he was able to force himself into a state of stability. He immediately sat down cross-legged and stared out straight ahead.
The rock moved with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it passed over the land. In the space of about ten breaths, it reached the black void. Meng Hao’s heart beat nervously. This endeavor was a gamble; however, having observed what happened with all the other rocks, he was confident.
In the blink of an eye, the rock was upon the black void. It slammed into it, causing a rip in the blackness, a gap which it then passed through. As it shot through, Meng Hao settled his Qi and concentrated. Sitting there cross-legged atop the rock seemed frightening, but was actually not dangerous. He was now out in the black void.
The moment he entered the void, Meng Hao suddenly felt coldness. The intensity of this coldness was such that it could freeze the soul. Meng Hao quickly rotated his Cultivation base to fight back against the cold.
His eyes were wide as he looked around. The blackness seemed endless. However, he was able to see beams of colorful light flying about here and there.
Each of these beams was an enormous rock!
“This method should work great. This Realm of the Bridge Ruins contains the remains of the Bridge of Immortal Treading. The people who come here move about between the remnants of the Bridge of Immortal Treading by means of these rocks!” His body began to quiver because of the cold. He rotated his Cultivation base, but that alone did not suffice. His body was starting to grow stiff. Eyes glittering, he circulated the power of his fire totem, forcing his body to not be stiff with cold. Despite this, a layer of frost appeared on his skin. It looked almost like he was turning into a statue of ice.
“With this method, I should be able to hold out for quite a bit longer. Thankfully I have the Everburning Flame. Otherwise, without preparing cold-repelling items ahead of time, it would be difficult to survive here.” The cold continued to grow more intense around him. Meng Hao sat there motionless, ensuring that none of the heat left his body, and his life force continued to remain.
Time passed by. Meng Hao wasn’t sure how long the rock had carried him through this world of blackness. Suddenly, a rock nearly one thousand meters large appeared off in the distance. From the way it whistled toward him, it seemed it would brush past Meng Hao and his rock.
As the two rocks got closer and closer, a light “eee!?” noise suddenly could be heard.
“So I’ve run into someone who didn’t come with a cold-repelling treasure! What good fortune! Hahaha!” This voice belonged to a man, and as the other rock neared, Meng Hao could sense that a middle-aged man sat cross-legged in meditation upon it.
His Cultivation base was at the early Nascent Soul stage, and his body glittered with totem tattoos. On his forehead was a golden totem tattoo that looked like a lion. He was surrounded by five white stones which emitted a shield, enveloping the man and fighting back against the cold.
As the man’s words rang out, he licked his lips. His eyes filled with a sharp glow, and as his rock neared Meng Hao’s, the man suddenly stood up. He vanished, and when he reappeared, he was standing on Meng Hao’s rock. He lifted his hand, and a golden lion magically appeared. It roared as it pounced toward Meng Hao.
“I’ll kill you to put you out of your misery, and then I, Xue, will have one less person to compete with, and a greater chance at success!”
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