Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal?

Chapter 856.18: Crossing the Bridge

...In the eyes of others, this was a death trap with no chance of survival.

But in Chen Huaian's field of vision, it was completely different.

The moment he stared at the magma, deep within his pupils that were turned away from the group, the faint shadow of a soaring crimson divine bird flashed briefly.

His energy sea churned, and a phoenix's cry rang out in Chen Huaian's heart.

The Vermilion Bird soul within his dantian seemed to resonate with the raging flames within the magma, suddenly becoming restless.

*Hum—*

The originally violent, chaotic, and all-devouring purple-red poisonous fire now felt exceptionally intimate to him.

Chen Huaian could clearly see the "breathing" rhythm of this sea of fire.

Beneath the seemingly disorderly eruptions of fiery pillars, there was actually a certain regular pulsation hidden, and with the assistance of the Vermilion Bird soul, it became clearly visible.

Where was the path of death?

For him, it was clearly a broad road he could walk across with his eyes closed.

"So that's how it is." The corner of Chen Huaian's mouth lifted into a playful arc.

The crimson stream of light deep in his eyes quietly faded away.

He turned his head with a normal expression, his voice not loud, yet it pierced through the rolling waves of heat, landing clearly in the ears of the few people behind him.

"Old Zhang, Old Gu, and Wang Shouyi, stay close to This Venerable One." His tone was flat but very firm. "Close your eyes, grab the belt of the person in front of you, step exactly in This Venerable One's footprints. Don't take a single wrong step, and don't ask questions."

With that, he took the third step onto the red-hot iron chain.

As this step landed.

*Boom—!* A fiery pillar happened to erupt right then.

Yet, at the instant it was about to touch the hem of his clothes, it strangely "slowed" for half a beat.

As if actively giving way, allowing him to pass through unscathed.

Zhang Yibai and the others watched the fiery pillar that swept past the hem of Chen Huaian's clothes, their hearts pounding with fear.

However, they trusted Chen Huaian's judgment even more.

But, whose belt should they use?

Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng looked at each other, their gazes finally settling simultaneously on Wang Shouyi.

"Uh... Seniors..."

Wang Shouyi waved his hands awkwardly. "Is there a possibility that your belts are longer, while my belt... is rather short?"

Zhang Yibai stared at Wang Shouyi, smiling a thin, insincere smile. "Then tell me, which of us has a longer lifespan?"

Wang Shouyi: "..."

One minute later, Wang Shoui was loosening his clothes.

He held up his trousers with one hand while closely following behind Chen Huaian.

His belt was then firmly grasped by Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng in turn.

The three of them, like candied hawthorn berries on a stick, kept their eyes tightly shut, afraid that one glance below would make them slip.

From the moment they entered this space, all their abilities to levitate or fly had been prohibited. They could only walk, and even jumping felt incredibly heavy. If they truly lost their footing and fell, it would be certain death with no chance of survival.

Watching these mere mortals actually swagger onto the chain, not even getting their clothes singed, Tu Fu Xing was stunned for a moment. He looked at his own burnt-off hand, his face immediately filled with indignation.

Why?

Why doesn't this fire burn these three mortals?!

"Playing mystical tricks." Bi Yue Wu said with a gloomy face. "Chen Huaian has probably mastered some kind of fire-avoiding footwork. Tu Fu Xing, shall we follow them?"

"Follow behind him, stepping in the footprints of mortals? What a joke!" Tu Fu Xing, having just lost an arm, felt even more insulted hearing Bi Yue Wu's words.

He lifted his chin arrogantly. "This Venerable One, a dignified True Immortal, needs to learn how to walk from mortals? That was just an accident earlier! I have the low-grade immortal artifact 'Li Huo Zhao' (Departing Fire Shield). Let's just dash across!"

With that, he casually summoned a pale golden treasure pearl emitting a cold aura.

The pearl flew above his head, projecting a sapphire-blue light screen in front of him.

Tu Fu Xing didn't pay attention to the rhythm Chen Huaian was walking in. He directly and boldly stepped onto the iron chain again.

There were three iron chains forming the bridge. He strode forward courageously on the middle one.

Bi Yue Wu opened his mouth, about to say something.

Just as Tu Fu Xing's figure and Chen Huaian's group of four passed each other.

*BOOM!!!*

The purple-red magma below, which had seemed "docile," suddenly erupted violently.

Countless streams of fire as thick as fingers shot out densely from the abyss like venomous snakes. They easily pierced through the shield Tu Fu Xing had constructed with his immortal artifact. The Li Huo Zhao, capable of withstanding a full-force strike from a Celestial Immortal, shattered instantly.

*Crack!*

The treasure pearl in Tu Fu Xing's hand broke.

"AHHHHH—!!" Another series of agonized screams followed.

Tu Fu Xing's remaining arm flailed desperately.

Although he avoided the fate of losing another arm, his hair, eyebrows, and backside weren't spared from the licking flames. His immortal robes were also completely burnt away.

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Yibai and the others looked back. Seeing Tu Fu Xing actually "dancing" on the iron chain, they couldn't help but cover their mouths to stifle their laughter.

"Idiot!" Bi Yue Wu was horrified. Not daring to be overconfident anymore, he consecutively summoned three or four defensive treasures. Braving the pervasive fire poison, he dragged the disgraced Tu Fu Xing forward in a frantic dash. Even so, they had to dodge and weave through the constantly erupting fiery pillars. Although they reached the opposite shore first, apart from that array disk, all the immortal artifacts in Bi Yue Wu's hands were completely shattered.

He had merely come down to perform a simple task, never expecting to suffer such heavy losses.

Bi Yue Wu looked at his several charred-black immortal artifacts, his heart aching.

Many of them had accompanied him through over a hundred reincarnations. They hadn't broken in over a hundred reincarnations, yet they broke here in the Nine Heavens Refining Profound Array.

If there weren't any treasures within this great formation to compensate, he would truly be at a massive loss.

*Clatter—!*

The iron chains trembled.

Bi Yue Wu looked up to see Chen Huaian and his group of four, though swaying unsteadily, had avoided all the fiery pillars and walked over to him and Tu Fu Xing with such ease.

"The two Immortal Elders are truly formidable!"

Chen Huaian said with an expression of admiration, cupping his hands in salute, and sighed. "The magma beneath these iron chains is so perilous. This junior took every step with extreme difficulty, fearing that a single misstep would lead to eternal damnation.

In contrast, the two Immortal Elders strode swiftly across the iron chains, treating the erupting fiery pillars as nothing more than dirt!

I wonder when this junior will possess the heaven-reaching, earth-penetrating great cultivation that you two Immortal Elders possess..."

His words were flattering, his expression was obsequiously smiling, but those eyes of his were deep and unrippled, as if watching two jumping clowns.

Zhang Yibai and Gu Changsheng pressed down hard on the corners of their mouths, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

They truly didn't dare to look at Tu Fu Xing, whose hair was all burnt off, for fear they couldn't hold it in.

And Wang Shouyi genuinely didn't dare to mock Immortals.

Seeing Chen Huaian praise the two Immortals like this, he felt it was a bit strange.

It seemed... they had crossed more easily than these two Immortals?

Forget it. Since it's the senior's words, just follow the senior in admiring the Immortal Elders.

If the senior says the Immortal Elders are amazing, then the Immortal Elders are amazing!

"You—!!" How could Bi Yue Wu not hear the teasing and sarcasm in Chen Huaian's words?

He trembled with anger all over, yet couldn't very well erupt in fury.

At this moment, looking at this polite, white-robed figure before him.

An unprecedented sense of absurdity rose in Bi Yue Wu's heart — in this damned place, this damned mortal actually seemed more like a divine immortal than they did!

...