Apotheosis

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 o

Thad's thrown the red python off the bridge!"

"I thought we were doomed!"

"Damn, 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.