222: Crossing the border at the ruined bridge, foreign lands in turmoil.

The strand of energy containing "Gui Xu Life Force" on Li Ao's fingertip was like the most exquisite carving knife, gently smoothing Medusa's damaged Meridians and dimmed Soul. That was not ordinary healing energy; rather, it originated from the sliver of vitality nurtured within extreme stillness after the "Myriad Laws Return to Nothing," possessing an extremely high essence and effects far surpassing ordinary Medicinal Pills or Cultivation Techniques.

Medusa could clearly feel that not only were the hidden injuries left by the previous fierce battle rapidly healing, but even the cracks on her Soul caused by the Nirvana shockwave were slowly being smoothed over. Furthermore, her already powerful Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python Bloodline subtly became purer and more active under the infiltration of this power.

Her pale cheeks quickly regained color, and her aura stabilized. She even seemed to have advanced further than before entering this perilous land.

She slowly opened her beautiful eyes and looked at Li Ao with a complex gaze. This man before her had not only stepped onto an unimaginable Realm himself, but even his casual actions possessed the ability to turn decay into wonder.

"How do you feel?" Li Ao retracted his hand, his voice calm. His own injuries had stabilized through the Fusion of the complete Nirvana True Understanding. Although he had not fully recovered to his Peak state, his movements were unimpeded. More importantly, his control over his own power had reached an entirely new level.

"I am fine." Medusa nodded slightly, her tone returning to its usual coldness, but a hint of imperceptible gentleness lingered in the depths of her eyes. "Next, how do we leave this place?"

She looked around. Although this ancient hall was the core of the perilous land, it was still surrounded by endless desolation and stillness, and she could find no path leading to the outside world.

Li Ao's gaze swept over the ruined hall, finally settling on the throne that had lost all its divinity and become ordinary. In his profound eyes, the meaning of Gui Xu circulated, as if he was deciphering the residual spatial and temporal imprints in this world.

"This place is a fragment of an ancient Nirvana battlefield, banished outside the chaotic flow of time and space, forming a self-contained absolute domain," Li Ao slowly stated, revealing part of the location's origins. "Ordinary methods truly cannot leave."

He raised his hand, not towards the hall door, but towards the empty Void Realm in the center of the hall.

"But since I already control the core Dao rhythm of this place, how could a mere spatial barrier confine me?"

Before his voice faded, a point, the "Eye of Gui Xu," reappeared in his palm, slowly rotating. But this time, it did not emit an aura of devouring destruction, but instead rippled out transparent, space-distorting waves.

As the ripples spread, the Void Realm in the center of the hall began to shake and distort like water. Gradually, a gray bridge, woven from pure Nirvana and spatial rules, was constructed out of thin air!

One end of the bridge connected to the great hall, while the other extended infinitely, submerging into the depths of the boundless Void Realm, heading to an unknown destination.

Gray mist swirled above the bridge, emitting stable and ancient spatial fluctuations.

"Using this 'Void Bridge,' we can traverse the Void Realm and directly reach the outside world," Li Ao said lightly, as if constructing such a passage that ignored spatial barriers was merely a trivial effort.

Medusa was somewhat numb watching this miraculous technique. She simply nodded and walked to Li Ao's side.

Li Ao took one last glance at the ancient hall that had granted him new life and power, his expression devoid of joy or sorrow. Immediately, he stepped onto the gray "Void Bridge," with Medusa following closely behind him.

The figures of the two were swallowed by the gray mist on the bridge, and the "Void Bridge" slowly dissipated into the Void Realm, leaving the great hall to return to stillness, as if no one had ever been there...

Just as Li Ao and Medusa were performing the Fusion of the True Understanding and constructing the Void Bridge in the perilous land, the outside world had already been turbulent due to the epoch-making Heavenly Punishment caused by the Earth Core Furnace anomaly and the subsequent changes—indeed, major waves had already begun!

Central Plains, Northern Region, Tianbei City.

More than half a month had passed since the anomaly at the Earth Core Furnace.

The terrifying sight of the Heavenly Punishment descending that day, and the subsequent news that several Dou Zun powerhouses had arrived but searched in vain, had already spread everywhere like a storm.

Everyone knew that an earth-shattering event had occurred there, suspected to be the emergence of a Heaven-Defying object or person, which had drawn the Heavenly Dao's annihilation.

As the most probable parties involved in the incident, the Mittel Family, which had previously been in contact with Li Ao and Medusa, and the Yan Clan, which vaguely knew their whereabouts, were both pushed into the eye of the storm.

The atmosphere at the Mittel Family residence was heavy.

The Family Head, Mittel Hoper, looked worried. The Family's external businesses had been repeatedly harassed and investigated by unknown forces. If not for the fear of their intricate connections with the Pill Tower and other powers, someone would likely have already forced their way in.

"Father, is there still no news of Mr. Li Ao and Queen Medusa?" Ya Fei, dressed in red, had unconcealable worry on her pretty face.

Relying on her sharp business acumen and intelligence network, she had long connected the anomaly at the Earth Core Furnace with Li Ao and Medusa.

Hoper shook his head heavily: "No. That kind of Heavenly might that day... alas, I fear the worst. Now, various forces are searching in secret, and my Mittel Family has become the target of all."

Just then, a cold and overbearing aura enveloped the entire Mittel Family residence without warning!

"Hmph! Mittel Family, harboring criminals who instigated the Heavenly Punishment—your intentions deserve death! Today, give my Hall of Souls an explanation!"

The chilling voice swept past like a cold wind, and several powerful figures shrouded in black mist instantly tore through space and appeared above the residence!

The leader was none other than a Soul Hall Elder whose strength had reached the Five-Star Dou Zun Realm!

At the same time, several unconcealed powerful auras rose simultaneously from other directions in Tianbei City. There were Elders from the Yan Clan, as well as other Central Plains powerhouses who had come upon hearing the news, all watching coldly or harboring malicious intent.

Clearly, the Hall of Souls intended to seize this opportunity to take down the Mittel Family, which was closely related to Li Ao, and force out the information they desired!

Hoper and Ya Fei's faces instantly turned pale. Facing the pressure brought by a Five-Star Dou Zun, they found even breathing difficult.

It was at this critical moment—

Above the Mittel Family residence, the space rippled without warning, and the phantom of a gray bridge flashed and disappeared.

Immediately following, two figures, like phantoms, silently appeared right in front of that Hall of Souls Five-Star Dou Zun.

One wore a damaged black robe, his figure tall and straight, his eyes profound like the Gui Xu of ten thousand eras.

The other wore a purple robe fluttering in the wind, her beauty peerless, her gaze as cold as ice.

They were none other than the ones who had returned by traversing the Void Realm via the "Void Bridge"—

Li Ao! Medusa!

Li Ao's gaze calmly swept over the suddenly pale Soul Hall Elder Zun, as well as the various powerhouses hiding or visible nearby. His gaze finally settled back on the Soul Hall Elder Zun, his voice not loud, yet clearly entering everyone's ears, carrying a chill that froze the Soul:

"You, just now, said... who should give you an explanation?"