Liang Chen's heart burned with hatred, the whispers in his mind telling him to just turn around and keep running. Qing Lan Yong had killed his parents, so it was only fair for him to kill some of Qing Lan Yong's subordinates.
But in the end, he found himself unable to take that final step, unable to just turn around. His heart burned with hatred for Qing Lan Yong and people like him, but it didn't burn with hatred for these two. As far as he knew, they hadn't done something that earned them death, so if he killed them just because of his hatred for Qing Lan Yong, he would be just as bad as those people he despised. And that was one of the one things Liang Chen would never allow.
Liang Chen threw himself forward, grabbing onto the arms of the two people. He let out a deep growl and exerted all his strength, pulling them up and away from the collapsing floor. The three of them quickly dashed away from the collapsing floor, reaching the door that the silver-eyed man had pointed out and entering the room that the rest of the group had already entered.
The room contained a massive wooden table that was oval in shape, chairs of various sizes completely surrounding the table. Other than the door they had used to enter the room, there was only a single normal sized door at the right side of the room. The door shut behind Liang Chen and the two people from the Nightshield sect, a calm silence descending over the room.
The two people from the Nightshield sect let out a heavy sigh of relief, thankful that they were still alive. They quickly turned to Liang Chen, giving him a deep bow as they spoke up, their voices filled with sincerity.
"Thank you!"
Liang Chen merely waved his hand, telling them not to worry about it. The rest of the group cautiously checked the room, only the silver-eyed man acting calm and relaxed. He even sat down on one of the many chairs, letting out a deep breath and addressing the others.
"There, we should be temporarily safe here."
The group still cautiously checked the room, only letting out deep sighs of relief when the room didn't start to change or collapse as the others had. They all found themselves a seat, a man clad in the black robes of the Fiendgod sect speaking up.
"I am Cui Leizong, and as most of you have probably guessed, we have entered the Ocean King's Palace, one of the zones of absolute death in this hidden realm. If we wish to clear this trial and escape, I am afraid we will have to work together. I think we should do a small round of introductions, now that we have a brief moment of respite."
One of the absolute zones of death, a place no one had ever entered and left to tell the tale. Was this the truth about the inner area of the hidden realm, it simply teleported you to a land of death as a trial? Or were all the lands of death just trials? The remaining survivors nodded their heads at Cui Leizong's words, introducing themselves.
"Liao Min."
"Qing Feng."
"Jiang Wushu."
"Tian Yinwu."
"Yuan Xuefeng."
"Liang Chen."
Of the remaining 7 survivors, Liang Chen was from the Storm Wolf sect, while Cui Leizong and Liao Min were from the Fiendgod sect. Qing Feng and Jiang Wushu were from the Nightshield sect, while Tian Yinwu and Yuan Xuefeng were from the Ghost Soul sect.
Cui Leizong had wrinkly skin and short hair that was amber in color. Liao Min was a bit short and had deep brown hair that seemed a bit dirty, Qing Feng had sharp features and emerald green hair that hung down to his ears, Jiang Wushu was the middle-aged man with a slight stubble and slicked-back brown hair. Tian Yinwu had smooth features and black hair tied into a neat bun, while Yuan Xuefeng was the silver-eyed man who had unruly black hair.
After the introductions were made, Cui Leizong let out a deep sigh and shook his head, glancing at the remaining group members.
"I don't have any reports of people ever managing to enter the palace, everyone dies before they even reach it, so I'm afraid I have no information about this palace. Do any of you have anything?"
Whenever someone mentioned the Ocean King's Palace as a land of death, they actually meant the entire lake that the palace was located in. Entering the lake meant never leaving it again, had it not been for a special technique that the Ghost Soul sect used in the past, no one would have even known that there was a palace located at the bottom of the lake, nor would they have seen the insignia of the Ocean King, which was engraved at the gates of the palace. The rest of the group shook their heads, but Liang Chen spoke up, pointing at Yuan Xuefeng.
"He has some information, at least more than us. When we encountered those two dangerous areas, he was the first to recognize their danger, even muttering their names."
The gazes of everyone instantly turned towards Yuan Xuefeng, who wore an expression of mild shock as he looked at Liang Chen. After coming over his mild shock, he shook his head and let out a light laugh.
"You managed to hear that, huh? You have good ears."
His words were a type of confirmation that Liang Chen had indeed spoken correctly, Yuan Xuefeng knew something about this palace. The rest of the group quickly pulled closer to Yuan Xuefeng, seemingly worried that he would escape. But Yuan Xuefeng simply let out a light laugh and shrugged his shoulders.
"No need to look at me like that, now that it has come to this, I will, of course, share all the information that I have."
No one bothered with the fact that Yuan Xuefeng hadn't shared any of this information before, as their survival was all that mattered to them now. Yuan Xuefeng quickly organized his thoughts, sweeping the room with his gaze as he started to share his knowledge.
"This palace has three safe zones. The first one is this meeting hall, the second is the dining hall, and the third is the ballroom. If we manage to enter any of those rooms, we will be safe from attacks for at least half a day."
The expressions of the group changed slightly when they heard that they would only be safe for half a day. But half a day was better than nothing, at least it gave them some time to plan things out.
"There are three ways to clear this trial and escape this palace. The first is to kill the Ocean King or his queen who slumber at the depths of this palace. The second is to reach the grand entrance or one of the four minor exits and flee the palace, while the third is to completely unravel the formation that surrounds and supports this palace, allowing it to change shape at will. We stand zero chance of killing the rulers, and the formation is far too complex for us, so our only hope is to reach the grand entrance."
Yuan Xuefeng shook his head slightly as he spoke. Kill the Ocean King or his queen? They were so strong that every single cultivator in this hidden realm could band together, and they still wouldn't be able to leave a proper wound on either of them. And the formation? It had been prepared by the Everlasting Godking, even if they all spent a million years investigating the formation, they would not be able to even come close to unraveling it.
"While the palace seems to be changing at random, it actually follows certain patterns that we can use to determine our location and how far away from the grand entrance we are. If I can study the formation a bit, I should be able to determine which pattern it is currently following, allowing us to take the easiest path to the entrance."
Unraveling the formation was impossible for them, but if he just had to figure out which pattern the formation was using, Yuan Xuefeng was confident that he could manage it within a decent amount of time. After Yuan Xuefeng finished his explanation, a short silence descended on the people in the room, Qing Feng breaking the silence.
"How long would you need?"
They would only be safe for half a day, after that, those grotesque monsters would continue to chase them, and the room they were in right now might even start to transform. Yuan Xuefeng rubbed his chin slightly, thinking for about a minute before he gave his answer.
"A day, maybe more. This room won't change even after half a day has passed, but the Blue-scaled Leeches will start to attack."
Qing Feng nodded his head slightly, his expression a bit solemn.
"So we have to protect you while you check the formation? That's going to be tough."
Yuan Xuefeng had to inspect the formation so that only left six of them to defend him. And since none of them were able to use their Qi, they were far weaker than normal. A heavy silence descended on the group, but it was quickly broken by Liang Chen.
"How do you know all these things?"
Yuan Xuefeng not only knew the names of the monsters and some of the places they had seen, he even knew how the formation that supported this palace worked, it was clear that he likely had quite the connection to this place. Yuan Xuefeng let out a somewhat self-deprecating sigh after hearing the question, his smile a bit cramped.
"This entire hidden realm was set up by my Master, the Sealed God Empyrean. Well, I say that he is my master, but I can barely be considered an honorary disciple. I came to this hidden realm to see if I could beat the trials Master set up, earning the right to learn one of his techniques."
The rest of the group was instantly shocked. His master had set up this entire hidden realm? This vast hidden realm that prevented people above a certain cultivation realm from entering? Just how mighty a figure was he? Another thing they wondered about was the cultivation level of his master. Most of the people in the group had read many books about cultivation, but none of this books had ever mentioned a realm that went by the name of Empyrean. Seeing the expressions of the group, Yuan Xuefeng quickly waved his hands.
"Don't bother asking me about my Master, there is very little I am allowed to say about him. It would be better to spend our time examining the formation and resting up."
The moment he became an honorary disciple, he had to swear an oath that limited what he could tell others. Should he try to break the oath, his very soul will be destroyed, preventing him from even being reborn.
The group could only nod their heads at Yuan Xuefeng's words, doing their best to rest up and restore their strength. Yuan Xuefeng, on the other hand, continued to sit in his chair, closing his eyes and raising his arms in front of him. A faint light appeared between his hands, constantly changing as he waved his hands, his mouth rapidly moving.
After restoring their strength, the group started to move some of the smaller chairs that they could lift, placing them in front of the two doors into the room. They were uncertain if they would be enough to slow down the Blue-scaled Leeches, but it was better than nothing. After half a day quietly passed, the low sound of scaled feet moving over stone floors came from outside the massive doors.
"Here they come, keep them away from Xuefeng!"
Jiang Wushu was the one who called out, everyone gathering in a circle around Yuan Xuefeng, drawing their respective weapons. The massive door was quickly flung open, revealing a vast horde of Blue-scaled Leeches, the entire massive hall outside the meeting room completely filled with them. The group quickly turned pale, tightly gripping their weapons.
The horde started to slowly move into the room, the barricade of chairs completely useless. Luckily, the movements of the Blue-scaled Leeches were slow and clumsy, as if they hadn't moved in several years. As the Blue-scaled Leeches started to slowly approach the group, Cui Leizong gave the people around him one last glance. His gaze stopped on Liang Chen, a click of his tongue quickly following.
"Tch, completely forgot about him! Chen, step into the defensive circle and don't get in the way! Wushu, take over for him!"
They had completely forgotten that Liang Chen was merely a child. He was far weaker than them even when his Qi wasn't sealed into his own body, much less now. Jiang Wushu quickly nodded his head, ignoring Liang Chen's protests and forcing him to join Yuan Xuefeng at the center of the circle.
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Shortly after Liang Chen was pushed away, the battle broke out. The group was able to watch each other's backs thanks to the defensive formation they had placed themselves in, preventing any single one of them from getting surrounded. The Blue-scaled Leeches also turned out to be very weak, most of them dying after only a single attack.
But the problem was that they seemed to be endless in number, constantly swarming into the room. Even when a small mountain started to form from the corpses, the Blue-scaled Leeches would simply climb over the bodies and launch themselves at the group, forcing them to slowly move away so as to not create a mountain that towered above them.
Liang Chen had been pushed back, but he didn't stay idle. He took out the spear he had been given by Teng Yimu, stabbing through the openings in the formation and taking down any enemy that might have been overlooked for the moment.
But the room was only so large, and they didn't have an endless supply of stamina restoring pills. And because of that, after a little over half a day of endless slaughter, everyone was running on fumes and the room itself was completely filled with corpses, making any more movement challenging. After killing another leech and suffering another wound to his shoulder, Liao Min had to turn to the still focusing Yuan Xuefeng.
"Xuefeng, how much longer do you need?!"
Everyone in the group besides the protected Liang Chen and Yuan Xuefeng was riddled in injuries, their breathing heavy and their vision blurry. Half a day of continuous battle without being able to use their Qi, their bodies were screaming in pain, begging for rest. Yuan Xuefeng's eyebrows pricked up slightly, his hands moving faster and faster.
"I almost have it!"
Liao Min and the others could only grit their teeth and do their best to hold on. But after another hour passed, Tian Yinwu ended up making a mistake because of his weariness, falling prey to a Blue-scaled Leech. The leech grabbed onto Tian Yinwu and opened its sucker-like maw wide, biting down onto Tian Yinwu's head. A disgusting slurping sound rang out, Tian Yinwu's body starting to wither away in front of their eyes.
Liang Chen quickly jumped forward to fill in the spot that Tian Yinwu's death left, grasping his spear with both hands. Xiao Yong had only taught him the basics, how to use every part of the spear as a weapon, so that was what he did. He used the butt of the spear to push, the tip of the spear to slash and pierce, and the handle of the spear to smash.
His body had been tempered by lightning several times, so he was a tiny bit faster and stronger than Tian Yinwu, but he had spent far less time training, so his endurance wasn't as good. Luckily, he only had to hold the line for another two hours before Yuan Xuefeng called out in a loud and excited noise.
"Got it! Follow me!"
Yuan Xuefeng sprung up and immediately dashed for the small door that was located on the right side of the room. He pushed away any leeches that got in his way, creating a small path that the rest of the group could use to follow him.
They all swallowed the last of their stamina restoring pills, ignoring everything else as they followed after Yuan Xuefeng. Liang Chen brought up the rear, as he was the one with the most energy remaining, barring Yuan Xuefeng.
As the one who brought up the rear, he was the one who suffered the most attacks and had to face the most pressure, holding off an endless army of monsters as the group pushed through mountains of corpses. In conditions like that, it was only normal for there to come a time where an opening appeared.
A claw struck his left elbow, forcibly pushing his spear to the side and leaving his chest wide open. The Blue-scaled Leeches immediately dove for his chest, aiming at it with their claws and suckers. Liang Chen prepared himself, seeing if he could detonate his Lightning Seed for an instantaneous burst of power to defend himself. But just as he readied himself, an arm reached around his waist, lifting him up from the ground, a light laughter ringing in his ears.
"Up you go, kiddo!"
Liang Chen was shocked for a moment but quickly realized that Qing Feng had lifted him up and placed him over his shoulder, carrying him as he ran for the door, which was now right in front of them. Yuan Xuefeng pushed open the door, the group swiftly dashing through it.
They ended up in another long hallway, this one a bit smaller than the previous ones. Qing Feng put down Liang Chen now that things were a bit safer, allowing him to run on his own. The room started to spin and change the moment they entered it, but Yuan Xuefeng led the group, dashing towards one of the small doors that lined the hallway.
With Yuan Xuefeng leading the group, they ran through countless rooms and hallways, dodging falling stones and hordes of leeches, as well as the collapsing floor. After running for a little over an hour, they passed through a massive door, arriving in a room that was different from the others they had seen so far.
They stood at the top of a wide staircase covered in a red carpet, a gargantuan jade chandelier dangled from the ceiling, providing a gentle light that warmed the soul. And at the bottom of the staircase, after just a short walk, stood a truly exquisite pair of doors engraved with the insignia of the Ocean King, the two coiling serpentine dragons. Yuan Xuefeng was the first one to dash down the stairs, laughing loudly.
"Hahaha! Safe, we're safe!"
The rest of the group quickly followed, stopping in front of the massive doors, next to Yuan Xuefeng. After they stopped running, a screen of white light surrounded them, the same voice that rang out when they entered the palace ringing out once more.
"You have completed the first trial. Receive your rewards and then await the arrival or escape of the remaining challengers."
The white light flooded everyone's vision, and Liang Chen found himself standing in a pure white space. A peach-colored light appeared in front of him, taking a human shape, speaking to him in a calm voice.
"Challenger, your performance rank is Lackluster. Normally, you should receive no rewards. But you chose to save someone, despite the great hatred you carry, so I will make an exception and give you one of the lowest ranked rewards."
Liang Chen looked at the human shape with a curious gaze. Was this an image left behind by the Sealing God Empyrean, or was it someone else? He couldn't care less about getting a low rank or possibly not getting a reward, he just wanted to get out of here alive with Yan Ling and the others. The human shape raised its arm, a small piece of shattered blue jade appearing above its palm.
"This fragment of jade was something I acquired during the Genesis War. I found it after one of the worst and bloodiest battles, lying among the corpses of countless dead Sebettu and people of this universe. The fragment only gives an incredibly vague description of a possible technique, but even after scouring through several other universes, I have not managed to find any other fragments like it, leaving the technique incomplete and practically worthless, only good for gathering small amounts of inspiration."
Not even the Sealing God Empyrean or any of his friends had managed to gain anything from the jade, but he felt that throwing it away was a waste, so he left it as one of the lowest ranking rewards in this trial. Perhaps someone would be lucky enough to gain a sudden spark of insight from the words it contained.
Liang Chen could not help but be shocked at the words he heard. Genesis War? Scouring through several other universes? There existed other universes out there? And what sort of battle was grand enough to earn the title of Genesis War? The human shape cared not for Liang Chen's shock, vanishing from sight.
The jade flew over to Liang Chen, landing in his hand. It felt slightly cool to the touch, and as Liang Chen looked at it, he could almost swear that the inside of the jade seemed to move, as if it was filled with water.
The white light around him vanished, returning to the scene in front of the massive doors. As the white light vanished, Liang Chen was shocked to see that all his wounds had been fully healed, even his tattered robe had been repaired. The rest of the group all had a mixture of expressions, some were excited, some were disappointed or downcast. According to the words they had heard, they would now have to wait for the other groups to either die or finish the trial. Liang Chen sat down on the carpeted floor, sinking his mind into the fragment of jade. The only thing the jade contained was a few words that were filled with a strange energy.
'Lord of the ocean, grasp its might and let it transform you. A drop, a puddle, a lake, a river, an ocean, a peerless ruler.'
Liang Chen could feel a strange energy from the words, but he wasn't able to learn anything, nor could he figure out what the strange energy was. He could only let out a sigh and place the jade into his interspatial bracelet, clearly understanding why it was one of the lowest ranked rewards.
After waiting for another two days, the sound of doors being opened rang out, a group of people appearing at the top of the staircase. Jiang Wushu was the first one to notice them, calling out to the rest of his group, which was focusing on cultivating.
"Someone else is arriving!"
The group that stood at the top of the staircase didn't move down immediately, cautiously scanning the surroundings. Only when they spotted Liang Chen's group at the bottom of the stairs did they speak out, their voices containing a hint of disbelief.
"Have we finally reached the end of this blasted place, are we free?"
Liang Chen also opened his eyes, inspecting the group that was approaching them. This group was far larger than his, containing almost 20 people. He quickly swept the group with his gaze, a bright smile appearing on his face when he spotted Yan Ying and Yan Ling. The two of them also quickly noticed Liang Chen, letting out relieved sighs.
"Little Chen, you're safe!"
Yan Ying was rather confident in the chances of all his men, as they all had certain treasures they could use to protect their own lives. But Liang Chen had nothing, he only had a bow and a spear he could use to defend himself. When they ended up separated, he was truly worried that Liang Chen would perish. Yan Ling also looked at Liang Chen, but she only shook her head with a nearly exasperated sigh.
"I told you, no way that anything would happen to Little Freak."
Despite the way she was acting, as if it was common sense that nothing would happen to Liang Chen, he was still able to notice the tinge of relief within Yan Ling's voice. The large group joined up with Liang Chen's a white light surrounding them, handing out their rewards.
Once the white light vanished, a deep blue light surrounded Yan Ling's entire body. A deep blue battle armor that almost looked like it was made from jade quickly formed around her body, covering everything but her head. Once the armor was fully formed, Yan Ling gave a slight frown as she looked at it. The armor seemed to have received an order, as it turned back into light, changing form and becoming an elegant robe that was deep blue in color. The back of the robe was decorated with the image of two serpentine dragons coiling around each other as they soared towards the sky. Looking at the armor, some of the other people couldn't help but let out envious sounds.
"It seems your rewards were quite good, you must have had excellent results."
Yan Ying only put on a mysterious smile, not explaining what they had gone through. Yan Ling examined the robe for a bit, seemingly pleased with the form it had taken. She then skipped over to Liang Chen and sat down next to him, poking him in the side as she immediately started to nag him.
"Little Freak, what did you get? Anything good?"
Liang Chen had very little experience when it came to things like that, but even he could tell that the armor Yan Ling had been given was of extremely high quality. As long as she had that, her odds of survival would be far greater. Compared to her, his reward was truly insignificant. He let out a light chuckle, taking out the jade fragment and tossing it to Yan Ling.
"No, just this fragment of jade that contains a vague description of a technique."
Yan Ling sank her mind into the jade and read the words, but she wasn't able to gain anything from it, so she handed the jade back to Liang Chen. After handing the jade back, she started to show off her robe, gloating over the fact that her reward had been better than his. Liang Chen had been rather worried about her and Yan Ying, and he could tell that she had been rather worried about him, so he decided to play nice for once and humor her.
Half a day later, the entire palace trembled fiercely, a bright silver light surrounding Liang Chen and the others. Space around them started to twist and distort, so they weren't too surprised when that same voice once again sounded out.
"The remaining challengers have escaped the palace, prepare for the next trial."
Immediately after the voice rang out, Liang Chen and the others vanished into thin air, the palace returning to the quiet calm it had been in before they arrived.