Ch. 1011 - Dead Sea, The Gate

Although the sword intent had already slashed down, the black-robed youth didn’t expect Xu Zimo’s movements to be so much faster.

In almost an instant, Xu Zimo appeared behind him.

Black spiritforce erupted in his palm, crashing down toward the black-robed youth’s head.

“What!” The black-robed youth was startled by the sudden strike.

But he no longer had any chance to dodge.

With a loud boom, Xu Zimo’s palm landed without the slightest restraint, directly sending him flying.

The black-robed youth’s body crashed to the edge of the boundless sea. To stop his momentum, he stabbed his sword into the ground, leaving behind a deep, glaring scar.

He quickly steadied himself but noticed that Xu Zimo wasn’t pressing forward with another attack.

Instead, Xu Zimo stood there with a faint smile, watching him.

“Who are you?” the black-robed youth asked.

“Didn’t you say names don’t matter?” Xu Zimo replied with a grin.

“I want to know now,” the black-robed youth retorted.

“And who do you think you are?” Xu Zimo shot back.

“I intend to take a look around this Sky-Trap Island. Don’t get in my way. You should be grateful I hold no killing intent.”

Xu Zimo turned his gaze around. At this moment, he stood upon a straight heavenly road.

He was at one end of the road, while the other end led to a towering gate that seemed to pierce the clouds.

The gate was made of some unknown material, thousands of meters high and tens of thousands wide, stretching endlessly across the winding sea, beyond the reach of sight.

By now, more and more people were descending around the area.

Countless ships could also be seen approaching from afar, sailing across the boundless sea.

It was unnecessary to look closely.

The struggle for Heaven's Will allowed ten days for all contenders. Xu Zimo had taken only three, leaving him ample time to explore.

People walked across the void, each one exuding a mighty and unfathomable aura, representatives of their respective powers.

Few dared to provoke others, everyone kept their guard high.

They all walked along the heavenly road toward the great gate ahead.

Xu Zimo walked at the front. To his mild surprise, the black-robed youth silently followed behind him.

Xu Zimo gave him a glance but did not stop him.

When he reached the great gate, he realized it was illusory, like a wall of air.

His finger slipped through it easily, showing that he could pass inside.

“This leads to the uninhabited zone of the Sky-Trap Island,” the black-robed youth explained. “You’d best be careful. That’s not just a simple wall of air.”

No sooner had he spoken than the gate rippled. A mysterious force surged forth from all directions, as if to swallow Xu Zimo whole.

Xu Zimo quickly pulled his hand back.

But the devouring force refused to let him go so easily. On the surface of the gate, a monstrous head condensed, jaws gaping wide as it lunged at him.

With a resounding bang, Xu Zimo smashed it apart with one punch, blood splattering across the ground.

By then, more people had arrived at the gate.

Clearly, they had come prepared, far more knowledgeable about it than Xu Zimo.

One man summoned a flood of blue spiritforce. With his index finger, he drew an oval-shaped pattern across the surface of the gate.

When the pattern formed, a small doorway appeared, and he instantly slipped inside.

The gate then returned to its original state.

Another figure shrouded himself in flowing water, a shimmering stream enveloping his body, and simply walked straight through the gate.

The black-robed youth quickly explained: “The outer gate of the Sky-Trap Island is formed by the power of the boundless sea. Only water-type power can pass through it. Do you have a water-type treasure, or perhaps a water-based cultivation technique?”

Seeing Xu Zimo remain silent, the youth took two pills from his pouch.

“If you trust me, swallow this,” he said, tossing one to Xu Zimo. “This is a Freshwater Pearl, I prepared them in advance.”

Without hesitation, Xu Zimo swallowed the pearl. At once, a surge of water energy spread through him, flowing into his limbs and bones, suffusing his whole body.

When he touched the gate again, it truly felt like nothing more than a wall of air.

“Look, it’s Young Lord Bai Dao of Martial Spirit Creek!”

“And over there, Senior Brother Suchen from Holy Cloud Temple!”

“The Eighteen Swords of the Sword Dance Temple are all here? Are they planning to fight among themselves?”

“Fight? Hardly. Most likely they formed a small alliance to clear the way.”

“Even the Dark Lord of the Radiant Realm came, that madman is here too.”

So it was in every era’s struggle for Heaven's Will.

Across the vast heavens, the Dao itself projected an image, revealing the scenes within the Sky-Trap Island.

From east, west, north, south, above, or below, wherever one looked, the same image appeared.

This was the Battle for Heaven's Will.

All of the Primordial Heartlands could witness it directly.

Sadly, though, every year the contest for Heaven's Will depended solely on one’s own strength. Intrigue and schemes rarely held any weight here.

“This struggle for Heaven's Will truly is a grand event. Just look, these prodigies, unseen for centuries, even millennia, are all gathered.”

“Indeed. Many of these names we’ve only heard in legend, never seen in person, yet here they all are, assembled.”

“Prodigies everywhere… but what a pity. The struggle for Heaven's Will always claims far too many of them. After such a grand era, decline inevitably follows.”

“That is the natural order. Only when one flourishing age ends can a new one arise.”

Across the continent, people buzzed with heated discussion.

During this period of the Heaven's Will Struggle, almost nothing else mattered, everyone fixed their eyes on the heavens, waiting to see who would become the master of this era.

When Xu Zimo stepped through the gate, the world before him completely transformed.

He now stood in a round heaven-and-earth.

Beneath his feet stretched a narrow path, so narrow it could hold only a single person.

Directly ahead lay an oval-shaped island.

It resembled a spinning top, round above, sharply pointed below.

Suspended in midair without any foundation, it floated in the void.

The island rotated slowly, jagged rocks jutting out, while lush plants and trees grew across its surface.

The path Xu Zimo stood upon led straight toward the island’s lowest point.

Between the gate and the island stretched a great distance. Other than the narrow path, all else was void.

Here, flight was forbidden, even an emperor could not walk the skies.

This was what made the Sky-Trap Island one of the Ten Forbidden Grounds:

With flight stripped away, one could only ascend step by step from the very bottom.

And most terrifying of all, the Sky-Trap Island was surrounded entirely by the Dead Sea.

This Dead Sea was unlike any ordinary one. Not only could nothing float upon its surface, anything that touched it was instantly consumed.

Like sulfuric acid, it could dissolve even bones within seconds.

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