Ch. 1014 - Heavenly Dao's Scheme

“Since these Void Parasites are appearing now, doesn’t that mean…?”

The young man didn’t finish his words, but everyone around him shuddered.

It meant that those beings were about to return.

“I’ve been wondering why this time’s Heaven's Will had to be placed on Sky-Trap Island,” said Young Master Bai Dao of Martial Spirit Creek in a cold tone. “In the past, the site of the Heaven's Will Struggle was never this dangerous.”

“You mean to say...” someone pointed upward, though without making it explicit.

Watching from the side, Xu Zimo found it amusing. These connections, he had already pieced together.

Heaven wanted to wield everyone as a blade. Using the pretext of Heaven's Will, it drove them, him included, to exterminate these alien intruders.

Eliminate threats to the Primordial Heartlands and crown the Heaven's Will bearer at the same time. Two birds with one stone.

Such was the Way of Heaven.

With a casual move, it toyed with all beings like monkeys, no matter if they were imperial sects or holy clans.

And even if everyone knew, they still had to jump into this firepit. Because the temptation of the Heaven's Will was too great.

“So what do we do now?” People looked at each other, even those uninterested before were now focused.

“I propose that in the current situation, we should unite and stop fighting amongst ourselves,” suggested Young Master Bai Dao. “Once the enemy is killed, then we fight each other for the prize. How about that?”

“I agree,” said the Dark Lord of the Radiant Realm right after. “Otherwise, we’ll end up with nothing.”

“Holy Son Xu, what do you think?” someone approached Xu Zimo and asked softly.

The man wore a purple robe, his eyes bright like torches. His white hair flowed like snow down his back.

At his waist hung a jade flute, his bearing refined, his smile warm as spring breeze.

This was Primordius, the Holy Son of the Supreme Primal Sacred Ground.

As an old imperial lineage from the Eastern Continent, Xu Zimo had little contact with Supreme Primal Sacred Ground, much less with its Holy Son.

He hadn’t expected Primordius to be the one to ask him first.

“You all can decide for yourselves. I’m just here to watch the show,” Xu Zimo waved casually.

“Holy Son Xu is the strongest among us. If you have any advice, speak freely,” said Lei Yan of Thunder Mound, his voice booming like thunder.

Though none liked to admit it, they all knew Xu Zimo’s strength.

“You want advice?” Xu Zimo replied with a smirk. “I think you’re excellent. The task of charging at the front later, let’s leave it to you.”

“You!” Lei Yan glared furiously, then snorted coldly and ignored him.

“Everyone, enough quarreling,” said Monk Suchen, playing the mediator’s role. He glanced upward at Sky-Trap Island. “Those Void Parasites don’t seem to dare come down. As long as we don’t approach, they won’t attack. I think they must be guarding something.”

“Then let’s rush up together,” said the Dark Lord.

“Charging aimlessly won’t help. We should focus our strength on a single point, tear open a path. That way, we’ll have better chances and fewer losses,” Monk Suchen suggested.

“Then what are we waiting for? Move!” Lunatic Qin of Zither Tower roared impatiently.

After a brief discussion, the group began their assault upward toward the island.

Xu Zimo wasn’t in a hurry. His eyes swept around, first to the floating island above, then to the Dead Sea below.

Something stirred in his thoughts.

Blending into the crowd, he slipped quietly away until he reached the edge of the island, beside the Dead Sea.

The sea lay utterly still, no ripples, no waves, ancient and calm. Xu Zimo smiled faintly.

The next moment, spiritforce surged around him, and he leapt directly into the Dead Sea.

Often, the least expected place was the safest.

Xu Zimo was gambling.

The Dead Sea was still the Dead Sea. That overwhelming corrosive force tried to melt his body into rotwater.

But Xu Zimo carried the Tree of Life. No matter how the sea corroded, vitality flowed endlessly, countering it.

Inside the Dead Sea, all was darkness. A vast, oppressive darkness.

Holding his breath, Xu Zimo swam downward.

Half an hour passed. In such gloomy, sealed surroundings, agitation easily grew in one’s heart.

Even Xu Zimo nearly gave up, thinking he had guessed wrong. But suddenly, faint light flickered ahead.

He frowned and swam faster.

Soon, he reached the seabed, where thick, dense watergrasses grew, covering something hidden beneath.

The dim glow seeped out from under them.

As he moved closer to probe, the grasses lashed out first, coiling around his legs, trying to drag him under.

Shadow Tyrant behind him unsheathed itself. Boundless blade force poured down, shredding the weeds instantly.

What appeared before him was a road of bones.

An avenue paved entirely with skeletons, stretching into the distance toward what seemed to be a palace.

But visibility was poor in the Dead Sea, and Xu Zimo could not see far.

He landed on the bone-paved path. Along its edges, petrified tentacles sprouted, frozen mid-motion.

Studying them closely, Xu Zimo sensed a strange, wondrous power within.

“What are these things?” he muttered.

Still, he walked on. Oddly enough, the path was silent, no obstacles barring his way.

Unhindered, he arrived before the great hall.

Now he saw it clearly.

The hall was shaped in the likeness of a monstrous creature.

Its form was hard to describe. Like a spider, but instead of legs, countless tentacles stretched below, too many to count.

Its face was twisted and vicious, though partly hidden by more tentacles.

Its body surface, however, would horrify anyone with trypophobia, covered in countless spots, glowing like molten magma.

And the hall’s entrance was none other than the creature’s gaping maw.

Inside, all was pitch black. Nothing could be seen.

Xu Zimo walked straight in. The moment he crossed the threshold, the ground trembled.

“Ignorant human, how dare you step my domain!”

A voice thundered louder than thunder itself.

The Dead Sea, once calm, now surged with waves.

On the bone avenue, the petrified tentacles writhed back to life, thrashing like a scene of demonic revelry.

Xu Zimo felt a massive power burst forth. He had barely entered the hall before he was blasted out.

The monstrous palace he had seen, was awakening.

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