Chapter 219: Pillars of Lava
’Making out passionately with a rock?’
’That good-for-nothing!’
Patriarch Xu’s expression instantly turned as ugly as it could be.
But soon, he breathed a sigh of relief. At least this time, Yingshan hadn’t been reckless and gone off alone to settle scores with that vixen.
Patriarch Xu turned his head to look at the Huangliang Tomb. By now, everyone on the first floor had ascended to the next, leaving only a single point of light floating motionlessly in place.
"Ah, Patriarch, the Third Young Master’s light point is moving."
one of the Xu Family Descendants beside him suddenly said.
The point of light on the first floor had indeed started moving, slowly making its way toward the second floor.
Patriarch Xu couldn’t help but nod and smile.
’That good-for-nothing. He didn’t completely disgrace the Xu Family after all.’
"Have someone keep an eye on Yingshan for me!"
Patriarch Xu gave the order to the Xu Family Descendant beside him, then paid his son no more mind, turning his attention instead to the intense chase on the third floor.
...
Inside the Huangliang Tomb, on the first floor, Shen Daoxing crouched down and searched Xu Yingshan’s body. He found a bottle of supreme-grade Rejuvenation Pills and about twenty-some Spirit Stones.
He certainly wasn’t going to be polite, tossing everything into his Sumeru Ring. Then, Shen Daoxing stood up and walked toward the Celestial Ladder in the center.
Reaching the Celestial Ladder, Shen Daoxing climbed the steps. When he reached the very top, he saw a flash of light. The scene blurred, and when his surroundings became clear again, he had arrived on the second floor.
The moment he arrived on the second floor, Shen Daoxing felt a searing heat. He turned to see a landscape of scorched brown earth stretching as far as the eye could see. The intense temperature was so high you could even see ripples in the air.
And not far away, a towering Celestial Ladder spiraled upward, leading to an unseen peak above.
The Celestial Ladder to the third floor was just a short distance away, yet the young geniuses were all stalled at the starting point, their eyes filled with trepidation.
"I’ll go!"
Just then, a tall man in the crowd shouted and stepped forward. With a light tap of his toes, he leaped up, soaring toward the brown earth ahead.
The instant he set foot on it, a yellow light suddenly flared from the ground.
BOOM!
Searing lava burst forth, tearing through the dim sky like a fire dragon soaring upward.
The tall man was startled. His figure flickered, and he dodged it by a hair’s breadth. He then quickly moved forward, but just as he landed, another pillar of molten lava shot up from below.
The tall man hastily twisted his body, narrowly avoiding it.
The tall man’s figure dodged and weaved across the scorched earth as pillars of fire shot up intermittently.
Though it looked perilous, the tall man successfully reached the middle.
Seeing he was only halfway from the other side, he seemed to have grasped the pattern of the fire pillars and moved with increasing ease.
The tall man took another step, leaping forward.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, three points of yellow light lit up on the ground.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Three pillars of fire, like world-shaking fire dragons, erupted simultaneously toward the sky.
The tall man’s eyes widened in an instant before he was engulfed by the pillars of fire.
When the pillars of fire subsided, the tall man’s figure was gone. Only a small, charred skullcap fell to the ground with a THUD.
HISS!
Everyone gasped, and the once-scorching air seemed to turn cold.
The scene fell silent. No one else dared to go up.
An unknown amount of time passed.
"Let’s give it a try!"
Two men with very similar appearances boldly stepped out from the crowd, then took a leap forward.
However, they had only just leaped when two world-shaking pillars of fire erupted, engulfing them both in an instant.
When the pillars of fire subsided, both men had been completely melted, leaving nothing behind.
HISS!
The scene fell silent again. This time, absolutely no one dared to go up.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
At that moment, a dozen or so pillars of fire burst forth simultaneously from the scorched earth before them, abruptly illuminating the dim space as if to intimidate the crowd, or perhaps to mock them.
And high in the sky, a giant character for "Speed" slowly materialized.
"Dashan, you go give it a try!"
"Why don’t you go yourself?"
The crowd exchanged glances and muttered amongst themselves, but still, not a single person dared to step forward.
"Look, someone’s going up!"
Someone suddenly exclaimed, pointing ahead.
Everyone turned to look and saw, in an inconspicuous spot...
...a young man dressed as a scholar, carrying a massive, jet-black greatsword on his back, had stepped out without hesitation.
That person was none other than Shen Daoxing.
Shen Daoxing had just stepped out when a yellow light surged from the ground, and a tall pillar of molten lava erupted skyward.
Shen Daoxing twisted his body, easily dodging it.
But as that lava pillar fell, another shot up beside it, world-shaking and without any warning.
The lava pillar was fast, but Shen Daoxing was faster. A phantom-like afterimage flashed as he sidestepped it with a slight lean.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Pillar after pillar of molten lava shot skyward, like world-shaking fire dragons erupting again and again.
Shen Daoxing walked forward at a leisurely pace, his hands clasped behind his back. It was as if he already knew where the pillars would emerge, always avoiding them, strolling as if through a peaceful courtyard.
Shen Daoxing crossed most of the distance without any resistance.
But the intermittently erupting lava pillars didn’t seem like inanimate objects. Seeing they couldn’t touch Shen Daoxing, they changed their previous pattern.
WHOOSH!
Several yellow lights suddenly flared up from the ground.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Four pillars of molten lava erupted simultaneously from beneath Shen Daoxing’s feet like world-shaking Wandering Dragons, sealing off his every escape route.
With nowhere to dodge, Shen Daoxing pushed off forcefully, leaping high into the air and out of the pillars’ range.
Then, he began to descend slowly. However, before he reached the ground, several more yellow lights ignited below him.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
And then, another four pillars of molten lava shot skyward.
Shen Daoxing was in mid-air, falling, with nothing to use for leverage.
But just then, Shen Daoxing drew the Great Ming Demon Sparrow from his back and swung it down fiercely.
BANG!
The Great Ming Demon Sparrow smashed down on one of the high-spraying pillars of lava.
Shen Daoxing’s descent halted for a moment, and he leaped high once more, dodging the spray of lava.
But as Shen Daoxing soared up and began to fall again, before he could land...
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
...another four pillars of lava erupted from below.
Unflustered, Shen Daoxing swung the Great Ming Demon Sparrow in his hand down again.
BOOM!
His body’s momentum was checked for an instant, and he soared high into the air again.
Just like that, Shen Daoxing rose and fell upon the continuously erupting pillars, advancing steadily. Before anyone knew it, he had almost reached the other side.
The towering, spiraling Celestial Ladder now filled Shen Daoxing’s entire field of vision.
"He’s about to succeed!"
someone shouted.