Chapter 722 - 402: Is This Targeting Me?!
After all, blocked by the Ancient True Dragon Hall, even though it shielded the Venerables of Divinity Transformation from the Profound Celestial Cultivation Realm, the Dharma Aspect of his true self, Taiyue Divine Venerable, could not extend a hand into it. Zheng Yi had to avoid all risks as much as possible.
...
Suddenly, Zheng Yi stopped in his tracks.
A black stone tablet appeared before him, standing there as one seamless entity.
Standing opposite, Zheng Yi could sense an ancient and terrifying feeling.
The ancientness came from the origin of the stone tablet, belonging to the essence washed by the years, exuding a profoundly desolate aura, as if it existed alongside the entire Profound Celestial Cultivation Realm.
Such an extremely ancient thing must have an astonishing origin.
As for the terror, it was the grand aura emanating from the inscriptions on the stone tablet.
"To reach the Dragon Pool, one must pass the Void Stone Platform!"
These few words brought forth a terrifying Evil Qi, and Zheng Yi narrowed his eyes, his gaze becoming intense. Faintly, he saw a dreadful Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, its body trembling, hovering in the sky dome above.
An aura as terrifying as a surging tide came crashing from all directions of heaven and earth, bringing an unimaginable oppressive sensation.
Even Zheng Yi, being somewhat formidable, was apprehensive enough to take several glances at it. These simple words were left by a terrifying Pure-blooded True Dragon, an existence of unknown realm, yet even after countless ages, the aura and Evil Qi it exuded remained unwaning.
In the eyes of a top-tier expert like Zheng Yi, he could see through the essence of that aura at a glance, as if a golden dragon of artistic conception incarnate hovered in the sky, giving the feeling of being alive at any moment, like a volcanic eruption.
"No wonder a Pure-blooded True Dragon is a direct descendant of the True Spirit Ancestor Dragon! Such an intimidating sensation, crossing through time, still remains, truly extraordinary."
Zheng Yi was astonished, yet unwilling to feign profundity to stir up trouble.
"Then just walk over!"
Since such information was left on the stone tablet ahead, Zheng Yi couldn’t recklessly insist on flying overhead.
The entire space above Qiankun Void had already been sealed by the Power of Laws of the Ancient True Dragon Hall, laying down layers of restrictions.
Insisting on charging through from above could result in catastrophic consequences.
Thinking of this, Zheng Yi moved forward, and after only a few steps, the scene before him suddenly became clear.
He saw before him a staircase-like structure, layer upon layer, suspended in midair without any support, ascending layer by layer, directly into the end of the sky.
Each step of the staircase was carved from White Jade stone, without a speck of dust, pure and flawless, as sunlight shone upon it, light directly passing through its body and illuminating outwards.
Looking up, the entire Void Stone Platform seemed to lead to the endless starry end, with the flowing starry sky above, countless stars embellished in the darkness, radiating splendid brilliance, casting charming radiance outward.
Stepping into the endless starry sky was like entering another vast boundless world, where it seemed all darkness merely served to accentuate the glory of those forming stars, nurtured to reflect the brilliance of those stars.
Patches of scattered starlight connected together, forming a flowing rosy light.
From before him, it extended towards distant space.
Zheng Yi’s gaze penetrated, with his now powerful Perception power, surveying the area, yet he still couldn’t see through the scenes within the rosy light further away.
He knew that he had reached the core area of the Ancient True Dragon Hall.
...
One step!
Two steps, three steps...
As Zheng Yi stepped one step upwards, suddenly, his eyes slightly moved, feeling a terrifyingly strong force descending upon him, crushing down on his physical body.
This pressure descended without any warning.
But it permeated from all directions, utterly unavoidable.
This wasn’t ordinary pressure; it was the will brought by this space, descending on the body, affecting not only the physical form but even his soul felt that terrifying heaviness.
This was a trial given by the Ancient True Dragon Hall to those who entered.
Initially, these testing procedures were used to assess the purity of bloodline potential within the Dragon Race, and after the complete extinction of the Pure-blood True Dragon Race, it became a formidable barrier for later entrants.
However, Zheng Yi’s body had gone through multiple transformations, especially interpreting the bloodstream and Divine Power of both the Dragon and Phoenix Races, having long advanced to a new level.
At this moment, the power of his Innate Origin Divine Body surged immensely, even compared to the body of a Pure-blood True Dragon, it was in no way weaker, possibly even stronger.
Therefore, under the powerful pressure before him, amongst all the cultivators who entered, Zheng Yi could be said to have a natural advantage.
Under pressure, without any delay, he swiftly ascended the Void Stone Stairs, continuously climbing to higher tiers.
"Huh?!"
Suddenly, after stepping past thirty or forty levels of stairs, Zheng Yi discovered before him, a figure resembling mud, lying on the ground motionless.
It seemed the body had been crushed by the terrible pressure, even its soul, unable to withstand the increasing pressure, was directly annihilated, vanished without a trace.
But Zheng Yi calmly glanced at it, his expression unperturbed, and he continued steadily ascending the stairs.
The path of the Great Dao is inherently full of thorns.
The single-log bridge, beneath which lies a pile of white bones composed of countless beings.
On his journey, Zheng Yi had become accustomed to various farewells of life and death. The path of cultivation itself is a lonely one.
Only one person could reach the supreme height, stepping over the mountain of corpses of predecessors, becoming an unrivaled existence.
After spending some time, Zheng Yi had already ascended seventy steps, gradually feeling the increasing pressure.
Along the way, he witnessed numerous corpses suppressed by the immense pressure of the place.
Not only human cultivators but also powerful beings from other races, though the Flood Dragon Race had yet to appear.
Clearly, in this terrifying environment, the Flood Dragon Race, with their innately strong physique and special lineage, had gained an advantage.
After all, from a certain perspective, they could be considered distant relatives of the Ancient True Dragon Race.
It was apparent that the original purpose of the Void Stone Stairs was to select gifted individuals within the True Dragon Race.
Thus, such a pressure test posed a disastrous challenge for other races with weaker bodies.
Therefore, the fall of powerful beings from other races here wasn’t a rare occurrence.
Only truly powerful existences might withstand the heavenly pressure and reach the highest point of the steps.
At this moment, Zheng Yi also gradually felt the increase in pressure.
Though ascending over a hundred steps seemed just a step away, it was akin to an immeasurable distance within the void, infinitely close to the starry sky.
With a mere reach, he seemed able to touch the celestial dome.
At this moment, the terrifying pressure descended upon the surrounding area, making the air exceedingly viscous.
In Zheng Yi’s perception, layers upon layers of space were compressed infinitely, transforming into a solid state, with each step intensifying the pressure.
He felt as if he were stepping into a transparent glue, sinking deep into a muddy swamp, with an overpowering force surging from all directions, making resistance impossible.
One step, two steps...
Without hesitation, Zheng Yi remained steady, advancing upward in rhythm and pace, step by step.
The rays descending from the celestial sky seemed to react to Zheng Yi’s movements, transforming into fearful pressure, weighing heavily upon him.
Zheng Yi felt as though he was pushing against the stars above, trudging towards the starry sky with difficult steps.
His stride was firm and resilient!
By this time, Zheng Yi had understood that this place was a unique testing ground for the Ancient True Dragon Lineage, evaluating the purity of bloodline and potential of their descendants.
Thus, reaching the steps wasn’t easier for the more powerful; instead, the power of rules augmented in accordance with the challenger’s strength.
To put it simply, if a Core Formation Stage Cultivator entered here, they would bear the pressure corresponding to their level.
As Zheng Yi, a half-step Divinity Transformation, had begun to challenge the Power of Origin of this place, the pressure he endured thus reached its peak.
This was unparalleled.
Boom! Boom!
The continuous heavy pressure surged, making the celestial sky appear to descend.
Numerous stars flashing with astral radiance represented the Power of Origin within this void array, its Rule Power was activated by Zheng Yi, falling entirely upon him.
No sooner than this, a form of unprecedented terrifying pressure formed.
Wave upon wave assaulted Zheng Yi’s body.
The overwhelming force felt like a waterfall from the sky or meteors, hurling fiercely upon his body.
Furthermore, it came not only from above but from all directions—below, left and right, front and back.
The pressure distributed throughout his body, waves like tides compressing from all sides.
At this moment, it seemed the entire pressure of this starry sky was upon Zheng Yi.
An immense, terrifying force battered his body, making it momentarily impossible for him to lift his right foot again.
"Isn’t this a bit targeted?!"
With a deep gaze, Zheng Yi looked up at the Star Rules Array in the sky, gritting his teeth in frustration.
Why am I being targeted just for stepping half a foot into the Divinity Transformation Stage ahead of others?!
If everyone entering bore this pressure, they’d fall short in the end, none successful.
Evidently, these ninety-nine Void Stone Platforms were tailored to enhance the pressure based on the cultivator’s realm.
As the Divinity Transformation Stage was clearly targeted and forbidden within the Ancient True Dragon Hall, Zheng Yi had slipped in, breaking through within the hall, exploiting a loophole.
This naturally invoked a reactive response from the entire Void Array.