Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1441: 780: Blood-Written Death Omen, Weak Water World

Upon gazing at the rows of blood-written inscriptions, Zhao Sheng furrowed his brow lightly and couldn't help but look toward Qi Wu Yan at his side, only to notice the man's features twist in shock, his expression utterly stunned.

"...This can't be happening? It...it's shown up once more. This is disastrous!" Qi Wu Yan whispered under his breath, his complexion ashen, his words laced with utter hopelessness.

Zhao Sheng's eyes scanned the bloody script on the eastern gateway, where it declared: "My name is Zhao Wuming. When you read these words, I am no longer among the living."

Likewise, over the western gateway, the message stated: "Kuimu Xiao perished in flames of self-immolation."

On the remaining two gateways, the etchings proclaimed: "You shun the path to heaven and barge into hell without a gate" and "Today, Stone Jade met his end by drowning here."

Viewing them all, every blood inscription radiated a bone-chilling intent to kill, while brimming with taunting eeriness and scorn.

Zhao Sheng pulled back his stare and questioned gravely, "Fellow Daoist Qi, what exactly is this 'it' you spoke of, some kind of divine being?"

Hearing that, Qi Wu Yan steadied his look, ready to respond, yet a fit of manic cackling cut him off abruptly.

Nearby, Stone Jade was doubled over in laughter on the floor, jeering as he tumbled: "Haha! This old man will die from laughing so hard. Everyone knows I'm just a tough rock, right? How does a rock drown? What nonsense! Hahaha..."

Stone Jade's outburst lightened the heavy mood right away.

Qi Wu Yan composed himself and started to clarify: "I've pored over every ancient record from our forebears. Only in a single stone tablet did I find a vague line. It goes: 'The White Tower harbors a spirit, in deep slumber or alert, life and death prove equally perilous!'"

Zhao Sheng quickly followed up: "Anything more?"

Qi Wu Yan shook his head, his voice weighted: "Nothing else, merely that one phrase. Yet right after it, there's a huge empty section, likely filled with more details on the matter, but it appears some mysterious power wiped it clean from existence."

Just then, Kuimu Xiao piped up: "Hmm...so which gateway do we pick next?"

Its tone was piercingly shrill, like a metal blade scraping endlessly against timber, explaining why it rarely uttered a word.

At those words, Stone Jade sprang to his feet and scoffed: "Haha, why even pick? Go with the northern one. This old man was never one to bow to superstition—let's see how I drown in this spot!"

Zhao Sheng felt a jolt of surprise at that, a deep sense of disquiet rising within him as he pondered inwardly: "Ever since we stepped into this realm, why does Stone Jade act like he's gone mad? In the face of such an unpredictable peril, how can he charge ahead so blindly?"

"Still, this works out well—far preferable to heading toward the eastern gateway."

With that in mind, Zhao Sheng voiced his support right away: "I agree with Brother Shi's idea; we'll head through the northern gateway too."

Seeing their consensus, Qi Wu Yan gave a nod: "Then let's waste no time and move out at once."

Kuimu Xiao coiled its enormous form, offering no resistance whatsoever.

"Hehe, this old man will lead the way." With a chilly snicker, Stone Jade morphed into a beam of swift light and vanished into the northern gateway in a flash.

Right then, Qi Wu Yan swiveled to face Zhao Sheng.

Zhao Sheng dipped his head faintly and stated solemnly: "I'll enter next, you follow as third, and Brother Kui takes the last position."

Finished speaking, he strode forward, his silhouette vanishing into the gateway without delay.

The instant after, Zhao Sheng sensed a whirl in his vision before he plunged straight into liquid depths.

The encompassing seawater felt bitterly frigid, piercing to the marrow and shrouded in inky blackness, where visibility was nearly nil.

A surge of alarm hit Zhao Sheng's core, prompting him to deploy his will field swiftly, golden radiance blooming around his frame.

In a heartbeat, terror gripped him, as the will field he'd unleashed got swallowed whole by the nearby waters.

Regardless of how he summoned the will field anew, the moment it extended beyond himself, the ocean devoured it entirely.

The following instant brought something far more terrifying!

Zhao Sheng thrashed his limbs, aiming to rise toward the surface, but despite his fierce efforts, his form dropped like lead toward the bottom, plunging ever deeper.

This surrounding sea lacked any buoyant force at all?!

In a sudden epiphany, Zhao Sheng remembered a passage from old tomes: "The Northern Netherworld encircles weak water, where not even three thousand feathers can stay afloat, and crossing demands a true immortal's might!"

"Is it possible...this is weak water?!" In dread, Zhao Sheng fought again, but his body kept descending into the bottomless void beneath.

"Thank goodness..."

That notion sparking, Zhao Sheng triggered Space-Time Teleportation without hesitation, his form materializing abruptly at a lofty height.

Two hundred zhang below stretched an immense, limitless sea, its depths somber and devoid of vitality, absent any trace of life.

Releasing his will field once more, Zhao Sheng found himself enveloped in crackling thunder, hovering steadily in the sky.

Simultaneously, to his horror, Zhao Sheng realized his will field was draining away at a shocking pace, hundreds of times quicker than normal without explanation.

Should this persist, even his formidable strength would sustain him for scarcely an hour.

After a handful of breaths, the waters below erupted in turmoil, as if some behemoth stirred from the abyss.

The very next moment, a verdant tree burst through the waves, swelling and stretching skyward with explosive speed.

Before long, its crown reached Zhao Sheng's altitude, and midway down the trunk, a massive visage began to take shape, its contours sharpening into stark clarity.

Hmm?!

Zhao Sheng's Divine Eye pierced like a bolt, spotting at once a trembling silhouette gripped to a branch in the canopy—who but Qi Wu Yan?

Taking in the sight, Zhao Sheng drifted downward gradually, alighting on a limb a few zhang distant, and inquired: "Fellow Daoist Qi, are you okay?"

Qi Wu Yan, still rattled, answered with a quiver: "I'm alright, but...I'm just concerned about how Senior Shi is faring right now?"

To that, Zhao Sheng peered down at the sea and shook his head: "Brother Shi is a spirit stone, hard to destroy. What we ought to focus on is finding a way out of here."

With those words, he surveyed the surroundings yet detected no hint of gateways.

Now collected, Qi Wu Yan affirmed calmly: "Those four gateways must lie concealed beneath the waves."

Turning to it, he tapped the adjacent trunk softly and requested: "I hate to impose on Senior Kui Mu, but could you scout for Senior Shi and the gateways?"

"Of course!" The enormous face on the trunk parted its lids slowly and uttered one syllable.

The instant following, the colossal tree shuddered fiercely, and from its upper boughs, myriad dark-green tendrils unfurled like serpentine whips lashing the breeze.

The horde of tendrils elongated swiftly, plunging into the sea and whipping up a tremendous swell.

The ocean roiled in chaos, as if legions of huge shadows thrashed below, upheaving the depths.

Witnessing this, Zhao Sheng's eyes narrowed, quietly elevating his view of Kuimu Xiao's capabilities.

Not long after, the sea grew still once more, the myriad tendrils pulling back from the brine.

"Found… it…!"

Kuimu Xiao uttered once more, though its tone strained, as if exhaustion weighed heavily upon it.